Lattice QCD at non-zero isospin chemical potential

Quantum chromodynamics (QCD) at non-zero isospin chemical potential is studied in a canonical approach by analyzing systems of fixed isospin number density. To construct these systems, we develop a range of new algorithms for performing the factorially large numbers of Wick contractions required in multi-hadron systems. We then use these methods to study systems with the quantum numbers of up to 72 $\pi^+$'s on three ensembles of gauge configurations with spatial extents $L\sim$ 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 fm, and light quark masses corresponding to a pion mass of {390 MeV}. The ground state energies of these systems are extracted and the volume dependence of these energies is utilized to determine the two- and three- body interactions amongst $\pi^+$'s. The systems studied correspond to isospin densities of up to $\rho_I\sim 9\ {\rm fm}^{-3}$ and probe isospin chemical potentials, $\mu_I$, in the range m_\pi\ \lsim \mu_I\ \lsim 4.5\ m_\pi, allowing us to investigate aspects of the QCD phase diagram at low temperature and for varying isospin chemical potential. By studying the energy density of the system, we provide numerical evidence for the conjectured transition of the system to a Bose-Einstein condensed phase at \mu_I\ \gsim m_\pi.Comment: 32 pages, 22 figure

Influences of chloride immersion on zeta potential and chloride in concentration of cement-based materials

In this paper, the zeta potential of freshly mixed cement paste and hardened cement pastes, as well as the concentration index, was measured. The influences of chloride concentration in mixing water and slag content on zeta potential of freshly mixed pastes were studied. A proposed model was expressed to explain the relationship of zeta potential and concentration index of hardened cement pastes immersed in chloride solution. The results showed that the increase of chloride concentration in mixing water and slag replacement improved the zeta potential of freshly mixed cement, the hydration rate and concentration of ions in mixed water affects the zeta potential. With the increase of chloride concentration in soaking solution, the chloride concentration index and zeta potential of hardened cement paste all gradually decreased. The addition of slag gave some changes on chloride in concentration and zeta potential. The relationship among chloride concentration index, chloride concentration in soaking solution and slag replacement revealed by Gouy-Chapman model was in good agreement with the measured results

Studies on X(4260) and X(4660) particles

Studies on the X(4260) and X(4660) resonant states in an effective lagrangian approach are reviewed. Using a Breit--Wigner propagator to describe their propagation, we find that the X(4260) has a sizable coupling to the $\omega\chi_{c0}$ channel, while other couplings are found to be negligible. Besides, it couples much stronger to $\sigma$ than to $f_0(980)$: $|g_{X\Psi \sigma}^2/g^2_{X\Psi f_0(980)}|\sim O(10) \ .$ As an approximate result for X(4660), we obtain that the ratio of $\frac{Br(X\rightarrow\Lambda_c^+\Lambda_c^-)}{Br(X\rightarrow\Psi(2s)\pi^+\pi^-)}\simeq 20$. Finally, taking X(3872) as an example, we also point out a possible way to extend the previous method to a more general one in the effective lagrangian approach.Comment: Talk given by H. Q. Zheng at "Xth Quark Confinement and the Hadron Spectrum", October 8-12, 2012, TUM Campus Garching, Munich, Germany. 6 pages, 3 figures, 3 table

Investigation on influential factors on chloride concentration index of cement-based materials by pore solution expression method

In this study, the effects of different factors on chloride concentration index (N-c) of cement paste were studied. The factors including chloride concentration in soaking solution, slag replacement, external applied voltage and cation ions of soaking solution were all studied from the electrical double layer (EDL) properties point of view. Zeta potential and proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (H-1 NMR) measurements were conducted to investigate the properties of electrical double layer for cement paste specimens and their effects on the value of chloride concentration index. The results showed that these factors all impacted effects on chloride concentration in electrical double layer and chloride concentration index. The properties of electrical double layer including chloride distribution and thickness of electrical double layer mainly controlled the phenomenon of "chloride concentrate" and value of chloride concentration index. As the increase of zeta potential and electrical double layer thickness, the content of chloride ions in electrical double layer and the value of chloride concentration index gradually increased. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Bias estimation in sensor networks

This paper investigates the problem of estimating biases affecting relative state measurements in a sensor network. Each sensor measures the relative states of its neighbors and this measurement is corrupted by a constant bias. We analyse under what conditions on the network topology and the maximum number of biased sensors the biases can be correctly estimated. We show that for non-bipartite graphs the biases can always be determined even when all the sensors are corrupted, while for bipartite graphs more than half of the sensors should be unbiased to ensure the correctness of the bias estimation. If the biases are heterogeneous, then the number of unbiased sensors can be reduced to two. Based on these conditions, we propose some algorithms to estimate the biases.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure

AC impedance spectroscopy characteristics of chloride-exposed cement pastes

In this paper, the characteristics of AC impedance spectroscopy of cement paste immersed in chloride solution were measured and analyzed with a proposed equivalent circuit model. The elements in the proposed equivalent circuit, including the resistance of interface between electrode and specimens, resistance of continuous and discontinuous pore, capacitance of solid phase and electrical double layer (EDL) were discussed. The results showed that the resistance of interface between electrode and testing specimen was much lower than that of cement paste. With the increase of chloride concentration in the soaking solution, the resistance of continuous gradually decreased due to the higher conductivity of chloride solution. Stripped out the impacts of concentration of pore solution on resistance of pores, the resistance of continuous pore increased firstly due to the decrease of continuous pore volume from the formation of Friedel's salt. However, the resistance of discontinuous pores gradually decreased with the increase of soaking solution concentration due to the transformation of continuous pores to discontinuous pores. The reaction between chloride ions and hydration products and formation of Friedel's salt decreased the porosity of cement pastes and led to higher capacitance of solid phase. Based on an idealized two-plate capacitor model for EDL, the thickness of EDL was calculated from the measured capacitance. The decrease of EDL thickness with chloride concentration in soaking solution was in agreement with the results of chloride contents in EDL obtained from pore solution expression test. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Effects of chloride concentration on microstructure of cement pastes by AC impedance spectroscopy HU

Alternating current (AC) impedance spectroscopy has been applied in characterizing microstructural evolution and electrochemical properties of cement-based systems. In the present paper, an equivalent circuit model was proposed to study the influences of chloride binding on microstructure and solid-liquid interfacial properties of cement paste. Chloride concentration index of pore solution was measured to correlate to the parameters in equivalent circuit model corresponding to electrical double layer at solid-liquid interface. The results showed that the parameters of equivalent circuit model can properly indicate the microstructure and interfacial properties of cement paste. Resistance of continuous pores was gradually decreased with chloride concentration in soaking solution due to the higher conductivity of pore solution. The capacitance of electrical double layer was increased with chloride concentration in pore solution due to more content of chloride ions in electrical double layer. While the thickness of electrical double layer was decreased as chloride concentration increased, which is in agreement with mathematical calculation

Extended staggered-flux phases in two-dimensional lattices

Based on the so called $t$-$\phi$ model in two-dimensional (2D) lattices, we investigate the stabilities of a class of extended staggered-flux (SF) phases (which are the extensions of the $\sqrt{2}\times\sqrt{2}$ SF phase to generalized spatial periods) against the Fermi-liquid phase. Surprisingly, when away from the nesting electron filling, some extended-SF phases take over the dominant SF phase (the $\sqrt{2}\times\sqrt{2}$ SF phase for the square lattice, a $1\times\sqrt{3}$ SF phase for the triangular one), compete with the Fermi-liquid phase in nontrivial patterns, and still occupy significant space in the phase diagram through the advantage in the total electronic kinetic energies. The results can be termed as the generalized Perierls orbital-antiferromagnetic instabilities of the Fermi-liquid phase in 2D lattice-electron models.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Mechanism of microstructural modification of the interfacial transition zone by using blended materials

Applying blended materials with finer particle size or high reactivity could be an effective and economic way for improving the microsturcture of interfacial transition zone (ITZ). In this study, the porosity characteristics of ITZ in concrete made with OPC and blended binders were determined quantitatively by using backscattered electron microscopy (BSE) image analysis and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) measurements. This paper especially focused on the effects of slag and limestone filler on the thickness and pore structure of the ITZ. Results indicated that the porosity at each distance reduces with increasing limestone filler from 0 to 5%, and a significant increase is observed in the sample with 10% of limestone filler. The addition of 5% of limestone filler is able to densify the pore structure of both ITZ and bulk matrix. The reduction in pore volume in the range coarser than 100 nm contributed to the largest decrease in the total pores. Increasing the incorporation level of limestone filler to 10% resulted in an increase in the total porosity. The influences of slag on the porosity characteristics were highly dependent on the replacement level and the determined pore size regions. The addition of 35% of slag reduces the porosity at all distances and produces a denser microstructure both in the ITZ and bulk cement matrix. However, this improvement disappears when the substitution amount reaches to 70%. The incorporation of slag as a partial substitute for Portland cement tends to refine the pore structure