1,286 research outputs found
Hedging in Field Theory Models of the Term Structure
We use path integrals to calculate hedge parameters and efficacy of hedging
in a quantum field theory generalization of the Heath, Jarrow and Morton (HJM)
term structure model which parsimoniously describes the evolution of
imperfectly correlated forward rates. We also calculate, within the model
specification, the effectiveness of hedging over finite periods of time. We use
empirical estimates for the parameters of the model to show that a low
dimensional hedge portfolio is quite effective.Comment: 18 figures, Invited Talk, International Econophysics Conference,
Bali, 28-31 August 200
Auditory but Not Audiovisual Cues Lead to Higher Neural Sensitivity to the Statistical Regularities of an Unfamiliar Musical Style
It is still a matter of debate whether visual aids improve learning of music. In a multisession study, we investigated the neural signatures of novel music sequence learning with or without aids (auditory-only: AO, audiovisual: AV). During three training sessions on 3 separate days, participants (nonmusicians) reproduced (note by note on a keyboard) melodic sequences generated by an artificial musical grammar. The AV group (n = 20) had each note color-coded on screen, whereas the AO group (n = 20) had no color indication. We evaluated learning of the statistical regularities of the novel music grammar before and after training by presenting melodies ending on correct or incorrect notes and by asking participants to judge the correctness and surprisal of the final note, while EEG was recorded. We found that participants successfully learned the new grammar. Although the AV group, as compared to the AO group, reproduced longer sequences during training, there was no significant difference in learning between groups. At the neural level, after training, the AO group showed a larger N100 response to lowprobability compared to high-probability notes, suggesting an increased neural sensitivity to statistical properties of the grammar; this effect was not observed in the AV group. Our findings
indicate that visual aids might improve sequence reproduction while not necessarily promoting better learning, indicating a potential dissociation between sequence reproduction and learning. We suggest that the difficulty induced by auditory-only input during music training might enhance cognitive engagement, thereby improving neural sensitivity to the underlying statistical properties of the learned material
The ACS LCID project IV: detection of the RGB bump in isolated galaxies of the Local Group
We report the detection and analysis of the red giant branch luminosity
function bump in a sample of isolated dwarf galaxies in the Local Group. We
have designed a new analysis approach comparing the observed color-magnitude
diagrams with theoretical best-fit color-magnitude diagrams derived from
precise estimates of the star formation histories of each galaxy. This analysis
is based on studying the difference between the V-magnitude of the RGB bump and
the horizontal branch at the level of the RR Lyrae instability strip
(Delta_vhbb) and we discuss here a technique for reliably measuring this
quantity in complex stellar systems. By using this approach, we find that the
difference between the observed and predicted values of Delta_vhbb is +0.13 +/-
0.14 mag. This is smaller, by about a factor of two, than the well-known
discrepancy between theory and observation at low metallicity commonly derived
for Galactic globular clusters. This result is confirmed by a comparison
between the adopted theoretical framework and empirical estimates of the
Delta_vhbb parameter for both a large database of Galactic globular clusters
and for four other dSph galaxies for which this estimate is available in the
literature. We also investigate the strength of the red giant branch bump
feature (R_bump), and find very good agreement between the observed and
theoretically predicted R_bump values. This agreement supports the reliability
of the evolutionary lifetimes predicted by theoretical models of the evolution
of low-mass stars.Comment: Accepted for publication on Ap
Adolescents, Adults and Rewards: Comparing Motivational Neurocircuitry Recruitment Using fMRI
Background: Adolescent risk-taking, including behaviors resulting in injury or death, has been attributed in part to maturational differences in mesolimbic incentive-motivational neurocircuitry, including ostensible oversensitivity of the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) to rewards. Methodology/Principal Findings: To test whether adolescents showed increased NAcc activation by cues for rewards, or by delivery of rewards, we scanned 24 adolescents (age 12–17) and 24 adults age (22–42) with functional magnetic resonance imaging while they performed a monetary incentive delay (MID) task. The MID task was configured to temporally disentangle potential reward or potential loss anticipation-related brain signal from reward or loss notification-related signal. Subjects saw cues signaling opportunities to win or avoid losing .50, or $5 for responding quickly to a subsequent target. Subjects then viewed feedback of their trial success after a variable interval from cue presentation of between 6 to17 s. Adolescents showed reduced NAcc recruitment by reward-predictive cues compared to adult controls in a linear contrast with non-incentive cues, and in a volume-of-interest analysis of signal change in the NAcc. In contrast, adolescents showed little difference in striatal and frontocortical responsiveness to reward deliveries compared to adults. Conclusions/Significance: In light of divergent developmental difference findings between neuroimaging incentive paradigms (as well as at different stages within the same task), these data suggest that maturational differences i
Multifunctional Devices and Logic Gates With Undoped Silicon Nanowires
We report on the electronic transport properties of multiple-gate devices
fabricated from undoped silicon nanowires. Understanding and control of the
relevant transport mechanisms was achieved by means of local electrostatic
gating and temperature dependent measurements. The roles of the source/drain
contacts and of the silicon channel could be independently evaluated and tuned.
Wrap gates surrounding the silicide-silicon contact interfaces were proved to
be effective in inducing a full suppression of the contact Schottky barriers,
thereby enabling carrier injection down to liquid-helium temperature. By
independently tuning the effective Schottky barrier heights, a variety of
reconfigurable device functionalities could be obtained. In particular, the
same nanowire device could be configured to work as a Schottky barrier
transistor, a Schottky diode or a p-n diode with tunable polarities. This
versatility was eventually exploited to realize a NAND logic gate with gain
well above one.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure
Nanoscale spin rectifiers controlled by the Stark effect
The control of orbital and spin state of single electrons is a key ingredient
for quantum information processing, novel detection schemes, and, more
generally, is of much relevance for spintronics. Coulomb and spin blockade (SB)
in double quantum dots (DQDs) enable advanced single-spin operations that would
be available even for room-temperature applications for sufficiently small
devices. To date, however, spin operations in DQDs were observed at sub-Kelvin
temperatures, a key reason being that scaling a DQD system while retaining an
independent field-effect control on the individual dots is very challenging.
Here we show that quantum-confined Stark effect allows an independent
addressing of two dots only 5 nm apart with no need for aligned nanometer-size
local gating. We thus demonstrate a scalable method to fully control a DQD
device, regardless of its physical size. In the present implementation we show
InAs/InP nanowire (NW) DQDs that display an experimentally detectable SB up to
10 K. We also report and discuss an unexpected re-entrant SB lifting as a
function magnetic-field intensity
Digital technology and governance in transition: The case of the British Library
Comment on the organizational consequences of the new information and communications technologies (ICTs) is pervaded by a powerful imagery of disaggregation and a tendency for ?virtual? forms of production to be seen as synonymous with the ?end? of bureaucracy. This paper questions the underlying assumptions of the ?virtual organization?, highlighting the historically enduring, diversified character of the bureaucratic form. The paper then presents case study findings on the web-based access to information resources now being provided by the British Library (BL). The case study evidence produces two main findings. First, radically decentralised virtual forms of service delivery are heavily dependent on new forms of capacity-building and information aggregation. Second, digital technology is embedded in an inherently contested and contradictory context of institutional change. Current developments in the management and control of digital rights are consistent with the commodification of the public sphere. However, the evidence also suggests that scholarly access to information resources is being significantly influenced by the ?information society? objectives of the BL and other institutional players within the network of UK research libraries
Nonresonant enhancement of spontaneous emission in metal-dielectric-metal plasmon waveguide structures
We theoretically investigate the spontaneous emission process of an optical, dipolar emitter in metal-dielectric-metal slab and slot waveguide structures. We find that both structures exhibit strong emission enhancements at nonresonant conditions, due to the tight confinement of modes between two metallic plates. The large enhancement of surface plasmon-polariton excitation enables dipole emission to be preferentially coupled into plasmon waveguide modes. These structures find applications in creating nanoscale local light sources or in generating guided single plasmons in integrated optical circuitsclose849
The interaction in nuclear matter from a study of the reactions
The pion-production reactions were studied on
, , , and nuclei at an incident pion energy
of =283 MeV. Pions were detected in coincidence using the CHAOS
spectrometer. The experimental results are reduced to differential cross
sections and compared to both theoretical predictions and the reaction phase
space. The composite ratio between the
invariant masses on nuclei and on the nucleon is also presented. Near the
threshold pion pairs couple to when produced in
the reaction channel. There is a marked near-threshold
enhancement of which is consistent with theoretical
predictions addressing the partial restoration of chiral symmetry in nuclear
matter. Furthermore, the behaviour of is well
described when the restoration of chiral symmetry is combined with standard
P-wave renormalization of pions in nuclear matter. On the other hand, nuclear
matter only weakly influences , which displays a flat
behaviour throughout the energy range regardless of .Comment: 30 pages, 16 figures, PS format, accepted for publication in Nucl.
Phys
A shelf-life study of silica- and carbon-based mesoporous materials
Mesoporous silica- and carbon-based materials, including bioactive glasses, have proven potential as components of medical devices and as drug carriers. From an application perspective, knowledge about the shelf-life stability of these materials under various conditions is vital. Here, mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs) synthesized by aerosol-assisted spray-drying and by a batch sol–gel method, mesoporous silicas of SBA-15 type, and mesoporous carbons CMK-1 and CMK-3 have been stored under varying conditions, e.g. at different temperature and relative humidity (RH), and in different storage vessels. The results show that the silica-based materials stored in Eppendorfs are sensitive to humidity. Spray dried MBGs decompose within 1 month at a RH >5%, whilst sol–gel MBGs are more stable up to a RH >60%. Changing the storage vessel to sealed glass flasks increases the MBGs lifetime significantly, with no degradation during 2 months of storage at a RH = 75%. SBA-15 stored in Eppendorfs are more stable compared to MBGs, and addition of F- ions added during the synthesis affects the material degradation rate. Mesoporous carbons are stable under all conditions for all time points. This systematic study clearly demonstrates the importance of storage conditions for mesoporous materials which is crucial knowledge for commercialization of these materials
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