General Localization Lengths for Two Interacting Particles in a Disordered Chain

The propagation of an interacting particle pair in a disordered chain is characterized by a set of localization lengths which we define. The localization lengths are computed by a new decimation algorithm and provide a more comprehensive picture of the two-particle propagation. We find that the interaction delocalizes predominantly the center-of-mass motion of the pair and use our approach to propose a consistent interpretation of the discrepancies between previous numerical results.Comment: 4 pages, 2 epsi figure

Synchronization in networks of mobile oscillators

We present a model of synchronization in networks of autonomous agents where the topology changes due to agents motion. We introduce two time scales, one for the topological change and another one for local synchronization. If the former scale is much shorter, an approximation that averages out the effect of motion is available. Here we show, however, that the time required for synchronization achievement increases with respect to that approximation in the opposite case. We find that this effect is more important close to the continuum percolation transition point. The simulation results are confirmed by means of spectral analysis of the time dependent Laplacian matrix. Our results show that the trade-off between these two time scales, which have opposite effects on synchronization, should be taken into account for the design of mobile device networks.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Absence of backscattering at integrable impurities in one-dimensional quantum many-body systems

We study interacting one dimensional (1D) quantum lattice gases with integrable impurities. These model Hamiltonians can be derived using the quantum inverse scattering method for inhomogeneous models and are by construction integrable. Absence of backscattering at the impurities is shown to be the characteristic feature of these disordered systems. The value of the effective carrier charge and the Sutherland-Shastry relation are derived for the half-filled XXX model and are shown to be independent of the impurity concentration and strength. For the half-filled XXZ model we show that there is no enhancement of the persistent currents for repulsive interactions. For attractive interactions we identify a crossover regime beyond which enhancement of the currents is observed.Comment: 14 RevTeX 3.0 pages with 1 PS-figure include

The Aharonov-Bohm effect for an exciton

We study theoretically the exciton absorption on a ring shreded by a magnetic flux. For the case when the attraction between electron and hole is short-ranged we get an exact solution of the problem. We demonstrate that, despite the electrical neutrality of the exciton, both the spectral position of the exciton peak in the absorption, and the corresponding oscillator strength oscillate with magnetic flux with a period $\Phi_0$---the universal flux quantum. The origin of the effect is the finite probability for electron and hole, created by a photon at the same point, to tunnel in the opposite directions and meet each other on the opposite side of the ring.Comment: 13 RevTeX 3.0 pages plus 4 EPS-figures, changes include updated references and an improved chapter on possible experimental realization

Influence of Different Envelope Maskers on Signal Recognition and Neuronal Representation in the Auditory System of a Grasshopper

Background: Animals that communicate by sound face the problem that the signals arriving at the receiver often are degraded and masked by noise. Frequency filters in the receiver’s auditory system may improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) by excluding parts of the spectrum which are not occupied by the species-specific signals. This solution, however, is hardly amenable to species that produce broad band signals or have ears with broad frequency tuning. In mammals auditory filters exist that work in the temporal domain of amplitude modulations (AM). Do insects also use this type of filtering? Principal Findings: Combining behavioural and neurophysiological experiments we investigated whether AM filters may improve the recognition of masked communication signals in grasshoppers. The AM pattern of the sound, its envelope, is crucial for signal recognition in these animals. We degraded the species-specific song by adding random fluctuations to its envelope. Six noise bands were used that differed in their overlap with the spectral content of the song envelope. If AM filters contribute to reduced masking, signal recognition should depend on the degree of overlap between the song envelope spectrum and the noise spectra. Contrary to this prediction, the resistance against signal degradation was the same for five of six masker bands. Most remarkably, the band with the strongest frequency overlap to the natural song envelope (0–100 Hz) impaired acceptance of degraded signals the least. To assess the noise filter capacities of singl

Multifractal analysis of the metal-insulator transition in anisotropic systems

We study the Anderson model of localization with anisotropic hopping in three dimensions for weakly coupled chains and weakly coupled planes. The eigenstates of the Hamiltonian, as computed by Lanczos diagonalization for systems of sizes up to $48^3$, show multifractal behavior at the metal-insulator transition even for strong anisotropy. The critical disorder strength $W_c$ determined from the system size dependence of the singularity spectra is in a reasonable agreement with a recent study using transfer matrix methods. But the respective spectrum at $W_c$ deviates from the ``characteristic spectrum'' determined for the isotropic system. This indicates a quantitative difference of the multifractal properties of states of the anisotropic as compared to the isotropic system. Further, we calculate the Kubo conductivity for given anisotropies by exact diagonalization. Already for small system sizes of only $12^3$ sites we observe a rapidly decreasing conductivity in the directions with reduced hopping if the coupling becomes weaker.Comment: 25 RevTeX pages with 10 PS-figures include

Sounds, Behaviour, and Auditory Receptors of the Armoured Ground Cricket, Acanthoplus longipes

The auditory sensory system of the taxon Hetrodinae has not been studied previously. Males of the African armoured ground cricket, Acanthoplus longipes (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Hetrodinae) produce a calling song that lasts for minutes and consists of verses with two pulses. About three impulses are in the first pulse and about five impulses are in the second pulse. In contrast, the disturbance stridulation consists of verses with about 14 impulses that are not separated in pulses. Furthermore, the inter-impulse intervals of both types of sounds are different, whereas verses have similar durations. This indicates that the neuronal networks for sound generation are not identical. The frequency spectrum peaks at about 15 kHz in both types of sounds, whereas the hearing threshold has the greatest sensitivity between 4 and 10 kHz. The auditory afferents project into the prothoracic ganglion. The foreleg contains about 27 sensory neurons in the crista acustica; the midleg has 18 sensory neurons, and the hindleg has 14. The auditory system is similar to those of other Tettigoniidae

Luminescence from highly excited nanorings: Luttinger liquid description

We study theoretically the luminescence from quantum dots of a ring geometry. For high excitation intensities, photoexcited electrons and holes form Fermi seas. Close to the emission threshold, the single-particle spectral lines aquire weak many-body satellites. However, away from the threshold, the discrete luminescence spectrum is completely dominated by many-body transitions. We employ the Luttinger liquid approach to exactly calculate the intensities of all many-body spectral lines. We find that the transition from single-particle to many-body structure of the emission spectrum is governed by a single parameter and that the distribution of peaks away from the threshold is universal.Comment: 10 pages including 2 figure

Virulence-associated genes, resistance genes and adhesion and probiotic activity tested by a new screening method

We established an automated screening method to characterize adhesion of Escherichia coli to intestinal porcine epithelial cells (IPEC-J2) and their probiotic activity against infection by enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC). 104 intestinal E. coli isolates from domestic pigs were tested by PCR for the occurrence of virulence-associated genes, genes coding for resistances to antimicrobial agents and metals, and for phylogenetic origin by PCR. Adhesion rates and probiotic activity were examined for correlation with the presence of these genes. Finally, data were compared with those from 93 E. coli isolates from wild boars. Isolates from domestic pigs carried a broad variety of all tested genes and showed great diversity in gene patterns. Adhesions varied with a maximum of 18.3 or 24.2 mean bacteria adherence per epithelial cell after 2 or 6 hours respectively. Most isolates from domestic pigs and wild boars showed low adherence, with no correlation between adhesion/probiotic activity and E. coli genes or gene clusters. The gene sfa/foc, encoding for a subunit of F1C fimbriae did show a positive correlative association with adherence and probiotic activity; however E. coli isolates from wild boars with the sfa/foc gene showed less adhesion and probiotic activity than E. coli with the sfa/foc gene isolated from domestic pigs after 6 hour incubation. In conclusion, screening porcine E. coli for virulence associated genes genes, adhesion to intestinal epithelial cells, and probiotic activity revealed a single important adhesion factor, several probiotic candidates, and showed important differences between E. coli of domestic pigs and wild boars