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The evolution of rhythmic cognition: New perspectives and technologies in comparative research
Music is a pervasive phenomenon in human culture, and musical rhythm is virtually present in all musical traditions. Research on the evolution and cognitive underpinnings of rhythm can benefit from a number of approaches. We outline key concepts and definitions, allowing fine-grained analysis of rhythmic cognition in experimental studies. We advocate comparative animal research as a useful approach to answer questions about human music cognition and review experimental evidence from different species. Finally, we suggest future directions for research on the cognitive basis of rhythm. Apart from research in semi-natural setups, possibly allowed by “drum set for chimpanzees” prototypes presented here for the first time, mathematical modeling and systematic use of circular statistics may allow promising advances
Is the Yb2Ti2O7 pyrochlore a quantum spin ice?
We use numerical linked cluster (NLC) expansions to compute the specific
heat, C(T), and entropy, S(T), of a quantum spin ice model of Yb2Ti2O7 using
anisotropic exchange interactions recently determined from inelastic neutron
scattering measurements and find good agreement with experimental calorimetric
data. In the perturbative weak quantum regime, this model has a ferrimagnetic
ordered ground state, with two peaks in C(T): a Schottky anomaly signalling the
paramagnetic to spin ice crossover followed at lower temperature by a sharp
peak accompanying a first order phase transition to the ferrimagnetic state. We
suggest that the two C(T) features observed in Yb2Ti2O7 are associated with the
same physics. Spin excitations in this regime consist of weakly confined
spinon-antispinon pairs. We suggest that conventional ground state with exotic
quantum dynamics will prove a prevalent characteristic of many real quantum
spin ice materials.Comment: 8 pages (two-column), 9 figure
Proposal for a [111] Magnetization Plateau in the Spin Liquid State of Tb2Ti2O7
Despite a Curie-Weiss temperature K, the Tb2Ti2O7
pyrochlore magnetic material lacks long range magnetic order down to at least
mK. It has recently been proposed that the low temperature
collective paramagnetic or spin liquid regime of this material may be akin to a
spin ice state subject to both thermal and quantum fluctuations a {\it
quantum spin ice} (QSI) of sorts. Here we explore the effect of a magnetic
field along the direction on the QSI state. To do so, we
investigate the magnetic properties of a microscopic model of Tb2Ti2O7 in an
independent tetrahedron approximation in a finite along . Such
a model describes semi-quantitatively the collective paramagnetic regime where
nontrivial spin correlations start to develop at the shortest lengthscale, that
is over a single tetrahedron, but where no long range order is yet present. Our
results show that a magnetization plateau develops at low temperatures as the
system develops ferromagnetic spin-ice-like "two-in/two-out"
correlations at the shortest lengthscale. From these results, we are led to
propose that the observation of such a [111] magnetization plateau in Tb2Ti2O7
would provide compelling evidence for a QSI at in this material and
help guide the development of a theory for the origin of its spin liquid state.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Evidence for gapped spin-wave excitations in the frustrated Gd2Sn2O7 pyrochlore antiferromagnet from low-temperature specific heat measurements
We have measured the low-temperature specific heat of the geometrically
frustrated pyrochlore Heisenberg antiferromagnet Gd2Sn2O7 in zero magnetic
field. The specific heat is found to drop exponentially below approximately 350
mK. This provides evidence for a gapped spin-wave spectrum due to an anisotropy
resulting from single ion effects and long-range dipolar interactions. The data
are well fitted by linear spin-wave theory, ruling out unconventional low
energy magnetic excitations in this system, and allowing a determination of the
pertinent exchange interactions in this material
The control of lipid metabolism by mRNA splicing in Drosophila
The storage of lipids is an evolutionarily conserved process that is important for the survival of organisms during shifts in nutrient availability. Triglycerides are stored in lipid droplets, but the mechanisms of how lipids are stored in these structures are poorly understood. Previous in vitro RNAi screens have implicated several components of the spliceosome in controlling lipid droplet formation and storage, but the in vivo relevance of these phenotypes is unclear. In this study, we identify specific members of the splicing machinery that are necessary for normal triglyceride storage in the Drosophila fat body. Decreasing the expression of the splicing factors U1-70K, U2AF38, U2AF50 in the fat body resulted in decreased triglyceride levels. Interestingly, while decreasing the SR protein 9G8 in the larval fat body yielded a similar triglyceride phenotype, its knockdown in the adult fat body resulted in a substantial increase in lipid stores. This increase in fat storage is due in part to altered splicing of the gene for the beta-oxidation enzyme CPT1, producing an isoform with less enzymatic activity. Together, these data indicate a role for mRNA splicing in regulating lipid storage in Drosophila and provide a link between the regulation of gene expression and lipid homeostasis
The Spin Liquid State of the Tb2Ti2O7 Pyrochlore Antiferromagnet: A Puzzling State of Affairs
The pyrochlore antiferromagnet Tb2Ti2O7 has proven to be an enigma to
experimentalists and theorists working on frustrated magnetic systems. The
experimentally determined energy level structure suggests a local Ising
antiferromagnet at low temperatures, T < 10 K. An appropriate model then
predicts a long-range ordered Q = 0 state below approximately 2 K. However,
muon spin resonance experiments reveal a paramagnetic structure down to tens of
milli-Kelvin. The importance of fluctuations out of the ground state effective
Ising doublet has been recently understood, for the measured paramagnetic
correlations can not be described without including the higher crystal field
states. However, these fluctuations treated within the random phase
approximation (RPA) fail to account for the lack of ordering in this system
below 2 K. In this work, we briefly review the experimental evidence for the
collective paramagnetic state of Tb2Ti2O7. The basic theoretical picture for
this system is discussed, where results from classical spin models are used to
motivate the investigation of quantum effects to lowest order via the RPA.
Avenues for future experimental and theoretical work on Tb2Ti2O7 are presented.Comment: Latex2e,6 pages, IOP format, introduction shortened and other minor
corrections, replaced with published version in the Proceedings of the Highly
Frustrated Magnetism 2003 Conference, Grenobl
Understanding Paramagnetic Spin Correlations in the Spin-Liquid Pyrochlore Tb2Ti2O7
Recent elastic and inelastic neutron scattering studies of the highly
frustrated pyrochlore antiferromagnet Tb2Ti2O7 have shown some very intriguing
features that cannot be modeled by the local classical Ising model,
naively expected to describe this system at low temperatures. Using the random
phase approximation to take into account fluctuations between the ground state
doublet and the first excited doublet, we successfully describe the elastic
neutron scattering pattern and dispersion relations in Tb2Ti2O7,
semi-quantitatively consistent with experimental observations.Comment: revtex4, 4 pages, 1 Color+ 2 BW figure
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