Thermal entanglement of two interacting qubits in a static magnetic field

We study systematically the entanglement of a two-qubit Heisenberg XY model in thermal equilibrium in the presence of an external arbitrarily-directed static magnetic field, thereby generalizing our prior work [G. Lagmago Kamta, A.F. Starace, Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 107901 (2002)]. We show that a magnetic field having a component in the xy-plane containing the spin-spin interaction components produces different entanglement for ferromagnetic (FM) and antiferromagnetic (AFM) couplings. In particular, quantum phase transitions induced by the magnetic field-driven level crossings always occur for the AFM-coupled qubits, but only occur in FM-coupled qubits when the coupling is of Ising type or when the magnetic field has a component perpendicular to the xy-plane. When the magnetic field has a component in the xy-plane, the cut-off temperature above which the entanglement of both the FM- and AFM-coupled qubits vanishes can always be controlled using the magnetic field for any value of the XY coupling anisotropy parameter. Thus, by adjusting the magnetic field, an entangled state of two spins can be produced at any finite temperature. Finally, we find that a higher level of entanglement is achieved when the in-plane component of the magnetic field is parallel to the direction in which the XY exchange coupling is smaller.     

Isolation of sporopollenin-like biopolymer from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aspergillus niger</Emphasis> and its characterisation

The study sought to isolate asporopollenin-like biopolymer from Aspergillus niger (A. niger) spore. The spore exine (Sp-exine) from A. niger was isolated using four different methods. The highest isolation efficiency (9.32 %) was found for the method based on H₂SO₄ treatment. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images showed that the isolated Sp-exine had a spherical shape with a spun morphology and was highly uniform in size. The elemental compositions of the bodies of the Sp-exine materials, as well as their surfaces, were observed by means of CHN combustion analysis and SEM with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), respectively. The result demonstrates C, H and O to be the main structural elements in all the Sp-exine samples. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy coupled with solid state ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (solid state ¹³C NMR) spectroscopy and UV-Vis spectroscopy were used to compare the changes in the functional groups of the Sp-exine samples isolated using the different methods. A thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) study demonstrated all the Sp-exine samples showed high thermal stability. Among all tested methods, the treatment with H₂SO₄ and alcoholic potassium hydroxide exhibited the best results in removing cellular and other contents with minimal drastic effect on the structure and morphology and is proposed as the best method for isolating Sp-exine since it required minimal isolation time and showed good isolation efficiency.     

The acidic domains of the Toc159 chloroplast preprotein receptor family are intrinsically disordered protein domains

Background  

The Toc159 family of proteins serve as receptors for chloroplast-destined preproteins. They directly bind to transit peptides, and exhibit preprotein substrate selectivity conferred by an unknown mechanism. The Toc159 receptors each include three domains: C-terminal membrane, central GTPase, and N-terminal acidic (A-) domains. Although the function(s) of the A-domain remains largely unknown, the amino acid sequences are most variable within these domains, suggesting they may contribute to the functional specificity of the receptors.     

Anisotropy and magnetic field effects on the entanglement of a two qubit Heisenberg XY chain

We investigate the entanglement of a two-qubit anisotropic Heisenberg XY chain in thermal equilibrium at temperature T in the presence of an external magnetic field B along the z axis. By means of the combined influences of anisotropic interactions and a magnetic field B, one is able to produce entanglement for any finite T, by adjusting the magnetic field strength. This contrasts with the isotropic interaction or the B = 0 cases, for which there is no entanglement above a critical temperature T(c) that is independent of the external B field.