Liquid crystal phase and waterlike anomalies in a core-softened shoulder-dumbbells system

Using molecular dynamics we investigate the thermodynamics, dynamics and structure of 250 diatomic molecules interacting by a core-softened potential. This system exhibits thermodynamics, dynamics and structural anomalies: a maximum in density-temperature plane at constante pressure and maximum and minimum points in the diffusivity and translational order parameter against density at constant temperature. Starting with very dense systems and decreasing density the mobility at low temperatures first increases, reach a maximum, then decreases, reach a minimum and finally increases. In the pressure-temperature phase diagram the line of maximum translational order parameter is located outside the line of diffusivity extrema that is enclosing the temperature of maximum density line. We compare our results with the monomeric system showing that the anisotropy due to the dumbbell leads to a much larger solid phase and to the appearance of a liquid crystal phase. the double ranged thermodynamic and dynamic anomalies.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure

Neutrino-nucleus interaction rates at a low-energy beta-beam facility

We compute the neutrino detection rates to be expected at a low-energy beta-beam facility. We consider various nuclei as neutrino detectors and compare the case of a small versus large storage ring.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Superconducting Topological Fluids in Josephson Junction Arrays

We argue that the frustrated Josephson junction arrays may support a topologically ordered superconducting ground state, characterized by a non-trivial ground state degeneracy on the torus. This superconducting quantum fluid provides an explicit example of a system in which superconductivity arises from a topological mechanism rather than from the usual Landau-Ginzburg mechanism.Comment: 4 page

Aplicação da metodologia definida pela OCDE para o cálculo de população urbana e rural nos municípios do Brasil

Não existe, à escala internacional, um consenso sobre a definição do conceito de “rural”, apesar de ser usado quer pelo senso comum quer pelos cientistas das ciências sociais. Com o objetivo de aplicar o critério de delimitação do rural da OCDE no território brasileiro, a presente comunicação utilizou dados do censo demográfico brasileiro de 2010, fornecidos pelo IBGE. Procurando seguir a tipologia da OCDE foi determinada a densidade demográfica de cada um dos 314.018 setores censitários e classificados como urbano ou rural. Com esses dados os 5.565 municípios foram qualificados como Região Predominantemente Rural; Região Intermediária e Região Predominantemente Urbana. Os resultados apontam para a maioria das cidades brasileiras como sendo consideradas regiões intermediárias

What about a beta-beam facility for low energy neutrinos?

A novel method to produce neutrino beams has recently been proposed : the beta-beams. This method consists in using the beta-decay of boosted radioactive nuclei to obtain an intense, collimated and pure neutrino beam. Here we propose to exploit the beta-beam concept to produce neutrino beams of low energy. We discuss the applications of such a facility as well as its importance for different domains of physics. We focus, in particular, on neutrino-nucleus interaction studies of interest for various open issues in astrophysics, nuclear and particle physics. We suggest possible sites for a low energy beta-beam facility.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

The role of extracellular polymeric substances in micropollutant removal

In biological wastewater treatment (WWT), microorganisms live and grow held together by a slime matrix comprised of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), forming a three-dimensional microbial structure of aggregates (flocs or granules) and by chemical binding forces. Furthermore, microscopic observations showed that microbial cells within the flocs were cross linked with EPS, forming a network of polymers with pores and channels. The EPS are typically composed of organic substances such as polysaccharides (PS), proteins (PNs), humic acid substances (HAS), nucleic acids, and lipids. It has been established that EPS play an essential role in aggregate flocculation, settling, and dewatering. Moreover, in the presence of toxic substances, such as pharmaceutical compounds and pesticides, EPS form a protective layer for the aggregated biomass against environmental disturbances that might play an important role in the transport and transformation of micropollutants. Some researchers indicated that there is an increase in EPS concentration under toxic conditions, which can induce an increase in the size of microbial aggregates. In this contribution, we critically review the available information on the impact of micropollutants on microbial EPS production and the relationship between EPS and microbial aggregate structure. Also, a general definition, composition, and factors that affect EPS production are presented.The authors thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UIDB/04469/2020 unit. The authors also acknowledge the financial support to AM through the Grant Number 240–20170220 provided by Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de Pernambuco (IFPE). DM and CQ thank FCT for funding through program DL 57/2016— Norma transitória.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

SU(m) non-Abelian anyons in the Jain hierarchy of quantum Hall states

We show that different classes of topological order can be distinguished by the dynamical symmetry algebra of edge excitations. Fundamental topological order is realized when this algebra is the largest possible, the algebra of quantum area-preserving diffeomorphisms, called $W_{1+\infty}$. We argue that this order is realized in the Jain hierarchy of fractional quantum Hall states and show that it is more robust than the standard Abelian Chern-Simons order since it has a lower entanglement entropy due to the non-Abelian character of the quasi-particle anyon excitations. These behave as SU($m$) quarks, where $m$ is the number of components in the hierarchy. We propose the topological entanglement entropy as the experimental measure to detect the existence of these quantum Hall quarks. Non-Abelian anyons in the $\nu = 2/5$ fractional quantum Hall states could be the primary candidates to realize qbits for topological quantum computation.Comment: 5 pages, no figures, a few typos corrected, a reference adde

Effect of gelation temperature on the properties of skim milk gels made from plant coagulants and chymosin

Reconstituted skim milk was gelled at 25-40°C with the plant-origin coagulants from Cynara cardunculus L. or Cynara humilis L. or with fermentation-produced chymosin. Gel formation and ageing were monitored by low amplitude oscillatory rheology and confocal scanning laser microscopy. Arrhenius plots for the rate of milk gelation were also determined. Plant coagulants had shorter gelation time (tg) at 25°C, 35°C and 40°C, and higher initial rate of increase in G' values at all temperatures tested. The firmest gels at long ageing times were produced by chymosin at 30°C and 32°C. At a gelation temperature of 25°C, the differences in rheological and microstructural characteristics between plant coagulants and chymosin were considerable; plant coagulants had shorter tg and higher G' values. For the lowest gelation temperatures, plant coagulants had smaller activation energy values for gelation. Most of the gelation results were similar between plant coagulants, but some differences were found in the values of tg, the rate of increase in G' and loss tangent parameter. The characteristics of gels produced with plant coagulants were influenced less by the changes in temperature compared with chymosin-produced gels, which may be an important consideration in using plant-origin coagulants in the production of cheeses with a wider range of gelation temperatures.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6T7C-493HNG1-1/1/35f20b14e49b2922b16639bac3576d1

Driven depinning of strongly disordered media and anisotropic mean-field limits

Extended systems driven through strong disorder are modeled generically using coarse-grained degrees of freedom that interact elastically in the directions parallel to the driving force and that slip along at least one of the directions transverse to the motion. A realization of such a model is a collection of elastic channels with transverse viscous couplings. In the infinite range limit this model has a tricritical point separating a region where the depinning is continuous, in the universality class of elastic depinning, from a region where depinning is hysteretic. Many of the collective transport models discussed in the literature are special cases of the generic model.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure