1,883 research outputs found
Isospectrality in Chaotic Billiards
We consider a modification of isospectral cavities whereby the classical
dynamics changes from pseudointegrable to chaotic. We construct an example
where we can prove that isospectrality is retained. We then demonstrate this
explicitly in microwave resonators.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figure
Outcomes of unrelated umbilical cord blood transplantation in pediatric patients with myelodysplastic syndrome
VPLanet: The Virtual Planet Simulator
We describe a software package called VPLanet that simulates fundamental
aspects of planetary system evolution over Gyr timescales, with a focus on
investigating habitable worlds. In this initial release, eleven physics modules
are included that model internal, atmospheric, rotational, orbital, stellar,
and galactic processes. Many of these modules can be coupled simultaneously to
simulate the evolution of terrestrial planets, gaseous planets, and stars. The
code is validated by reproducing a selection of observations and past results.
VPLanet is written in C and designed so that the user can choose the physics
modules to apply to an individual object at runtime without recompiling, i.e.,
a single executable can simulate the diverse phenomena that are relevant to a
wide range of planetary and stellar systems. This feature is enabled by
matrices and vectors of function pointers that are dynamically allocated and
populated based on user input. The speed and modularity of VPLanet enables
large parameter sweeps and the versatility to add/remove physical phenomena to
assess their importance. VPLanet is publicly available from a repository that
contains extensive documentation, numerous examples, Python scripts for
plotting and data management, and infrastructure for community input and future
development.Comment: 75 pages, 34 figures, 10 tables, accepted to the Proceedings of the
Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Source code, documentation, and examples
available at https://github.com/VirtualPlanetaryLaboratory/vplane
Chaotic memristor
We suggest and experimentally demonstrate a chaotic memory resistor
(memristor). The core of our approach is to use a resistive system whose
equations of motion for its internal state variables are similar to those
describing a particle in a multi-well potential. Using a memristor emulator,
the chaotic memristor is realized and its chaotic properties are measured. A
Poincar\'{e} plot showing chaos is presented for a simple nonautonomous circuit
involving only a voltage source directly connected in series to a memristor and
a standard resistor. We also explore theoretically some details of this system,
plotting the attractor and calculating Lyapunov exponents. The multi-well
potential used resembles that of many nanoscale memristive devices, suggesting
the possibility of chaotic dynamics in other existing memristive systems.Comment: Applied Physics A (in press
Induced magnetization in LaSrMnO/BiFeO superlattices
Using polarized neutron reflectometry (PNR), we observe an induced
magnetization of 75 25 kA/m at 10 K in a LaSrMnO
(LSMO)/BiFeO superlattice extending from the interface through several
atomic layers of the BiFeO (BFO). The induced magnetization in BFO is
explained by density functional theory, where the size of bandgap of BFO plays
an important role. Considering a classical exchange field between the LSMO and
BFO layers, we further show that magnetization is expected to extend throughout
the BFO, which provides a theoretical explanation for the results of the
neutron scattering experiment.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, with Supplemental Materials. To appear in
Physical Review Letter
Cooperation and Competition Shape Ecological Resistance During Periodic Spatial Disturbance of Engineered Bacteria
Cooperation is fundamental to the survival of many bacterial species. Previous studies have shown that spatial structure can both promote and suppress cooperation. Most environments where bacteria are found are periodically disturbed, which can affect the spatial structure of the population. Despite the important role that spatial disturbances play in maintaining ecological relationships, it remains unclear as to how periodic spatial disturbances affect bacteria dependent on cooperation for survival. Here, we use bacteria engineered with a strong Allee effect to investigate how the frequency of periodic spatial disturbances affects cooperation. We show that at intermediate frequencies of spatial disturbance, the ability of the bacterial population to cooperate is perturbed. A mathematical model demonstrates that periodic spatial disturbance leads to a tradeoff between accessing an autoinducer and accessing nutrients, which determines the ability of the bacteria to cooperate. Based on this relationship, we alter the ability of the bacteria to access an autoinducer. We show that increased access to an autoinducer can enhance cooperation, but can also reduce ecological resistance, defined as the ability of a population to resist changes due to disturbance. Our results may have implications in maintaining stability of microbial communities and in the treatment of infectious diseases
Oldest known pantherine skull and evolution of the tiger
The tiger is one of the most iconic extant animals, and its origin and evolution have been intensely debated. Fossils attributable to extant pantherine species-lineages are less than 2 MYA and the earliest tiger fossils are from the Calabrian, Lower Pleistocene. Molecular studies predict a much younger age for the divergence of modern tiger subspecies at <100 KYA, although their cranial morphology is readily distinguishable, indicating that early Pleistocene tigers would likely have differed markedly anatomically from extant tigers. Such inferences are hampered by the fact that well-known fossil tiger material is middle to late Pleistocene in age. Here we describe a new species of pantherine cat from Longdan, Gansu Province, China, Panthera zdanskyi sp. nov. With an estimated age of 2.55–2.16 MYA it represents the oldest complete skull of a pantherine cat hitherto found. Although smaller, it appears morphologically to be surprisingly similar to modern tigers considering its age. Morphological, morphometric, and cladistic analyses are congruent in confirming its very close affinity to the tiger, and it may be regarded as the most primitive species of the tiger lineage, demonstrating the first unequivocal presence of a modern pantherine species-lineage in the basal stage of the Pleistocene (Gelasian; traditionally considered to be Late Pliocene). This find supports a north-central Chinese origin of the tiger lineage, and demonstrates that various parts of the cranium, mandible, and dentition evolved at different rates. An increase in size and a reduction in the relative size of parts of the dentition appear to have been prominent features of tiger evolution, whereas the distinctive cranial morphology of modern tigers was established very early in their evolutionary history. The evolutionary trend of increasing size in the tiger lineage is likely coupled to the evolution of its primary prey species
Detecting single-electron tunneling involving virtual processes in real time
We use time-resolved charge detection techniques to probe virtual tunneling
processes in a double quantum dot. The process involves an energetically
forbidden state separated by an energy from the Fermi energy in the
leads. The non-zero tunneling probability can be interpreted as cotunneling,
which occurs as a direct consequence of time-energy uncertainty. For small
energy separation the electrons in the quantum dots delocalize and form
molecular states. In this regime we establish the experimental equivalence
between cotunneling and sequential tunneling into molecular states for electron
transport in a double quantum dot. Finally, we investigate inelastic
cotunneling processes involving excited states of the quantum dots. Using the
time-resolved charge detection techniques, we are able to extract the shot
noise of the current in the cotunneling regime
Parity Violation in Proton-Proton Scattering at 221 MeV
The parity-violating longitudinal analyzing power, Az, has been measured in
pp elastic scattering at an incident proton energy of 221 MeV. The result
obtained is Az =(0.84 +/- 0.29 (stat.) +/- 0.17 (syst.)) x 10^{-7}. This
experiment is unique in that it selects a single parity violating transition
amplitude, 3P2-1D2, and consequently directly constrains the weak meson-nucleon
coupling constant h^pp_rho When this result is taken together with the existing
pp parity violation data, the weak meson-nucleon coupling constants h^pp_rho
and h^pp_omega can, for the first time, both be determined.Comment: 8 pages RevTeX4, 3 PostScript figures. Conclusion revised. New
information about weak coupling constants adde
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