4,009 research outputs found
Quasiclassical analysis of Bloch oscillations in non-Hermitian tight-binding lattices
Many features of Bloch oscillations in one-dimensional quantum lattices with
a static force can be described by quasiclassical considerations for example by
means of the acceleration theorem, at least for Hermitian systems. Here the
quasiclassical approach is extended to non-Hermitian lattices, which are of
increasing interest. The analysis is based on a generalised non-Hermitian phase
space dynamics developed recently. Applications to a single-band tight-binding
system demonstrate that many features of the quantum dynamics can be understood
from this classical description qualitatively and even quantitatively. Two
non-Hermitian and -symmetric examples are studied, a Hatano-Nelson lattice
with real coupling constants and a system with purely imaginary couplings, both
for initially localised states in space or in momentum. It is shown that the
time-evolution of the norm of the wave packet and the expectation values of
position and momentum can be described in a classical picture.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, typos corrected, slightly extended, accepted for
publication in New Journal of Physics in Focus Issue on Parity-Time Symmetry
in Optics and Photonic
Soft X--Ray Properties of Seyfert Galaxies in the Rosat All--Sky Survey
We present the results of ROSAT All-Sky Survey observations of Seyfert and
IR-luminous galaxies from the Extended 12 Micron Galaxy Sample and the
optically-selected CfA Sample. Roughly half of the Seyferts (mostly Seyfert 1s)
have been fitted to an absorbed power-law model, yielding an average gamma of
2.26+-0.11 for 43 Seyfert 1s and 2.45+-0.18 for 10 Seyfert 2s, with both types
having a median value of 2.3.
The soft X-ray (SXR) luminosity correlates with the 12um luminosity, with
Seyfert 1s having relatively more SXR emission than Seyfert 2s of similar
mid-infrared luminosities, by a factor of 1.6+-0.3. Several physical
interpretations of these results are discussed, including the standard unified
model for Seyfert galaxies. Infrared-luminous non-Seyferts are shown to have
similar distributions of SXR luminosity and X-ray-to-IR slope as Seyfert 2s,
suggesting that some of them may harbor obscured active nuclei (as has already
been shown to be true for several objects) and/or that the soft X-rays from
some Seyferts 2s may be non-nuclear.
A SXR luminosity function (XLF) is calculated for the 12um sample, which is
well described by a single power-law with a slope of -1.75. The normalization
of this XLF agrees well with that of a HXR selected sample. Several of our
results, related to the XLF and the X-ray-to-IR relation are shown to be
consistent with the HXR observations of the 12um sample by Barcons et al.Comment: AASTeX, 40 pages. Text and Table 2 only. PostScript versions of this
file, figures, and Table 1, and a latex version of Table 1 are available by
ftp://ftp.astro.ucla.edu/pub/rush/papers, get rmfv*. Accepted by ApJ ~1996
May 10. Should be published in late 199
Glutathione-Mediated Neuroprotection Against Methylmercury Neurotoxicity in Cortical Culture is Dependent on MRP1
Methylmercury (MeHg) exposure at high concentrations poses significant neurotoxic threat to humans worldwide. The present study investigated the mechanisms of glutathione-mediated attenuation of MeHg neurotoxicity in primary cortical culture. MeHg (5 μM) caused depletion of mono- and disulfide glutathione in neuronal, glial and mixed cultures. Supplementation with exogenous glutathione, specifically glutathione monoethyl ester (GSHME) protected against the MeHg induced neuronal death. MeHg caused increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation measured by dichlorodihydrofluorescein (DCF) fluorescence with an early increase at 30 min and a late increase at 6 h. This oxidative stress was prevented by the presence of either GSHME or the free radical scavenger, trolox. While trolox was capable of quenching the ROS, it showed no neuroprotection. Exposure to MeHg at subtoxic concentrations (3 μM) caused an increase in system xc− mediated 14C-cystine uptake that was blocked by the protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide (CHX). Interestingly, blockade of the early ROS burst prevented the functional upregulation of system xc−. Inhibition of multidrug resistance protein-1 (MRP1) potentiated MeHg neurotoxicity and increased cellular MeHg. Taken together, these data suggest glutathione offers neuroprotection against MeHg toxicity in a manner dependent on MRP1-mediated efflux
Grain-refining heat treatments to improve cryogenic toughness of high-strength steels
The development of two high Reynolds number wind tunnels at NASA Langley Research Center which operate at cryogenic temperatures with high dynamic pressures has imposed severe requirements on materials for model construction. Existing commercial high strength steels lack sufficient toughness to permit their safe use at temperatures approaching that of liquid nitrogen (-320 F). Therefore, a program to improve the cryogenic toughness of commercial high strength steels was conducted. Significant improvement in the cryogenic toughness of commercial high strength martensitic and maraging steels was demonstrated through the use of grain refining heat treatments. Charpy impact strength at -320 F was increased by 50 to 180 percent for the various alloys without significant loss in tensile strength. The grain sizes of the 9 percent Ni-Co alloys and 200 grade maraging steels were reduced to 1/10 of the original size or smaller, with the added benefit of improved machinability. This grain refining technique should permit these alloys with ultimate strengths of 220 to 270 ksi to receive consideration for cryogenic service
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