322 research outputs found
Magnetic phase transitions in the two-dimensional frustrated quantum antiferromagnet Cs2CuCl4
We report magnetization and specific heat measurements in the 2D frustrated
spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet Cs2CuCl4 at temperatures down to 0.05 K and
high magnetic fields up to 11.5 T applied along a, b and c-axes. The low-field
susceptibility chi (T) M/B shows a broad maximum around 2.8 K characteristic of
short-range antiferromagnetic correlations and the overall temperature
dependence is well described by high temperature series expansion calculations
for the partially frustrated triangular lattice with J=4.46 K and J'/J=1/3. At
much lower temperatures (< 0.4 K) and in in-plane field (along b and c-axes)
several new intermediate-field ordered phases are observed in-between the
low-field incommensurate spiral and the high-field saturated ferromagnetic
state. The ground state energy extracted from the magnetization curve shows
strong zero-point quantum fluctuations in the ground state at low and
intermediate fields
A kinetic theory of diffusion in general relativity with cosmological scalar field
A new model to describe the dynamics of particles undergoing diffusion in
general relativity is proposed. The evolution of the particle system is
described by a Fokker-Planck equation without friction on the tangent bundle of
spacetime. It is shown that the energy-momentum tensor for this matter model is
not divergence-free, which makes it inconsistent to couple the Fokker-Planck
equation to the Einstein equations. This problem can be solved by postulating
the existence of additional matter fields in spacetime or by modifying the
Einstein equations. The case of a cosmological scalar field term added to the
left hand side of the Einstein equations is studied in some details. For the
simplest cosmological model, namely the flat Robertson-Walker spacetime, it is
shown that, depending on the initial value of the cosmological scalar field,
which can be identified with the present observed value of the cosmological
constant, either unlimited expansion or the formation of a singularity in
finite time will occur in the future. Future collapse into a singularity also
takes place for a suitable small but positive present value of the cosmological
constant, in contrast to the standard diffusion-free scenario.Comment: 17 pages, no figures. The present version corrects an erroneous
statement on the physical interpretation of the results made in the original
publicatio
Distinct magnetic regimes through site-selective atom substitution in the frustrated quantum antiferromagnet CsCuClBr
We report on a systematic study of the magnetic properties on single crystals
of the solid solution CsCuClBr (0 x 4), which
include the two known end-member compounds CsCuCl and CsCuBr,
classified as quasi-two-dimensional quantum antiferromagnets with different
degrees of magnetic frustration. By comparative measurements of the magnetic
susceptibility () on as many as eighteen different Br concentrations,
we found that the inplane and out-of-plane magnetic correlations, probed by the
position and height of a maximum in the magnetic susceptibility, respectively,
do not show a smooth variation with x. Instead three distinct concentration
regimes can be identified, which are separated by critical concentrations
x = 1 and x = 2. This unusual magnetic behavior can be explained
by considering the structural peculiarities of the materials, especially the
distorted Cu-halide tetrahedra, which support a site-selective replacement of
Cl- by Br- ions. Consequently, the critical concentrations x (x)
mark particularly interesting systems, where one (two) halidesublattice
positions are fully occupied.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure
Relativistic diffusion with friction on a pseudoriemannian manifold
We study a relativistic diffusion equation on the Riemannian phase space
defined by Franchi and Le Jan. We discuss stochastic Ito (Langevin)
differential equations (defining the diffusion) as a perturbation by noise of
the geodesic equation. We show that the expectation value of the angular
momentum and the energy grow exponentially fast. We discuss drifts leading to
an equilibrium. It is shown that the diffusion process corresponding to the
Juettner or quantum equilibrium distributions has a bounded expectation value
of angular momentum and energy. The energy and the angular momentum tend
exponentially fast to their equilibrium values. As examples we discuss a
particle in a plane fronted gravitational wave and a particle in de Sitter
universe. It is shown that the relativistic diffusion of momentum in de Sitter
space is the same as the relativistic diffusion on the Minkowski mass-shell
with the temperature proportional to the de Sitter radius.Comment: the version published in CQ
Finite-temperature dynamical magnetic susceptibility of quasi-one-dimensional frustrated spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnets
We study the dynamical response of frustrated, quasi-one-dimensional spin-1/2
Heisenberg antiferromagnets at finite temperatures. We allow for the presence
of a Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. We concentrate on a model of weakly
coupled planes of anisotropic triangular lattices. Combining exact results for
the dynamical response of one dimensional Heisenberg chains with a Random Phase
Approximation (RPA) in the frustrated interchain couplings, we calculate the
dynamical susceptibility in the disordered phase. We investigate the
instability of the disordered phase to the formation of collective modes. We
find a very weak instability to the formation of incommensurate magnetic order
and determine the ordering temperature and wave vector. We also determine the
effects of uniform magnetic fields on the ordering transition.Comment: 17 pages, 17 Postscript figure
Impaired photoprotection in Phaeodactylum tricornutum KEA3 mutants reveals the proton regulatory circuit of diatoms light acclimation
International audienceDiatoms are successful phytoplankton clades able to acclimate to changing environmental conditions, including e.g. variable light intensity. Diatoms are outstanding at dissipating light energy exceeding the maximum photosynthetic electron transfer (PET) capacity via the nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ) process. While the molecular effectors of NPQ as well as the involvement of the proton motive force (PMF) in its regulation are known, the regulators of the PET/PMF relationship remain unidentified in diatoms. We generated mutants of the H /K antiporter KEA3 in the model diatom . Loss of KEA3 activity affects the PET/PMF coupling and NPQ responses at the onset of illumination, during transients and in steady-state conditions. Thus, this antiporter is a main regulator of the PET/PMF coupling. Consistent with this conclusion, a parsimonious model including only two free components, KEA3 and the diadinoxanthin de-epoxidase, describes most of the feedback loops between PET and NPQ. This simple regulatory system allows for efficient responses to fast (minutes) or slow (e.g. diel) changes in light environment, thanks to the presence of a regulatory calcium ion (Ca )-binding domain in KEA3 modulating its activity. This circuit is likely tuned by the NPQ-effector proteins, LHCXs, providing diatoms with the required flexibility to thrive in different ocean provinces
The Number and Transmission of [PSI+] Prion Seeds (Propagons) in the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) prions are efficiently propagated and the on-going generation and transmission of prion seeds (propagons) to daughter cells during cell division ensures a high degree of mitotic stability. The reversible inhibition of the molecular chaperone Hsp104p by guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl) results in cell division-dependent elimination of yeast prions due to a block in propagon generation and the subsequent dilution out of propagons by cell division.Analysing the kinetics of the GdnHCl-induced elimination of the yeast [PSI+] prion has allowed us to develop novel statistical models that aid our understanding of prion propagation in yeast cells. Here we describe the application of a new stochastic model that allows us to estimate more accurately the mean number of propagons in a [PSI+] cell. To achieve this accuracy we also experimentally determine key cell reproduction parameters and show that the presence of the [PSI+] prion has no impact on these key processes. Additionally, we experimentally determine the proportion of propagons transmitted to a daughter cell and show this reflects the relative cell volume of mother and daughter cells at cell division.While propagon generation is an ATP-driven process, the partition of propagons to daughter cells occurs by passive transfer via the distribution of cytoplasm. Furthermore, our new estimates of n(0), the number of propagons per cell (500-1000), are some five times higher than our previous estimates and this has important implications for our understanding of the inheritance of the [PSI+] and the spontaneous formation of prion-free cells
Response of the Diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum to Photooxidative Stress Resulting from High Light Exposure
The response of microalgae to photooxidative stress resulting from high light exposure is a well-studied phenomenon. However, direct analyses of photosystem II (PSII) D1 protein (the main target of photoinhibition) in diatoms are scarce. In this study, the response of the diatom model species Phaeodactylum tricornutum to short-term exposure to high light was examined and the levels of D1 protein determined immunochemically. Low light (LL) acclimated cells (40 µmol photons m−2 s−1) subjected to high light (HL, 1,250 µmol photons m−2 s−1) showed rapid induction of non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) and ca. 20-fold increase in diatoxanthin (DT) concentration. This resulted from the conversion of diadinoxanthin (DD) to DT through the activation of the DD-cycle. D1 protein levels under LL decreased about 30% after 1 h of the addition of lincomycin (LINC), a chloroplast protein synthesis inhibitor, showing significant D1 degradation and repair under low irradiance. Exposure to HL lead to a 3.2-fold increase in D1 degradation rate, whereas average D1 repair rate was 1.3-x higher under HL than LL, leading to decreased levels of D1 protein under HL. There were significant effects of both HL and LINC on P. tricornutum maximum quantum yield of PSII (Fv/Fm), showing a reduction of active PSII reaction centres. Partial recovery of Fv/Fm in the dark demonstrates the photosynthetic resilience of this diatom to changes in the light regime. P. tricornutum showed high allocation of total protein to D1 and an active D1-repair cycle to limit photoinhibition
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