Ground state structure of diluted antiferromagnets and random field systems

A method is presented for the calculation of all exact ground states of diluted antiferromagnets and random field systems in an arbitrary range of fields. It works by calculating all jump-fields B,\Delta where the system changes it's ground state. For each field value all degenerated ground states are represented by a set of (anti-) ferromagnetic clusters and a relation between the clusters. So a complete description of the ground state structure of these systems is possible. Systems are investigated up to size 48^3 on the whole field-range and up to 160^3 for some particular fields. The behavior of order parameters is investigated, the number of jumps is analyzed and the degree of degeneracy as functions of size and fields is calculated.Comment: 11 pages, 13 figures, LaTex, submitted to Physica

Scaling of stiffness energy for 3d +/-J Ising spin glasses

Large numbers of ground states of 3d EA Ising spin glasses are calculated for sizes up to 10^3 using a combination of a genetic algorithm and Cluster-Exact Approximation. A detailed analysis shows that true ground states are obtained. The ground state stiffness (or domain wall) energy D is calculated. A D ~ L^t behavior with t=0.19(2) is found which strongly indicates that the 3d model has an equilibrium spin-glass-paramagnet transition for non-zero T_c.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Ordered phase in the two-dimensional randomly coupled ferromagnet

True ground states are evaluated for a 2d Ising model with random near neighbor interactions and ferromagnetic second neighbor interactions (the Randomly Coupled Ferromagnet). The spin glass stiffness exponent is positive when the absolute value of the random interaction is weaker than the ferromagnetic interaction. This result demonstrates that in this parameter domain the spin glass like ordering temperature is non-zero for these systems, in strong contrast to the 2d Edwards-Anderson spin glass.Comment: 7 pages; 9 figures; revtex; new version much extende

Ground-state behavior of the 3d +/-J random-bond Ising model

Large numbers of ground states of the three-dimensional $\pm J$ random-bond Ising model are calculated for sizes up to $14^3$ using a combination of a genetic algorithm and Cluster-Exact Approximation. Several quantities are calculated as function of the concentration $p$ of the antiferromagnetic bonds. The critical concentration where the ferromagnetic order disappears is determined using the Binder cumulant of the magnetization. A value of $p_c=0.222\pm 0.005$ is obtained. From the finite-size behavior of the Binder cumulant and the magnetization critical exponents $\nu=1.1 \pm 0.3$ and $\beta=0.2 \pm 0.1$ are calculated.Comment: 8 pages, 11 figures, revte

Calculation of ground states of four-dimensional +or- J Ising spin glasses

Ground states of four-dimensional (d=4) EA Ising spin glasses are calculated for sizes up to 7x7x7x7 using a combination of a genetic algorithm and cluster-exact approximation. The ground-state energy of the infinite system is extrapolated as e_0=-2.095(1). The ground-state stiffness (or domain wall) energy D is calculated. A D~L^{\Theta} behavior with \Theta=0.65(4) is found which confirms that the d=4 model has an equilibrium spin-glass-paramagnet transition for non-zero T_c.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, 31 references, revtex; update of reference

Specific-Heat Exponent of Random-Field Systems via Ground-State Calculations

Exact ground states of three-dimensional random field Ising magnets (RFIM) with Gaussian distribution of the disorder are calculated using graph-theoretical algorithms. Systems for different strengths h of the random fields and sizes up to N=96^3 are considered. By numerically differentiating the bond-energy with respect to h a specific-heat like quantity is obtained, which does not appear to diverge at the critical point but rather exhibits a cusp. We also consider the effect of a small uniform magnetic field, which allows us to calculate the T=0 susceptibility. From a finite-size scaling analysis, we obtain the critical exponents \nu=1.32(7), \alpha=-0.63(7), \eta=0.50(3) and find that the critical strength of the random field is h_c=2.28(1). We discuss the significance of the result that \alpha appears to be strongly negative.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures, 1 table, revtex revised version, slightly extende

Ruthenacycles and Iridacycles as Catalysts for Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation and Racemisation

Ruthenacycles, which are easily prepared in a single step by reaction between enantiopure aromatic amines and [Ru(arene)Cl2]2 in the presence of NaOH and KPF6, are very good asymmetric transfer hydrogenation catalysts. A range of aromatic ketones were reduced using isopropanol in good yields with ee’s up to 98%. Iridacycles, which are prepared in similar fashion from [IrCp*Cl2]2 are excellent catalysts for the racemisation of secondary alcohols and chlorohydrins at room temperature. This allowed the development of a new dynamic kinetic resolution of chlorohydrins to the enantiopure epoxides in up to 90% yield and 98% enantiomeric excess (ee) using a mutant of the enzyme Haloalcohol dehalogenase C and an iridacycle as racemisation catalyst.

Low-energy excitations in the three-dimensional random-field Ising model

The random-field Ising model (RFIM), one of the basic models for quenched disorder, can be studied numerically with the help of efficient ground-state algorithms. In this study, we extend these algorithm by various methods in order to analyze low-energy excitations for the three-dimensional RFIM with Gaussian distributed disorder that appear in the form of clusters of connected spins. We analyze several properties of these clusters. Our results support the validity of the droplet-model description for the RFIM.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figure

The audience effect in adolescence depends on who's looking over your shoulder

Adolescents have been shown to be particularly sensitive to peer influence. However, the data supporting these findings have been mostly limited to the impact of peers on risk-taking behaviours. Here, we investigated the influence of peers on performance of a high-level cognitive task (relational reasoning) during adolescence. We further assessed whether this effect on performance was dependent on the identity of the audience, either a friend (peer) or the experimenter (non-peer). We tested 24 younger adolescent (10.6–14.2 years), 20 older adolescent (14.9–17.8 years) and 20 adult (21.8–34.9 years) female participants. The presence of an audience affected adolescent, but not adult, relational reasoning performance. This audience effect on adolescent performance was influenced by the participants' age, task difficulty and the identity of the audience. These findings may have implications for education, where adolescents often do classwork or homework in the presence of others

Improving simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation of pretreated wheat straw using both enzyme and substrate feeding

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation (SSCF) has been recognized as a feasible option for ethanol production from xylose-rich lignocellulosic materials. To reach high ethanol concentration in the broth, a high content of water-insoluble solids (WIS) is needed, which creates mixing problems and, furthermore, may decrease xylose uptake. Feeding of substrate has already been proven to give a higher xylose conversion than a batch SSCF. In the current work, enzyme feeding, in addition to substrate feeding, was investigated as a means of enabling a higher WIS content with a high xylose conversion in SSCF of a xylose-rich material. A recombinant xylose-fermenting strain of <it>Saccharomyces cerevisiae </it>(TMB3400) was used for this purpose in fed-batch SSCF experiments of steam-pretreated wheat straw.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>By using both enzyme and substrate feeding, the xylose conversion in SSCF could be increased from 40% to 50% in comparison to substrate feeding only. In addition, by this design of the feeding strategy, it was possible to process a WIS content corresponding to 11% in SSCF and obtain an ethanol yield on fermentable sugars of 0.35 g g^-1.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A combination of enzyme and substrate feeding was shown to enhance xylose uptake by yeast and increase overall ethanol yield in SSCF. This is conceptually important for the design of novel SSCF processes aiming at high-ethanol titers. Substrate feeding prevents viscosity from becoming too high and thereby allows a higher total amount of WIS to be added in the process. The enzyme feeding, furthermore, enables keeping the glucose concentration low, which kinetically favors xylose uptake and results in a higher xylose conversion.</p