7,136 research outputs found
Influence of functional rider and horse asymmetries on saddle force distribution during stance and in sitting trot
Asymmetric forces exerted on the horse's back during riding are assumed to have a negative effect on rider–horse interaction, athletic performance, and health of the horse. Visualized on a saddle pressure mat, they are initially blamed on a nonfitting saddle. The contribution of horse and rider to an asymmetric loading pattern, however, is not well understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of horse and rider asymmetries during stance and in sitting trot on the force distribution on the horse's back using a saddle pressure mat and motion capture analysis simultaneously. Data of 80 horse-rider pairs (HRP) were collected and analyzed using linear (mixed) models to determine the influence of rider and horse variables on asymmetric force distribution. Results showed high variation between HRP. Both rider and horse variables revealed significant relationships to asymmetric saddle force distribution (P < .001). During sitting trot, the collapse of the rider in one hip increased the force on the contralateral side, and the tilt of the rider's upper body to one side led to more force on the same side of the pressure mat. Analyzing different subsets of data revealed that rider posture as well as horse movements and conformation can cause an asymmetric force distribution. Because neither horse nor rider movement can be assessed independently during riding, the interpretation of an asymmetric force distribution on the saddle pressure mat remains challenging, and all contributing factors (horse, rider, saddle) need to be considered
A priori probability that a qubit-qutrit pair is separable
We extend to arbitrarily coupled pairs of qubits (two-state quantum systems)
and qutrits (three-state quantum systems) our earlier study (quant-ph/0207181),
which was concerned with the simplest instance of entangled quantum systems,
pairs of qubits. As in that analysis -- again on the basis of numerical
(quasi-Monte Carlo) integration results, but now in a still higher-dimensional
space (35-d vs. 15-d) -- we examine a conjecture that the Bures/SD (statistical
distinguishability) probability that arbitrarily paired qubits and qutrits are
separable (unentangled) has a simple exact value, u/(v Pi^3)= >.00124706, where
u = 2^20 3^3 5 7 and v = 19 23 29 31 37 41 43 (the product of consecutive
primes). This is considerably less than the conjectured value of the Bures/SD
probability, 8/(11 Pi^2) = 0736881, in the qubit-qubit case. Both of these
conjectures, in turn, rely upon ones to the effect that the SD volumes of
separable states assume certain remarkable forms, involving "primorial"
numbers. We also estimate the SD area of the boundary of separable qubit-qutrit
states, and provide preliminary calculations of the Bures/SD probability of
separability in the general qubit-qubit-qubit and qutrit-qutrit cases.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables, LaTeX, we utilize recent exact
computations of Sommers and Zyczkowski (quant-ph/0304041) of "the Bures
volume of mixed quantum states" to refine our conjecture
Bures volume of the set of mixed quantum states
We compute the volume of the N^2-1 dimensional set M_N of density matrices of
size N with respect to the Bures measure and show that it is equal to that of a
N^2-1 dimensional hyper-halfsphere of radius 1/2. For N=2 we obtain the volume
of the Uhlmann 3-D hemisphere, embedded in R^4. We find also the area of the
boundary of the set M_N and obtain analogous results for the smaller set of all
real density matrices. An explicit formula for the Bures-Hall normalization
constants is derived for an arbitrary N.Comment: 15 revtex pages, 2 figures in .eps; ver. 3, Eq. (4.19) correcte
Panchromatic Observations of SN 2011dh Point to a Compact Progenitor Star
We report the discovery and detailed monitoring of X-ray emission associated
with the Type IIb SN 2011dh using data from the Swift and Chandra satellites,
placing it among the best studied X-ray supernovae to date. We further present
millimeter and radio data obtained with the SMA, CARMA, and EVLA during the
first three weeks after explosion. Combining these observations with early
optical photometry, we show that the panchromatic dataset is well-described by
non-thermal synchrotron emission (radio/mm) with inverse Compton scattering
(X-ray) of a thermal population of optical photons. In this scenario, the shock
partition fractions deviate from equipartition by a factor, (e_e/e_B) ~ 30. We
derive the properties of the shockwave and the circumstellar environment and
find a shock velocity, v~0.1c, and a progenitor mass loss rate of ~6e-5
M_sun/yr. These properties are consistent with the sub-class of Type IIb SNe
characterized by compact progenitors (Type cIIb) and dissimilar from those with
extended progenitors (Type eIIb). Furthermore, we consider the early optical
emission in the context of a cooling envelope model to estimate a progenitor
radius of ~1e+11 cm, in line with the expectations for a Type cIIb SN.
Together, these diagnostics are difficult to reconcile with the extended radius
of the putative yellow supergiant progenitor star identified in archival HST
observations, unless the stellar density profile is unusual. Finally, we
searched for the high energy shock breakout pulse using X-ray and gamma-ray
observations obtained during the purported explosion date range. Based on the
compact radius of the progenitor, we estimate that the breakout pulse was
detectable with current instruments but likely missed due to their limited
temporal/spatial coverage. [Abridged]Comment: (27 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, final version to appear in ApJ
Ionization by bulk heating of electrons in capacitive radio frequency atmospheric pressure microplasmas
Electron heating and ionization dynamics in capacitively coupled radio
frequency (RF) atmospheric pressure microplasmas operated in helium are
investigated by Particle in Cell simulations and semi-analytical modeling. A
strong heating of electrons and ionization in the plasma bulk due to high bulk
electric fields are observed at distinct times within the RF period. Based on
the model the electric field is identified to be a drift field caused by a low
electrical conductivity due to the high electron-neutral collision frequency at
atmospheric pressure. Thus, the ionization is mainly caused by ohmic heating in
this "Omega-mode". The phase of strongest bulk electric field and ionization is
affected by the driving voltage amplitude. At high amplitudes, the plasma
density is high, so that the sheath impedance is comparable to the bulk
resistance. Thus, voltage and current are about 45{\deg} out of phase and
maximum ionization is observed during sheath expansion with local maxima at the
sheath edges. At low driving voltages, the plasma density is low and the
discharge becomes more resistive resulting in a smaller phase shift of about
4{\deg}. Thus, maximum ionization occurs later within the RF period with a
maximum in the discharge center. Significant analogies to electronegative low
pressure macroscopic discharges operated in the Drift-Ambipolar mode are found,
where similar mechanisms induced by a high electronegativity instead of a high
collision frequency have been identified
Disentangling Time-series Spectra with Gaussian Processes: Applications to Radial Velocity Analysis
Measurements of radial velocity variations from the spectroscopic monitoring of stars and their companions are essential for a broad swath of astrophysics; these measurements provide access to the fundamental physical properties that dictate all phases of stellar evolution and facilitate the quantitative study of planetary systems. The conversion of those measurements into both constraints on the orbital architecture and individual component spectra can be a serious challenge, however, especially for extreme flux ratio systems and observations with relatively low sensitivity. Gaussian processes define sampling distributions of flexible, continuous functions that are well-motivated for modeling stellar spectra, enabling proficient searches for companion lines in time-series spectra. We introduce a new technique for spectral disentangling, where the posterior distributions of the orbital parameters and intrinsic, rest-frame stellar spectra are explored simultaneously without needing to invoke cross-correlation templates. To demonstrate its potential, this technique is deployed on red-optical time-series spectra of the mid-M-dwarf binary LP661-13. We report orbital parameters with improved precision compared to traditional radial velocity analysis and successfully reconstruct the primary and secondary spectra. We discuss potential applications for other stellar and exoplanet radial velocity techniques and extensions to time-variable spectra. The code used in this analysis is freely available as an open-source Python package
A team approach to the indication for gender reassignment surgery in transsexuals resulting in long-term outcome improvement
At the University of Basel (Switzerland), a multidisciplinary team was established for pre-operative selection and treatment of patients with gender dysphoria. As a result, the indications for surgical gender reassignment could be judged with considerably greater accuracy than previously possible. In the 9-year period of this prospective study only 14 of 57 patients with gender dysphoria were selected for surgical treatment. At the time of this survey, six patients are still under psychiatric preoperative evaluation, and six further male-to-female transsexuals are under hormonal treatment awaiting surgery. Following the operation, only one of nine male-to-female patients is socially unstable and that patient's quality of life is worse than prior to gender reassignment. Of the female-to-male transsexuals, all four are stable in their professional and family relations. In conclusion, a comprehensive evaluation of patients with gender dysphoria and the conclusive indications established within the team considerably improved the postoperative outcome of gender reassignmen
The Influence of Quadrature Errors on Isogeometric Mortar Methods
Mortar methods have recently been shown to be well suited for isogeometric
analysis. We review the recent mathematical analysis and then investigate the
variational crime introduced by quadrature formulas for the coupling integrals.
Motivated by finite element observations, we consider a quadrature rule purely
based on the slave mesh as well as a method using quadrature rules based on the
slave mesh and on the master mesh, resulting in a non-symmetric saddle point
problem. While in the first case reduced convergence rates can be observed, in
the second case the influence of the variational crime is less significant
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