Superfluid-Insulator transition of ultracold atoms in an optical lattice in the presence of a synthetic magnetic field

We study the Mott insulator-superfluid transition of ultracold bosonic atoms in a two-dimensional square optical lattice in the presence of a synthetic magnetic field with p/q (p and q being co-prime integers) flux quanta passing through each lattice plaquette. We show that on approach to the transition from the Mott side, the momentum distribution of the bosons exhibits q precursor peaks within the first magnetic Brillouin zone. We also provide an effective theory for the transition and show that it involves q interacting boson fields. We construct, from a mean-field analysis of this effective theory, the superfluid ground states near the transition and compute, for q=2,3, both the gapped and the gapless collective modes of these states. We suggest experiments to test our theory.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figs; v

Theory of Insulator Metal Transition and Colossal Magnetoresistance in Doped Manganites

The persistent proximity of insulating and metallic phases, a puzzling characterestic of manganites, is argued to arise from the self organization of the twofold degenerate e_g orbitals of Mn into localized Jahn-Teller(JT) polaronic levels and broad band states due to the large electron - JT phonon coupling present in them. We describe a new two band model with strong correlations and a dynamical mean-field theory calculation of equilibrium and transport properties. These explain the insulator metal transition and colossal magnetoresistance quantitatively, as well as other consequences of two state coexistence

NbS3_{3}: A unique quasi one-dimensional conductor with three charge density wave transitions

Through transport, compositional and structural studies, we review the features of the charge-density wave (CDW) conductor of NbS$_{3}$ (phase II). We highlight three central results: 1) In addition to the previously reported CDW transitions at $T_{P1}$ = 360\,K and $T_{P2}$ = 150\,K, another CDW transition occurs at a much higher temperature $T_{P0}$ = 620-650\,K; evidence for the non-linear conductivity of this CDW is presented. 2) We show that CDW associated with the $T_{P2}$ - transition arises from S vacancies acting as donors. Such a CDW transition has not been observed before. 3) We show exceptional coherence of the $T_{P1}$-CDW at room-temperature. Additionally, we report on the effects of uniaxial strain on the CDW transition temperatures and transport.Comment: 16 pages, 18 figure

Low-temperature far-infrared ellipsometry of convergent beam

Development of an ellipsometry to the case of a coherent far infrared irradiation, low temperatures and small samples is described, including a decision of the direct and inverse problems of the convergent beam ellipsometry for an arbitrary wavelength, measurement technique and a compensating orientation of cryostat windows. Experimental results are presented: for a gold film and UBe13 single crystal at room temperature (lambda=119 um), temperature dependencies of the complex dielectric function of SrTiO3 (lambda=119, 84 and 28 um) and of YBa2Cu3O7-delta ceramic (lambda=119 um).Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure

Phases of the one-dimensional Bose-Hubbard model

The zero-temperature phase diagram of the one-dimensional Bose-Hubbard model with nearest-neighbor interaction is investigated using the Density-Matrix Renormalization Group. Recently normal phases without long-range order have been conjectured between the charge density wave phase and the superfluid phase in one-dimensional bosonic systems without disorder. Our calculations demonstrate that there is no intermediate phase in the one-dimensional Bose-Hubbard model but a simultaneous vanishing of crystalline order and appearance of superfluid order. The complete phase diagrams with and without nearest-neighbor interaction are obtained. Both phase diagrams show reentrance from the superfluid phase to the insulator phase.Comment: Revised version, 4 pages, 5 figure

The Prevalence of Latent Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Infection Based on an Interferon-γ Release Assay: A Cross-Sectional Survey Among Urban Adults in Mwanza, Tanzania.

One third of the world's population is estimated to be latently infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (LTBI). Surveys of LTBI are rarely performed in resource poor TB high endemic countries like Tanzania although low-income countries harbor the largest burden of the worlds LTBI. The primary objective was to estimate the prevalence of LTBI in household contacts of pulmonary TB cases and a group of apparently healthy neighborhood controls in an urban setting of such a country. Secondly we assessed potential impact of LTBI on inflammation by quantitating circulating levels of an acute phase reactant: alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) in neighborhood controls. The study was nested within the framework of two nutrition studies among TB patients in Mwanza, Tanzania. Household contacts- and neighborhood controls were invited to participate. The study involved a questionnaire, BMI determination and blood samples to measure AGP, HIV testing and a Quantiferon Gold In tube (QFN-IT) test to detect signs of LTBI. 245 household contacts and 192 neighborhood controls had available QFN-IT data. Among household contacts, the proportion of QFT-IT positive was 59% compared to 41% in the neighborhood controls (p = 0.001). In a linear regression model adjusted for sex, age, CD4 and HIV, a QFT-IT positive test was associated with a 10% higher level of alpha-1-acid glycoprotein(AGP) (10(B) 1.10, 95% CI 1.01; 1.20, p = 0.03), compared to individuals with a QFT-IT negative test. LTBI is highly prevalent among apparently healthy urban Tanzanians even without known exposure to TB in the household. LTBI was found to be associated with elevated levels of AGP. The implications of this observation merit further studies

Best network chirplet-chain: Near-optimal coherent detection of unmodeled gravitation wave chirps with a network of detectors

The searches of impulsive gravitational waves (GW) in the data of the ground-based interferometers focus essentially on two types of waveforms: short unmodeled bursts and chirps from inspiralling compact binaries. There is room for other types of searches based on different models. Our objective is to fill this gap. More specifically, we are interested in GW chirps with an arbitrary phase/frequency vs. time evolution. These unmodeled GW chirps may be considered as the generic signature of orbiting/spinning sources. We expect quasi-periodic nature of the waveform to be preserved independent of the physics which governs the source motion. Several methods have been introduced to address the detection of unmodeled chirps using the data of a single detector. Those include the best chirplet chain (BCC) algorithm introduced by the authors. In the next years, several detectors will be in operation. The joint coherent analysis of GW by multiple detectors can improve the sight horizon, the estimation of the source location and the wave polarization angles. Here, we extend the BCC search to the multiple detector case. The method amounts to searching for salient paths in the combined time-frequency representation of two synthetic streams. The latter are time-series which combine the data from each detector linearly in such a way that all the GW signatures received are added constructively. We give a proof of principle for the full sky blind search in a simplified situation which shows that the joint estimation of the source sky location and chirp frequency is possible.Comment: 22 pages, revtex4, 6 figure

Fluctuation Induced Non-Fermi Liquid Behavior near a Quantum Phase Transition in Itinerant Electron Systems

The signature for a non-Fermi liquid behavior near a quantum phase transition has been observed in thermal and transport properties of many metallic systems at low temperatures. In the present work we consider specific examples of itinerant ferromagnet as well as antiferromagnet in the limit of vanishing transition temperature. The temperature variation of spin susceptibility, electrical resistivity, specific heat, and NMR relaxation rates at low temperatures is calculated in the limit of infinite exchange enhancement within the frame work of a self consistent spin fluctuation theory. The resulting non-Fermi liquid behavior is due to the presence of the low lying critically damped spin fluctuations in these systems. The theory presented here gives the leading low temperature behavior, as it turns out that the fluctuation correlation term is always smaller than the mean fluctuation field term in three as well as in two space dimensions. A comparison with illustrative experimental results of these properties in some typical systems has been done. Finally we make some remarks on the effect of disorder in these systems.Comment: File RevTex, 7 Figures available on request, Abstract and text modified, To appear in Phys. Rev.