3,052 research outputs found
Light-in-flight recording. 5: Theory of slowing down the faster-than-light motion of the light shutter
Light-in-flight recording by holography uses a picosecond pulse for the reference beam, which like a sheet of light intersects the hologram plate and produces a sensitivity area that with a speed faster than light moves over the plate like a light shutter. If, however, the front of the reference pulse by diffraction in a grating is tilted relative to its direction of motion, the velocity of the light shutter can be slowed down resulting in increased recording time. The practical result using a reflection grating was a true recording that corresponded to a time compression of two to one. To minimize distortions of the recorded pulse shape we studied intersections that are identical for apparent (ellipsoidal) and true (spheroidal) wavefronts
The Plausibility of a String Quartet Performance in Virtual Reality
We describe an experiment that explores the contribution of auditory and other features to the illusion of plausibility in a
virtual environment that depicts the performance of a string quartet. ‘Plausibility’ refers to the component of presence that is the
illusion that the perceived events in the virtual environment are really happening. The features studied were: Gaze (the musicians
ignored the participant, the musicians sometimes looked towards and followed the participant’s movements), Sound Spatialization
(Mono, Stereo, Spatial), Auralization (no sound reflections, reflections corresponding to a room larger than the one perceived,
reflections that exactly matched the virtual room), and Environment (no sound from outside of the room, birdsong and wind
corresponding to the outside scene). We adopted the methodology based on color matching theory, where 20 participants were first
able to assess their feeling of plausibility in the environment with each of the four features at their highest setting. Then five times
participants started from a low setting on all features and were able to make transitions from one system configuration to another until
they matched their original feeling of plausibility. From these transitions a Markov transition matrix was constructed, and also
probabilities of a match conditional on feature configuration. The results show that Environment and Gaze were individually the most
important factors influencing the level of plausibility. The highest probability transitions were to improve Environment and Gaze, and
then Auralization and Spatialization. We present this work as both a contribution to the methodology of assessing presence without
questionnaires, and showing how various aspects of a musical performance can influence plausibility
Validity of self-reported smoking status: comparison of patients admitted to hospital with acute coronary syndrome and the general population
Many studies rely on self-reported smoking status. We hypothesized that patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), a smoking-related condition, would be more prone to misclassify themselves as ex-smokers, because of pressure to quit. We compared patients admitted with ACS with a general population survey conducted in the same country at a similar time. We determined whether ACS patients who classified themselves as ex-smokers (n = 635) were more likely to have cotinine levels suggestive of smoking deception than self-reported ex-smokers in the general population (n = 289). On univariate analysis, the percentage of smoking deceivers was similar among ACS patients and the general population (11% vs. 12%, p = .530). Following adjustment for age, sex and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, ACS patients were significantly more likely to misclassify themselves (adjusted OR = 14.06, 95% CI 2.13-93.01, p = .006). There was an interaction with age whereby the probability of misclassification fell significantly with increasing age in the ACS group (adjusted OR = 0.95, 95% CI 0.93-0.97, p<.001), but not in the general population. Overall, smoking deception was more common among ACS patients than the general population. Studies comparing patients with cardiovascular disease and healthy individuals risk introducing bias if they rely solely on self-reported smoking status. Biochemical confirmation should be undertaken in such studies
Considerations for Post-processing Parameters in Mixed-Method 3D Analyses: A Mesolithic Mandibular Case Study
The production of three-dimensional (3D) digital meshes of surface and computed tomographic (CT) data has become widespread in morphometric analyses of anthropological and archaeological data. Given that processing methods are not standardized, this leaves questions regarding the comparability of processed and digitally curated 3D datasets. The goal of this study was to identify those processing parameters that result in the most consistent fit between CT-derived meshes and a 3D surface model of the same human mandible. Eight meshes, each using unique thresholding and smoothing parameters, were compared to assess whole-object deviations, deviations along curves, and deviations between specific anatomical features on the surface model when compared with the CT scans using a suite of comparison points. Based on calculated gap distances, the mesh that thresholded at “0” with an applied smoothing technique was found to deviate least from the surface model, although it is not the most biologically accurate. Results have implications for aggregated studies that employ multimodal 3D datasets, and caution is recommended for studies that enlist 3D data from websites and digital repositories, particularly if processing parameters are unknown or derived for studies with different research foci.
La producción de mallas digitales tridimensionales (3D) de superficie e información tomográfica computarizada (TC) se ha generalizado en los analisis morfométricos de datos antropológicos y arqueológicos. Dado que los métodos de procesamiento no están estandarizados quedan dudas sobre la comparabilidad de conjuntos de datos 3D procesados y curados digitalmente. El objetivo de este estudio fue identificar los parámetros de procesamiento que tienen la compatibilidad más consistente entre mallas derivadas de TC y un modelo de superficie 3D de la misma mandibula humana. Fueron comparadas ocho mallas cada una con parámetros únicos de umbralización y suavizado, para evaluar las desviaciones de todo el objeto, las desviaciones a lo largo de las curvas y las desviaciones entre características anatómicas específicas en el modelo de superficie, en comparación con cada una de las tomografías computarizadas utilizando un conjunto de puntos de comparación. Con base en las distancias de separación calculadas, aunque no las más precisas desde el punto de vista biológico, se encontró que la malla con umbral en “0” con una técnica de suavizado aplicada se desvía menos de la superficie modelo. Los resultados tienen implicaciones para los estudios agregados que emplean conjuntos de datos 3D multimodales y se recomienda precaución para los estudios que incluyen datos 3D de sitios web y repositorios digitales, especialmente si los parámetros de procesamiento son desconocidos o derivados de estudios con diferentes focos de investigación
Inflation with a stringy minimal length, reworked
In this paper we revisit the formulation of scalar field theories on de
Sitter backgrounds subject to the generalized uncertainty principle (GUP). The
GUP arises in several contexts in string theory, but is most readily thought of
as resulting from using strings as effective probes of geometry, which suggests
an uncertainty relation incorporating the string scale . After reviewing
the string theoretic case for the GUP, which implies a minimum length scale
, we follow in the footsteps of Kempf and concern ourselves with how one
might write down field theories which respect the GUP. We uncover a new
representation of the GUP, which unlike previous studies, readily permits exact
analytical solutions for the mode functions of a scalar field on de Sitter
backgrounds. We find that scalar fields cannot be quantized on inflationary
backgrounds with a Hubble radius smaller than the string scale,
implying a sensibly stringy (as opposed to Planckian) cutoff on the scale of
inflation resulting from the GUP. We also compute corrections to
the two point correlation function analytically and comment on the future
prospects of observing such corrections in the fortunate circumstance our
universe is described by a very weakly coupled string theory.Comment: To appear in JHEP. Sub-section discussing how our approach avoids
certain ordering ambiguities adde
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The Seasonal Evolution of Albedo across Glaciers and the Surrounding Landscape of Taylor Valley, Antarctica
The McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDVs) of Antarctica are a polar desert ecosystem consisting of alpine glaciers, ice-covered lakes, streams, and expanses of vegetation-free rocky soil. Because average summer temperatures are close to 0 Cel., the MDV ecosystem in general, and glacier melt dynamics in particular, are both closely linked to the energy balance. A slight increase in incoming radiation or change in albedo can have large effects on the timing and volume of meltwater. However, the seasonal evolution or spatial variability of albedo in the valleys has yet to fully characterized. In this study, we aim to understand the drivers of landscape albedo change within and across seasons. To do so, a box with a camera, GPS, and shortwave radiometer was hung from a helicopter that flew transects four to five times a season along Taylor Valley. Measurements were repeated over three seasons. These data were coupled with incoming radiation measured at six meteorological stations distributed along the valley to calculate the distribution of albedo across individual glaciers, lakes, and soil surfaces. We hypothesized that albedo would decrease throughout the austral summer with ablation of snow patches and increasing sediment exposure on the glacier and lake surfaces. However, small snow events (\u3c 6mm water equivalent) coupled with ice whitening caused spatial and temporal variability of albedo across the entire landscape. Glaciers frequently followed a pattern of increasing albedo with increasing elevation, as well as increasing albedo moving from east to west laterally across the ablation zone. We suggest that spatial patterns of albedo are a function of landscape morphology trapping snow and sediment, longitudinal gradients in snowfall magnitude, and wind-driven snow redistribution from east to west along the valley. We also compare our albedo measurements to the MODIS albedo product and found that overall the data have reasonable agreement. The mismatch in spatial scale between these two datasets results in variability, which is reduced after a snow event due to albedo following valley-scale gradients of snowfall magnitude. These findings highlight the importance of understanding the spatial and temporal variability in albedo and the close coupling of climate and landscape response. This new understanding of landscape albedo can constrain landscape energy budgets, better predict meltwater generation on from MDV glaciers, and how these ecosystems will respond to changing climate at the landscape scale
Cosmic antiprotons as a probe for supersymmetric dark matter?
The flux of cosmic ray antiprotons from neutralino annihilations in the
galactic halo is computed for a large sample of models in the MSSM (the Minimal
Supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model). We also revisit the problem of
estimating the background of low-energy cosmic ray induced secondary
antiprotons, taking into account their subsequent interactions (and energy
loss) and the presence of nuclei in the interstellar matter.
We consider a two-zone diffusion model, with and without a galactic wind. We
find that, given the uncertainties in the background predictions, there is no
need for a primary (exotic) component to explain present data. However,
allowing for a signal by playing with the uncertainties in the background
estimate, we discuss the characteristic features of the supersymmetric models
which give a satisfactory description of the data. We point out that in some
cases the optimal kinetic energy to search for a signal from supersymmetric
dark matter is above several GeV, rather than the traditional sub-GeV region.
The large astrophysical uncertainties involved do not, one the other hand,
allow the exclusion of any of the MSSM models we consider, on the basis of
data.
We present besides numerical results also convenient parameterizations of the
antiproton yields of all `basic' two-body final states. We also give examples
of the yield and differential energy spectrum for a set of supersymmetric
models with high rates.
We also remark that it is difficult to put a limit on the antiproton lifetime
from present measurements, since the injection of antiprotons from neutralino
annihilation can compensate the loss from decay.Comment: 22 pages, 11 figures, uses emulateapj.st
Higgs Bosons and the Indirect Search for WIMPs
We investigated the contribution of the MSSM Higgs bosons produced in the
neutralino annihilation in the Earth and Sun to the total WIMPs detection
signals. We found that this contribution is very important and results in a
lower bound for the muon flux from the Sun of 10^{-7} - 10^{-8} m^{-2} yr^{-1}
for neutralinos heavier than 200 GeV. We noticed that due to the SUSY charged
Higgs bosons one can expect an energetic tau neutrino flux from the Sun at a
level of 10^2 m^{-2} yr^{-1}.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures. Talk given at Dark2000, Heidelberg, Germany,
10-15 July, 200
A general condition of inflationary cosmology on trans-Planckian physics
We consider a more general initial condition satisfying the minimal
uncertainty relationship. We calculate the power spectrum of a simple model in
inflationary cosmology. The results depend on perturbations generated below a
fundamental scale, e.g. the Planck scale.Comment: 7 pages, References adde
CMB quadrupole suppression: II. The early fast roll stage
Within the effective field theory of inflation, an initialization of the
classical dynamics of the inflaton with approximate equipartition between the
kinetic and potential energy of the inflaton leads to a brief fast roll stage
that precedes the slow roll regime. The fast roll stage leads to an attractive
potential in the wave equations for the mode functions of curvature and tensor
perturbations. The evolution of the inflationary perturbations is equivalent to
the scattering by this potential and a useful dictionary between the scattering
data and observables is established.Implementing methods from scattering theory
we prove that this attractive potential leads to a suppression of the
quadrupole moment for CMB and B-mode angular power spectra. The scale of the
potential is determined by the Hubble parameter during slow roll. Within the
effective field theory of inflation at the grand unification (GUT) energy scale
we find that if inflation lasts a total number of efolds N_{tot} ~ 59, there is
a 10-20% suppression of the CMB quadrupole and about 2-4% suppression of the
tensor quadrupole. The suppression of higher multipoles is smaller, falling off
as 1/l^2. The suppression is much smaller for N_{tot} > 59, therefore if the
observable suppression originates in the fast roll stage, there is the upper
bound N_{tot} ~ 59.Comment: Some comments and references adde
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