Entanglement of Solitons in the Frenkel-Kontorova Model

We investigate entanglement of solitons in the continuum-limit of the nonlinear Frenkel-Kontorova chain. We find that the entanglement of solitons manifests particle-like behavior as they are characterized by localization of entanglement. The von-Neumann entropy of solitons mixes critical with noncritical behaviors. Inside the core of the soliton the logarithmic increase of the entropy is faster than the universal increase of a critical field, whereas outside the core the entropy decreases and saturates the constant value of the corresponding massive noncritical field. In addition, two solitons manifest long-range entanglement that decreases with the separation of the solitons more slowly than the universal decrease of the critical field. Interestingly, in the noncritical regime of the Frenkel-Kontorova model, entanglement can even increase with the separation of the solitons. We show that most of the entanglement of the so-called internal modes of the solitons is saturated by local degrees of freedom inside the core, and therefore we suggest using the internal modes as carriers of quantum information.Comment: 16 pages, 22 figure

Quantum coherence of discrete kink solitons in ion traps

We propose to realize quantized discrete kinks with cold trapped ions. We show that long-lived solitonlike configurations are manifested as deformations of the zigzag structure in the linear Paul trap, and are topologically protected in a circular trap with an odd number of ions. We study the quantum-mechanical time evolution of a high-frequency, gap separated internal mode of a static kink and find long coherence times when the system is cooled to the Doppler limit. The spectral properties of the internal modes make them ideally suited for manipulation using current technology. This suggests that ion traps can be used to test quantum-mechanical effects with solitons and explore ideas for the utilization of the solitonic internal-modes as carriers of quantum information.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures ; minor correction

Geographic variation in thermal and photoperiodic effects on development of zoophytophagous plant bug Nesidiocoris tenuis

Abstract The zoophytophagous plant bug Nesidiocoris tenuis (Reuter) is increasingly used for biological control of various agricultural pests. Its native range includes Southern Europe, North Africa, Southern and South-Eastern Asia, although only the Mediterranean strains have been studied experimentally. We investigated effects of temperature and photoperiod on nymphal survival and development, rate of female maturation and egg load in two strains of N. tenuis originating from temperate and subtropical regions of South-Eastern Asia: the 'Temperate strain' (from Suwon, Republic of Korea, yearly average air temperature is 13.3°C) and the 'Subtropical strain' (from Miyazaki, Japan, yearly average air temperature is 18.2°C). Nymphs and adults were reared on tomato leaflets and fed with eggs of the grain moth Sitotroga cerealella under four temperatures (15, 20, 25 and 30°C) and three photoperiods (10, 12 and 14 h of light per day). In spite of long-term (40-50 generations) rearing under constant laboratory conditions, the studied strains still show a correlation between thermotolerance indices and climate at origin. In particular, at the low temperature of 15°C, survival of nymphs of the Temperate strain was double that of the Subtropical strain, whereas at the higher tested temperatures, survival of the Subtropical strain was not significantly different or even was higher than that of the Temperate strain. The duration of nymphal development in the Temperate strain was significantly shorter than that in the Subtropical strain at 15-25°C, but not at 30°C. In both strains, nymphal survival, duration of nymphal development and rate of female maturation were not significantly dependent on photoperiod, and diapause was not observed under any conditions tested. We conclude that the Subtropical strain of N. tenuis is better adapted to high temperatures, whereas the Temperate strain is more promising for application in greenhouses at medium and low temperatures

Egg retention and dispersal activity in the parasitoid wasp, Trichogramma principium

Effects of egg retention on movement and dispersal activity of Trichogramma principium (Hymenoptera, Trichogrammatidae) females were investigated under laboratory conditions. Individual females were observed during one minute in the absence of hosts. Movement activity and dispersal rate were estimated by the length of the track and by the distance from the start point, respectively. Before the test, all wasps during 2 – 4 days were presented with a possibility to parasitize a factitious laboratory host, Sitotroga cerealella Oliv. (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae). Wasps that had parasitized before the test show significant reduction of spontaneous walking activity and dispersal rate when compared with females that refused to parasitize the non-preferred host (i.e. manifested egg retention). This effect cannot be considered as a direct arrestment reaction to the host because during the test period, no hosts were provided. Thus, egg retention results not only in temporal spread, but also in more intensive spatial dispersal of a group of simultaneously emerged females

The pseudogap in high-temperature superconductors: an experimental survey

We present an experimental review of the nature of the pseudogap in the cuprate superconductors. Evidence from various experimental techniques points to a common phenomenology. The pseudogap is seen in all high temperature superconductors and there is general agreement on the temperature and doping range where it exists. It is also becoming clear that the superconducting gap emerges from the normal state pseudogap. The d-wave nature of the order parameter holds for both the superconducting gap and the pseudogap. Although an extensive body of evidence is reviewed, a consensus on the origin of the pseudogap is as lacking as it is for the mechanism underlying high temperature superconductivity.Comment: review article, 54 pages, 50 figure

ОСОБЕННОСТИ ДЕФЕКТООБРАЗОВАНИЯ В ПРОЦЕССЕ ТЕРМООБРАБОТКИ БИЗДИСЛОКАЦИОННЫХ МОНОКРИСТАЛЛИЧЕСКИХ ПЛАСТИН КРЕМНИЯ БОЛЬШОГО ДИАМЕТРА С ЗАДАННЫМ РАСПРЕДЕЛЕНИЕМ В ОБЪЕМЕ КИСЛОРОДСОДЕРЖАЩИХ ГЕТТЕРИРУЮЩИХ ЦЕНТРОВ

For this purpose the opportunities of perfect layer formation during RTA have been analyzed in dislocation−free silicon wafers. The RTA application is based on an opportunity of effective influence on a distribution of oxygen precipitate density on wafer thickness by means of control of vacancies and interstitial atoms distributions. However the decision of this important task is connected with an oc-currence of large local wafer stresses concentrated near fastening supports and a significant bend of large diameter Si wafers. Therefore in this project the mathematical modeling of three−dimension strain state and defect formation in large diameter Si wafer were investigated: the various ways of wafer fastening were analyzed and the opportunities of stresses reduction in Si wafers were determined. For the description of RTA defect formation the mathematical model taking into account of diffusion−recombination processes of vacancies and interstitial Si atoms, and also formation of vacancy clusters have been applied. On the basis of this model the time thermal RTA parameters were determinated: heating mode, hold time at the maximal temperature and cooling rate of wafer. They provide a formation of required perfect layer near wafer surface contained the corresponding vacancy concentration and cluster density on wafer thickness. The calculated results have been verified by authors of this project on test samples investigated by Light Microscopy (LM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Detailed LM and TEM researches of microdefect distributions and morphology have been carried out for the experimental Si wafers subjected to various RTA modes and multistage heat treatment in Belarusian plant «Integral». Проанализированы возможности получения бездефектного слоя в пластинах бездислокационного монокристаллического кремния при быстром термическом отжиге (БТО). С помощью математического моделирования трехмерного напряженно−деформированного состояния и процессов дефектообразования в пластинах кремния большого диаметра при проведении БТО рассмотрены различные способы крепления пластин и определены возможности снижения напряженно−деформированного состояния пластины кремния.Для описания процессов дефек-тообразования при БТО предложена математическая модель, учитывающая диффузионно−рекомбинационные процессы вакансий и межузельных атомов кремния, а также образование вакансионных кластеров. На основе этой модели определены температурно−временны ′ е параметры процесса БТО (режим нагрева, время выдержки при максимальной температуре,скорость охлаждения пластины), соответствующие требуемому (обедненному у поверхности) профилю концентрации вакансий, плотности и размеру вакансионных кластеров по толщине пластины. Результаты расчетов верифицированы на тестовых образцах с помощью оптической и просвечивающей электронной микроскопии (ОМ и ПЭМ)

Diurnal Rhythms in Neurexins Transcripts and Inhibitory/Excitatory Synapse Scaffold Proteins in the Biological Clock

The neurexin genes (NRXN1/2/3) encode two families (α and β) of highly polymorphic presynaptic proteins that are involved in excitatory/inhibitory synaptic balance. Recent studies indicate that neuronal activation and memory formation affect NRXN1/2/3α expression and alternative splicing at splice sites 3 and 4 (SS#3/SS#4). Neurons in the biological clock residing in the suprachiasmatic nuclei of the hypothalamus (SCN) act as self-sustained oscillators, generating rhythms in gene expression and electrical activity, to entrain circadian bodily rhythms to the 24 hours day/night cycles. Cell autonomous oscillations in NRXN1/2/3α expression and SS#3/SS#4 exons splicing and their links to rhythms in excitatory/inhibitory synaptic balance in the circadian clock were explored. NRXN1/2/3α expression and SS#3/SS#4 splicing, levels of neurexin-2α and the synaptic scaffolding proteins PSD-95 and gephyrin (representing excitatory and inhibitory synapses, respectively) were studied in mRNA and protein extracts obtained from SCN of C3H/J mice at different times of the 24 hours day/night cycle. Further studies explored the circadian oscillations in these components and causality relationships in immortalized rat SCN2.2 cells. Diurnal rhythms in mNRXN1α and mNRXN2α transcription, SS#3/SS#4 exon-inclusion and PSD-95 gephyrin and neurexin-2α levels were found in the SCN in vivo. No such rhythms were found with mNRXN3α. SCN2.2 cells also exhibited autonomous circadian rhythms in rNRXN1/2 expression SS#3/SS#4 exon inclusion and PSD-95, gephyrin and neurexin-2α levels. rNRXN3α and rNRXN1/2β were not expressed. Causal relationships were demonstrated, by use of specific siRNAs, between rNRXN2α SS#3 exon included transcripts and gephyrin levels in the SCN2.2 cells. These results show for the first time dynamic, cell autonomous, diurnal rhythms in expression and splicing of NRXN1/2 and subsequent effects on the expression of neurexin-2α and postsynaptic scaffolding proteins in SCN across the 24-h cycle. NRXNs gene transcripts may have a role in coupling the circadian clock to diurnal rhythms in excitatory/inhibitory synaptic balance