171 research outputs found
Anterior thalamic nuclei lesions in rats disrupt markers of neural plasticity in distal limbic brain regions
AbstractIn two related experiments, neurotoxic lesions were placed in the anterior thalamic nuclei of adult rats. The rats were then trained on behavioral tasks, immediately followed by the immunohistochemical measurement of molecules linked to neural plasticity. These measurements were made in limbic sites including the retrosplenial cortex, the hippocampal formation, and parahippocampal areas. In Experiment 1, rats with unilateral anterior thalamic lesions explored either novel or familiar objects prior to analysis of the immediate-early gene zif268. The lesions reduced zif268 activity in the granular retrosplenial cortex and postsubiculum. Exploring novel objects resulted in local changes of hippocampal zif268, but this change was not moderated by anterior thalamic lesions. In Experiment 2, rats that had received either bilateral anterior thalamic lesions or control surgeries were exposed to novel room cues while running in the arms of a radial maze. In addition to zif268, measurements of c-AMP response element binding protein (CREB), phosphorylated CREB (pCREB), and growth associated protein43 (GAP-43) were made. As before, anterior thalamic lesions reduced zif268 in retrosplenial cortex and postsubiculum, but there were also reductions of pCREB in granular retrosplenial cortex. Again, the hippocampus did not show lesion-induced changes in zif268, but there were differential effects on CREB and pCREB consistent with reduced levels of hippocampal CREB phosphorylation following anterior thalamic damage. No changes in GAP-43 were detected. The results not only point to changes in several limbic sites (retrosplenial cortex and hippocampus) following anterior thalamic damage, but also indicate that these changes include decreased levels of pCREB. As pCREB is required for neuronal plasticity, partly because of its regulation of immediate early-gene expression, the present findings reinforce the concept of an âextended hippocampal systemâ in which hippocampal function is dependent on distal sites such as the anterior thalamic nuclei
Phenomenological model of elastic distortions near the spin-Peierls transition in
A phenomenological model of the Landau type forms the basis for a study of
elastic distortions near the spin-Peierls transition in . The
atomic displacements proposed by Hirota {\it et al.} [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf
73}, 736 (1994)] are accounted for by the model which includes linear coupling
between and distortions. displacements are seen to be responsible
for anomalies in the elastic properties {\it at} , whereas incipient
distortions give rise to temperature dependence below . A discussion of
possible critical behavior is also made.Comment: 1 figure available upon reques
Spin-Peierls and Antiferromagnetic Phases in Cu{1-x}Zn{x}GeO{3}: A Neutron Scattering Study
Comprehensive neutron scattering studies were carried out on a series of
high-quality single crystals of Cu_{1-x}Zn_xGeO_3. The Zn concentration, x, was
determined for each sample using Electron Probe Micro-Analysis. The measured Zn
concentrations were found to be 40-80% lower than the nominal values.
Nevertheless the measured concentrations cover a wide range which enables a
systematic study of the effects due to Zn-doping. We have confirmed the
coexistence of spin-Peierls (SP) and antiferromagnetic (AF) orderings at low
temperatures and the measured phase diagram is presented. Most surprisingly,
long-range AF ordering occurs even in the lowest available Zn concentration,
x=0.42%, which places important constraints on theoretical models of the AF-SP
coexistence. Magnetic excitations are also examined in detail. The AF
excitations are sharp at low energies and show no considerable broadening as x
increases indicating that the AF ordering remains long ranged for x up to 4.7%.
On the other hand, the SP phase exhibits increasing disorder as x increases, as
shown from the broadening of the SP excitations as well as the dimer reflection
peaks.Comment: 17 preprint style pages, 9 postscript files included. Submitted to
Phys. Rev. B. Also available from
http://insti.physics.sunysb.edu/~mmartin/pubs.htm
Melting as a String-Mediated Phase Transition
We present a theory of the melting of elemental solids as a
dislocation-mediated phase transition. We model dislocations near melt as
non-interacting closed strings on a lattice. In this framework we derive simple
expressions for the melting temperature and latent heat of fusion that depend
on the dislocation density at melt. We use experimental data for more than half
the elements in the Periodic Table to determine the dislocation density from
both relations. Melting temperatures yield a dislocation density of (0.61\pm
0.20) b^{-2}, in good agreement with the density obtained from latent heats,
(0.66\pm 0.11) b^{-2}, where b is the length of the smallest
perfect-dislocation Burgers vector. Melting corresponds to the situation where,
on average, half of the atoms are within a dislocation core.Comment: 18 pages, LaTeX, 3 eps figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
CuSiO_3 : a quasi - one - dimensional S=1/2 antiferromagnetic chain system
CuSiO_3, isotypic to the spin - Peierls compound CuGeO_3, was discovered
recently as a metastable decomposition product of the silicate mineral
dioptase, Cu_6Si_6O_{18}\cdot6H_2O. We investigated the physical properties of
CuSiO_3 using susceptibility, magnetization and specific heat measurements on
powder samples. The magnetic susceptibility \chi(T) is reproduced very well
above T = 8 K by theoretical calculations for an S=1/2 antiferromagnetic
Heisenberg linear chain without frustration (\alpha = 0) and a nearest -
neighbor exchange coupling constant of J/k_{B} = 21 K, much weaker than in
CuGeO_3. Below 8 K the susceptibility exhibits a substantial drop. This feature
is identified as a second - order phase transition at T_{0} = 7.9 K by specific
heat measurements. The influence of magnetic fields on T_{0} is weak, and ac -
magnetization measurements give strong evidence for a spin - flop - phase at
\mu_0H_{SF} ~ 3 T. The origin of the magnetic phase transition at T_{0} = 7.9 K
is discussed in the context of long - range antiferromagnetic order (AF) versus
spin - Peierls(SP)order. Susceptibility and specific heat results support the
AF ordered ground state. Additional temperature dependent ^{63,65}Cu nuclear
quadrupole resonance experiments have been carried out to probe the Cu^{2+}
electronic state and the spin dynamics in CuSiO_3
An Equation of State of a Carbon-Fibre Epoxy Composite under Shock Loading
An anisotropic equation of state (EOS) is proposed for the accurate
extrapolation of high-pressure shock Hugoniot (anisotropic and isotropic)
states to other thermodynamic (anisotropic and isotropic) states for a shocked
carbon-fibre epoxy composite (CFC) of any symmetry. The proposed EOS, using a
generalised decomposition of a stress tensor [Int. J. Plasticity \textbf{24},
140 (2008)], represents a mathematical and physical generalisation of the
Mie-Gr\"{u}neisen EOS for isotropic material and reduces to this equation in
the limit of isotropy. Although a linear relation between the generalised
anisotropic bulk shock velocity and particle velocity was
adequate in the through-thickness orientation, damage softening process
produces discontinuities both in value and slope in the -
relation. Therefore, the two-wave structure (non-linear anisotropic and
isotropic elastic waves) that accompanies damage softening process was proposed
for describing CFC behaviour under shock loading. The linear relationship
- over the range of measurements corresponding to non-linear
anisotropic elastic wave shows a value of (the intercept of the
- curve) that is in the range between first and second
generalised anisotropic bulk speed of sound [Eur. Phys. J. B \textbf{64}, 159
(2008)]. An analytical calculation showed that Hugoniot Stress Levels (HELs) in
different directions for a CFC composite subject to the two-wave structure
(non-linear anisotropic elastic and isotropic elastic waves) agree with
experimental measurements at low and at high shock intensities. The results are
presented, discussed and future studies are outlined.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figure
The unusual electronic structure of the "pseudo-ladder" compound CaCu2O3
Experimental and theoretical studies of the unoccupied electronic structure
of CaCu2O3 single crystals have been performed using polarization-dependent
x-ray absorption spectroscopy and band structure calculations. The measured
hole distribution shows an unusual large number of holes in orbitals parallel
to the interlayer direction which is in agreement with the theoretical
analysis. CaCu2O3 deviates significantly from the standard pd-sigma cuprate
picture. The corresponding strong interlayer exchange is responsible for the
missing spin gap generic for other two-leg ladder cuprates.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures include
The microscopic spin-phonon coupling constants in CuGeO_3
Using RPA results, mean field theory, and refined data for the polarization
vectors we determine the coupling constants of the four Peierls-active phonon
modes to the spin chains of CuGeO_3. We then derive the values of the coupling
of the spin system to the linear ionic displacements, the bond lengths and the
angles between bonds. Our values are consistent with microscopic theories and
various experimental results. We discuss the applicability of static approaches
to the spin-phonon coupling. The c-axis anomaly of the thermal expansion is
explained. We give the values of the coupling constants in an effective
one-dimensional Hamiltonian.Comment: 11 pages, two figures, 13 tables, PRB 59 (in press
Spin-phonon coupled modes in the incommensurate phases of doped CuGeO
The doping effect of the folded phonon mode at 98 cm was investigated
on the Si-doped CuGeO by magneto-optical measurements in far-infrared (FIR)
region under high magnetic field. The folded phonon mode at 98 cm
appears not only in the dimerized (D) phase but also in the
dimerized-anitiferromagnetic (DAF) phase on the doped CuGeO. The splitting
was observed in the incommensurate (IC) phase and the antiferromagnetically
ordered incommensurate (IAF) phase above . The split-off branches exhibit
different field dependence from that of the pure CuGeO in the vicinity of
, and the discrepancy in the IAF phase is larger than that in the IC
phase. It is caused by the interaction between the solitons and the impurities.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, resubmitted to Phys. Rev.
Iron under Earth's core conditions: Liquid-state thermodynamics and high-pressure melting curve
{\em Ab initio} techniques based on density functional theory in the
projector-augmented-wave implementation are used to calculate the free energy
and a range of other thermodynamic properties of liquid iron at high pressures
and temperatures relevant to the Earth's core. The {\em ab initio} free energy
is obtained by using thermodynamic integration to calculate the change of free
energy on going from a simple reference system to the {\em ab initio} system,
with thermal averages computed by {\em ab initio} molecular dynamics
simulation. The reference system consists of the inverse-power pair-potential
model used in previous work. The liquid-state free energy is combined with the
free energy of hexagonal close packed Fe calculated earlier using identical
{\em ab initio} techniques to obtain the melting curve and volume and entropy
of melting. Comparisons of the calculated melting properties with experimental
measurement and with other recent {\em ab initio} predictions are presented.
Experiment-theory comparisons are also presented for the pressures at which the
solid and liquid Hugoniot curves cross the melting line, and the sound speed
and Gr\"{u}neisen parameter along the Hugoniot. Additional comparisons are made
with a commonly used equation of state for high-pressure/high-temperature Fe
based on experimental data.Comment: 16 pages including 6 figures and 5 table
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