888 research outputs found
Conductance studies on different types of Nb/Al, AlOx,(/A1)/Nb Josephson tunnel junctions
The conductance-voltage characteristics of different types of Josephson tunnel junctions have been measured at 4.2 K: symmetric Nb/Al, AlOx/Al/Nb, asymmetric Nb/Al, AlOx/Nb and Nb/Al/AlOx-/AlOx/Nb, containing a double oxidation layer. The symmetric junctions can be described very well by a trapezoidal potential barrier model. The asymmetric junctions show less agreement with theory. In these junctions resistance switching occurs, possibly due to charge trapping. The resistance is lower than in symmetric junctions. The conductance measurements on double oxidation layer junctions show, that this type of junction has an inhomogeneous oxide layer
AdS-Carroll Branes
Coset methods are used to determine the action of a co-dimension one brane
(domain wall) embedded in (d+1)-dimensional AdS space in the Carroll limit in
which the speed of light goes to zero. The action is invariant under the
non-linearly realized symmetries of the AdS-Carroll spacetime. The
Nambu-Goldstone field exhibits a static spatial distribution for the brane with
a time varying momentum density related to the brane's spatial shape as well as
the AdS-C geometry. The AdS-C vector field dual theory is obtained.Comment: 47 page
Josephson junctions and DC SQUIDS based on Nb/Al technology
A process for fabricating high-quality Josephson junctions and DC SQUIDS on basis of Nb/Al technology has been developed. DC magnetron sputtering is used for the deposition of the metal layers and the barrier is formed by thermal oxidation of the Al-layer. The junction area of 5 µm × 5 5 µm is obtained using anodisation. Three types of Josephson tunnel junctions have been prepared: standard Nb/Al, AlOx/Nb, symmetric Nb/Al, AlOx, Al/Nb and Nb/Al, AlOx/AlOx/Nb, the latter having a double oxide layer. We performed current-voltage and conductance-voltage measurements at different temperatures and special attention was paid to the noise behaviour. Gap and sub-gap parameters as well as barrier parameters are presented. Three different DC SQUID configurations were developed on basis of the Nb/Al Josephson junctions. The measured characteristics of the standard Tesche-Clarke DC SQUID, the resistively shunted SQUID and the inductively shunted SQUID are compared with special attention being paid to the noise properties. A 19-channel DC SQUID magnetometer with standard and/or resistively-shunted DC SQUIDs is under construction
Towards String Predictions
The aim of superstring phenomenology is to develop the tools and methodology
needed to confront string theory with experimental data. The first mandatory
task is to find string solutions which reproduce the observable data. The
subsequent goal is to extract potential signatures beyond the observable data.
Recently, by studying exact flat directions of non-Abelian singlet fields, we
demonstrated the existence of free fermionic heterotic-string models in which
the -charged matter spectrum, just below the
string scale, consists solely of the MSSM spectrum. In this paper we study the
possibility that the exact flat directions leave a symmetry
unbroken at the Planck scale. We demonstrate in a specific example that such
unbroken is in general expected to be not of the GUT type but
of intrinsic stringy origin. We study its phenomenological characteristics and
the consequences in the case that remains unbroken down to
low energies. We suggest that observation in forthcoming colliders of a
, with universal couplings for the two light generations but
different couplings for the heavy generation may provide evidence for the
orbifold which underlies the free fermionic models.Comment: 18 pages. Standard Latex. References adde
The Low Energy Behavior of some Models with Dynamical Supersymmetry Breaking
We study supersymmetric SU(5) chiral gauge theories with 2 fields in the 10
representation, fields in the representation and fields
in the 5 representation, for . With a suitable superpotential,
supersymmetry is shown to be broken dynamically for each of these values of
. We analyze the calculable limit for the model with in detail,
and determine the low energy effective sigma model in this case. For we
find the quantum moduli space, and for we construct the s--confining
potential.Comment: 16 page
Investigating the KNDy hypothesis in humans by co-administration of kisspeptin, neurokinin B and naltrexone in men
Context: A subpopulation of hypothalamic neurons co-localise three neuropeptides namely kisspeptin, neurokinin B (NKB) and dynorphin collectively termed KNDy neurons. Animal studies suggest they interact to affect pulsatile GnRH release (KNDy hypothesis); kisspeptin stimulates, NKB modulates and dynorphin (an opioid) inhibits. Objective: To investigate the KNDy hypothesis in humans, we assessed for the first time the effects of co-administration of kisspeptin-54, NKB and an opioid receptor antagonist, naltrexone on LH pulsatility (surrogate marker for GnRH pulsatility) and gonadotropin release. Design, setting and participants: Ethically approved prospective, single-blinded placebo-controlled study. Healthy male volunteers (n=5/group) attended our research facility for 8 study visits. Intervention and main outcome measure: After 1h baseline blood sampling, participants received a different intervention at each visit: oral 50mg naltrexone (NAL), 8h intravenous infusions of vehicle, 2.56nmol/kg/h NKB (NKB), 0.1nmol/kg/h kissspeptin-54 (KP) alone and in combination. Frequent blood sampling to measure plasma gonadotropins and sex steroids was conducted and LH pulsatility was determined using blinded deconvolution analysis. Results: All kisspeptin and naltrexone containing groups potently increased LH and LH pulsatility (p<0.001 vs vehicle). NKB alone did not affect gonadotropins. NKB+KP had significantly lower increases in gonadotropins compared with kisspeptin alone (p<0.01). NAL+KP was the only group to significantly increase LH pulse amplitude (p<0.001 vs vehicle). Conclusions: Our results suggest significant interactions between the KNDy neuropeptides on LH pulsatility and gonadotropin release in humans. This has important implications for improving our understanding of GnRH pulse generation in humans
High T<sub>c</sub> bi-epitaxial dc SQUIDs structured by focused ion beam etching from single junctions: β<sub>L</sub> optimization
Structure of the Cytoplasmic Loop between Putative Helices II and III of the Mannitol Permease of Escherichia coli: A Tryptophan and 5-Fluorotryptophan Spectroscopy Study
In this work, four single tryptophan (Trp) mutants of the dimeric mannitol transporter of Escherichia coli, EIImtl, are characterized using Trp and 5-fluoroTrp (5-FTrp) fluorescence spectroscopy. The four positions, 97, 114, 126, and 133, are located in a region shown by recent studies to be involved in the mannitol translocation process. To spectroscopically distinguish between the Trp positions in each subunit of dimeric EIImtl, 5-FTrp was biosynthetically incorporated because of its much simpler photophysics compared to those of Trp. The steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence methodologies used point out that all four positions are in structured environments, both in the absence and in the presence of a saturating concentration of mannitol. The fluorescence decay of all 5-FTrp-containing mutants was highly homogeneous, suggesting similar microenvironments for both probes per dimer. However, Stern-Volmer quenching experiments using potassium iodide indicate different solvent accessibilities for the two probes at positions 97 and 133. A 5 Ã… two-dimensional (2D) projection map of the membrane-embedded IICmtl dimer showing 2-fold symmetry is available. The results of this work are in better agreement with a 7 Ã… projection map from a single 2D crystal on which no symmetry was imposed.
- …