813 research outputs found
Ferroelectricity Induced by Acentric Spin-Density Waves in YMn2O5
The commensurate and incommensurate magnetic structures of the magnetoelectric system YMn2O5, as determined from neutron diffraction, were found to be spin-density waves lacking a global center of symmetry. We propose a model, based on a simple magnetoelastic coupling to the lattice, which enables us to predict the polarization based entirely on the observed magnetic structure. Our data accurately reproduce the temperature dependence of the spontaneous polarization, particularly its sign reversal at the commensurate-incommensurate transition
Outcomes and organ dysfunctions of critically ill patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and other systemic rheumatic diseases
Our objective was to compare the pattern of organ dysfunctions and outcomes of critically ill patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with patients with other systemic rheumatic diseases (SRD). We studied 116 critically ill SRD patients, 59 SLE and 57 other-SRD patients. The SLE group was younger and included more women. Respiratory failure (61%) and shock (39%) were the most common causes of ICU admission for other-SRD and SLE groups, respectively. ICU length-of-stay was similar for the two groups. The 60-day survival adjusted for the groups’ baseline imbalances was not different (P = 0.792). Total SOFA scores were equal for the two groups at admission and during ICU stay, although respiratory function was worse in the other-SRD group at admission and renal and hematological functions were worse in the SLE group at admission. The incidence of severe respiratory dysfunction (respiratory SOFA >2) at admission was higher in the other-SRD group, whereas severe hematological dysfunction (hematological SOFA >2) during ICU stay was higher in the SLE group. SLE patients were younger and displayed a decreased incidence of respiratory failure compared to patients with other-SRDs. However, the incidences of renal and hematological failure and the presence of shock at admission were higher in the SLE group. The 60-day survival rates were similar
The Social Climbing Game
The structure of a society depends, to some extent, on the incentives of the
individuals they are composed of. We study a stylized model of this interplay,
that suggests that the more individuals aim at climbing the social hierarchy,
the more society's hierarchy gets strong. Such a dependence is sharp, in the
sense that a persistent hierarchical order emerges abruptly when the preference
for social status gets larger than a threshold. This phase transition has its
origin in the fact that the presence of a well defined hierarchy allows agents
to climb it, thus reinforcing it, whereas in a "disordered" society it is
harder for agents to find out whom they should connect to in order to become
more central. Interestingly, a social order emerges when agents strive harder
to climb society and it results in a state of reduced social mobility, as a
consequence of ergodicity breaking, where climbing is more difficult.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figure
Study of High-Spin States and Three-Quasiparticle (p,π) Transitions on Light Targets
This research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation Grant NSF PHY 87-1440
Observation of Parity Violation in the Omega-minus -> Lambda + K-minus Decay
The alpha decay parameter in the process Omega-minus -> Lambda + K-minus has
been measured from a sample of 4.50 million unpolarized Omega-minus decays
recorded by the HyperCP (E871) experiment at Fermilab and found to be [1.78 +/-
0.19(stat) +/- 0.16(syst)]{\times}10^{-2}. This is the first unambiguous
evidence for a nonzero alpha decay parameter, and hence parity violation, in
the Omega-minus -> Lambda + K-minus decay.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure
Microscopic mechanisms of spin-dependent electric polarization in 3d oxides
We present a short critical overview of different microscopic models for
nonrelativistic and relativistic magnetoelectric coupling including the
so-called "spin current scenario", ab-initio calculations, and several recent
microscopic approaches to a spin-dependent electric polarization in 3d oxides.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure
HyperCP: A high-rate spectrometer for the study of charged hyperon and kaon decays
The HyperCP experiment (Fermilab E871) was designed to search for rare
phenomena in the decays of charged strange particles, in particular CP
violation in and hyperon decays with a sensitivity of
. Intense charged secondary beams were produced by 800 GeV/c protons
and momentum-selected by a magnetic channel. Decay products were detected in a
large-acceptance, high-rate magnetic spectrometer using multiwire proportional
chambers, trigger hodoscopes, a hadronic calorimeter, and a muon-detection
system. Nearly identical acceptances and efficiencies for hyperons and
antihyperons decaying within an evacuated volume were achieved by reversing the
polarities of the channel and spectrometer magnets. A high-rate
data-acquisition system enabled 231 billion events to be recorded in twelve
months of data-taking.Comment: 107 pages, 45 Postscript figures, 14 tables, Elsevier LaTeX,
submitted to Nucl. Instrum. Meth.
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