Probing individual split Cooper-pairs using the spin qubit toolkit

A superconductor is a natural source of spin-entangled spatially separated electron pairs. Although the first Cooper-pair splitter devices have been realized recently, an experimental confirmation of the spin state and the entanglement of the emitted electron pairs is lacking up to now. In this paper a method is proposed to confirm the spin-singlet character of individual split Cooper pairs. Two quantum dots (QDs), each of them holding one spin-prepared electron, serve as the detector of the spin state of a single Cooper pair that is forced to split when it tunnels out from the superconductor to the QDs. The number of charges on the QDs, measured at the end of the procedure, carries information on the spin state of the extracted Cooper pair. The method relies on the experimentally established toolkit of QD-based spin qubits: resonant spin manipulation, Pauli blockade, and charge measurement.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figure

Weltauflösungen

Nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg zeichnet sich eine Krise der Erzählwelt in der deutschen und französischen Literatur ab. Erzähltexte, denen man Weltschöpfung zuschreibt, lösen nun Welten auf. Sie reagieren damit implizit auf ein wissenschaftliches Interesse an der Neuzeit, wie sie nach 1945 verhandelt wird. Daneben stellen instabile Erzählwelten eine Herausforderung für die heutige Methodologie der Erzählforschung dar. Zwischen Wissenspoetologie und narratologischer Weltentheorie changierend, unternimmt die Arbeit den Versuch, Erzähltexte von Gottfried Benn, Arno Schmidt, Wolfgang Hildesheimer, Peter Weiss, Samuel Beckett, Alain Robbe-Grillet und Maurice Blanchot neu zu lesen. Ihre Texte werden so zum Ausgangspunkt einer Revision der Theorie erzählter Welten

Observation of spin-orbit coupling induced Weyl points and topologically protected Kondo effect in a two-electron double quantum dot

Recent years have brought an explosion of activities in the research of topological aspects of condensed-matter systems. Topologically non-trivial phases of matter are typically accompanied by protected surface states or exotic degenerate excitations such as Majorana end states or Haldane's localized spinons. Topologically protected degeneracies can, however, also appear in the bulk. An intriguing example is provided by Weyl semimetals, where topologically protected electronic band degeneracies and exotic surface states emerge even in the absence of interactions. Here we demonstrate experimentally and theoretically that Weyl degeneracies appear naturally in an interacting quantum dot system, for specific values of the external magnetic field. These magnetic Weyl points are robust against spin-orbit coupling unavoidably present in most quantum dot devices. Our transport experiments through an InAs double dot device placed in magnetic field reveal the presence of a pair of Weyl points, exhibiting a robust ground state degeneracy and a corresponding protected Kondo effect.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures. Supplementary Information can be downloaded as an ancillary pdf fil

Strong nonlocal tuning of the current-phase relation of a quantum dot based Andreev molecule

Multiple systems hosting Andreev molecular states have been proposed and studied, consisting of closely spaced Josephson junctions modeled as ballistic channels. We show that replacing the ballistic channels in the weak link of the Josephson junctions with quantum dots (QD), leads to a very exciting, rich phase diagram. It shows a strong nonlocal Josephson effect: as one junction is tuned the current-phase relation of the other junction is modified. This architecture hosts $0 - \pi$ transitions and shows a tunable anomalous phase-shift $\phi_0$ , nonlocally controlled in both cases, without relying on spin-orbit interaction or Zeeman fields. In addition significant superconducting diode effect can also be observed. The presented non-local current-phase relation can be used as a signature of the formation of an Andreev molecular state, as well as to introduce new ways to tune quantum architectures

Colocalization of endogenous TNF with a functional intracellular splice form of human TNF receptor type 2

BACKGROUND: Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is a pleiotropic cytokine involved in a broad spectrum of inflammatory and immune responses including proliferation, differentiation, and cell death. The biological effects of TNF are mediated via two cell surface TNF receptors: p55TNFR (TNFR1; CD120a) and p75TNFR (TNFR2; CD120b). Soluble forms of these two receptors consisting of the extracellular domains are proteolytically cleaved from the membrane and act as inhibitors. A novel p75TNFR isoform generated by the use of an additional transcriptional start site has been described and was termed hicp75TNFR. We focused on the characterization of this new isoform as this protein may be involved in chronic inflammatory processes. METHODS: Cell lines were retroviraly transduced with hp75TNFR isoforms. Subcellular localization and colocalization studies with TNF were performed using fluorescence microscopy including exhaustive photon reassignment software, flow cytometry, and receptosome isolation by magnetic means. Biochemical properties of the hicp75TNFR were determined by affinity chromatography, ELISA, and western blot techniques. RESULTS: We describe the localization and activation of a differentially spliced and mainly intracellularly expressed isoform of human p75TNFR, termed hicp75TNFR. Expression studies with hicp75TNFR cDNA in different cell types showed the resulting protein mostly retained in the trans-Golgi network and in endosomes and colocalizes with endogenous TNF. Surface expressed hicp75TNFR behaves like hp75TNFR demonstrating susceptibility for TACE-induced shedding and NFκB activation after TNF binding. CONCLUSION: Our data demonstrate that intracellular hicp75TNFR is not accessible for exogenously provided TNF but colocalizes with endogenously produced TNF. These findings suggest a possible intracellular activation mechanism of hicp75TNFR by endogenous TNF. Subsequent NFκB activation might induce anti-apoptotic mechanisms to protect TNF-producing cells from cytotoxic effects of TNF. In addition, the intracellular and not TACE-accessible splice form of the hp75TNFR could serve as a pool of preformed, functional hp75TNFR

Primary structure and functional expression of a cyclic nucleotidegated channel from rabbit aorta

Sequences specific for cyclic nucleotide-gated channels (CNG channels) have been amplified by PCR from cDNA of heart, aorta, sinoatrial node, cerebellum, C-cells and kidney. The complete amino acid sequence of a CNG channel from rabbit aorta has been deduced by cloning and sequence analysis of the cDNA. Synthetic RNA derived from this cDNA induces the formation of a functional CNG channel in Xenopus oocytes