Teleparallel Spin Connection

A new expression for the spin connection of teleparallel gravity is proposed, given by minus the contorsion tensor plus a zero connection. The corresponding minimal coupling is covariant under local Lorentz transformation, and equivalent to the minimal coupling prescription of general relativity. With this coupling prescription, therefore, teleparallel gravity turns out to be fully equivalent to general relativity, even in the presence of spinor fields.Comment: 2 pages, RevTeX, to appear in Phys. Rev D (Brief Report

Gravitation and Duality Symmetry

By generalizing the Hodge dual operator to the case of soldered bundles, and working in the context of the teleparallel equivalent of general relativity, an analysis of the duality symmetry in gravitation is performed. Although the basic conclusion is that, at least in the general case, gravitation is not dual symmetric, there is a particular theory in which this symmetry shows up. It is a self dual (or anti-self dual) teleparallel gravity in which, due to the fact that it does not contribute to the interaction of fermions with gravitation, the purely tensor part of torsion is assumed to vanish. The ensuing fermionic gravitational interaction is found to be chiral. Since duality is intimately related to renormalizability, this theory may eventually be more amenable to renormalization than teleparallel gravity or general relativity.Comment: 7 pages, no figures. Version 2: minor presentation changes, references added. Accepted for publication in Int. J. Mod. Phys.

Gravitomagnetic Moments of the Fundamental Fields

The quadratic form of the Dirac equation in a Riemann spacetime yields a gravitational gyromagnetic ratio \kappa_S = 2 for the interaction of a Dirac spinor with curvature. A gravitational gyromagnetic ratio \kappa_S = 1 is also found for the interaction of a vector field with curvature. It is shown that the Dirac equation in a curved background can be obtained as the square--root of the corresponding vector field equation only if the gravitational gyromagnetic ratios are properly taken into account.Comment: 8 pages, RevTeX Style, no figures, changed presentation -- now restricted to fields of spin 0, 1/2 and 1 -- some references adde

Mass Generation from Lie Algebra Extensions

Applied to the electroweak interactions, the theory of Lie algebra extensions suggests a mechanism by which the boson masses are generated without resource to spontaneous symmetry breaking. It starts from a gauge theory without any additional scalar field. All the couplings predicted by the Weinberg-Salam theory are present, and a few others which are nevertheless consistent within the model.Comment: 11 pages; revtex; title and PACS have been changed; comments included in the manuscrip

Métodos para superar a dormência tegumentar em sementes de jurema-preta (Mimosa hostilis Benth.).

Este trabalho foi realizado com o objetivo de avaliar a eficiência de tratamentos físicos e químicos na germinação e no vigor (Índice de Velocidade de Germinação – IVG), em sementes de jurema-preta (Mimosa hostilis Benth.). Os tratamentos testados foram: sementes imersas em H2SO4 (98%) por 1, 5, 10 e 15 minutos; em água, a 100oC, por 1 e 3 minutos; em água à temperatura ambiente, por 36 e 72 horas; escarificação mecânica, por 20 e 40 segundos; choque térmico em estufa a 55oC por 24 e 48 horas e sementes em condições naturais. Os resultados obtidos que a escarificação ácida por 5 a 15 minuts, e a mecânica, por 20 a 40 segundos, mostraram-se mais eficientes na quebra da dormência de sementes dessa espécie

SPRINKMOD - Simulation of pressure and discharge distributions in pressurized irrigation systems: graphical interface and strategy of design.

SPRINKMOD is a computer model that simulates pressure and flow rate distributions along pipes and laterals of pressurized irrigation systems. The software runs in a WINDOWS environment and simulates irrigation systems having multiple pump stations combined in series and/or in parallel, booster pump stations, parallel pipes and looping pipes in addition to more traditional, branched pressurized irrigation systems. Lateral types include hand-move, wheel line and center pivot lateral that may utilize pressure regulators and booster pumps. Leakage is included in the main pipe network and along the laterals and effects of plugged or worn nozzles are accounted for. Pratically any type of nozzle and pump can be simulated since cubic spline functions are used to interpolate values from head-flow rate sets of data. Algorithms were developed and adapted to convert laterals into a single set of head-flow rate data so that a simplified algorithm can be used to solve the entire pipe network. A user-friendly interface is used to allow data for pumps, nozzle and pressure regulators to be interactively entered, edited and analyzed. The layout of the irrigation system is drawn on screen using the mouse

Adoção de tecnologia, agricultura familiar e agroecologia para o desenvolvimento sustentável da região do semi-árido, Caucaia-CE.

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