The Berry-Tabor conjecture for spin chains of Haldane-Shastry type

According to a long-standing conjecture of Berry and Tabor, the distribution of the spacings between consecutive levels of a "generic'' integrable model should follow Poisson's law. In contrast, the spacings distribution of chaotic systems typically follows Wigner's law. An important exception to the Berry-Tabor conjecture is the integrable spin chain with long-range interactions introduced by Haldane and Shastry in 1988, whose spacings distribution is neither Poissonian nor of Wigner's type. In this letter we argue that the cumulative spacings distribution of this chain should follow the "square root of a logarithm'' law recently proposed by us as a characteristic feature of all spin chains of Haldane-Shastry type. We also show in detail that the latter law is valid for the rational counterpart of the Haldane-Shastry chain introduced by Polychronakos.Comment: LaTeX with revtex4, 6 pages, 6 figure

Coastal evolution in a Mediterranean microtidal zone: mid to late Holocene natural dynamics and human management of the Castelló lagoon, NE Spain

© 2016 Ejarque et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. We present a palaeoenvironmental study of the Castelló lagoon (NE Spain), an important archive for understanding long-term interactions between dynamic littoral ecosystems and human management. Combining geochemistry, mineralogy, ostracods, diatoms, pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, charcoal and archaeo-historical datasets we reconstruct: 1) the transition of the lagoon from a marine to a marginal environment between ∼ 3150 cal BC to the 17 th century AD; 2) fluctuations in salinity; and 3) natural and anthropogenic forces contributing to these changes. From the Late Neolithic to the Medieval period the lagoon ecosystem was driven by changing marine influence and the land was mainly exploited for grazing, with little evidence for impact on the natural woodland. Land-use exploitation adapted to natural coastal dynamics, with maximum marine flooding hampering agropastoral activities between ∼ 1550 and ∼ 150 cal BC. In contrast, societies actively controlled the lagoon dynamics and become a major agent of landscape transformation after the Medieval period. The removal of littoral woodlands after the 8 th century was followed by the expansion of agrarian and industrial activities. Regional mining and smelting activities polluted the lagoon with heavy metals from the ∼ 11 th century onwards. The expansion of the milling industry and of agricultural lands led to the channelization of the river Muga into the lagoon after ∼ 1250 cal AD. This caused its transformation into a freshwater lake, increased nutrient load, and the infilling and drainage of a great part of the lagoon. By tracking the shift towards an anthropogenically-controlled system around∼ 750 yr ago, this study points out Mediterranean lagoons as ancient and heavily-modified systems, with anthropogenic impacts and controls covering multi-centennial and even millennial timescales. Finally, we contributed to the future construction of reliable seashell-based chronologies in NE Spain by calibrating the Banyuls-sur-Mer ▵ R offset with ceramic imports from the Emporiae archaeological site

1/fα1/f^\alpha noise and integrable systems

An innovative test for detecting quantum chaos based on the analysis of the spectral fluctuations regarded as a time series has been recently proposed. According to this test, the fluctuations of a fully chaotic system should exhibit 1/f noise, whereas for an integrable system this noise should obey the 1/f^2 power law. In this letter, we show that there is a family of well-known integrable systems, namely spin chains of Haldane-Shastry type, whose spectral fluctuations decay instead as 1/f^4. We present a simple theoretical justification of this fact, and propose an alternative characterization of quantum chaos versus integrability formulated directly in terms of the power spectrum of the spacings of the unfolded spectrum.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, RevTe

Rising household debt. Its causes and macroeconomic implications: a long period analysis

The article analyses the rise in household indebtedness from the point of view of its causes and long-run macroeconomic implications. The analysis is focussed on the US case. Differently from life-cycle interpretations of the phenomenon, and from interpretations in terms of erratic deviations of current income flows from their long- run trend, the rising household debt is viewed as the outcome of persistent changes in income distribution and growing income inequalities. Through household debt, low wages appear to have been brought to coexist with relatively high levels of aggregate demand, thus providing the solution to the contradiction between the necessity of high and rising consumption levels, for the growth of the system’s actual output, and a framework of antagonistic conditions of distribution which keeps within limits the real income of the vast majority of society. The question of the long- run sustainability of this substitution of loans for wages is finally discussed

The influenza NS1 protein: what do we know in equine influenza virus pathogenesis?

Equine influenza virus remains a serious health and potential economic problem throughout most parts of the world, despite intensive vaccination programs in some horse populations. The influenza non-structural protein 1 (NS1) has multiple functions involved in the regulation of several cellular and viral processes during influenza infection. We review the strategies that NS1 uses to facilitate virus replication and inhibit antiviral responses in the host, including sequestering of double-stranded RNA, direct modulation of protein kinase R activity and inhibition of transcription and translation of host antiviral response genes such as type I interferon. Details are provided regarding what it is known about NS1 in equine influenza, especially concerning C-terminal truncation. Further research is needed to determine the role of NS1 in equine influenza infection, which will help to understand the pathophysiology of complicated cases related to cytokine imbalance and secondary bacterial infection, and to investigate new therapeutic and vaccination strategies

Stress in Europe with confidence limits

This article has been accepted for publication in Geophysical Journal International ©: The Authors 2003. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.In this study, we modify and extend a data analysis technique to determine the stress orientations between data clusters by adding an additional constraint governing the probability algorithm. We apply this technique to produce a map of the maximum horizontal compressive stress (S_Hmax) orientations in the greater European region (including Europe, Turkey and Mediterranean Africa). Using the World Stress Map dataset release 2008, we obtain analytical probability distributions of the directional differences as a function of the angular distance, θ. We then multiply the probability distributions that are based on pre-averaged data within θ<3° of the interpolation point and determine the maximum likelihood estimate of the S_Hmax orientation. At a given distance, the probability of obtaining a particular discrepancy decreases exponentially with discrepancy. By exploiting this feature observed in the World Stress Map release 2008 dataset, we increase the robustness of our S_Hmax determinations. For a reliable determination of the most likely S_Hmax orientation, we require that 90% confidence limits be less than ±60° and a minimum of three clusters, which is achieved for 57% of the study area, with small uncertainties of less than ±10° for 7% of the area. When the data density exceeds 0.8×10^-3 data/km2, our method provides a means of reproducing significant local patterns in the stress field. Several mountain ranges in the Mediterranean display 90° changes in the S_Hmax orientation from their crests (which often experience normal faulting) and their foothills (which often experience thrust faulting). This pattern constrains the tectonic stresses to a magnitude similar to that of the topographic stresses.This work was supported by the DPC-INGV 2008-2010 S1 project, the EU-FP7 project “Seismic Hazard Harmonization in Europe” (SHARE; Grant agreement no. 226967), and project MIUR-FIRB "Abruzzo" (code: RBAP10ZC8K_003).Published3.1. Fisica dei terremoti3.3. Geodinamica e struttura dell'interno della Terra4.2. TTC - Modelli per la stima della pericolosità sismica a scala nazionaleJCR Journalpartially_ope

Resolving the clumpy circumstellar environment of the B[e] supergiant LHA 120-S 35

Context. B[e] supergiants are massive post-main-sequence stars, surrounded by a complex circumstellar environment where moleculesand dust can survive. The shape in which the material is distributed around these objects and its dynamics as well as the mechanismsthat give rise to these structures are not well understood.Aims. The aim of this work is to deepen our knowledge of the structure and kinematics of the circumstellar disc of the B[e] supergiantLHA 120-S 35.Methods. High-resolution optical spectra were obtained in three different years. Forbidden emission lines, that contribute to trace thedisc at different distances from the star, are modelled in order to determine the kinematical properties of their line-forming regions,assuming Keplerian rotation. In addition, we used low-resolution near-infrared spectra to explore the variability of molecular emission.Results. LHA 120-S 35 displays an evident spectral variability in both optical and infrared regions. The P-Cygni line profiles of H i,as well as those of Fe ii and O i, suggest the presence of a strong bipolar clumped wind. We distinguish density enhancements in theP-Cygni absorption component of the first Balmer lines, which show variations in both velocity and strength. The P-Cygni profileemission component is double-peaked, indicating the presence of a rotating circumstellar disc surrounding the star. We also observeline-profile variations in the permitted and forbidden features of Fe ii and O i. In the infrared, we detect variations in the intensity ofthe H i emission lines as well as in the emission of the CO band-heads. Moreover, we find that the profiles of each [Ca ii] and [O i]emission lines contain contributions from spatially different (complete or partial) rings. Globally, we find evidence of detached multi-ring structures, revealing density variations along the disc. We identify an inner ring, with sharp edge, where [Ca ii] and [O i] linesshare their forming region with the CO molecular bands. The outermost regions show a complex structure, outlined by fragmentedclumps or partial-ring features of Ca ii and O i. Additionally, we observe variations in the profiles of the only visible absorptionfeatures, the He i lines.Conclusions. We suggest that LHA 120-S 35 has passed through the red-supergiant (RSG) phase and evolves back bluewards in theHertzsprung-Russell diagram. In this scenario, the formation of the complex circumstellar structure could be the result of the wind-wind interactions of the post-RSG wind with the previously ejected material from the RSG. The accumulation of material in thecircumstellar environment could be attributed to enhanced mass-loss, probably triggered by stellar pulsations. However, the presenceof a binary companion can not be excluded. Finally, we find that LHA 120-S 35 is the third B[e] supergiant belonging to a youngstellar cluster.Fil: Torres, Andrea Fabiana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas; ArgentinaFil: Cidale, Lydia Sonia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas; ArgentinaFil: Kraus, M.. Tartu Observatory, Estonia; Estonia. Astronomický Ústav, Akademie Ved Ceské Republiky; República ChecaFil: Arias, María Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas. Instituto de Astrofísica La Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas; ArgentinaFil: Barba, Rodolfo Hector. Universidad de La Serena; ChileFil: Maravelias, G.. Universidad de Valparaiso; Chile. Astronomický Ústav, Akademie Ved Ceské Republiky; República ChecaFil: Borges Fernandes, M.. Ministério de Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovacao. Observatorio Nacional; Brasi

Evaluación genética de la planta forestal : concepto y resultados disponibles para rodales de pinos españoles

Presentamos una revisión de conceptos y resultados relacionados con la evaluación genética de los pinos españoles, centrada en los patrones de variación geográfica entre poblaciones. Tras describir someramente los principales mecanismos genéticos que explican esta variación, se comentan los distintos tipos de ensayos, a la luz de la legislación vigente sobre materiales de reproducción. Hemos elegido los principales resultados obtenidos hasta la fecha, con un grado de divulgación muy diverso: desde tesis doctorales y trabajos fin de carrera hasta comunicaciones en congresos y artículos científicos en revistas indexadas. Nuestro principal objetivo es dar a conocer la gran potencialidad de la variación intraespecífica de nuestras principales especies forestales de forma que se pueda sacar el máximo partido de ella dentro de una gestión forestal sostenible.________________________________We are presenting a revision of concepts and results related to the genetic evaluation of Spanish pines, focused on geographical variation patterns among populations. After describing briefly the main genetic mechanisms underlying this variation, we comment the different types of genetic trials, at the light of the current legislation on FRM. We chose the main results obtained up till now, yet with a diverse divulgation level: from doctoral Thesis and Master reports up to congress proceedings and papers on the scientific citation index. Our main goal is highlighting the wide potential of intraspecific variation of our main forest species such that it can be optimally used in the framework of a sustainable forest management