Ising antiferromagnet with mobile, pinned and quenched defects

Motivated by recent experiments on (Sr,Ca,La)_14 Cu_24 O_41, a two-dimensional Ising antiferromagnet with mobile, locally pinned and quenched defects is introduced and analysed using mainly Monte Carlo techniques. The interplay between the arrangement of the defects and the magnetic ordering as well as the effect of an external field are studied.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures. Condensed Matter Physics (Festschrift in honour of R. Folk

Two-dimensional anisotropic Heisenberg antiferromagnet in a field

The classical, square lattice, uniaxially anisotropic Heisenberg antiferromagnet in a magnetic field parallel to the easy axis is studied using Monte Carlo techniques. The model displays a long-range ordered antiferromagnetic, an algebraically ordered spin-flop, and a paramagnetic phase. The simulations indicate that a narrow disordered phase intervenes between the ordered phases down to quite low temperatures. Results are compared to previous, partially conflicting findings on related classical models as well as the quantum variant with spin S=1/2.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figure

Phase diagrams of a classical two-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnet with single-ion anisotropy

A classical variant of the two-dimensional anisotropic Heisenberg model reproducing inelastic neutron scattering experiments on La_5 Ca_9 Cu_24 O_41 [M. Matsuda et al., Phys.Rev. B 68, 060406(R) (2003)] is analysed using mostly Monte Carlo techniques. Phase diagrams with external fields parallel and perpendicular to the easy axis of the anisotropic interactions are determined, including antiferromagnetic and spin-flop phases. Mobile spinless defects, or holes, are found to form stripes which bunch, debunch and break up at a phase transition. A parallel field can lead to a spin-flop phase.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures; final version as accepted by Phys. Rev. B (Fig. 5 replaced, added remarks in Secs. I, III, and V

Quenched charge disorder in CuO2 spin chains: Experimental and numerical studies

We report on measurements of the magnetic response of the anisotropic CuO_2 spin chains in lightly hole-doped La_x (Ca,Sr)_14-x Cu_24 O_41, x>=5. The experimental data suggest that in magnetic fields B >~ 4T (applied along the easy axis) the system is characterized by short-range spin order and quasi-static (quenched) charge disorder. The magnetic susceptibility chi(B) shows a broad anomaly, which we interpret as the remnant of a spin-flop transition. To corroborate this idea, we present Monte Carlo simulations of a classical, anisotropic Heisenberg model with randomly distributed, static holes. Our numerical results clearly show that the spin-flop transition of the pure model (without holes) is destroyed and smeared out due to the disorder introduced by the quasi-static holes. Both the numerically calculated susceptibility curves chi(B) and the temperature dependence of the position of the anomaly are in qualitative agreement with the experimental data.Comment: 10 pages, REVTeX4. 11 figures; v2: Fig.2 replaced, small changes in Figs.1 and 11; minor revisons in Sec. III.C; accepted by Phys. Rev.

Incorporating interactive 3-dimensional graphics in astronomy research papers

Most research data collections created or used by astronomers are intrinsically multi-dimensional. In contrast, all visual representations of data presented within research papers are exclusively 2-dimensional. We present a resolution of this dichotomy that uses a novel technique for embedding 3-dimensional (3-d) visualisations of astronomy data sets in electronic-format research papers. Our technique uses the latest Adobe Portable Document Format extensions together with a new version of the S2PLOT programming library. The 3-d models can be easily rotated and explored by the reader and, in some cases, modified. We demonstrate example applications of this technique including: 3-d figures exhibiting subtle structure in redshift catalogues, colour-magnitude diagrams and halo merger trees; 3-d isosurface and volume renderings of cosmological simulations; and 3-d models of instructional diagrams and instrument designs.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures, submitted to New Astronomy. For paper with 3-dimensional embedded figures, see http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/s2plot/3dpd

Comment on "Frustrating interactions and broadened magnetic interactions in the edge-sharing CuO_2 chains in La_5 Ca_9 Cu_24 O_41"

Using Monte Carlo techniques, we show that the two--dimensional anisotropic Heisenberg model reproducing nicely inelastic neutron scattering measurements on La_5 Ca_9 Cu_24 O_41 (Matsuda et al. [Phys. Rev. B 68, 060406(R) (2003)]) seems to be insufficient to describe correctly measurements on thermodynamic quantities like the magnetization or the susceptibility. Possible reasons for the discrepancy are suggested.Comment: 3 pages, 2 EPS figures; part (ii) rewritten, some typos corrected; final version that has been accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

EQUIPT: protocol of a comparative effectiveness research study evaluating cross-context transferability of economic evidence on tobacco control

This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial.This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Tobacco smoking claims 700 000 lives every year in Europe and the cost of tobacco smoking in the EU is estimated between €98 and €130 billion annually; direct medical care costs and indirect costs such as workday losses each represent half of this amount. Policymakers all across Europe are in need of bespoke information on the economic and wider returns of investing in evidence-based tobacco control, including smoking cessation agendas. EQUIPT is designed to test the transferability of one such economic evidence base-the English Tobacco Return on Investment (ROI) tool-to other EU member states

Assessing quality of life in a clinical study on heart rehabilitation patients: how well do value sets based on given or experienced health states reflect patients' valuations?

Background: Quality of life as an endpoint in a clinical study may be sensitive to the value set used to derive a single score. Focusing on patients' actual valuations in a clinical study, we compare different value sets for the EQ-5D-3L and assess how well they reproduce patients' reported results. Methods: A clinical study comparing inpatient (n = 98) and outpatient (n = 47) rehabilitation of patients after an acute coronary event is re-analyzed. Value sets include: 1. Given health states and time-trade-off valuation (GHS-TTO) rendering economic utilities;2. Experienced health states and valuation by visual analog scale (EHS-VAS). Valuations are compared with patient-reported VAS rating. Accuracy is assessed by mean absolute error (MAE) and by Pearson's correlation.. External validity is tested by correlation with established MacNew global scores. Drivers of differences between value sets and VAS are analyzed using repeated measures regression. Results: EHS-VAS had smaller MAEs and higher. in all patients and in the inpatient group, and correlated best with MacNew global score. Quality-adjusted survival was more accurately reflected by EHS-VAS. Younger, better educated patients reported lower VAS at admission than the EHS-based value set. EHS-based estimates were mostly able to reproduce patient-reported valuation. Economic utility measurement is conceptually different, produced results less strongly related to patients' reports, and resulted in about 20 % longer quality-adjusted survival. Conclusion: Decision makers should take into account the impact of choosing value sets on effectiveness results. For transferring the results of heart rehabilitation patients from another country or from another valuation method, the EHS-based value set offers a promising estimation option for those decision makers who prioritize patient-reported valuation. Yet, EHS-based estimates may not fully reflect patient-reported VAS in all situations