On the Theory of Quantum Oscillations of the Elastic Moduli in Layered Conductors

In this paper we study theoretically how the local geometry of the Fermi surface (FS) of a layered conductor can affect quantum oscillations in the thermodynamic observables. We introduce a concrete model of the FS of a layered conductor. The model permits us to analyze the characteristic features of quantum oscillatory phenomena in these materials which occure due to local anomalies of the Gaussian curvature of the FS. Our analysis takes into account strong interaction among quasiparticles and we study the effect of this interaction within the framework of Fermi-liquid theory. We show that the Fermi-liquid interaction strongly affects the density of states of quasiparticles (DOS) on the FS. As a result DOS can have singularities near the peaks of its oscillations in a strong magnetic field. These singularities can be significantly strengthened when the FS of the layered conductor is locally flattened. This can lead to magnetic and lattice instabilities of a special kind which are considered in the final part of the work.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, minor changes in the title are made, published versio

Quantum Oscillations of Elastic Moduli and Softening of Phonon Modes in Metals

In this paper we present a theoretical analysis of the effect of magnetostriction on quantum oscillations of elastic constants in metals under strong magnetic fields. It is shown that at low temperatures a significant softening of some acoustic modes could occur near peaks of quantum oscillations of the electron density of states (DOS) at the Fermi surface (FS). This effect is caused by a magnetic instability of a special kind, and it can give rise to a lattice instability. We also show that the most favorable conditions for this instability to be revealed occur in metals whose Fermi surfaces include nearly cylindrical segments.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur

Sub-collision hyperfine structure of nonlinear-optical resonance with field scanning

Some experimental evidences for methane are produced that the simple transition from frequency scanning of nonlinear-optical resonances to magnetic one may be accompanied with transition from sub-Doppler collisionally broadened structure to sub-collision hyperfine one. It is conditioned by nonlinearity of splitting of hyperfine sublevel for molecules in the adiabatically varied magnetic field and respectively breaking the analogy of magnetic and frequency scannings. The exact calculation of the resonance structure is considered for molecules with only one spin subsystem. The approximately spin-additive calculation of the structure is given for sufficiently fast rotating molecules with greater number of spin subsystems. Within the same approximation an example of hyperfine doubling in the magnetic and electric spectra of nonlinear-optical resonance is considered for fluoromethane.Comment: 56 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in J. Mol. Spectrosc

The 16th moment of the three loop anomalous dimension of the non-singlet transversity operator in QCD

We present the result of the three loop anomalous dimension of non-singlet transversity operator in QCD for the Mellin moment N=16. The obtained result coincides with the prediction from arXiv:1203.1022 and can serve as a confirmation of the correctness of the general expression for three loop anomalous dimension of non-singlet transversity operator in QCD for the arbitrary Mellin moment.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, minor changes in the tex

Magnetic properties of colloidal suspensions of interacting magnetic particles

We review equilibrium thermodynamic properties of systems of magnetic particles like ferrofluids in which dipolar interactions play an important role. The review is focussed on two subjects: ({\em i}) the magnetization with the initial magnetic susceptibility as a special case and ({\em ii}) the phase transition behavior. Here the condensation ("gas/liquid") transition in the subsystem of the suspended particles is treated as well as the isotropic/ferromagnetic transition to a state with spontaneously generated long--range magnetic order.Comment: Review. 62 pages, 4 figure

Exploring the pre-immune landscape of antigen-specific T cells

Abstract Background Adaptive immune responses to newly encountered pathogens depend on the mobilization of antigen-specific clonotypes from a vastly diverse pool of naive T cells. Using recent advances in immune repertoire sequencing technologies, models of the immune receptor rearrangement process, and a database of annotated T cell receptor (TCR) sequences with known specificities, we explored the baseline frequencies of T cells specific for defined human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I-restricted epitopes in healthy individuals. Methods We used a database of TCR sequences with known antigen specificities and a probabilistic TCR rearrangement model to estimate the baseline frequencies of TCRs specific to distinct antigens epitopespecificT-cells. We verified our estimates using a publicly available collection of TCR repertoires from healthy individuals. We also interrogated a database of immunogenic and non-immunogenic peptides is used to link baseline T-cell frequencies with epitope immunogenicity. Results Our findings revealed a high degree of variability in the prevalence of T cells specific for different antigens that could be explained by the physicochemical properties of the corresponding HLA class I-bound peptides. The occurrence of certain rearrangements was influenced by ancestry and HLA class I restriction, and umbilical cord blood samples contained higher frequencies of common pathogen-specific TCRs. We also identified a quantitative link between specific T cell frequencies and the immunogenicity of cognate epitopes presented by defined HLA class I molecules. Conclusions Our results suggest that the population frequencies of specific T cells are strikingly non-uniform across epitopes that are known to elicit immune responses. This inference leads to a new definition of epitope immunogenicity based on specific TCR frequencies, which can be estimated with a high degree of accuracy in silico, thereby providing a novel framework to integrate computational and experimental genomics with basic and translational research efforts in the field of T cell immunology

The physical oceanography of the transport of floating marine debris

Marine plastic debris floating on the ocean surface is a major environmental problem. However, its distribution in the ocean is poorly mapped, and most of the plastic waste estimated to have entered the ocean from land is unaccounted for. Better understanding of how plastic debris is transported from coastal and marine sources is crucial to quantify and close the global inventory of marine plastics, which in turn represents critical information for mitigation or policy strategies. At the same time, plastic is a unique tracer that provides an opportunity to learn more about the physics and dynamics of our ocean across multiple scales, from the Ekman convergence in basin-scale gyres to individual waves in the surfzone. In this review, we comprehensively discuss what is known about the different processes that govern the transport of floating marine plastic debris in both the open ocean and the coastal zones, based on the published literature and referring to insights from neighbouring fields such as oil spill dispersion, marine safety recovery, plankton connectivity, and others. We discuss how measurements of marine plastics (both in situ and in the laboratory), remote sensing, and numerical simulations can elucidate these processes and their interactions across spatio-temporal scales