203 research outputs found
Cryogenic Calibration Setup for Broadband Complex Impedance Measurements
Reflection measurements give access to the complex impedance of a material on
a wide frequency range. This is of interest to study the dynamical properties
of various materials, for instance disordered superconductors. However
reflection measurements made at cryogenic temperature suffer from the
difficulty to reliably subtract the circuit contribution. Here we report on the
design and first tests of a setup able to precisely calibrate in situ the
sample reflection, at 4.2 K and up to 2 GHz, by switching and measuring, during
the same cool down, the sample and three calibration standards.Comment: (6 pages, 6 figures
Pathogenesis, risk factors and therapeutic options for autoimmune haemolytic anaemia in the post-transplant setting
Autoimmune haemolytic anaemia (AIHA) is a rare complication of allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), observed with an incidence of 1–5%. Paediatric age, diagnosis of non-malignant disease, lympho-depleting agents in the conditioning regimen, use of unrelated donor, graft versus host disease and infections have been associated with a higher risk of AIHA post HSCT. Post-HSCT AIHA is associated with high mortality and morbidity, and it is often very difficult to treat. Steroids and rituximab are used with a response rate around 30–50%. These and other therapeutic strategies are mainly derived from data on primary AIHA, although response rates in post-HSCT AIHA have been generally lower. Here we review the currently available data on risk factors and therapeutic options. There is a need for prospective studies in post-HSCT AIHA to guide clinicians in managing these complex patients
Experimental determination of the statistics of photons emitted by a tunnel junction
We report on a microwave Hanbury-Brown Twiss experiment probing the
statistics of GHz photons emitted by a tunnel junction in the shot noise regime
at low temperature. By measuring the crosscorrelated fluctuations of the
occupation numbers of the photon modes of both detection branches we show that,
while the statistics of electrons is Poissonian, the photons obey chaotic
statistics. This is observed even for low photon occupation number when the
voltage across the junction is close to .Comment: Submitted to Phys.Rev.Let
Finite-frequency counting statistics of electron transport: Markovian Theory
We present a theory of frequency-dependent counting statistics of electron
transport through nanostructures within the framework of Markovian quantum
master equations. Our method allows the calculation of finite-frequency current
cumulants of arbitrary order, as we explicitly show for the second- and
third-order cumulants. Our formulae generalize previous zero-frequency
expressions in the literature and can be viewed as an extension of MacDonald's
formula beyond shot noise. When combined with an appropriate treatment of
tunneling, using, e.g. Liouvillian perturbation theory in Laplace space, our
method can deal with arbitrary bias voltages and frequencies, as we illustrate
with the paradigmatic example of transport through a single resonant level
model. We discuss various interesting limits, including the recovery of the
fluctuation-dissipation theorem near linear response, as well as some drawbacks
inherent of the Markovian description arising from the neglect of quantum
fluctuations.Comment: Accepted in New Journal of Physics. Updated tex
Measurement of finite-frequency current statistics in a single-electron transistor
Electron transport in nano-scale structures is strongly influenced by the
Coulomb interaction which gives rise to correlations in the stream of charges
and leaves clear fingerprints in the fluctuations of the electrical current. A
complete understanding of the underlying physical processes requires
measurements of the electrical fluctuations on all time and frequency scales,
but experiments have so far been restricted to fixed frequency ranges as
broadband detection of current fluctuations is an inherently difficult
experimental procedure. Here we demonstrate that the electrical fluctuations in
a single electron transistor (SET) can be accurately measured on all relevant
frequencies using a nearby quantum point contact for on-chip real-time
detection of the current pulses in the SET. We have directly measured the
frequency-dependent current statistics and hereby fully characterized the
fundamental tunneling processes in the SET. Our experiment paves the way for
future investigations of interaction and coherence induced correlation effects
in quantum transport.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, published in Nature Communications (open access
Measurements of the Correlation Function of a Microwave Frequency Single Photon Source
At optical frequencies the radiation produced by a source, such as a laser, a
black body or a single photon source, is frequently characterized by analyzing
the temporal correlations of emitted photons using single photon counters. At
microwave frequencies, however, there are no efficient single photon counters
yet. Instead, well developed linear amplifiers allow for efficient measurement
of the amplitude of an electromagnetic field. Here, we demonstrate how the
properties of a microwave single photon source can be characterized using
correlation measurements of the emitted radiation with such detectors. We also
demonstrate the cooling of a thermal field stored in a cavity, an effect which
we detect using a cross-correlation measurement of the radiation emitted at the
two ends of the cavity.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Out-of-Equilibrium Admittance of Single Electron Box Under Strong Coulomb Blockade
We study admittance and energy dissipation in an out-of-equlibrium single
electron box. The system consists of a small metallic island coupled to a
massive reservoir via single tunneling junction. The potential of electrons in
the island is controlled by an additional gate electrode. The energy
dissipation is caused by an AC gate voltage. The case of a strong Coulomb
blockade is considered. We focus on the regime when electron coherence can be
neglected but quantum fluctuations of charge are strong due to Coulomb
interaction. We obtain the admittance under the specified conditions. It turns
out that the energy dissipation rate can be expressed via charge relaxation
resistance and renormalized gate capacitance even out of equilibrium. We
suggest the admittance as a tool for a measurement of the bosonic distribution
corresponding collective excitations in the system
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for isolated extramedullary relapse of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children
Relapse of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) may occur in extramedullary sites, mainly central nervous system (CNS) and testis. Optimal post-remissional treatment for isolated extramedullary relapse (IEMR) is still controversial. We collected data of children treated with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for ALL IEMR from 1990 to 2015 in Italy. Among 281 patients, 167 had a relapse confined to CNS, 73 to testis, 14 to mediastinum, and 27 to other organs. Ninety-seven patients underwent autologous HSCT, 79 received allogeneic HSCT from a matched family donor, 75 from a matched unrelated donor, and 30 from an HLA-haploidentical donor. The 10-year overall survival was 56% and was not influenced by gender, ALL blast immune-phenotype, age, site of relapse, duration of first remission, and type of HSCT. In multivariable analysis, the only prognostic factors were disease status at HSCT and year of transplantation. Patients transplanted in third or subsequent complete remission (CR) had a risk of death 2.3 times greater than those in CR2. Children treated after 2000 had half the risk of death than those treated before that year. Our results suggest that both autologous and allogeneic HSCT may be considered for the treatment of pediatric ALL IEMR after the achievement of CR2
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