Remark on lattice BRST invariance

A recently claimed resolution to the lattice Gribov problem in the context of chiral lattice gauge theories is examined. Unfortunately, I find that the old problem remains.Comment: 4 pages, plain TeX, presentation improved (see acknowledgments

On central tendency and dispersion measures for intervals and hypercubes

The uncertainty or the variability of the data may be treated by considering, rather than a single value for each data, the interval of values in which it may fall. This paper studies the derivation of basic description statistics for interval-valued datasets. We propose a geometrical approach in the determination of summary statistics (central tendency and dispersion measures) for interval-valued variables

The Phase Diagram and Spectrum of Gauge-Fixed Abelian Lattice Gauge Theory

We consider a lattice discretization of a covariantly gauge-fixed abelian gauge theory. The gauge fixing is part of the action defining the theory, and we study the phase diagram in detail. As there is no BRST symmetry on the lattice, counterterms are needed, and we construct those explicitly. We show that the proper adjustment of these counterterms drives the theory to a new type of phase transition, at which we recover a continuum theory of (free) photons. We present both numerical and (one-loop) perturbative results, and show that they are in good agreement near this phase transition. Since perturbation theory plays an important role, it is important to choose a discretization of the gauge-fixing action such that lattice perturbation theory is valid. Indeed, we find numerical evidence that lattice actions not satisfying this requirement do not lead to the desired continuum limit. While we do not consider fermions here, we argue that our results, in combination with previous work, provide very strong evidence that this new phase transition can be used to define abelian lattice chiral gauge theories.Comment: 42 pages, 30 figure

Active role of elongation factor G in maintaining the mRNA reading frame during translation.

During translation, the ribosome moves along the mRNA one codon at a time with the help of elongation factor G (EF-G). Spontaneous changes in the translational reading frame are extremely rare, yet how the precise triplet-wise step is maintained is not clear. Here, we show that the ribosome is prone to spontaneous frameshifting on mRNA slippery sequences, whereas EF-G restricts frameshifting. EF-G helps to maintain the mRNA reading frame by guiding the A-site transfer RNA during translocation due to specific interactions with the tip of EF-G domain 4. Furthermore, EF-G accelerates ribosome rearrangements that restore the ribosome's control over the codon-anticodon interaction at the end of the movement. Our data explain how the mRNA reading frame is maintained during translation

Shocks in unmagnetized plasma with a shear flow: Stability and magnetic field generation

A pair of curved shocks in a collisionless plasma is examined with a two-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation. The shocks are created by the collision of two electron-ion clouds at a speed that exceeds everywhere the threshold speed for shock formation. A variation of the collision speed along the initially planar collision boundary, which is comparable to the ion acoustic speed, yields a curvature of the shock that increases with time. The spatially varying Mach number of the shocks results in a variation of the downstream density in the direction along the shock boundary. This variation is eventually equilibrated by the thermal diffusion of ions. The pair of shocks is stable for tens of inverse ion plasma frequencies. The angle between the mean flow velocity vector of the inflowing upstream plasma and the shock's electrostatic field increases steadily during this time. The disalignment of both vectors gives rise to a rotational electron flow, which yields the growth of magnetic field patches that are coherent over tens of electron skin depths.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures accepted for publication in Physics of Plasma

Chiral Gauge Theory on Lattice with Domain Wall Fermions

We investigate a U(1) lattice chiral gauge theory with domain wall fermions and compact gauge fixing. In the reduced model limit, our perturbative and numerical investigations show that there exist no extra mirror chiral modes. The longitudinal gauge degrees of freedom have no effect on the free domain wall fermion spectrum consisting of opposite chiral modes at the domain wall and at the anti-domain wall which have an exponentially damped overlap.Comment: 16 pages revtex, 5 postscript figures, PRD versio

SPIRE imaging of M 82: Cool dust in the wind and tidal streams

M 82 is a unique representative of a whole class of galaxies, starbursts with superwinds, in the Very Nearby Galaxy Survey with Herschel. In addition, its interaction with the M 81 group has stripped a significant portion of its interstellar medium from its disk. SPIRE maps now afford better characterization of the far-infrared emission from cool dust outside the disk, and sketch a far more complete picture of its mass distribution and energetics than previously possible. They show emission coincident in projection with the starburst wind and in a large halo, much more extended than the PAH band emission seen with Spitzer. Some complex substructures coincide with the brightest PAH filaments, and others with tidal streams seen in atomic hydrogen. We subtract the far-infrared emission of the starburst and underlying disk from the maps, and derive spatially-resolved far-infrared colors for the wind and halo. We interpret the results in terms of dust mass, dust temperature, and global physical conditions. In particular, we examine variations in the dust physical properties as a function of distance from the center and the wind polar axis, and conclude that more than two thirds of the extraplanar dust has been removed by tidal interaction, and not entrained by the starburst wind

The dust morphology of the elliptical Galaxy M86 with SPIRE

We present Herschel-SPIRE observations at 250–500 μm of the giant elliptical galaxy M 86 and examine the distribution of the resolved cold dust emission and its relation with other galactic tracers. The SPIRE images reveal three dust components: emission from the central region; a dust lane extending north-south; and a bright emission feature 10 kpc to the south-east. We estimate that ~10^6 M_☉ of dust is spatially coincident with atomic and ionized hydrogen, originating from stripped material from the nearby spiral NGC 4438 due to recent tidal interactions with M 86. The gas-to-dust ratio of the cold gas component ranges from ~20–80. We discuss the different heating mechanisms for the dust features