Ab Initio Approach to the Non-Perturbative Scalar Yukawa Model

We report on the first non-perturbative calculation of the scalar Yukawa model in the single-nucleon sector up to four-body Fock sector truncation (one "scalar nucleon" and three "scalar pions"). The light-front Hamiltonian approach with a systematic non-perturbative renormalization is applied. We study the $n$-body norms and the electromagnetic form factor. We find that the one- and two-body contributions dominate up to coupling $\alpha \approx 1.7$. As we approach the coupling $\alpha \approx 2.2$, we discover that the four-body contribution rises rapidly and overtakes the two- and three-body contributions. By comparing with lower sector truncations, we show that the form factor converges with respect to the Fock sector expansion.Comment: 8 pages, 12 figures, to be published in Phys. Lett.

Coronal magnetic fields produced by photospheric shear

The magneto-frictional method is used for computing force free fields to examine the evolution of the magnetic field of a line dipole, when there is relative shearing motion between the two polarities. It found that the energy of the sheared field can be arbitrarily large compared with the potential field. It is also found that it is possible to fit the magnetic energy, as a function of shear, by a simple functional form

Interacting Multiple Model-Feedback Particle Filter for Stochastic Hybrid Systems

In this paper, a novel feedback control-based particle filter algorithm for the continuous-time stochastic hybrid system estimation problem is presented. This particle filter is referred to as the interacting multiple model-feedback particle filter (IMM-FPF), and is based on the recently developed feedback particle filter. The IMM-FPF is comprised of a series of parallel FPFs, one for each discrete mode, and an exact filter recursion for the mode association probability. The proposed IMM-FPF represents a generalization of the Kalmanfilter based IMM algorithm to the general nonlinear filtering problem. The remarkable conclusion of this paper is that the IMM-FPF algorithm retains the innovation error-based feedback structure even for the nonlinear problem. The interaction/merging process is also handled via a control-based approach. The theoretical results are illustrated with the aid of a numerical example problem for a maneuvering target tracking application

Stable embedded solitons

Stable embedded solitons are discovered in the generalized third-order nonlinear Schroedinger equation. When this equation can be reduced to a perturbed complex modified KdV equation, we developed a soliton perturbation theory which shows that a continuous family of sech-shaped embedded solitons exist and are nonlinearly stable. These analytical results are confirmed by our numerical simulations. These results establish that, contrary to previous beliefs, embedded solitons can be robust despite being in resonance with the linear spectrum.Comment: 2 figures. To appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Shape sensing of miniature snake-like robots using optical fibers

Snake like continuum robots are increasingly used for minimally invasive surgery. Most robotic devices of this sort that have been reported to date are controlled in an open loop manner. Using shape sensing to provide closed loop feedback would allow for more accurate control of the robot's position and, hence, more precise surgery. Fiber Bragg Gratings, magnetic sensors and optical reflectance sensors have all been reported for this purpose but are often limited by their cost, size, stiffness or complexity of fabrication. To address this issue, we designed, manufactured and tested a prototype two-link robot with a built-in fiber-optic shape sensor that can deliver and control the position of a CO 2 -laser fiber for soft tissue ablation. The shape sensing is based on optical reflectance, and the device (which has a 4 mm outer diameter) is fabricated using 3D printing. Here we present proof-of-concept results demonstrating successful shape sensing - i.e. measurement of the angular displacement of the upper link of the robot relative to the lower link - in real time with a mean measurement error of only 0.7°

Dynamical excitations in the collision of 2D Bose-Einstein condensates

We carry out simulations of the collision of two components of an adiabatically divided, quasi-2D BEC. We identify under, over and critically damped regimes in the dipole oscillations of the components according to the balance of internal and centre-of-mass (c.m.) energies of the components and investigate the creation of internal excitations. We distinguish the behaviour of this system from previous studies of quasi-1D BEC's. In particular we note that the nature of the internal excitations is only essentially sensitive to an initial phase difference between the components in the overdamped regime.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figure

Simulating quantum transport for a quasi-one-dimensional Bose gas in an optical lattice: the choice of fluctuation modes in the truncated Wigner approximation

We study the effect of quantum fluctuations on the dynamics of a quasi-one-dimensional Bose gas in an optical lattice at zero-temperature using the truncated Wigner approximation with a variety of basis sets for the initial fluctuation modes. The initial spatial distributions of the quantum fluctuations are very different when using a limited number of plane-wave (PW), simple-harmonic-oscillator (SHO) and self-consistently determined Bogoliubov (SCB) modes. The short-time transport properties of the Bose gas, characterized by the phase coherence in the PW basis are distinct from those gained using the SHO and SCB basis. The calculations using the SCB modes predict greater phase decoherence and stronger number fluctuations than the other choices. Furthermore, we observe that the use of PW modes overestimates the extent to which atoms are expelled from the core of the cloud, while the use of the other modes only breaks the cloud structure slightly which is in agreement with the experimental observations [1].Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure

A plausible mechanism for the evolution of helical forms in nanostructure growth

The observation of helices and coils in nano-tube/-fiber (NT/NF) syntheses is explained on the basis of the interactions between specific catalyst particles and the growing nanostructure. In addition to rationalizing nonlinear structure, the proposed model probes the interplay between thermodynamic quantities and predicts conditions for optimal growth. Experimental results on the effect of indium catalyst on affecting the coil pitch in NTs and NFs are presented

No association of CTLA-4 polymorphisms with susceptibility to Behcet disease

Background: Cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) is a key negative regulator of T lymphocytes and has been shown to be associated with a number of autoimmune diseases. The present study was performed to assess the association between CTLA-4 polymorphisms and Behcet disease (BD) in Chinese patients. Methods: Two hundred and twenty-eight BD patients and 207 controls were analysed for four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (21661A/G, 2318C/T, + 49G/A and CT60G/A) in the CTLA-4 gene by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. The association between SNP +49A/G and BD in Chinese population as well as other ethnic groups was analysed by meta-analysis. Results: No association could be detected between CTLA-4 SNPs or haplotypes and BD. Also, no association was observed between CTLA-4 polymorphisms and BD subgroups, stratified by clinical features. A meta-analysis showed that there was no heterogeneity between studies (p = 0.60, I-2 = 0%) and that CTLA-4 SNP + 49 was not associated with BD (overall effect: Z = 0.26, p = 0.79). Conclusion: This study and a meta-analysis failed to demonstrate any association between the tested CTLA-4 polymorphisms and B