Crystals for Demazure Modules of Classical Affine Lie Algebras

We study, in the path realization, crystals for Demazure modules of affine Lie algebras of types $A^{(1)}_n,B^{(1)}_n,C^{(1)}_n,D^{(1)}_n, A^{(2)}_{2n-1},A^{(2)}_{2n}, and D^{(2)}_{n+1}$. We find a special sequence of affine Weyl group elements for the selected perfect crystal, and show if the highest weight is l\La_0, the Demazure crystal has a remarkably simple structure.Comment: Latex, 28 page

Interpolating between the Bose-Einstein and the Fermi-Dirac distributions in odd dimensions

We consider the response of a uniformly accelerated monopole detector that is coupled to a superposition of an odd and an even power of a quantized, massless scalar field in flat spacetime in arbitrary dimensions. We show that, when the field is assumed to be in the Minkowski vacuum, the response of the detector is characterized by a Bose-Einstein factor in even spacetime dimensions, whereas a Bose-Einstein as well as a Fermi-Dirac factor appear in the detector response when the dimension of spacetime is odd. Moreover, we find that, it is possible to interpolate between the Bose-Einstein and the Fermi-Dirac distributions in odd spacetime dimensions by suitably adjusting the relative strengths of the detector's coupling to the odd and the even powers of the scalar field. We point out that the response of the detector is always thermal and we, finally, close by stressing the apparent nature of the appearance of the Fermi-Dirac factor in the detector response.Comment: RevTeX, 7 page

Integrable structure of box-ball systems: crystal, Bethe ansatz, ultradiscretization and tropical geometry

The box-ball system is an integrable cellular automaton on one dimensional lattice. It arises from either quantum or classical integrable systems by the procedures called crystallization and ultradiscretization, respectively. The double origin of the integrability has endowed the box-ball system with a variety of aspects related to Yang-Baxter integrable models in statistical mechanics, crystal base theory in quantum groups, combinatorial Bethe ansatz, geometric crystals, classical theory of solitons, tau functions, inverse scattering method, action-angle variables and invariant tori in completely integrable systems, spectral curves, tropical geometry and so forth. In this review article, we demonstrate these integrable structures of the box-ball system and its generalizations based on the developments in the last two decades.Comment: 73 page

Automated operation of a home made torque magnetometer using LabVIEW

In order to simplify and optimize the operation of our home made torque magnetometer we created a new software system. The architecture is based on parallel, independently running instrument handlers communicating with a main control program. All programs are designed as command driven state machines which greatly simplifies their maintenance and expansion. Moreover, as the main program may receive commands not only from the user interface, but also from other parallel running programs, an easy way of automation is achieved. A program working through a text file containing a sequence of commands and sending them to the main program suffices to automatically have the system conduct a complex set of measurements. In this paper we describe the system's architecture and its implementation in LabVIEW.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Rev. Sci. Inst

Host and bacterial proteases influence biofilm formation and virulence in a murine model of enterococcal catheter-associated urinary tract infection

Urinary tract infections: targeting enzymes might help Identifying bacterial and host enzymes that support biofilm formation may help prevent urinary tract infections caused by catheters. Enterococcus faecalis bacteria is a leading cause of catheter-associated urinary tract infections, the most common type of hospital-acquired infections. Michael Caparon and colleagues at Washington University School of Medicine in Missouri, USA, studied these infections in mice. They examined the effects of two protein-degrading enzymes, both from the bacterium and one can be activated by urine trypsin-like protease from the animals. Mutations that impaired either one of the enzymes had no effect on the infection, but when both the bacterial enzymes were impaired by mutation the formation of biofilms was significantly reduced. Treating the mice with chemicals that inhibited both bacterial and host enzymes dramatically reduced catheter-induced inflammation and related problems. This suggests drugs targeting these enzymes could be useful in clinical care

Charge dynamics of Ca_{2-x}Na_{x}CuO_{2}Cl_{2} as a correlated electron system with the ideal tetragonal lattice

We report the reflectivity and the resistivity measurement of Ca_{2-x}Na_{x}CuO_{2}Cl_{2} (CNCOC), which has a single-CuO2-plane lattice with no orthorhombic distortion. The doping dependence of the in-plane optical conductivity spectra for CNCOC is qualitatively the same to those of other cuprates, but a slight difference between CNCOC and LSCO, i.e., the absence of the 1.5 eV peak in CNCOC, can be attributed to the smaller charge-stripe instability in CNCOC. The temperature dependence of the optical onductivity spectra of CNCOC has been analyzed both by the two-component model (Drude+Lorentzian) and by the one-component model (extended-Drude analysis). The latter analysis gives a universal trend of the scattering rate Gamma(omega) with doping. It was also found that Gamma(omega) shows a saturation behavior at high frequencies, whose origin is the same as that of resistivity saturation at high temperatures.Comment: 8 pages, 11 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.

Entropy change at the martensitic transformation in ferromagnetic shape memory alloys Ni_{2+x}Mn_{1-x}Ga

The entropy change $\Delta S$ between the high-temperature cubic phase and the low-temperature tetragonally-based martensitic phase of Ni$_{2+x}$Mn$_{1-x}$Ga ($x = 0 - 0.20$) alloys was studied. The experimental results obtained indicate that $\Delta S$ in the Ni$_{2+x}$Mn$_{1-x}$Ga alloys increases with the Ni excess $x$. The increase of $\Delta S$ is presumably accounted for by an increase of magnetic contribution to the entropy change. It is suggested that the change in modulation of the martensitic phase of Ni$_{2+x}$Mn$_{1-x}$Ga results in discontinuity of the composition dependence of $\Delta S$.Comment: presented at MMM-47, to be published in J. Appl. Phys. (May 15, 2003