808 research outputs found
Asymmetry sum rule for molecular predissociation
© 2000 American Physical SocietyIn the case of weak diatomic molecular predissociation by noninteracting, optically inactive continuum states, it is demonstrated that the predissociation line shape is more accurately represented by a Beutler-Fano profile than by a Lorentzian. The weak asymmetry that is found to occur is due principally to interactions with neighboring vibrational resonances. For this type of predissociation in the case of multiple continua, a sum rule for the corresponding line-shape asymmetry is derived. This sum rule is verified numerically using single-channel and multichannel coupled Schrödinger-equation calculations for the Schumann-Runge band system of O2. Similar results are presented for the case of optically active continua.F. T. Hawes, L. W. Torop, B. R. Lewis and S. T. Gibso
Classes of exact wavefunctions for general time-dependent Dirac Hamiltonians in 1+1 dimensions
In this work we construct two classes of exact solutions for the most general
time-dependent Dirac Hamiltonian in 1+1 dimensions. Some problems regarding to
some formal solutions in the literature are discussed. Finally the existence of
a generalized Lewis-Riesenfeld invariant connected with such solutions is
discussed
Computational advances in gravitational microlensing: a comparison of CPU, GPU, and parallel, large data codes
To assess how future progress in gravitational microlensing computation at
high optical depth will rely on both hardware and software solutions, we
compare a direct inverse ray-shooting code implemented on a graphics processing
unit (GPU) with both a widely-used hierarchical tree code on a single-core CPU,
and a recent implementation of a parallel tree code suitable for a CPU-based
cluster supercomputer. We examine the accuracy of the tree codes through
comparison with a direct code over a much wider range of parameter space than
has been feasible before. We demonstrate that all three codes present
comparable accuracy, and choice of approach depends on considerations relating
to the scale and nature of the microlensing problem under investigation. On
current hardware, there is little difference in the processing speed of the
single-core CPU tree code and the GPU direct code, however the recent plateau
in single-core CPU speeds means the existing tree code is no longer able to
take advantage of Moore's law-like increases in processing speed. Instead, we
anticipate a rapid increase in GPU capabilities in the next few years, which is
advantageous to the direct code. We suggest that progress in other areas of
astrophysical computation may benefit from a transition to GPUs through the use
of "brute force" algorithms, rather than attempting to port the current best
solution directly to a GPU language -- for certain classes of problems, the
simple implementation on GPUs may already be no worse than an optimised
single-core CPU version.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in New Astronom
Long distance regularization in chiral perturbation theory with decuplet
We investigate the use of long distance regularization in SU(3) baryon chiral
perturbation theory with decuplet fields. The one-loop decuplet contributions
to the octet baryon masses, axial couplings, S-wave nonleptonic hyperon decays
and magnetic moments are evaluated in a chirally consistent fashion by
employing a cutoff to implement long distance regularization. The convergence
of the chiral expansions of these quantities is improved compared to the
dimensionally regularized version which indicates that the propagation of
Goldstone bosons over distances smaller than a typical hadronic size, which is
beyond the regime of chiral perturbation theory but included by dimensional
regularization, is removed by use of a cutoff.Comment: 31 page
The celebrity entrepreneur on television: profile, politics and power
This article examines the rise of the âcelebrity entrepreneurâ on television through the emergence of the âbusiness entertainment formatâ and considers the ways in which regular television exposure can be converted into political influence. Within television studies there has been a preoccupation in recent years with how lifestyle and reality formats work to transform âordinaryâ people into celebrities. As a result, the contribution of vocationally skilled business professionals to factual entertainment programming has gone almost unnoticed. This article draws on interviews with key media industry professionals and begins by looking at the construction of entrepreneurs as different types of television personalities and how discourses of work, skill and knowledge function in business shows. It then outlines how entrepreneurs can utilize their newly acquired televisual skills to cultivate a wider media profile and secure various forms of political access and influence. Integral to this is the centrality of public relations and media management agencies in shaping media discourses and developing the individual as a âbrand identityâ that can be used to endorse a range of products or ideas. This has led to policy makers and politicians attempting to mobilize the media profile of celebrity entrepreneurs to reach out and connect with the public on business and enterprise-related issues
The integrated Sachs-Wolfe imprints of cosmic superstructures: a problem for \Lambda CDM
A crucial diagnostic of the \Lambda CDM cosmological model is the integrated
Sachs-Wolfe (ISW) effect of large-scale structure on the cosmic microwave
background (CMB). The ISW imprint of superstructures of size \sim100\;h^{-1}
Mpc at redshift has been detected with significance,
however it has been noted that the signal is much larger than expected. We
revisit the calculation using linear theory predictions in \Lambda CDM
cosmology for the number density of superstructures and their radial density
profile, and take possible selection effects into account. While our expected
signal is larger than previous estimates, it is still inconsistent by
with the observation. If the observed signal is indeed due to the
ISW effect then huge, extremely underdense voids are far more common in the
observed universe than predicted by \Lambda CDM.Comment: 3 figures. v3: minor additions for clearer explanations, conclusions
unchanged. Version to be published in JCA
The High Redshift Integrated Sachs-Wolfe Effect
In this paper we rely on the quasar (QSO) catalog of the Sloan Digital Sky
Survey Data Release Six (SDSS DR6) of about one million photometrically
selected QSOs to compute the Integrated Sachs-Wolfe (ISW) effect at high
redshift, aiming at constraining the behavior of the expansion rate and thus
the behaviour of dark energy at those epochs. This unique sample significantly
extends previous catalogs to higher redshifts while retaining high efficiency
in the selection algorithm. We compute the auto-correlation function (ACF) of
QSO number density from which we extract the bias and the stellar
contamination. We then calculate the cross-correlation function (CCF) between
QSO number density and Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature
fluctuations in different subsamples: at high z>1.5 and low z<1.5 redshifts and
for two different choices of QSO in a conservative and in a more speculative
analysis. We find an overall evidence for a cross-correlation different from
zero at the 2.7\sigma level, while this evidence drops to 1.5\sigma at z>1.5.
We focus on the capabilities of the ISW to constrain the behaviour of the dark
energy component at high redshift both in the \LambdaCDM and Early Dark Energy
cosmologies, when the dark energy is substantially unconstrained by
observations. At present, the inclusion of the ISW data results in a poor
improvement compared to the obtained constraints from other cosmological
datasets. We study the capabilities of future high-redshift QSO survey and find
that the ISW signal can improve the constraints on the most important
cosmological parameters derived from Planck CMB data, including the high
redshift dark energy abundance, by a factor \sim 1.5.Comment: 20 pages, 18 figures, and 7 table
Metabolome-wide association study on ABCA7 indicates a role of ceramide metabolism in Alzheimerâs disease
Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified genetic loci associated with the risk of Alzheimerâs disease (AD), but the molecular mechanisms by which they confer risk are largely unknown. We conducted a metabolome-wide association study (MWAS) of AD-associated loci from GWASs using untargeted metabolic profiling (metabolomics) by ultraperformance liquid chromatographyâmass spectrometry (UPLC-MS). We identified an association of lactosylceramides (LacCer) with AD-related single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ABCA7 (P = 5.0 Ă 10â5 to 1.3 Ă 10â44). We showed that plasma LacCer concentrations are associated with cognitive performance and genetically modified levels of LacCer are associated with AD risk. We then showed that concentrations of sphingomyelins, ceramides, and hexosylceramides were altered in brain tissue from Abca7 knockout mice, compared with wild type (WT) (P = 0.049â1.4 Ă 10â5), but not in a mouse model of amyloidosis. Furthermore, activation of microglia increases intracellular concentrations of hexosylceramides in part through induction in the expression of sphingosine kinase, an enzyme with a high control coefficient for sphingolipid and ceramide synthesis. Our work suggests that the risk for AD arising from functional variations in ABCA7 is mediated at least in part through ceramides. Modulation of their metabolism or downstream signaling may offer new therapeutic opportunities for AD
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