844 research outputs found
Strong coupling of a qubit to shot noise
We perform a nonperturbative analysis of a charge qubit in a double quantum
dot structure coupled to its detector. We show that strong detector-dot
interaction tends to slow down and halt coherent oscillations. The transitions
to a classical and a low-temperature quantum overdamping (Zeno) regime are
studied. In the latter, the physics of the dissipative phase transition
competes with the effective shot noise.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Metastable Voltage States of Coupled Josephson Junctions
We investigate a chain of capacitively coupled Josephson junctions in the
regime where the charging energy dominates over the Josephson coupling,
exploiting the analogy between this system and a multi-dimensional crystal. We
find that the current-voltage characteristic of the current-driven chain has a
staircase shape, beginning with an (insulating) non-zero voltage plateau at
small currents. This behavior differs qualitatively from that of a single
junction, which should show Bloch oscillations with vanishing dc voltage. The
simplest system where this effect can be observed consists of three grains
connected by two junctions. The theory explains the results of recent
experiments on Josephson junction arrays.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures include
Geometrical spin dephasing in quantum dots
We study spin-orbit mediated relaxation and dephasing of electron spins in
quantum dots. We show that higher order contributions provide a relaxation
mechanism that dominates for low magnetic fields and is of geometrical origin.
In the low-field limit relaxation is dominated by coupling to electron-hole
excitations and possibly noise rather than phonons.Comment: Replaced with final published versio
Structure prediction based on ab initio simulated annealing for boron nitride
Possible crystalline modifications of chemical compounds at low temperatures
correspond to local minima of the energy landscape. Determining these minima
via simulated annealing is one method for the prediction of crystal structures,
where the number of atoms per unit cell is the only information used. It is
demonstrated that this method can be applied to covalent systems, at the
example of boron nitride, using ab initio energies in all stages of the
optimization, i.e. both during the global search and the subsequent local
optimization. Ten low lying structure candidates are presented, including both
layered structures and 3d-network structures such as the wurtzite and zinc
blende types, as well as a structure corresponding to the beta-BeO type
Nonequilibrium Kondo Effect in a Quantum Dot Coupled to Ferromagnetic Leads
We study the Kondo effect in the electron transport through a quantum dot
coupled to ferromagnetic leads, using a real-time diagrammatic technique which
provides a systematic description of the nonequilibrium dynamics of a system
with strong local electron correlations. We evaluate the theory in an extension
of the `resonant tunneling approximation', introduced earlier, by introducing
the self-energy of the off-diagonal component of the reduced propagator in spin
space. In this way we develop a charge and spin conserving approximation that
accounts not only for Kondo correlations but also for the spin splitting and
spin accumulation out of equilibrium. We show that the Kondo resonances, split
by the applied bias voltage, may be spin polarized. A left-right asymmetry in
the coupling strength and/or spin polarization of the electrodes significantly
affects both the spin accumulation and the weight of the split Kondo resonances
out of equilibrium. The effects are observable in the nonlinear differential
conductance. We also discuss the influence of decoherence on the Kondo
resonance in the frame of the real-time formulation.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figure
Tunnel junctions of unconventional superconductors
The phenomenology of Josephson tunnel junctions between unconventional
superconductors is developed further. In contrast to s-wave superconductors,
for d-wave superconductors the direction dependence of the tunnel matrix
elements that describe the barrier is relevant. We find the full I-V
characteristics and comment on the thermodynamical properties of these
junctions. They depend sensitively on the relative orientation of the
superconductors. The I-V characteristics differ from the normal s-wave RSJ-like
behavior.Comment: 4 pages, revtex, 4 (encapsulated postscript) figures (figures
replaced
Geometric phases in semiconductor spin qubits: Manipulations and decoherence
We describe the effect of geometric phases induced by either classical or
quantum electric fields acting on single electron spins in quantum dots in the
presence of spin-orbit coupling. On one hand, applied electric fields can be
used to control the geometric phases, which allows performing quantum coherent
spin manipulations without using high-frequency magnetic fields. On the other
hand, fluctuating fields induce random geometric phases that lead to spin
relaxation and dephasing, thus limiting the use of such spins as qubits. We
estimate the decay rates due to piezoelectric phonons and conduction electrons
in the circuit, both representing dominant electric noise sources with
characteristically differing power spectra.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures, published versio
Cotunneling at resonance for the single-electron transistor
We study electron transport through a small metallic island in the
perturbative regime. Using a recently developed diagrammatic technique, we
calculate the occupation of the island as well as the conductance through the
transistor in forth order in the tunneling matrix elements, a process referred
to as cotunneling. Our formulation does not require the introduction of a
cut-off. At resonance we find significant modifications of previous theories
and good agreement with recent experiments.Comment: 5 pages, Revtex, 5 eps-figure
Mycobacterium tuberculosis drug-resistance testing: challenges, recent developments and perspectives
Drug-resistance testing, or antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST), is mandatory for Mycobacterium tuberculosis in cases of failure on standard therapy. We reviewed the different methods and techniques of phenotypic and genotypic approaches. Although multiresistant and extensively drug-resistant (MDR/XDR) tuberculosis is present worldwide, AST for M. tuberculosis (AST-MTB) is still mainly performed according to the resources available rather than the drug-resistance rates. Phenotypic methods, i.e. culture-based AST, are commonly used in high-income countries to confirm susceptibility of new cases of tuberculosis. They are also used to detect resistance in tuberculosis cases with risk factors, in combination with genotypic tests. In low-income countries, genotypic methods screening hot-spot mutations known to confer resistance were found to be easier to perform because they avoid the culture and biosafety constraint. Given that genotypic tests can rapidly detect the prominent mechanisms of resistance, such as the rpoB mutation for rifampicin resistance, we are facing new challenges with the observation of false-resistance (mutations not conferring resistance) and false-susceptibility (mutations different from the common mechanism) results. Phenotypic and genotypic approaches are therefore complementary for obtaining a high sensitivity and specificity for detecting drug resistances and susceptibilities to accurately predict MDR/XDR cure and to gather relevant data for resistance surveillance. Although AST-MTB was established in the 1960s, there is no consensus reference method for MIC determination against which the numerous AST-MTB techniques can be compared. This information is necessary for assessing in vitro activity and setting breakpoints for future anti-tuberculosis agents
Mesoscopic quantum transport: Resonant tunneling in the presence of strong Coulomb interaction
Coulomb blockade phenomena and quantum fluctuations are studied in mesoscopic
metallic tunnel junctions with high charging energies. If the resistance of the
barriers is large compared to the quantum resistance, transport can be
described by sequential tunneling. Here we study the influence of quantum
fluctuations. They are important when the resistance is small or the
temperature very low. A real-time approach is developed which allows the
diagrammatic classification of ``inelastic resonant tunneling'' processes where
different electrons tunnel coherently back and forth between the leads and the
metallic island. With the help of a nonperturbative resummation technique we
evaluate the spectral density which describes the charge excitations of the
system. From it physical quantities of interest like current and average charge
can be deduced. Our main conclusions are: An energy renormalization leads to a
logarithmic temperature dependence of the renormalized system parameters. A
finite lifetime broadening can change the classical picture drastically. It
gives rise to a strong flattening of the Coulomb oscillations for low
resistances, but in the Coulomb blockade regime inelastic electron cotunneling
persists. The temperature where these effects are important are accessible in
experiments.Comment: 24 pages + 23 figures (available by fax or conventional mail, upon
request) tfp-1994-1
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