268 research outputs found
On Compound Poisson Processes Arising in Change-Point Type Statistical Models as Limiting Likelihood Ratios
Different change-point type models encountered in statistical inference for
stochastic processes give rise to different limiting likelihood ratio
processes. In a previous paper of one of the authors it was established that
one of these likelihood ratios, which is an exponential functional of a
two-sided Poisson process driven by some parameter, can be approximated (for
sufficiently small values of the parameter) by another one, which is an
exponential functional of a two-sided Brownian motion. In this paper we
consider yet another likelihood ratio, which is the exponent of a two-sided
compound Poisson process driven by some parameter. We establish, that similarly
to the Poisson type one, the compound Poisson type likelihood ratio can be
approximated by the Brownian type one for sufficiently small values of the
parameter. We equally discuss the asymptotics for large values of the parameter
and illustrate the results by numerical simulations
Mesoscopic spin confinement during acoustically induced transport
Long coherence lifetimes of electron spins transported using moving potential
dots are shown to result from the mesoscopic confinement of the spin vector.
The confinement dimensions required for spin control are governed by the
characteristic spin-orbit length of the electron spins, which must be larger
than the dimensions of the dot potential. We show that the coherence lifetime
of the electron spins is independent of the local carrier densities within each
potential dot and that the precession frequency, which is determined by the
Dresselhaus contribution to the spin-orbit coupling, can be modified by varying
the sample dimensions resulting in predictable changes in the spin-orbit length
and, consequently, in the spin coherence lifetime.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure
Allowed and forbidden transitions in artificial hydrogen and helium atoms
The strength of radiative transitions in atoms is governed by selection
rules. Spectroscopic studies of allowed transitions in hydrogen and helium
provided crucial evidence for the Bohr's model of an atom. Forbidden
transitions, which are actually allowed by higher-order processes or other
mechanisms, indicate how well the quantum numbers describe the system. We apply
these tests to the quantum states in semiconductor quantum dots (QDs), which
are regarded as artificial atoms. Electrons in a QD occupy quantized states in
the same manner as electrons in real atoms. However, unlike real atoms, the
confinement potential of the QD is anisotropic, and the electrons can easily
couple with phonons of the material. Understanding the selection rules for such
QDs is an important issue for the manipulation of quantum states. Here we
investigate allowed and forbidden transitions for phonon emission in one- and
two-electron QDs (artificial hydrogen and helium atoms) by electrical
pump-and-probe experiments, and find that the total spin is an excellent
quantum number in artificial atoms. This is attractive for potential
applications to spin based information storage.Comment: slightly longer version of Nature 419, 278 (2002
Demonstration of conditional gate operation using superconducting charge qubits
Since the first demonstration of coherent control of a quantum state of a
superconducting charge qubit a variety of Josephson-junction-based qubits have
been implemented with remarkable progress in coherence time and read-out
schemes. Although the current level of this solid-state device is still not as
advanced as that of the most advanced microscopic-system-based qubits, these
developments, together with the potential scalability, have renewed its
position as a strong candidate as a building block for the quantum computer.
Recently, coherent oscillation and microwave spectroscopy in
capacitively-coupled superconducting qubits have been reported. The next
challenging step toward quantum computation is a realization of logic gates.
Here we demonstrate a conditional gate operation using a pair of coupled
superconducting charge qubits. Using a pulse technique, we prepare different
input states and show that they can be transformed by controlled-NOT (C-NOT)
gate operation in the amplitude of the states. Although the phase evolution
during the gate operation is still to be clarified, the present results are a
major step toward the realization of a universal solid-state quantum gate
Efficient spin filter using multi-terminal quantum dot with spin-orbit interaction
We propose a multi-terminal spin filter using a quantum dot with spin-orbit interaction. First, we formulate the spin Hall effect (SHE) in a quantum dot connected to three leads. We show that the SHE is significantly enhanced by the resonant tunneling if the level spacing in the quantum dot is smaller than the level broadening. We stress that the SHE is tunable by changing the tunnel coupling to the third lead. Next, we perform a numerical simulation for a multi-terminal spin filter using a quantum dot fabricated on semiconductor heterostructures. The spin filter shows an efficiency of more than 50% when the conditions for the enhanced SHE are satisfied
Familial hypercholesterolemia in St.-Petersburg: the known and novel mutations found in the low density lipoprotein receptor gene in Russia
BACKGROUND: Familial hypercholesterolemia is a human monogenic disease caused by population-specific mutations in the low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor gene. Despite thirteen different mutations of the LDL receptor gene were reported from Russia prior to 2003, the whole spectrum of disease-causing gene alterations in this country is poorly known and requires further investigation provided by the current study. METHODS: Forty-five patients with clinical diagnosis of FH were tested for the apolipoprotein B (apoB) mutation R3500Q by restriction fragment length analysis. After exclusion of R3500Q mutation high-sensitive fluorescent single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis and automatic DNA sequencing were used to search for mutations in the LDL receptor gene. RESULTS: We found twenty one rare sequence variations of the LDL receptor gene. Nineteen were probably pathogenic mutations, and two (P518P, T705I) were considered as neutral ones. Among the mutations likely to be pathogenic, eight were novel (c.670-671insG, C249X, c.936-940del5, c.1291-1331del41, W422X, c.1855-1856insA, D601N, C646S), and eleven (Q12X, IVS3+1G>A, c.651-653del3, E207X, c.925-931del7, C308Y, L380H, c.1302delG, IVS9+1G>A, V776M, V806I) have already been described in other populations. None of the patients had the R3500Q mutation in the apoB gene. CONCLUSIONS: Nineteen pathogenic mutations in the LDL receptor gene in 23 probands were identified. Two mutations c.925-931del7 and L380H are shared by St.-Petersburg population with neighbouring Finland and several other mutations with Norway, Sweden or Denmark, i.e. countries from the Baltic Sea region. Only four mutations (c.313+1G>A, c.651-653del3, C308Y and W422X) were recurrent as all those were found in two unrelated families. By this study the number of known mutations in the LDL receptor gene in St.-Petersburg area was increased nearly threefold. Analysis of all 34 low density lipoprotein receptor gene mutations found in St.-Petersburg argues against strong founder effect in Russian familial hypercholesterolemia
Chlorophylls, ligands and assembly of light-harvesting complexes in chloroplasts
Chlorophyll (Chl) b serves an essential function in accumulation of light-harvesting complexes (LHCs) in plants. In this article, this role of Chl b is explored by considering the properties of Chls and the ligands with which they interact in the complexes. The overall properties of the Chls, not only their spectral features, are altered as consequences of chemical modifications on the periphery of the molecules. Important modifications are introduction of oxygen atoms at specific locations and reduction or desaturation of sidechains. These modifications influence formation of coordination bonds by which the central Mg atom, the Lewis acid, of Chl molecules interacts with amino acid sidechains, as the Lewis base, in proteins. Chl a is a versatile Lewis acid and interacts principally with imidazole groups but also with sidechain amides and water. The 7-formyl group on Chl b withdraws electron density toward the periphery of the molecule and consequently the positive Mg is less shielded by the molecular electron cloud than in Chl a. Chl b thus tends to form electrostatic bonds with Lewis bases with a fixed dipole, such as water and, in particular, peptide backbone carbonyl groups. The coordination bonds are enhanced by H-bonds between the protein and the 7-formyl group. These additional strong interactions with Chl b are necessary to achieve assembly of stable LHCs
Development of Mo-containing scintillating bolometers for a high-sensitivity neutrinoless double-beta decay search
We report recent achievements in the development of scintillating bolometers to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of Mo. The presented results have been obtained in the framework of the LUMINEU, LUCIFER and EDELWEISS collaborations, and are now part of the R\&D activities towards CUPID (CUORE Update with Particle IDentification), a proposed next-generation double-beta decay experiment based on the CUORE experience. We have developed a technology for the production of large mass (1 kg), high optical quality, radiopure zinc and lithium molybdate crystal scintillators (ZnMoO and LiMoO, respectively) from deeply purified natural and Mo-enriched molybdenum. The procedure is applied for a routine production of enriched crystals. Furthermore, the technology of a single detector module consisting of a large-volume (~cm) ZnMoO and LiMoO scintillating bolometer has been established, demonstrating performance and radiopurity that are close to satisfy the demands of CUPID. In particular, the FWHM energy resolution of the detectors at 2615 keV --- near the -value of the double-beta transition of Mo (3034~keV) --- is 4--10~keV. The achieved rejection of -induced dominant background above 2.6~MeV is at the level of more than 99.9\%. The bulk activity of Th (Th) and Ra in the crystals is below 10 Bq/kg. Both crystallization and detector technologies favor LiMoO, which was selected as a main element for the realization of a CUPID demonstrator (CUPID-0/Mo) with 7 kg of Mo
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