From Quantum Dynamics to the Canonical Distribution: General Picture and a Rigorous Example

Derivation of the canonical (or Boltzmann) distribution based only on quantum dynamics is discussed. Consider a closed system which consists of mutually interacting subsystem and heat bath, and assume that the whole system is initially in a pure state (which can be far from equilibrium) with small energy fluctuation. Under the "hypothesis of equal weights for eigenstates", we derive the canonical distribution in the sense that, at sufficiently large and typical time, the (instantaneous) quantum mechanical expectation value of an arbitrary operator of the subsystem is almost equal to the desired canonical expectation value. We present a class of examples in which the above derivation can be rigorously established without any unproven hypotheses.Comment: LaTeX, 8 pages, no figures. The title, abstract and some discussions are modified to stress physical motivation of the work. References are added to [2]. This version will appear in Phys. Rev. Lett. There is an accompanying unpublished note (cond-mat/9707255

Scaling of resistivities and guided vortex motion in MgB2 thin films

Longitudinal and transverse voltages have been measured on thin films of MgB2 with different superconducting transition widths. The study has been performed in zero and non-zero external magnetic fields. The non-zero transverse voltage has been observed in close vicinity of the critical temperature in zero external magnetic field, while further away from Tc this voltage becomes zero. In magnetic field it becomes a transverse voltage which is an even function with respect to the direction of the field. The usual Hall voltage starts to appear with increasing magnetic field and in large fields the even voltage disappears and only the Hall voltage is measurable (i.e. the transverse even voltage is suppressed with increasing magnetic field and increasing transport current). New scaling between transverse and longitudinal resistivities has been observed. This correlation is valid not only in the zero magnetic field but also in nonzero magnetic field where transverse even voltage is detected. Several models trying to explain observed results are discussed. The most promising one seems to be guided motion of the vortices, though further theoretical work will be required to confirm this

Interacting Random Walkers and Non-Equilibrium Fluctuations

We introduce a model of interacting Random Walk, whose hopping amplitude depends on the number of walkers/particles on the link. The mesoscopic counterpart of such a microscopic dynamics is a diffusing system whose diffusivity depends on the particle density. A non-equilibrium stationary flux can be induced by suitable boundary conditions, and we show indeed that it is mesoscopically described by a Fourier equation with a density dependent diffusivity. A simple mean-field description predicts a critical diffusivity if the hopping amplitude vanishes for a certain walker density. Actually, we evidence that, even if the density equals this pseudo-critical value, the system does not present any criticality but only a dynamical slowing down. This property is confirmed by the fact that, in spite of interaction, the particle distribution at equilibrium is simply described in terms of a product of Poissonians. For mesoscopic systems with a stationary flux, a very effect of interaction among particles consists in the amplification of fluctuations, which is especially relevant close to the pseudo-critical density. This agrees with analogous results obtained for Ising models, clarifying that larger fluctuations are induced by the dynamical slowing down and not by a genuine criticality. The consistency of this amplification effect with altered coloured noise in time series is also proved.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

Giant enhancement of quantum decoherence by frustrated environments

This Letter studies the decoherence in a system of two antiferromagnetically coupled spins that interact with a spin bath environment. Systems are considered that range from the rotationally invariant to highly anisotropic spin models, have different topologies and values of parameters that are fixed or are allowed to fluctuate randomly. We explore the conditions under which the two-spin system clearly shows an evolution from the initial spin-up - spin-down state towards the maximally entangled singlet state. We demonstrate that frustration and, especially, glassiness of the spin environment strongly enhances the decoherence of the two-spin system

Origin of the Canonical Ensemble: Thermalization with Decoherence

We solve the time-dependent Schrodinger equation for the combination of a spin system interacting with a spin bath environment. In particular, we focus on the time development of the reduced density matrix of the spin system. Under normal circumstances we show that the environment drives the reduced density matrix to a fully decoherent state, and furthermore the diagonal elements of the reduced density matrix approach those expected for the system in the canonical ensemble. We show one exception to the normal case is if the spin system cannot exchange energy with the spin bath. Our demonstration does not rely on time-averaging of observables nor does it assume that the coupling between system and bath is weak. Our findings show that the canonical ensemble is a state that may result from pure quantum dynamics, suggesting that quantum mechanics may be regarded as the foundation of quantum statistical mechanics.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication by J. Phys. Soc. Jp

Study of the Potts Model on the Honeycomb and Triangular Lattices: Low-Temperature Series and Partition Function Zeros

We present and analyze low-temperature series and complex-temperature partition function zeros for the $q$-state Potts model with $q=4$ on the honeycomb lattice and $q=3,4$ on the triangular lattice. A discussion is given as to how the locations of the singularities obtained from the series analysis correlate with the complex-temperature phase boundary. Extending our earlier work, we include a similar discussion for the Potts model with $q=3$ on the honeycomb lattice and with $q=3,4$ on the kagom\'e lattice.Comment: 33 pages, Latex, 9 encapsulated postscript figures, J. Phys. A, in pres

Thymic Selection Determines γδ T Cell Effector Fate: Antigen-Naive Cells Make Interleukin-17 and Antigen-Experienced Cells Make Interferon γ

γδ T cells contribute uniquely to host immune competence, but how they do so remain unclear. Here, by analyzing T10/T22-specific γδ T cells in mice with different T10/T22 expression patterns, we find that encountering antigen in the thymus is neither required nor inhibitory for the development of these cells. Instead, ligand recognition determines which of two distinct functional subsets γδ T cells will become. When triggered through the TCR, lymphoid-γδ T cells that encounter ligand during development produce IFNγ, while those that develop in the absence of ligand make IL-17, a major inducer of granulopoiesis during inflammation. Indeed, we find large fractions of IL-17+ γδ T cells from the draining lymph nodes immediately after peptide/CFA immunization and days before the appearance of antigen specific IL-17+ αβ T cells. This suggests a critical role for γδ T cells as ‘initial providers’ of IL-17 in an inflammatory response to novel antigens

Structure of boson systems beyond the mean-field

We investigate systems of identical bosons with the focus on two-body correlations. We use the hyperspherical adiabatic method and a decomposition of the wave function in two-body amplitudes. An analytic parametrization is used for the adiabatic effective radial potential. We discuss the structure of a condensate for arbitrary scattering length. Stability and time scales for various decay processes are estimated. The previously predicted Efimov-like states are found to be very narrow. We discuss the validity conditions and formal connections between the zero- and finite-range mean-field approximations, Faddeev-Yakubovskii formulation, Jastrow ansatz, and the present method. We compare numerical results from present work with mean-field calculations and discuss qualitatively the connection with measurements.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figures, submitted to J. Phys. B. Ver. 2 is 28 pages with modified figures and discussion

From START to FINISH : the influence of osmotic stress on the cell cycle

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Measurement of the Generalized Forward Spin Polarizabilities of the Neutron

The generalized forward spin polarizabilities $\gamma_0$ and $\delta_{LT}$ of the neutron have been extracted for the first time in a $Q^2$ range from 0.1 to 0.9 GeV$^2$. Since $\gamma_0$ is sensitive to nucleon resonances and $\delta_{LT}$ is insensitive to the $\Delta$ resonance, it is expected that the pair of forward spin polarizabilities should provide benchmark tests of the current understanding of the chiral dynamics of QCD. The new results on $\delta_{LT}$ show significant disagreement with Chiral Perturbation Theory calculations, while the data for $\gamma_0$ at low $Q^2$ are in good agreement with a next-to-lead order Relativistic Baryon Chiral Perturbation theory calculation. The data show good agreement with the phenomenological MAID model.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, corrected typo in author name, published in PR