5,254 research outputs found
Continuous vortex pumping into a spinor condensate with magnetic fields
We study the mechanisms and the limits of pumping vorticity into a spinor
condensate through manipulations of magnetic (B-) fields. We discover a
fundamental connection between the geometrical properties of the magnetic
fields and the quantized circulation of magnetically trapped atoms, a result
which generalizes several recent experimental and theoretical studies. The
optimal procedures are devised that are capable of continuously increasing or
decreasing a condensate's vorticity by repeating certain two step B-field
manipulation protocols. We carry out detailed numerical simulations that
support the claim that our protocols are highly efficient, stable, and robust
against small imperfections of all types. Our protocols can be implemented
experimentally within current technologies.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
Superlattice barrier varactors
SBV (Single Barrier Varactor) diodes have been proposed as alternatives to Schottky barrier diodes for harmonic multiplier applications. However, these show a higher current than expected. The excess current is due to X valley transport in the barrier. We present experimental results showing that the use of a superlattice barrier and doping spikes in the GaAs depletion regions on either side of the barrier can reduce the excess current and improve the control of the capacitance vs. voltage characteristic. The experimental results consist of data taken from two types of device structures. The first test structure was used to study the performance of AlAs/GaAs superlattice barriers. The wafer was fabricated into 90 micron diameter mesa diodes and the resulting current vs. voltage characteristics were measured. A 10 period superlattice structure with a total thickness of approximately 400 A worked well as an electron barrier. The structure had a current density of about one A/sq cm at one volt at room temperature. The capacitance variation of these structures was small because of the design of the GaAs cladding layers. The second test structure was used to study cladding layer designs. These wafers were InGaAs and InAlAs layers lattice matched to an InP substrate. The layers have n(+) doping spikes near the barrier to increase the zero bias capacitance and control the shape of the capacitance vs. voltage characteristic. These structures have a capacitance ratio of 5:1 and an abrupt change from maximum to minimum capacitance. The measurements were made at 80 K. Based on the information obtained from these two structures, we have designed a structure that combines the low current density barrier with the improved cladding layers. The capacitance and current-voltage characteristics from this structure are presented
SU(2)-invariant spin-1/2 Hamiltonians with RVB and other valence bond phases
We construct a family of rotationally invariant, local, S=1/2 Klein
Hamiltonians on various lattices that exhibit ground state manifolds spanned by
nearest-neighbor valence bond states. We show that with selected perturbations
such models can be driven into phases modeled by well understood quantum dimer
models on the corresponding lattices. Specifically, we show that the
perturbation procedure is arbitrarily well controlled by a new parameter which
is the extent of decoration of the reference lattice. This strategy leads to
Hamiltonians that exhibit i) RVB phases in two dimensions, ii) U(1) RVB
phases with a gapless ``photon'' in three dimensions, and iii) a Cantor
deconfined region in two dimensions. We also construct two models on the
pyrochlore lattice, one model exhibiting a RVB phase and the other a U(1)
RVB phase.Comment: 16 pages, 15 figures; 1 figure and some references added; some minor
typos fixe
Supersymmetric Model of Spin-1/2 Fermions on a Chain
In recent work, N=2 supersymmetry has been proposed as a tool for the
analysis of itinerant, correlated fermions on a lattice. In this paper we
extend these considerations to the case of lattice fermions with spin 1/2 . We
introduce a model for correlated spin-1/2 fermions with a manifest N=4
supersymmetry, and analyze its properties. The supersymmetric ground states
that we find represent holes in an anti-ferromagnetic background.Comment: 15 pages, 10 eps figure
Selection shapes the landscape of functional variation in wild house mice.
BACKGROUND: Through human-aided dispersal over the last ~ 10,000 years, house mice (Mus musculus) have recently colonized diverse habitats across the globe, promoting the emergence of new traits that confer adaptive advantages in distinct environments. Despite their status as the premier mammalian model system, the impact of this demographic and selective history on the global patterning of disease-relevant trait variation in wild mouse populations is poorly understood.
RESULTS: Here, we leveraged 154 whole-genome sequences from diverse wild house mouse populations to survey the geographic organization of functional variation and systematically identify signals of positive selection. We show that a significant proportion of wild mouse variation is private to single populations, including numerous predicted functional alleles. In addition, we report strong signals of positive selection at many genes associated with both complex and Mendelian diseases in humans. Notably, we detect a significant excess of selection signals at disease-associated genes relative to null expectations, pointing to the important role of adaptation in shaping the landscape of functional variation in wild mouse populations. We also uncover strong signals of selection at multiple genes involved in starch digestion, including Mgam and Amy1. We speculate that the successful emergence of the human-mouse commensalism may have been facilitated, in part, by dietary adaptations at these loci. Finally, our work uncovers multiple cryptic structural variants that manifest as putative signals of positive selection, highlighting an important and under-appreciated source of false-positive signals in genome-wide selection scans.
CONCLUSIONS: Overall, our findings highlight the role of adaptation in shaping wild mouse genetic variation at human disease-associated genes. Our work also highlights the biomedical relevance of wild mouse genetic diversity and underscores the potential for targeted sampling of mice from specific populations as a strategy for developing effective new mouse models of both rare and common human diseases
Observation of Replica Symmetry Breaking in the 1D Anderson Localization Regime in an Erbium-Doped Random Fiber Laser
The analogue of the paramagnetic to spin-glass phase transition in disordered
magnetic systems, leading to the phenomenon of replica symmetry breaking, has
been recently demonstrated in a two-dimensional random laser consisting of an
organic-based amorphous solid-state thin film. We report here the first
demonstration of replica symmetry breaking in a one-dimensional photonic system
consisting of an erbium-doped random fiber laser operating in the
continuous-wave regime based on a unique random fiber grating system, which
plays the role of the random scatterers and operates in the Anderson
localization regime. The clear transition from a photonic paramagnetic to a
photonic spin glass phase, characterized by the probability distribution
function of the Parisi overlap, was verified and characterized. In this unique
system, the radiation field interacts only with the gain medium, and the fiber
grating, which provides the disordered feedback mechanism, does not interfere
with the pump
Population and subspecies diversity at mouse centromere satellites.
BACKGROUND: Mammalian centromeres are satellite-rich chromatin domains that execute conserved roles in kinetochore assembly and chromosome segregation. Centromere satellites evolve rapidly between species, but little is known about population-level diversity across these loci.
RESULTS: We developed a k-mer based method to quantify centromere copy number and sequence variation from whole genome sequencing data. We applied this method to diverse inbred and wild house mouse (Mus musculus) genomes to profile diversity across the core centromere (minor) satellite and the pericentromeric (major) satellite repeat. We show that minor satellite copy number varies more than 10-fold among inbred mouse strains, whereas major satellite copy numbers span a 3-fold range. In contrast to widely held assumptions about the homogeneity of mouse centromere repeats, we uncover marked satellite sequence heterogeneity within single genomes, with diversity levels across the minor satellite exceeding those at the major satellite. Analyses in wild-caught mice implicate subspecies and population origin as significant determinants of variation in satellite copy number and satellite heterogeneity. Intriguingly, we also find that wild-caught mice harbor dramatically reduced minor satellite copy number and elevated satellite sequence heterogeneity compared to inbred strains, suggesting that inbreeding may reshape centromere architecture in pronounced ways.
CONCLUSION: Taken together, our results highlight the power of k-mer based approaches for probing variation across repetitive regions, provide an initial portrait of centromere variation across Mus musculus, and lay the groundwork for future functional studies on the consequences of natural genetic variation at these essential chromatin domains
Biot-Savart correlations in layered superconductors
We discuss the superconductor to normal phase transition in an
infinite-layered type-II superconductor in the limit where the Josephson
coupling between layers is negligible. We model each layer as a neutral gas of
thermally excited pancake vortices. We assume the dominant interaction between
vortices in the same and in different layers is the electromagnetic interaction
between the screening currents induced by these vortices. Our main result,
obtained by exactly solving the leading order renormalization group flow, is
that the phase transition in this model is a Kosterlitz--Thouless transition
despite being a three--dimensional system. While the transition itself is
driven by the unbinding of two-dimensional pancake vortices, an RG analysis of
the low temperature phase and a mean-field theory of the high temperature phase
reveal that both phases possess three-dimensional correlations. An experimental
consequence of this is that the jump in the measured in-plane superfluid
stiffness, which is a universal quantity in 2d Kosterlitz-Thouless theory, will
receive a small non--universal correction (of order 1% in
BiSrCaCuO). This overall picture places some claims
expressed in the literature on a more secure analytical footing and also
resolves some conflicting views.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figures; minor typos corrected, references adde
Superfluid to solid crossover in a rotating Bose-Einstein condensed gas
The properties of a rotating Bose-Einstein condensate confined in a prolate
cylindrically symmetric trap are explored both analytically and numerically. As
the rotation frequency increases, an ever greater number of vortices are
energetically favored. Though the cloud anisotropy and moment of inertia
approach those of a classical fluid at high frequencies, the observed vortex
density is consistently lower than the solid-body estimate. Furthermore, the
vortices are found to arrange themselves in highly regular triangular arrays,
with little distortion even near the condensate surface. These results are
shown to be a direct consequence of the inhomogeneous confining potential.Comment: 4+e pages, 5 embedded figures, revte
A deformed QRPA formalism for single and two-neutrino double beta decay
We use a deformed QRPA formalism to describe simultaneously the energy
distributions of the single beta Gamow-Teller strength and the two-neutrino
double beta decay matrix elements. Calculations are performed in a series of
double beta decay partners with A = 48, 76, 82, 96, 100, 116, 128, 130, 136 and
150, using deformed Woods-Saxon potentials and deformed Skyrme Hartree-Fock
mean fields. The formalism includes a quasiparticle deformed basis and residual
spin-isospin forces in the particle-hole and particle-particle channels. We
discuss the sensitivity of the parent and daughter Gamow-Teller strength
distributions in single beta decay, as well as the sensitivity of the double
beta decay matrix elements to the deformed mean field and to the residual
interactions. Nuclear deformation is found to be a mechanism of suppression of
the two-neutrino double beta decay. The double beta decay matrix elements are
found to have maximum values for about equal deformations of parent and
daughter nuclei. They decrease rapidly when differences in deformations
increase. We remark the importance of a proper simultaneous description of both
double beta decay and single Gamow-Teller strength distributions. Finally, we
conclude that for further progress in the field it would be useful to improve
and complete the experimental information on the studied Gamow-Teller strengths
and nuclear deformations.Comment: 33 pages, 19 figures. To be published in Phys. Rev.
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