[en] Artificial gauge fields for neutral particles such as photons, recently attracted a lot of attention in various fields ranging from photonic crystals to ultracold atoms in optical lattices to optomechanical arrays. Here we point out that, among all implementations of gauge fields, the optomechanical setting allows for the most natural extension where the gauge field becomes dynamical. The mechanical oscillation phases determine the effective artificial magnetic field for the photons, and once these phases are allowed to evolve, they respond to the flow of photons in the structure. We discuss a simple three-site model where we identify four different regimes of the gauge-field dynamics. Furthermore, we extend the discussion to a two-dimensional lattice. Our proposed scheme could for instance be implemented using optomechanical crystals. (paper)

[en] Based on the Bardeen Cooper Schrieffer (BCS) theory of superconductivity, the coherent splitting of Cooper pairs from a superconductor to two spatially separated quantum dots has been predicted to generate nonlocal pairs of entangled electrons. In order to test this hypothesis, we propose a scheme to transfer the spin state of a split Cooper pair onto the polarization state of a pair of optical photons. We show that the produced photon pairs can be used to violate a Bell inequality, unambiguously demonstrating the entanglement of the split Cooper pairs.

[en] We numerically investigate the damping of Bloch oscillations in a one-dimensional lattice potential whose translational symmetry is broken in a systematic manner, either by making the potential bichromatic or by introducing scatterers at distinct lattice sites. We find that the damping strongly depends on the ratio of lattice constants in the bichromatic potential and that even a small concentration of scatterers can lead to strong damping. Moreover, collisional interparticle interactions are able to counteract aperiodicity-induced damping of Bloch oscillations. The discussed effects should readily be observable for ultracold atoms in optical lattices.

[en] Purpose: To present the development of a new navigation and reconstruction system based on an electromagnetic free-hand tracker and on CT imaging for treatment planning of intraoperative high-dose-rate brachytherapy (IORT-HDRB) in the sacral region. Our aim is to improve accuracy and to enable individualized treatment planning and dose documentation to be performed for IORT-HDRB using a flab technique. Methods and Materials: The material consists of an electromagnetic 3D tracker system, a PC workstation with Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 operating system, and a recognition program for continuous speech. In addition, we designed an external reference system constructed of titanium and Perspex, which is positioned in the pelvis, and a special digitizer pen for reconstruction of the flab geometry. The flab design incorporates a series of silicon 10-mm-diameter spherical pellets. Measurements were made with a pelvic phantom in order to study the accuracy of the system. The reconstruction results are stored and can be exported via network or floppy to our different treatment planning systems. Results: Our results for the reconstruction of a flab with six catheters and a total of 100 spherical pellets give mean errors in the range (2.5 ± 0.6) mm to (3.5 ± 0.8) mm depending on the positions of the pelvic phantom and transmitter relative to the operation table. These errors are calculated by comparing the reconstruction results of our system with those using a CT-based reconstruction of the flab geometry. For the accuracy of the navigation system for the pelvic phantom, we obtained mean errors in the range (2.2 ± 0.7) mm to (3.1 ± 1.0) mm. Conclusions: The new system we have developed enables navigation and reconstruction within the surgical environment with a clinically acceptable level of accuracy. It offers the possibility of individualized treatment planning and effective documentation of the 3D dose distribution in IORT-HDRB using a flab technique

[en] Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are commonly used for the production of monoclonal antibodies. Omics technologies have been used to elucidate cellular switch points which result in higher monoclonal antibody (mAb) productivity and process yields in CHO and other biopharmaceutical production cell lines such as human or mouse. Currently, investigations of the phosphoproteome in CHO cell lines are rare yet could provide further insights into cellular mechanisms related to target product expression. Therefore, we investigated CHO IGF–signaling events using a comparative expression and phosphoproteomic approach in recombinant mAb-producing XL99 cell lines and corresponding parental strain. Differences were found on the level of protein expression between producer and parental cells in the exponential growth phase, mainly in proteins related to the lysosome, oligosaccharide metabolic processes, stress response, and cellular homeostasis. Within a stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture (SILAC)–based phosphoproteomic investigation of IGF signaling, expected general regulation of phosphorylation sites and cell line–specific responses were observed. Detected early phosphorylation events can be associated to observed effects of IGF on cellular growth, metabolism, and cell cycle distribution. Producer cell line–specific signaling exhibited differences to parental cells in intracellular trafficking and transcriptional processes, along with an overall lower amount of observable cross talk to other signaling pathways. By combining label-free and SILAC-based expression for phosphoproteomic analyses, cellular differences in the highly interactive levels of signaling and protein expression were detected, indicating alterations in metabolism and growth following treatment with an exogenous growth factor. The characterization of cell lines and effects of IGF addition resulted in identification of metabolic switch points. With this data, it will be possible to modulate pathways towards increased CHO process yield by targeted application of small-molecule inhibitors.

[en] We consider the setup of a conventional s-wave Cooper pair splitter. However, we consider the charging energies in the quantum dots to be finite and smaller than the superconducting gap. We find analytically that at low energies the superconductor mediates an inter-dot tunneling term, the spin symmetry of which is influenced by a finite Zeeman field. This effect, together with an electrical tuning scheme of the quantum dot levels, can be used to engineer a non local triplet state on the two quantum dots, thereby extending the non-local state engineering capabilities of the Cooper pair splitter system.

[en] 60Fe is one of the most interesting radioisotopes found on earth. With an halflife of 1.5 Myr it is sensitive to the younger history of the universe (seen as 60Co decays) and the earth (seen as 60Fe in deep see manganese crusts), but contains basically no pre-solar information. In order to use the observational information in a quantitative manner, production and destruction mechanisms of 60Fe have to be understood. Therefore we measured the neutron capture cross section of 60Fe in the astrophysically interesting energy region applying the activation technique at the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (FZK). The sample material of 1.1^*10^**16 atoms has been retrieved from a cupper beam stop, which has been irradiated with protons at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI)