219 research outputs found
AC-Conductance through an Interacting Quantum Dot
We investigate the linear ac-conductance for tunneling through an arbitrary
interacting quantum dot in the presence of a finite dc-bias. In analogy to the
well-known Meir-Wingreen formula for the dc case, we are able to derive a
general formula for the ac-conductance. It can be expressed entirely in terms
of local correlations on the quantum dot, in the form of a Keldysh block
diagram with four external legs. We illustrate the use of this formula as a
starting point for diagrammatic calculations by considering the ac-conductance
of the noninteracting resonant level model and deriving the result for the
lowest order of electron-phonon coupling. We show how known results are
recovered in the appropriate limits.Comment: 4+ pages, 4 figure
Resonant tunneling and Fano resonance in quantum dots with electron-phonon interaction
We theoretically study the resonant tunneling and Fano resonance in quantum
dots with electron-phonon (e-ph) interaction. We examine the bias-voltage ()
dependence of the decoherence, using Keldysh Green function method and
perturbation with respect to the e-ph interaction. With optical phonons of
energy , only the elastic process takes place when , in
which electrons emit and absorb phonons virtually. The process suppresses the
resonant amplitude. When , the inelastic process is possible which
is accompanied by real emission of phonons. It results in the dephasing and
broadens the resonant width. The bias-voltage dependence of the decoherence
cannot be obtained by the canonical transformation method to consider the e-ph
interaction if its effect on the tunnel coupling is neglected. With acoustic
phonons, the asymmetric shape of the Fano resonance grows like a symmetric one
as the bias voltage increases, in qualitative accordance with experimental
results.Comment: 28 pages, 11 figure
Tunneling resonances in quantum dots: Coulomb interaction modifies the width
Single-electron tunneling through a zero-dimensional state in an asymmetric
double-barrier resonant-tunneling structure is studied. The broadening of steps
in the -- characteristics is found to strongly depend on the polarity of
the applied bias voltage. Based on a qualitative picture for the
finite-life-time broadening of the quantum dot states and a quantitative
comparison of the experimental data with a non-equilibrium transport theory, we
identify this polarity dependence as a clear signature of Coulomb interaction.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
IL-10 does not affect oxidative burst and expression of selected surface antigen on human blood phagocytes in
Summary Cytokines play a major role in the control of inflammatory responses, participate in the regulation of blood phagocyte activities and as such are used for immunomodulatory therapy. In the present study, the influence of IL-10 on human blood phagocyte activity in the presence/absence of IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α was tested in vitro. Our research analyzed the effects of cytokines on the production of reactive oxygen species measured by chemiluminescence and flow cytometry, and on the expression of surface molecules (CD11b, CD15, CD62L, CD31) measured by flow cytometry. IL-10 had no inhibitory effect on reactive oxygen species production and the expression of any examined adhesion molecule by resting or stimulated blood phagocytes within 3 h of incubation. Conversely, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-8 increased reactive oxygen species production and the expression of CD11b and CD15 on both neutrophils and monocytes and decreased the expression of CD62L. These priming effects of the tested pro-inflammatory cytokines were not affected by IL-10. The obtained results suggest that IL-10 does not directly control blood phagocyte activation. These results also provide better information about the contribution of IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α to the regulation of blood phagocyte-mediated inflammatory processes
Transport in metallic multi-island Coulomb blockade systems: A systematic perturbative expansion in the junction transparency
We study electronic transport through metallic multi-island Coulomb-blockade
systems. Based on a diagrammatic real-time approach, we develop a computer
algorithm that generates and calculates all transport contributions up to
second order in the tunnel-coupling strengths for arbitrary multi-island
systems. This comprises sequential and cotunneling, as well as terms
corresponding to a renormalization of charging energies and tunneling
conductances. Multi-island cotunneling processes with energy transfer between
different island are taken into account. To illustrate our approach we analyze
the current through an island in Coulomb blockade, that is electrostatically
coupled to a second island through which a large current is flowing. In this
regime both cotunneling processes involving one island only as well as
multi-island processes are important. The latter can be understood as
photon-assisted sequential tunneling in the blockaded island, where the photons
are provided by potential fluctuations due to sequential tunneling in the
second island. We compare results of our approach to a P(E)-theory for
photon-assisted tunneling in the weak coupling limit.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, published version; minor changes in Sec. IV
Josephson photonics with a two-mode superconducting circuit
We analyze the quantum dynamics of two electromagnetic oscillators coupled in series to a voltage-biased Josephson junction. When the applied voltage leads to a Josephson frequency across the junction which matches the sum of the two mode frequencies, tunneling Cooper pairs excite photons in both modes simultaneously leading to far-from-equilibrium states. These states display highly nonclassical features including strong antibunching, violation of Cauchy-Schwartz inequalities, and number squeezing. We obtain approximate analytic results for both the regimes of low and high photon occupancies which are supported by a full numerical treatment. The impact of asymmetries between the two modes is explored, revealing a pronounced enhancement of number squeezing when the modes are damped at different rates
Influence of polysulfone and hemophan hemodialysis membranes on phagocytes.
Abstract. The aim of the study was to compare the effect of hemophane and polysulfone membranes on the phagocyte-derived production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as well as on neutrophil CD11b and CD62L expression in patients undergoing regular hemodialysis. The effects of hemodialysis membranes were also studied in in vitro conditions after coincubating them with differentiated HL-60 cells. ROS production was measured using chemiluminometric and flow cytometric methods. Expression of CD11b, CD62L and mitochondrial membrane potential were detected by monoclonal antibodies and by the JC-1 fluorescent probe, respectively. Depressed ROS production was observed in patients already before dialysis. Further decrease in ROS production and an increase in CD11b expression were observed especially in patients after hemophan hemodialysis. Decreased ROS production and increased CD11b expression were observed also after incubation of HL-60 cells with hemophan membranes. Mitochondrial membrane potential dropped only after incubating cells with hemophan membranes proving its more serious adverse effects in comparison with the polysulfone membrane. In conclusion, deleterious effects of hemodialysis on the metabolic activity of phagocytes were proved. Combining chemiluminescent and flow cytometric methods for the detection of ROS production and determining mitochondrial membrane potential can be useful tools for the analysis of material biocompatibility. Key words: Hemodialysis -Hemophan -Polysulfone -Reactive oxygen species -CD11b Abbreviations: ROS, reactive oxygen species; DCFH-DA, 2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate; HE, hydroethidine; PMA, phorbol myristate acetate; FMLP, N-formyl-L-methionyl-L-leucyl-L-phenylalanine; OZP, zymosan opsonized in human serum; MRF, median of relative fluorescence
Multi-seasonal systematic camera-trapping reveals fluctuating densities and high turnover rates of Carpathian lynx on the western edge of its native range
Camera-trapping and capture-recapture models are the most widely used tools for estimating densities of wild felids that have unique coat patterns, such as Eurasian lynx. However, studies dealing with this species are predominantly on a short-term basis and our knowledge of temporal trends and population persistence is still scarce. By using systematic camera-trapping and spatial capture-recapture models, we estimated lynx densities and evaluated density fluctuations, apparent survival, transition rate and individual's turnover during five consecutive seasons at three different sites situated in the Czech–Slovak–Polish borderland at the periphery of the Western Carpathians. Our density estimates vary between 0.26 and 1.85 lynx/100 km2 suitable habitat and represent the lowest and the highest lynx densities reported from the Carpathians. We recorded 1.5–4.1-fold changes in asynchronous fluctuated densities among all study sites and seasons. Furthermore, we detected high individual’s turnover (on average 46.3 ± 8.06% in all independent lynx and 37.6 ± 4.22% in adults) as well as low persistence of adults (only 3 out of 29 individuals detected in all seasons). The overall apparent survival rate was 0.63 ± 0.055 and overall transition rate between sites was 0.03 ± 0.019. Transition rate of males was significantly higher than in females, suggesting male-biased dispersal and female philopatry. Fluctuating densities and high turnover rates, in combination with documented lynx mortality, indicate that the population in our region faces several human-induced mortalities, such as poaching or lynx-vehicle collisions. These factors might restrict population growth and limit the dispersion of lynx to other subsequent areas, thus undermining the favourable conservation status of the Carpathian population. Moreover, our study demonstrates that long-term camera-trapping surveys are needed for evaluation of population trends and for reliable estimates of demographic parameters of wild territorial felids, and can be further used for establishing successful management and conservation measures
Spin-dependent tunneling between individual superconducting bound states
Magnetic impurities on superconductors induce discrete bound levels inside
the superconducting gap, known as Yu-Shiba-Rusinov (YSR) states. YSR levels are
fully spin-polarized such that the tunneling between YSR states depends on
their relative spin orientation. Here, we use scanning tunneling spectroscopy
to resolve the spin dynamics in the tunneling process between two YSR states by
experimentally extracting the angle between the spins. To this end, we exploit
the ratio of thermally activated and direct spectral features in the
measurement to directly extract the relative spin orientation between the two
YSR states. We find freely rotating spins down to 7mK, indicating a purely
paramagnetic nature of the impurities. Such a non-collinear spin alignment is
essential not only for producing Majorana bound states but also as an outlook
manipulating and moving the Majorana state onto the tip.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures, including supplementary materia
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