11,452 research outputs found
Convex Polytopes and Quasilattices from the Symplectic Viewpoint
We construct, for each convex polytope, possibly nonrational and nonsimple, a
family of compact spaces that are stratified by quasifolds, i.e. each of these
spaces is a collection of quasifolds glued together in an suitable way. A
quasifold is a space locally modelled on modulo the action of a
discrete, possibly infinite, group. The way strata are glued to each other also
involves the action of an (infinite) discrete group. Each stratified space is
endowed with a symplectic structure and a moment mapping having the property
that its image gives the original polytope back. These spaces may be viewed as
a natural generalization of symplectic toric varieties to the nonrational
setting.Comment: LaTeX, 29 pages. Revised version: TITLE changed, reorganization of
notations and exposition, added remarks and reference
Common-reflection-surface imaging of shallow and ultrashallow reflectors
We analyzed the feasibility of the common-reflection-surface
(CRS) stack for near-surface surveys as an alternative to the conventional
common midpoint (CMP) stacking procedure. The
data-driven, less user-interactive CRS method could be more
cost efficient for shallow surveys, where the high sensitivity
to velocity analysis makes data processing a critical step. We
compared the results for two field data sets collected to image
shallow and ultrashallow reflectors: an example of shallow Pwave
reflection for targets in the first few hundred meters,
and an example of SH-wave reflection for targets in the first
10 m. By processing the shallow P-wave records using the
CMP method, we imaged several nearly horizontal reflectors
with onsets from 60 to about 250 ms. The CRS stack produced
a stacked section more suited for a subsurface interpretation,
without any preliminary formal and time-consuming velocity analysis, because the imaged reflectors possessed greater coherency
and lateral continuity. With CMP processing of the SHwave
records, we imaged a dipping bedrock interface below
four horizontal reflectors in unconsolidated, very low velocity
sediments. The vertical and lateral resolution was very high, despite
the very shallow depth: the image showed the pinchout of
two layers at less than 10 m depth. The numerous traces used by
the CRS stack improved the continuity of the shallowest reflector,
but the deepest overburden reflectors appear unresolved,
with not well-imaged pinchouts. Using the kinematic wavefield
attributes determined for each stacking operation, we retrieved
velocity fields fitting the stacking velocities we had estimated in
the CMP processing. The use of CRS stack could be a significant
step ahead to increase the acceptance of the seismic reflection
method as a routine investigation method in shallow and
ultrashallow seismics
Determination of Dark Matter Properties at High-Energy Colliders
If the cosmic dark matter consists of weakly-interacting massive particles,
these particles should be produced in reactions at the next generation of
high-energy accelerators. Measurements at these accelerators can then be used
to determine the microscopic properties of the dark matter. From this, we can
predict the cosmic density, the annihilation cross sections, and the cross
sections relevant to direct detection. In this paper, we present studies in
supersymmetry models with neutralino dark matter that give quantitative
estimates of the accuracy that can be expected. We show that these are well
matched to the requirements of anticipated astrophysical observations of dark
matter. The capabilities of the proposed International Linear Collider (ILC)
are expected to play a particularly important role in this study.Comment: 124 pages, 62 figures; corrections and new material in Section 2.6
(direct detection); misc. additional correction
Drug Reformulation Regulatory Gaming in Pharmaceuticals: Enforcement & Innovation Implications
This article examines drug reformulation regulatory gaming as a vehicle for analyzing the way in which European courts and the Commission are currently approaching innovation issues in the pharmaceutical sector. First, the economics literature regarding pharmaceutical innovation is briefly summarized. Next, the phenomenon of regulatory gaming is introduced, followed by an analysis of the two primary theories of harm being used to address drug reformulations as a competition concern. In comparing the recent General Court decision in AstraZeneca to earlier U.S. court cases addressing similar conduct, it is asserted that these approaches differ in significant ways with regards to preservation of innovation incentives as well as on the basis of institutional and evidentiary concerns. Finally, this discussion is then placed into the broader context of the ongoing debate regarding pharmaceutical innovation that first surfaced in the Syfait cases—in particular, the desirability of sector-specific competition law analysis of pharmaceutical innovation
Gamma rays from ultracompact primordial dark matter minihalos
Ultracompact minihalos have recently been proposed as a new class of dark
matter structure. These minihalos would be produced by phase transitions in the
early Universe or features in the inflaton potential, and constitute
non-baryonic massive compact halo objects (MACHOs) today. We examine the
prospect of detecting ultracompact minihalos in gamma-rays if dark matter
consists of self-annihilating particles. We compute present-day fluxes from
minihalos produced in the electron-positron annihilation epoch, and the QCD and
electroweak phase transitions in the early Universe. Even at a distance of 100
pc, minihalos produced during the electron-positron annihilation epoch should
be eminently detectable today, either by the Fermi satellite, current Air
Cherenkov telescopes, or even in archival EGRET data. Within ~1 pc, minihalos
formed in the QCD phase transition would have similar predicted fluxes to the
dwarf spheroidal galaxies targeted by current indirect dark matter searches, so
might also be detectable by present or upcoming experiments.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Minor update to match published version of
erratu
Supervision and Collaboration Requirements: The Vulnerability of Nurse Practitioners and Its Implications for Retail Health
Numerical simulations of chromospheric hard X-ray source sizes in solar flares
X-ray observations are a powerful diagnostic tool for transport,
acceleration, and heating of electrons in solar flares. Height and size
measurements of X-ray footpoints sources can be used to determine the
chromospheric density and constrain the parameters of magnetic field
convergence and electron pitch-angle evolution. We investigate the influence of
the chromospheric density, magnetic mirroring and collisional pitch-angle
scattering on the size of X-ray sources. The time-independent Fokker-Planck
equation for electron transport is solved numerically and analytically to find
the electron distribution as a function of height above the photosphere. From
this distribution, the expected X-ray flux as a function of height, its peak
height and full width at half maximum are calculated and compared with RHESSI
observations. A purely instrumental explanation for the observed source size
was ruled out by using simulated RHESSI images. We find that magnetic mirroring
and collisional pitch-angle scattering tend to change the electron flux such
that electrons are stopped higher in the atmosphere compared with the simple
case with collisional energy loss only. However, the resulting X-ray flux is
dominated by the density structure in the chromosphere and only marginal
increases in source width are found. Very high loop densities (>10^{11}
cm^{-3}) could explain the observed sizes at higher energies, but are
unrealistic and would result in no footpoint emission below about 40 keV,
contrary to observations. We conclude that within a monolithic density model
the vertical sizes are given mostly by the density scale-height and are
predicted smaller than the RHESSI results show.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
The Symplectic Penrose Kite
The purpose of this article is to view the Penrose kite from the perspective
of symplectic geometry.Comment: 24 pages, 7 figures, minor changes in last version, to appear in
Comm. Math. Phys
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