Developing Cloud Chambers with High School Students

The result and outcome of the \textit{cloud chamber project}, which aims to develop a cloud chamber useful for science education is reported in detail. A project includes both three high school students and a teacher as a part of Super Science High School (SSH) program in our school. We develop a dry-ice-free cloud chamber using salt and ice (or snow). Technical details of the chamber are described. We also argue how the project have affected student's cognition, motivation, academic skills and behavior. The research project has taken steps of professional researchers, i.e., in planning research, applying fund, writing a paper and giving a talk in conferences. From interviews with students, we have learnt that such style of scientific activity is very effective in promoting student's motivation for learning science.Comment: 9 pages, accepted to the proceedings of APPC12 - the 12th Asia Pacific Physics Conferenc

Orbital-Free Density Functional Theory: Kinetic Potentials and Ab-Initio Local Pseudopotentials

In the density functional (DF) theory of Kohn and Sham, the kinetic energy of the ground state of a system of noninteracting electrons in a general external field is calculated using a set of orbitals. Orbital free methods attempt to calculate this directly from the electron density by approximating the universal but unknown kinetic energy density functional. However simple local approximations are inaccurate and it has proved very difficult to devise generally accurate nonlocal approximations. We focus instead on the kinetic potential, the functional derivative of the kinetic energy DF, which appears in the Euler equation for the electron density. We argue that the kinetic potential is more local and more amenable to simple physically motivated approximations in many relevant cases, and describe two pathways by which the value of the kinetic energy can be efficiently calculated. We propose two nonlocal orbital free kinetic potentials that reduce to known exact forms for both slowly varying and rapidly varying perturbations and also reproduce exact results for the linear response of the density of the homogeneous system to small perturbations. A simple and systematic approach for generating accurate and weak ab-initio local pseudopotentials which produce a smooth slowly varying valence component of the electron density is proposed for use in orbital free DF calculations of molecules and solids. The use of these local pseudopotentials further minimizes the possible errors from the kinetic potentials. Our theory yields results for the total energies and ionization energies of atoms, and for the shell structure in the atomic radial density profiles that are in very good agreement with calculations using the full Kohn-Sham theory.Comment: To be published in Phys. Rev.

Gradient corrections for semiclassical theories of atoms in strong magnetic fields

This paper is divided into two parts. In the first one the von Weizs\"acker term is introduced to the Magnetic TF theory and the resulting MTFW functional is mathematically analyzed. In particular, it is shown that the von Weizs\"acker term produces the Scott correction up to magnetic fields of order $B \ll Z^2$, in accordance with a result of V. Ivrii on the quantum mechanical ground state energy. The second part is dedicated to gradient corrections for semiclassical theories of atoms restricted to electrons in the lowest Landau band. We consider modifications of the Thomas-Fermi theory for strong magnetic fields (STF), i.e. for $B \ll Z^3$. The main modification consists in replacing the integration over the variables perpendicular to the field by an expansion in angular momentum eigenfunctions in the lowest Landau band. This leads to a functional (DSTF) depending on a sequence of one-dimensional densities. For a one-dimensional Fermi gas the analogue of a Weizs\"acker correction has a negative sign and we discuss the corresponding modification of the DSTF functional.Comment: Latex2e, 36 page

Interacting fermions and N=2 Chern-Simons-matter theories

The partition function on the three-sphere of N=3 Chern-Simons-matter theories can be formulated in terms of an ideal Fermi gas. In this paper we show that, in theories with N=2 supersymmetry, the partition function corresponds to a gas of interacting fermions in one dimension. The large N limit is the thermodynamic limit of the gas and it can be analyzed with the Hartree and Thomas-Fermi approximations, which lead to the known large N solutions of these models. We use this interacting fermion picture to analyze in detail N=2 theories with one single node. In the case of theories with no long-range forces we incorporate exchange effects and argue that the partition function is given by an Airy function, as in N=3 theories. For the theory with g adjoint superfields and long-range forces, the Thomas-Fermi approximation leads to an integral equation which determines the large N, strongly coupled R-charge.Comment: 29 pages, 4 figure

Identification of embryonic stem cell-derived midbrain dopaminergic neurons for engraftment

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) represent a promising source of midbrain dopaminergic (DA) neurons for applications in Parkinson disease. However, ESC-based transplantation paradigms carry a risk of introducing inappropriate or tumorigenic cells. Cell purification before transplantation may alleviate these concerns and enable identification of the specific DA neuron stage most suitable for cell therapy. Here, we used 3 transgenic mouse ESC reporter lines to mark DA neurons at 3 stages of differentiation (early, middle, and late) following induction of differentiation using Hes5::GFP, Nurr1::GFP, and Pitx3::YFP transgenes, respectively. Transplantation of FACS-purified cells from each line resulted in DA neuron engraftment, with the mid-stage and late-stage neuron grafts being composed almost exclusively of midbrain DA neurons. Mid-stage neuron cell grafts had the greatest amount of DA neuron survival and robustly induced recovery of motor deficits in hemiparkinsonian mice. Our data suggest that the Nurrl(+) stage (middle stage) of neuronal differentiation is particularly suitable for grafting ESC-derived DA neurons. Moreover, global transcriptome analysis of progeny from each of the ESC reporter lines revealed expression of known midbrain DA neuron genes and also uncovered previously uncharacterized midbrain genes. These data demonstrate remarkable fate specificity of ESC-derived DA neurons and outline a sequential stage-specific ESC reporter line paradigm for in vivo gene discovery

The Ground States of Large Quantum Dots in Magnetic Fields

The quantum mechanical ground state of a 2D $N$-electron system in a confining potential $V(x)=Kv(x)$ ($K$ is a coupling constant) and a homogeneous magnetic field $B$ is studied in the high density limit $N\to\infty$, $K\to \infty$ with $K/N$ fixed. It is proved that the ground state energy and electronic density can be computed {\it exactly} in this limit by minimizing simple functionals of the density. There are three such functionals depending on the way $B/N$ varies as $N\to\infty$: A 2D Thomas-Fermi (TF) theory applies in the case $B/N\to 0$; if $B/N\to{\rm const.}\neq 0$ the correct limit theory is a modified $B$-dependent TF model, and the case $B/N\to\infty$ is described by a ``classical'' continuum electrostatic theory. For homogeneous potentials this last model describes also the weak coupling limit $K/N\to 0$ for arbitrary $B$. Important steps in the proof are the derivation of a new Lieb-Thirring inequality for the sum of eigenvalues of single particle Hamiltonians in 2D with magnetic fields, and an estimation of the exchange-correlation energy. For this last estimate we study a model of classical point charges with electrostatic interactions that provides a lower bound for the true quantum mechanical energy.Comment: 57 pages, Plain tex, 5 figures in separate uufil

Matter in Strong Magnetic Fields

The properties of matter are significantly modified by strong magnetic fields, $B>>2.35\times 10^9$ Gauss ($1 G =10^{-4} Tesla$), as are typically found on the surfaces of neutron stars. In such strong magnetic fields, the Coulomb force on an electron acts as a small perturbation compared to the magnetic force. The strong field condition can also be mimicked in laboratory semiconductors. Because of the strong magnetic confinement of electrons perpendicular to the field, atoms attain a much greater binding energy compared to the zero-field case, and various other bound states become possible, including molecular chains and three-dimensional condensed matter. This article reviews the electronic structure of atoms, molecules and bulk matter, as well as the thermodynamic properties of dense plasma, in strong magnetic fields, $10^9G << B < 10^{16}G$. The focus is on the basic physical pictures and approximate scaling relations, although various theoretical approaches and numerical results are also discussed. For the neutron star surface composed of light elements such as hydrogen or helium, the outermost layer constitutes a nondegenerate, partially ionized Coulomb plasma if $B<<10^{14}G$, and may be in the form of a condensed liquid if the magnetic field is stronger (and temperature $<10^6$ K). For the iron surface, the outermost layer of the neutron star can be in a gaseous or a condensed phase depending on the cohesive property of the iron condensate.Comment: 45 pages with 9 figures. Many small additions/changes. Accepted for publication in Rev. Mod. Phy

Botulinum Neurotoxin D Uses Synaptic Vesicle Protein SV2 and Gangliosides as Receptors

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) include seven bacterial toxins (BoNT/A-G) that target presynaptic terminals and act as proteases cleaving proteins required for synaptic vesicle exocytosis. Here we identified synaptic vesicle protein SV2 as the protein receptor for BoNT/D. BoNT/D enters cultured hippocampal neurons via synaptic vesicle recycling and can bind SV2 in brain detergent extracts. BoNT/D failed to bind and enter neurons lacking SV2, which can be rescued by expressing one of the three SV2 isoforms (SV2A/B/C). Localization of SV2 on plasma membranes mediated BoNT/D binding in both neurons and HEK293 cells. Furthermore, chimeric receptors containing the binding sites for BoNT/A and E, two other BoNTs that use SV2 as receptors, failed to mediate the entry of BoNT/D suggesting that BoNT/D binds SV2 via a mechanism distinct from BoNT/A and E. Finally, we demonstrated that gangliosides are essential for the binding and entry of BoNT/D into neurons and for its toxicity in vivo, supporting a double-receptor model for this toxin