Localization and mobility edges in non-Hermitian disorder-free lattices

The non-Hermitian skin effect (NHSE) is a significant phenomenon observed in non-Hermitian systems under open boundary conditions, where the extensive bulk eigenstates tend to accumulate at the lattice edges. In this article, we investigate how an electric field affects the localization properties in a non-Hermitian mosaic Stark lattice, exploring the interplay between the Stark localization, mobility edge (ME), and the NHSE induced by nonreciprocity. We analytically obtain the Lyapunov exponent and the phase transition points as well as numerically calculate the density distributions and the spectral winding number. We reveal that in the nonreciprocal Stark lattice with the mosaic periodic parameter $\kappa=1$, there exists a critical electric field strength that describes the transition of the existence-nonexistence of NHSE and is inversely proportional to the lattice size. This transition is consistent with the real-complex transition and topological transition characterized by spectral winding number under periodic boundary conditions. In the strong fields, the Wannier-Stark ladder is recovered, and the Stark localization is sufficient to suppress the NHSE. When the mosaic period $\kappa=2$, we show that the system manifests an exact non-Hermitian ME and the skin states are still existing in the strong fields, in contrast to the gigantic field can restrain the NHSE in the $\kappa=1$ case. Moreover, we further study the expansion dynamics of an initially localized state and dynamically probe the existence of the NHSE and the non-Hermitian ME. These results could help us to control the NHSE and the non-Hermitian ME by using electric fields in the disorder-free systems

Multiple localization transitions and novel quantum phases induced by staggered on-site potential

We propose an one-dimensional generalized Aubry-Andr{\'e}-Harper (AAH) model with off-diagonal hopping and staggered on-site potential. We find that the localization transitions could be multiple reentrant with the increasing of staggered on-site potential. The multiple localization transitions are verified by the quantum static and dynamic measurements such as the inversed or normalized participation ratios, fractal dimension and survival probability. Based on the finite-size scaling analysis, we also obtain an interesting intermediate phase where the extended, localized and critical states are coexistent in certain regime of model parameters. These results are quite different from those in the generalized AAH model with off-diagonal hopping, and can help us to find novel quantum phases, new localization phenomena in the disordered systems

Study on the Reasonable Smoke Exhaust Rate of the Crossrange Exhaust Duct in Double-layer Shield Tunnel

AbstractThe research on the concentrated smoke extraction system of crossrange exhaust duct in double-layer shield tunnel is still very lack in the world. This paper is on the smoke extraction system of double-layer shield tunnel. It will provide the supports and references for the smoke control of tunnel fire and the determination of related technical parameters in the design of tunnel fire ventilation and smoke extraction, so it has important scientific value, practical significance and application prospects. This paper bases on the tunnel project of Slender West Lake in Yangzhou. By using the method of combining theory and numerical simulation, a conclusion can be drawn that the reasonable smoke exhaust rate of the upper tunnel is 140 m3/s

Different Selectivity in Fungal Communities Between Manure and Mineral Fertilizers: A Study in an Alkaline Soil After 30 Years Fertilization

Fertilizer application has contributed substantially to increasing crop yield. Despite the important role of soil fungi in agricultural production, we still have limited understanding of the complex responses of fungal taxonomic and functional groups to organic and mineral fertilization in long term. Here we report the responses of the fungal communities in an alkaline soil to 30-year application of mineral fertilizer (NP), organic manure (M) and combined fertilizer (NPM) by the Illumina HiSeq sequencing and quantitative real-time PCR to target fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) genes. The results show: (1) compared to the unfertilized soil, fertilizer application increased fungal diversity and ITS gene copy numbers, and shifted fungal community structure. Such changes were more pronounced in the M and NPM soils than in the NP soil (except for fungal diversity), which can be largely attributed to the manure induced greater increases in soil total organic C, total N and available P. (2) Compared to the unfertilized soil, the NP and NPM soils reduced the proportion of saprotrophs by 40%, the predominant taxa of which may potentially affect cellulose decomposition. (3) Indicator species analysis suggested that the indicator operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in the M soil occupied 25.6% of its total community, but that only accounted for 0.9% in the NP soil. Our findings suggest that fertilization-induced changes of total fungal community were more responsive to organic manure than mineral fertilizer. The reduced proportion of cellulose decomposition-related saprotrophs in mineral fertilizer treatments may potentially contribute to increasing their soil C stocks

Elevational distribution and seasonal dynamics of alpine soil prokaryotic communities

The alpine grassland ecosystem is a biodiversity hotspot of plants on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, where rapid climate change is altering the patterns of plant biodiversity along elevational and seasonal gradients of environments. However, how belowground microbial biodiversity changes along elevational gradient during the growing season is not well understood yet. Here, we investigated the elevational distribution of soil prokaryotic communities by using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing along an elevational gradient between 3,200 and 4,200 m, and a seasonal gradient between June and September in the Qinghai-Tibetan alpine grasslands. First, we found soil prokaryotic diversity and community composition significantly shifted along the elevational gradient, mainly driven by soil temperature and moisture. Species richness did not show consistent elevational trends, while those of evenness declined with elevation. Copiotrophs and symbiotic diazotrophs declined with elevation, while oligotrophs and AOB increased, affected by temperature. Anaerobic or facultatively anaerobic bacteria and AOA were hump-shaped, mainly influenced by moisture. Second, seasonal patterns of community composition were mainly driven by aboveground biomass, precipitation, and soil temperature. The seasonal dynamics of community composition indicated that soil prokaryotic community, particularly Actinobacteria, was sensitive to short-term climate change, such as the monthly precipitation variation. At last, dispersal limitation consistently dominated the assembly process of soil prokaryotic communities along both elevational and seasonal gradients, especially for those of rare species, while the deterministic process of abundant species was relatively higher at drier sites and in drier July. The balance between deterministic and stochastic processes in abundant subcommunities might be strongly influenced by water conditions (precipitation/moisture). Our findings suggest that both elevation and season can alter the patterns of soil prokaryotic biodiversity in alpine grassland ecosystem of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, which is a biodiversity hotspot and is experiencing rapid climate change. This work provides new insights into the response of soil prokaryotic communities to changes in elevation and season, and helps us understand the temporal and spatial variations in such climate change-sensitive regions

Microorganism-regulated mechanisms of temperature effects on the performance of anaerobic digestion

Additional file 2. Additional tables

Soil bacterial community mediates the effect of labile carbon on methanogenic decomposition of soil organic matter

Input of plant material may strongly change decomposition rates of soil organic matter (SOM), i.e. causing priming effect (PE), but the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. We found that rice straw addition in anoxic Fuyang (F) rice field soil stimulated CH4 production from SOM at the expense of CO2, whereas in Uruguay (U) soil it suppressed SOM degradation to CO2 plus CH4 (negative PE). Reciprocal inoculation experiments with non-sterile and sterile soils showed that the soils always displayed the effect of rice straw characteristic for the live microbial community rather than for the soil physicochemical properties. Pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes showed that bacterial communities in these soil samples were separated into two clusters (F and U). Symbiobacterium was abundant or dominant in microbiota from U soil, but negligible in those from F soil. Network analysis indicated that the bacterial populations involved in SOM decomposition were different between soils of F and U clusters; moreover, they were more tightly connected to methanogens in U than in F clusters. Ultimately, our results suggested that the PE of rice straw is mediated by the composition and activity of soil microbial community