Low-Temperature Physics

Grand challenges in low-temperature plasma physics

INTRODUCTION A plasma is a hot ionized gas and classification of this fourth state of matter can be initially done using the basic concept of temperature. A prime example is the Sun which exhibits a very hot plasma in its core with temperatures of about 1.5 × 107 K (a result of fusion reactions with a proton density of ∼1026 cm−3) and cooler surface temperatures of about 6000 K [1]: the Solar w...

Physics of Proteins at Low Temperature

We present results of a hole burning study with thermal cycling and waiting time spectral diffusion experiments on a modified cytochrome c protein in its native as well as in its denatured state. The experiments show features which seem to be characteristic for the protein state of matter and its associated dynamics at low temperature. The properties responsible for the observed patterns are or...

Majorana “spin-flip” and ultra-low temperature atomic physics

Low temperature physics at room temperature in water: Charge inversion in chemical and biological systems

We review recent advances in the physics of strongly interacting charged systems functioning in water at room temperature. We concentrate on the phenomena which go beyond the framework of mean field theories, whether linear Debye-Hückel or non-linear Poisson-Boltzmann. We place major emphasis on charge inversion-a counterintuitive phenomenon in which a strongly charged particle, called macroion...

Low-x Physics

Low-x physics is reviewed, with particular emphasis on searches for deviations from GLAP evolution of the parton densities. Although there are several intriguing indications, both in HERA and Tevatron data, as yet there is no unambiguous evidence for other than standard next-to-leadingorder GLAP evolution. The framework of dipole models and saturation of parton densities is examined and confron...