1,325 research outputs found
A statistical analysis of product prices in online markets
We empirically investigate fluctuations in product prices in online markets
by using a tick-by-tick price data collected from a Japanese price comparison
site, and find some similarities and differences between product and asset
prices. The average price of a product across e-retailers behaves almost like a
random walk, although the probability of price increase/decrease is higher
conditional on the multiple events of price increase/decrease. This is quite
similar to the property reported by previous studies about asset prices.
However, we fail to find a long memory property in the volatility of product
price changes. Also, we find that the price change distribution for product
prices is close to an exponential distribution, rather than a power law
distribution. These two findings are in a sharp contrast with the previous
results regarding asset prices. We propose an interpretation that these
differences may stem from the absence of speculative activities in product
markets; namely, e-retailers seldom repeat buy and sell of a product, unlike
traders in asset markets.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, proceedings of APFA
Straight GDP-Tubulin Protofilaments Form in the Presence of Taxol
International audienceMicrotubules exist in dynamic equilibrium, growing and shrinking by the addition or loss of tubulin dimers from the ends of protofilaments. The hydrolysis of GTP in b-tubulin destabilizes the microtubule lattice by increasing the curvature of protofilaments in the microtubule and putting strain on the lattice. The ob- servation that protofilament curvature depends on GTP hydrolysis suggests that microtubule destabil- izers and stabilizers work by modulating the curvature of the microtubule lattice itself. Indeed, the microtu- bule destabilizer MCAK has been shown to increase the curvature of protofilaments during depolymeriza- tion. Here, we show that the atomic force microscopy (AFM) of individual tubulin protofilaments provides sufficient resolution to allow the imaging of single pro- tofilaments in their native environment. By using this assay, we confirm previous results for the effects of GTP hydrolysis and MCAK on the conformation of pro- tofilaments. We go on to show that taxol stabilizes microtubules by straightening the GDP protofilament and slowing down the transition of protofilaments from straight to a curved configuration
Cytoskeletal interactions at the nuclear envelope mediated by Nesprins
Nesprin-1 is a giant tail-anchored nuclear envelope protein composed of an N-terminal F-actin binding domain, a long linker region formed by multiple spectrin repeats and a C-terminal transmembrane domain. Based on this structure, it connects the nucleus to the actin cytoskeleton. Earlier reports had shown that Nesprin-1 binds to nuclear envelope proteins emerin and lamin through C-terminal spectrin repeats. These repeats can also self-associate. We focus on the N-terminal Nesprin-1 sequences and show that they interact with Nesprin-3, a further member of the Nesprin family, which connects the nucleus to the intermediate filament network. We show that upon ectopic expression of Nesprin-3 in COS7 cells, which are nearly devoid of Nesprin-3 in vitro, vimentin filaments are recruited to the nucleus and provide evidence for an F-actin interaction of Nesprin-3 in vitro. We propose that Nesprins through interactions amongst themselves and amongst the various Nesprins form a network around the nucleus and connect the nucleus to several cytoskeletal networks of the cell
The low energy limit of the non-commutative Wess-Zumino model
The non-commutative Wess-Zumino model is used as a prototype for studying the
low energy behaviour of a renormalizable non-commutative field theory. We start
by deriving the potential mediating the fermion-fermion and boson-boson
interactions in the non-relativistic regime. The quantum counterparts of these
potentials are afflicted by irdering ambiguities but we show that there exists
an ordering prescription which makes them hermitean. For space/space
noncommutativity it turns out that Majorana fermions may be pictured as rods
oriented perpendicularly to the direction of motion showing a lack of
localituy, while bosons remain insensitive to the effects of noncommutativity.
For time/space noncommutativity bosopns and fermions can be regarded as rods
oriented along the direction of motion. For both cases of noncommutativity the
scattering state described scattered waves, with at least one wave having
negative time delay signalizing the underlying nonlocality. The superfield
formulation of the model is used to compute the corresponding effective action
in the one- and two-loop approximations. In the case of time/space
noncommutativity, unitarity is violated in the relativistic regime. However,
this does not preclude the existence of the unitary low energy limit.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures, minor correction
On the Formation Height of the SDO/HMI Fe 6173 Doppler Signal
The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) onboard the Solar Dynamics
Observatory (SDO) is designed to study oscillations and the mag- netic field in
the solar photosphere. It observes the full solar disk in the Fe I absorption
line at 6173\AA . We use the output of a high-resolution 3D, time- dependent,
radiation-hydrodynamic simulation based on the CO5BOLD code to calculate
profiles F({\lambda},x,y,t) for the Fe I 6173{\AA} line. The emerging profiles
F({\lambda},x,y,t) are multiplied by a representative set of HMI filter
transmission profiles R_i({\lambda},1 \leq i \leq 6) and filtergrams
I_i(x,y,t;1 \leq i \leq 6) are constructed for six wavelengths. Doppler
velocities V_HMI(x,y,t) are determined from these filtergrams using a
simplified version of the HMI pipeline. The Doppler velocities are correlated
with the original velocities in the simulated atmosphere. The cross-
correlation peaks near 100 km, suggesting that the HMI Doppler velocity signal
is formed rather low in the solar atmosphere. The same analysis is performed
for the SOHO/MDI Ni I line at 6768\AA . The MDI Doppler signal is formed
slightly higher at around 125 km. Taking into account the limited spatial
resolution of the instruments, the apparent formation height of both the HMI
and MDI Doppler signal increases by 40 to 50 km. We also study how
uncertainties in the HMI filter-transmission profiles affect the calculated
velocities.Comment: 15 pages, 11 Figure
Ground state particle-particle correlations and double beta decay
A self-consistent formalism for the double beta decay of Fermi type is
provided. The particle-particle channel of the two-body interaction is
considered first in the mean field equations and then in the QRPA. The
resulting approach is called the QRPA with a self-consistent mean field
(QRPASMF). The mode provided by QRPASMF, does not collapse for any strength of
the particle-particle interaction. The transition amplitude for double beta
decay is almost insensitive to the variation of the particle-particle
interaction. Comparing it with the result of the standard pnQRPA, it is smaller
by a factor 6. The prediction for transition amplitude agrees quite well with
the exact result. The present approach is the only one which produces a strong
decrease of the amplitude and at the same time does not alter the stability of
the ground state.Comment: 23 pages, 7 figure
A Derivation of Three-Dimensional Inertial Transformations
The derivation of the transformations between inertial frames made by
Mansouri and Sexl is generalised to three dimensions for an arbitrary direction
of the velocity. Assuming lenght contraction and time dilation to have their
relativistic values, a set of transformations kinematically equivalent to
special relativity is obtained. The ``clock hypothesis'' allows the derivation
to be extended to accelerated systems. A theory of inertial transformations
maintaining an absolute simultaneity is shown to be the only one logically
consistent with accelerated movements. Algebraic properties of these
transformations are discussed. Keywords: special relativity, synchronization,
one-way velocity of light, ether, clock hypothesis.Comment: 16 pages (A5), Latex, one figure, to be published in Found. Phys.
Lett. (1997
Field-Dependent Critical Current in Type-II Superconducting Strips: Combined Effect of Bulk Pinning and Geometrical Edge Barrier
Recent theoretical and experimental research on low-bulk-pinning
superconducting strips has revealed striking dome-like magnetic-field
distributions due to geometrical edge barriers. The observed magnetic-flux
profiles differ strongly from those in strips in which bulk pinning is
dominant. In this paper we theoretically describe the current and field
distributions of a superconducting strip under the combined influence of both a
geometrical edge barrier and bulk pinning at the strip's critical current Ic,
where a longitudinal voltage first appears. We calculate Ic and find its
dependence upon a perpendicular applied magnetic field Ha. The behavior is
governed by a parameter p, defined as the ratio of the bulk-pinning critical
current Ip to the geometrical-barrier critical current Is0. We find that when p
> 2/pi and Ip is field-independent, Ic vs Ha exhibits a plateau for small Ha,
followed by the dependence Ic-Ip ~ 1/Ha in higher magnetic fields.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, Fig. 1 revised, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Dynamics with Infinitely Many Time Derivatives and Rolling Tachyons
Both in string field theory and in p-adic string theory the equations of
motion involve infinite number of time derivatives. We argue that the initial
value problem is qualitatively different from that obtained in the limit of
many time derivatives in that the space of initial conditions becomes strongly
constrained. We calculate the energy-momentum tensor and study in detail time
dependent solutions representing tachyons rolling on the p-adic string theory
potentials. For even potentials we find surprising small oscillations at the
tachyon vacuum. These are not conventional physical states but rather
anharmonic oscillations with a nontrivial frequency--amplitude relation. When
the potentials are not even, small oscillatory solutions around the bottom must
grow in amplitude without a bound. Open string field theory resembles this
latter case, the tachyon rolls to the bottom and ever growing oscillations
ensue. We discuss the significance of these results for the issues of emerging
closed strings and tachyon matter.Comment: 46 pages, 14 figures, LaTeX. Replaced version: Minor typos corrected,
some figures edited for clarit
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