Quantized Lattice Dynamic Effects on the Spin-Peierls Transition

The density matrix renormalization group method is used to investigate the spin-Peierls transition for Heisenberg spins coupled to quantized phonons. We use a phonon spectrum that interpolates between a gapped, dispersionless (Einstein) limit to a gapless, dispersive (Debye) limit. A variety of theoretical probes are used to determine the quantum phase transition, including energy gap crossing, a finite size scaling analysis, bond order auto-correlation functions, and bipartite quantum entanglement. All these probes indicate that in the antiadiabatic phonon limit a quantum phase transition of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless type is observed at a non-zero spin-phonon coupling, $g_{\text c}$. An extrapolation from the Einstein limit to the Debye limit is accompanied by an increase in $g_{\text c}$ for a fixed optical ($q=\pi$) phonon gap. We therefore conclude that the dimerized ground state is more unstable with respect to Debye phonons, with the introduction of phonon dispersion renormalizing the effective spin-lattice coupling for the Peierls-active mode. We also show that the staggered spin-spin and phonon displacement order parameters are unreliable means of determining the transition.Comment: To be published in Phys. Rev.

Open Knowledge Maps: Creating a Visual Interface to the World’s Scientific Knowledge Based on Natural Language Processing

The goal of Open Knowledge Maps is to create a visual interface to the world’s scientific knowledge. The base for this visual interface consists of so-called knowledge maps, which enable the exploration of existing knowledge and the discovery of new knowledge. Our open source knowledge mapping software applies a mixture of summarization techniques and similarity measures on article metadata, which are iteratively chained together. After processing, the representation is saved in a database for use in a web visualization. In the future, we want to create a space for collective knowledge mapping that brings together individuals and communities involved in exploration and discovery. We want to enable people to guide each other in their discovery by collaboratively annotating and modifying the automatically created maps.Das Ziel von Open Knowledge Map ist es, ein visuelles Interface zum wissenschaftlichen Wissen der Welt bereitzustellen. Die Basis für die dieses Interface sind sogenannte “knowledge maps”, zu deutsch Wissenslandkarten. Wissenslandkarten ermöglichen die Exploration bestehenden Wissens und die Entdeckung neuen Wissens. Unsere Open Source Software wendet für die Erstellung der Wissenslandkarten eine Reihe von Text Mining Verfahren iterativ auf die Metadaten wissenschaftlicher Artikel an. Die daraus resultierende Repräsentation wird in einer Datenbank für die Anzeige in einer Web-Visualisierung abgespeichert. In Zukunft wollen wir einen Raum für das kollektive Erstellen von Wissenslandkarten schaffen, der die Personen und Communities, welche sich mit der Exploration und Entdeckung wissenschaftlichen Wissens beschäftigen, zusammenbringt. Wir wollen es den NutzerInnen ermöglichen, einander in der Literatursuche durch kollaboratives Annotieren und Modifizieren von automatisch erstellten Wissenslandkarten zu unterstützen

A High Flux Source of Cold Rubidium

We report the production of a continuous, slow, and cold beam of 87-Rb atoms with an unprecedented flux of 3.2 x 10^12 atoms/s and a temperature of a few milliKelvin. Hot atoms are emitted from a Rb candlestick atomic beam source and transversely cooled and collimated by a 20 cm long atomic collimator section, augmenting overall beam flux by a factor of 50. The atomic beam is then decelerated and longitudinally cooled by Zeeman slowing

Open Knowledge Maps: Visual Discovery Based on the Principles of Open Science

Die Wissenschaft befindet sich in einer Auffindbarkeitskrise. Obwohl durch die Open Access-Bewegung Forschungsergebnisse besser zugänglich geworden sind, wird ein signifikanter Teil der Outputs nicht nachgenutzt. Einen großen Anteil an der Krise haben die Tools, die für die Literatursuche verwendet werden. Angesichts von drei Millionen Veröffentlichungen pro Jahr sind klassische Ansätze, wie etwa listenbasierte Suchmaschinen, nicht mehr ausreichend. Open Knowledge Maps hat es sich zum Ziel gesetzt, die Auffindbarkeit wissenschaftlichen Wissens zu verbessern. Dafür betreibt die gemeinnützige Organisation aus Österreich die weltweit größte visuelle Suchmaschine für Forschung. Das Grundprinzip besteht darin, Wissenslandkarten für die Literatursuche zu nutzen. Diese geben einen Überblick über ein Forschungsfeld und ermöglichen so einen schnelleren Einstieg in die Literatur. Open Knowledge Maps basiert auf den Prinzipien von Open Science: Inhalte, Daten und Software werden unter einer freien Lízenz veröffentlicht. Dadurch entsteht eine offene, wiederverwendbare Infrastruktur; Lock-In-Effekte, wie sie bei proprietären Systemen auftreten, werden vermieden. Open Knowledge Maps arbeitet seit Beginn eng mit Bibliotheken und BibliothekarInnen als ExpertInnen für Wissensorganisation und -verwaltung zusammen. Im Rahmen eines konsortialen Fördermodells werden Bibliotheken nun eingeladen, das System stärker mitzugestalten – unter anderem bei wichtigen Zukunftsthemen wie der besseren Auffindbarkeit von Datensätzen.There is a discoverability crisis in research. A significant share of research outputs are not reused, even though publications are more easily accessible thanks to the open access movement. One of the main reasons for the crisis are the tools that we use for discovery. Classic list-based approaches are not suitable any more for the three million papers that are published each year. Open Knowledge Maps is dedicated to improving the visibility of scientific knowledge. To this end, the charitable nonprofit organisation operates the largest visual search engine in the world. Our approach is to use knowledge maps for discovery. Knowledge maps provide an instant overview of a scientific field and thus enable users to get acquainted with the literature much more quickly. Open Knowledge Maps is based on the principles of open science: content, data, and software are shared under an open license. This creates an open infrastructure, avoiding the lock-in effects of proprietary systems. Since the beginning, Open Knowledge Maps has worked together closely with libraries and librarians as the experts for knowledge organisation and management. As part of a consortial funding model, we now invite libraries to co-create the system with us – this includes important upcoming topics, such as the discoverability of research data

Who is Exposed to Gas Prices? How Gasoline Prices Affect Automobile Manufacturers and Dealerships

Many consumers are keenly aware of gasoline prices, and consumer responses to gasoline prices have been well studied. In this paper, by contrast, we investigate how gasoline prices affect the automobile industry: manufacturers and dealerships. We estimate how changes in gasoline prices affect equilibrium prices and sales of both new and used vehicles of different fuel economies. We investigate the implications of these effects for individual auto manufacturers, taking into account differences in manufacturers' vehicle portfolios. We also investigate effects on manufacturers' affiliated dealership networks, including effects implied by the changes in used vehicle market outcomes

An overview of Australian exercise and sport science degrees

Exercise and Sport Science (EXSS) is a common degree offered at Australian universities, yet there is no systematic overview of this multidisciplinary field of study. This study aimed to determine the broad curriculum content of Australian EXSS degrees by summarizing the units offered, identify most commonly delivered content areas, and capture course information such as work-integrated learning (WIL) requirements and majors offered. Data were gathered through publicly available university course pages, with 30 EXSS courses included and only core units identified. The most common Australian EXSS units were “Exercise Physiology,” “Biomechanics,” “Research Methods and Data Analysis,” “Exercise Prescription and Delivery,” and “Exercise and Sport Psychology.” WIL requirements ranged from 140 to 300 h per course, and five courses offered majors. This study provides an overview of Australian EXSS courses, with the focus on exercise-related components reflecting accreditation requirements. Future research should examine how these courses equip students for the multidisciplinary EXSS industry

Natural heritage inventory of the town of Vail: final report

Prepared for: the town of Vail.March 29, 1994

Adsorbate-Induced Segregation of Cobalt from PtCo Nanoparticles: Modeling Au Doping and Core AuCo Alloying for the Improvement of Fuel Cell Cathode Catalysts

Platinum, when used as a cathode material for the oxygen reduction reaction, suffers from high overpotential and possible dissolution, in addition to the scarcity of the metal and resulting cost. Although the introduction of cobalt has been reported to improve reaction kinetics and decrease the precious metal loading, surface segregation or complete leakage of Co atoms causes degradation of the membrane electrode assembly, and either of these scenarios of structural rearrangement eventually decreases catalytic power. Ternary PtCo alloys with noble metals could possibly maintain activity with a higher dissolution potential. First-principles-based theoretical methods are utilized to identify the critical factors affecting segregation in Pt–Co binary and Pt–Co–Au ternary nanoparticles in the presence of oxidizing species. With a decreasing share of Pt, surface segregation of Co atoms was already found to become thermodynamically viable in the PtCo systems at low oxygen concentrations, which is assigned to high charge transfer between species. While the introduction of gold as a dopant caused structural changes that favor segregation of Co, creation of CoAu alloy core is calculated to significantly suppress Co leakage through modification of the electronic properties. The theoretical framework of geometrically different ternary systems provides a new route for the rational design of oxygen reduction catalysts

Evaluation of the Influenza A Replicon for Transient Expression of Recombinant Proteins in Mammalian Cells

Recombinant protein expression in mammalian cells has become a very important technique over the last twenty years. It is mainly used for production of complex proteins for biopharmaceutical applications. Transient recombinant protein expression is a possible strategy to produce high quality material for preclinical trials within days. Viral replicon based expression systems have been established over the years and are ideal for transient protein expression. In this study we describe the evaluation of an influenza A replicon for the expression of recombinant proteins. We investigated transfection and expression levels in HEK-293 cells with EGFP and firefly luciferase as reporter proteins. Furthermore, we studied the influence of different influenza non-coding regions and temperature optima for protein expression as well. Additionally, we exploited the viral replication machinery for the expression of an antiviral protein, the human monoclonal anti-HIV-gp41 antibody 3D6. Finally we could demonstrate that the expression of a single secreted protein, an antibody light chain, by the influenza replicon, resulted in fivefold higher expression levels compared to the usually used CMV promoter based expression. We emphasize that the influenza A replicon system is feasible for high level expression of complex proteins in mammalian cells