812 research outputs found
Local conditions influence thermal sensitivity of pencil urchin populations (Eucidaris galapagensis) in the Galápagos Archipelago
The responses of ectothermic organisms to changes in temperature can be modified by acclimatization or adaptation to local thermal conditions. Thus, the effect of global warming and the deleterious effects of extreme heating events (e.g., heatwaves) on the metabolism and fitness of ectotherms can be population specific and reduced at warmer sites. We tested the hypothesis that when environmental temperature is greater, grazer populations in the Galápagos are less thermally sensitive (potentially due to acclimatization or adaptation). We quantified the acute thermal sensitivity of four populations of the pencil sea urchin, Eucidaris galapagensis, by measuring individual oxygen consumption across a range of temperatures. Thermal performance curves were estimated for each population and compared to local thermal conditions 2 months prior to collection. Results indicate that E. galapagensis populations were adapted and/or acclimatized to short-term local temperature as populations at warmer sites had substantially higher thermal tolerances. The acute thermal optimum (Topt) for the warmest and coolest site populations differed by 3 °C and the Topt was positively correlated with maximum temperature recorded at each site. Additionally, temperature-normalized respiration rate and activation energy (E) were negatively related to the maximum temperature. Understanding the temperature-dependent performance of the pencil urchin (the most significant mesograzer in this system), including its population specificity, provides insight into how herbivores and the functions they perform might be affected by further ocean heating
N=2 Supersymmetric Scalar-Tensor Couplings
We determine the general coupling of a system of scalars and antisymmetric
tensors, with at most two derivatives and undeformed gauge transformations, for
both rigid and local N=2 supersymmetry in four-dimensional spacetime. Our
results cover interactions of hyper, tensor and double-tensor multiplets and
apply among others to Calabi-Yau threefold compactifications of Type II
supergravities. As an example, we give the complete Lagrangian and
supersymmetry transformation rules of the double-tensor multiplet dual to the
universal hypermultiplet.Comment: 23 pages, LaTeX2e with amsmath.sty; v2: corrected typos and added
referenc
Multilevel Monte Carlo methods
The author's presentation of multilevel Monte Carlo path simulation at the
MCQMC 2006 conference stimulated a lot of research into multilevel Monte Carlo
methods. This paper reviews the progress since then, emphasising the
simplicity, flexibility and generality of the multilevel Monte Carlo approach.
It also offers a few original ideas and suggests areas for future research
Competing orders in a magnetic field: spin and charge order in the cuprate superconductors
We describe two-dimensional quantum spin fluctuations in a superconducting
Abrikosov flux lattice induced by a magnetic field applied to a doped Mott
insulator. Complete numerical solutions of a self-consistent large N theory
provide detailed information on the phase diagram and on the spatial structure
of the dynamic spin spectrum. Our results apply to phases with and without
long-range spin density wave order and to the magnetic quantum critical point
separating these phases. We discuss the relationship of our results to a number
of recent neutron scattering measurements on the cuprate superconductors in the
presence of an applied field. We compute the pinning of static charge order by
the vortex cores in the `spin gap' phase where the spin order remains
dynamically fluctuating, and argue that these results apply to recent scanning
tunnelling microscopy (STM) measurements. We show that with a single typical
set of values for the coupling constants, our model describes the field
dependence of the elastic neutron scattering intensities, the absence of
satellite Bragg peaks associated with the vortex lattice in existing neutron
scattering observations, and the spatial extent of charge order in STM
observations. We mention implications of our theory for NMR experiments. We
also present a theoretical discussion of more exotic states that can be built
out of the spin and charge order parameters, including spin nematics and phases
with `exciton fractionalization'.Comment: 36 pages, 33 figures; for a popular introduction, see
http://onsager.physics.yale.edu/superflow.html; (v2) Added reference to new
work of Chen and Ting; (v3) reorganized presentation for improved clarity,
and added new appendix on microscopic origin; (v4) final published version
with minor change
SCExAO/MEC and CHARIS Discovery of a Low Mass, 6 AU-Separation Companion to HIP 109427 using Stochastic Speckle Discrimination and High-Contrast Spectroscopy
We report the direct imaging discovery of a low-mass companion to the nearby
accelerating A star, HIP 109427, with the Subaru Coronagraphic Extreme Adaptive
Optics (SCExAO) instrument coupled with the MKID Exoplanet Camera (MEC) and
CHARIS integral field spectrograph. CHARIS data reduced with reference star PSF
subtraction yield 1.1-2.4 m spectra. MEC reveals the companion in and
band at a comparable signal-to-noise ratio using stochastic speckle
discrimination, with no PSF subtraction techniques. Combined with complementary
follow-up photometry from Keck/NIRC2, the SCExAO data favors a
spectral type, effective temperature, and luminosity of M4-M5.5, 3000-3200 ,
and , respectively.
Relative astrometry of HIP 109427 B from SCExAO/CHARIS and Keck/NIRC2, and
complementary Gaia-Hipparcos absolute astrometry of the primary favor a
semimajor axis of au, an eccentricity of
, an inclination of degrees, and a
dynamical mass of . This work shows the
potential for extreme AO systems to utilize speckle statistics in addition to
widely-used post-processing methods to directly image faint companions to
nearby stars near the telescope diffraction limit.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, 3 table
Taenia solium porcine cysticercosis in Madagascar: Comparison of immuno-diagnostic techniques and estimation of the prevalence in pork carcasses traded in Antananarivo city
Taenia solium cysticercosis was reported in official veterinary and medical statistics to be highly prevalent in pigs and humans in Madagascar, but few estimates are available for pigs. This study aimed to estimate the seroprevalence of porcine cysticercosis among pigs slaughtered in Antananarivo abattoirs. Firstly, the diagnostic performance of two antigen-ELISA techniques (B158B60 Ag-ELISA and HP10 Ag-ELISA) and an immunoblotting method were compared with meat inspection procedures on a sample of pigs suspected to be infected with (group 1; n = 250) or free of (group 2; n = 250) T. solium based on direct veterinary inspection in Madagascar. Sensitivity and specificity of the antigen ELISAs were then estimated using a Bayesian approach for detection of porcine cysticercosis in the absence of a gold standard. Then, a third set of pig sera (group 3, n = 250) was randomly collected in Antananarivo slaughterhouses and tested to estimate the overall prevalence of T. solium contamination in pork meat traded in Antananarivo. The antigen ELISAs showed a high sensitivity (>84%), but the B158B60 Ag-ELISA appeared to be more specific than the HP10 Ag-ELISA (model 1: 95% vs 74%; model 2: 87% vs 71%). The overall prevalence of porcine cysticercosis in Antananarivo slaughterhouses was estimated at 2.3% (95% credibility interval [95%CrI]: 0.09–9.1%) to 2.6% (95%CrI: 0.1–10.3%) depending on the model and priors used. Since the sample used in this study is not representative of the national pig population, village-based surveys and longitudinal monitoring at slaughter are needed to better estimate the overall prevalence, geographical patterns and main risk factors for T. solium contamination, in order to improve control policies. (Résumé d'auteur
Measurement of the Charged Multiplicities in b, c and Light Quark Events from Z0 Decays
Average charged multiplicities have been measured separately in , and
light quark () events from decays measured in the SLD experiment.
Impact parameters of charged tracks were used to select enriched samples of
and light quark events, and reconstructed charmed mesons were used to select
quark events. We measured the charged multiplicities:
,
, from
which we derived the differences between the total average charged
multiplicities of or quark events and light quark events: and . We compared
these measurements with those at lower center-of-mass energies and with
perturbative QCD predictions. These combined results are in agreement with the
QCD expectations and disfavor the hypothesis of flavor-independent
fragmentation.Comment: 19 pages LaTex, 4 EPS figures, to appear in Physics Letters
The Science of Sungrazers, Sunskirters, and Other Near-Sun Comets
This review addresses our current understanding of comets that venture close to the Sun, and are hence exposed to much more extreme conditions than comets that are typically studied from Earth. The extreme solar heating and plasma environments that these objects encounter change many aspects of their behaviour, thus yielding valuable information on both the comets themselves that complements other data we have on primitive solar system bodies, as well as on the near-solar environment which they traverse. We propose clear definitions for these comets: We use the term near-Sun comets to encompass all objects that pass sunward of the perihelion distance of planet Mercury (0.307 AU). Sunskirters are defined as objects that pass within 33 solar radii of the Sun’s centre, equal to half of Mercury’s perihelion distance, and the commonly-used phrase sungrazers to be objects that reach perihelion within 3.45 solar radii, i.e. the fluid Roche limit. Finally, comets with orbits that intersect the solar photosphere are termed sundivers. We summarize past studies of these objects, as well as the instruments and facilities used to study them, including space-based platforms that have led to a recent revolution in the quantity and quality of relevant observations. Relevant comet populations are described, including the Kreutz, Marsden, Kracht, and Meyer groups, near-Sun asteroids, and a brief discussion of their origins. The importance of light curves and the clues they provide on cometary composition are emphasized, together with what information has been gleaned about nucleus parameters, including the sizes and masses of objects and their families, and their tensile strengths. The physical processes occurring at these objects are considered in some detail, including the disruption of nuclei, sublimation, and ionisation, and we consider the mass, momentum, and energy loss of comets in the corona and those that venture to lower altitudes. The different components of comae and tails are described, including dust, neutral and ionised gases, their chemical reactions, and their contributions to the near-Sun environment. Comet-solar wind interactions are discussed, including the use of comets as probes of solar wind and coronal conditions in their vicinities. We address the relevance of work on comets near the Sun to similar objects orbiting other stars, and conclude with a discussion of future directions for the field and the planned ground- and space-based facilities that will allow us to address those science topics
Search for the standard model Higgs boson in tau final states
We present a search for the standard model Higgs boson using hadronically
decaying tau leptons, in 1 inverse femtobarn of data collected with the D0
detector at the Fermilab Tevatron ppbar collider. We select two final states:
tau plus missing transverse energy and b jets, and tau+ tau- plus jets. These
final states are sensitive to a combination of associated W/Z boson plus Higgs
boson, vector boson fusion and gluon-gluon fusion production processes. The
observed ratio of the combined limit on the Higgs production cross section at
the 95% C.L. to the standard model expectation is 29 for a Higgs boson mass of
115 GeV.Comment: publication versio
Measurement of the p-pbar -> Wgamma + X cross section at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV and WWgamma anomalous coupling limits
The WWgamma triple gauge boson coupling parameters are studied using p-pbar
-> l nu gamma + X (l = e,mu) events at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV. The data were
collected with the DO detector from an integrated luminosity of 162 pb^{-1}
delivered by the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. The cross section times branching
fraction for p-pbar -> W(gamma) + X -> l nu gamma + X with E_T^{gamma} > 8 GeV
and Delta R_{l gamma} > 0.7 is 14.8 +/- 1.6 (stat) +/- 1.0 (syst) +/- 1.0 (lum)
pb. The one-dimensional 95% confidence level limits on anomalous couplings are
-0.88 < Delta kappa_{gamma} < 0.96 and -0.20 < lambda_{gamma} < 0.20.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. D Rapid Communication
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