16,980 research outputs found
Testing Lorentz symmetry with planetary orbital dynamics
Planetary ephemerides are a very powerful tool to constrain deviations from
the theory of General Relativity using orbital dynamics. The effective field
theory framework called the Standard-Model Extension (SME) has been developed
in order to systematically parametrize hypothetical violations of Lorentz
symmetry (in the Standard Model and in the gravitational sector). In this
communication, we use the latest determinations of the supplementary advances
of the perihelia and of the nodes obtained by planetary ephemerides analysis to
constrain SME coefficients from the pure gravity sector and also from
gravity-matter couplings. Our results do not show any deviation from GR and
they improve current constraints. Moreover, combinations with existing
constraints from Lunar Laser Ranging and from atom interferometry gravimetry
allow us to disentangle contributions from the pure gravity sector from the
gravity-matter couplings.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Adjustable reach in a network centrality based on current flows
Centrality, which quantifies the "importance" of individual nodes, is among
the most essential concepts in modern network theory. Most prominent centrality
measures can be expressed as an aggregation of influence flows between pairs of
nodes. As there are many ways in which influence can be defined, many different
centrality measures are in use. Parametrized centralities allow further
flexibility and utility by tuning the centrality calculation to the regime most
appropriate for a given network. Here, we identify two categories of centrality
parameters. Reach parameters control the attenuation of influence flows between
distant nodes. Grasp parameters control the centrality's potential to send
influence flows along multiple, often nongeodesic paths. Combining these
categories with Borgatti's centrality types [S. P. Borgatti, Social Networks
27, 55-71 (2005)], we arrive at a novel classification system for parametrized
centralities. Using this classification, we identify the notable absence of any
centrality measures that are radial, reach parametrized, and based on acyclic,
conservative flows of influence. We therefore introduce the ground-current
centrality, which is a measure of precisely this type. Because of its unique
position in the taxonomy, the ground-current centrality has significant
advantages over similar centralities. We demonstrate that, compared to other
conserved-flow centralities, it has a simpler mathematical description.
Compared to other reach centralities, it robustly preserves an intuitive rank
ordering across a wide range of network architectures. We also show that it
produces a consistent distribution of centrality values among the nodes,
neither trivially equally spread (delocalization), nor overly focused on a few
nodes (localization). Other reach centralities exhibit both of these behaviors
on regular networks and hub networks, respectively
An Analysis of the Shapes of Interstellar Extinction Curves. V. The IR-Through-UV Curve Morphology
We study the IR-through-UV interstellar extinction curves towards 328
Galactic B and late-O stars. We use a new technique which employs stellar
atmosphere models in lieu of unreddened "standard" stars. This technique is
capable of virtually eliminating spectral mismatch errors in the curves. It
also allows a quantitative assessment of the errors and enables a rigorous
testing of the significance of relationships between various curve parameters,
regardless of whether their uncertainties are correlated. Analysis of the
curves gives the following results: (1) In accord with our previous findings,
the central position of the 2175 A extinction bump is mildly variable, its
width is highly variable, and the two variations are unrelated. (2) Strong
correlations are found among some extinction properties within the UV region,
and within the IR region. (3) With the exception of a few curves with extreme
(i.e., large) values of R(V), the UV and IR portions of Galactic extinction
curves are not correlated with each other. (4) The large sightline-to-sightline
variation seen in our sample implies that any average Galactic extinction curve
will always reflect the biases of its parent sample. (5) The use of an average
curve to deredden a spectral energy distribution (SED) will result in
significant errors, and a realistic error budget for the dereddened SED must
include the observed variance of Galactic curves. While the observed large
sightline-to-sightline variations, and the lack of correlation among the
various features of the curves, make it difficult to meaningfully characterize
average extinction properties, they demonstrate that extinction curves respond
sensitively to local conditions. Thus, each curve contains potentially unique
information about the grains along its sightline.Comment: To appear in the Astrophysical Journal, Part 1, July 1, 2007. Figures
and Tables which will appear only in the electronic version of the Journal
can be obtained via anonymous ftp from ftp://ftp.astronomy.villanova.edu .
After logging in, change directories to "fitz/FMV_EXTINCTION". A README file
describes the various files present in the director
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