1,058 research outputs found
Atom detection and photon production in a scalable, open, optical microcavity
A microfabricated Fabry-Perot optical resonator has been used for atom
detection and photon production with less than 1 atom on average in the cavity
mode. Our cavity design combines the intrinsic scalability of microfabrication
processes with direct coupling of the cavity field to single-mode optical
waveguides or fibers. The presence of the atom is seen through changes in both
the intensity and the noise characteristics of probe light reflected from the
cavity input mirror. An excitation laser passing transversely through the
cavity triggers photon emission into the cavity mode and hence into the
single-mode fiber. These are first steps towards building an optical
microcavity network on an atom chip for applications in quantum information
processing.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. A typographical error in the published paper has
been corrected (equation of the corrected normalized variance, page 3, 2nd
paragraph
A resolution record for cryoEM
Cryo electron microscopy (cryoEM) is a fast-growing technique for structure determination. Two recent papers report the first atomic resolution structure of a protein obtained by averaging images of frozen-hydrated biomolecules. They both describe maps of symmetric apoferritin assemblies, a common test specimen, in unprecedented detail. New instrument improvements, different in the two studies, have contributed better images, and image analysis can extract structural information sufficient to resolve individual atomic positions. While true atomic resolution maps will not be routine for most proteins, the studies suggest structures determined by cryoEM will continue to improve, increasing their impact on biology and medicine
Validation of Observed Bedload Transport Pathways Using Morphodynamic Modeling
Phenomena related to braiding, including local scour and fill, channel bar development, migration
and avulsion, make numerical morphodynamic modeling of braided rivers challenging. This paper investigates
the performance of a Delft3D model, in a 2D depth-averaged formulation, to simulate the
morphodynamics of an anabranch of the Rees River (New Zealand). Model performance is evaluated using
data from field surveys collected on the falling limb of a major high flow, and using several sediment
transport formulas. Initial model results suggest that there is generally good agreement between observed and
modeled bed levels. However, some discrepancies in the bed level estimations were noticed, leading to bed
level, water depth and water velocity estimation errors
An Electrocorticographic Brain Interface in an Individual with Tetraplegia
Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology aims to help individuals with disability to control assistive devices and reanimate paralyzed limbs. Our study investigated the feasibility of an electrocorticography (ECoG)-based BCI system in an individual with tetraplegia caused by C4 level spinal cord injury. ECoG signals were recorded with a high-density 32-electrode grid over the hand and arm area of the left sensorimotor cortex. The participant was able to voluntarily activate his sensorimotor cortex using attempted movements, with distinct cortical activity patterns for different segments of the upper limb. Using only brain activity, the participant achieved robust control of 3D cursor movement. The ECoG grid was explanted 28 days post-implantation with no adverse effect. This study demonstrates that ECoG signals recorded from the sensorimotor cortex can be used for real-time device control in paralyzed individuals
Two-Loop Bhabha Scattering in QED
In the context of pure QED, we obtain analytic expressions for the
contributions to the Bhabha scattering differential cross section at order
alpha^4 which originate from the interference of two-loop photonic vertices
with tree-level diagrams and from the interference of one-loop photonic
diagrams amongst themselves. The ultraviolet renormalization is carried out.
The IR-divergent soft-photon emission corrections are evaluated and added to
the virtual cross section. The cross section obtained in this manner is valid
for on-shell electrons and positrons of finite mass, and for arbitrary values
of the center of mass energy and momentum transfer. We provide the expansion of
our results in powers of the electron mass, and we compare them with the
corresponding expansion of the complete order alpha^4 photonic cross section,
recently obtained in hep-ph/0501120. As a by-product, we obtain the
contribution to the Bhabha scattering differential cross section of the
interference of the two-loop photonic boxes with the tree-level diagrams, up to
terms suppressed by positive powers of the electron mass. We evaluate
numerically the various contributions to the cross section, paying particular
attention to the comparison between exact and expanded results.Comment: 35 pages, 18 figure
Age-Depth Stratigraphy of Pine Island Glacier Inferred from Airborne Radar and Ice-Core Chronology
Understanding the contribution of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) to past and future sea level has been a major scientific priority over the last three decades. In recent years, observed thinning and iceâflow acceleration of the marineâbased Pine Island Glacier has highlighted that understanding dynamic changes is critical to predicting the longâterm stability of the WAIS. However, relatively little is known about the evolution of the catchment during the Holocene. Internal Reflecting Horizons (IRHs) provide a cumulative record of accumulation, basal melt and ice dynamics that, if dated, can be used to constrain iceâflow models. Here, we use airborne radars to trace four spatiallyâextensive IRHs deposited in the late Quaternary across the Pine Island Glacier catchment. We use the WAIS Divide iceâcore chronology to assign ages to three IRHs: 4.72 ± 0.28, 6.94 ± 0.31, and 16.50 ± 0.79 ka. We use a 1âD model, constrained by observational and modelled accumulation rates, to produce an independent validation of our iceâcoreâderived ages and provide an age estimate for our shallowest IRH (2.31â2.92 ka). We find that our upper three IRHs correspond to three large peaks in sulphate concentrations in the WAIS Divide iceâcore record and hypothesise that the origin of these spatiallyâextensive IRHs is from past volcanic activity. The clear correspondence between our IRHs and the ones previously identified over the Weddell Sea Sector, altogether representing âŒ20% of the WAIS, indicates that a unique set of stratigraphic markers spanning the Holocene exists over a large part of West Antarctica
Global assessment of nitrogen deposition effects on terrestrial plant diversity : a synthesis
Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition is it recognized threat to plant diversity ill temperate and northern parts of Europe and North America. This paper assesses evidence from field experiments for N deposition effects and thresholds for terrestrial plant diversity protection across a latitudinal range of main categories of ecosystems. from arctic and boreal systems to tropical forests. Current thinking on the mechanisms of N deposition effects on plant diversity, the global distribution of G200 ecoregions, and current and future (2030) estimates of atmospheric N-deposition rates are then used to identify the risks to plant diversity in all major ecosystem types now and in the future. This synthesis paper clearly shows that N accumulation is the main driver of changes to species composition across the whole range of different ecosystem types by driving the competitive interactions that lead to composition change and/or making conditions unfavorable for some species. Other effects such its direct toxicity of nitrogen gases and aerosols long-term negative effects of increased ammonium and ammonia availability, soil-mediated effects of acidification, and secondary stress and disturbance are more ecosystem, and site-specific and often play a supporting role. N deposition effects in mediterranean ecosystems have now been identified, leading to a first estimate of an effect threshold. Importantly, ecosystems thought of as not N limited, such as tropical and subtropical systems, may be more vulnerable in the regeneration phase. in situations where heterogeneity in N availability is reduced by atmospheric N deposition, on sandy soils, or in montane areas. Critical loads are effect thresholds for N deposition. and the critical load concept has helped European governments make progress toward reducing N loads on sensitive ecosystems. More needs to be done in Europe and North America. especially for the more sensitive ecosystem types. including several ecosystems of high conservation importance. The results of this assessment Show that the Vulnerable regions outside Europe and North America which have not received enough attention are ecoregions in eastern and Southern Asia (China, India), an important part of the mediterranean ecoregion (California, southern Europe). and in the coming decades several subtropical and tropical parts of Latin America and Africa. Reductions in plant diversity by increased atmospheric N deposition may be more widespread than first thought, and more targeted Studies are required in low background areas, especially in the G200 ecoregions
A closed expression for the UV-divergent parts of one-loop tensor integrals in dimensional regularization
Starting from the general definition of a one-loop tensor N-point function,
we use its Feynman parametrization to calculate the UV-divergent part of an
arbitrary tensor coefficient in the framework of dimensional regularization. In
contrast to existing recursion schemes, we are able to present a general
analytic result in closed form that enables direct determination of the
UV-divergent part of any one-loop tensor N-point coefficient independent from
UV-divergent parts of other one-loop tensor N-point coefficients. Simplified
formulas and explicit expressions are presented for A-, B-, C-, D-, E-, and
F-functions.Comment: 19 pages (single column), the result of previous versions is further
evaluated leading to a closed analytic expression for the UV-divergent part
of an arbitrary one-loop tensor coefficient, title is modified accordingly, a
sign error in the appendix (C_{00000000}) has been corrected, a mathematica
notebook containing an implementation of the newly derived formula is
attache
Gauge and parametrization dependencies of the one-loop counterterms in the Einstein gravity.
The parametrization and gauge dependencies of the one-loop counterterms on
the mass-shell in the Einstein gravity are investigated. The physical meaning
of the loop calculation results on the mass shell and the parametrization
dependence of the renormgroup functions in the nonrenormalizable theories are
discussed.Comment: 14 pages in LATEX (Some references added
Machine learning line bundle connections
We study the use of machine learning for finding numerical hermitian YangâMills connections on line bundles over CalabiâYau manifolds. Defining an appropriate loss function and focusing on the examples of an elliptic curve, a K3 surface and a quintic threefold, we show that neural networks can be trained to give a close approximation to hermitian YangâMills connections
- âŠ