69 research outputs found
Strong-coupling expansion and effective hamiltonians
When looking for analytical approaches to treat frustrated quantum magnets,
it is often very useful to start from a limit where the ground state is highly
degenerate. This chapter discusses several ways of deriving {effective
Hamiltonians} around such limits, starting from standard {degenerate
perturbation theory} and proceeding to modern approaches more appropriate for
the derivation of high-order effective Hamiltonians, such as the perturbative
continuous unitary transformations or contractor renormalization. In the course
of this exposition, a number of examples taken from the recent literature are
discussed, including frustrated ladders and other dimer-based Heisenberg models
in a field, as well as the mapping between frustrated Ising models in a
transverse field and quantum dimer models.Comment: To appear as a chapter in "Highly Frustrated Magnetism", Eds. C.
Lacroix, P. Mendels, F. Mil
The one dimensional Kondo lattice model at partial band filling
The Kondo lattice model introduced in 1977 describes a lattice of localized
magnetic moments interacting with a sea of conduction electrons. It is one of
the most important canonical models in the study of a class of rare earth
compounds, called heavy fermion systems, and as such has been studied
intensively by a wide variety of techniques for more than a quarter of a
century. This review focuses on the one dimensional case at partial band
filling, in which the number of conduction electrons is less than the number of
localized moments. The theoretical understanding, based on the bosonized
solution, of the conventional Kondo lattice model is presented in great detail.
This review divides naturally into two parts, the first relating to the
description of the formalism, and the second to its application. After an
all-inclusive description of the bosonization technique, the bosonized form of
the Kondo lattice hamiltonian is constructed in detail. Next the
double-exchange ordering, Kondo singlet formation, the RKKY interaction and
spin polaron formation are described comprehensively. An in-depth analysis of
the phase diagram follows, with special emphasis on the destruction of the
ferromagnetic phase by spin-flip disorder scattering, and of recent numerical
results. The results are shown to hold for both antiferromagnetic and
ferromagnetic Kondo lattice. The general exposition is pedagogic in tone.Comment: Review, 258 pages, 19 figure
Fluorescent Labeling of SNAP-Tagged Proteins in Cells
One of the most prominent self-labeling tags is SNAP-tag. It is an in vitro evolution product of the human DNA repair protein O6 -alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase (hAGT) that reacts specifically with benzylguanine (BG) and benzylchloropyrimidine (CP) derivatives, leading to covalent labeling of SNAP-tag with a synthetic probe (Gronemeyer et al., Protein Eng Des Sel 19:309–316, 2006; Curr Opin Biotechnol 16:453–458, 2005; Keppler et al., Nat Biotechnol 21:86–89, 2003; Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 101:9955– 9959, 2004). SNAP-tag is well suited for the analysis and quantification of fused target protein using fluorescence microscopy techniques. It provides a simple, robust, and versatile approach to the imaging of fusion proteins under a wide range of experimental conditions. © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015
H2S events in the Peruvian oxygen minimum zone facilitate enhanced dissolved Fe concentrations
Dissolved iron (DFe) concentrations in oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) of Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems are enhanced as a result of high supply rates from anoxic sediments. However, pronounced variations in DFe concentrations in anoxic coastal waters of the Peruvian OMZ indicate that there are factors in addition to dissolved oxygen concentrations (O2) that control Fe cycling. Our study demonstrates that sediment-derived reduced Fe (Fe(II)) forms the main DFe fraction in the anoxic/euxinic water column off Peru, which is responsible for DFe accumulations of up to 200 nmol L-1. Lowest DFe values were observed in anoxic shelf waters in the presence of nitrate and nitrite. This reflects oxidation of sediment-sourced Fe(II) associated with nitrate/nitrite reduction and subsequent removal as particulate Fe(III) oxyhydroxides. Unexpectedly, the highest DFe levels were observed in waters with elevated concentrations of hydrogen sulfide (up to 4 µmol L-1) and correspondingly depleted nitrate/nitrite concentrations (<0.18 µmol L-1). Under these conditions, Fe removal was reduced through stabilization of Fe(II) as aqueous iron sulfide (FeSaqu) which comprises complexes (e.g., FeSH+) and clusters (e.g., Fe2S2|4H2O). Sulfidic events on the Peruvian shelf consequently enhance Fe availability, and may increase in frequency in future due to projected expansion and intensification of OMZs
Ecoacoustics and multispecies semiosis: naming, semantics, semiotic characteristics, and competencies
Biosemiotics to date has focused on the exchange of signals between organisms, in line with bioacoustics; consideration of the wider acoustic environment as a semiotic medium is under-developed. The nascent discipline of ecoacoustics, that investigates the role of environmental sound in ecological processes and dynamics, fills this gap. In this paper we introduce key ecoacoustic terminology and concepts in order to highlight the value of ecoacoustics as a discipline in which to conceptualise and study intra- and interspecies semiosis. We stress the inherently subjective nature of all sensory scapes (vivo-, land-, vibro- and soundscapes) and propose that they should always bear an organismic attribution. Key terms to describe the sources (geophony, biophony, anthropophony, technophony) and scales (sonotopes, soundtopes, sonotones) of soundscapes are described. We introduce epithets for soundscapes to point to the degree to which the global environment is implicated in semiosis (latent, sensed and interpreted soundscapes); terms for describing key ecological structures and processes (acoustic community, acoustic habitat, ecoacoustic events) and examples of ecoacoustic events (choruses and noise) are described. The acoustic eco-field is recognized as the semiotic model that enables soniferous species to intercept core resources like food, safety and roosting places. We note that whilst ecoacoustics to date has focused on the critical task of the development of metrics for application in conservation and biodiversity assessment, these can be enriched by advancing conceptual and theoretical foundations. Finally, the mutual value of integrating ecoacoustic and biosemiotics perspectives is considered
Hydrothermal vents as a kinetically stable source of iron-sulphide-bearing nanoparticles to the ocean
Hydrothermal vents emit sulphur and metals to the ocean1.
Particular attention has been paid to hydrothermal fluxes of
iron2–4, a limiting micronutrient of marine primary production5.
Vent-derived ironwas previously thought to rapidly oxidize and
precipitate around vents6. However, organic matter can bind
to and stabilize dissolved and particulate iron in hydrothermal
plumes7–9, facilitating its dispersion into the open ocean10.
Here, we report measurements of the chemical speciation of
sulphide and iron in high-temperature fluids emanating from
vents in the East Pacific Rise and the Eastern Lau Spreading
Center. We show that pyrite nanoparticles—composed of iron
and sulphur—account for up to 10% of the filterable iron
(less than 200nm in size) in these fluids. We suggest that
these particles form before the discharge of the vent fluid.
We estimate that pyrite nanoparticles sink more slowly than
larger plume particles, and are more resistant to oxidation than
dissolved Fe(II) and FeS.We suggest that the discharge of iron
in the form of pyrite nanoparticles increases the probability
that vent-derived iron will be transported over long distances
in the deep ocean
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