Statistical transmutation of quantum bosonic strings coupled to general four-dimensional Chern-Simons theory

A bosonic string coupled to the generalized Chern-Simons theory in 3+1D acquires a magnetic field along itself, when it is closed, and a topological charge at its extremity, when it is open. We construct the creation operators for the full quantum field states associated to these strings and determine the dual algebra satisfied by them. We show that the creation operator fo the composite state of a quantum closed bosonic string, bearing a magnetic flux, and a topologically charged open bosonic string, possesses generalized statistics. The relation of our results with previous approaches to the problem is also established.Comment: 4 pages, Revtex

Hepatitis C virus genotypes in liver transplant recipients: Impact on posttransplant recurrence, infections, response to interferon-α therapy and outcome

Background. End-stage liver disease due to hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the most common indication for liver transplantation in U.S. veterans. We investigated the influence of HCV genotypes on the incidence and timing of recurrent HCV hepatitis, survival, infectious morbidity, and response to interferon-α therapy in this unique patient population. Methods. HCV genotype was determined by direct sequencing of the NS5 region of HCV with type-specific primers. Results. Genotype 1a (66%, 32/47) was the predominant genotype. Type 1b was found in 25% (12/47) of patients and type 2b was found in 9% (4/47). His topathologically recurrent HCV hepatitis developed in 53% (25/47) of the patients after transplantation. This group included 45% (14/31) of the patients with type 1a, 67% (8/12) of the patients with type 1b, and 25% (1/4) of the patients with type 2b (P>0.5). The time to recurrence and the severity of HCV recurrence as defined by aminotransferase levels or Knodell scores were not different among the three genotypes. There was a trend toward a higher incidence of major infections in patients with type 1b (75%) versus type 1a (48%) and type 2b (50%) (P=0.11). The response to interferon-α therapy did not differ significantly among the genotypes. Mortality at 5 years was 16% (5/31) in patients with genotype 1a, 42% (5/12) in patients with genotype 1b, and 50% (2/4) in patients with genotype 2b (P=0.06). Conclusions. The incidence, time to recurrence, and response to interferon-α therapy did not differ be tween the various genotypes in our liver transplant recipients. However, there was a trend toward higher infectious morbidity and overall mortality in patients with genotype 1b after transplantation

Charge pairing, superconducting transition and supersymmetry in high-temperature cuprate superconductors

We propose a model for high-T$_{c}$ superconductors, valid for $0\leq\delta\leq\delta_{SC}$, that includes both the spin fluctuations of the Cu$^{++}$ magnetic ions and of the O$^{--}$ doped holes. Spin-charge separation is taken into account with the charge of the doped holes being associated to quantum skyrmion excitations (holons) of the Cu$^{++}$ spin background. The holon effective interaction potential is evaluated as a function of doping, indicating that Cooper pair formation is determined by the competition between the spin fluctuations of the Cu$^{++}$ background and of spins of the O$^{--}$ doped holes (spinons). The superconducting transition occurs when the spinon fluctuations dominate, thereby reversing the sign of the interaction. At this point ($\delta = \delta_{SC}$), the theory is supersymmetric at short distances and, as a consequence, the leading order results are not modified by radiative corrections. The critical doping parameter for the onset of superconductivity at T=0 is obtained and found to be a universal constant determined by the shape of the Fermi surface. Our theoretical values for $\delta_{SC}$ are in good agreement with the experiment for both LSCO and YBCO.Comment: RevTex, 4 pages, no figure

Quantum skyrmions and the destruction of long-range antiferromagnetic order in the high-Tc superconductors La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO(4) and YBa(2)Cu(3)O(6+x)

We study the destruction of the antiferromagnetic order in the high-Tc superconductors La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO(4) and YBa(2)Cu(3)O(6+x) in the framework of the CP1-nonlinear sigma model formulation of the 2D quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet. The dopants are introduced as independent fermions with appropriate dispersion relations determined by the shape of the Fermi surface. The energy of skyrmion topological defects, which are shown to be introduced by doping, is used as an order parameter for antiferromagnetic order. We obtain analytic expressions for this as a function of doping which allow us to plot the curves T_N(x_c)\times x_c and M(x)\times x, for both YBCO and LSCO, in good quantitative agreement with the experimental data.Comment: 4 pages, revtex, 5 embeeded figure