Theory of multi-dimensional quantum capacitance and its application to spin and charge discrimination in quantum-dot arrays

Quantum states of a few-particle system capacitively coupled to a metal gate can be discriminated by measuring the quantum capacitance, which can be identified with the second derivative of the system energy with respect to the gate voltage. This approach is here generalized to the multi-voltage case, through the introduction of the quantum capacitance matrix. The matrix formalism allows us to determine the dependence of the quantum capacitance on the direction of the voltage oscillations in the parameter space, and to identify the optimal combination of gate voltages. As a representative example, this approach is applied to the case of a quantum-dot array, described in terms of a Hubbard model. Here, we first identify the potentially relevant regions in the multi-dimensional voltage space with the boundaries between charge stability regions, determined within a semiclassical approach. Then, we quantitatively characterize such boundaries by means of the quantum capacitance matrix. Altogether, this provides a procedure for optimizing the discrimination between states with different particle numbers and/or total spins.Comment: 11 pages + appendices, 6 figures. Revised versio

Changes in air CO2 concentration differentially alter transcript levels of NTAQP1 and NTPIP2;1 aquaporin genes in tobacco leaves

The aquaporin specific control on water versus carbon pathways in leaves is pivotal in controlling gas exchange and leaf hydraulics. We investigated whether Nicotiana tabacum aquaporin 1 (NtAQP1) and Nicotiana tabacum plasma membrane intrinsic protein 2;1 (NtPIP2;1) gene expression varies in tobacco leaves subjected to treatments with different CO2 concentrations (ranging from 0 to 800 ppm), inducing changes in photosynthesis, stomatal regulation and water evaporation from the leaf. Changes in air CO2 concentration ([CO2]) affected net photosynthesis (Pn) and leaf substomatal [CO2] (Ci). Pn was slightly negative at 0 ppm air CO2; it was one-third that of ambient controls at 200 ppm, and not different from controls at 800 ppm. Leaves fed with 800 ppm [CO2] showed one-third reduced stomatal conductance (gs) and transpiration (E), and their gs was in turn slightly lower than in 200 ppm– and in 0 ppm–treated leaves. The 800 ppm air [CO2] strongly impaired both NtAQP1 and NtPIP2;1 gene expression, whereas 0 ppm air [CO2], a concentration below any in vivo possible conditions and specifically chosen to maximize the gene expression alteration, increased only the NtAQP1 transcript level. We propose that NtAQP1 expression, an aquaporin devoted to CO2 transport, positively responds to CO2 scarcity in the air in the whole range 0–800 ppm. On the contrary, expression of NtPIP2;1, an aquaporin not devoted to CO2 transport, is related to water balance in the leaf, and changes in parallel with gs. These observations fit in a model where upregulation of leaf aquaporins is activated at low Ci, while downregulation occurs when high Ci saturates photosynthesis and causes stomatal closure

Image Analysis and Automatic Composition of Ceramic Mosaics

The automatic composition of ceramic mosaics by computer vision techniques is studied. In the proposed system, images are reproduced onto a ceramic mosaic based on image resolution, ceramic tile's dimensions, available colours. A camera takes images of ceramic tiles to be used and guides a robot to pick the correct tile and place it at the right position in the mosaic. Colour-based segmentation and colour calibration are needed to select and extract the correct tile according to the colour to be reproduced. The input image is quantized and dithered to find the best representation given the available tiles. Issues related with the interface with robotic system are addressed. [DOI: 10.1685 / CSC06103] About DO