Finite size scaling for critical parameters of simple diatomic molecules

We use the finite size scaling method to study the critical points, points of non-analyticity, of the ground state energy as a function of the coupling parameters in the Hamiltonian. In this approach, the finite size corresponds to the number of elements in a complete basis set used to expand the exact eigenfunction of a given molecular Hamiltonian. To illustrate this approach, we give detailed calculations for systems of one electron and two nuclear centres, Z ⁺ e ^?Z⁺. Within the Born-Oppenheimer approximation, there is no critical point, but without the approximation the system exhibits a critical point at Z = Z_c = 1.228279 when the nuclear charge, Z, varies. We show also that the dissociation occurs in a first-order phase transition and calculate the various related critical exponents. The possibility of generalizing this approach to larger molecular systems using Gaussian basis sets is discussed.     

Nucleon Finite Volume Effect and Nuclear Matter Properties in a Relativistic Mean-Field Theory

Effects of excluded volume of nucleons on nuclear matter are studied, and the nuclear properties that follow from different relativistic mean-field model parametrizations are compared. We show that, for all tested parametrizations, the resulting volume energy al and the symmetry energy J are around the acceptable values of 16 MeV and 30 MeV, and the density symmetry L is around 100 MeV. On the other hand, models that consider only linear terms lead to incompressibility Ko much higher than expected. For most parameter sets there exists a critical point （pc, δc）, where the minimum and the maximum of the equation of state are coincident and the incompressibility equals zero. This critical point depends on the excluded volume parameter r. If this parameter is larger than 0.5 fm, there is no critical point and the pure neutron matter is predicted to be bound. The maximum value for neutron star mass is 1.85M⊙, which is in agreement with the mass of the heaviest observed neutron star 4U0900-40 and corresponds to r = 0.72 fm. We also show that the light neutron star mass （1.2M⊙） is obtained for r ≌ 0.9 fro.     

Particle number scale invariant feature of the states around the critical point of the first order nuclear shape phase transition

We study systematically the evolutive behaviors of some energy ratios,E2 transition rate ratios and isomer shift in the nuclear shape phase transitions.We find that the quantities sensitive to the phase transition and independent of free parameter(s) are approximately particle number N scale invariant around the critical point of the first order phase transition,similar to that in the second order phase transition.     

Possibility of QCD critical point sweep during black hole formation

We discuss the possibility to probe the QCD critical point during the dynamical black hole formation from a gravitational collapse of a massive star, where the temperature and the baryon chemical potential become as high as T∼90 MeV and μB∼1300 MeV. Comparison with the phase boundary in chiral effective models suggests that quark matter is likely to be formed before the horizon is formed. Furthermore, the QCD critical point may be probed during the black hole formation. The critical point is found to move in the lower temperature direction in asymmetric nuclear matter, and in some of the chiral models it is found to be in the reachable region during the black hole formation processes.     

Dynamical Background for L-G Phase Transition in QHD-I Model

Starting from the QHD-I model, the nucleon-nucleon interaction potential in hot/dense nuclear matter is studied. We find that the attractive and repulsive Yukawa potential between nucleons is modified by the variation of Debye mass directly and, especially, the nucleon system described by this Yukawa potential will be unbounded at some critical T and μ. The critical point we get accords with that of L-G phase transition given by the P - pB phase diagram.     

Dynamical Background for L-G Phase Transition in QHD-I Model

Starting from the QHD-I model, the nucleon-nucleon interaction potential in hot/dense nuclear matter is studied. We find that the attractive and repulsive Yukawa potential between nucleons is modified by the variation of Debye mass directly and, especially, the nucleon system described by this Yukawa potential will be unbounded at some critical T and μ. The critical point we get accords with that of L-G phase transition given by the P - ρs phase diagram.     

Metamagnetic quantum criticality revealed by 17O-NMR in the itinerant metamagnet Sr3Ru2O7

We have investigated the spin dynamics using 17O-NMR in the bilayered perovskite Sr3Ru2O7, which sits close to a metamagnetic quantum critical point. The nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate divided by temperature 1/T1T is enhanced on approaching the metamagnetic critical field of approximately 7.9 T, and at the critical field 1/T1T continues to increase and does not show Fermi-liquid behavior down to 0.3 K. The temperature dependence of T1T in this region suggests the critical temperature Theta to be approximately 0 K, which is strong evidence that the spin dynamics possesses a quantum critical character. Comparison between uniform susceptibility and 1/T1T reveals that antiferromagnetic fluctuations instead of two-dimensional ferromagnetic fluctuations dominate the spin fluctuation spectrum at the critical field, which is unexpected for itinerant metamagnetism.     

Experimental quantum simulation of entanglement in many-body systems

We employ a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) quantum information processor to simulate the ground state of an XXZ spin chain and measure its NMR analog of entanglement, or pseudoentanglement. The observed pseudoentanglement for a small-size system already displays a singularity, a signature which is qualitatively similar to that in the thermodynamical limit across quantum phase transitions, including an infinite-order critical point. The experimental results illustrate a successful approach to investigate quantum correlations in many-body systems using quantum simulators.     

Recent developments on the UrQMD hybrid model

We present recent results from the UrQMD hybrid approach investigating the influence of a deconfinement phase transition on the dynamics of hot and dense nuclear matter. In the hydrodynamic stage an equation of state that incorporates a critical end-point (CEP) in line with lattice data is used. The equation of state describes chiral restoration as well as the deconfinement phase transition. We compare the results from this new equation of state to results obtained by applying a hadron resonance gas equation of state, focusing on bulk observables. Furthermore we will discuss future improvements of the hydrodynamic model. This includes the formulation of chiral fluid dynamics to be able to study the effects of a chiral critical point as well as considerable improvements in terms of computational time which would open up possibilities for observables that require high statistics.     

Nuclear critical opalescence,a precursor to pion condensation

It is shown that pion condensation in nuclei, a long-range phenomenon, has a precursor in the disordered phase, the local ordering of spins which becomes of infinite range at the critical point. A new physical effect arising from this short-range order is predicted, namely the enhancement of the static nuclear pion field near the critical momentum. This phenomenon is strongly reminiscent of the critical opalescence observed in the scattering of neutrons by antiferromagnetic substances.     

Detecting topological order through a continuous quantum phase transition

We study a continuous quantum phase transition that breaks a Z2 symmetry. We show that the transition is described by a new critical point which does not belong to the Ising universality class, despite the presence of well-defined symmetry-breaking order parameter. The new critical point arises since the transition not only breaks the Z2 symmetry, it also changes the topological or quantum order in the two phases across the transition. We show that the new critical point can be identified in experiments by measuring critical exponents. So measuring critical exponents and identifying new critical points is a way to detect new topological phases and a way to measure topological or quantum orders in those phases.     

Does Shadowing Relate to Nuclear Radius?

The A-dependence of nuclear shadowing in the partonic shadowing model is analysed. We point out that the nuclear shadowing is related to the average number of shadowed nucleons rather than the nuclear radius.     

Dynamic Nuclear Polarization in III–V Semiconductors

We report on electron spin resonance, nuclear magnetic resonance and Overhauser shift experiments on two of the most commonly used III–V semiconductors, GaAs and InP. Localized electron centers in these semiconductors have extended wavefunctions and exhibit strong electron–nuclear hyperfine coupling with the nuclei in their vicinity. These interactions not only play a critical role in electron and nuclear spin relaxation mechanisms, but also result in transfer of spin polarization from the electron spin system to the nuclear spin system. This transfer of polarization, known as dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP), may result in an enhancement of the nuclear spin polarization by several orders of magnitude under suitable conditions. We determine the critical range of doping concentration and temperature conducive to DNP effects by studying these semiconductors with varying doping concentration in a wide temperature range. We show that the electron spin system in undoped InP exhibits electric current-induced spin polarization. This is consistent with model predictions in zinc-blende semiconductors with strong spin–orbit effects.     

Critical events leading to cellular mortality of yeast cells following hydrostatic pressure treatment

ABSTRACT

Hydrostatic pressures of 40–150?MPa are sub-lethal conditions for yeast cells. On exposure to this pressure range, damaged yeast cells will attempt to recover, but a critical cellular event may ultimately lead to cell mortality. We employed yeast strains whose cellular organelles were labeled with green fluorescent protein to investigate this critical event. We were able to visualize the nuclear membrane, nucleus, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi body, and plasma membranes. Of the cellular organelles tested, the nuclear membrane was the weakest, displaying damage following only 50?MPa of pressure. This nuclear membrane rupture correlated with cellular viability. Thus, we hypothesize that nuclear membrane damage is the critical event leading to cellular mortality of yeast cells following hydrostatic pressure treatment.     

Fragmentation and multifragmentation of 10.6A GeV gold nuclei

The experimental data on the interactions of 10.6A GeV gold nuclei in nuclear emulsions are analyzed with particular emphasis of target separation interactions and study of critical exponents. Charged fragment moments, conditional moments as well as two and three – body asymmetries of the fast moving projectile particles are determined in terms of the total charge remaining bound in the multiply charged projectile fragments. Some differences in the average yields of helium nuclei and heavier fragments are observed, which may be attributed to a target effect. However, two and three-body asymmetries and conditional moments indicate that the breakup mechanism of the projectile seems to be independent of target mass. We looked for evidence of critical point observable in finite nuclei by study the resulting charged fragments distributions. We have obtained the values for the critical exponents γ, β and τ and compare our results with those at lower energy experiment (1.0A GeV data). The values suggest that a phase transition like behavior, is observed. Received: 2 July 1998 / Revised version: 26 March 1999     

Quantum critical end point for the Kondo volume collapse model

The Kondo volume collapse describes valence transitions in f-electron metals and is characterized by a line of first order transitions in the pressure-temperature phase plane terminated at critical end points. We analyze the quantum critical end point, when the lower end point is tuned to T=0, and determine the specific heat, thermal expansion, and compressibility. We find that the inclusion of quantum critical fluctuations leads to a novel bifurcation of the first order phase line. Finally, we show that critical strain fluctuations can cause both, superconductivity and non-Fermi liquid behavior near the critical point.     

Signature of Critical Point in Momentum Profile of Trapped Ultracold Bose Gases

We present a new method to identify the critical point for the Bose-Einstein condensation(BEC) of a trapped Bose gas.We calculate the momentum distribution of an interacting Bose gas near the critical temperature,and find that it deviates significantly from the Gaussian profile as the temperature approaches the critical point.More importantly,the standard deviation between the calculated momentum spectrum and the Gaussian profile at the same temperature shows a turning point at the critical point,which can be used to determine the critical temperature.These predictions are aiso confirmed by our BEC experiment for magnetically trapped ~(87)Rb gases.