Heavy Fermions and Quantum Phase Transitions

Quantum phase transitions arise in many-body systems due to competing interactions that promote rivaling ground states. Recent years have seen the identification of continuous quantum phase transitions, or quantum critical points, in a host of antiferromagnetic heavy-fermion compounds. Studies of the interplay between the various effects have revealed new classes of quantum critical points, and are uncovering a plethora of new quantum phases. At the same time, quantum criticality has provided fresh insights into the electronic, magnetic, and superconducting properties of the heavy-fermion metals. We review these developments, discuss the open issues, and outline some directions for future research.Comment: review article, 26 pages, 4 figure

Fermi-surface collapse and dynamical scaling near a quantum critical point

Quantum criticality arises when a macroscopic phase of matter undergoes a continuous transformation at zero temperature. While the collective fluctuations at quantum-critical points are being increasingly recognized as playing an important role in a wide range of quantum materials, the nature of the underlying quantum-critical excitations remains poorly understood. Here we report in-depth measurements of the Hall effect in the heavy-fermion metal YbRh2Si2, a prototypical system for quantum criticality. We isolate a rapid crossover of the isothermal Hall coefficient clearly connected to the quantum-critical point from a smooth background contribution; the latter exists away from the quantum-critical point and is detectable through our studies only over a wide range of magnetic field. Importantly, the width of the critical crossover is proportional to temperature, which violates the predictions of conventional theory and is instead consistent with an energy over temperature, E/T, scaling of the quantum-critical single-electron fluctuation spectrum. Our results provide evidence that the quantum-dynamical scaling and a critical Kondo breakdown simultaneously operate in the same material. Correspondingly, we infer that macroscopic scale-invariant fluctuations emerge from the microscopic many-body excitations associated with a collapsing Fermi-surface. This insight is expected to be relevant to the unconventional finite-temperature behavior in a broad range of strongly correlated quantum systems.Comment: 5 pages, plus supporting materia

Development and Validation of Decision Rules to Guide Frequency of Monitoring CD4 Cell Count in HIV-1 Infection before Starting Antiretroviral Therapy

Background: Although CD4 cell count monitoring is used to decide when to start antiretroviral therapy in patients with HIV-1 infection, there are no evidence-based recommendations regarding its optimal frequency. It is common practice to monitor every 3 to 6 months, often coupled with viral load monitoring. We developed rules to guide frequency of CD4 cell count monitoring in HIV infection before starting antiretroviral therapy, which we validated retrospectively in patients from the Swiss HIV Cohort Study.Methodology/Principal Findings: We built up two prediction rules ("Snap-shot rule" for a single sample and "Track-shot rule" for multiple determinations) based on a systematic review of published longitudinal analyses of CD4 cell count trajectories. We applied the rules in 2608 untreated patients to classify their 18 061 CD4 counts as either justifiable or superfluous, according to their prior >= 5% or < 5% chance of meeting predetermined thresholds for starting treatment. The percentage of measurements that both rules falsely deemed superfluous never exceeded 5%. Superfluous CD4 determinations represented 4%, 11%, and 39% of all actual determinations for treatment thresholds of 500, 350, and 200x10(6)/L, respectively. The Track-shot rule was only marginally superior to the Snap-shot rule. Both rules lose usefulness for CD4 counts coming near to treatment threshold.Conclusions/Significance: Frequent CD4 count monitoring of patients with CD4 counts well above the threshold for initiating therapy is unlikely to identify patients who require therapy. It appears sufficient to measure CD4 cell count 1 year after a count > 650 for a threshold of 200, > 900 for 350, or > 1150 for 500x10(6)/L, respectively. When CD4 counts fall below these limits, increased monitoring frequency becomes advisable. These rules offer guidance for efficient CD4 monitoring, particularly in resource-limited settings

Vegetation and climate change on the Bolivian Altiplano between 108,000 and 18,000 years ago

A 90,000-yr record of environmental change before 18,000 cal yr B.P. has been constructed using pollen analyses from a sediment core obtained from Salar de Uyuni (3653 m above sea level) on the Bolivian Altiplano. The sequence consists of alternating mud and salt, which reflect shifts between wet and dry periods. Low abundances of aquatic species between 108,000 and 50,000 yr ago (such as Myriophyllum and Isoëtes) and marked fluctuations in Pediastrum suggest generally dry conditions dominated by saltpans. Between 50,000 yr ago and 36,000 cal yr B.P., lacustrine sediments become increasingly dominant. The transition to the formation of paleolake “Minchin” begins with marked rises in Isoëtes and Myriophyllum, suggesting a lake of moderate depth. Similarly, between 36,000 and 26,000 cal yr B.P., the transition to paleolake Tauca is also initiated by rises in Isoëtes and Myriophyllum; the sustained presence of Isoëtes indicates the development of flooded littoral communities associated with a lake maintained at a higher water level. Polylepis tarapacana-dominated communities were probably an important component of the Altiplano terrestrial vegetation during much of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and previous wet phases

Panoramic optical and near-infrared SETI instrument: prototype design and testing

The Pulsed All-sky Near-infrared Optical Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence (PANOSETI) is an instrument program that aims to search for fast transient signals (nano-second to seconds) of artificial or astrophysical origin. The PANOSETI instrument objective is to sample the entire observable sky during all observable time at optical and near-infrared wavelengths over 300 - 1650 nm$^1$. The PANOSETI instrument is designed with a number of modular telescope units using Fresnel lenses ($\sim$0.5m) arranged on two geodesic domes in order to maximize sky coverage$^2$. We present the prototype design and tests of these modular Fresnel telescope units. This consists of the design of mechanical components such as the lens mounting and module frame. One of the most important goals of the modules is to maintain the characteristics of the Fresnel lens under a variety of operating conditions. We discuss how we account for a range of operating temperatures, humidity, and module orientations in our design in order to minimize undesirable changes to our focal length or angular resolution.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, 1 tabl

Regulation of the expression of the Cl-/anion exchanger pendrin in mouse kidney by acid-base status

Regulation of the expression of the Cl-/anion exchanger pendrin in mouse kidney by acid-base status.BackgroundPendrin belongs to a superfamily of Cl-/anion exchangers and is expressed in the inner ear, the thyroid gland, and the kidney. In humans, mutations in pendrin cause Pendred syndrome characterized by sensorineural deafness and goiter. Recently pendrin has been localized to the apical side of non-type A intercalated cells of the cortical collecting duct, and reduced bicarbonate secretion was demonstrated in a pendrin knockout mouse model. To investigate a possible role of pendrin in modulating acid-base transport in the cortical collecting duct, we examined the regulation of expression of pendrin by acid-base status in mouse kidney.MethodsMice were treated orally either with an acid or bicarbonate load (0.28 mol/L NH4Cl or NaHCO3) or received a K+-deficient diet for one week. Immunohistochemistry and Western blotting was performed.ResultsAcid-loading caused a reduction in pendrin protein expression levels within one day and decreased expression to 23% of control levels after one week. Concomitantly, pendrin protein was shifted from the apical membrane to the cytosol, and the relative abundance of pendrin positive cells declined. Similarly, in chronic K+-depletion, known to elicit a metabolic alkalosis, pendrin protein levels decreased and pendrin expression was shifted to an intracellular pool with the relative number of pendrin positive cells reduced. In contrast, following oral bicarbonate loading pendrin was found exclusively in the apical membrane and the relative number of pendrin positive cells increased.ConclusionsThese results are in agreement with a potential role of pendrin in bicarbonate secretion and regulation of acid-base transport in the cortical collecting duct

Persistence of the immune response induced by BCG vaccination.

BACKGROUND: Although BCG vaccination is recommended in most countries of the world, little is known of the persistence of BCG-induced immune responses. As novel TB vaccines may be given to boost the immunity induced by neonatal BCG vaccination, evidence concerning the persistence of the BCG vaccine-induced response would help inform decisions about when such boosting would be most effective. METHODS: A randomised control study of UK adolescents was carried out to investigate persistence of BCG immune responses. Adolescents were tested for interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis purified protein derivative (M.tb PPD) in a whole blood assay before, 3 months, 12 months (n = 148) and 3 years (n = 19) after receiving teenage BCG vaccination or 14 years after receiving infant BCG vaccination (n = 16). RESULTS: A gradual reduction in magnitude of response was evident from 3 months to 1 year and from 1 year to 3 years following teenage vaccination, but responses 3 years after vaccination were still on average 6 times higher than before vaccination among vaccinees. Some individuals (11/86; 13%) failed to make a detectable antigen-specific response three months after vaccination, or lost the response after 1 (11/86; 13%) or 3 (3/19; 16%) years. IFN-gamma response to Ag85 was measured in a subgroup of adolescents and appeared to be better maintained with no decline from 3 to 12 months. A smaller group of adolescents were tested 14 years after receiving infant BCG vaccination and 13/16 (81%) made a detectable IFN-gamma response to M.tb PPD 14 years after infant vaccination as compared to 6/16 (38%) matched unvaccinated controls (p = 0.012); teenagers vaccinated in infancy were 19 times more likely to make an IFN-gamma response of > 500 pg/ml than unvaccinated teenagers. CONCLUSION: BCG vaccination in infancy and adolescence induces immunological memory to mycobacterial antigens that is still present and measurable for at least 14 years in the majority of vaccinees, although the magnitude of the peripheral blood response wanes from 3 months to 12 months and from 12 months to 3 years post vaccination. The data presented here suggest that because of such waning in the response there may be scope for boosting anti-tuberculous immunity in BCG vaccinated children anytime from 3 months post-vaccination. This supports the prime boost strategies being employed for some new TB vaccines currently under development

Panoramic SETI: overall focal plane electronics and timing and network protocols

The PANOSETI experiment is an all-sky, all-the-time visible search for nanosecond to millisecond time-scale transients. The experiment will deploy observatory domes at several sites, each dome containing ~45 telescopes and covering ~4,440 square degrees. Here we describe the focal-plane electronics for the visible wavelength telescopes, each of which contains a Mother Board and four Quadrant Boards. On each quadrant board, 256 silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) photon detectors are arranged to measure pulse heights to search for nanosecond time-scale pulses. To simultaneously examine pulse widths over a large range of time scales (nanoseconds to milliseconds), the instrument implements both a Continuous Imaging Mode (CI-Mode) and a Pulse Height Mode (PH-Mode). Precise timing is implemented in the gateware with the White Rabbit protocol