Comparison of whole-body sensorimotor skill learning between strength athletes, endurance athletes and healthy sedentary adults

Motor sequences represent an integral part of human motor ability. Apart from simple movement sequences, complex coordinated movement sequences are the building blocks for peak athletic performance. Accordingly, optimized temporal and spatial coordination of muscle action across multiple limbs may be a distinguishing feature between athletes and non-athletes in many sports. In the present study, we aimed to assess differences between strength and endurance athletes and non-athletes during learning of a complex whole-body serial reaction time task (CWB-SRTT). For this purpose, 26 nonathletes (NAG) and 25 athletes (AG) learned the CWB-SRTT over 2 days separated by 7 days. Mean response times of participants were recorded and statistically analyzed for sequence-specific and non-sequence-specific improvements, as well as differences in learning rates and retention. Furthermore, AG was subdivided into strength (SG) and endurance (EG) athletes, and all analysis steps were repeated. Our results show a better mean response time of AG compared to NAG. However, we could not detect differences in sequence-specific or non-sequence-specific learning, as well as different retention rates between NAG and AG or SG and EG. We assume here that a potential lack of motor transfer between general athletic abilities and the specific complex motor sequence mainly accounts for our findings

Phase Diagram of the 1D Anderson Lattice

We map out the phase diagram of the one--dimensional Anderson lattice by studying the ground state magnetization as a function of band--filling using the density matrix renormalization group technique. For strong coupling, we find that the quarter--filled system has an S=0 ground state with strong antiferromagnetic correlations. As additional electrons are put in, we find first a ferromagnetic phase, as reported by M\"{o}ller and W\"{o}lfle, and then a phase in which the ground state has total spin $S=0$. Within this $S=0$ phase, we find RKKY oscillations in the spin--spin correlation functions.Comment: REVTEX manuscript with 5 Postcript figures included in uu file. Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Tracking spin and charge with spectroscopy in spin-polarised 1D systems

We calculate the spectral function of a one-dimensional strongly interacting chain of fermions, where the response can be well understood in terms of spinon and holon excitations. Upon increasing the spin imbalance between the spin species, we observe the single-electron response of the fully polarised system to emanate from the holon peak while the spinon response vanishes. For experimental setups that probe one-dimensional properties, we propose this method as an additional generic tool to aid the identification of spectral structures, e.g. in ARPES measurements. We show that this applies even to trapped systems having cold atomic gas experiments in mind.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Density matrix renormalisation group study of the correlation function of the bilinear-biquadratic spin-1 chain

Using the recently developed density matrix renormalization group approach, we study the correlation function of the spin-1 chain with quadratic and biquadratic interactions. This allows us to define and calculate the periodicity of the ground state which differs markedly from that in the classical analogue. Combining our results with other studies, we predict three phases in the region where the quadratic and biquadratic terms are both positive.Comment: 13 pages, Standard Latex File + 5 PostScript figures in separate (New version with SUBSTANTIAL REVISIONS to appear in J Phys A

Dielectric catastrophe at the Mott transition

We study the Mott transition as a function of interaction strength in the half-filled Hubbard chain with next-nearest-neighbor hopping t' by calculating the response to an external electric field using the Density Matrix Renormalization Group. The electric susceptibility chi diverges when approaching the critical point from the insulating side. We show that the correlation length xi characterizing this transition is directly proportional to fluctuations of the polarization and that chi ~ xi^2. The critical behavior shows that the transition is infinite-order for all t', whether or not a spin gap is present, and that hyperscaling holds.Comment: 4 pages, 4 eps figures, REVTe

Persistent current of two-chain Hubbard model with impurities

The interplay between impurities and interactions is studied in the gapless phase of two-chain Hubbard model in order to see how the screening of impurity potentials due to repulsive interactions in single-chain model will be changed by increasing the number of channels. Renormalization group calculations show that charge stiffness, and hence persistent current, of the two-chain model are less enhanced by interactions than single chain case.Comment: 4 Pages, RevTeX, No figures, Submitted to PR

Effective induction heating around strongly magnetized stars

Planets that are embedded in the changing magnetic fields of their host stars can experience significant induction heating in their interiors caused by the planet's orbital motion. For induction heating to be substantial, the planetary orbit has to be inclined with respect to the stellar rotation and dipole axes. Using WX~UMa, for which the rotation and magnetic axes are aligned, as an example, we show that for close-in planets on inclined orbits, induction heating can be stronger than the tidal heating occurring inside Jupiter's satellite Io; namely, it can generate a surface heat flux exceeding 2\,W\,m$^{-2}$. An internal heating source of such magnitude can lead to extreme volcanic activity on the planet's surface, possibly also to internal local magma oceans, and to the formation of a plasma torus around the star aligned with the planetary orbit. A strongly volcanically active planet would eject into space mostly SO$_2$, which would then dissociate into oxygen and sulphur atoms. Young planets would also eject CO$_2$. Oxygen would therefore be the major component of the torus. If the O{\sc i} column density of the torus exceeds $\approx$10$^{12}$\,cm$^{-2}$, the torus could be revealed by detecting absorption signatures at the position of the strong far-ultraviolet O{\sc i} triplet at about 1304\,\AA. We estimate that this condition is satisfied if the O{\sc i} atoms in the torus escape the system at a velocity smaller than 1--10\,km\,s$^{-1}$. These estimates are valid also for a tidally heated planet.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Ap