The physics of many-body systems where particles are restricted to move in two spatial dimensions is challenging and even controversial: on one hand, neither long-range order nor Bose condensation ...may appear in infinite uniform 2D systems at finite temperature, on the other hand this does not prohibit superfluidity or superconductivity. Moreover, 2D superconductors, such as cuprates, are among the systems with the highest critical temperatures. Ultracold atoms are a platform for studying 2D physics. Unique from other physical systems, quantum statistics may be completely changed in an ultracold gas: an atomic Fermi gas may be smoothly crossed over into a gas of Bose molecules (or dimers) by tuning interatomic interactions. We review recent experiments where such crossover has been demonstrated, as well as critical phenomena in the Fermi-to-Bose crossover. We also present simple theoretical models describing the gas at different points of the crossover and compare the data to these and more advanced models.
In January 2015, an outbreak of undiagnosed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections among persons who inject drugs (PWID) was recognized in rural Indiana. By September 2016, 205 persons in this ...community of approximately 4400 had received a diagnosis of HIV infection. We report results of new approaches to analyzing epidemiologic and laboratory data to understand transmission during this outbreak. HIV genetic distances were calculated using the polymerase region. Networks were generated using data about reported high-risk contacts, viral genetic similarity, and their most parsimonious combinations. Sample collection dates and recency assay results were used to infer dates of infection. Epidemiologic and laboratory data each generated large and dense networks. Integration of these data revealed subgroups with epidemiologic and genetic commonalities, one of which appeared to contain the earliest infections. Predicted infection dates suggest that transmission began in 2011, underwent explosive growth in mid-2014, and slowed after the declaration of a public health emergency. Results from this phylodynamic analysis suggest that the majority of infections had likely already occurred when the investigation began and that early transmission may have been associated with sexual activity and injection drug use. Early and sustained efforts are needed to detect infections and prevent or interrupt rapid transmission within networks of uninfected PWID.
A Fermi gas described within the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory can be converted into a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of composite molecules (dimers) by adiabatically tuning the interaction. ...The sequence of states that emerge in the process of such a conversion is referred to as the BCS-BEC crossover. We here review the theoretical and experimental results obtained for the BCS-BEC crossover in three- and quasi-two-dimensional quantum gases in the limiting geometry of traps and on optical lattices. We discuss nontrivial phenomena in the hydrodynamics of superfluid quantum gases and fluids, including the collective excitation spectrum in the BCS-BEC crossover, the hydrodynamics of rotating Bose condensates containing a large number of quantized vortices, and the intriguing problem of the chiral anomaly in the hydrodynamics of superfluid Fermi systems with an anisotropic p-wave pairing. We also analyze spin-imbalanced quantum gases and the potential to realize the triplet p-wave pairing via the Kohn-Luttinger mechanism in those gases. Recent results on two-dimensional Fermi-gas preparation and the observation of fluctuation phenomena related to the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in those gases are also reviewed. We briefly discuss the recent experimental discovery of the BCS-BEC crossover and anomalous superconductivity in bilayer graphene and the role of graphene, other Dirac semimetals (for example, bismuth), and 2D optical lattices as potential reference systems that exhibit all of the effects reviewed here.
Taking into account an inner structure of the arms of the Aharonov-Bohm ring (AB ring) we have analyzed the transport features related to the topological phase transition which is induced in a ...superconducting wire (SC wire) with strong spin-orbit interaction (SOI). The SC wire acts as a bridge connecting the arms. The in-plane magnetic-field dependence of linear-response conductance obtained using the nonequilibrium Green's functions in the tight-binding approximation revealed the Breit-Wigner and Fano resonances (FRs) if the wire is in the nontrivial phase. The effect is explained by the presence of two interacting transport channels in the system. As a result, the FRs are attributed to bound states in continuum (BSCs). The BSC lifetime is determined by both hopping parameters between subsystems and the SC-wire properties. It is established that the FR width and position are extremely sensitive to the type of the lowest-energy excitation in the SC wire, the Majorana or Andreev bound state (MBS or ABS, respectively). Moreover, it is shown that in the specific case of the AB ring, the T-shape geometry, the FR disappears for the transport via the MBS and the conductance is equal to one quantum. It doubles in the local transport regime. On the contrary, in the ABS case the local conductance vanishes. The influence of the mean-field Coulomb interactions and diagonal disorder in the SC wire on the FR is investigated.
Genomic surveillance efforts for SARS-CoV-2 are needed to understand the epidemiology of the COVID-19 pandemic. Viral variants may impact routine diagnostic testing, increase viral transmissibility, ...cause differences in disease severity, have decreased susceptibility to therapeutics, and/or confer the ability to evade host immunity. While viral whole-genome sequencing (WGS) has played a leading role in surveillance programs, many laboratories lack the expertise and resources for performing WGS. This study describes the performance of multiplexed real-time reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) assays for identification of SARS-CoV-2 variants.
SARS-CoV-2 specimens were tested for spike-gene variants using a combination of allele-specific primer and allele-specific detection technology (PlexPrime
and PlexZyme
). Targeted detection of spike gene mutations by RT-PCR was compared to variant detection in positive specimens by WGS, including the recently emerged SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant.
A total of 398 SAR-CoV-2 RT-PCR positive and 39 negative specimens previously tested by WGS were re-tested by RT-PCR genotyping. PCR detection of spike gene mutations N501Y, E484K, and S982A correlated 100% with WGS for the 29 lineages represented, including Alpha (B.1.1.7), Beta (B.1.351), and Gamma (P.1). Incorporating the P681R spike gene mutation also allowed screening for the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant (B.1.617.2 and AY sublineages). Further sampling of 664 specimens that were screened by WGS between June and August 2021 and then re-tested by RT-PCR showed strong agreement for Delta variant positivity: 34.5% for WGS vs 32.9% for RT-PCR in June; 100% vs 97.8% in August. In a blinded panel of 16 Omicron and 16 Delta specimens, results of RT-PCR were 100% concordant with WGS results.
These data demonstrate that multiplexed real-time RT-PCR genotyping has strong agreement with WGS and may provide additional SARS-CoV-2 variant screening capabilities when WGS is unavailable or cost-prohibitive. RT-PCR genotyping assays may also supplement existing sequencing efforts while providing rapid results at or near the time of diagnosis to help guide patient management.
Abstract
We discuss the properties of topologically nontrivial superconducting phases and the conditions for their realization in condensed matter, the criteria for the appearance of elementary ...Majorana-type excitations in solids, and the corresponding principles and experimental methods for identifying Majorana bound states (MBSs). Along with the well-known Kitaev chain and superconducting nanowire (SW) models with spin–orbit coupling in an external magnetic field, we discuss models of quasi-two-dimensional materials in which MBSs are realized in the presence of noncollinear spin ordering. For finite-length SWs, we demonstrate a cascade of quantum transitions occurring with a change in the magnetic field, accompanied by a change in the fermion parity of the ground state. The corresponding anomalous behavior of the magnetocaloric effect can be used as a tool for identifying MBSs. We devote considerable attention to the analysis of the transport characteristics of devices that contain topologically nontrivial materials. The results of studying the conductance of an Aharonov–Bohm ring whose arms are connected by an SW are discussed in detail. An important feature of this device is the appearance of Fano resonances in the dependence of conductance on the magnetic field when the SW is in a topologically nontrivial phase. We establish a relation between the characteristics of such resonances and the spatial structure of the lowest-energy SW state. The conditions for the occurrence of an MBS in the phase of the coexistence of chiral
d + id
superconductivity and 120-degree spin ordering are determined in the framework of the
t
–
J
–
V
model on a triangular lattice. We take electron–electron interactions into account in discussing the topological invariants of low-dimensional superconducting materials with noncollinear spin ordering. The formation of Majorana modes in regions with an odd value of a topological ℤ invariant is demonstrated. The spatial structure of these excitations in the Hubbard fermion ensemble is determined.
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