9,714 research outputs found
Quantum Resonances of Weakly Linked, Mesoscopic, Superconducting Dots
We examine quantum properties of mesoscopic, Josephson coupled
superconducting dots, in the limit that charging effects and quantization of
energy levels within the dots are negligible, but quasi-particle transmission
into the weak link is not. We demonstrate that quasi-particle resonances lead
to current-phase relations, which deviate markedly from those of weak links
connecting macroscopic superconductors. Results for the steady state dc
Josephson current of two coupled dots are presented.Comment: Tex, 3 figures available on request to [email protected] (Andy
Martin
The detailed chemical composition of the terrestrial planet host Kepler-10
Chemical abundance studies of the Sun and solar twins have demonstrated that
the solar composition of refractory elements is depleted when compared to
volatile elements, which could be due to the formation of terrestrial planets.
In order to further examine this scenario, we conducted a line-by-line
differential chemical abundance analysis of the terrestrial planet host
Kepler-10 and fourteen of its stellar twins. Stellar parameters and elemental
abundances of Kepler-10 and its stellar twins were obtained with very high
precision using a strictly differential analysis of high quality CFHT, HET and
Magellan spectra. When compared to the majority of thick disc twins, Kepler-10
shows a depletion in the refractory elements relative to the volatile elements,
which could be due to the formation of terrestrial planets in the Kepler-10
system. The average abundance pattern corresponds to ~ 13 Earth masses, while
the two known planets in Kepler-10 system have a combined ~ 20 Earth masses.
For two of the eight thick disc twins, however, no depletion patterns are
found. Although our results demonstrate that several factors (e.g., planet
signature, stellar age, stellar birth location and Galactic chemical evolution)
could lead to or affect abundance trends with condensation temperature, we find
that the trends give further support for the planetary signature hypothesis.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Long range statistical fluctuations of the crossed Josephson current
We investigate the crossed Josephson effect in a geometry consisting of a
double ferromagnetic bridge between two superconductors, with tunnel
interfaces. The crossed Josephson current vanishes on average because the
Andreev reflected hole does not follow the same sequence of impurities as the
incoming electron. We show that i) the root mean square of the crossed
Josephson current distribution is proportional to the square root of the
junction area; and ii) the coherent coupling mediated by fluctuations is ``long
range'' since it decays over the ferromagnet phase coherence length ,
larger than the exchange length. We predict a crossed Josephson current due to
fluctuations if the length of the ferromagnets is smaller than and
larger than the exchange length .Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, modifications in the presentatio
Tonic inhibition of accumbal spiny neurons by extrasynaptic 4 GABAA receptors modulates the actions of psychostimulants
Within the nucleus accumbens (NAc), synaptic GABAA receptors (GABAARs) mediate phasic inhibition of medium spiny neurons (MSNs) and influence behavioral responses to cocaine. We demonstrate that both dopamine D1- and D2-receptor-expressing MSNs (D-MSNs) additionally harbor extrasynaptic GABAARs incorporating α4, β, and δ subunits that mediate tonic inhibition, thereby influencing neuronal excitability. Both the selective δ-GABAAR agonist THIP and DS2, a selective positive allosteric modulator, greatly increased the tonic current of all MSNs from wild-type (WT), but not from δ−/− or α4−/− mice. Coupling dopamine and tonic inhibition, the acute activation of D1 receptors (by a selective agonist or indirectly by amphetamine) greatly enhanced tonic inhibition in D1-MSNs but not D2-MSNs. In contrast, prolonged D2 receptor activation modestly reduced the tonic conductance of D2-MSNs. Behaviorally, WT and constitutive α4−/− mice did not differ in their expression of cocaine-conditioned place preference (CPP). Importantly, however, mice with the α4 deletion specific to D1-expressing neurons (α4D1−/−) showed increased CPP. Furthermore, THIP administered systemically or directly into the NAc of WT, but not α4−/− or α4D1−/− mice, blocked cocaine enhancement of CPP. In comparison, α4D2−/− mice exhibited normal CPP, but no cocaine enhancement. In conclusion, dopamine modulation of GABAergic tonic inhibition of D1- and D2-MSNs provides an intrinsic mechanism to differentially affect their excitability in response to psychostimulants and thereby influence their ability to potentiate conditioned reward. Therefore, α4βδ GABAARs may represent a viable target for the development of novel therapeutics to better understand and influence addictive behaviors
Calculation of electron density of periodic systems using non-orthogonal localised orbitals
Methods for calculating an electron density of a periodic crystal constructed
using non-orthogonal localised orbitals are discussed. We demonstrate that an
existing method based on the matrix expansion of the inverse of the overlap
matrix into a power series can only be used when the orbitals are highly
localised (e.g. ionic systems). In other cases including covalent crystals or
those with an intermediate type of chemical bonding this method may be either
numerically inefficient or fail altogether. Instead, we suggest an exact and
numerically efficient method which can be used for orbitals of practically
arbitrary localisation. Theory is illustrated by numerical calculations on a
model system.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure
Superconducting Proximity Effect and Universal Conductance Fluctuations
We examine universal conductance fluctuations (UCFs) in mesoscopic
normal-superconducting-normal (N-S-N) structures using a numerical solution of
the Bogoliubov - de Gennes equation. We discuss two cases depending on the
presence (``open'' structure) or absence (``closed'' structure) of
quasiparticle transmission. In contrast to N-S structures, where the onset of
superconductivity increases fluctuations, we find that UCFs are suppressed by
superconductivity for N-S-N structures. We demonstrate that the fluctuations in
``open'' and ``closed'' structures exhibit distinct responses to an applied
magnetic field and to an imposed phase variation of the superconducting order
parameter.Comment: (4 pages, 5 figures). Corrected typos in equations, added references,
changed Fig. 5 and its discussions. Phys. Rev. B, accepted for publicatio
Constraints on Automorphic Forms of Higher Derivative Terms from Compactification
By dimensionally reducing the higher derivative corrections of
ten-dimensional IIB theory on a torus we deduce constraints on the E_{n+1}
automorphic forms that occur in d=10-n dimensions. In particular we argue that
these automorphic forms involve the representation of E_{n+1} with fundamental
weight \lambda^{n+1}, which is also the representation to which the string
charges in d dimensions belong. We also consider a similar calculation for the
reduction of higher derivative terms in eleven-dimensional M-theory.Comment: Minor corrections, to appear in JHE
Effective range function below threshold
We demonstrate that the kernel of the Lippmann-Schwinger equation, associated
with interactions consisting of a sum of the Coulomb plus a short range nuclear
potential, below threshold becomes degenerate. Taking advantage of this fact,
we present a simple method of calculating the effective range function for
negative energies. This may be useful in practice since the effective range
expansion extrapolated to threshold allows to extract low-energy scattering
parameters: the Coulomb-modified scattering length and the effective range.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figur
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