Optical response of Sr2RuO4 reveals universal fermi-liquid scaling and quasiparticles beyond Landau theory.

We report optical measurements demonstrating that the low-energy relaxation rate (1/τ) of the conduction electrons in Sr(2)RuO(4) obeys scaling relations for its frequency (ω) and temperature (T) dependence in accordance with Fermi-liquid theory. In the thermal relaxation regime, 1/τ ∝ (hω)(2)+(pπk(B)T)(2) with p = 2, and ω/T scaling applies. Many-body electronic structure calculations using dynamical mean-field theory confirm the low-energy Fermi-liquid scaling and provide quantitative understanding of the deviations from Fermi-liquid behavior at higher energy and temperature. The excess optical spectral weight in this regime provides evidence for strongly dispersing "resilient" quasiparticle excitations above the Fermi energy.

Na2IrO3 as a novel relativistic Mott insulator with a 340-meV gap.

We study Na2IrO3 by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, optics, and band structure calculations in the local-density approximation (LDA). The weak dispersion of the Ir 5d-t(2g) manifold highlights the importance of structural distortions and spin-orbit (SO) coupling in driving the system closer to a Mott transition. We detect an insulating gap Δ(gap)≃340 meV which, at variance with a Slater-type description, is already open at 300 K and does not show significant temperature dependence even across T(N)≃15 K. An LDA analysis with the inclusion of SO and Coulomb repulsion U reveals that, while the prodromes of an underlying insulating state are already found in LDA+SO, the correct gap magnitude can only be reproduced by LDA+SO+U, with U=3 eV. This establishes Na2IrO3 as a novel type of Mott-like correlated insulator in which Coulomb and relativistic effects have to be treated on an equal footing.

[Uroflowmetry and ultrasound residual urine determination in pregnancy and post partum]. / Uroflowmetrie und sonographische Restharnbestimmung in der Gravidität und post partum.

In order to estimate the influence of adaptational processes during pregnancy and post partum on micturition, uroflow-parameters (3) and residual urine were examined in 119 healthy women. Comparisons were made between women in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimester of pregnancy, women who were between 1 and 5 days post partum and nonpregnant, fertile women. Compared with the control group the mean flow was significantly lower during the 2. and 3. trimester. Time taken to achieve maximum flow was significantly higher after spontaneous delivery compared with the control group. During pregnancy and after delivery an increase in flow time could be shown. During the 3rd trimester time taken to achieve maximum flow was noticeably higher than in the other groups. Both mean and maximum flow were lower during pregnancy and after spontaneous delivery than in the control group. Residual urine increased mainly during the 1. trimester and showed the highest value after delivery. As all the investigated differences stayed within the standardized values, uroflowmetric investigations and ultrasonic residual urine estimation during pregnancy and after delivery are only necessary if suspicious symptoms on the part of the urinary tract exist.

New limit on signals of Lorentz violation in electrodynamics.

We describe the results of an experiment to test for spacetime anisotropy terms that might exist from Lorentz violations. The apparatus consists of a pair of cylindrical superconducting cavity-stabilized oscillators operating in the TM010 mode with one axis east-west and the other vertical. Spatial anisotropy is detected by monitoring the beat frequency at the sidereal rate and its first harmonic. We see no anisotropy to a part in 10(13). This puts a comparable bound on four linear combinations of parameters in the general standard model extension, and a weaker bound of < 4 x 10(-9) on three others.