Mott insulating state in a quarter-filled two-orbital Hubbard chain with different bandwidths

We investigate the ground-state properties of the one-dimensional two-band Hubbard model with different bandwidths. The density-matrix renormalization group method is applied to calculate the averaged electron occupancies $n$ as a function of the chemical potential $\mu$. Both at quarter and half fillings, "charge plateaux" appear in the $n$-$\mu$ plot, where $d\mu/dn$ diverges and the Mott insulating states are realized. To see how the orbital polarization in the one-quarter charge plateau develops, we apply the second-order perturbation theory from the strong-coupling limit at quarter filling. The resultant Kugel-Khomskii spin-orbital model includes a $magnetic$ field coupled to orbital pseudo-spins. This field originates from the discrepancy between the two bandwidths and leads to a finite orbital pseudo-spin magnetization.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, Proceedings of LT2

Disequilibrium REE compositions of garnet and zircon in migmatites reflecting different growth timings during single metamorphism (Aoyama area, Ryoke belt, Japan)

Chemical disequilibrium of coexisting garnet and zircon in pelitic migmatites (Aoyama area, Ryoke belt, SW Japan) is shown by microtextural evidence and their heavy rare earth element (HREE) patterns. In zircon, two stages of metamorphic rim growth is observed under cathodoluminescence image, although their SHRIMP UPb zircon ages are similar at ca. 92 Ma. Inner and outer rims of zircon tend to show steep HREE patterns irrespective of the UPb age. The inner rims tend to give higher U content than the outer rims; some rim analyses give various Th/U ratios of 0.02–0.07 compared to the very low (<0.02) values seen in the rest of rim analyses. The higher-Th/U values are ascribed to the mixed analyses between thin prograde domains and thick retrograde overgrowths. Zircon grains with inclusions similar to previously-reported melt inclusions are further enclosed in garnet, supporting the growth of thin zircon domains coexisting with garnet during the prograde metamorphism. Garnet rims are commonly replaced by biotite-plagioclase intergrowths, indicating a back reaction with partial melts. Garnet exhibits decrease in HREE and Y concentrations towards the rim, pointing to its prograde growth. The garnet cores have prograde xenotime inclusions, show steep HREE patterns, and yield growth temperature of ~530–570 °C by a YAG-xenotime thermometer. On the other hand, the garnet rims have no xenotime inclusion and show flat HREE patterns. Rare garnet domains including sillimanite needles also show flat HREE patterns and low Y concentrations, which is interpreted as a product of dehydration melting consuming biotite and sillimanite at near-peak P-T conditions (~800 °C and ~0.5 GPa). One such garnet domain gives nearly-equilibrium REE distribution pattern when paired with the matrix zircon rims. Retrograde xenotime is present in the cracks in garnet and in the biotite-plagioclase intergrowths, suggesting that retrograde breakdown of garnet released HREE and Y to form it. Considering the availability of HREE and Zr and presence of melt inclusions in zircon rims, most part of the zircon rims with positive HREE patterns likely grew during the melt crystallization stage, meaning that the zircon rims and presently-preserved garnet domains did not grow in equilibrium. The above scenario was tested by the array plot analysis and it gave a result consistent with microtextural and traditional REE distribution constraints. Combination of microtextural and the array plot analyses may become a powerful tool to reliably correlate the zircon ages to the P-T evolution of the high-grade metamorphic rocks

Laboratory Verification of a Proposed New Method to Determine the In-Situ Effective Porosity of Unsaturated Soil

A laboratory validation of a proposed new method of determining the in-situ effective porosity of unsaturated soils was carried out on unsaturated river sand. The proposed method consists of boring a small diameter hole into the soil and inserting an Amplitude Domain Reflectometry (ADR) probe at the bottom part of the hole. Water is supplied into the hole till saturation and later de-saturated. The water content with time is determined from the ADR probe voltage potential readings. The effective porosity is determined from the difference between the saturated and de-saturated water contents. However, in the laboratory, the water is supplied through the top and bottom parts of the sample. From the experiments the obtained effective porosity ranged from 0.28 to 0.29 for wetting from the top with an average of 0.287 and 0.29 to 0.30 for wetting from the bottom with an average of 0.293. The determined effective porosity ranged from 71.7-73.3% of the real initial porosity of 0.40 of the river sand. The maximum attained degree of saturation during the experiment was 91%. The results indicated that the method will be suitable and useful in determining the effective porosity of medium grained unsaturated soils

Mast Cells Are Required for Full Expression of Allergen/SEB-Induced Skin Inflammation

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic pruritic inflammatory skin disease. We recently described an animal model in which repeated epicutaneous applications of a house dust mite extract and Staphylococcal enterotoxin B induced eczematous skin lesions. In this study we showed that global gene expression patterns are very similar between human AD skin and allergen/staphylococcal enterotoxin B–induced mouse skin lesions, particularly in the expression of genes related to epidermal growth/differentiation, skin barrier, lipid/energy metabolism, immune response, or extracellular matrix. In this model, mast cells and T cells, but not B cells or eosinophils, were shown to be required for the full expression of dermatitis, as revealed by reduced skin inflammation and reduced serum IgE levels in mice lacking mast cells or T cells (TCRβ−/- or Rag1−/-). The clinical severity of dermatitis correlated with the numbers of mast cells, but not eosinophils. Consistent with the idea that T helper type 2 (Th2) cells play a predominant role in allergic diseases, the receptor for the Th2-promoting cytokine thymic stromal lymphopoietin and the high-affinity IgE receptor, FcεRI, were required to attain maximal clinical scores. Therefore, this clinically relevant model provides mechanistic insights into the pathogenic mechanism of human AD