6,996 research outputs found
Self-limited oxide formation in Ni(111) oxidation
The oxidation of the Ni(111) surface is studied experimentally with low
energy electron microscopy and theoretically by calculating the electron
reflectivity for realistic models of the NiO/Ni(111) surface with an ab-initio
scattering theory. Oxygen exposure at 300 K under ultrahigh-vacuum conditions
leads to the formation of a continuous NiO(111)-like film consisting of
nanosized domains. At 750 K, we observe the formation of a nano-heterogeneous
film composed primarily of NiO(111)-like surface oxide nuclei, which exhibit
virtually the same energy-dependent reflectivity as in the case of 300 K and
which are separated by oxygen-free Ni(111) terraces. The scattering theory
explains the observed normal incidence reflectivity R(E) of both the clean and
the oxidized Ni(111) surface. At low energies R(E) of the oxidized surface is
determined by a forbidden gap in the k_parallel=0 projected energy spectrum of
the bulk NiO crystal. However, for both low and high temperature oxidation a
rapid decrease of the reflectivity in approaching zero kinetic energy is
experimentally observed. This feature is shown to characterize the thickness of
the oxide layer, suggesting an average oxide thickness of two NiO layers.Comment: 10 pages (in journal format), 9 figure
Highly Sensitive Centrality Dependence of Elliptic Flow -- A Novel Signature of the Phase Transition in QCD
Elliptic flow of the hot, dense system which has been created in
nucleus-nucleus collisions develops as a response to the initial azimuthal
asymmetry of the reaction region. Here it is suggested that the magnitude of
this response shows a ``kinky'' dependence on the centrality of collisions for
which the system passes through a first-order or rapid transition between
quark-gluon plasma and hadronic matter. We have studied the system Pb(158AGeV)
on Pb employing a recent version of the transport theoretical approach RQMD and
find the conjecture confirmed. The novel phase transition signature may be
observable in present and forthcoming experiments at CERN-SPS and at RHIC, the
BNL collider.Comment: Version as published in PRL 82 (1999) 2048, title chang
Decoherence time in self-induced decoherence
A general method for obtaining the decoherence time in self-induced
decoherence is presented. In particular, it is shown that such a time can be
computed from the poles of the resolvent or of the initial conditions in the
complex extension of the Hamiltonian's spectrum. Several decoherence times are
estimated: for microscopic systems, and
for macroscopic bodies. For the particular case of a
thermal bath, our results agree with those obtained by the einselection
(environment-induced decoherence) approach.Comment: 11 page
Fermi's golden rule and exponential decay as a RG fixed point
We discuss the decay of unstable states into a quasicontinuum using models of
the effective Hamiltonian type. The goal is to show that exponential decay and
the golden rule are exact in a suitable scaling limit, and that there is an
associated renormalization group (RG) with these properties as a fixed point.
The method is inspired by a limit theorem for infinitely divisible
distributions in probability theory, where there is a RG with a Cauchy
distribution, i.e. a Lorentz line shape, as a fixed point. Our method of
solving for the spectrum is well known; it does not involve a perturbation
expansion in the interaction, and needs no assumption of a weak interaction. We
use random matrices for the interaction, and show that the ensemble
fluctuations vanish in the scaling limit. Thus the limit is the same for every
model in the ensemble with probability one.Comment: 20 pages, 1 figur
From Bloch model to the rate equations II: the case of almost degenerate energy levels
Bloch equations give a quantum description of the coupling between an atom
and a driving electric force. In this article, we address the asymptotics of
these equations for high frequency electric fields, in a weakly coupled regime.
We prove the convergence towards rate equations (i.e. linear Boltzmann
equations, describing the transitions between energy levels of the atom). We
give an explicit form for the transition rates. This has already been performed
in [BFCD03] in the case when the energy levels are fixed, and for different
classes of electric fields: quasi or almost periodic, KBM, or with continuous
spectrum. Here, we extend the study to the case when energy levels are possibly
almost degenerate. However, we need to restrict to quasiperiodic forcings. The
techniques used stem from manipulations on the density matrix and the averaging
theory for ordinary differential equations. Possibly perturbed small divisor
estimates play a key role in the analysis. In the case of a finite number of
energy levels, we also precisely analyze the initial time-layer in the rate
aquation, as well as the long-time convergence towards equilibrium. We give
hints and counterexamples in the infinite dimensional case
Mutations in the mitochondrial cysteinyl-tRNA synthase gene, CARS2, lead to a severe epileptic encephalopathy and complex movement disorder
Background: Mitochondrial disease is often suspected in cases of severe epileptic encephalopathy especially when a complex movement disorder, liver involvement and progressive developmental regression are present. Although mutations in either mitochondrial DNA or POLG are often present, other nuclear defects in mitochondrial DNA replication and protein translation have been associated with a severe epileptic encephalopathy.
Methods: and results We identified a proband with an epileptic encephalopathy, complex movement disorder and a combined mitochondrial respiratory chain enzyme deficiency. The child presented with neurological regression, complex movement disorder and intractable seizures. A combined deficiency of mitochondrial complexes I, III and IV was noted in liver tissue, along with increased mitochondrial DNA content in skeletal muscle. Incomplete assembly of complex V, using blue native polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic analysis and complex I, using western blotting, suggested a disorder of mitochondrial transcription or translation. Exome sequencing identified compound heterozygous mutations in CARS2, a mitochondrial aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase. Both mutations affect highly conserved amino acids located within the functional ligase domain of the cysteinyl-tRNA synthase. A specific decrease in the amount of charged mt-tRNACys was detected in patient fibroblasts compared with controls. Retroviral transfection of the wild-type CARS2 into patient skin fibroblasts led to the correction of the incomplete assembly of complex V, providing functional evidence for the role of CARS2 mutations in disease aetiology.
Conclusions: Our findings indicate that mutations in CARS2 result in a mitochondrial translational defect as seen in individuals with mitochondrial epileptic encephalopathy
Improved [<sup>18</sup>F]FDG PET/CT Diagnostic Accuracy for Infective Endocarditis Using Conventional Cardiac Gating or Combined Cardiac and Respiratory Motion Correction (CardioFreeze<sup>TM</sup>)
Infective endocarditis (IE) is a serious and diagnostically challenging condition. [18F]FDG PET/CT is valuable for evaluating suspected IE, but it is susceptible to motion-related artefacts. This study investigated the potential benefits of cardiac motion correction for [18F]FDG PET/CT. In this prospective study, patients underwent [18F]FDG PET/CT for suspected IE, combined with a conventional cardiac gating sequence, a data-driven cardiac and respiratory gating sequence (CardioFreezeTM), or both. Scans were performed in adherence to EANM guidelines and assessors were blinded to patients’ clinical contexts. Final diagnosis of IE was established based on multidisciplinary consensus after a minimum of 4 months follow-up and surgical findings, whenever performed. Seven patients participated in the study, undergoing both an ungated [18F] FDG-PET/CT and a scan with either conventional cardiac gating, CardioFreezeTM, or both. Cardiac motion correction improved the interpretability of [18F]FDG PET/CT in four out of five patients with valvular IE lesions, regardless of the method of motion correction used, which was statistically significant by Wilcoxon’s signed rank test: p = 0.046. In one patient the motion-corrected sequence confirmed the diagnosis of endocarditis, which had been missed on non-gated PET. The performance of the two gating sequences was comparable. In conclusion, in this exploratory study, cardiac motion correction of [18F]FDG PET/CT improved the interpretability of [18F]FDG PET/CT. This may improve the sensitivity of PET/CT for suspected IE. Further larger comparative studies are necessary to confirm the additive value of these cardiac motion correction methods.</p
Scalar density fluctuation at critical end point in NJL model
Soft mode near the critical end point in the phase diagram of two-flavor
Nambu--Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model is investigated within the leading 1/N_c
approximation with N_c being the number of the colors. It is explicitly shown
by studying the spectral function of the scalar channel that the relevant soft
mode is the scalar density fluctuation, which is coupled with the quark number
density, while the sigma meson mode stays massive.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure
Multiplicity Distributions and Rapidity Gaps
I examine the phenomenology of particle multiplicity distributions, with
special emphasis on the low multiplicities that are a background in the study
of rapidity gaps. In particular, I analyze the multiplicity distribution in a
rapidity interval between two jets, using the HERWIG QCD simulation with some
necessary modifications. The distribution is not of the negative binomial form,
and displays an anomalous enhancement at zero multiplicity. Some useful
mathematical tools for working with multiplicity distributions are presented.
It is demonstrated that ignoring particles with pt<0.2 has theoretical
advantages, in addition to being convenient experimentally.Comment: 24 pages, LaTeX, MSUHEP/94071
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