107 research outputs found
Dynamical control of matter-wave tunneling in periodic potentials
We report on measurements of dynamical suppression of inter-well tunneling of
a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) in a strongly driven optical lattice. The
strong driving is a sinusoidal shaking of the lattice corresponding to a
time-varying linear potential, and the tunneling is measured by letting the BEC
freely expand in the lattice. The measured tunneling rate is reduced and, for
certain values of the shaking parameter, completely suppressed. Our results are
in excellent agreement with theoretical predictions. Furthermore, we have
verified that in general the strong shaking does not destroy the phase
coherence of the BEC, opening up the possibility of realizing quantum phase
transitions by using the shaking strength as the control parameter.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Resonantly enhanced tunneling of Bose-Einstein condensates in periodic potentials
We report on measurements of resonantly enhanced tunneling of Bose-Einstein
condensates loaded into an optical lattice. By controlling the initial
conditions of our system we were able to observe resonant tunneling in the
ground and the first two excited states of the lattice wells. We also
investigated the effect of the intrinsic nonlinearity of the condensate on the
tunneling resonances.Comment: accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Letter
Observation of St\"{u}ckelberg oscillations in accelerated optical lattices
We report the experimental observation of St\"{u}ckelberg oscillations of
matter waves in optical lattices. Extending previous work on Landau-Zener
tunneling of Bose-Einstein condensates in optical lattices, we study the
effects of the accumulated phase between two successive crossings of the
Brillouin zone edge. Our results agree well with a simple model for multiple
Landau-Zener tunneling events taking into account the band structure of the
optical lattice.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Observation of photon-assisted tunneling in optical lattices
We have observed tunneling suppression and photon-assisted tunneling of
Bose-Einstein condensates in an optical lattice subjected to a constant force
plus a sinusoidal shaking. For a sufficiently large constant force, the ground
energy levels of the lattice are shifted out of resonance and tunneling is
suppressed; when the shaking is switched on, the levels are coupled by
low-frequency photons and tunneling resumes. Our results agree well with
theoretical predictions and demonstrate the usefulness of optical lattices for
studying solid-state phenomena.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
AC-induced superfluidity
We argue that a system of ultracold bosonic atoms in a tilted optical lattice
can become superfluid in response to resonant AC forcing. Among others, this
allows one to prepare a Bose-Einstein condensate in a state associated with a
negative effective mass. Our reasoning is backed by both exact numerical
simulations for systems consisting of few particles, and by a theoretical
approach based on Floquet-Fock states.Comment: Accepted for publication in Europhysics letters, 6 pages, 4 figures,
Changes in v2: reference 7 replaced by a more recent on
Controllable diffusion of cold atoms in a harmonically driven and tilted optical lattice: Decoherence by spontaneous emission
We have studied some transport properties of cold atoms in an accelerated
optical lattice in the presence of decohering effects due to spontaneous
emission. One new feature added is the effect of an external AC drive. As a
result we obtain a tunable diffusion coefficient and it's nonlinear enhancement
with increasing drive amplitude. We report an interesting maximum diffusion
condition.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, revised versio
Tunneling control and localization for Bose-Einstein condensates in a frequency modulated optical lattice
The similarity between matter waves in periodic potential and solid-state
physics processes has triggered the interest in quantum simulation using
Bose-Fermi ultracold gases in optical lattices. The present work evidences the
similarity between electrons moving under the application of oscillating
electromagnetic fields and matter waves experiencing an optical lattice
modulated by a frequency difference, equivalent to a spatially shaken periodic
potential. We demonstrate that the tunneling properties of a Bose-Einstein
condensate in shaken periodic potentials can be precisely controlled. We take
additional crucial steps towards future applications of this method by proving
that the strong shaking of the optical lattice preserves the coherence of the
matter wavefunction and that the shaking parameters can be changed
adiabatically, even in the presence of interactions. We induce reversibly the
quantum phase transition to the Mott insulator in a driven periodic potential.Comment: Laser Physics (in press
Antemortem CSF Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio predicts Alzheimer's disease pathology better than Aβ42 in rapidly progressive dementias
Objective: Despite the critical importance of pathologically confirmed samples for biomarker validation, only a few studies have correlated CSF Aβ42 values in vivo with postmortem Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology, while none evaluated the CSF Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio. We compared CSF Aβ42 and Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio as biomarkers predicting AD neuropathological changes in patients with a short interval between lumbar puncture and death. Methods: We measured CSF Aβ40 and Aβ42 and assessed AD pathology in 211 subjects with rapidly progressive dementia (RPD) and a definite postmortem diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (n = 159), AD (n = 12), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB, n = 4), AD/DLB mixed pathologies (n = 5), and various other pathologies (n = 31). Results: The score reflecting the severity of Aβ pathology showed a better correlation with ln(Aβ42/Aβ40) (R 2 = 0.506, β = −0.713, P < 0.001) than with ln(Aβ42) (R 2 = 0.206, β = −0.458, P < 0.001), which was confirmed after adjusting for covariates. Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio showed significantly higher accuracy than Aβ42 in the distinction between cases with or without AD pathology (AUC 0.818 ± 0.028 vs. 0.643 ± 0.039), especially in patients with Aβ42 levels ≤495 pg/mL (AUC 0.888 ± 0.032 vs. 0.518 ± 0.064). Using a cut-off value of 0.810, the analysis of Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio yielded 87.0% sensitivity, 88.2% specificity in the distinction between cases with an intermediate-high level of AD pathology and those with low level or no AD pathology. Interpretation: The present data support the use of CSF Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio as a biomarker of AD pathophysiology and noninvasive screener for Aβ pathology burden, and its introduction in the research diagnostic criteria for AD
Great occipital nerve long-acting steroid injections in cluster headache therapy: an observational prospective study
Background: Injections targeting the occipital nerve are used to reduce headache attacks and abort cluster bouts in cluster headache patients. There is no widely accepted agreement over the optimal technique of injection, type and doses of steroids and/or anesthetics to use, as well as injection regimens. The aim of this study was to verify the effectiveness and safety of greater occipital nerve long-acting steroid injections in the management of episodic and chronic cluster headache. Methods: We conducted a prospective observational cohort study on episodic (ECH) and chronic cluster headache patients (CCH). ECH were included in the study at the beginning of a cluster period. Three injections with 60 mg methylprednisolone were performed on alternate days. We registered the frequency and intensity of attacks three days before and 3, 7 and 30 days after the treatment, the latency of cluster relapse, adverse events, scores evaluating anxiety (Zung scale), depression (Beck’s Depression Scale) and quality of life (Disability Assessment Schedule II, 12-Item Self-Administered Version). Primary outcome was the interruption of the cluster after the three injections. Responders conducted a follow-up period of 12 months. Results: We enrolled 60 patients, 47 with ECH and 13 with CCH. We observed a complete response in 47.8% (22/46) of episodic and 33.3% (4/12) of chronic patients. Moreover, a partial response (reduction of at least 50% of attacks) was obtained in further 10.8% (5/46) of episodic and in 33.3% (4/12) of chronic patients at 1 month. Median pain-free period was of 3 months for CCH responders. Only mild adverse events were reported in 38.3% (23/58) cases. Conclusions: We suggest three greater occipital nerve injections of 60 mg methylprednisolone on alternate days as useful therapy in episodic and chronic cluster headache. This leads to a long pain-free period in chronic forms. Adverse effects are mild and support its use as first choice. Trial registration: The study was inserted in AIFA observational studies register
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