1,532 research outputs found
Comment on "Surprises in threshold antikaon-nucleon physics"
It has recently been claimed by Oller et al. [PRL 95 (2005) 172502] that the
DEAR kaonic hydrogen data can be reconciled with K^- p scattering data in a
chiral unitary approach. In this comment we demonstrate that the proposed
solution violates fundamental principles of scattering theory.Comment: 1 page, 1 figur
Thermodynamics and quark susceptibilities: a Monte-Carlo approach to the PNJL model
The Monte-Carlo method is applied to the Polyakov-loop extended
Nambu--Jona-Lasinio (PNJL) model. This leads beyond the saddle-point
approximation in a mean-field calculation and introduces fluctuations around
the mean fields. We study the impact of fluctuations on the thermodynamics of
the model, both in the case of pure gauge theory and including two quark
flavors. In the two-flavor case, we calculate the second-order Taylor expansion
coefficients of the thermodynamic grand canonical partition function with
respect to the quark chemical potential and present a comparison with
extrapolations from lattice QCD. We show that the introduction of fluctuations
produces only small changes in the behavior of the order parameters for chiral
symmetry restoration and the deconfinement transition. On the other hand, we
find that fluctuations are necessary in order to reproduce lattice data for the
flavor non-diagonal quark susceptibilities. Of particular importance are pion
fields, the contribution of which is strictly zero in the saddle point
approximation
Wheel running as a function of varying effort requirements in rats
These experiments explore a wheel running work-response function with the goal of paralleling the drug magnitude-response (dose-response) function, as a way of measuring the value of running for rats. Friction levels were manipulated by varying the amount of weight applied to running wheels. Experiment 1 examined how male running patterns changed in response to weights applied on alternate days and calculated the work-response scores for each weight. Experiment 2 explored how male running changed when weights were applied for only a portion of the night, on an alternate night schedule. Experiments 3 and 4 replicated the procedures used in Experiments 1 and 2 with females. The results demonstrated that, whereas baseline running gradually decreased over days, it decreased further as the weights were increased for both males and females. However, the actual work expended running first increased then decreased as the weights increased. When the weights were applied and increased during the first few hours of the night, running decreased. After the weights were removed, male rats compensated by running more during the remaining friction-free hours of the night, however female rats did not show the same compensatory response pattern as the males. It is suggested that in males, the total distance traveled in the wheel rather than the total amount of work expended may more accurately represent what male rats regulate in their wheel running, which does not appear to be the case in females. It is suggested that the females\u27 estrous cycles may have confounded the results
Kaonic hydrogen and K^- p scattering
Chiral SU(3) effective field theory in combination with a relativistic
coupled channels approach is used to perform a novel analysis of the strong
interaction shift and width in kaonic hydrogen in view of the new accurate DEAR
measurements. Questions of consistency with previous K^- p data are examined.
Coulomb and isospin breaking effects turn out to be important and are both
taken into account in this work.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Meeting the challenges of micronutrient deficiencies in emergency-affected populations
Micronutrient deficiencies occur frequently in refugee and displaced populations. These deficiency diseases include, in addition to the most common Fe and vitamin A deficiencies, scurvy (vitamin C deficiency), pellagra (niacin and/or tryptophan deficiency) and beriberi (thiamin deficiency), which are not seen frequently in non-emergency-affected populations. The main causes of the outbreaks have been inadequate food rations given to populations dependent on food aid. There is no universal solution to the problem of micronutrient deficiencies, and not all interventions to prevent the deficiency diseases are feasible in every emergency setting. The preferred way of preventing these micronutrient deficiencies would be by securing dietary diversification through the provision of vegetables, fruit and pulses, which may not be a feasible strategy, especially in the initial phase of a relief operation. The one basic emergency strategy has been to include a fortified blended cereal in the ration of all food-aid-dependent populations (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees/World Food Programme, 1997). In situations where the emergency-affected population has access to markets, recommendations have been to increase the general ration to encourage the sale and/or barter of a portion of the ration in exchange for locally-available fruit and vegetables (World Health Organization, 1999a, b, 2000). Promotion of home gardens as well as promotion of local trading are recommended longer-term options aiming at the self-sufficiency of emergency-affected households. The provision of fortified blended foods in the general ration has successfully prevented and controlled micronutrient deficiencies in various emergency settings. However, the strategy of relying only on fortified blended foods to prevent micronutrient deficiencies should be reviewed in the light of recurring evidence that provision of adequate supplies of these foods is often problematic. Donor policies on the bartering or exchange of food aid should also be clarified. Furthermore, the establishment of micronutrient surveillance systems, including standardized micronutrient deficiency diagnostic criteria, are vital for the control of micronutrient deficiency disease
Chiral Dynamics of Deeply Bound Pionic Atoms
We present and discuss a systematic calculation, based on two-loop chiral
perturbation theory, of the pion-nuclear s-wave optical potential. A proper
treatment of the explicit energy dependence of the off-shell pion self-energy
together with (electromagnetic) gauge invariance of the Klein-Gordon equation
turns out to be crucial. Accurate data for the binding energies and widths of
the 1s and 2p levels in pionic ^{205}Pb and ^{207}Pb are well reproduced, and
the notorious "missing repulsion" in the pion-nuclear s-wave optical potential
is accounted for. The connection with the in-medium change of the pion decay
constant is clarified.Comment: preprint ECT*-02-16, 4 pages, 3 figure
Possibility of s-wave pion condensates in neutron stars revisited
We examine possibilities of pion condensation with zero momentum (s-wave
condensation) in neutron stars by using the pion-nucleus optical potential U
and the relativistic mean field (RMF) models. We use low-density
phenomenological optical potentials parameterized to fit deeply bound pionic
atoms or pion-nucleus elastic scatterings. Proton fraction (Y_p) and electron
chemical potential (mu_e) in neutron star matter are evaluated in RMF models.
We find that the s-wave pion condensation hardly takes place in neutron stars
and especially has no chance if hyperons appear in neutron star matter and/or
b_1 parameter in U has density dependence.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, REVTe
Dispersion in a relativistic degenerate electron gas
Relativistic effects on dispersion in a degenerate electron gas are discussed
by comparing known response functions derived relativistically (by Jancovici)
and nonrelativistically (by Lindhard). The main distinguishing feature is
one-photon pair creation, which leads to logarithmic singularities in the
response functions. Dispersion curves for longitudinal waves have a similar
tongue-like appearance in the relativistic and nonrelativistic case, with the
main relativistic effects being on the Fermi speed and the cutoff frequency.
For transverse waves the nonrelativistic treatment has a nonphysical feature
near the cutoff frequency for large Fermi momenta, and this is attributed to an
incorrect treatment of the electron spin. We find (with two important provisos)
that one-photon pair creation is allowed in superdense plasmas, implying
relatively strong coupling between transverse waves and pair creation.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures. Submitted to Physical Review
Relativistic quantum plasma dispersion functions
Relativistic quantum plasma dispersion functions are defined and the
longitudinal and transverse response functions for an electron (plus positron)
gas are written in terms of them. The dispersion is separated into
Landau-damping, pair-creation and dissipationless regimes. Explicit forms are
given for the RQPDFs in the cases of a completely degenerate distribution and a
nondegenerate thermal (J\"uttner) distribution. Particular emphasis is placed
on the relation between dissipation and dispersion, with the dissipation
treated in terms of the imaginary parts of RQPDFs. Comparing the dissipation
calculated in this way with the existing treatments leads to the identification
of errors in the literature, which we correct. We also comment on a controversy
as to whether the dispersion curves in a superdense plasma pass through the
region where pair creation is allowed.Comment: 16 pages, 1 figur
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