635 research outputs found
Superconducting single-mode contact as a microwave-activated quantum interferometer
The dynamics of a superconducting quantum point contact biased at subgap
voltages is shown to be strongly affected by a microwave electromagnetic field.
Interference among a sequence of temporally localized, microwave-induced
Landau-Zener transitions between current carrying Andreev levels results in
energy absorption and in an increase of the subgap current by several orders of
magnitude. The contact is an interferometer in the sense that the current is an
oscillatory function of the inverse bias voltage. Possible applications to
Andreev-level spectroscopy and microwave detection are discussed
Electrical Manipulation of Nanomagnets
We demonstrate a possibility to manipulate the magnetic coupling between two
nanomagnets with a help of ac electric field. In the scheme suggested the
magnetic coupling in question is mediated by a magnetic particle contacting
with both of the nanomagnets through the tunnel barriers. The electric field
providing a successive suppression of the barriers leads to pumping of
magnetization through the mediating particle. Time dependent dynamics of the
particle magnetization allows to to switch between ferro- and antiferromagnetic
couplings.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
High-temperature excess current and quantum suppression of electronic backscattering in a 1-D system
We consider the electronic current through a one-dimensional conductor in the
ballistic transport regime and show that the quantum oscillations of a weakly
pinned single scattering target results in a temperature- and bias-voltage
independent excess current at large bias voltages. This is a genuine effect on
transport that derives from an exponential reduction of electronic
backscattering in the elastic channel due to quantum delocalization of the
scatterer and from suppression of low-energy electron backscattering in the
inelastic channels caused by the Pauli exclusion principle. We show that both
the mass of the target and the frequency of its quantum vibrations can be
measured by studying the differential conductance and the excess current. We
apply our analysis to the particular case of a weakly pinned C60 molecule
encapsulated by a single-wall carbon nanotube and find that the discussed
phenomena are experimentally observable.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Distinct submembrane localisation compartmentalises cardiac NPR1 and NPR2 signalling to cGMP
Natriuretic peptides (NPs) are important hormones that regulate multiple cellular functions including cardiovascular physiology. In the heart, two natriuretic peptide receptors NPR1 and NPR2 act as membrane guanylyl cyclases to produce 3′,5′-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP). Although both receptors protect from cardiac hypertrophy, their effects on contractility are markedly different, from little effect (NPR1) to pronounced negative inotropic and positive lusitropic responses (NPR2) with unclear underlying mechanisms. Here we use a scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM) approach combined with Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based cGMP biosensors to show that whereas NPR2 is uniformly localised on the cardiomyocyte membrane, functional NPR1 receptors are found exclusively in membrane invaginations called transverse (T)-tubules. This leads to far-reaching CNP/NPR2/cGMP signals, whereas ANP/NPR1/cGMP signals are highly confined to T-tubular microdomains by local pools of phosphodiesterase 2. This provides a previously unrecognised molecular basis for clearly distinct functional effects engaged by different cGMP producing membrane receptors
Two-level Hamiltonian of a superconducting quantum point contact
In a superconducting quantum point contact, dynamics of the superconducting
phase is coupled to the transitions between the subgap states. We compute this
coupling and derive the two-level Hamiltonian of the contact.Comment: REVTeX, 5 pages, reference adde
Shuttle Mechanism for Charge Transfer in Coulomb Blockade Nanostructures
Room-temperature Coulomb blockade of charge transport through composite
nanostructures containing organic inter-links has recently been observed. A
pronounced charging effect in combination with the softness of the molecular
links implies that charge transfer gives rise to a significant deformation of
these structures. For a simple model system containing one nanoscale metallic
cluster connected by molecular links to two bulk metallic electrodes we show
that self-excitation of periodic cluster oscillations in conjunction with
sequential processes of cluster charging and decharging appears for a
sufficiently large bias voltage. This new `electron shuttle' mechanism of
discrete charge transfer gives rise to a current through the nanostructure,
which is proportional to the cluster vibration frequency.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Small-Size Resonant Photoacoustic Cell of Inclined Geometry for Gas Detection
A photoacoustic cell intended for laser detection of trace gases is
represented. The cell is adapted so as to enhance the gas-detection performance
and, simultaneously, to reduce the cell size. The cell design provides an
efficient cancellation of the window background (a parasite response due to
absorption of laser beam in the cell windows) and acoustic isolation from the
environment for an acoustic resonance of the cell. The useful photoacoustic
response from a detected gas, window background and noise are analyzed in
demonstration experiments as functions of the modulation frequency for a
prototype cell with the internal volume ~ 0.5 cm^3. The minimal detectable
absorption for the prototype is estimated to be ~ 1.2 10^{-8} cm^{-1} W
Hz^{-1/2}.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure
Electronic spin working mechanically
A single-electron tunneling (SET) device with a nanoscale central island that
can move with respect to the bulk source- and drain electrodes allows for a
nanoelectromechanical (NEM) coupling between the electrical current through the
device and mechanical vibrations of the island. Although an electromechanical
"shuttle" instability and the associated phenomenon of single-electron
shuttling were predicted more than 15 years ago, both theoretical and
experimental studies of NEM-SET structures are still carried out. New
functionalities based on quantum coherence, Coulomb correlations and coherent
electron-spin dynamics are of particular current interest. In this article we
present a short review of recent activities in this area.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with
arXiv:1303.074
Electromechanical instability in suspended carbon nanotubes
We have theoretically investigated electromechanical properties of freely
suspended carbon nanotubes when a current is injected into the tubes using a
scanning tunneling microscope. We show that a shuttle-like electromechanical
instability can occur if the bias voltage exceeds a dissipation-dependent
threshold value. An instability results in large amplitude vibrations of the
carbon nanotube bending mode, which modify the current-voltage characteristics
of the system
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