2,590 research outputs found
Systematic Low-Energy Effective Field Theory for Magnons and Holes in an Antiferromagnet on the Honeycomb Lattice
Based on a symmetry analysis of the microscopic Hubbard and t-J models, a
systematic low-energy effective field theory is constructed for hole-doped
antiferromagnets on the honeycomb lattice. In the antiferromagnetic phase,
doped holes are massive due to the spontaneous breakdown of the
symmetry, just as nucleons in QCD pick up their mass from spontaneous chiral
symmetry breaking. In the broken phase the effective action contains a
single-derivative term, similar to the Shraiman-Siggia term in the square
lattice case. Interestingly, an accidental continuous spatial rotation symmetry
arises at leading order. As an application of the effective field theory we
consider one-magnon exchange between two holes and the formation of two-hole
bound states. As an unambiguous prediction of the effective theory, the wave
function for the ground state of two holes bound by magnon exchange exhibits
-wave symmetry.Comment: 33 pages, 6 figure
The effect of distance on observed mortality, childhood pneumonia and vaccine efficacy in rural Gambia.
We investigated whether straight-line distance from residential compounds to healthcare facilities influenced mortality, the incidence of pneumonia and vaccine efficacy against pneumonia in rural Gambia. Clinical surveillance for pneumonia was conducted on 6938 children living in the catchment areas of the two largest healthcare facilities. Deaths were monitored by three-monthly home visits. Children living >5 km from the two largest healthcare facilities had a 2·78 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1·74-4·43] times higher risk of all-cause mortality compared to children living within 2 km of these facilities. The observed rate of clinical and radiological pneumonia was lower in children living >5 km from these facilities compared to those living within 2 km [rate ratios 0·65 (95% CI 0·57-0·73) and 0·74 (95% CI 0·55-0·98), respectively]. There was no association between distance and estimated pneumococcal vaccine efficacy. Geographical access to healthcare services is an important determinant of survival and pneumonia in children in rural Gambia
Step-wedge cluster-randomised community-based trials: An application to the study of the impact of community health insurance
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.BACKGROUND: We describe a step-wedge cluster-randomised community-based trial which has been conducted since 2003 to accompany the implementation of a community health insurance (CHI) scheme in West Africa. The trial aims at overcoming the paucity of evidence-based information on the impact of CHI. Impact is defined in terms of changes in health service utilisation and household protection against the cost of illness. Our exclusive focus on the description and discussion of the methods is justified by the fact that the study relies on a methodology previously applied in the field of disease control, but never in the field of health financing. METHODS: First, we clarify how clusters were defined both in respect of statistical considerations and of local geographical and socio-cultural concerns. Second, we illustrate how households within clusters were sampled. Third, we expound the data collection process and the survey instruments. Finally, we outline the statistical tools to be applied to estimate the impact of CHI. CONCLUSION: We discuss all design choices both in relation to methodological considerations and to specific ethical and organisational concerns faced in the field. On the basis of the appraisal of our experience, we postulate that conducting relatively sophisticated trials (such as our step-wedge cluster-randomised community-based trial) aimed at generating sound public health evidence, is both feasible and valuable also in low income settings. Our work shows that if accurately designed in conjunction with local health authorities, such trials have the potential to generate sound scientific evidence and do not hinder, but at times even facilitate, the implementation of complex health interventions such as CHI
Homogeneous versus Spiral Phases of Hole-doped Antiferromagnets: A Systematic Effective Field Theory Investigation
Using the low-energy effective field theory for magnons and holes -- the
condensed matter analog of baryon chiral perturbation theory for pions and
nucleons in QCD -- we study different phases of doped antiferromagnets. We
systematically investigate configurations of the staggered magnetization that
provide a constant background field for doped holes. The most general
configuration of this type is either constant itself or it represents a spiral
in the staggered magnetization. Depending on the values of the low-energy
parameters, a homogeneous phase, a spiral phase, or an inhomogeneous phase is
energetically favored. The reduction of the staggered magnetization upon doping
is also investigated.Comment: 35 pages, 5 figure
The relativistic self-energy in nuclear dynamics
It is a well known fact that Dirac phenomenology of nuclear forces predicts
the existence of large scalar and vector mean fields in matter. To analyse the
relativistic self-energy in a model independent way, modern high precision
nucleon-nucleon () potentials are mapped on a relativistic operator basis
using projection techniques. This allows to compare the various potentials at
the level of covariant amplitudes were a remarkable agreement is found. It
allows further to calculate the relativistic self-energy in nuclear matter in
Hartree-Fock approximation. Independent of the choice of the nucleon-nucleon
interaction large scalar and vector mean fields of several hundred MeV
magnitude are generated at tree level. In the framework of chiral EFT these
fields are dominantly generated by contact terms which occur at next-to-leading
order in the chiral expansion. Consistent with Dirac phenomenology the
corresponding low energy constants which generate the large fields are closely
connected to the spin-orbit interaction in scattering. The connection to
QCD sum rules is discussed as well.Comment: 49 pages, 13 figure
Electroweak Gauge-Boson Production at Small q_T: Infrared Safety from the Collinear Anomaly
Using methods from effective field theory, we develop a novel, systematic
framework for the calculation of the cross sections for electroweak gauge-boson
production at small and very small transverse momentum q_T, in which large
logarithms of the scale ratio M_V/q_T are resummed to all orders. These cross
sections receive logarithmically enhanced corrections from two sources: the
running of the hard matching coefficient and the collinear factorization
anomaly. The anomaly leads to the dynamical generation of a non-perturbative
scale q_* ~ M_V e^{-const/\alpha_s(M_V)}, which protects the processes from
receiving large long-distance hadronic contributions. Expanding the cross
sections in either \alpha_s or q_T generates strongly divergent series, which
must be resummed. As a by-product, we obtain an explicit non-perturbative
expression for the intercept of the cross sections at q_T=0, including the
normalization and first-order \alpha_s(q_*) correction. We perform a detailed
numerical comparison of our predictions with the available data on the
transverse-momentum distribution in Z-boson production at the Tevatron and LHC.Comment: 34 pages, 9 figure
Nucleon mass and pion loops: Renormalization
Using Dyson--Schwinger equations, the nucleon propagator is analyzed
nonperturbatively in a field--theoretical model for the pion--nucleon
interaction. Infinities are circumvented by using pion--nucleon form factors
which define the physical scale. It is shown that the correct, finite,
on--shell nucleon renormalization is important for the value of the mass--shift
and the propagator. For physically acceptable forms of the pion--nucleon form
factor the rainbow approximation together with renormalization is inconsistent.
Going beyond the rainbow approximation, the full pion--nucleon vertex is
modelled by its bare part plus a one--loop correction including an effective
. It is found that a consistent value for the nucleon mass--shift can
be obtained as a consequence of a subtle interplay between wave function and
vertex renormalization. Furthermore, the bare and renormalized pion--nucleon
coupling constant are approximately equal, consistent with results from the
Cloudy Bag Model.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure
Coupling a single atomic quantum bit to a high finesse optical cavity
The quadrupole S -- D optical transition of a single trapped
Ca ion, well suited for encoding a quantum bit of information, is
coherently coupled to the standing wave field of a high finesse cavity. The
coupling is verified by observing the ion's response to both spatial and
temporal variations of the intracavity field. We also achieve deterministic
coupling of the cavity mode to the ion's vibrational state by selectively
exciting vibrational state-changing transitions and by controlling the position
of the ion in the standing wave field with nanometer-precision
A Matrix Model for \nu_{k_1k_2}=\frac{k_1+k_2}{k_1 k_2} Fractional Quantum Hall States
We propose a matrix model to describe a class of fractional quantum Hall
(FQH) states for a system of (N_1+N_2) electrons with filling factor more
general than in the Laughlin case. Our model, which is developed for FQH states
with filling factor of the form \nu_{k_1k_2}=\frac{k_1+k_2}{k_1k_2} (k_1 and
k_2 odd integers), has a U(N_1)\times U(N_2) gauge invariance, assumes that FQH
fluids are composed of coupled branches of the Laughlin type, and uses ideas
borrowed from hierarchy scenarios. Interactions are carried, amongst others, by
fields in the bi-fundamentals of the gauge group. They simultaneously play the
role of a regulator, exactly as does the Polychronakos field. We build the
vacuum configurations for FQH states with filling factors given by the series
\nu_{p_1p_2}=\frac{p_2}{p_1p_2-1}, p_1 and p_2 integers. Electrons are
interpreted as a condensate of fractional D0-branes and the usual degeneracy of
the fundamental state is shown to be lifted by the non-commutative geometry
behaviour of the plane. The formalism is illustrated for the state at
\nu={2/5}.Comment: 40 pages, 1 figure, clarifications and references adde
A general method for the resummation of event-shape distributions in e⁺ e− annihilation
We present a novel method for resummation of event shapes to next-to-next-to-leading-logarithmic (NNLL) accuracy. We discuss the technique and describe its implementation in a numerical program in the case of e + e − collisions where the resummed prediction is matched to NNLO. We reproduce all the existing predictions and present new results for oblateness and thrust major
- …