58 research outputs found
Phase fluctuations and Non-Fermi Liquid Properties of 2D Fermi-system with attraction
The effect of static fluctuations in the phase of the order parameter on the
normal and superconducting properties of a 2D system with attractive
four-fermion interaction has been studied. Analytic expressions for the fermion
Green function, its spectral density and the density of states are derived. The
resultant single-particle Green function clearly demonstrates non-Fermi liquid
behavior. The results show that as the temperature increases through the 2D
critical temperature the width of the quasiparticle peaks broadens
significantly. At the same time one retains the gap in quasiparticle spectrum.
The spectral density for the dynamical fluctuations can also be obtained.
Clearly the dynamical fluctuations fill the gap giving the observed pseudogap
behaviour.Comment: 4 pages, LaTeX; invited paper presented at New^3SC-2, Las Vegas, USA,
199
Pseudogap phase formation in the crossover from Bose-Einstein condensation to BCS superconductivity in low dimensional systems
A phase diagram for a 2D metal with variable carrier density has been studied
using the modulus-phase representation for the order parameter in a fully
microscopic treatment. This amounts to splitting the degrees of freedom into
neutral fermion and charged boson degrees of freedom. Although true long range
order is forbidden in two dimensions, long range order for the neutral fermions
is possible since this does not violate any continuous symmetry. The phase
fluctuations associated with the charged degrees of freedom destroy long range
order in the full system as expected. The presence of the neutral order
parameter gives rise to new features in the superconducting condensate
formation in low dimensional systems. The resulting phase diagram contains a
new phase which lies above the superconducting (here
Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless) phase and below the normal (Fermi-liquid)
phase. We identify this phase with the pseudogap phase observed in underdoped
high- superconducting compounds above their critical temperature. We
also find that the phase diagram persists even in the presence of weak
3-dimensionalisation.Comment: 4 pages, LaTeX; invited paper presented at New^3SC-1, Baton Rouge,
USA, 1998. To be published in Int.J.Mod.Phys.
Persistence of pseudogap formation in quasi-2D systems with arbitrary carrier density
The existence of a pseudogap above the critical temperature has been widely
used to explain the anomalous behaviour of the normal state of high-temperature
superconductors. In two dimensions the existence of a pseudogap phase has
already been demonstrated in a simple model. It can now be shown that the
pseudogap phase persists even for the more realistic case where coherent
interlayer tunneling is taken into account. The effective anisotropy is
surprisingly large and even increases with increasing carrier density.Comment: 17 pages, LaTeX, 1 EMTeX figure; extended versio
On Machine-Learned Classification of Variable Stars with Sparse and Noisy Time-Series Data
With the coming data deluge from synoptic surveys, there is a growing need
for frameworks that can quickly and automatically produce calibrated
classification probabilities for newly-observed variables based on a small
number of time-series measurements. In this paper, we introduce a methodology
for variable-star classification, drawing from modern machine-learning
techniques. We describe how to homogenize the information gleaned from light
curves by selection and computation of real-numbered metrics ("feature"),
detail methods to robustly estimate periodic light-curve features, introduce
tree-ensemble methods for accurate variable star classification, and show how
to rigorously evaluate the classification results using cross validation. On a
25-class data set of 1542 well-studied variable stars, we achieve a 22.8%
overall classification error using the random forest classifier; this
represents a 24% improvement over the best previous classifier on these data.
This methodology is effective for identifying samples of specific science
classes: for pulsational variables used in Milky Way tomography we obtain a
discovery efficiency of 98.2% and for eclipsing systems we find an efficiency
of 99.1%, both at 95% purity. We show that the random forest (RF) classifier is
superior to other machine-learned methods in terms of accuracy, speed, and
relative immunity to features with no useful class information; the RF
classifier can also be used to estimate the importance of each feature in
classification. Additionally, we present the first astronomical use of
hierarchical classification methods to incorporate a known class taxonomy in
the classifier, which further reduces the catastrophic error rate to 7.8%.
Excluding low-amplitude sources, our overall error rate improves to 14%, with a
catastrophic error rate of 3.5%.Comment: 23 pages, 9 figure
Phase Fluctuations and Pseudogap Phenomena
This article reviews the current status of precursor superconducting phase
fluctuations as a possible mechanism for pseudogap formation in
high-temperature superconductors. In particular we compare this approach which
relies on the two-dimensional nature of the superconductivity to the often used
-matrix approach. Starting from simple pairing Hamiltonians we present a
broad pedagogical introduction to the BCS-Bose crossover problem. The finite
temperature extension of these models naturally leads to a discussion of the
Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless superconducting transition and the related
phase diagram including the effects of quantum phase fluctuations and
impurities. We stress the differences between simple Bose-BCS crossover
theories and the current approach where one can have a large pseudogap region
even at high carrier density where the Fermi surface is well-defined. The
Green's function and its associated spectral function, which explicitly show
non-Fermi liquid behaviour, is constructed in the presence of vortices. Finally
different mechanisms including quasi-particle-vortex and vortex-vortex
interactions for the filling of the gap above are considered.Comment: 129 pages, Elsart, 28 EPS figures; Physics Reports, in press. Authors
related information under
"http://nonlin.bitp.kiev.ua/~sharapov/superconductivity.html
Evaluating the Effects of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Mutation D614G on Transmissibility and Pathogenicity.
Global dispersal and increasing frequency of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein variant D614G are suggestive of a selective advantage but may also be due to a random founder effect. We investigate the hypothesis for positive selection of spike D614G in the United Kingdom using more than 25,000 whole genome SARS-CoV-2 sequences. Despite the availability of a large dataset, well represented by both spike 614 variants, not all approaches showed a conclusive signal of positive selection. Population genetic analysis indicates that 614G increases in frequency relative to 614D in a manner consistent with a selective advantage. We do not find any indication that patients infected with the spike 614G variant have higher COVID-19 mortality or clinical severity, but 614G is associated with higher viral load and younger age of patients. Significant differences in growth and size of 614G phylogenetic clusters indicate a need for continued study of this variant
The Science Case for Io Exploration
Io is a priority destination for solar system exploration, as it is the best natural laboratory to study the intertwined processes of tidal heating, extreme volcanism, and atmosphere-magnetosphere interactions. Io exploration is relevant to understanding terrestrial worlds (including the early Earth), ocean worlds, and exoplanets across the cosmos
Recommendations for Addressing Priority Io Science in the Next Decade
Io is a priority destination for solar system exploration. The scope and importance of science questions at Io necessitates a broad portfolio of research and analysis, telescopic observations, and planetary missions - including a dedicated New Frontiers class Io mission
Virus genomes reveal factors that spread and sustained the Ebola epidemic.
The 2013-2016 West African epidemic caused by the Ebola virus was of unprecedented magnitude, duration and impact. Here we reconstruct the dispersal, proliferation and decline of Ebola virus throughout the region by analysing 1,610 Ebola virus genomes, which represent over 5% of the known cases. We test the association of geography, climate and demography with viral movement among administrative regions, inferring a classic 'gravity' model, with intense dispersal between larger and closer populations. Despite attenuation of international dispersal after border closures, cross-border transmission had already sown the seeds for an international epidemic, rendering these measures ineffective at curbing the epidemic. We address why the epidemic did not spread into neighbouring countries, showing that these countries were susceptible to substantial outbreaks but at lower risk of introductions. Finally, we reveal that this large epidemic was a heterogeneous and spatially dissociated collection of transmission clusters of varying size, duration and connectivity. These insights will help to inform interventions in future epidemics
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