69 research outputs found
Spin tunneling and topological selection rules for integer spins
We present topological interference effects for the tunneling of a single
large spin, which are caused by the symmetry of a general class of magnetic
anisotropies. The interference originates from spin Berry phases associated
with different tunneling paths exposed to the same dynamics. Introducing a
generalized path integral for coherent spin states, we evaluate transition
amplitudes between ground as well as low-lying excited states. We show that
these interference effects lead to topological selection rules and spin-parity
effects for integer spins that agree with quantum selection rules and which
thus provide a generalization of the Kramers degeneracy to integer spins. Our
results apply to the molecular magnets Mn12 and Fe8.Comment: 4 pages, 3 EPS figures, REVTe
Spin dynamics of Mn12-acetate in the thermally-activated tunneling regime: ac-susceptibility and magnetization relaxation
In this work, we study the spin dynamics of Mn12-acetate molecules in the
regime of thermally assisted tunneling. In particular, we describe the system
in the presence of a strong transverse magnetic field. Similar to recent
experiments, the relaxation time/rate is found to display a series of
resonances; their Lorentzian shape is found to stem from the tunneling. The
dynamic susceptibility is calculated starting from the microscopic
Hamiltonian and the resonant structure manifests itself also in .
Similar to recent results reported on another molecular magnet, Fe8, we find
oscillations of the relaxation rate as a function of the transverse magnetic
field when the field is directed along a hard axis of the molecules. This
phenomenon is attributed to the interference of the geometrical or Berry phase.
We propose susceptibility experiments to be carried out for strong transverse
magnetic fields to study of these oscillations and for a better resolution of
the sharp satellite peaks in the relaxation rates.Comment: 22 pages, 23 figures; submitted to Phys. Rev. B; citations/references
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Quantum tunneling of two coupled single-molecular magnets
Two single-molecule magnets are coupled antiferromagnetically to form a
supramolecule dimer. We study the coupling effect and tunneling process by
means of the numerical exact diagonalization method, and apply them to the
recently synthesized supramoleculer dimer [Mn4]2 The model parameters are
calculated for the dimer based on the tunneling process. The absence of
tunneling at zero field and sweeping rate effect on the step height in the
hysterisis loops are understood very well in this theory.Comment: 4 pages including 3 figure and 1 tabl
Living near Main Streets and Respiratory Symptoms in Adults: The Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung Diseases in Adults
The Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung Diseases in Adults (SAPALDIA), conducted in 1991 (SAPALDIA 1) in eight areas among 9,651 randomly selected adults aged 18-60 years, reported associations among the prevalence of respiratory symptoms, nitrogen dioxide, and particles with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 10 μg/m3. Later, 8,047 subjects reenrolled in 2002 (SAPALDIA 2). The effects of individually assigned traffic exposures on reported respiratory symptoms were estimated, while controlling for socioeconomic and exposure- and health-related factors. The risk of attacks of breathlessness increased for all subjects by 13% (95% confidence interval: 3, 24) per 500-m increment in the length of main street segments within 200 m of the home and decreased in never smokers by 12% (95% confidence interval: 0, 22) per 100-m increment in distance from home to a main street. Living within 20 m of a main street increased the risks of regular phlegm by 15% (95% confidence interval: 0, 31) and wheezing with breathing problems by 34% (95% confidence interval: 0, 79) in never smokers. In 2002, the effects related to road distance were different from those in 1991, which could be due to changes in the traffic pollution mixture. These findings among a general population provide strong confirmation that living near busy streets leads to adverse respiratory health effect
Level splittings in exchange-biased spin tunneling
The level splittings in a dimer with the antiferromagnetic coupling between
two single-molecule magnets are calculated perturbatively for arbitrary spin.
It is found that the exchange interaction between two single-molecule magnets
plays an important role in the level splitting. The results are discussed in
comparison with the recent experiment.Comment: 12 pages, to be published in Phys. Rev.
Spin-parity dependent tunneling of magnetization in single-molecule magnets
Single-molecule magnets facilitate the study of quantum tunneling of
magnetization at the mesoscopic level. The spin-parity effect is among the
fundamental predictions that have yet to be clearly observed. It is predicted
that quantum tunneling is suppressed at zero transverse field if the total spin
of the magnetic system is half-integer (Kramers degeneracy) but is allowed in
integer spin systems. The Landau-Zener method is used to measure the tunnel
splitting as a function of transverse field. Spin-parity dependent tunneling is
established by comparing the transverse field dependence of the tunnel
splitting of integer and half-integer spin systems.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure
Tunneling with dissipation and decoherence for a large spin
We present rigorous solution of problems of tunneling with dissipation and
decoherence for a spin of an atom or a molecule in an isotropic solid matrix.
Our approach is based upon switching to a rotating coordinate system coupled to
the local crystal field. We show that the spin of a molecule can be used in a
qubit only if the molecule is strongly coupled with its atomic environment.
This condition is a consequence of the conservation of the total angular
momentum (spin + matrix), that has been largely ignored in previous studies of
spin tunneling.Comment: 4 page
Effects of passive smoking on heart rate variability, heart rate and blood pressure: an observational study
BACKGROUND: Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) has been shown to increase the risk for cardiovascular diseases and death, and autonomic dysfunction (specifically, reduced heart rate variability (HRV)) is a predictor of increased cardiac risk. This study tests the hypothesis that ETS exposure reduces HRV in the general population and discusses possible pathways. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted between 2001 and 2003 and is part of the SAPALDIA (Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung Diseases in Adults) study. The analysis included 1218 randomly selected non-smokers aged 50 and above who participated in 24-h electrocardiogram recordings. Other examinations included an interview, investigating health status (especially respiratory and cardiovascular health and health relevant behaviours and exposure to ETS) and measurements of blood pressure, body height and weight. RESULTS: Subjects exposed to ETS at home or at work for more than 2 h/day had a difference of -15% in total power (95%CI: -26 to -3%), low frequency power (-28 to -1%), low/high frequency ratio (-26 to -3%) and -18% (-29 to -4%) in ultralow frequency power of HRV compared with subjects not exposed to ETS at home or work. We also found a 2.7% (-0.01 to 5.34%) higher heart rate during the recording in exposed subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to ETS at home and work is associated with lower HRV and with higher heart rate in an ageing population. Our findings suggest that exposure to ETS increases cardiac risk through disturbances in the autonomic nervous system
Living near main streets and respiratory symptoms in adults: the Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung Diseases in Adults
The Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung Diseases in Adults (SAPALDIA), conducted in 1991 (SAPALDIA 1) in eight areas among 9,651 randomly selected adults aged 18-60 years, reported associations among the prevalence of respiratory symptoms, nitrogen dioxide, and particles with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 10 microg/m3. Later, 8,047 subjects reenrolled in 2002 (SAPALDIA 2). The effects of individually assigned traffic exposures on reported respiratory symptoms were estimated, while controlling for socioeconomic and exposure- and health-related factors. The risk of attacks of breathlessness increased for all subjects by 13% (95% confidence interval: 3, 24) per 500-m increment in the length of main street segments within 200 m of the home and decreased in never smokers by 12% (95% confidence interval: 0, 22) per 100-m increment in distance from home to a main street. Living within 20 m of a main street increased the risks of regular phlegm by 15% (95% confidence interval: 0, 31) and wheezing with breathing problems by 34% (95% confidence interval: 0, 79) in never smokers. In 2002, the effects related to road distance were different from those in 1991, which could be due to changes in the traffic pollution mixture. These findings among a general population provide strong confirmation that living near busy streets leads to adverse respiratory health effects
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