109 research outputs found
Dephasing and Measurement Efficiency via a Quantum Dot Detector
We study charge detection and controlled dephasing of a mesoscopic system via
a quantum dot detector (QDD), where the mesoscopic system and the QDD are
capacitively coupled. The QDD is considered to have coherent resonant
tunnelling via a single level. It is found that the dephasing rate is
proportional to the square of the conductance of the QDD for the Breit-Wigner
model, showing that the dephasing is completely different from the shot noise
of the detector. The measurement rate, on the other hand, shows a dip near the
resonance. Our findings are peculiar especially for a symmetric detector in the
following aspect: The dephasing rate is maximum at resonance of the QDD where
the detector conductance is insensitive to the charge state of the mesoscopic
system. As a result, the efficiency of the detector shows a dip and vanishes at
resonance, in contrast to the single-channel symmetric non-resonant detector
that has always a maximum efficiency. We find that this difference originates
from a very general property of the scattering matrix: The abrupt phase change
exists in the scattering amplitudes in the presence of the symmetry, which is
insensitive to the detector current but {\em stores} the information of the
quantum state of the mesoscopic system.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure
Electronic Origin of the Inhomogeneous Pairing Interaction in the High-Tc Superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d
Identifying the mechanism of superconductivity in the high-temperature
cuprate superconductors is one of the major outstanding problems in physics. We
report local measurements of the onset of superconducting pairing in the
high-transition temperature (Tc) superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d using a
lattice-tracking spectroscopy technique with a scanning tunneling microscope.
We can determine the temperature dependence of the pairing energy gaps, the
electronic excitations in the absence of pairing, and the effect of the local
coupling of electrons to bosonic excitations. Our measurements reveal that the
strength of pairing is determined by the unusual electronic excitations of the
normal state, suggesting that strong electron-electron interactions rather than
low-energy (<0.1 volts) electron-boson interactions are responsible for
superconductivity in the cuprates
Fredholm determinants and the statistics of charge transport
Using operator algebraic methods we show that the moment generating function
of charge transport in a system with infinitely many non-interacting Fermions
is given by a determinant of a certain operator in the one-particle Hilbert
space. The formula is equivalent to a formula of Levitov and Lesovik in the
finite dimensional case and may be viewed as its regularized form in general.
Our result embodies two tenets often realized in mesoscopic physics, namely,
that the transport properties are essentially independent of the length of the
leads and of the depth of the Fermi sea.Comment: 30 pages, 2 figures, reference added, credit amende
Proximity effects at ferromagnet-superconductor interfaces
We study proximity effects at ferromagnet superconductor interfaces by
self-consistent numerical solution of the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations for
the continuum, without any approximations. Our procedures allow us to study
systems with long superconducting coherence lengths. We obtain results for the
pair potential, the pair amplitude, and the local density of states. We use
these results to extract the relevant proximity lengths. We find that the
superconducting correlations in the ferromagnet exhibit a damped oscillatory
behavior that is reflected in both the pair amplitude and the local density of
states. The characteristic length scale of these oscillations is approximately
inversely proportional to the exchange field, and is independent of the
superconducting coherence length in the range studied. We find the
superconducting coherence length to be nearly independent of the ferromagnetic
polarization.Comment: 13 Pages total. Compressed .eps figs might display poorly, but will
print fin
Probe-configuration dependent dephasing in a mesoscopic interferometer
Dephasing in a ballistic four-terminal Aharonov-Bohm geometry due to charge
and voltage fluctuations is investigated. Treating two terminals as voltage
probes, we find a strong dependence of the dephasing rate on the probe
configuration in agreement with a recent experiment by Kobayashi et al. (J.
Phys. Soc. Jpn. 71, 2094 (2002)). Voltage fluctuations in the measurement
circuit are shown to be the source of the configuration dependence.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Single-cell reconstruction of follicular remodeling in the human adult ovary
The ovary is perhaps the most dynamic organ in the human body, only rivaled by the uterus. The molecular mechanisms that regulate follicular growth and regression, ensuring ovarian tissue homeostasis, remain elusive. We have performed single-cell RNA-sequencing using human adult ovaries to provide a map of the molecular signature of growing and regressing follicular populations. We have identified different types of granulosa and theca cells and detected local production of components of the complement system by (atretic) theca cells and stromal cells. We also have detected a mixture of adaptive and innate immune cells, as well as several types of endothelial and smooth muscle cells to aid the remodeling process. Our results highlight the relevance of mapping whole adult organs at the single-cell level and reflect ongoing efforts to map the human body. The association between complement system and follicular remodeling may provide key insights in reproductive biology and (in) fertility
Quantum interference and the formation of the proximity effect in chaotic normal-metal/superconducting structures
We discuss a number of basic physical mechanisms relevant to the formation of
the proximity effect in superconductor/normal metal (SN) systems. Specifically,
we review why the proximity effect sharply discriminates between systems with
integrable and chaotic dynamics, respectively, and how this feature can be
incorporated into theories of SN systems. Turning to less well investigated
terrain, we discuss the impact of quantum diffractive scattering on the
structure of the density of states in the normal region. We consider ballistic
systems weakly disordered by pointlike impurities as a test case and
demonstrate that diffractive processes akin to normal metal weak localization
lead to the formation of a hard spectral gap -- a hallmark of SN systems with
chaotic dynamics. Turning to the more difficult case of clean systems with
chaotic boundary scattering, we argue that semiclassical approaches, based on
classifications in terms of classical trajectories, cannot explain the gap
phenomenon. Employing an alternative formalism based on elements of
quasiclassics and the ballistic -model, we demonstrate that the inverse
of the so-called Ehrenfest time is the relevant energy scale in this context.
We discuss some fundamental difficulties related to the formulation of low
energy theories of mesoscopic chaotic systems in general and how they prevent
us from analysing the gap structure in a rigorous manner. Given these
difficulties, we argue that the proximity effect represents a basic and
challenging test phenomenon for theories of quantum chaotic systems.Comment: 21 pages (two-column), 6 figures; references adde
Charge Pumping in Mesoscopic Systems coupled to a Superconducting Lead
We derive a general scattering-matrix formula for the pumped current through
a mesoscopic region attached to a normal and a superconducting lead. As
applications of this result we calculate the current pumped through (i) a pump
in a wire, (ii) a quantum dot in the Coulomb blockade regime, and (iii) a
ballistic double-barrier junction, all coupled to a superconducting lead.
Andreev reflection is shown to enhance the pumped current by up to a factor of
4 in case of equal coupling to the leads. We find that this enhancement can
still be further increased for slightly asymmetric coupling.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure
Proximity effects and characteristic lengths in ferromagnet-superconductor structures
We present an extensive theoretical investigation of the proximity effects
that occur in Ferromagnet/Superconductor () systems. We use a numerical
method to solve self consistently the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations in the
continuum. We obtain the pair amplitude and the local density of states (DOS),
and use these results to extract the relevant lengths characterizing the
leakage of superconductivity into the magnet and to study spin splitting into
the superconductor. These phenomena are investigated as a function of
parameters such as temperature, magnet polarization, interfacial scattering,
sample size and Fermi wavevector mismatch, all of which turn out to have
important influence on the results. These comprehensive results should help
characterize and analyze future data and are shown to be in agreement with
existing experiments.Comment: 24 pages, including 26 figure
In Vivo Monitoring of mRNA Movement in Drosophila Body Wall Muscle Cells Reveals the Presence of Myofiber Domains
Background: In skeletal muscle each muscle cell, commonly called myofiber, is actually a large syncytium containing numerous nuclei. Experiments in fixed myofibers show that mRNAs remain localized around the nuclei in which they are produced. Methodology/Principal Findings: In this study we generated transgenic flies that allowed us to investigate the movement of mRNAs in body wall myofibers of living Drosophila embryos. We determined the dynamic properties of GFP-tagged mRNAs using in vivo confocal imaging and photobleaching techniques and found that the GFP-tagged mRNAs are not free to move throughout myofibers. The restricted movement indicated that body wall myofibers consist of three domains. The exchange of mRNAs between the domains is relatively slow, but the GFP-tagged mRNAs move rapidly within these domains. One domain is located at the centre of the cell and is surrounded by nuclei while the other two domains are located at either end of the fiber. To move between these domains mRNAs have to travel past centrally located nuclei. Conclusions/Significance: These data suggest that the domains made visible in our experiments result from prolonged interactions with as yet undefined structures close to the nuclei that prevent GFP-tagged mRNAs from rapidly moving between the domains. This could be of significant importance for the treatment of myopathies using regenerative cellbase
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