3,028 research outputs found
Non-abelian vortices on CP^1 and Grassmannians
Many properties of the moduli space of abelian vortices on a compact Riemann
surface are known. For non-abelian vortices the moduli space is less well
understood. Here we consider non-abelian vortices on the Riemann sphere CP^1,
and we study their moduli spaces near the Bradlow limit. We give an explicit
description of the moduli space as a Kahler quotient of a finite-dimensional
linear space. The dimensions of some of these moduli spaces are derived.
Strikingly, there exist non-abelian vortex configurations on CP^1, with
non-trivial vortex number, for which the moduli space is a point. This is in
stark contrast to the moduli space of abelian vortices. For a special class of
non-abelian vortices the moduli space is a Grassmannian, and the metric near
the Bradlow limit is a natural generalization of the Fubini--Study metric on
complex projective space. We use this metric to investigate the statistical
mechanics of non-abelian vortices. The partition function is found to be
analogous to the one for abelian vortices.Comment: minor corrections; some notation improve
Electron momentum distribution of a single mobile hole in the t-J model
We investigate the electron momentum distribution function (EMDF) for the
two-dimensional t-J model. The results are based on the self-consistent Born
approximation (SCBA) for the self-energy and the wave function. In the Ising
limit of the model we give the results in a closed form, in the Heisenberg
limit the results are obtained numerically. An anomalous momentum dependence of
EMDF is found and the anomaly is in the lowest order in number of magnons
expressed analitycally. We interpret the anomaly as a fingerprint of an
emerging large Fermi surface coexisting with hole pockets.Comment: M2S - submitted to Physica
Stem cells and fluid flow drive cyst formation in an invertebrate excretory organ.
Cystic kidney diseases (CKDs) affect millions of people worldwide. The defining pathological features are fluid-filled cysts developing from nephric tubules due to defective flow sensing, cell proliferation and differentiation. The underlying molecular mechanisms, however, remain poorly understood, and the derived excretory systems of established invertebrate models (Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster) are unsuitable to model CKDs. Systematic structure/function comparisons revealed that the combination of ultrafiltration and flow-associated filtrate modification that is central to CKD etiology is remarkably conserved between the planarian excretory system and the vertebrate nephron. Consistently, both RNA-mediated genetic interference (RNAi) of planarian orthologues of human CKD genes and inhibition of tubule flow led to tubular cystogenesis that share many features with vertebrate CKDs, suggesting deep mechanistic conservation. Our results demonstrate a common evolutionary origin of animal excretory systems and establish planarians as a novel and experimentally accessible invertebrate model for the study of human kidney pathologies
Femtosecond study of the interplay between excitons, trions, and carriers in (Cd,Mn)Te quantum wells
We present an absorption study of the neutral and positively charged exciton
(trion) under the influence of a femtosecond, circularly polarized, resonant
pump pulse. Three populations are involved: free holes, excitons, and trions,
all exhibiting transient spin polarization. In particular, a polarization of
the hole gas is created by the formation of trions. The evolution of these
populations is studied, including the spin flip and trion formation processes.
The contributions of several mechanisms to intensity changes are evaluated,
including phase space filling and spin-dependent screening. We propose a new
explanation of the oscillator strength stealing phenomena observed in p-doped
quantum wells, based on the screening of neutral excitons by charge carriers.
We have also found that binding heavy holes into charged excitons excludes them
from the interaction with the rest of the system, so that oscillator strength
stealing is partially blockedComment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Multicellularity in animals: The potential for within-organism conflict.
Metazoans function as individual organisms but also as “colonies” of cells whose single-celled ancestors lived and reproduced independently. Insights from evolutionary biology about multicellular group formation help us understand the behavior of cells: why they cooperate, and why cooperation sometimes breaks down. Current explanations for multicellularity focus on two aspects of development which promote cooperation and limit conflict among cells: a single-cell bottleneck, which creates organisms composed of clones, and a separation of somatic and germ cell lineages, which reduces the selective advantage of cheating. However, many obligately multicellular organisms thrive with neither, creating the potential for within-organism conflict. Here, we argue that the prevalence of such organisms throughout the Metazoa requires us to refine our preconceptions of conflict-free multicellularity. Evolutionary theory must incorporate developmental mechanisms across a broad range of organisms—such as unusual reproductive strategies, totipotency, and cell competition—while developmental biology must incorporate evolutionary principles. To facilitate this cross-disciplinary approach, we provide a conceptual overview from evolutionary biology for developmental biologists, using analogous examples in the well-studied social insects
Are Assumptions of Well-Known Statistical Techniques Checked, and Why (Not)?
A valid interpretation of most statistical techniques requires that one or more assumptions be met. In published articles, however, little information tends to be reported on whether the data satisfy the assumptions underlying the statistical techniques used. This could be due to self-selection: Only manuscripts with data fulfilling the assumptions are submitted. Another explanation could be that violations of assumptions are rarely checked for in the first place. We studied whether and how 30 researchers checked fictitious data for violations of assumptions in their own working environment. Participants were asked to analyze the data as they would their own data, for which often used and well-known techniques such as the t-procedure, ANOVA and regression (or non-parametric alternatives) were required. It was found that the assumptions of the techniques were rarely checked, and that if they were, it was regularly by means of a statistical test. Interviews afterward revealed a general lack of knowledge about assumptions, the robustness of the techniques with regards to the assumptions, and how (or whether) assumptions should be checked. These data suggest that checking for violations of assumptions is not a well-considered choice, and that the use of statistics can be described as opportunistic
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