Pairing of Cooper pairs in a Josephson junction network containing an impurity

We show how to induce pairing of Cooper pairs (and, thus, $4e$ superconductivity) as a result of local embedding of a quantum impurity in a Josephson network fabricable with conventional junctions. We find that a boundary double Sine-Gordon model provides an accurate description of the dc Josephson current patterns, as well as of the stable phases accessible to the network. We point out that tunneling of pairs of Cooper pairs is robust against quantum fluctuations, as a consequence of the time reversal invariance, arising when the central region of the network is pierced by a dimensionless magnetic flux $\phi = \pi$. We find that, for $\phi = \pi$, a stable attractive finite coupling fixed point emerges and point out its relevance for engineering a two level quantum system with enhanced coherence.Comment: 5 Pages, 5 Figures. Small modifications, ref.[11] added. To appear in EP

Low Energy Properties of the (n,n) Carbon Nanotubes

According to band theory, an ideal undoped (n,n) carbon nanotube is metallic. We show that the electron-electron interaction causes it to become Mott insulating with a spin gap. More interestingly, upon doping it develops superconducting fluctuations.Comment: 5pages, 2eps figures, one reference added, final version, accepted to PR

Impacting student anxiety for the USMLE Step 1 through process-oriented preparation

Background: Standardized examinations are the key components of medical education. The USMLE Step 1 is the first of these important milestones. Success on this examination requires both content competency and efficient strategies for study and review. Students employ a wide variety of techniques in studying for this examination, with heavy reliance on personal study habits and advice from other students. Nevertheless, few medical curricula formally address these strategies. Methods: In response to student-generated critique at our institution, a five-part seminar series on process-oriented preparation was developed and implemented to address such concerns. The series focused on early guidance and preparation strategies for Step 1 and the many other important challenges in medical school. Emphasis was placed on facilitating conversation and mentorship opportunities between students. Results & Conclusions: A profoundly positive experience was reported by our medical students that included a decreased anxiety level for the Step 1 examination

Unified analysis of terminal-time control in classical and quantum systems

Many phenomena in physics, chemistry, and biology involve seeking an optimal control to maximize an objective for a classical or quantum system which is open and interacting with its environment. The complexity of finding an optimal control for maximizing an objective is strongly affected by the possible existence of sub-optimal maxima. Within a unified framework under specified conditions, control objectives for maximizing at a terminal time physical observables of open classical and quantum systems are shown to be inherently free of sub-optimal maxima. This attractive feature is of central importance for enabling the discovery of controls in a seamless fashion in a wide range of phenomena transcending the quantum and classical regimes.Comment: 10 page

Surface impedance anisotropy of YBa2_2Cu3_3O6.95_{6.95} single crystals: electrodynamic basis of the measurements

An electrodynamic technique is developed for determining the components of surface impedance and complex conductivity tensors of HTSC single crystals on the basis of measured quantities of a quality factor and a resonator frequency shift. A simple formula is obtained for a geometrical factor of a crystal in the form of a plate with dimensions $b\gg a>c$ in a microwave magnetic field ${\bf H_{\omega}}\perp ab$. To obtain the c-axis complex conductivity from measurements at ${\bf H_{\omega}}\parallel ab$ we propose a procedure which takes account of sample size effects. With the aid of the technique involved temperature dependences of all impedance and conductivity tensors components of YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6.95}$ single crystal, grown in BaZrO$_3$ crucible, are determined at a frequency of $f=9.4$ GHz in its normal and superconducting states. All of them proved to be linear at $T<T_c/2$, and their extrapolation to zero temperature gives the values of residual surface resistance $R_{ab}(0)\approx 40$ $\mu\Omega$ and $R_c(0)\approx 0.8$ m$\Omega$ and magnetic field penetration depth $\lambda_{ab}(0)\approx 150$ nm and $\lambda_c(0)\approx 1.55$ $\mu$m.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures. Submitted to Phys.Rev.B 05Jun2002; accepted for publication 21Febr200

The Central Velocity Field in NGC 253 : Possible Indication of a Bar

We have investigated whether motion of gas in a bar-like potential can account for the peculiar but systematic velocity field observed in the nuclear region of the starburst galaxy NGC 253. This unusual velocity field with gradients along both major and minor axes was revealed in a high resolution (1.8^{\arcsec}\times 1.0^{\arcsec}) H92$\alpha$ recombination line observation by Anantharamiah and Goss (1996). A simple logarithmic potential is used to model the bar. Assuming that the bulk of the gas flows along closed and non-intersecting x1 (bar) and x2 (anti-bar) orbits of the bar potential, we have computed the expected velocity field and position-velocity diagrams and compared them with the observations. A comparison of the integrated CO intensity maps with the spatial distribution of the x1 and x2 orbits in the model indicates that the nuclear molecular gas in NGC 253 lies mainly on the x2 orbits. We also find that the velocity field observed in the central 100 pc region in the H92$\alpha$ recombination line is well accounted for by the bar model if most of the ionized gas resides in the inner x2 orbits. However, the model is unable to explain the velocity field on a larger scale of $\sim 500$ pc observed using the OVRO interferometer with a resolution of 5^{\arcsec}\times 3^{\arcsec}. The direction of the observed CO velocity field appears twisted compared to the model. We suggest that this perturbation in the velocity field may be due to an accretion event that could have occurred $10^7$ years ago.Comment: 26 latex pages, 7 figures, accepted in Astrophysical Journa

Quasiparticle Band Structure and Density Functional Theory: Single-Particle Excitations and Band Gaps in Lattice Models

We compare the quasiparticle band structure for a model insulator obtained from the fluctuation exchange approximation (FEA) with the eigenvalues of the corresponding density functional theory (DFT) and local density approximation (LDA). The discontinuity in the exchange-correlation potential for this model is small and the FEA and DFT band structures are in good agreement. In contrast to conventional wisdom, the LDA for this model overestimates the size of the band gap. We argue that this is a consequence of an FEA self-energy that is strongly frequency dependent, but essentially local.Comment: 8 pages, and 5 figure

Randomized controlled trial of a good practice approach to treatment of childhood obesity in Malaysia: Malaysian childhood obesity treatment trial (MASCOT)

Context. Few randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of interventions for the treatment of childhood obesity have taken place outside the Western world. Aim. To test whether a good practice intervention for the treatment of childhood obesity would have a greater impact on weight status and other outcomes than a control condition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Methods. Assessor-blinded RCT of a treatment intervention in 107 obese 7- to 11-year olds. The intervention was relatively low intensity (8 hours contact over 26 weeks, group based), aiming to change child sedentary behavior, physical activity, and diet using behavior change counselling. Outcomes were measured at baseline and six months after the start of the intervention. Primary outcome was BMI z-score, other outcomes were weight change, health-related quality of life (Peds QL), objectively measured physical activity and sedentary behavior (Actigraph accelerometry over 5 days). Results. The intervention had no significant effect on BMI z score relative to control. Weight gain was reduced significantly in the intervention group compared to the control group (+1.5 kg vs. +3.5 kg, respectively, t-test p &lt; 0.01). Changes in health-related quality of life and objectively measured physical activity and sedentary behavior favored the intervention group. Conclusions. Treatment was associated with reduced rate of weight gain, and improvements in physical activity and quality of life. More substantial benefits may require longer term and more intensive interventions which aim for more substantive lifestyle changes

On the Application of the Non Linear Sigma Model to Spin Chains and Spin Ladders

We review the non linear sigma model approach (NLSM) to spin chains and spin ladders, presenting new results. The generalization of the Haldane's map to ladders in the Hamiltonian approach, give rise to different values of the $\theta$ parameter depending on the spin S, the number of legs $n_{\ell}$ and the choice of blocks needed to built up the NLSM fields. For rectangular blocks we obtain $\theta = 0$ or $2 \pi S$ depending on wether $n_{\ell}$, is even or odd, while for diagonal blocks we obtain $\theta = 2 \pi S n_{\ell}$. Both results agree modulo $2 \pi$, and yield the same prediction, namely that even ( resp. odd) ladders are gapped (resp. gapless). For even legged ladders we show that the spin gap collapses exponentially with $n_{\ell}$ and we propose a finite size correction to the gap formula recently derived by Chakravarty using the 2+1 NSLM, which gives a good fit of numerical results. We show the existence of a Haldane phase in the two legged ladder using diagonal blocks and finally we consider the phase diagram of dimerized ladders.Comment: 25 pages, Latex, 7 figures in postscript files, Proc. of the 1996 El Escorial Summer School on "Strongly Correlated Magnetic and Superconducting Systems". Some more references are adde

Fragility of the Free-Energy Landscape of a Directed Polymer in Random Media

We examine the sensitiveness of the free-energy landscape of a directed polymer in random media with respect to various kinds of infinitesimally weak perturbation including the intriguing case of temperature-chaos. To this end, we combine the replica Bethe ansatz approach outlined in cond-mat/0112384, the mapping to a modified Sinai model and numerically exact calculations by the transfer-matrix method. Our results imply that for all the perturbations under study there is a slow crossover from a weakly perturbed regime where rare events take place to a strongly perturbed regime at larger length scales beyond the so called overlap length where typical events take place leading to chaos, i.e. a complete reshuffling of the free-energy landscape. Within the replica space, the evidence for chaos is found in the factorization of the replicated partition function induced by infinitesimal perturbations. This is the reflex of explicit replica symmetry breaking.Comment: 29 pages, Revtex4, ps figure