3,888 research outputs found
Planck-scale modifications to Electrodynamics characterized by a space-like symmetry-breaking vector
In the study of Planck-scale ("quantum-gravity induced") violations of
Lorentz symmetry, an important role was played by the deformed-electrodynamics
model introduced by Myers and Pospelov. Its reliance on conventional effective
quantum field theory, and its description of symmetry-violation effects simply
in terms of a four-vector with nonzero component only in the time-direction,
rendered it an ideal target for experimentalists and a natural concept-testing
ground for many theorists. At this point however the experimental limits on the
single Myers-Pospelov parameter, after improving steadily over these past few
years, are "super-Planckian", {\it i.e.} they take the model out of actual
interest from a conventional quantum-gravity perspective. In light of this we
here argue that it may be appropriate to move on to the next level of
complexity, still with vectorial symmetry violation but adopting a generic
four-vector. We also offer a preliminary characterization of the phenomenology
of this more general framework, sufficient to expose a rather significant
increase in complexity with respect to the original Myers-Pospelov setup. Most
of these novel features are linked to the presence of spatial anisotropy, which
is particularly pronounced when the symmetry-breaking vector is space-like, and
they are such that they reduce the bound-setting power of certain types of
observations in astrophysics
Questioning the tension via the look-back time
The Hubble tension is investigated taking into account the cosmological
look-back time. Specifically, considering a single equation, widely used in
standard cosmology, it is possible to recover both values of the Hubble
constant reported by the SH0ES and Planck collaborations: the former is
obtained through cosmological ladder methods (e.g. Cepheids, Supernovae Type
IA) and the latter through measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background.
Also, other values obtained in the literature are achieved with the same
approach. We conclude that the Hubble tension can be removed if the look-back
time is correctly referred to the redshift where the measurement is performed.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in Physics of the Dark
Univers
advances and perspectives of supercritical fluid technology
1 Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale, Universita di Salerno, Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy 2 Departamento de Ingenieŕia Quimica, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 13004 Ciudad Real, Spain 3 Department of Agricultural, Food & Nutritional Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2P5 4Dipartimento di Ingegneria Chimica, Gestionale, Informatica, Meccanica, Universita di Palermo, 90128 Palermo, Ital
Efficient Differential Fourier-Transform Spectrometer for precision Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect measurements
Precision measurements of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect in clusters of
galaxies require excellent rejection of common-mode signals and wide frequency
coverage. We describe an imaging, efficient, differential Fourier transform
spectrometer (FTS), optimized for measurements of faint brightness gradients at
millimeter wavelengths. Our instrument is based on a Martin-Puplett
interferometer (MPI) configuration. We combined two MPIs working synchronously
to use the whole input power. In our implementation the observed sky field is
divided into two halves along the meridian, and each half-field corresponds to
one of the two input ports of the MPI. In this way, each detector in the FTS
focal planes measures the difference in brightness between two sky pixels,
symmetrically located with respect to the meridian. Exploiting the high
common-mode rejection of the MPI, we can measure low sky brightness gradients
over a high isotropic background. The instrument works in the range
120 cm (30600 GHz), has a maximum spectral resolution (1.9 GHz), and an unvignetted throughput of 2.3 cmsr. It
occupies a volume of 0.70.70.33 m and has a weight of 70
kg. This design can be implemented as a cryogenic unit to be used in space, as
well as a room-temperature unit working at the focus of suborbital and
ground-based mm-wave telescopes. The first in-flight test of the instrument is
with the OLIMPO experiment on a stratospheric balloon; a larger implementation
is being prepared for the Sardinia radio telescope.Comment: this version matches the published pape
Complex phenotype in an Italian family with a novel mutation in SPG3A.
Mutations in the SPG3A gene represent a significant cause of autosomal dominant hereditary spastic paraplegia with early onset and pure phenotype. We describe an Italian family manifesting a complex phenotype, characterized by cerebellar
involvement in the proband and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-like syndrome in her father, in association with a new mutation in SPG3A. Our findings further widen the notion of clinical heterogeneity in SPG3A mutations
SWIPE: a bolometric polarimeter for the Large-Scale Polarization Explorer
The balloon-borne LSPE mission is optimized to measure the linear
polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background at large angular scales. The
Short Wavelength Instrument for the Polarization Explorer (SWIPE) is composed
of 3 arrays of multi-mode bolometers cooled at 0.3K, with optical components
and filters cryogenically cooled below 4K to reduce the background on the
detectors. Polarimetry is achieved by means of large rotating half-wave plates
and wire-grid polarizers in front of the arrays. The polarization modulator is
the first component of the optical chain, reducing significantly the effect of
instrumental polarization. In SWIPE we trade angular resolution for
sensitivity. The diameter of the entrance pupil of the refractive telescope is
45 cm, while the field optics is optimized to collect tens of modes for each
detector, thus boosting the absorbed power. This approach results in a FWHM
resolution of 1.8, 1.5, 1.2 degrees at 95, 145, 245 GHz respectively. The
expected performance of the three channels is limited by photon noise,
resulting in a final sensitivity around 0.1-0.2 uK per beam, for a 13 days
survey covering 25% of the sky.Comment: In press. Copyright 2012 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation
Engineers. One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only.
Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this
paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of
the paper are prohibite
Predictive Factors of Surgical Site Infection in Prosthetic Joint Surgery: A Prospective Study on 760 Arthroplasties
Purpose. The success of total joint arthroplasty (TJA) has led to consistent growth in the use of arthroplasty in progressivelyyounger patients. However, more than 10 percent of patients require revision surgery due to implant failure caused by asepticor septic inflammation. Among the latter, surgical site infection (SSI) represents one of the worst complications of TJA,potentially resulting in the removal of the prosthesis. The aim of our study was to identify potential risk factors for SSIs in apopulation of patients undergoing TJA. Methods. TJA were prospectively recruited at Casa di Cura Santa Maria Maddalenafrom February 2019 to April 2020. Age, sex, major comorbidities, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class, length ofsurgery, type of surgical suture, total hospital length of stay, and clinical laboratory data were collected. The study populationwas then divided into two groups: Group A, normal postoperative course, and Group B, patients who developed SSI at follow-up (17-25 days). Results. 25/760 (3.3%) patients developed SSIs at follow-up. Clinical and demographic parameters were notdifferent between the two groups. Total leucocyte and neutrophil values at discharge resulted to be significatively higher inGroup B compared to Group A (p = 0:025 and p = 0:016, respectively). Values of 7860/μL for total leucocyte and 5185/μL forneutrophil count at discharge significantly predicted the future development of SSI (AUC 0.623 and AUC 0.641, respectively; p< 0:05) independently from confounding factors (total leukocytes: O:R: = 3, 69 [95% C.I. 1,63-8,32]; neutrophils: O:R: = 3, 98[95% C.I. 1,76-8,97]). Deep SSIs has been diagnosed significantly before superficial SSIs (p = 0,008), with a median advance of9 days. Conclusion. Total leukocytes and neutrophils at discharge seem useful to identify a population at risk for thedevelopment of septic inflammation at the surgical site following TJA. Further studies with larger populations are needed to develop a predictive SSIs risk score that should include those variables
Finite reduction and Morse index estimates for mechanical systems
A simple version of exact finite dimensional reduction for the variational
setting of mechanical systems is presented. It is worked out by means of a
thorough global version of the implicit function theorem for monotone
operators. Moreover, the Hessian of the reduced function preserves all the
relevant information of the original one, by Schur's complement, which
spontaneously appears in this context. Finally, the results are
straightforwardly extended to the case of a Dirichlet problem on a bounded
domain.Comment: 13 pages; v2: minor changes, to appear in Nonlinear Differential
Equations and Application
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