Spin Conductance in one-dimensional Spin-Phonon systems

We present results for the spin conductance of the one dimensional spin-1/2 Heisenberg and XY model coupled to phonons. We apply an approach based on the Stochastic Series Expansion (Quantum Monte Carlo) method to evaluate the conductance for a variety of phonon dispersions and values of spin-phonon coupling. From our numerical simulations and analytical arguments, we derive several scaling laws for the conductance.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figure

Using a candidate gene approach to identify the restorer-of-fertility Rf4 gene for maize CMS-C

Abstract only availableCytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) is a maternally inherited trait that prevents normal pollen development. Although CMS is a mitochondrial mutation, there are nuclear genes known as restorer-of-fertility genes (Rf) that restore normal pollen development. This makes CMS particularly useful in performing controlled crosses for plant breeding programs and seed production, where the desired female carries a CMS mutation and the male contains the nuclear Rf gene. In maize, CMS type C (CMS-C) can be restored to fertility by the Rf4 gene. Identification of Rf4 can provide insight into the cause of CMS-C pollen abortion, and expand our knowledge of nuclear-mitochondrial communication. Our approach for identifying Rf4 combines genetic information with the physical maps and emerging DNA sequence data. Previous studies have genetically mapped the Rf4 gene to the short arm of a chromosome 8 (Sisco, 1991). Our goal is to identify a candidate gene for Rf4 in the correct region of chromosome 8. Genes in this region were categorized based on the probability of the proteins to be targeted to the mitochondria using MitoPROT and Predotar. The genes were also analyzed for PPR motifs using TPRpred. We used the criteria of mitochondrial targeting and a probable PPR functional motif because most Rf genes identified to date are targeted to mitochondria and have a PPR motif in their sequence. Primers have been designed for candidate genes, and they will be amplified and sequenced from six different maize inbred lines: three with the fertility restoring allele Rf4 and the non-restoring allele rf4. The sequenced genes will be then analyzed for nucleotide polymorphisms that correlate with the Rf4 and rf4 alleles.NSF Plant Genomics Internship @ M

Integrable models and degenerate horizons in two-dimensional gravity

We analyse an integrable model of two-dimensional gravity which can be reduced to a pair of Liouville fields in conformal gauge. Its general solution represents a pair of ``mirror'' black holes with the same temperature. The ground state is a degenerate constant dilaton configuration similar to the Nariai solution of the Schwarzschild-de Sitter case. The existence of $\phi=const.$ solutions and their relation with the solution given by the 2D Birkhoff's theorem is then investigated in a more general context. We also point out some interesting features of the semiclassical theory of our model and the similarity with the behaviour of AdS$_2$ black holes.Comment: Latex, 16 pages, 1 figur

Preliminary Experience With 3-Tesla MRI and Cushing\u27s Disease

Because radiographic visualization of a pituitary microadenoma is frequently difficult, we hypothesized that microadenomas associated with Cushing\u27s disease may be better resolved and localized via acquisition with 3-Tesla (3T) compared with standard 1.5-Tesla (1.5T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Five patients (four females, one male; age range, 14 to 50 years old) with endocrine and clinical confirmation of Cushing\u27s disease underwent 1.5T and 3T MRI and corticotropin-releasing hormone stimulation/inferior petrosal sinus sampling (IPSS) as part of their preoperative evaluation. All patients underwent a transnasal trans-sphenoidal pituitary adenomectomy. In two cases, tumor could not be localized on either 1.5T or 3T MRI on the initial radiologist\u27s review. In two other cases, the 1.5T images delineated the tumor location, but it was more clearly defined on 3T MRI. In a fifth case, the 1.5T MRI showed a probable right-sided adenoma. However, on both 3T MRI and at surgical exploration the tumor was localized on the left side. Therefore, in three of five cases, 3T MRI either more clearly defined tumors seen on 1.5T MRI or predicted the location of tumor contrary to the 1.5T images. IPSS identified the correct side of the tumor in two patients, an incorrect location in two patients, and was indeterminate in one patient. In certain cases 3T MRI is a new tool that may ameliorate imaging difficulties associated with adrenocorticotrophic hormone-secreting pituitary adenomas. Its role in the diagnostic evaluation of Cushing\u27s disease will be better defined with further experience. Copyright © 2007 by Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc

Isotropic three-dimensional gap in the iron-arsenide superconductor LiFeAs from directional heat transport measurements

The thermal conductivity k of the iron-arsenide superconductor LiFeAs (Tc ~ 18K) was measured in single crystals at temperatures down to T~50mK and in magnetic fields up to H=17T, very close to the upper critical field Hc2~18T. For both directions of the heat current, parallel and perpendicular to the tetragonal c-axis, a negligible residual linear term k/T is found as T ->0, revealing that there are no zero-energy quasiparticles in the superconducting state. The increase in k with magnetic field is the same for both current directions and it follows closely the dependence expected for an isotropic superconducting gap. There is no evidence of multi-band character, whereby the gap would be different on different Fermi-surface sheets. These findings show that the superconducting gap in LiFeAs is isotropic in 3D, without nodes or deep minima anywhere on the Fermi surface. Comparison with other iron-pnictide superconductors suggests that a nodeless isotropic gap is a common feature at optimal doping (maximal Tc).Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Fermi surface renormalization in Hubbard ladders

We derive the one-loop renormalization equations for the shift in the Fermi-wavevectors for one-dimensional interacting models with four Fermi-points (two left and two right movers) and two Fermi velocities v_1 and v_2. We find the shift to be proportional to (v_1-v_2)U^2, where U is the Hubbard-U. Our results apply to the Hubbard ladder and to the t_1-t_2 Hubbard model. The Fermi-sea with fewer particles tends to empty. The stability of a saddle point due to shifts of the Fermi-energy and the shift of the Fermi-wavevector at the Mott-Hubbard transition are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 Postscript figure