Theory of asymmetric non-additive binary hard-sphere mixtures

We show that the formal procedure of integrating out the degrees of freedom of the small spheres in a binary hard-sphere mixture works equally well for non-additive as it does for additive mixtures. For highly asymmetric mixtures (small size ratios) the resulting effective Hamiltonian of the one-component fluid of big spheres, which consists of an infinite number of many-body interactions, should be accurately approximated by truncating after the term describing the effective pair interaction. Using a density functional treatment developed originally for additive hard-sphere mixtures we determine the zero, one, and two-body contribution to the effective Hamiltonian. We demonstrate that even small degrees of positive or negative non-additivity have significant effect on the shape of the depletion potential. The second virial coefficient $B_2$, corresponding to the effective pair interaction between two big spheres, is found to be a sensitive measure of the effects of non-additivity. The variation of $B_2$ with the density of the small spheres shows significantly different behavior for additive, slightly positive and slightly negative non-additive mixtures. We discuss the possible repercussions of these results for the phase behavior of binary hard-sphere mixtures and suggest that measurements of $B_2$ might provide a means of determining the degree of non-additivity in real colloidal mixtures

Combining quantum and classical density functional theory for ion-electron mixtures

We combine techniques from quantum and from classical density functional theory (DFT) to describe electron-ion mixtures. For homogeneous systems, we show how to calculate ion-ion and ion-electron correlation functions within Chihara's quantum hypernetted chain approximation, which we derive within a DFT formulation. We also sketch out how to apply the DFT formulation to inhomogeneous electron-ion mixtures, and use this to study the electron distribution at the liquid-solid interface of Al.Comment: to be published in J. Non-Cryst. Solids, LAM 11 special issu

Searching for Anomalous Higgs Couplings in Peripheral Heavy Ion Collisions at the LHC

We investigate the sensitivity of the heavy ion mode of the LHC to anomalous Higgs boson couplings to photons, H-photon-photon, through the analysis of the processes photon photon to b anti-b and photon photon to photon photon in peripheral heavy ion collisions. We suggest cuts to improve the signal over background ratio and determine the capability of LHC to impose bounds on anomalous couplings by searching for a Higgs boson signal in these modes.Comment: 10 pages, RevTeX, 4 figures included using epsfig, revised versio

Quantum mechanical effect of path-polarization contextuality for a single photon

Using measurements pertaining to a suitable Mach-Zehnder(MZ) type setup, a curious quantum mechanical effect of contextuality between the path and the polarization degrees of freedom of a polarized photon is demonstrated, without using any notion of realism or hidden variables - an effect that holds good for the product as well as the entangled states. This form of experimental context-dependence is manifested in a way such that at \emph{either} of the two exit channels of the MZ setup used, the empirically verifiable \emph{subensemble} statistical properties obtained by an arbitrary polarization measurement depend upon the choice of a commuting(comeasurable) path observable, while this effect disappears for the \emph{whole ensemble} of photons emerging from the two exit channels of the MZ setup.Comment: To be published in IJT

Probing Ion-Ion and Electron-Ion Correlations in Liquid Metals within the Quantum Hypernetted Chain Approximation

We use the Quantum Hypernetted Chain Approximation (QHNC) to calculate the ion-ion and electron-ion correlations for liquid metallic Li, Be, Na, Mg, Al, K, Ca, and Ga. We discuss trends in electron-ion structure factors and radial distribution functions, and also calculate the free-atom and metallic-atom form-factors, focusing on how bonding effects affect the interpretation of X-ray scattering experiments, especially experimental measurements of the ion-ion structure factor in the liquid metallic phase.Comment: RevTeX, 19 pages, 7 figure

Theoretical description of phase coexistence in model C60

We have investigated the phase diagram of the Girifalco model of C60 fullerene in the framework provided by the MHNC and the SCOZA liquid state theories, and by a Perturbation Theory (PT), for the free energy of the solid phase. We present an extended assessment of such theories as set against a recent Monte Carlo study of the same model [D. Costa et al, J. Chem. Phys. 118:304 (2003)]. We have compared the theoretical predictions with the corresponding simulation results for several thermodynamic properties. Then we have determined the phase diagram of the model, by using either the SCOZA, or the MHNC, or the PT predictions for one of the coexisting phases, and the simulation data for the other phase, in order to separately ascertain the accuracy of each theory. It turns out that the overall appearance of the phase portrait is reproduced fairly well by all theories, with remarkable accuracy as for the melting line and the solid-vapor equilibrium. The MHNC and SCOZA results for the liquid-vapor coexistence, as well as for the corresponding critical points, are quite accurate. All results are discussed in terms of the basic assumptions underlying each theory. We have selected the MHNC for the fluid and the first-order PT for the solid phase, as the most accurate tools to investigate the phase behavior of the model in terms of purely theoretical approaches. The overall results appear as a robust benchmark for further theoretical investigations on higher order C(n>60) fullerenes, as well as on other fullerene-related materials, whose description can be based on a modelization similar to that adopted in this work.Comment: RevTeX4, 15 pages, 7 figures; submitted to Phys. Rev.

Dark Energy and Gravity

I review the problem of dark energy focusing on the cosmological constant as the candidate and discuss its implications for the nature of gravity. Part 1 briefly overviews the currently popular `concordance cosmology' and summarises the evidence for dark energy. It also provides the observational and theoretical arguments in favour of the cosmological constant as the candidate and emphasises why no other approach really solves the conceptual problems usually attributed to the cosmological constant. Part 2 describes some of the approaches to understand the nature of the cosmological constant and attempts to extract the key ingredients which must be present in any viable solution. I argue that (i)the cosmological constant problem cannot be satisfactorily solved until gravitational action is made invariant under the shift of the matter lagrangian by a constant and (ii) this cannot happen if the metric is the dynamical variable. Hence the cosmological constant problem essentially has to do with our (mis)understanding of the nature of gravity. Part 3 discusses an alternative perspective on gravity in which the action is explicitly invariant under the above transformation. Extremizing this action leads to an equation determining the background geometry which gives Einstein's theory at the lowest order with Lanczos-Lovelock type corrections. (Condensed abstract).Comment: Invited Review for a special Gen.Rel.Grav. issue on Dark Energy, edited by G.F.R.Ellis, R.Maartens and H.Nicolai; revtex; 22 pages; 2 figure

High-Order Coupled Cluster Method (CCM) Calculations for Quantum Magnets with Valence-Bond Ground States

In this article, we prove that exact representations of dimer and plaquette valence-bond ket ground states for quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnets may be formed via the usual coupled cluster method (CCM) from independent-spin product (e.g. N\'eel) model states. We show that we are able to provide good results for both the ground-state energy and the sublattice magnetization for dimer and plaquette valence-bond phases within the CCM. As a first example, we investigate the spin-half $J_1$--$J_2$ model for the linear chain, and we show that we are able to reproduce exactly the dimerized ground (ket) state at $J_2/J_1=0.5$. The dimerized phase is stable over a range of values for $J_2/J_1$ around 0.5. We present evidence of symmetry breaking by considering the ket- and bra-state correlation coefficients as a function of $J_2/J_1$. We then consider the Shastry-Sutherland model and demonstrate that the CCM can span the correct ground states in both the N\'eel and the dimerized phases. Finally, we consider a spin-half system with nearest-neighbor bonds for an underlying lattice corresponding to the magnetic material CaV$_4$O$_9$ (CAVO). We show that we are able to provide excellent results for the ground-state energy in each of the plaquette-ordered, N\'eel-ordered, and dimerized regimes of this model. The exact plaquette and dimer ground states are reproduced by the CCM ket state in their relevant limits.Comment: 34 pages, 13 figures, 2 table

Serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor: Determinants and relationship with depressive symptoms in a community population of middle-aged and elderly people

OBJECTIVES: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is involved in major depressive disorder and neurodegenerative diseases. Clinical studies, showing decreased serum BDNF levels, are difficult to interpret due to limited knowledge of potential confounders and mixed results for age and sex effects. We explored potential determinants of serum BDNF levels in a community sample of 1230 subjects. METHODS: Multiple linear regression analyses with serum BDNF level as the dependent variable were conducted to explore the effect of four categories of potential BDNF determinants (sampling characteristics, sociodemographic variables, lifestyle factors and somatic diseases) and of self-reported depressive symptoms (Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI). RESULTS: Our results show that BDNF levels decline with age in women, whereas in men levels remain stable. Moreover, after controlling for age and gender, the assays still showed lower serum BDNF levels with higher BDI sum scores. Effects remained significant after correction for two main confounders (time of sampling and smoking), suggesting that they serve as molecular trait factors independent of lifestyle factors. CONCLUSIONS: Given the age-sex interaction on serum BDNF levels and the known association between BDNF and gonadal hormones, research is warranted to delineate the effects of the latter interaction on the risk of psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases

First-order formalism for dark energy and dust

This work deals with first-order formalism for dark energy and dust in standard cosmology, for models described by real scalar field in the presence of dust in spatially flat space. The field dynamics may be standard or tachyonic, and we show how the equations of motion can be solved by first-order differential equations. We investigate a model to illustrate how the dustlike matter may affect the cosmic evolution using this framework.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure; title changed, new author included, discussions extended, references added, version to appear in EPJ