Liquid 4He near the superfluid transition in the presence of a heat current and gravity

The effects of a heat current and gravity in liquid 4He near the superfluid transition are investigated for temperatures above and below T_lambda. We present a renormalization-group calculation based on model F for the Green's function in a self-consistent approximation which in quantum many-particle theory is known as the Hartree approximation. The approach can handle a zero average order parameter above and below T_lambda and includes effects of vortices. We calculate the thermal conductivity and the specific heat for all temperatures T and heat currents Q in the critical regime. Furthermore, we calculate the temperature profile. Below T_lambda we find a second correlation length which describes the dephasing of the order parameter field due to vortices. We find dissipation and mutual friction of the superfluid-normal fluid counterflow and calculate the Gorter-Mellink coefficient A. We compare our theoretical results with recent experiments.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figure

Criticality and Superfluidity in liquid He-4 under Nonequilibrium Conditions

We review a striking array of recent experiments, and their theoretical interpretations, on the superfluid transition in $^4$He in the presence of a heat flux, $Q$. We define and evaluate a new set of critical point exponents. The statics and dynamics of the superfluid-normal interface are discussed, with special attention to the role of gravity. If $Q$ is in the same direction as gravity, a self-organized state can arise, in which the entire sample has a uniform reduced temperature, on either the normal or superfluid side of the transition. Finally, we review recent theory and experiment regarding the heat capacity at constant $Q$. The excitement that surrounds this field arises from the fact that advanced thermometry and the future availability of a microgravity experimental platform aboard the International Space Station will soon open to experimental exploration decades of reduced temperature that were previously inaccessible.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, plus harvard.sty style file for references Accepted for publication in Colloquia section of Reviews of Modern Physic

Effect of Ibuprofen Administration on Postural Changes in Post-Parturient Sows

Loss of piglets due to crushing is an unnecessary loss that creates both a financial and welfare concern for the swine industry. Sows in the wild lie more quietly after farrowing compared with sows in farrowing crates. The restless behavior of the sow in a farrowing crate increases the chances that she will crush her offspring. Data collected during this study indicate that the discomfort a sow feels associated with lying on a hard surface after farrowing can not be relieved with ibuprofen. This discomfort causes her to change positions more frequently, increasing the chances that she will crush her piglets. Emphasis needs to focus on allowing the post-parturient sow to rest quietly if a decrease in piglet crushing is to be realized

The environmental and genetic determinants of chick telomere length in Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor)

Conditions during early life can have dramatic effects on adult characteristics and fitness. However, we still know little about the mechanisms that mediate these relationships. Telomere shortening is one possibility. Telomeres are long sequences of DNA that protect the ends of chromosomes. They shorten naturally throughout an individual's life, and individuals with short telomeres tend to have poorer health and reduced survival. Given this connection between telomere length (TL) and fitness, natural selection should favor individuals that are able to retain longer telomeres for a greater portion of their lives. However, the ability of natural selection to act on TL depends on the extent to which genetic and environmental factors influence TL. In this study, we experimentally enlarged broods of Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) to test the effects of demanding early-life conditions on TL, while simultaneously cross-fostering chicks to estimate heritable genetic influences on TL. In addition, we estimated the effects of parental age and chick sex on chick TL. We found that TL is highly heritable in Tree Swallow chicks, and that the maternal genetic basis for TL is stronger than is the paternal genetic basis. In contrast, the experimental manipulation of brood size had only a weak effect on chick TL, suggesting that the role of environmental factors in influencing TL early in life is limited. There was no effect of chick sex or parental age on chick TL. While these results are consistent with those reported in some studies, they are in conflict with others. These disparate conclusions might be attributable to the inherent complexity of telomere dynamics playing out differently in different populations or to study-specific variation in the age at which subjects were measured.John Weber endowment; Athena fund at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Andrew W. Mellon Student research Grants at Cornell University; Sigma Xi; Society for Integrative and comparative Biology; American Ornithologists' Union; NSF LTREB grants [DEB-0717021, DEB-1242573]Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Swine Housing Impacts on Environment and Behavior: A comparison between hoop structures and total environmental control

The effect of housing on animal environment and behavior have been studied in a comparative trial with three deep-bedded hoop structures and one totally, environmentally- controlled slatted-floor building. In order to assess animal welfare, behavior indicative of both poor and rich welfare were quantified. Behavior indicative of poor welfare were considered to be the performance of aberrant behavior, stereotypical behavior and excessive fighting. Behaviors indicative of rich behavior were the performance of normal maintenance behaviors and play behavior. Hoop structures experienced lower winter air temperatures than did the confinement building (mean, 4.8 0 vs. 18.1 0 C), but effective temperatures for the animals were enhanced in the hoop structure by heat generated by the decomposing bedded pack (ranging from approximately –1.1 0 C to 47 0 C). The confinement building maintained a higher ammonia level than did the hoop structures. Pigs raised in the confinement system which did use bedding were found to be resting more often (P \u3c .03); however, they were also found to perform more aberrant and stereotypical behavior in addition to more frequent fighting (P \u3c .03). Pigs raised in the hoop structure were found to perform more play behavior than confinement raised pigs (P \u3c .03). Based on the greater incidence of aberrant, stereotyped, and agonistic behavior of confinement pigs and the greater incidence of play behavior by hoop raised pigs; the welfare of hoop raised pigs is considered to be richer than that of confinement raised pigs. The major contributing factor to explain this is likely the provision of bedding, which allows the pigs an opportunity to perform species typical behavior

Dobrushin states in the \phi^4_1 model

We consider the van der Waals free energy functional in a bounded interval with inhomogeneous Dirichlet boundary conditions imposing the two stable phases at the endpoints. We compute the asymptotic free energy cost, as the length of the interval diverges, of shifting the interface from the midpoint. We then discuss the effect of thermal fluctuations by analyzing the \phi^4_1-measure with Dobrushin boundary conditions. In particular, we obtain a nontrivial limit in a suitable scaling in which the length of the interval diverges and the temperature vanishes. The limiting state is not translation invariant and describes a localized interface. This result can be seen as the probabilistic counterpart of the variational convergence of the associated excess free energy.Comment: 34 page

Superfluid phase transition and strong-coupling effects in an ultracold Fermi gas with mass imbalance

We investigate the superfluid phase transition and effects of mass imbalance in the BCS (Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer)-BEC (Bose-Einstein condensation) crossover regime of an cold Fermi gas. We point out that the Gaussian fluctuation theory developed by Nozi\`eres and Schmitt-Rink and the $T$-matrix theory, that are now widely used to study strong-coupling physics of cold Fermi gases, give unphysical results in the presence of mass imbalance. To overcome this problem, we extend the $T$-matrix theory to include higher-order pairing fluctuations. Using this, we examine how the mass imbalance affects the superfluid phase transition. Since the mass imbalance is an important key in various Fermi superfluids, such as $^{40}$K-$^6$Li Fermi gas mixture, exciton condensate, and color superconductivity in a dense quark matter, our results would be useful for the study of these recently developing superfluid systems.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, Proceedings of QFS-201