533 research outputs found
Gravitational energy of conical defects
The energy density of asymptotically flat gravitational fields can be
calculated from a simple expression involving the trace of the torsion tensor.
Integration of this energy density over the whole space yields the ADM energy.
Such expression can be justified within the framework of the teleparallel
equivalent of general relativity, which is an alternative geometrical
formulation of Einstein's general relativity. In this paper we apply this
energy density to the evaluation of the energy per unit length of a class of
conical defects of topological nature, which include disclinations and
dislocations (in the terminology of crystallography). Disclinations correspond
to cosmic strings, and for a spacetime endowed with only such a defect we
obtain precisely the well known expression of energy per unit length. However
for a pure spacetime dislocation the total gravitational energy is zero.Comment: 16 pages, LaTex file, no figure, additional text included, to appear
in the J. Math. Phy
Gravitational energy of rotating black holes
In the teleparallel equivalent of general relativity the energy density of
asymptotically flat gravitational fields can be naturaly defined as a scalar
density restricted to a three-dimensional spacelike hypersurface .
Integration over the whole yields the standard ADM energy. After
establishing the reference space with zero gravitational energy we obtain the
expression of the localized energy for a Kerr black hole. The expression of the
energy inside a surface of constant radius can be explicitly calculated in the
limit of small , the specific angular momentum. Such expression turns out to
be exactly the same as the one obtained by means of the method preposed
recently by Brown and York. We also calculate the energy contained within the
outer horizon of the black hole for {\it any} value of . The result is
practically indistinguishable from , where is the
irreducible mass of the black hole.Comment: 18 pages, LaTex file, one figur
Bright betatron x-ray radiation from a laser-driven-clustering gas target
Hard X-ray sources from femtosecond (fs) laser-produced plasmas, including the betatron X-rays from laser wakefield-accelerated electrons, have compact sizes, fs pulse duration and fs pump-probe capability, making it promising for wide use in material and biological sciences. Currently the main problem with such betatron X-ray sources is the limited average flux even with ultra-intense laser pulses. Here, we report ultra-bright betatron X-rays can be generated using a clustering gas jet target irradiated with a small size laser, where a ten-fold enhancement of the X-ray yield is achieved compared to the results obtained using a gas target. We suggest the increased X-ray photon is due to the existence of clusters in the gas, which results in increased total electron charge trapped for acceleration and larger wiggling amplitudes during the acceleration. This observation opens a route to produce high betatron average flux using small but high repetition rate laser facilities for applications
Self-guided wakefield experiments driven by petawatt class ultra-short laser pulses
We investigate the extension of self-injecting laser wakefield experiments to
the regime that will be accessible with the next generation of petawatt class
ultra-short pulse laser systems. Using linear scalings, current experimental
trends and numerical simulations we determine the optimal laser and target
parameters, i.e. focusing geometry, plasma density and target length, that are
required to increase the electron beam energy (to > 1 GeV) without the use of
external guiding structures.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figure
Stochastic Population Dynamics of a Montane Ground-Dwelling Squirrel
Understanding the causes and consequences of population fluctuations is a central goal of ecology. We used demographic data from a long-term (1990–2008) study and matrix population models to investigate factors and processes influencing the dynamics and persistence of a golden-mantled ground squirrel (Callospermophilus lateralis) population, inhabiting a dynamic subalpine habitat in Colorado, USA. The overall deterministic population growth rate λ was 0.94±SE 0.05 but it varied widely over time, ranging from 0.45±0.09 in 2006 to 1.50±0.12 in 2003, and was below replacement (λ<1) for 9 out of 18 years. The stochastic population growth rate λs was 0.92, suggesting a declining population; however, the 95% CI on λs included 1.0 (0.52–1.60). Stochastic elasticity analysis showed that survival of adult females, followed by survival of juvenile females and litter size, were potentially the most influential vital rates; analysis of life table response experiments revealed that the same three life history variables made the largest contributions to year-to year changes in λ. Population viability analysis revealed that, when the influences of density dependence and immigration were not considered, the population had a high (close to 1.0 in 50 years) probability of extinction. However, probability of extinction declined to as low as zero when density dependence and immigration were considered. Destabilizing effects of stochastic forces were counteracted by regulating effects of density dependence and rescue effects of immigration, which allowed our study population to bounce back from low densities and prevented extinction. These results suggest that dynamics and persistence of our study population are determined synergistically by density-dependence, stochastic forces, and immigration
Laser-wakefield accelerators as hard x-ray sources for 3D medical imaging of human bone
A bright μm-sized source of hard synchrotron x-rays (critical energy Ecrit > 30 keV) based on the betatron oscillations of laser wakefield accelerated electrons has been developed. The potential of this source for medical imaging was demonstrated by performing micro-computed tomography of a human femoral trabecular bone sample, allowing full 3D reconstruction to a resolution below 50 μm. The use of a 1 cm long wakefield accelerator means that the length of the beamline (excluding the laser) is dominated by the x-ray imaging distances rather than the electron acceleration distances. The source possesses high peak brightness, which allows each image to be recorded with a single exposure and reduces the time required for a full tomographic scan. These properties make this an interesting laboratory source for many tomographic imaging applications
Accurate and linear time pose estimation from points and lines
The final publication is available at link.springer.comThe Perspective-n-Point (PnP) problem seeks to estimate the pose of a calibrated camera from n 3Dto-2D point correspondences. There are situations, though, where PnP solutions are prone to fail because feature point correspondences cannot be reliably estimated (e.g. scenes with repetitive patterns or with low texture). In such
scenarios, one can still exploit alternative geometric entities, such as lines, yielding the so-called Perspective-n-Line (PnL) algorithms. Unfortunately, existing PnL solutions are not as accurate and efficient as their point-based
counterparts. In this paper we propose a novel approach to introduce 3D-to-2D line correspondences into a PnP formulation, allowing to simultaneously process points and lines. For this purpose we introduce an algebraic line error
that can be formulated as linear constraints on the line endpoints, even when these are not directly observable. These constraints can then be naturally integrated within the linear formulations of two state-of-the-art point-based algorithms,
the OPnP and the EPnP, allowing them to indistinctly handle points, lines, or a combination of them. Exhaustive experiments show that the proposed formulation brings remarkable boost in performance compared to only point or
only line based solutions, with a negligible computational overhead compared to the original OPnP and EPnP.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft
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