Local Entanglement Entropy and Mutual Information across the Mott Transition in the Two-Dimensional Hubbard Model.

Entanglement and information are powerful lenses to probe phases transitions in many-body systems. Motivated by recent cold atom experiments, which are now able to measure the corresponding information-theoretic quantities, we study the Mott transition in the half-filled two-dimensional Hubbard model using cellular dynamical mean-field theory, and focus on two key measures of quantum correlations: entanglement entropy and a measure of total mutual information. We show that they detect the first-order nature of the transition, the universality class of the end point, and the crossover emanating from the end point.

An organizing principle for two-dimensional strongly correlated superconductivity.

Superconductivity in the cuprates exhibits many unusual features. We study the two-dimensional Hubbard model with plaquette dynamical mean-field theory to address these unusual features and relate them to other normal-state phenomena, such as the pseudogap. Previous studies with this method found that upon doping the Mott insulator at low temperature a pseudogap phase appears. The low-temperature transition between that phase and the correlated metal at higher doping is first-order. A series of crossovers emerge along the Widom line extension of that first-order transition in the supercritical region. Here we show that the highly asymmetric dome of the dynamical mean-field superconducting transition temperature Tc(d), the maximum of the condensation energy as a function of doping, the correlation between maximum Tc(D) and normal-state scattering rate, the change from potential-energy driven to kinetic-energy driven pairing mechanisms can all be understood as remnants of the normal state first-order transition and its associated crossovers that also act as an organizing principle for the superconducting state.

Strong coupling superconductivity, pseudogap, and Mott transition.

An intricate interplay between superconductivity, pseudogap, and Mott transition, either bandwidth driven or doping driven, occurs in materials. Layered organic conductors and cuprates offer two prime examples. We provide a unified perspective of this interplay in the two-dimensional Hubbard model within cellular dynamical mean-field theory on a 2×2 plaquette and using the continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo method as impurity solver. Both at half filling and at finite doping, the metallic normal state close to the Mott insulator is unstable to d-wave superconductivity. Superconductivity can destroy the first-order transition that separates the pseudogap phase from the overdoped metal, yet that normal state transition leaves its marks on the dynamic properties of the superconducting phase. For example, as a function of doping one finds a rapid change in the particle-hole asymmetry of the superconducting density of states. In the doped Mott insulator, the dynamical mean-field superconducting transition temperature T(c)(d) does not scale with the order parameter when there is a normal-state pseudogap. T(c)(d) corresponds to the local pair formation temperature observed in tunneling experiments and is distinct from the pseudogap temperature.

Pseudogap temperature as a Widom line in doped Mott insulators.

The pseudogap refers to an enigmatic state of matter with unusual physical properties found below a characteristic temperature T* in hole-doped high-temperature superconductors. Determining T* is critical for understanding this state. Here we study the simplest model of correlated electron systems, the Hubbard model, with cluster dynamical mean-field theory to find out whether the pseudogap can occur solely because of strong coupling physics and short nonlocal correlations. We find that the pseudogap characteristic temperature T* is a sharp crossover between different dynamical regimes along a line of thermodynamic anomalies that appears above a first-order phase transition, the Widom line. The Widom line emanating from the critical endpoint of a first-order transition is thus the organizing principle for the pseudogap phase diagram of the cuprates. No additional broken symmetry is necessary to explain the phenomenon. Broken symmetry states appear in the pseudogap and not the other way around.

Finite doping signatures of the Mott transition in the two-dimensional Hubbard model.

Experiments on layered materials call for a study of the influence of short-range spin correlations on the Mott transition. To this end, we solve the cellular dynamical mean-field equations for the Hubbard model on a plaquette with continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo calculations. The normal-state phase diagram as a function of temperature T, interaction strength U, and filling n reveals that upon increasing n towards the insulator, there is a surface of first-order transition between two metals at nonzero doping. For T above the critical end line there is a maximum in scattering rate.

Non-Fermi-liquid behavior in the periodic anderson model.

We study the Mott metal-insulator transition in the periodic Anderson model with dynamical mean field theory (DMFT). Near the quantum transition, we find a non-Fermi-liquid metallic state down to a vanishing temperature scale. We identify the origin of the non-Fermi-liquid behavior as being due to magnetic scattering of the doped carriers by the localized moments. The non-Fermi-liquid state can be tuned by either doping or external magnetic field. Our results show that the coupling to spatial magnetic fluctuations (absent in DMFT) is not a prerequisite to realizing a non-Fermi-liquid scenario for heavy fermion systems.

Metal-insulator transitions in the periodic Anderson model.

We solve the periodic Anderson model in the Mott-Hubbard regime, using dynamical mean field theory. Upon electron doping of the Mott insulator, a metal-insulator transition occurs which is qualitatively similar to that of the single band Hubbard model, namely, with a divergent effective mass and a first order character at finite temperatures. Surprisingly, upon hole doping, the metal-insulator transition is not first order and does not show a divergent mass. Thus, the transition scenario of the single band Hubbard model is not generic for the periodic Anderson model, even in the Mott-Hubbard regime.

Lack of association between androgen receptor CAG polymorphism and familial breast/ovarian cancer.

The human androgen receptor (AR) gene contains a highly polymorphic CAG repeat in exon 1 that is inversely correlated with AR transcriptional activity in vitro. Several studies have shown that fewer CAG repeats are associated with an increased risk as well as more aggressive forms of prostate cancer. More recently, AR allele length was also inversely correlated with the histological grade of breast cancer, but no association was found between the AR-CAG polymorphism and the risk of either breast or ovary cancer. On the contrary, it was proposed that a longer CAG repeat sequence might be associated with an increased risk of breast cancer in BRCA1 mutation carriers, thus suggesting a different role of the AR-CAG polymorphism in sporadic and inherited breast cancers. With the intent of better understanding the role of the AR-CAG polymorphism as a cancer risk modifier, we defined the AR genotype of 151 patients (101 with breast and 50 with ovary cancer) belonging to high-risk breast/ovary cancer families. No difference in CAG repeat length was found between either breast and ovary cancer patients or age at diagnosis of both tumors. These results were also confirmed in a sub-group of 47 breast cancer cases, that either carried a BRCA gene mutation (11 cases) or were identified by very stringent operational criteria as hereditary breast cancers. Even though a substantially larger sample size would be required to reach conclusive evidence, our findings suggest that the AR-CAG polymorphism does not act as a modifier of tumor onset or tumor phenotype in breast/ovarian cancer families.

Analysis of mutational effects at the HPRT locus in human G(0) phase lymphocytes irradiated in vitro with gamma rays.

The mutational effects of ionising radiation at the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HPRT) locus were studied in human peripheral blood G(0) phase lymphocytes irradiated in vitro with gamma rays. The presence of radiation induced mutants was assessed by selecting the HPRT mutants every week on the basis of 6-thioguanine resistance up to 1 month after irradiation. A dose-related increase of 14.25x10(-6) mutants/Gy was measured after an expression time of 7 days. After 2 weeks from culture starting the fraction of clonable cells in irradiated and control cell populations decreased, limiting the measurements of mutant frequency. The mutational spectrum of the HPRT gene was determined by PCR analyses in a total of 99 mutant clones derived from irradiated lymphocytes. The independent origin of mutant clones carrying the same mutation was assessed by analysing the TCR gamma gene rearrangements. The results showed a dose-related increase of deletion mutants up to 3Gy, whereas point mutation frequency increased only up to 2Gy. Two preferentially deleted regions were identified; one involving the HPRT exon 3, and another one the 3'-terminal and the 3'-flanking region of the gene. One complex mutation involving a non-contiguous deletion of exons 2-5 and 7/8 was observed among the mutants isolated after 3Gy irradiation.

Radioactivity in and committed effective dose from some Brazilian foodstuffs.

Thirty-eight types of food including fruits, vegetables, cereals, and meat have been analyzed by gamma-ray spectrometry. Clove and black pepper were found to have the highest concentration of 137Cs. The annual intake of 40K, 228Ra, 226Ra, and 137Cs were found to be 14 kBq, 53.2 Bq, 17.5 Bq, and 3.2 Bq, respectively, taking into account the typical diet of São Paulo City, Brazil. The annual committed effective doses from these radionuclides for adults were estimated to be 87.4 microSv, 36.7 microSv, 4.9 microSv, and 0.04 microSv, respectively.

Granuloma of the lacrimal sac.

This article describes a rare case of granuloma of the lacrimal sac, which was treated with dacryocistorhinostomy and glabellar flap. In addition, the possible etiologic factors, the differential diagnosis and reconstructive techniques indicated in such cases are described.

Resultados da implantaçäo de um programa de proteçäo radiológica no serviço de radioterapia/CAISM-UNICAMP / Results of implantation of a radiological protection program in radiotherapy service/CAISM - UNICAMP

Para verificar as condições de proteção radiológica no Serviço de Radioterapia/CAISM - UNICAMP, foi elaborado um programa de proteção radiológica específico, composto do plano de radioproteção do serviço, de um programa de monitorações de área e individual e de um programa de auditorias. Sua implantação utilizou medidores Geiger-Müller, câmaras de ionização, fichas de auditoria específicas e resultados de cerca de cinco anos de monitoração individual. Os resultados mostram que todas as áreas onde são armazenados ou utilizados aparelhos e/ou fontes são classificadas como áreas controladas e que todos os trabalhadores têm doses equivalentes inferiores aos limites para indivíduos do público. Dos itens auditados, somente 3,5 por cento estão em desacordo com as recomendações de proteção radiológica devido à deficiências do serviço.