Instanton picture of the spin tunneling in the Lipkin model

A consistent theory of the ground state energy and its splitting due to the process of tunneling for the Lipkin model is presented. For the functional integral in terms of the spin coherent states for the partition function of the model we accurately calculate the trivial and the instanton saddle point contributions. We show that such calculation has to be perfomed very accurately taking into account the discrete nature of the functional integral. Such accurate consideration leads to finite corrections to a naive continous consideration. We present comparison with numerical calculation of the ground state energy and the tunneling splitting and with the results obtained by the quasiclassical method and get excellent agreement.Comment: REVTEX, 32 pages, 3 figure

Neutron star radii and crusts: uncertainties and unified equations of state

The uncertainties in neutron star (NS) radii and crust properties due to our limited knowledge of the equation of state (EOS) are quantitatively analysed. We first demonstrate the importance of a unified microscopic description for the different baryonic densities of the star. If the pressure functional is obtained matching a crust and a core EOS based on models with different properties at nuclear matter saturation, the uncertainties can be as large as $\sim 30\%$ for the crust thickness and $4\%$ for the radius. Necessary conditions for causal and thermodynamically consistent matchings between the core and the crust are formulated and their consequences examined. A large set of unified EOS for purely nucleonic matter is obtained based on 24 Skyrme interactions and 9 relativistic mean-field nuclear parametrizations. In addition, for relativistic models 17 EOS including a transition to hyperonic matter at high density are presented. All these EOS have in common the property of describing a $2\;M_\odot$ star and of being causal within stable NS. A span of $\sim 3$ km and $\sim 4$ km is obtained for the radius of, respectively, $1.0\;M_\odot$ and $2.0\;M_\odot$ star. Applying a set of nine further constraints from experiment and ab-initio calculations the uncertainty is reduced to $\sim 1$ km and $2$ km, respectively. These residual uncertainties reflect lack of constraints at large densities and insufficient information on the density dependence of the EOS near the nuclear matter saturation point. The most important parameter to be constrained is shown to be the symmetry energy slope $L$ which exhibits a linear correlation with the stellar radius, particularly for masses $\sim 1.0\;M_\odot$. Potential constraints on $L$, the NS radius and the EOS from observations of thermal states of NS are also discussed. [Abriged]Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. C. Supplemental material not include

Collective modes in relativistic npe matter at finite temperature

Isospin and density waves in neutral neutron-proton-electron (npe) matter are studied within a relativistic mean-field hadron model at finite temperature with the inclusion of the electromagnetic field. The dispersion relation is calculated and the collective modes are obtained. The unstable modes are discussed and the spinodals, which separate the stable from the unstable regions, are shown for different values of the momentum transfer at various temperatures. The critical temperatures are compared with the ones obtained in a system without electrons. The largest critical temperature, 12.39 MeV, occurs for a proton fraction y_p=0.47. For y_p=0.3 we get $T_{cr}$ =5 MeV and for y_p>0.495 $T_cr\lesssim 8$ MeV. It is shown that at finite temperature the distillation effect in asymmetric matter is not so efficient and that electron effects are particularly important for small momentum transfers.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

A Holstein-Primakoff and a Dyson realization for the quantum algebra Uq[sl(n+1)]U_q[sl(n+1)]

The known Holstein-Primakoff and Dyson realizations of the Lie algebra $sl(n+1), n=1,2,...$ in terms of Bose operators (Okubo S 1975 J. Math. Phys. 16 528) are generalized to the class of the quantum algebras $U_q[sl(n+1)]$ for any $n$. It is shown how the elements of $U_q[sl(n+1)]$ can be expressed via $n$ pairs of Bose creation and annihilation operators.Comment: 5 pages, Te

Association of metformin monotherapy or combined therapy with cardiovascular risks in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: Metformin is a first-line drug in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) treatment, yet whether metformin may increase all-cause or cardiovascular mortality of T2DM patients remains inconclusive. METHODS: We searched PubMed and Embase for data extracted from inception to July 14, 2020, with a registration in PROSPERO (CRD42020177283). This study included randomized controlled trials (RCT) assessing the cardiovascular effects of metformin for T2DM. This study is followed by PRISMA and Cochrane guideline. Risk ratio (RR) with 95% CI was pooled across trials by a random-effects model. Primary outcomes include all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality. RESULTS: We identified 29 studies that randomly assigned patients with 371 all-cause and 227 cardiovascular death events. Compared with untreated T2DM patients, metformin-treated patients was not associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality (RR: 0.98; 95%CI: 0.69-1.38; P = 0.90), cardiovascular mortality (RR: 1.13; 95% CI: 0.60, 2.15; P = 0.70), macrovascular events (RR: 0.87; 95%CI: 0.70-1.07; P = 0.19), heart failure (RR: 1.02; 95% CI:0.61-1.71; P = 0.95), and microvascular events (RR: 0.78; 95% CI:0.54-1.13; P = 0.19). Combination of metformin with another hypoglycemic drug was associated with higher risk of all-cause mortality (RR: 1.49; 95% CI: 1.02, 2.16) and cardiovascular mortality (RR: 2.21; 95% CI: 1.22, 4.00) compared with hypoglycemic drug regimens with no metformin. CONCLUSION: The combination of metformin treatment may impose higher risk in all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. This finding, at least in part, shows no evidence for benefits of metformin in combination in terms of all-cause/cardiovascular mortality and cardiovascular events for T2DM. However, the conclusion shall be explained cautiously considering the limitations from UK Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS)

The qq-boson-fermion realizations of quantum suprealgebra Uq(gl(2/1))U_q(gl(2/1))

We show that our construction of realizations for Lie algebras and quantum algebras can be generalized to quantum superalgebras, too. We study an example of quantum superalgebra $U_q(gl(2/1))$ and give the boson-fermion realization with respect to one pair od q-deformed boson operator and 2 pairs of fermions.Comment: 8 page

Chiral Symmetry Breaking and Pion Wave Function

We consider here chiral symmetry breaking through nontrivial vacuum structure with quark antiquark condensates. We then relate the condensate function to the wave function of pion as a Goldstone mode. This simultaneously yields the pion also as a quark antiquark bound state as a localised zero mode in vacuum. We illustrate the above with Nambu Jona-Lasinio model to calculate different pionic properties in terms of the vacuum structure for breaking of exact or approximate chiral symmetry, as well as the condensate fluctuations giving rise to $\sigma$ mesons.Comment: latex, revtex, 16 page

Properties of 12^{12}C in the {\it ab initio} nuclear shell-model

We obtain properties of $^{12}$C in the {\it ab initio} no-core nuclear shell-model. The effective Hamiltonians are derived microscopically from the realistic CD-Bonn and the Argonne V8' nucleon-nucleon (NN) potentials as a function of the finite harmonic oscillator basis space. Binding energies, excitation spectra and electromagnetic properties are presented for model spaces up to $5\hbar\Omega$. The favorable comparison with available data is a consequence of the underlying NN interaction rather than a phenomenological fit.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure

Revealing natural relationships among arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi: culture line BEG47 represents Diversispora epigaea, not Glomus versiforme

Background: Understanding the mechanisms underlying biological phenomena, such as evolutionarily conservative trait inheritance, is predicated on knowledge of the natural relationships among organisms. However, despite their enormous ecological significance, many of the ubiquitous soil inhabiting and plant symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF, phylum Glomeromycota) are incorrectly classified. Methodology/Principal Findings: Here, we focused on a frequently used model AMF registered as culture BEG47. This fungus is a descendent of the ex-type culture-lineage of Glomus epigaeum, which in 1983 was synonymised with Glomus versiforme. It has since then been used as ‘G. versiforme BEG47’. We show by morphological comparisons, based on type material, collected 1860–61, of G. versiforme and on type material and living ex-type cultures of G. epigaeum, that these two AMF species cannot be conspecific, and by molecular phylogenetics that BEG47 is a member of the genus Diversispora. Conclusions: This study highlights that experimental works published during the last >25 years on an AMF named ‘G. versiforme’ or ‘BEG47’ refer to D. epigaea, a species that is actually evolutionarily separated by hundreds of millions of years from all members of the genera in the Glomerales and thus from most other commonly used AMF ‘laboratory strains’. Detailed redescriptions substantiate the renaming of G. epigaeum (BEG47) as D. epigaea, positioning it systematically in the order Diversisporales, thus enabling an evolutionary understanding of genetical, physiological, and ecological traits, relative to those of other AMF. Diversispora epigaea is widely cultured as a laboratory strain of AMF, whereas G. versiforme appears not to have been cultured nor found in the field since its original description

The dual string sigma-model of the SU_q(3) sector

In four-dimensional N=4 super Yang-Mills (SYM) the SU(3) sub-sector spanned by purely holomorphic fields is isomorphic to the corresponding mixed one spanned by both holomorphic and antiholomorphic fields. This is no longer the case when one considers the marginally deformed N=4 SYM. The mixed SU(3) sector marginally deformed by a complex parameter beta, i.e. SU_q(3) with q=e^{2 i\pi\beta}, has been shown to be integrable at one-loop hep-th/0703150, while it is not the case for the corresponding purely holomorphic one. Moreover, the marginally deformed N=4 SYM also has a gravity dual constructed by Lunin and Maldacena in hep-th/0502086. However, the mixed SU_q(3) sector has not been studied from the supergravity point of view. Hence in this note, for the case of purely imaginary marginal $\beta$-deformations, we compute the superstring SU_q(3) \sigma-model in the fast spinning string limit and show that, for rational spinning strings, it reproduces the energy computed via Bethe equations.Comment: 20 page