arXiv subjects

Harpreet Kaur

Publications and source records attributed to Harpreet Kaur.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Ascorbic acid mitigates oxidative structural degradation in bovine spermatozoa: a label-free quantitative phase microscopy study

Oxidative stress is a key factor in low fertility outcomes during assisted reproduction technology (ART) and contributes to poor sperm quality. Conventional assessment relies on bright-field microscopy, which lacks the quantitative sensitivity to resolve subcellular structural and biophysical changes without exogenous contrast agents, a requirement that can introduce cytotoxic effects and compromise cell viability. This study uses QPM as a label-free, high-throughput method to demonstrate how ascorbic acid reduces the impact of oxidative structural degradation in Sahiwal bovine spermatozoa. To illustrate this pathology, severe oxidative stress was experimentally induced using hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and two doses of ascorbic acid (1 mg/ml and 8 mg/ml) were tested to evaluate dose-dependent antioxidant recovery in structurally damaged sperm. QPM was used to quantify structural changes in key biophysical parameters, including dry mass, optical thickness, volume, surface area, sphericity, and surface area-to-volume ratio, as well as intracellular texture parameters. Under acute oxidative stress, bovine spermatozoa exhibited significant reductions in optical thickness and dry mass, alongside measurable changes in intracellular structural organization, collectively indicative of oxidative stress-induced morphological degradation. Co-treatment with ascorbic acid resulted in partial, dose-dependent structural preservation, with the 8 mg/ml formulation demonstrating statistically significant attenuation of these structural changes compared to the 1 mg/ml treatment group. These findings suggest that QPM-derived biophysical parameters may serve as promising, label-free structural indicators for characterizing oxidative damage in bovine spermatozoa. Future studies should incorporate functional validation to determine whether this structural preservation translates to improved outcomes in ART.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Two- and three-body dispersion coefficients for interaction of Cu and Ag atoms with {Group} I, II, and XII elements

The mounting interest in conducting thorough analyses and studies of long-range interactions stems from their wide-ranging applications in cold atomic physics, making it a compelling area for research. In this work, we have evaluated long range van der Waals dispersion (vdW) interactions of Cu and Ag atoms with atoms of group I (Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, and Fr), II (Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, and {Ba}), XII (Zn, Cd, and Hg) {as well as} singly charged ions of group II (Be$^+$, Mg$^+$, Ca$^+$, Sr$^+$, and {Ba$^+$}) and XII (Zn$^+$, Cd$^+$, and Hg$^+$) by calculating $C_6$(two-body) and $C_9$ (three-body) vdW dispersion coefficients. In order to obtain these $C_6$ and $C_9$ coefficients, we have evaluated the dynamic dipole polarizability of the considered atoms using appropriate relativistic methods and the sum-over-states approach. To ascertain the accuracy of our results, we have compared the evaluated static dipole polarizabilities of Cu and Ag atoms and their oscillator strengths for dominant transitions {with} available literature. The calculated values of $C_6$ dispersion coefficients have also been compared with the previously reported results.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2024

Gameful Introduction to Cryptography for Dyslexic Students

Cryptography has a pivotal role in securing our digital world. Nonetheless, it is a challenging topic to learn. In this paper, we show that despite its complex nature, dyslexia$-$a learning disorder that influences reading and writing skills$-$does not hinder one's ability to comprehend cryptography. In particular, we conducted a gameful workshop with 14 high-school dyslexic students and taught them fundamental encryption methods. The students engaged well, learned the techniques, and enjoyed the training. We conclude that with a proper approach, dyslexia cannot hinder learning a complex subject such as cryptography.

cs.SE↗

arXiv2023

Learning how to find targets in the micro-world: The case of intermittent active Brownian particles

Finding the best strategy to minimize the time needed to find a given target is a crucial task both in nature and in reaching decisive technological advances. By considering learning agents able to switch their dynamics between standard and active Brownian motion, here we focus on developing effective target-search behavioral policies for microswimmers navigating a homogeneous environment and searching for targets of unknown position. We exploit Projective Simulation, a reinforcement learning algorithm, to acquire an efficient stochastic policy represented by the probability of switching the phase, i.e. the navigation mode, in response to the type and the duration of the current phase. Our findings reveal that the target-search efficiency increases with the particle's self-propulsion during the active phase and that, while the optimal duration of the passive case decreases monotonically with the activity, the optimal duration of the active phase displays a non-monotonic behavior.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2023

Accurate estimate of $C_5$ dispersion coefficients of the alkali atoms interacting with different material media

By inferring the dynamic permittivity of different material media from the observations and calculating dynamic electric dipole polarizabilties of the Li through Cs alkali atoms, precise values of $C_3$ coefficients were estimated in Phys. Rev. A {\bf 89}, 022511 (2014) and Phys. Lett. A {\bf 380}, 3366 (2016). Since significant contribution towards the long range van der Waals potential is given by the quadrupole polarization effects, we have estimated the $C_5$ coefficients in this work arising from the quadrupole polarization effects of all the alkali atoms interacting with metal (Au), semiconductor (Si) and four dielectric materials (SiO$_2$, SiN$_x$, YAG and sapphire). The required dynamic electric quadrupole (E2) polarizabilities are evaluated by calculating E2 matrix elements of a large number of transitions in the alkali atoms by employing a relativistic coupled-cluster method. Our finding shows that contributions from the $C_5$ coefficients to the atom-wall interaction potentials are pronounced at short distances (1$-$10 nm). The $C_3$ coefficients of Fr atom interacting with the above material media are also reported. These results can be useful in understanding the interactions of alkali atoms trapped in different material bodies during the high-precision measurements.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2023

Magnetic Sublevel Independent Magic and Tune-out Wavelengths of the Alkaline-earth Ions

Lightshift of a state due to the applied laser in an atomic system vanishes at the tune-out wavelengths ($λ_T$s). Similarly, differential light shift of a transition vanishes at the magic wavelengths ($λ_{magic}$s). In many of the earlier studies, values of the electric dipole (E1) matrix elements were inferred precisely by combining measurements of $λ_{magic}$ with the calculated their values. Similarly, the $λ_T$ values of an atomic state can be used to infer the E1 matrix element as it involves dynamic electric dipole ($α$) values of only one state whereas the $λ_{magic}$ values are dealt with $α$ values of two states. However, both the $λ_T$ and $λ_{magic}$ values depend on angular momenta and their magnetic components ($M$) of states. Here, we report the $λ_T$ and $λ_{magic}$ values of many $S_{1/2}$ and $D_{3/2,5/2}$ states, and transitions among these states of the Mg$^{+}$, Ca$^{+}$, Sr$^{+}$ and Ba$^{+}$ ions that are independent of $M$- values. Measuring these wavelengths in a special set-up as discussed in the paper, it could be possible to infer a large number of E1 matrix elements of the above ions accurately.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2023

Adaptive active Brownian particles searching for targets of unknown positions

Developing behavioral policies designed to efficiently solve target-search problems is a crucial issue both in nature and in the nanotechnology of the 21st century. Here, we characterize the target-search strategies of simple microswimmers in a homogeneous environment containing sparse targets of unknown positions. The microswimmers are capable of controlling their dynamics by switching between Brownian motion and an active Brownian particle and by selecting the time duration of each of the two phases. The specific conduct of a single microswimmer depends on an internal decision-making process determined by a simple neural network associated with the agent itself. Starting from a population of individuals with random behavior, we exploit the genetic algorithm NeuroEvolution of Augmenting Topologies to show how an evolutionary pressure based on the target-search performances of single individuals helps to find the optimal duration of the two different phases. Our findings reveal that the optimal policy strongly depends on the magnitude of the particle's self-propulsion during the active phase and that a broad spectrum of network topology solutions exists, differing in the number of connections and hidden nodes.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2022

Accurate determination of quadrupole polarizabilities of the excited states of alkali-metal atoms

The scalar and tensor components of the electric quadrupole (E2) polarizabilities of the first two excited states of all the alkali-metal atoms are determined. To validate the calculations, we have evaluated the ground state E2 polarizabilities of these atoms and compared them with the literature values. We could not find the ground state E2 polarizability value for Fr in the literature to compare with our result. The dominant parts of these quantities are estimated by combining the precisely calculated E2 transition matrix elements of many low-lying transitions with the experimental energies, while the other contributions are estimated using lower-order methods. Our estimated values for the ground states of the above atoms are in good agreement with the literature values suggesting that our estimated E2 polarizabilities for the excited states of the alkali atoms, which were not known earlier except for the Li atom, are also quite accurate. These reported E2 polarizabilities could be useful in guiding many precision measurements in the alkali atoms.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2022

Pressure and temperature dependence of fluorescence anisotropy of Green Fluorescent Protein

We have studied the effect of high hydrostatic pressure and temperature on the steady state fluorescence anisotropy of Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP). We find that the fluorescence anisotropy of GFP at a constant temperature decreases with increasing pressure. At atmospheric pressure, anisotropy decreases with increasing temperature but exhibits a maximum with temperature for pressure larger than 20 MPa. The temperature corresponding to the maximum of anisotropy increases with increasing pressure. By taking into account of the rotational correlation time changes of GFP with the pressure-temperature dependent viscosity of the solvent, we argue that viscosity increase with pressure is not a major contributing factor to the decrease in anisotropy with pressure. Our results suggest that the decrease of fluorescence anisotropy with pressure may result from changes in H-bonding environment around the chromophore.

q-bio.BM↗

arXiv2022

Two-dipole and three-dipole interaction coefficients of GROUP XII elements

The study of long-range interactions is increasingly becoming essential due to its various applications in cold atomic physics. These interactions can be conveniently expressed in terms of dispersion coefficients. In the present work, theoretical calculations have been carried out to estimate the two-dipole ($C_6$) and three-dipole ($C_9$) dispersion coefficients between the group XII atoms and their ions, \textit{viz.}, Zn, Cd, Hg, Zn$^+$, Cd$^+$, and Hg$^+$. To obtain these coefficients, the dynamic dipole polarizabilities and reduced matrix elements required are evaluated using the relativistic methods for both the considered atoms and ions. Further, using the calculated matrix elements, the oscillator strengths corresponding to leading transitions and static dipole polarizabilities are determined. These are compared with the available values in the literature through which the accuracy of the present calculations ascertains. However, the oscillator strengths for few transitions of Zn, Cd, Hg, Zn$^+$, Cd$^+$, and Hg$^+$, are not reported earlier, and we have provided their values in this work. Thereafter, the dispersion $C_6$ and $C_9$ coefficients are calculated for various combinations of the group XII elements, and most of these coefficients were not reported earlier in the literature. Furthermore, the combinations for which the other theoretical and experimental values were available for comparison showed good agreement. We, therefore, believe that our results reported for $C_6$ and $C_9$ coefficients for various combinations of group XII elements are reliable.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2022

Dispersion $C_3$ coefficients for physisorption of heavy ions and atoms with graphene and carbon nanotubes

In the present work, the calculations have been performed for dispersion interaction between heavy elements (Zn$^+$, Cd$^+$, Hg$^+$, Pb$^+$, Zn, Cd, Hg, and Pb) with graphene and carbon nanotubes by evaluating van der Waals $C_3$ coefficients using well-known Lifshitz theory. The dispersion coefficients are expressed in terms of reflection coefficients of graphene and carbon nanotubes which are calculated within the framework of Dirac model. In addition, accurate values of dynamic dipole polarizabilities at imaginary frequencies of considered ions and atoms which are vital, have been calculated using relativistic methods. The comparisons of our calculated static dipole polarizabilities for the considered elements with the values reported in the literature are also presented. The dispersion interactions of the considered heavy elements with the graphene and carbon nanotubes of different radii in a wide range of separation distances have been studied. The results have also been analysed with another subtle variable, i.e., gap parameter of graphene wall. The interaction coefficients obtained for both the materials, i.e., for graphene and carbon nanotubes are mutually compared and it is found that graphene can be said as preferable material for adsorption of these toxic heavy elements.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2022

Radiative properties of Cu-isoelectronic As, Se and Br ions for astrophysical applications

We present precise radiative data of line strengths, transition probabilities and oscillator strengths for the allowed transitions among the $nS_{1/2}$, $nP_{1/2,3/2}$, $n'D_{3/2,5/2}$ and $n'F_{5/2,7/2}$ states with $n=4$ to $6$ and $n'=4,5$ of the Cu-isoelectronic As, Se and Br ions. Due to unavailability of precise observations of these spectroscopic data, their accurate estimations are of great interest and useful in analyzing various astrophysical phenomena undergoing inside the heavenly bodies that contain As, Se and Br elements. An all-order perturbative many-body method in the relativistic theory framework has been employed to determine the atomic wave functions, which are further used to estimate the above quantities with the uncertainties. We found significant differences between some of our results and results that are available earlier.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2000

Masses of Heavy Hadrons

An estimate has been made of the masses of heavy hadrons in nonrelativistic quark model, which includes spin and flavor-dependent hyperfine splitting for two quarks. The effect of variation of the wavefunction value at origin and the strong coupling constant, with flavor, has also been included in calculating the mass values.

hep-ph↗