Fermion zero modes at the boundary of superfluid 3He-B

Superfluid 3He-B belongs to the important special class of time-reversal invariant topological superfluids. It has Majorana fermions as edge states on the surface of bulk 3He-B. On the rough wall these fermion zero modes have finite density of states at E=0. It is possible that Lancaster experiments with a wire vibrating in 3He-B have already probed Majorana fermions living on the surface of the wire.Comment: 4 pages, no Figures, JETP Letters style, version to be published in JETP Letter

A CO2 Concentrating System in Leaves of Higher C3-Plants Predicted by a Model Based on RuBP Carboxylase/Oxygenase Kinetics and 14CO2/12CO2 Exchange

Mächler, F., Lehnherr, B., Schnyder, H. and Nösberger, J. 1985. A CO2 concentrating system in leaves of higher C3-plants predicted by a model based on RuBP carboxylase/oxygenase kinetics and 14CO2/12CO2 exchange.−J. exp. Bot. 36: 1542-1550. A model is presented which compares the ratio of the two activities of the enzyme nbulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase as determined in vitro with the ratio of photosynthesis to photorespiration in leaves as determined from differential 14CO2/12CO2 uptake or from CO2 compensation concentration. Discrepancies between measurements made in vitro and in vivo are attributed to the effect of a CO2 concentrating system in the leaf cells. Interference from dark respiration is discussed. A CO2 concentrating system is postulated which is efficient mainly at low temperature and low CO2 concentratio

Scanning reflectance spectroscopy (380-730nm): a novel method for quantitative high-resolution climate reconstructions from minerogenic lake sediments

High-resolution (annual to sub-decadal) quantitative reconstructions of climate variables are needed from a variety of paleoclimate archives across the world to place current climate change in the context of long-term natural climate variability. Rapid, high-resolution, non-destructive scanning techniques are required to produce such high-resolution records from lake sediments. In this study we explored the potential of scanning reflectance spectroscopy (VIS-RS; 380-730nm) to produce quantitative summer temperature reconstructions from minerogenic sediments of proglacial, annually laminated Lake Silvaplana, in the eastern Swiss Alps. The scanning resolution was 2mm, which corresponded to sediment deposition over 1-2years. We found correlations up to r=0.84 (p<0.05) for the calibration period 1864-1950, between six reflectance-dependent variables and summer (JJAS) temperature. These reflectance-dependent variables (e.g. slope of the reflectance 570/630nm, indicative of illite, biotite and chlorite; minimum reflectance at 690nm indicative of chlorite) indicate the mineralogical composition of the clastic sediments, which is, in turn, related to climate in the catchment of this particular proglacial lake. We used multiple linear regression (MLR) to establish a calibration model that explains 84% of the variance of summer (JJAS) temperature during the calibration period 1864-1950. We then applied the calibration model downcore to develop a quantitative summer temperature reconstruction extending back to AD 1177. This temperature reconstruction is in good agreement with two independent temperature reconstructions based on documentary data that extend back to AD 1500 and tree ring data that extend back to AD 1177. This study confirms the great potential of in situ scanning reflectance spectroscopy as a novel non-destructive technique to rapidly acquire high-resolution quantitative paleoclimate information from minerogenic lake sediment

Evolution of edge states in topological superfluids during the quantum phase transition

The quantum phase transition between topological and non-topological insulators or between fully gapped superfluids/superconductors can occur without closing the gap. We consider the evolution of the Majorana edge states on the surface of topological superconductor during transition to the topologically trivial superconductor on example of non-interacting Hamiltonian describing the spin-triplet superfluid 3He-B. In conventional situation when the gap is nullified at the transition, the spectrum of Majorana fermions shrinks and vanishes after the transition to the trivial state. If the topological transition occurs without the gap closing, the Majorana fermion spectrum disappears by escaping to ultraviolet, where Green's function approaches zero. This demonstrates the close connection between the topological transition without closing the gap and zeroes in the Green's function. Similar connection takes place in interacting systems where zeroes may occur due to interaction.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, JETP Letters style, version submitted to JETP Letter

Genome-wide association study for 13 udder traits from linear type classification in cattle

Udder conformation traits are known to correlate with the incidence of clinical mastitis and the length of productive life. The results of a genome-wide association study based on imputed high-density genotypes of 1,637 -Brown Swiss sires and de-regressed breeding values for 13 udder traits are presented here. For seven traits significant signals could be observed in five regions on BTA3, BTA5, BTA6, BTA17, and BTA25. For fore udder length and teats diameter significant SNPs were found in a known region around 90 Mb on BTA6. For the trait rear udder height significant SNPs are positioned in the coding region of the SNX29gene. Several significant SNPs around 62 Mb on BTA17 are associated with the traits rear udder width, frontteat placement and rear teat placement. The function of potential candidate genes and the influence of substructure will be addressed as next steps