Rebels on trial! The configuration of the enemy in the Comentarios of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca

En 1545, el segundo gobernador de la provincia del Río de la Plata, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, regresa a España engrillado y con catorce pliegos de acusaciones a sus espaldas. Tras un largo pleito, que acaba con la absolución del imputado, Cabeza de Vaca decide contar su versión de los hechos publicando sus Comentarios (1555). Este texto supone el punto final de su defensa, pero también un juicio público que vuelve las tornas y sienta en el banquillo de los acusados a sus enemigos capitales. En este artículo se analizará cómo se configura la imagen de los rebeldes desde una perspectiva que se presenta como única portadora de los valores civilizadores en aquellas lejanas tierras carentes de todo orden conocido.En 1545, el segundo gobernador de la provincia del Río de la Plata, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, regresa a España engrillado y con catorce pliegos de acusaciones a sus espaldas. Tras un largo pleito, que acaba con la absolución del imputado, Cabeza de Vaca decide contar su versión de los hechos publicando sus Comentarios (1555). Este texto supone el punto final de su defensa, pero también un juicio público que vuelve las tornas y sienta en el banquillo de los acusados a sus enemigos capitales. En este artículo se analizará cómo se configura la imagen de los rebeldes desde una perspectiva que se presenta como única portadora de los valores civilizadores en aquellas lejanas tierras carentes de todo orden conocido.In 1545, the second governor of the province of the Rio de la Plata, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, returns in shackles to Spain with fourteen sheets full of accusations. After a long litigation that finally ends with the absolution of the accused, Cabeza de Vaca decides to share his version publishing his Comentarios (1555). This text is the final point of his defense, but also a public process that turn the tables on his foremost enemies sending them to the bench of the accused. This paper will analyze how the rebels' image is set from the point of view that represents the only owner of civilizing powers in those far away lawless lands

Silicon-based spin and charge quantum computation

Silicon-based quantum-computer architectures have attracted attention because of their promise for scalability and their potential for synergetically utilizing the available resources associated with the existing Si technology infrastructure. Electronic and nuclear spins of shallow donors (e.g. phosphorus) in Si are ideal candidates for qubits in such proposals due to the relatively long spin coherence times. For these spin qubits, donor electron charge manipulation by external gates is a key ingredient for control and read-out of single-qubit operations, while shallow donor exchange gates are frequently invoked to perform two-qubit operations. More recently, charge qubits based on tunnel coupling in P$_2^+$ substitutional molecular ions in Si have also been proposed. We discuss the feasibility of the building blocks involved in shallow donor quantum computation in silicon, taking into account the peculiarities of silicon electronic structure, in particular the six degenerate states at the conduction band edge. We show that quantum interference among these states does not significantly affect operations involving a single donor, but leads to fast oscillations in electron exchange coupling and on tunnel-coupling strength when the donor pair relative position is changed on a lattice-parameter scale. These studies illustrate the considerable potential as well as the tremendous challenges posed by donor spin and charge as candidates for qubits in silicon.Comment: Review paper (invited) - to appear in Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Science

Single to Double Hump Transition in the Equilibrium Distribution Function of Relativistic Particles

We unveil a transition from single peaked to bimodal velocity distribution in a relativistic fluid under increasing temperature, in contrast with a non-relativistic gas, where only a monotonic broadening of the bell-shaped distribution is observed. Such transition results from the interplay between the raise in thermal energy and the constraint of maximum velocity imposed by the speed of light. We study the Bose-Einstein, the Fermi-Dirac, and the Maxwell-J\"uttner distributions, all exhibiting the same qualitative behavior. We characterize the nature of the transition in the framework of critical phenomena and show that it is either continuous or discontinuous, depending on the group velocity. We analyze the transition in one, two, and three dimensions, with special emphasis on two-dimensions, for which a possible experiment in graphene, based on the measurement of the Johnson-Nyquist noise, is proposed.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Anyons in a weakly interacting system

We describe a theoretical proposal for a system whose excitations are anyons with the exchange phase pi/4 and charge -e/2, but, remarkably, can be built by filling a set of single-particle states of essentially noninteracting electrons. The system consists of an artificially structured type-II superconducting film adjacent to a 2D electron gas in the integer quantum Hall regime with unit filling fraction. The proposal rests on the observation that a vacancy in an otherwise periodic vortex lattice in the superconductor creates a bound state in the 2DEG with total charge -e/2. A composite of this fractionally charged hole and the missing flux due to the vacancy behaves as an anyon. The proposed setup allows for manipulation of these anyons and could prove useful in various schemes for fault-tolerant topological quantum computation.Comment: 7 pages with 3 figures. For related work and info visit http://www.physics.ubc.ca/~fran

Collision energy dependence of state-to-state differential cross sections for rotationally inelastic scattering of H2O by He

The inelastic scattering of H2O by He as a function of collision energy in the range 381 cm−1 to 763 cm−1 at an energy interval of approximately 100 cm−1 has been investigated in a crossed beam experiment using velocity map imaging. Change in collision energy was achieved by varying the collision angle between the H2O and He beam. We measured the state-to-state differential cross section (DCS) of scattered H2O products for the final rotational states JKaKc = 110, 111, 221 and 414. Rotational excitation of H2O is probed by (2 + 1) resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) spectroscopy. DCS measurements over a wide range of collision energies allowed us to probe the H2O–He potential energy surface (PES) with greater detail than in previous work. We found that a classical approximation of rotational rainbows can predict the collision energy dependence of the DCS. Close-coupling quantum mechanical calculations were used to produce DCS and partial cross sections. The forward–backward ratio (FBR), is introduced here to compare the experimental and theoretical DCS. Both theory and experiments suggest that an increase in the collision energy is accompanied with more forward scattering

Application of Graphene within Optoelectronic Devices and Transistors

Scientists are always yearning for new and exciting ways to unlock graphene's true potential. However, recent reports suggest this two-dimensional material may harbor some unique properties, making it a viable candidate for use in optoelectronic and semiconducting devices. Whereas on one hand, graphene is highly transparent due to its atomic thickness, the material does exhibit a strong interaction with photons. This has clear advantages over existing materials used in photonic devices such as Indium-based compounds. Moreover, the material can be used to 'trap' light and alter the incident wavelength, forming the basis of the plasmonic devices. We also highlight upon graphene's nonlinear optical response to an applied electric field, and the phenomenon of saturable absorption. Within the context of logical devices, graphene has no discernible band-gap. Therefore, generating one will be of utmost importance. Amongst many others, some existing methods to open this band-gap include chemical doping, deformation of the honeycomb structure, or the use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). We shall also discuss various designs of transistors, including those which incorporate CNTs, and others which exploit the idea of quantum tunneling. A key advantage of the CNT transistor is that ballistic transport occurs throughout the CNT channel, with short channel effects being minimized. We shall also discuss recent developments of the graphene tunneling transistor, with emphasis being placed upon its operational mechanism. Finally, we provide perspective for incorporating graphene within high frequency devices, which do not require a pre-defined band-gap.Comment: Due to be published in "Current Topics in Applied Spectroscopy and the Science of Nanomaterials" - Springer (Fall 2014). (17 pages, 19 figures

Spin and valley quantum Hall ferromagnetism in graphene

In a graphene Landau level (LL), strong Coulomb interactions and the fourfold spin/valley degeneracy lead to an approximate SU(4) isospin symmetry. At partial filling, exchange interactions can spontaneously break this symmetry, manifesting as additional integer quantum Hall plateaus outside the normal sequence. Here we report the observation of a large number of these quantum Hall isospin ferromagnetic (QHIFM) states, which we classify according to their real spin structure using temperature-dependent tilted field magnetotransport. The large measured activation gaps confirm the Coulomb origin of the broken symmetry states, but the order is strongly dependent on LL index. In the high energy LLs, the Zeeman effect is the dominant aligning field, leading to real spin ferromagnets with Skyrmionic excitations at half filling, whereas in the `relativistic' zero energy LL, lattice scale anisotropies drive the system to a spin unpolarized state, likely a charge- or spin-density wave.Comment: Supplementary information available at http://pico.phys.columbia.ed

Simulation Methodology for Electron Transfer in CMOS Quantum Dots

The construction of quantum computer simulators requires advanced software which can capture the most significant characteristics of the quantum behavior and quantum states of qubits in such systems. Additionally, one needs to provide valid models for the description of the interface between classical circuitry and quantum core hardware. In this study, we model electron transport in semiconductor qubits based on an advanced CMOS technology. Starting from 3D simulations, we demonstrate an order reduction and the steps necessary to obtain ordinary differential equations on probability amplitudes in a multi-particle system. We compare numerical and semi-analytical techniques concluding this paper by examining two case studies: the electron transfer through multiple quantum dots and the construction of a Hadamard gate simulated using a numerical method to solve the time-dependent Schrodinger equation and the tight-binding formalism for a time-dependent Hamiltonian

The influence of different anticoagulants and sample preparation methods on measurement of mCD14 on bovine monocytes and polymorphonuclear neutrophil leukocytes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Membrane-CD14 (mCD14) is expressed on the surface of monocytes, macrophages and polymorphonuclear neutrophil leukocytes (PMN). mCD14 acts as a co-receptor along with Toll like receptor 4 (TLR 4) and MD-2 for the detection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). However, studies using different sample preparation methods and anticoagulants have reported different levels of mCD14 on the surface of monocytes and neutrophils. In this study, the influence of various anticoagulants and processing methods on measurement of mCD14 on monocytes and neutrophils was examined.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Whole blood samples were collected in vacutainer tubes containing either sodium heparin (HEPARIN), ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) or sodium citrate (CITRATE). mCD14 on neutrophils and monocytes in whole blood samples or isolated cells was measured by the method of flow cytometry using fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled monoclonal antibody. There was a significant difference (<it>p </it>< 0.05) in the mean channel fluorescence intensity (MFI) of mCD14 on neutrophils in whole blood samples anticoagulated with HEPARIN (MFI = 64.77) in comparison with those in whole blood samples anticoagulated with either EDTA (MFI = 38.25) or CITRATE (MFI = 43.7). The MFI of mCD14 on monocytes in whole blood samples anticoagulted with HEPARIN (MFI = 206.90) was significantly higher than the MFI in whole blood samples anticoagulated with EDTA (MFI = 149.37) but similar to that with CITRATE (MFI = 162.55). There was no significant difference in the percentage of whole blood neutrophils or monocytes expressing mCD14 irrespective of type of anticoagulant used. However, MFI of mCD14 on monocytes was about 3.2-folds (HEPARIN), 3.9-folds (EDTA) or 3.7 folds (CITRATE) higher than those on neutrophils. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in mCD14 levels between unprocessed whole blood monocytes and monocytes in peripheral blood mononuclear cell preparation. Conversely, a highly significant difference was observed in mCD14 between unprocessed whole blood neutrophils and isolated neutrophils (<it>p </it>< 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>From these results, it is suggested that sodium heparin should be the preferred anticoagulant for use in the reliable quantification of the surface expression of mCD14. Furthermore, measurement of mCD14 is best carried out in whole blood samples, both for neutrophils and monocytes.</p