160 research outputs found
Comment on "Regional Versus Global Entanglement in Resonating-Valence-Bond States"
In a recent Letter [Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 170502 (2007); quant-ph/0703227],
Chandran and coworkers study the entanglement properties of valence bond (VB)
states. Their main result is that VB states do not contain (or only an
insignificant amount of) two-site entanglement, whereas they possess multi-body
entanglement. Two examples ("RVB gas and liquid") are given to illustrate this
claim, which essentially comes from a lower bound derived for spin correlators
in VB states. We show in this Comment that (i) for the "RVB liquid" on the
square lattice, the calculations and conclusions of Chandran et al. are
incorrect. (ii) A simple analytical calculation gives the exact value of the
correlator for the "RVB gas", showing that the bound found by Chandran et al.
is tight. (iii) The lower bound for spin correlators in VB states is equivalent
to a celebrated result of Anderson dating from more than 50 years ago.Comment: 1 page, 1 figure, slightly longer than published versio
Instabilités globales d'un écoulement  à grand nombre de Reynolds sur une paroi présentant une cavité
La théorie de la stabilité globale fournit
un moyen simple d'investigation des problÚmes complexes d'aéroacoustique. Notre étude se
concentre donc sur la stabilité d'un cas appliqué issu d'expérimentations : nous
étudierons l'écoulement au dessus d'une cavité cylindrique pour une vitesse incidente de
70m/s  d'oĂč un nombre de Reynolds important. La mĂȘme approche de stabilitĂ© sera
appliquée à des écoulements sur des cavités rectangulaires supposées infinies dans la
direction de l'envergure
Unconventional continuous phase transition in a three dimensional dimer model
Phase transitions occupy a central role in physics, due both to their
experimental ubiquity and their fundamental conceptual importance. The
explanation of universality at phase transitions was the great success of the
theory formulated by Ginzburg and Landau, and extended through the
renormalization group by Wilson. However, recent theoretical suggestions have
challenged this point of view in certain situations. In this Letter we report
the first large-scale simulations of a three-dimensional model proposed to be a
candidate for requiring a description beyond the Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson
framework: we study the phase transition from the dimer crystal to the Coulomb
phase in the cubic dimer model. Our numerical results strongly indicate that
the transition is continuous and are compatible with a tricritical universality
class, at variance with previous proposals.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; v2: minor changes, published versio
Phase Noise of the Radio Frequency (RF) Beatnote Generated by a Dual-Frequency VECSEL
We analyze, both theoretically and experimentally, the phase noise of the
radio frequency (RF) beatnote generated by optical mixing of two orthogonally
polarized modes in an optically pumped dual-frequency Vertical External Cavity
Surface Emitting Laser (VECSEL). The characteristics of the RF phase noise
within the frequency range of 10 kHz - 50 MHz are investigated for three
different nonlinear coupling strengths between the two lasing modes. In the
theoretical model, we consider two different physical mechanisms responsible
for the RF phase noise. In the low frequency domain (typically below 500 kHz),
the dominant contribution to the RF phase noise is shown to come from the
thermal fluctuations of the semicondutor active medium induced by pump
intensity fluctuations. However, in the higher frequency domain (typically
above 500 kHz), the main source of RF phase noise is shown to be the pump
intensity fluctuations which are transfered to the intensity noises of the two
lasing modes and then to the phase noise via the large Henry factor of the
semiconductor gain medium. For this latter mechanism, the nonlinear coupling
strength between the two lasing modes is shown to play an important role in the
value of the RF phase noise. All experimental results are shown to be in good
agreement with theory
A serological and bacteriological survey of brucellosis in wild boar (Sus scrofa) in Belgium
Brucellosis is frequently reported among wild boar populations in Europe. The aim of the study was to assess the epidemiological situation in Belgium, regarding the steady increase of wild boar populations over the last decades. Several serological tests were used and compared with culture and IS711 polymerase chain reaction (PCR), to determine the most suitable combination of diagnostic tools for conducting a successful prevalence study in wildlif
Diagnosis of Coxiella burnetii Cattle Abortion: A One-Year Observational Study.
peer reviewedQ fever is a zoonosis occurring worldwide in livestock. Often neglected in differential diagnoses, Q fever can persist in herds causing financial losses. In ruminants, well-known manifestations of Q fever are metritis, infertility, abortion, stillbirth and delivery of a weak or premature calf. In cattle, Q fever is frequently asymptomatic and/or under-reported. Few studies are available on the diagnosis of Coxiella burnetii as a cause of abortion in cattle using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for pathogen detection while enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is used to assess exposure. Moreover, existing studies include a relatively small number of abortions. The aim of this study is to assess, in the southern part of Belgium, during a year, the performance of diagnosis of C. burnetii as a cause of abortion and the putative benefit of enhanced serology using anamnesis (animal patient data, and present, past and environmental history). A one-year random selection of 1212 abortions was analysed both with the PCR method (tissues from fetuses) and two commercialised ELISAs (sera from the mothers). Relative sensitivity and specificity of the ELISA tests were assessed using PCR as the reference test. The prevalence of C. burnetii PCR positive was 8.5% (95% CI: 6.99-10.21). The diagnostic value of the ELISA tests was assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC). The sensitivity, specificity and AUC-ROC were similar for both ELISA tests. The diagnostic capacity of the ELISA was confirmed and slightly enhanced if anamnestic information was integrated with a unique scoring index system. A high negative predictive value was demonstrated and a significant reverse association between Ct values and a percentage of the ratio of the optical density between the sample and the positive control (ELISA A or ELISA B) enabling the use of ELISA as an exclusion diagnostic. This study is original by integrating the serological result and the anamnesis in a single index. It opens a new window in enhanced veterinary clinical decision-making
Isolation and characterisation of a ruminant alphaherpesvirus closely related to bovine herpesvirus 1 in a free-ranging red deer
BACKGROUND: The genus Varicellovirus of the Herpesviridae subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae includes a cluster of viruses antigenically and genetically related to bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1): namely bovine herpesvirus 5 (BoHV-5), bubaline herpesvirus 1 (BuHV-1), caprine herpesvirus 1 (CpHV-1), cervid herpesviruses 1 (CvHV-1) and 2 (CvHV-2) and elk herpesvirus 1 (ElkHV-1). Considering the serological relationship between these ruminant alphaherpesviruses, several surveys have studied the occurrence of BoHV-1 related virus infection in wild and domestic ruminant species. In this way, a recent investigation has indicated, in Belgium, a high increase in the serological prevalence of BoHV-1 related virus infection in free-ranging red deer population. In this context, it has been decided to investigate the presence of an alphaherpesvirus spreading in the Belgian free-ranging red deer population. RESULTS: The current study reports the first isolation in a free-ranging red deer of a BoHV-1 closely related virus. The isolate was antigenically, genomically and genetically characterised by comparison with several ruminant alphaherpesvirus. Immunofluorescence assays revealed the isolate was antigenically distinct from bovine and caprine alphaherpesviruses. Similarly, BamHI and BstEII restriction analyses demonstrated the genomic difference between the isolate and the other ruminant alphaherpesviruses. Next, the sequencing of selected parts of UL27 and US8 genes showed a high degree of homologies between each BoHV-1 related ruminant alphaherpesvirus and the isolate. Besides the close relationship between all ruminant alphaherpesviruses, the phylogenetic analysis revealed that the isolate clustered with CvHV-1. CONCLUSION: The first isolation of a virus closely related to BoHV-1 in a free-ranging red deer is reported. Data demonstrate that a CvHV-1 strain, named Anlier, circulates in wild red deer in continental Europe. Anlier strain show consistent differences with the virus isolated from Scottish farmed red deer. All together, these results improve our understanding of ruminant alphaherpesviruses
Correlations and order parameter at a Coulomb-crystal phase transition in a three-dimensional dimer model
The three-dimensional classical dimer model with interactions shows an
unexpected continuous phase transition between an ordered dimer crystal and a
Coulomb liquid. A detailed analysis of the critical dimer and monomer
correlation functions point to a subtle interplay between the fluctuations of
the crystal order parameter and the "magnetic" degrees of freedom present in
the Coulomb phase. The distribution probability of the crystal order parameter
suggests an emerging continuous O(3) symmetry at the critical point.Comment: 4 pages, 4 color figures. v2: published version. New data & figure on
the probability distribution of the crystal order parameter close to T
Hydrogenation of solid hydrogen cyanide HCN and methanimine CH2NH at low temperature
International audienceContext. Hydrogenation reactions dominate grain surface chemistry in dense molecular clouds and lead to the formation of complex saturated molecules in the interstellar medium. Aims. We investigate in the laboratory the hydrogenation reaction network of hydrogen cyanide HCN. Methods. Pure hydrogen cyanide HCN and methanimine CH2NH ices are bombarded at room temperature by H-atoms in an ultra-high vacuum experiment. Warm H-atoms are generated in an H2 plasma source. The ices are monitored with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy in reflection absorption mode. The hydrogenation products are detected in the gas phase by mass spectroscopy during temperature-programmed desorption experiments. Results. HCN hydrogenation leads to the formation of methylamine CH3NH2, and CH2NH hydrogenation leads to the formation of methylamine CH3NH2, suggesting that CH2NH can be a hydrogenation-intermediate species between HCN and CH3NH2. Conclusions. In cold environments the HCN hydrogenation reaction can produce CH3NH2, which is known to be a glycine precursor, and to destroy solid-state HCN, preventing its observation in molecular clouds ices
Interacting classical dimers on the square lattice
We study a model of close-packed dimers on the square lattice with a nearest
neighbor interaction between parallel dimers. This model corresponds to the
classical limit of quantum dimer models [D.S. Rokhsar and S.A. Kivelson, Phys.
Rev. Lett.{\bf 61}, 2376 (1988)]. By means of Monte Carlo and Transfer Matrix
calculations, we show that this system undergoes a Kosterlitz-Thouless
transition separating a low temperature ordered phase where dimers are aligned
in columns from a high temperature critical phase with continuously varying
exponents. This is understood by constructing the corresponding Coulomb gas,
whose coupling constant is computed numerically. We also discuss doped models
and implications on the finite-temperature phase diagram of quantum dimer
models.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; v2 : Added results on doped models; published
versio
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