3,244 research outputs found
An Extended Variational Principle for the SK Spin-Glass Model
The recent proof by F. Guerra that the Parisi ansatz provides a lower bound
on the free energy of the SK spin-glass model could have been taken as offering
some support to the validity of the purported solution. In this work we present
a broader variational principle, in which the lower bound, as well as the
actual value, are obtained through an optimization procedure for which
ultrametic/hierarchal structures form only a subset of the variational class.
The validity of Parisi's ansatz for the SK model is still in question. The new
variational principle may be of help in critical review of the issue.Comment: 4 pages, Revtex
Instantaneous Normal Mode Analysis of Supercooled Water
We use the instantaneous normal mode approach to provide a description of the
local curvature of the potential energy surface of a model for water. We focus
on the region of the phase diagram in which the dynamics may be described by
the mode-coupling theory. We find, surprisingly, that the diffusion constant
depends mainly on the fraction of directions in configuration space connecting
different local minima, supporting the conjecture that the dynamics are
controlled by the geometric properties of configuration space. Furthermore, we
find an unexpected relation between the number of basins accessed in
equilibrium and the connectivity between them.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Thermodynamics, Structure, and Dynamics of Water Confined between Hydrophobic Plates
We perform molecular dynamics simulations of 512 water-like molecules that
interact via the TIP5P potential and are confined between two smooth
hydrophobic plates that are separated by 1.10 nm. We find that the anomalous
thermodynamic properties of water are shifted to lower temperatures relative to
the bulk by K. The dynamics and structure of the confined water
resemble bulk water at higher temperatures, consistent with the shift of
thermodynamic anomalies to lower temperature. Due to this shift, our
confined water simulations (down to K) do not reach sufficiently low
temperature to observe a liquid-liquid phase transition found for bulk water at
K using the TIP5P potential. We find that the different
crystalline structures that can form for two different separations of the
plates, 0.7 nm and 1.10 nm, have no counterparts in the bulk system, and
discuss the relevance to experiments on confined water.Comment: 31 pages, 14 figure
Thermodynamic and structural aspects of the potential energy surface of simulated water
Relations between the thermodynamics and dynamics of supercooled liquids
approaching a glass transition have been proposed over many years. The
potential energy surface of model liquids has been increasingly studied since
it provides a connection between the configurational component of the partition
function on one hand, and the system dynamics on the other. This connection is
most obvious at low temperatures, where the motion of the system can be
partitioned into vibrations within a basin of attraction and infrequent
inter-basin transitions. In this work, we present a description of the
potential energy surface properties of supercooled liquid water. The dynamics
of this model has been studied in great details in the last years.
Specifically, we locate the minima sampled by the liquid by ``quenches'' from
equilibrium configurations generated via molecular dynamics simulations. We
calculate the temperature and density dependence of the basin energy,
degeneracy, and shape. The temperature dependence of the energy of the minima
is qualitatively similar to simple liquids, but has anomalous density
dependence. The unusual density dependence is also reflected in the
configurational entropy, the thermodynamic measure of degeneracy. Finally, we
study the structure of simulated water at the minima, which provides insight on
the progressive tetrahedral ordering of the liquid on cooling
Can microsatellite data allow identification of oleaster Plio-Pleistocene refuge zones in the Mediterranean Basin?
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Niche differentiation is spatially and temporally regulated in the rhizosphere.
The rhizosphere is a hotspot for microbial carbon transformations, and is the entry point for root polysaccharides and polymeric carbohydrates that are important precursors to soil organic matter (SOM). However, the ecological mechanisms that underpin rhizosphere carbohydrate depolymerization are poorly understood. Using Avena fatua, a common annual grass, we analyzed time-resolved metatranscriptomes to compare microbial functions in rhizosphere, detritusphere, and combined rhizosphere-detritusphere habitats. Transcripts were binned using a unique reference database generated from soil isolate genomes, single-cell amplified genomes, metagenomes, and stable isotope probing metagenomes. While soil habitat significantly affected both community composition and overall gene expression, the succession of microbial functions occurred at a faster time scale than compositional changes. Using hierarchical clustering of upregulated decomposition genes, we identified four distinct microbial guilds populated by taxa whose functional succession patterns suggest specialization for substrates provided by fresh growing roots, decaying root detritus, the combination of live and decaying root biomass, or aging root material. Carbohydrate depolymerization genes were consistently upregulated in the rhizosphere, and both taxonomic and functional diversity were highest in the combined rhizosphere-detritusphere, suggesting coexistence of rhizosphere guilds is facilitated by niche differentiation. Metatranscriptome-defined guilds provide a framework to model rhizosphere succession and its consequences for soil carbon cycling
GRB 081028 and its late-time afterglow re-brightening
‘The definitive version is available at www3.interscience.wiley.com '. Copyright Royal Astronomical SocietySwift captured for the first time a smoothly rising X-ray re-brightening of clear non-flaring origin after the steep decay in a long gamma-ray burst (GRB): GRB 081028. A rising phase is likely present in all GRBs but is usually hidden by the prompt tail emission and constitutes the first manifestation of what is later to give rise to the shallow decay phase. Contemporaneous optical observations reveal a rapid evolution of the injection frequency of a fast cooling synchrotron spectrum through the optical band, which disfavours the afterglow onset (start of the forward shock emission along our line of sight when the outflow is decelerated) as the origin of the observed re-brightening. We investigate alternative scenarios and find that the observations are consistent with the predictions for a narrow jet viewed off-axis. The high on-axis energy budget implied by this interpretation suggests different physical origins of the prompt and (late) afterglow emission. Strong spectral softening takes place from the prompt to the steep decay phase: we track the evolution of the spectral peak energy from the γ-rays to the X-rays and highlight the problems of the high latitude and adiabatic cooling interpretations. Notably, a softening of both the high and low spectral slopes with time is also observed. We discuss the low on-axis radiative efficiency of GRB 081028 comparing its properties against a sample of Swift long GRBs with secure Eγ,iso measurements.Peer reviewe
Rapid development of spiral garnets during subduction zone metamorphism revealed from high-resolution Sm-Nd garnet geochronology
Multiple studies have applied zoned garnet geochronology to place temporal constraints on
the rates of metamorphism and deformation during orogenesis. We report new high-resolution
isotope dilution–thermal ionization mass spectrometry Sm-Nd isochron ages on concentric
growth zones from microstructurally and thermodynamically characterized garnets from
the Betic Cordillera, southern Spain. Our ages for the garnet core (13.64 ± 0.31 Ma), mantle
(13.41 ± 0.37 Ma), and rim (13.34 ± 0.45 Ma) indicate rapid garnet growth and are consistent
with published garnet ages interpreted to reflect high-pressure metamorphism in the
region. Thermodynamic analysis indicates garnets grew during subduction at ∼1.5–2.0 GPa
and 570–600 °C. The core to rim duration of spiral garnet growth was just a few hundred
thousand years. While other zoned garnet studies have shown similar rapid growth in subduction
zone settings, this is the first documentation of such rapid growth of a spiral garnet.
Combining this garnet growth duration with the magnitude of spiral inclusion trail curvature,
we compute a strain rate of ∼10−13 s−1, an order of magnitude faster than all previous spiral
garnet studies. We interpret that these spiral garnets recorded a rapid pulse of deformation
and strain during the final stages of subduction and incipient exhumation.Spanish grants CGL2015–65602-R (AEI-FEDER), P18-RT-3275, and B-RNM-301-UGR18 (Junta de Andaucía/FEDER)U.S. National Science Foundation grants PIRE-1545903 and EAR-194665
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