7,093 research outputs found
Interpolating between the Bose-Einstein and the Fermi-Dirac distributions in odd dimensions
We consider the response of a uniformly accelerated monopole detector that is
coupled to a superposition of an odd and an even power of a quantized, massless
scalar field in flat spacetime in arbitrary dimensions. We show that, when the
field is assumed to be in the Minkowski vacuum, the response of the detector is
characterized by a Bose-Einstein factor in even spacetime dimensions, whereas a
Bose-Einstein as well as a Fermi-Dirac factor appear in the detector response
when the dimension of spacetime is odd. Moreover, we find that, it is possible
to interpolate between the Bose-Einstein and the Fermi-Dirac distributions in
odd spacetime dimensions by suitably adjusting the relative strengths of the
detector's coupling to the odd and the even powers of the scalar field. We
point out that the response of the detector is always thermal and we, finally,
close by stressing the apparent nature of the appearance of the Fermi-Dirac
factor in the detector response.Comment: RevTeX, 7 page
Running-phase state in a Josephson washboard potential
We investigate the dynamics of the phase variable of an ideal underdamped
Josephson junction in switching current experiments. These experiments have
provided the first evidence for macroscopic quantum tunneling in large
Josephson junctions and are currently used for state read-out of
superconducting qubits. We calculate the shape of the resulting macroscopic
wavepacket and find that the propagation of the wavepacket long enough after a
switching event leads to an average voltage increasing linearly with time.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Factorization, reduction and embedding in integrable cellular automata
Factorized dynamics in soliton cellular automata with quantum group symmetry
is identified with a motion of particles and anti-particles exhibiting pair
creation and annihilation. An embedding scheme is presented showing that the
D^{(1)}_n-automaton contains, as certain subsectors, the box-ball systems and
all the other automata associated with the crystal bases of non-exceptional
affine Lie algebras. The results extend the earlier ones to higher
representations by a certain reduction and to a wider class of boundary
conditions.Comment: LaTeX2e, 20 page
Field-Effect Transistor on SrTiO3 with sputtered Al2O3 Gate Insulator
A field-effect transistor that employs a perovskite-type SrTiO3 single
crystal as the semiconducting channel is revealed to function as n-type
accumulation-mode device with characteristics similar to that of organic FET's.
The device was fabricated at room temperature by sputter-deposition of
amorphous Al2O3 films as a gate insulator on the SrTiO3 substrate. The
field-effect(FE) mobility is 0.1cm2/Vs and on-off ratio exceeds 100 at room
temperature. The temperature dependence of the FE mobility down to 2K shows a
thermal-activation-type behavior with an activation energy of 0.6eV
Detection of weak-order phase transitions in ferromagnets by ac resistometry
It is shown that ac resistometry can serve as an effective tool for the
detection of phase transitions, such as spin reorientation or premartensitic
phase transitions, which generally are not disclosed by dc resistivity
measurement. Measurement of temperature dependence of impedance, , allows
one to unmask the anomaly, corresponding to a weak-order phase transition. The
appearance of such an anomaly is accounted for by a change in the effective
permeability of a sample upon the phase transition. Moreover, frequency
dependence of makes it possible to use the frequency of the applied ac
current as an adjusting parameter in order to make this anomaly more
pronounced. The applicability of this method is tested for the rare earth Gd
and Heusler alloy NiMnGa.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, to be published in J. Appl. Phys., v.94(5
Host and bacterial proteases influence biofilm formation and virulence in a murine model of enterococcal catheter-associated urinary tract infection
Urinary tract infections: targeting enzymes might help Identifying bacterial and host enzymes that support biofilm formation may help prevent urinary tract infections caused by catheters. Enterococcus faecalis bacteria is a leading cause of catheter-associated urinary tract infections, the most common type of hospital-acquired infections. Michael Caparon and colleagues at Washington University School of Medicine in Missouri, USA, studied these infections in mice. They examined the effects of two protein-degrading enzymes, both from the bacterium and one can be activated by urine trypsin-like protease from the animals. Mutations that impaired either one of the enzymes had no effect on the infection, but when both the bacterial enzymes were impaired by mutation the formation of biofilms was significantly reduced. Treating the mice with chemicals that inhibited both bacterial and host enzymes dramatically reduced catheter-induced inflammation and related problems. This suggests drugs targeting these enzymes could be useful in clinical care
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