18,876 research outputs found
Genomics clarifies taxonomic boundaries in a difficult species complex.
Efforts to taxonomically delineate species are often confounded with conflicting information and subjective interpretation. Advances in genomic methods have resulted in a new approach to taxonomic identification that stands to greatly reduce much of this conflict. This approach is ideal for species complexes, where divergence times are recent (evolutionarily) and lineages less well defined. The California Roach/Hitch fish species complex is an excellent example, experiencing a convoluted geologic history, diverse habitats, conflicting species designations and potential admixture between species. Here we use this fish complex to illustrate how genomics can be used to better clarify and assign taxonomic categories. We performed restriction-site associated DNA (RAD) sequencing on 255 Roach and Hitch samples collected throughout California to discover and genotype thousands of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs). Data were then used in hierarchical principal component, admixture, and FST analyses to provide results that consistently resolved a number of ambiguities and provided novel insights across a range of taxonomic levels. At the highest level, our results show that the CA Roach/Hitch complex should be considered five species split into two genera (4 + 1) as opposed to two species from distinct genera (1 +1). Subsequent levels revealed multiple subspecies and distinct population segments within identified species. At the lowest level, our results indicate Roach from a large coastal river are not native but instead introduced from a nearby river. Overall, this study provides a clear demonstration of the power of genomic methods for informing taxonomy and serves as a model for future studies wishing to decipher difficult species questions. By allowing for systematic identification across multiple scales, taxonomic structure can then be tied to historical and contemporary ecological, geographic or anthropogenic factors
Gluon propagator in diffractive scattering
In this work, we perform a comparison of the employ of distinct gluon
propagators with the experimental data in diffractive processes, elastic
scattering and light meson photo-production. The gluon propagators are
calculated through non-perturbative methods, being justified their use in this
class of events, due to the smallness of the momentum transfer. Our results are
not able to select the best choice for the modified gluon propagator among the
analyzed ones, showing that the application of this procedure in this class of
high energy processes, although giving a reasonable fit to the experimental
data, should be taken with same caution.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Int. J. Mod. Phys. A
(uses ws-ijmpa.cls). Authors correcte
Free energy and vibrational entropy difference between ordered and disordered Ni3Al
We have calculated free energy and vibrational entropy differences in Ni3Al between its equilibrium ordered structure and a disordered fcc solid solution. The free energy and entropy differences were calculated using the method of adiabatic switching in a molecular-dynamics formalism. The path chosen for the free-energy calculations directly connects the disordered with the ordered state. The atomic interactions are described by embedded-atom-method potentials. We find that the vibrational entropy difference increases with temperature from 0.14kB/atom at 300 K to 0.22kB/atom at 1200 K. We have calculated the density of states (DOS) of the disordered phase from the Fourier transform of the velocity-velocity autocorrelation function. The disordered DOS looks more like a broadened version of the ordered DOS. Analysis of the partial density of states shows that the Al atoms vibrations are most affected by the compositional disorder. The phonon partial spectral intensities along the ă100ă direction show that the vibrational spectrum of the disordered phase contains intensities at optical mode frequencies of the ordered alloy. We find that the volume difference between the ordered and disordered phases plays the most crucial role in the magnitude of the vibrational entropy difference. If the lattice constant of the two phases is set to the same value, the vibrational entropy difference decreases to zero
Electromagnons in multiferroic YMn2O5 and TbMn2O5
Based on temperature dependent far infrared transmission spectra of YMn2O5
and TbMn2O5 single crystals, we report the observation of electric
dipole-active magnetic excitations, or electromagnons, in these multiferroics.
Electromagnons are found to be directly responsible for the step-like anomaly
of the static dielectric constant at the commensurate--incommensurate magnetic
transition and are the origin of the colossal magneto-dielectric effect
reported in these multiferroics.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitte
Probing anomalous tbW couplings in single-top production using top polarization at the Large Hadron Collider
We study the sensitivity of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to anomalous tbW
couplings in single-top production in association with a W^- boson followed by
semileptonic decay of the top. We calculate top polarization and the effects of
these anomalous couplings to it at two centre-of-mass (cm) energies of 7 TeV
and 14 TeV. As a measure of top polarization, we look at various laboratory
frame distributions of its decay products, viz., lepton angular and energy
distributions and b-quark angular distributions, without requiring
reconstruction of the rest frame of the top, and study the effect of anomalous
couplings on these distributions. We construct certain asymmetries to study the
sensitivity of these distributions to anomalous tbW couplings. We find that
1\sigma limits on real and imaginary parts of the dominant anomalous coupling
Ref_{2R} which may be obtained by utilizing these asymmetries at the LHC with
cm energy of 14 TeV and an integrated luminosity of 10 fb^{-1} will be
significantly better than the expectations from direct measurements of cross
sections and some other variables at the LHC and over an order of magnitude
better than the indirect limits.Comment: 25 pages, 34 figure
EU External Relations: Exclusive Competence Revisited
This Article will focus on the question of exclusive competence in the field of EU external relations, especially in the light of recent developments. After a brief discussion on the origins and development of exclusive competence, a distinction will be made between common commercial policy, which has traditionally been the most important area of an explicit âa prioriâ exclusive competence, and what is often called an implicit exclusive competence, which, as it is today based on some general criteria enshrined in TFEU Article 3(2), may be called âsuperveningâ exclusive competence. With regard to both categories, the main focus will be on recent developments, notably the impact of the Treaty of Lisbon, which introduced the TFEU and its Articles 2 and 3, as well as the case law of the European Court of Justice (âECJâ or the âCourtâ) following the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, on December 1, 2009
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