1,594 research outputs found
Phase transition in a 2-dimensional Heisenberg model
We investigate the two-dimensional classical Heisenberg model with a
nonlinear nearest-neighbor interaction
V(s,s')=2K[(1+s.s')/2 ]^p.
The analogous nonlinear interaction for the XY model was introduced by
Domany, Schick, and Swendsen, who find that for large p the Kosterlitz-Thouless
transition is preempted by a first-order transition. Here we show that, whereas
the standard (p=1) Heisenberg model has no phase transition, for large enough p
a first-order transition appears. Both phases have only short range order, but
with a correlation length that jumps at the transition.Comment: 6 pages, 5 encapsulated postscript figures; to appear in Physical
Review Letter
The HP0256 gene product is involved in motility and cell envelope architecture of Helicobacter pylori
Background: Helicobacter pylori is the causative agent for gastritis, and peptic and duodenal ulcers. The bacterium
displays 5-6 polar sheathed flagella that are essential for colonisation and persistence in the gastric mucosa. The
biochemistry and genetics of flagellar biogenesis in H. pylori has not been fully elucidated. Bioinformatics analysis suggested that the gene HP0256, annotated as hypothetical, was a FliJ homologue. In Salmonella, FliJ is a chaperone escort protein for FlgN and FliT, two proteins that themselves display chaperone activity for components of the hook, the rod and the filament.
Results: Ablation of the HP0256 gene in H. pylori significantly reduced motility. However, flagellin and hook protein synthesis was not affected in the HP0256 mutant. Transmission electron transmission microscopy revealed that the HP0256 mutant cells displayed a normal flagellum configuration, suggesting that HP0256 was not essential for
assembly and polar localisation of the flagella in the cell. Interestingly, whole genome microarrays of an HP0256
mutant revealed transcriptional changes in a number of genes associated with the flagellar regulon and the cell
envelope, such as outer membrane proteins and adhesins. Consistent with the array data, lack of the HP0256 gene
significantly reduced adhesion and the inflammatory response in host cells.
Conclusions: We conclude that HP0256 is not a functional counterpart of FliJ in H. pylori. However, it is required for full motility and it is involved, possibly indirectly, in expression of outer membrane proteins and adhesins involved in pathogenesis and adhesion
The fading of Cassiopeia A, and improved models for the absolute spectrum of primary radio calibration sources
Based on five years of observations with the 40-foot telescope at Green Bank
Observatory (GBO), Reichart & Stephens (2000) found that the radio source
Cassiopeia A had either faded more slowly between the mid-1970s and late 1990s
than Baars et al. (1977) had found it to be fading between the late 1940s and
mid-1970s, or that it had rebrightened and then resumed fading sometime between
the mid-1970s and mid-1990s, in L band (1.4 GHz). Here, we present 15
additional years of observations of Cas A and Cyg A with the 40-foot in L band,
and three and a half additional years of observations of Cas A, Cyg A, Tau A,
and Vir A with GBO's recently refurbished 20-meter telescope in L and X (9 GHz)
bands. We also present a more sophisticated analysis of the 40-foot data, and a
reanalysis of the Baars et al. (1977) data, which reveals small, but
non-negligible differences. We find that overall, between the late 1950s and
late 2010s, Cas A faded at an average rate of %/yr in L band,
consistent with Reichart & Stephens (2000). However, we also find, at the
6.3 credible level, that it did not fade at a constant rate. Rather,
Cas A faded at a faster rate through at least the late 1960s, rebrightened (or
at least faded at a much slower rate), and then resumed fading at a similarly
fast rate by, at most, the late 1990s. Given these differences from the
original Baars et al. (1977) analysis, and given the importance of their fitted
spectral and temporal models for flux-density calibration in radio astronomy,
we update and improve on these models for all four of these radio sources. In
doing so, we additionally find that Tau A is fading at a rate of
%/yr in L band.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures, accepted to MNRA
Counting Exceptional Instantons
We show how to obtain the instanton partition function of N=2 SYM with
exceptional gauge group EFG using blow-up recursion relations derived by
Nakajima and Yoshioka. We compute the two instanton contribution and match it
with the recent proposal for the superconformal index of rank 2 SCFTs with E6,
E7 global symmetry.Comment: 16 pages, references adde
Dynamics of Wind Setdown at Suez and the Eastern Nile Delta
BACKGROUND: Wind setdown is the drop in water level caused by wind stress acting on the surface of a body of water for an extended period of time. As the wind blows, water recedes from the upwind shore and exposes terrain that was formerly underwater. Previous researchers have suggested wind setdown as a possible hydrodynamic explanation for Moses crossing the Red Sea, as described in Exodus 14. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This study analyzes the hydrodynamic mechanism proposed by earlier studies, focusing on the time needed to reach a steady-state solution. In addition, the authors investigate a site in the eastern Nile delta, where the ancient Pelusiac branch of the Nile once flowed into a coastal lagoon then known as the Lake of Tanis. We conduct a satellite and modeling survey to analyze this location, using geological evidence of the ancient bathymetry and a historical description of a strong wind event in 1882. A suite of model experiments are performed to demonstrate a new hydrodynamic mechanism that can cause an angular body of water to divide under wind stress, and to test the behavior of our study location and reconstructed topography. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Under a uniform 28 m/s easterly wind forcing in the reconstructed model basin, the ocean model produces an area of exposed mud flats where the river mouth opens into the lake. This land bridge is 3-4 km long and 5 km wide, and it remains open for 4 hours. Model results indicate that navigation in shallow-water harbors can be significantly curtailed by wind setdown when strong winds blow offshore
Renormalized couplings and scaling correction amplitudes in the N-vector spin models on the sc and the bcc lattices
For the classical N-vector model, with arbitrary N, we have computed through
order \beta^{17} the high temperature expansions of the second field derivative
of the susceptibility \chi_4(N,\beta) on the simple cubic and on the body
centered cubic lattices. (The N-vector model is also known as the O(N)
symmetric classical spin Heisenberg model or, in quantum field theory, as the
lattice
O(N) nonlinear sigma model.) By analyzing the expansion of \chi_4(N,\beta) on
the two lattices, and by carefully allowing for the corrections to scaling, we
obtain updated estimates of the critical parameters and more accurate tests of
the hyperscaling relation d\nu(N) +\gamma(N) -2\Delta_4(N)=0 for a range of
values of the spin dimensionality N, including
N=0 [the self-avoiding walk model], N=1 [the Ising spin 1/2 model],
N=2 [the XY model], N=3 [the classical Heisenberg model]. Using the recently
extended series for the susceptibility and for the second correlation moment,
we also compute the dimensionless renormalized four point coupling constants
and some universal ratios of scaling correction amplitudes in fair agreement
with recent renormalization group estimates.Comment: 23 pages, latex, no figure
Long-term ecological research in a human-dominated world
Author Posting. © American Institute of Biological Sciences, 2012. This article is posted here by permission of American Institute of Biological Sciences for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in BioScience 62 (2012): 342-253, doi:10.1525/bio.2012.62.4.6.The US Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network enters its fourth decade with a distinguished record of achievement in ecological science. The value of long-term observations and experiments has never been more important for testing ecological theory and for addressing today's most difficult environmental challenges. The network's potential for tackling emergent continent-scale questions such as cryosphere loss and landscape change is becoming increasingly apparent on the basis of a capacity to combine long-term observations and experimental results with new observatory-based measurements, to study socioecological systems, to advance the use of environmental cyberinfrastructure, to promote environmental science literacy, and to engage with decisionmakers in framing major directions for research. The long-term context of network science, from understanding the past to forecasting the future, provides a valuable perspective for helping to solve many of the crucial environmental problems facing society today.2012-10-0
Some New Results on Complex-Temperature Singularities in Potts Models on the Square Lattice
We report some new results on the complex-temperature (CT) singularities of
-state Potts models on the square lattice. We concentrate on the problematic
region (where ) in which CT zeros of the partition function
are sensitive to finite lattice artifacts. From analyses of low-temperature
series expansions for , we establish the existence, in this
region, of complex-conjugate CT singularities at which the magnetization and
susceptibility diverge. From calculations of zeros of the partition function,
we obtain evidence consistent with the inference that these singularities occur
at endpoints of arcs protruding into the (complex-temperature
extension of the) FM phase. Exponents for these singularities are determined;
e.g., for , we find , consistent with .
By duality, these results also imply associated arcs extending to the (CT
extension of the) symmetric PM phase. Analytic expressions are suggested for
the positions of some of these singularities; e.g., for , our finding is
consistent with the exact value . Further discussions of
complex-temperature phase diagrams are given.Comment: 26 pages, latex, with eight epsf figure
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