Efimov states and their Fano resonances in a neutron-rich nucleus

Asymmetric resonances in elastic n+$^{19}$C scattering are attributed to Efimov states of such neutron-rich nuclei, that is, three-body bound states of the n+n+$^{18}$C system when none of the pairs is bound or some of them only weakly bound. By fitting to the general resonance shape described by Fano, we extract resonance position, width, and the "Fano profile index". While Efimov states have been discussed extensively in many areas of physics, there is only one very recent experimental observation in trimers of cesium atoms. The conjunction that we present of the Efimov and Fano phenomena may lead to experimental realization in nuclei.Comment: 4 double-column pages, 3 figure

Alternative Fourier Expansions for Inverse Square Law Forces

Few-body problems involving Coulomb or gravitational interactions between pairs of particles, whether in classical or quantum physics, are generally handled through a standard multipole expansion of the two-body potentials. We discuss an alternative based on a compact, cylindrical Green's function expansion that should have wide applicability throughout physics. Two-electron "direct" and "exchange" integrals in many-electron quantum systems are evaluated to illustrate the procedure which is more compact than the standard one using Wigner coefficients and Slater integrals.Comment: 10 pages, latex/Revtex4, 1 figure

Efficacy of different types of cognitive enhancers for patients with schizophrenia. A meta-analysis

Cognitive impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia, which is predictive for functional outcomes and is, therefore, a treatment target in itself. Yet, literature on efficacy of different pharmaco-therapeutic options is inconsistent. This quantitative review provides an overview of studies that investigated potential cognitive enhancers in schizophrenia. We included pharmacological agents, which target different neurotransmitter systems and evaluated their efficacy on overall cognitive functioning and seven separate cognitive domains. In total, 93 studies with 5630 patients were included. Cognitive enhancers, when combined across all different neurotransmitter systems, which act on a large number of different mechanisms, showed a significant (yet small) positive effect size of 0.10 (k = 51, p = 0.023; 95% CI = 0.01 to 0.18) on overall cognition. Cognitive enhancers were not superior to placebo for separate cognitive domains. When analyzing each neurotransmitter system separately, agents acting predominantly on the glutamatergic system showed a small significant effect on overall cognition (k = 29, Hedges’ g = 0.19, p = 0.01), as well as on working memory (k = 20, Hedges’ g = 0.13, p = 0.04). A sub-analysis of cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEI) showed a small effect on working memory (k = 6, Hedges’ g = 0.26, p = 0.03). Other sub-analyses were positively nonsignificant, which may partly be due to the low number of studies we could include per neurotransmitter system. Overall, this meta-analysis showed few favorable effects of cognitive enhancers for patients with schizophrenia, partly due to lack of power. There is a lack of studies involving agents acting on other than glutamatergic and cholinergic systems, especially of those targeting the dopaminergic system

LPMLE3 : a novel 1-D approach to study water flow in streambeds using heat as a tracer

We introduce LPMLE3, a new 1-D approach to quantify vertical water flow components at streambeds using temperature data collected in different depths. LPMLE3 solves the partial differential equation for coupled water flow and heat transport in the frequency domain. Unlike other 1-D approaches it does not assume a semi-infinite halfspace with the location of the lower boundary condition approaching infinity. Instead, it uses local upper and lower boundary conditions. As such, the streambed can be divided into finite subdomains bound at the top and bottom by a temperature-time series. Information from a third temperature sensor within each subdomain is then used for parameter estimation. LPMLE3 applies a low order local polynomial to separate periodic and transient parts (including the noise contributions) of a temperature-time series and calculates the frequency response of each subdomain to a known temperature input at the streambed top. A maximum-likelihood estimator is used to estimate the vertical component of water flow, thermal diffusivity, and their uncertainties for each streambed subdomain and provides information regarding model quality. We tested the method on synthetic temperature data generated with the numerical model STRIVE and demonstrate how the vertical flow component can be quantified for field data collected in a Belgian stream. We show that by using the results in additional analyses, nonvertical flow components could be identified and by making certain assumptions they could be quantified for each subdomain. LPMLE3 performed well on both simulated and field data and can be considered a valuable addition to the existing 1-D methods

Multimodality hard-x-ray imaging of a chromosome with nanoscale spatial resolution

We developed a scanning hard x-ray microscope using a new class of x-ray nano-focusing optic called a multilayer Laue lens and imaged a chromosome with nanoscale spatial resolution. The combination of the hard x-ray's superior penetration power, high sensitivity to elemental composition, high spatial-resolution and quantitative analysis creates a unique tool with capabilities that other microscopy techniques cannot provide. Using this microscope, we simultaneously obtained absorption-, phase-, and fluorescence-contrast images of Pt-stained human chromosome samples. The high spatial-resolution of the microscope and its multi-modality imaging capabilities enabled us to observe the internal ultra-structures of a thick chromosome without sectioning it

The s Process: Nuclear Physics, Stellar Models, Observations

Nucleosynthesis in the s process takes place in the He burning layers of low mass AGB stars and during the He and C burning phases of massive stars. The s process contributes about half of the element abundances between Cu and Bi in solar system material. Depending on stellar mass and metallicity the resulting s-abundance patterns exhibit characteristic features, which provide comprehensive information for our understanding of the stellar life cycle and for the chemical evolution of galaxies. The rapidly growing body of detailed abundance observations, in particular for AGB and post-AGB stars, for objects in binary systems, and for the very faint metal-poor population represents exciting challenges and constraints for stellar model calculations. Based on updated and improved nuclear physics data for the s-process reaction network, current models are aiming at ab initio solution for the stellar physics related to convection and mixing processes. Progress in the intimately related areas of observations, nuclear and atomic physics, and stellar modeling is reviewed and the corresponding interplay is illustrated by the general abundance patterns of the elements beyond iron and by the effect of sensitive branching points along the s-process path. The strong variations of the s-process efficiency with metallicity bear also interesting consequences for Galactic chemical evolution.Comment: 53 pages, 20 figures, 3 tables; Reviews of Modern Physics, accepte

Zettawatt-Exawatt Lasers and Their Applications in Ultrastrong-Field Physics: High Energy Front

Since its birth, the laser has been extraordinarily effective in the study and applications of laser-matter interaction at the atomic and molecular level and in the nonlinear optics of the bound electron. In its early life, the laser was associated with the physics of electron volts and of the chemical bond. Over the past fifteen years, however, we have seen a surge in our ability to produce high intensities, five to six orders of magnitude higher than was possible before. At these intensities, particles, electrons and protons, acquire kinetic energy in the mega-electron-volt range through interaction with intense laser fields. This opens a new age for the laser, the age of nonlinear relativistic optics coupling even with nuclear physics. We suggest a path to reach an extremely high-intensity level $10^{26-28}$W/cm$^2$ in the coming decade, much beyond the current and near future intensity regime $10^{23}$W/cm$^2$, taking advantage of the megajoule laser facilities. Such a laser at extreme high intensity could accelerate particles to frontiers of high energy, tera-electron-volt and peta-electron-volt, and would become a tool of fundamental physics encompassing particle physics, gravitational physics, nonlinear field theory, ultrahigh-pressure physics, astrophysics, and cosmology. We focus our attention on high-energy applications in particular and the possibility of merged reinforcement of high-energy physics and ultraintense laser.Comment: 25 pages. 1 figur

Algebraic approach in the study of time-dependent nonlinear integrable systems: Case of the singular oscillator

The classical and the quantal problem of a particle interacting in one-dimension with an external time-dependent quadratic potential and a constant inverse square potential is studied from the Lie-algebraic point of view. The integrability of this system is established by evaluating the exact invariant closely related to the Lewis and Riesenfeld invariant for the time-dependent harmonic oscillator. We study extensively the special and interesting case of a kicked quadratic potential from which we derive a new integrable, nonlinear, area preserving, two-dimensional map which may, for instance, be used in numerical algorithms that integrate the Calogero-Sutherland-Moser Hamiltonian. The dynamics, both classical and quantal, is studied via the time-evolution operator which we evaluate using a recent method of integrating the quantum Liouville-Bloch equations \cite{rau}. The results show the exact one-to-one correspondence between the classical and the quantal dynamics. Our analysis also sheds light on the connection between properties of the SU(1,1) algebra and that of simple dynamical systems.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, Accepted in PR

All electron and pseudopotential study of the spin polarization of the V (001) surface: LDA versus GGA

The spin-polarization at the V(001) surface has been studied by using different local (LSDA) and semilocal (GGA) approximations to the exchange-correlation potential of DFT within two ab initio methods: the all-electron TB-LMTO-ASA and the pseudopotential LCAO code SIESTA (Spanish Initiative for Electronic Simulations with Thousands of Atoms). A comparative analysis is performed first for the bulk and then for a N-layer V(001) film (7 < N < 15). The LSDA approximation leads to a non magnetic V(001) surface with both theoretical models in agreement (disagreement) with magneto-optical Kerr (electron-capture spectroscopy) experiments. The GGA within the pseudopotential method needs thicker slabs than the LSDA to yield zero moment at the central layer, giving a high surface magnetization (1.70 Bohr magnetons), in contrast with the non magnetic solution obtained by means of the all-electron code.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure. Latex gzipped tar fil

Berry phase, hyperorbits, and the Hofstadter spectrum: semiclassical dynamics in magnetic Bloch bands

We have derived a new set of semiclassical equations for electrons in magnetic Bloch bands. The velocity and energy of magnetic Bloch electrons are found to be modified by the Berry phase and magnetization. This semiclassical approach is used to study general electron transport in a DC or AC electric field. We also find a close connection between the cyclotron orbits in magnetic Bloch bands and the energy subbands in the Hofstadter spectrum. Based on this formalism, the pattern of band splitting, the distribution of Hall conduct- ivities, and the positions of energy subbands in the Hofstadter spectrum can be understood in a simple and unified picture.Comment: 26 pages, Revtex, 6 figures included, submitted to Phys.Rev.