20,603 research outputs found
What can we learn from Dijet suppression at RHIC?
We present a systematic study of the dijet suppression at RHIC using the
VNI/BMS parton cascade. We examine the modification of the dijet asymmetry A_j
and the within-cone transverse energy distribution (jet-shape) along with
partonic fragmentation distributions z and j_t in terms of: qhat; the path
length of leading and sub-leading jets; cuts on the jet energy distributions;
jet cone angle and the jet-medium interaction mechanism. We find that A_j is
most sensitive to qhat and relatively insensitive to the nature of the
jet-medium interaction mechanism. The jet profile is dominated by qhat and the
nature of the interaction mechanism. The partonic fragmentation distributions
clearly show the jet modification and differentiate between elastic and
radiative+elastic modes
Evaluation of remote sensing in control of pink bollworm in cotton
The author has identified the following significant results. This project is to identify and map cotton fields in the southern deserts of California. Cotton in the Imperial, Coachella, and Palo Verde Valleys is heavily infested by the pink bollworm which affects both the quantity and quality of cotton produced. In California the growing season of cotton is regulated by establishing planting and plowdown dates. These procedures ensure that the larvae, whose diapause or resting period occurs during the winter months, will have no plant material on which to feed, thus inhibiting spring moth emergence. the underflight data from the U-2 aircraft has shound that it is possible to detect the differences between a growing, a defoliated, and plowed down field providing the locations of the fields are known. The ERTS-1 MSS data are being analyzed using an I2S optical color combiner to determine which combinations of dates and colors will identify cotton fields and thus provide the data needed to produce maps of the fields for the forthcoming season
Evaluation of remote sensing in control of pink bollworm in cotton
The author has identified the following significant results. This investigation is to evaluate the use of a satellite in monitoring the cotton production regulation program of the State of California as an aid in controlling pink bollworm infestation in the southern deserts of California. Color combined images of ERTS-1 multispectral images simulating color infrared are being used for crop identification. The status of each field (crop, bare, harvested, wet, plowed) is mapped from the imagery and is then compared to ground survey information taken at the time of ERTS-1 overflights. A computer analysis has been performed to compare field and satellite data to a crop calendar. Correlation to date has been 97% for field condition. Actual crop identification varies; cotton identification is only 63% due to lack of full season coverage
Two-Dimensional Bosonization from Variable Shifts in the Path Integral
A method to perform bosonization of a fermionic theory in (1+1) dimensions in
a path integral framework is developed. The method relies exclusively on the
path integral property of allowing variable shifts, and does not depend on the
explicit form of Greens functions. Two examples, the Schwinger model and the
massless Thirring model, are worked out.Comment: 4 page
Performing spectroscopic and specific heat studies of improper ferroelectrics
The results of infrared measurements on Ni-Br, Cu-Cl, and Fe-I boracite improper ferroelectrics and far infrared measurements of Ni-Br boracite are presented. The boracites have the general formula X3B7O3Y, where X = divalent metal and Y = halogen. They undergo a first order phase transition from a high temperature paraelectric phase with cubic symmetry to a ferroelectric phase with orthorhombic symmetry. The boracites are "improper ferroelectrics" since the spontaneous polarization is not the primary order parameter in the cubic-orthorhombic phase transition. Current understanding of these materials is that the primary order parameter is associated with a doubly degenerate zone-boundary phonon in the cubic phase. The degenerate critical modes become homogeneous and split into the A sub 1 and A sub 2 modes in the orthorhombic phase, doubling the volume of the primitive cell. An harmonic coupling between the softing A sub 1 and a low frequency A sub 1 optic mode induces a spontaneous polarization as a secondary effect in the ferroelectric phase. This secondary non-critical nature of the ferroelectric mode earns these materials the "improper" title and is responsible for their unique properties and high figure of merit in detector use
Physical activity as an aid to smoking cessation during pregnancy: Two feasibility studies
Background: Pharmacotherapies for smoking cessation have not been adequately tested in pregnancy and women are reluctant to use them. Behavioural support alone has a modest effect on cessation rates; therefore, more effective interventions are needed. Even moderate intensity physical activity (e.g. brisk walk) reduces urges to smoke and there is some evidence it increases cessation rates in non-pregnant smokers. Two pilot studies assessed i) the feasibility of recruiting pregnant women to a trial of physical activity for smoking cessation, ii) adherence to physical activity and iii) womens' perceptions of the
intervention.
Methods: Pregnant smokers volunteered for an intervention combining smoking cessation support, physical activity counselling and supervised exercise (e.g. treadmill walking). The first study provided six weekly treatment sessions. The second study provided 15 sessions over eight weeks. Physical activity levels and continuous smoking abstinence (verified by expired carbon monoxide) were monitored up to eight months gestation.
Results: Overall, 11.6% (32/277) of women recorded as smokers at their first antenatal booking visit were
recruited. At eight months gestation 25% (8/32) of the women achieved continuous smoking abstinence. Abstinent women attended at least 85% of treatment sessions and 75% (6/8) achieved the target level of 110 minutes/week of physical activity at end-of-treatment. Increased physical activity was maintained at eight months gestation only in the second study. Women reported that the intervention helped weight management, reduced cigarette cravings and increased confidence for quitting.
Conclusion: It is feasible to recruit pregnant smokers to a trial of physical activity for smoking cessation and this is likely to be popular. A large randomised controlled trial is needed to examine the efficacy of this intervention
Effects of an extra U(1) axial condensate on the strong decays of pseudoscalar mesons
We consider a scenario (supported by some lattice results) in which a
U(1)-breaking condensate survives across the chiral transition in QCD. This
scenario has important consequences for the pseudoscalar-meson sector, which
can be studied using an effective Lagrangian model. In particular, generalizing
the results obtained in two previous papers, where the effects on the radiative
decays eta,eta' --> gamma gamma were studied, in this paper we study the
effects of the U(1) chiral condensate on the strong decays of the "light"
pseudoscalar mesons, i.e., eta,eta' --> 3pi^0; eta,eta' --> pi^+ pi^- pi^0;
eta' --> eta pi^0 pi^0; eta' --> eta pi^+ pi^-; and also on the strong decays
of an exotic ("heavy") SU(3)-singlet pseudoscalar state eta_X, predicted by the
model.Comment: One misprint in Eq. (2.10) has been eliminated; Eqs. (B.8) and (B.9)
in Appendix B have been corrected; 46 pages, 1 tabl
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Lipid and Protein Transfer between Nanolipoprotein Particles and Supported Lipid Bilayers.
A nanolipoprotein particle (NLP) is a lipid bilayer disc stabilized by two amphipathic "scaffold" apolipoproteins. It has been most notably utilized as a tool for solubilizing a variety of membrane proteins while preserving structural and functional properties. Transfer of functional proteins from NLPs into model membrane systems such as supported lipid bilayers (SLBs) would enable new opportunities, for example, two-dimensional protein crystallization and studies on protein-protein interactions. This work used fluorescence microscopy and atomic force microscopy to investigate the interaction between NLPs and SLBs. When incubated with SLBs, NLPs were found to spontaneously deliver lipid and protein cargo. The impact of membrane composition on lipid exchange was explored, revealing a positive correlation between the magnitude of lipid transfer and concentration of defects in the target SLB. Incorporation of lipids capable of binding specifically to polyhistidine tags encoded into the apolipoproteins also boosted transfer of NLP cargo. Optimal conditions for lipid and protein delivery from NLPs to SLBs are proposed based on interaction mechanisms
Conductance of a spin-1 quantum dot: the two-stage Kondo effect
We discuss the physics of a of a spin-1 quantum dot, coupled to two metallic
leads and develop a simple model for the temperature dependence of its
conductance. Such quantum dots are described by a two-channel Kondo model with
asymmetric coupling constants and the spin screening of the dot by the leads is
expected to proceed via a two-stage process. When the Kondo temperatures of
each channel are widely separated, on cooling, the dot passes through a broad
cross-over regime dominated by underscreened Kondo physics. A singular, or
non-fermi liquid correction to the conductance develops in this regime. At the
lowest temperatures, destructive interference between resonant scattering in
both channels leads to the eventual suppression of the conductance of the dot.
We develop a model to describe the growth, and ultimate suppression of the
conductance in the two channel Kondo model as it is screened successively by
its two channels. Our model is based upon large-N approximation in which the
localized spin degrees of freedom are described using the Schwinger boson
formalism.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figure
Probabilistic Approach to Time-Dependent Load-Transfer Models of Fracture
A probabilistic method for solving time-dependent load-transfer models of
fracture is developed. It is applicable to any rule of load redistribution,
i.e, local, hierarchical, etc. In the new method, the fluctuations are
generated during the breaking process (annealed randomness) while in the usual
method, the random lifetimes are fixed at the beginning (quenched disorder).
Both approaches are equivalent.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures. To appear in Phys.Rev.
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