666 research outputs found
Extremal discs and the holomorphic extension from convex hypersurfaces
Let D be a convex domain with smooth boundary in complex space and let f be a
continuous function on the boundary of D. Suppose that f holomorphically
extends to the extremal discs tangent to a convex subdomain of D. We prove that
f holomorphically extends to D. The result partially answers a conjecture by
Globevnik and Stout of 1991
Crack tip fields and fracture resistance parameters based on strain gradient plasticity
The crack tip mechanics of strain gradient plasticity solids is investigated
analytically and numerically. A first-order mechanism-based strain gradient
(MSG) plasticity theory based on Taylor's dislocation model is adopted and
implemented in the commercial finite element package ANSYS by means of a user
subroutine. Two boundary value problems are considered, a single edge tension
specimen and a biaxially loaded plate. First, crack tip fields are
characterized. Strain gradient effects associated with dislocation hardening
mechanisms elevate crack tip stresses relative to conventional plasticity. A
parametric study is conducted and differences with conventional plasticity
predictions are quantified. Moreover, the asymptotic nature of the crack tip
solution is investigated. The numerical results reveal that the singularity
order predicted by the first-order MSG theory is equal or higher to that of
linear elastic solids. Also, the crack tip field appears not to have a
separable solution. Moreover, contrarily to what has been shown in the higher
order version of MSG plasticity, the singularity order exhibits sensitivity to
the plastic material properties. Secondly, analytical and numerical approaches
are employed to formulate novel amplitude factors for strain gradient
plasticity. A generalized J-integral is derived and used to characterize a
nonlinear amplitude factor. A closed-form equation for the analytical stress
intensity factor is obtained. Amplitude factors are also derived by decomposing
the numerical solution for the crack tip stress field. Nonlinear amplitude
factor solutions are determined across a wide range of values for the material
length scale l and the strain hardening exponent N. The domains of strain
gradient relevance are identified, setting the basis for the application of
first-order MSG plasticity for fracture and damage assessment
Nature of the light scalar mesons
Despite the apparent simplicity of meson spectroscopy, light scalar mesons
cannot be accommodated in the usual structure. We study the
description of the scalar mesons below 2 GeV in terms of the mixing of a chiral
nonet of tetraquarks with conventional states. A strong
diquark-antidiquark component is found for several states. The consideration of
a glueball as dictated by quenched lattice QCD drives a coherent picture of the
isoscalar mesons.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Hydrobionts of a freshwater oil-polluted northern lake: bioaccumulation of heavy metals in fish and the rate of ecosystem recovery
The response of phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthic and fish community structure to one of the biggest oil spill in history of Komi Republic (north-west part of Russia) was investigated using data from a long-term survey off the polluted lake. The characteristics of aquatic freshwater communities observed in the study area 10, 11 and 22 years after the spill (1994) were compared to find out the rate of natural recovery of the ecosystem after oil decontamination of bottom sediments. The concentrations of fifteen trace metals (Al, Cr, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Mo, Cd, Sb, Pb, U, Bi, Th) were analyzed in the tissues (muscle) of three fish species. The concentrations of Al (3-309 mg/kg), Cr (0,1-3,71 mg/kg), Fe (8,6-317 mg/kg), and Cu (0,09-99 mg/kg) in fishes from polluted lake resulted in most cases higher than reference thresholds. Quantitative and qualitative indicators of aquatic invertebrates from polluted lake reach those one of unpolluted lake but do not fully recover 22 years after the spill, despite that oil concentration in water column and in bottom sediments was lower than reference tresholds. We conclude that natural recovery rate of aquatic freshwater ecosystems in northern regions after oil pollution is extremely low. The purification of water and bottom sediments of oil-polluted northern water bodies is necessary for stimulation of ecosystem restoration
Observation of a narrow baryon resonance with positive strangeness formed in Xe collisions
The charge-exchange reaction K^+ Xe --> K^0 p Xe' is investigated using the
data of the DIANA experiment. The distribution of the pK^0 effective mass shows
a prominent enhancement near 1538 MeV formed by \sim 80 events above the
background, whose width is consistent with being entirely due to the
experimental resolution. Under the selections based on a simulation of K^+Xe
collisions, the statistical significance of the signal reaches 5.5\sigma. We
interpret this observation as strong evidence for formation of a pentaquark
baryon with positive strangeness, \Theta^+(uudd\bar{s}), in the charge-exchange
reaction K^+ n --> K^0 p on a bound neutron. The mass of the \Theta^+ baryon is
measured as m(\Theta^+) = 1538+-2 MeV. Using the ratio between the numbers of
resonant and non-resonant charge-exchange events in the peak region, the
intrinsic width of this baryon resonance is determined as \Gamma(\Theta^+) =
0.34+-0.10 MeV.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figure
Further evidence for formation of a narrow baryon resonance with positive strangeness in K+ collisions with Xe nuclei
We have continued our investigation of the charge-exchange reaction K^+ Xe
--> K^0 p Xe' in the bubble chamber DIANA. In agreement with our previous
results based on part of the present statistics, formation of a narrow p K^0
resonance with mass of 1537+-2 MeV/c^2 is observed in the elementary transition
K^+ n --> K^0 p on a neutron bound in the Xenon nucleus. Visible width of the
peak is consistent with being entirely due to instrumental resolution and
allows to place an upper limit on its intrinsic width: \Gamma < 9 MeV/c^2. A
more precise estimate of the resonance intrinsic width, \Gamma = 0.36+-0.11
MeV/c^2, is obtained from the ratio between the numbers of resonant and
non-resonant charge-exchange events. The signal is observed in a restricted
interval of incident K^+ momentum, that is consistent with smearing of a narrow
p K^0 resonance by Fermi motion of the target neutron. Statistical significance
of the signal is some 7.3, 5.3, and 4.3 standard deviations for the estimators
S/sqrt{B}, S/sqrt{S+B}, and S/sqrt{S+2B}, respectively. This observation
confirms and reinforces our earlier results, and offers strong evidence for
formation of a pentaquark baryon with positive strangeness in the
charge-exchange reaction K^+ n --> K^0 p on a bound neutron.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, some chenges in text and references, more
precise estimate of Theta(1540) to add, submitted to Phys.Atom.Nucl(Yad.Fiz.
Beyond Einstein-Cartan gravity: Quadratic torsion and curvature invariants with even and odd parity including all boundary terms
Recently, gravitational gauge theories with torsion have been discussed by an
increasing number of authors from a classical as well as from a quantum field
theoretical point of view. The Einstein-Cartan(-Sciama-Kibble) Lagrangian has
been enriched by the parity odd pseudoscalar curvature (Hojman, Mukku, and
Sayed) and by torsion square and curvature square pieces, likewise of even and
odd parity. (i) We show that the inverse of the so-called Barbero-Immirzi
parameter multiplying the pseudoscalar curvature, because of the topological
Nieh-Yan form, can only be appropriately discussed if torsion square pieces are
included. (ii) The quadratic gauge Lagrangian with both parities, proposed by
Obukhov et al. and Baekler et al., emerges also in the framework of Diakonov et
al.(2011). We establish the exact relations between both approaches by applying
the topological Euler and Pontryagin forms in a Riemann-Cartan space expressed
for the first time in terms of irreducible pieces of the curvature tensor.
(iii) Only in a Riemann-Cartan spacetime, that is, in a spacetime with torsion,
parity violating terms can be brought into the gravitational Lagrangian in a
straightforward and natural way. Accordingly, Riemann-Cartan spacetime is a
natural habitat for chiral fermionic matter fields.Comment: 12 page latex, as version 2 an old file was submitted by mistake,
this is now the real corrected fil
Strain-gradient position mapping of semiconductor quantum dots
COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESWe introduce a nondestructive method to determine the position of randomly distributed semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) integrated in a solid photonic structure. By setting the structure in an oscillating motion, we generate a large stress gradient across the QDs plane. We then exploit the fact that the QDs emission frequency is highly sensitive to the local material stress to map the position of QDs deeply embedded in a photonic wire antenna with an accuracy ranging from +/- 35 nm down to +/- 1 nm. In the context of fast developing quantum technologies, this technique can be generalized to different photonic nanostructures embedding any stress-sensitive quantum emitters.1181116COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPES88887.059630/2014-00The authors wish to thank E. Gautier for the FIB cut and images. Sample fabrication was carried out in the Upstream Nanofabrication Facility (PTA) and CEA LETI MINATEC/DOPT clean rooms. P.-L. de Assis was financially supported by Agence Nationale de la Recherche (Project No. ANR-11-BS10-011) and CAPES Young Talents Fellowship Grant No. 88887.059630/2014-00, and D. Tumanov by a doctoral scholarship from the Rhône-Alpes Region
LIGHT/TNFSR14 Can Regulate Hepatic Lipase Expression by Hepatocytes Independent of T Cells and Kupffer Cells
Abstract LIGHT/TNFSF14 is a costimulatory molecule expressed on activated T cells for activation and maintenance of T cell homeostasis. LIGHT over expressed in T cells also down regulates hepatic lipase levels in mice through lymphotoxin beta receptor (LTbR) signaling. It is unclear whether LIGHT regulates hepatic lipase directly by interacting with LTbR expressing cells in the liver or indirectly by activation of T cells, and whether Kupffer cells, a major cell populations in the liver that expresses the LTbR, are required. Here we report that LIGHT expression via an adenoviral vector (Ad-LIGHT) is sufficient to down regulate hepatic lipase expression in mice. Depletion of Kupffer cells using clodronate liposomes had no effect on LIGHT-mediated down regulation of hepatic lipase. LIGHT-mediated regulation of hepatic lipase is also independent of LIGHT expression by T cells or activation of T cells. This is demonstrated by the decreased hepatic lipase expression in the liver of Ad-LIGHT infected recombination activating gene deficient mice that lack mature T cells and by the Ad-LIGHT infection of primary hepatocytes. Hepatic lipase expression was not responsive to LIGHT when mice lacking LTbR globally or only on hepatocytes were infected with Ad-LIGHT. Therefore, our data argues that interaction of LIGHT with LTbR on hepatocytes, but not Kupffer cells, is sufficient to down regulate hepatic lipase expression and that this effect can be independent of LIGHT's costimulatory function
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