335 research outputs found
Phonon anomalies due to strong electronic correlations in layered organic metals
We show how the coupling between the phonons and electrons in a strongly
correlated metal can result in phonon frequencies which have a non-monotonic
temperature dependence. Dynamical mean-field theory is used to study the
Hubbard-Holstein model that describes the \kappa-(BEDT-TTF)_2 X family of
superconducting molecular crystals. The crossover with increasing temperature
from a Fermi liquid to a bad metal produces phonon anomalies that are
consistent with recent Raman scattering and acoustic experiments.Comment: 6 pages, 3 eps figure
Phase diagram and optical conductivity of the one-dimensional spinless Holstein model
The effects of quantum lattice fluctuations on the Peierls transition and the
optical conductivity in the one-dimensional Holstein model of spinless fermions
have been studied by developing an analytical approach, based on the unitary
transformation method. We show that when the electron-phonon coupling constant
decreases to a finite critical value the Peierls dimerization is destroyed by
the quantum lattice fluctuations. The dimerization gap is much more reduced by
the quantum lattice fluctuations than the phonon order parameter. The
calculated optical conductivity does not have the inverse-square-root
singularity but have a peak above the gap edge and there exists a significant
tail below the peak. The peak of optical-conductivity spectrum is not directly
corresponding to the dimerized gap. Our results of the phase diagram and the
spectral-weight function agree with those of the density matrix renormalization
group and the exact diagonalization methods.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures include
Infrared conductivity of a one-dimensional charge-ordered state: quantum lattice effects
The optical properties of the charge-ordering () phase of the
one-dimensional (1D) half-filled spinless Holstein model are derived at zero
temperature within a well-known variational approach improved including
second-order lattice fluctuations. Within the phase, the static lattice
distortions give rise to the optical interband gap, that broadens as the
strength of the electron-phonon () interaction increases. The lattice
fluctuation effects induce a long subgap tail in the infrared conductivity and
a wide band above the gap energy. The first term is due to the multi-phonon
emission by the charge carriers, the second to the interband transitions
accompanied by the multi-phonon scattering. The results show a good agreement
with experimental spectra.Comment: 5 figure
The Mythology of Game Theory
Non-cooperative game theory is at its heart a theory of cognition, specifically a theory of how decisions are made. Game theory\u27s leverage is that we can design different payoffs, settings, player arrays, action possibilities, and information structures, and that these differences lead to different strategies, outcomes, and equilibria. It is well-known that, in experimental settings, people do not adopt the predicted strategies, outcomes, and equilibria. The standard response to this mismatch of prediction and observation is to add various psychological axioms to the game-theoretic framework. Regardless of the differing specific proposals and results, game theory uniformly makes certain cognitive assumptions that seem rarely to be acknowledged, much less interrogated. Indeed, it is not widely understood that game theory is essentially a cognitive theory. Here, we interrogate those cognitive assumptions. We do more than reject specific predictions from specific games. More broadly, we reject the underlying cognitive model implicitly assumed by game theory
Measuring geometric phases of scattering states in nanoscale electronic devices
We show how a new quantum property, a geometric phase, associated with
scattering states can be exhibited in nanoscale electronic devices. We propose
an experiment to use interference to directly measure the effect of the new
geometric phase. The setup involves a double path interferometer, adapted from
that used to measure the phase evolution of electrons as they traverse a
quantum dot (QD). Gate voltages on the QD could be varied cyclically and
adiabatically, in a manner similar to that used to observe quantum adiabatic
charge pumping. The interference due to the geometric phase results in
oscillations in the current collected in the drain when a small bias across the
device is applied. We illustrate the effect with examples of geometric phases
resulting from both Abelian and non-Abelian gauge potentials.Comment: Six pages two figure
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Improving adherence to acute low back pain guideline recommendations with chiropractors and physiotherapists: the ALIGN cluster randomised controlled trial
Background
Acute low back pain is a common condition, has high burden, and there are evidence-to-practice gaps in the chiropractic and physiotherapy setting for imaging and giving advice to stay active. The aim of this cluster randomised trial was to estimate the effects of a theory- and evidence-based implementation intervention to increase chiropractors’ and physiotherapists’ adherence to a guideline for acute low back pain compared with the comparator (passive dissemination of the guideline). In particular, the primary aim of the intervention was to reduce inappropriate imaging referral and improve patient low back pain outcomes, and to determine whether this intervention was cost-effective.
Methods
Physiotherapy and chiropractic practices in the state of Victoria, Australia, comprising at least one practising clinician who provided care to patients with acute low back pain, were invited to participate. Patients attending these practices were included if they had acute non-specific low back pain (duration less than 3 months), were 18 years of age or older, and were able to understand and read English. Practices were randomly assigned either to a tailored, multi-faceted intervention based on the guideline (interactive educational symposium plus academic detailing) or passive dissemination of the guideline (comparator). A statistician independent of the study team undertook stratified randomisation using computer-generated random numbers; four strata were defined by professional group and the rural or metropolitan location of the practice. Investigators not involved in intervention delivery were blinded to allocation. Primary outcomes were X-ray referral self-reported by clinicians using a checklist and patient low back pain-specific disability (at 3 months).
Results
A total of 104 practices (43 chiropractors, 85 physiotherapists; 755 patients) were assigned to the intervention and 106 practices (45 chiropractors, 97 physiotherapists; 603 patients) to the comparator; 449 patients were available for the patient-level primary outcome. There was no important difference in the odds of patients being referred for X-ray (adjusted (Adj) OR: 1.40; 95% CI 0.51, 3.87; Adj risk difference (RD): 0.01; 95% CI − 0.02, 0.04) or patient low back pain-specific disability (Adj mean difference: 0.37; 95% CI − 0.48, 1.21, scale 0–24). The intervention did lead to improvement for some key secondary outcomes, including giving advice to stay active (Adj OR: 1.96; 95% CI 1.20, 3.22; Adj RD: 0.10; 95% CI 0.01, 0.19) and intending to adhere to the guideline recommendations (e.g. intention to refer for X-ray: Adj OR: 0.27; 95% CI 0.17, 0.44; intention to give advice to stay active: Adj OR: 2.37; 95% CI 1.51, 3.74).
Conclusions
Intervention group clinicians were more likely to give advice to stay active and to intend to adhere to the guideline recommendations about X-ray referral. The intervention did not change the primary study outcomes, with no important differences in X-ray referral and patient disability between groups, implying that hypothesised reductions in health service utilisation and/or productivity gains are unlikely to offset the direct costs of the intervention. We report these results with the caveat that we enrolled less patients into the trial than our determined sample size. We cannot recommend this intervention as a cost-effective use of resources
Quantum lattice fluctuations in a frustrated Heisenberg spin-Peierls chain
As a simple model for spin-Peierls systems we study a frustrated Heisenberg
chain coupled to optical phonons. In view of the anorganic spin-Peierls
compound CuGeO3 we consider two different mechanisms of spin-phonon coupling.
Combining variational concepts in the adiabatic regime and perturbation theory
in the anti-adiabatic regime we derive effective spin Hamiltonians which cover
the dynamical effect of phonons in an approximate way. Ground-state phase
diagrams of these models are determined, and the effect of frustration is
discussed. Comparing the properties of the ground state and of low-lying
excitations with exact diagonalization data for the full quantum spin phonon
models, good agreement is found especially in the anti-adiabatic regime.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures included, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Electronic correlation in the infrared optical properties of the quasi two dimensional -type BEDT-TTF dimer system
The polarized optical reflectance spectra of the quasi two dimensional
organic correlated electron system -(BEDT-TTF)Cu[N(CN)],
Br and Cl are measured in the infrared region. The former shows the
superconductivity at 11.6 K and the latter does the
antiferromagnetic insulator transition at 28 K. Both the
specific molecular vibration mode of the BEDT-TTF molecule and
the optical conductivity hump in the mid-infrared region change correlatively
at 38 K of -(BEDT-TTF)Cu[N(CN)]Br, although
no indication of but the insulating behaviour below 50-60 K are found in -(BEDT-TTF)Cu[N(CN)]Cl. The
results suggest that the electron-molecular vibration coupling on the
mode becomes weak due to the enhancement of the itinerant
nature of the carriers on the dimer of the BEDT-TTF molecules below ,
while it does strong below because of the localized carriers on
the dimer. These changes are in agreement with the reduction and the
enhancement of the mid-infrared conductivity hump below and , respectively, which originates from the transitions between the upper
and lower Mott-Hubbard bands. The present observations demonstrate that two
different metallic states of -(BEDT-TTF)Cu[N(CN)]Br are
regarded as {\it a correlated good metal} below including the
superconducting state and {\it a half filling bad metal} above . In
contrast the insulating state of -(BEDT-TTF)Cu[N(CN)]Cl
below is the Mott insulator.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure
Metal-insulator transition in the one-dimensional Holstein model at half filling
We study the one-dimensional Holstein model with spin-1/2 electrons at
half-filling. Ground state properties are calculated for long chains with great
accuracy using the density matrix renormalization group method and extrapolated
to the thermodynamic limit. We show that for small electron-phonon coupling or
large phonon frequency, the insulating Peierls ground state predicted by
mean-field theory is destroyed by quantum lattice fluctuations and that the
system remains in a metallic phase with a non-degenerate ground state and
power-law electronic and phononic correlations. When the electron-phonon
coupling becomes large or the phonon frequency small, the system undergoes a
transition to an insulating Peierls phase with a two-fold degenerate ground
state, long-range charge-density-wave order, a dimerized lattice structure, and
a gap in the electronic excitation spectrum.Comment: 6 pages (LaTex), 10 eps figure
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