Linear response of light deformed nuclei investigated by self-consistent quasiparticle random-phase-approximation

We present a calculation of the properties of vibrational states in deformed, axially--symmetric even--even nuclei, within the framework of a fully self--consistent Quasparticle Random Phase Approximation (QRPA). The same Skyrme energy density and density-dependent pairing functionals are used to calculate the mean field and the residual interaction in the particle-hole and particle-particle channels. We have tested our software in the case of spherical nuclei against fully self consistent calculations published in the literature, finding excellent agreement. We investigate the consequences of neglecting the spin-orbit and Coulomb residual interactions in QRPA. Furthermore we discuss the improvement obtained in the QRPA result associated with the removal of spurious modes. Isoscalar and isovector responses in the deformed ${}^{24-26}$Mg, $^{34}$Mg isotopes are presented and compared to experimental findings

Observation of Thermodynamical Properties in the 162^{162}Dy, 166^{166}Er and 172^{172}Yb Nuclei

The density of accessible levels in the ($^3$He,$\alpha \gamma$) reaction has been extracted for the $^{162}$Dy, $^{166}$Er and $^{172}$Yb nuclei. The nuclear temperature is measured as a function of excitation energy in the region of 0 -- 6 MeV. The temperature curves reveal structures indicating new degrees of freedom. The heat capacity of the nuclear system is discussed within the framework of a canonical ensemble.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures include

Random Matrices and Chaos in Nuclear Physics

The authors review the evidence for the applicability of random--matrix theory to nuclear spectra. In analogy to systems with few degrees of freedom, one speaks of chaos (more accurately: quantum chaos) in nuclei whenever random--matrix predictions are fulfilled. An introduction into the basic concepts of random--matrix theory is followed by a survey over the extant experimental information on spectral fluctuations, including a discussion of the violation of a symmetry or invariance property. Chaos in nuclear models is discussed for the spherical shell model, for the deformed shell model, and for the interacting boson model. Evidence for chaos also comes from random--matrix ensembles patterned after the shell model such as the embedded two--body ensemble, the two--body random ensemble, and the constrained ensembles. All this evidence points to the fact that chaos is a generic property of nuclear spectra, except for the ground--state regions of strongly deformed nuclei.Comment: 54 pages, 28 figure

Critical temperature for quenching of pair correlations

The level density at low spin in the 161,162-Dy and 171,172-Yb nuclei has been extracted from primary gamma rays. The nuclear heat capacity is deduced within the framework of the canonical ensemble. The heat capacity exhibits an S-formed shape as a function of temperature, which is interpreted as a fingerprint of the phase transition from a strongly correlated to an uncorrelated phase. The critical temperature for the quenching of pair correlations is found at Tc=0.50(4) MeV.Comment: 8 pages including 4 figures, different method to extract Tc, different figures, text partly rewritte

Possible Conservation of the K -Quantum Number in Excited Rotating Nuclei

The \ensuremath{\gamma} cascades feeding into low-K and high-K bands in ${}^{163}$Er are investigated analyzing variances and covariance of the spectrum fluctuations. From a large data set of 1${0}^{9}$ triple coincidences, \ensuremath{\gamma}-\ensuremath{\gamma} coincidence spectra gated by resolved low-lying rotational bands are analyzed. Low-K bands are found to be fed by a much larger effective number of cascades than high-K bands. The covariance between pairs of gated spectra shows that the cascades feeding low-K bands are different from those feeding the high-K bands. The persistence of the K-selection rules for the excited rotational bands within the angular momentum region 30\ensuremath{\Elzxh}\ensuremath{\le}I\ensuremath{\le}40\ensuremath{\Elzxh} is suggested as explanation

Pairing in nuclear systems: from neutron stars to finite nuclei

We discuss several pairing-related phenomena in nuclear systems, ranging from superfluidity in neutron stars to the gradual breaking of pairs in finite nuclei. We focus on the links between many-body pairing as it evolves from the underlying nucleon-nucleon interaction and the eventual experimental and theoretical manifestations of superfluidity in infinite nuclear matter and of pairing in finite nuclei. We analyse the nature of pair correlations in nuclei and their potential impact on nuclear structure experiments. We also describe recent experimental evidence that points to a relation between pairing and phase transitions (or transformations) in finite nuclear systems. Finally, we discuss recent investigations of ground-state properties of random two-body interactions where pairing plays little role although the interactions yield interesting nuclear properties such as 0+ ground states in even-even nuclei.Comment: 74 pages, 33 figs, uses revtex4. Submitted to Reviews of Modern Physic

Beliefs about others' intentions determine whether cooperation is the faster choice

Is collaboration the fast choice for humans? Past studies proposed that cooperation is a behavioural default, based on Response Times (RT) findings. Here we contend that the individual’s reckoning of the immediate social environment shapes her predisposition to cooperate and, hence, response latencies. In a social dilemma game, we manipulate the beliefs about the partner’s intentions to cooperate and show that they act as a switch that determines cooperation and defection RTs; when the partner’s intention to cooperate is perceived as high, cooperation choices are speeded up, while defection is slowed down. Importantly, this social context effect holds across varying expected payoffs, indicating that it modulates behaviour regardless of choices’ similarity in monetary terms. Moreover, this pattern is moderated by individual variability in social preferences: Among conditional cooperators, high cooperation beliefs speed up cooperation responses and slow down defection. Among free-riders, defection is always faster and more likely than cooperation, while high cooperation beliefs slow down all decisions. These results shed new light on the conflict of choices account of response latencies, as well as on the intuitive cooperation hypothesis, and can help to correctly interpret and reconcile previous, apparently contradictory results, by considering the role of context in social dilemmas

Registered Replication Report: Rand, Greene & Nowak (2012)

In an anonymous 4-person economic game, participants contributed more money to a common project (i.e., cooperated) when required to decide quickly than when forced to delay their decision (Rand, Greene & Nowak, 2012), a pattern consistent with the “social heuristics” hypothesis proposed by Rand and colleagues. The results of studies using time pressure have been mixed, with some replication attempts observing similar patterns (e.g., Rand et al., 2014) and others observing null effects (e.g., Tinghög et al., 2013, Verkoeijen et al., 2014). This Registered Replication Report (RRR) assessed the size and variability of the effect of time pressure on cooperative decisions by combining 21 separate, pre-registered replications of the critical conditions from Study 7 of the original paper (Rand et al., 2012). The primary planned analysis used data from all participants who were randomly assigned to conditions and who met the protocol inclusion criteria (an intent-to-treat approach that included the 65.9% of participants in the Time Pressure condition and 7.5% in the Forced Delay condition who did not adhere to the time constraints), and observed a difference in contributions of -0.37 percentage points, compared to an 8.6 percentage point difference calculated from the original data. Analyzing the data as the original paper did, including data only for participants who complied with the time constraints, the RRR observed a 10.37 percentage point difference in contributions compared to a 15.31 percentage point difference in the original study. In combination, the results of the intent-to-treat analysis and the compliant-only analysis are consistent with the presence of selection biases and the absence of a causal effect of time pressure on cooperation

Registered Replication Report: Rand, Greene, and Nowak (2012)

In an anonymous 4-person economic game, participants contributed more money to a common project (i.e., cooperated) when required to decide quickly than when forced to delay their decision (Rand, Greene & Nowak, 2012), a pattern consistent with the social heuristics hypothesis proposed by Rand and colleagues. The results of studies using time pressure have been mixed, with some replication attempts observing similar patterns (e.g., Rand et al., 2014) and others observing null effects (e.g., Tinghög et al., 2013; Verkoeijen & Bouwmeester, 2014). This Registered Replication Report (RRR) assessed the size and variability of the effect of time pressure on cooperative decisions by combining 21 separate, preregistered replications of the critical conditions from Study 7 of the original article (Rand et al., 2012). The primary planned analysis used data from all participants who were randomly assigned to conditions and who met the protocol inclusion criteria (an intent-to-treat approach that included the 65.9% of participants in the time-pressure condition and 7.5% in the forced-delay condition who did not adhere to the time constraints), and we observed a difference in contributions of −0.37 percentage points compared with an 8.6 percentage point difference calculated from the original data. Analyzing the data as the original article did, including data only for participants who complied with the time constraints, the RRR observed a 10.37 percentage point difference in contributions compared with a 15.31 percentage point difference in the original study. In combination, the results of the intent-to-treat analysis and the compliant-only analysis are consistent with the presence of selection biases and the absence of a causal effect of time pressure on cooperation

Human native lipoprotein-induced de novo DNA methylation is associated with repression of inflammatory genes in THP-1 macrophages

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We previously showed that a VLDL- and LDL-rich mix of human native lipoproteins induces a set of repressive epigenetic marks, <it>i.e. de novo </it>DNA methylation, histone 4 hypoacetylation and histone 4 lysine 20 (H4K20) hypermethylation in THP-1 macrophages. Here, we: 1) ask what gene expression changes accompany these epigenetic responses; 2) test the involvement of candidate factors mediating the latter. We exploited genome expression arrays to identify target genes for lipoprotein-induced silencing, in addition to RNAi and expression studies to test the involvement of candidate mediating factors. The study was conducted in human THP-1 macrophages.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Native lipoprotein-induced <it>de novo </it>DNA methylation was associated with a general repression of various critical genes for macrophage function, including pro-inflammatory genes. Lipoproteins showed differential effects on epigenetic marks, as <it>de novo </it>DNA methylation was induced by VLDL and to a lesser extent by LDL, but not by HDL, and VLDL induced H4K20 hypermethylation, while HDL caused H4 deacetylation. The analysis of candidate factors mediating VLDL-induced DNA hypermethylation revealed that this response was: 1) surprisingly, mediated exclusively by the canonical maintenance DNA methyltransferase DNMT1, and 2) independent of the Dicer/micro-RNA pathway.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our work provides novel insights into epigenetic gene regulation by native lipoproteins. Furthermore, we provide an example of DNMT1 acting as a <it>de novo </it>DNA methyltransferase independently of canonical <it>de novo </it>enzymes, and show proof of principle that <it>de novo </it>DNA methylation can occur independently of a functional Dicer/micro-RNA pathway in mammals.</p