70,956 research outputs found
Optimizing signal-to-error ratio in standing wave ultrasonic measurements
Standing wave ultrasonic techniques for the measurement of very small changes in acoustic attenuation and phase velocity are discussed. Enhanced sensitivity to these small changes was achieved by making the specimen part of a composite ultrasonic resonator. It was found that a point of maximum sensitivity on the response of such an ultrasonic resonator need not coincide with a point of maximum signal-to-error ratio. A model is presented and analyzed which takes into account error due to long term (low frequency) noise effects such as gain drifts and dc level shifts. This model yields a quantitative value for the signal-to-error ratio in which the signal is defined as the ideal change in the monitored response and the error as the difference between the experimentally measured change and the signal. The specific frequency dependent forms for the ultrasonic response and the sensitivity enhancement factor were used to predict the operating point on a mechanical resonance corresponding to maximum signal-to-error ratio
Nonperturbative contributions to the QCD pressure
We summarize the most important arguments why a perturbative description of
finite-temperature QCD is unlikely to be possible and review various
well-established approaches to deal with this problem. Then, using a recently
proposed method, we investigate nonperturbative contributions to the QCD
pressure and other observables (like energy, anomaly and bulk viscosity)
obtained by imposing a functional cutoff at the Gribov horizon. Finally, we
discuss how such contributions fit into the picture of consecutive effective
theories, as proposed by Braaten and Nieto, and give an outline of the next
steps necessary to improve this type of calculation.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures, uses xcolor.sty; in v2 quality of some figures
has been improved, discussion of other approaches has been extende
Illness in Returned Travelers and Immigrants/Refugees: The 6-Year Experience of Two Australian Infectious Diseases Units.
BACKGROUND: Data comparing returned travelers and immigrants/refugees managed in a hospital setting is lacking. METHODS: We prospectively collected data on 1,106 patients with an illness likely acquired overseas who presented to two hospital-based Australian infectious diseases units over a 6-year period. RESULTS: Eighty-three percent of patients were travelers and 17% immigrants/refugees. In travelers, malaria (19%), gastroenteritis/diarrhea (15%), and upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) (7%) were the most common diagnoses. When compared with immigrants/refugees, travelers were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with gastroenteritis/diarrhea [odds ratio (OR) 8], malaria (OR 7), pneumonia (OR 6), URTI (OR 3), skin infection, dengue fever, typhoid/paratyphoid fever, influenza, and rickettsial disease. They were significantly less likely to be diagnosed with leprosy (OR 0.03), chronic hepatitis (OR 0.04), tuberculosis (OR 0.05), schistosomiasis (OR 0.3), and helminthic infection (OR 0.3). In addition, travelers were more likely to present within 1 month of entry into Australia (OR 96), and have fever (OR 8), skin (OR 6), gastrointestinal (OR 5), or neurological symptoms (OR 5) but were less likely to be asymptomatic (OR 0.1) or have anaemia (OR 0.4) or eosinophilia (OR 0.3). Diseases in travelers were more likely to have been acquired via a vector (OR 13) or food and water (OR 4), and less likely to have been acquired via the respiratory (OR 0.2) or skin (OR 0.6) routes. We also found that travel destination and classification of traveler can significantly influence the likelihood of a specific diagnosis in travelers. Six percent of travelers developed a potentially vaccine-preventable disease, with failure to vaccinate occurring in 31% of these cases in the pretravel medical consultation. CONCLUSIONS: There are important differences in the spectrum of illness, clinical features, and mode of disease transmission between returned travelers and immigrants/refugees presenting to hospital-based Australian infectious diseases units with an illness acquired overseas
Multiparticle Interference, GHZ Entanglement, and Full Counting Statistics
We investigate the quantum transport in a generalized N-particle Hanbury
Brown--Twiss setup enclosing magnetic flux, and demonstrate that the Nth-order
cumulant of current cross correlations exhibits Aharonov-Bohm oscillations,
while there is no such oscillation in all the lower-order cumulants. The
multiparticle interference results from the orbital Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger
entanglement of N indistinguishable particles. For sufficiently strong
Aharonov-Bohm oscillations the generalized Bell inequalities may be violated,
proving the N-particle quantum nonlocality.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, published versio
Zenithal bistability in a nematic liquid crystal device with a monostable surface condition
The ground-state director configurations in a grating-aligned, zenithally bistable nematic device are calculated in two dimensions using a Q tensor approach. The director profiles generated are well described by a one-dimensional variation of the director across the width of the device, with the distorted region near the grating replaced by an effective surface anchoring energy. This work shows that device bistability can in fact be achieved by using a monostable surface term in the one-dimensional model. This implies that is should be possible to construct a device showing zenithal bistability without the need for a micropatterned surface
Lewis Research Center spin rig and its use in vibration analysis of rotating systems
The Lewis Research Center spin rig was constructed to provide experimental evaluation of analysis methods developed under the NASA Engine Structural Dynamics Program. Rotors up to 51 cm (20 in.) in diameter can be spun to 16,000 rpm in vacuum by an air motor. Vibration forcing functions are provided by shakers that apply oscillatory axial forces or transverse moments to the shaft, by a natural whirling of the shaft, and by an air jet. Blade vibration is detected by strain gages and optical blade-tip motion sensors. A variety of analogy and digital processing equipment is used to display and analyze the signals. Results obtained from two rotors are discussed. A 56-blade compressor disk was used to check proper operation of the entire spin rig system. A special two-blade rotor was designed and used to hold flat and twisted plates at various setting and sweep angles. Accurate Southwell coefficients have been obtained for several modes of a flat plate oriented parallel to the plane of rotation
Boundary States and Black Hole Entropy
Black hole entropy is derived from a sum over boundary states. The boundary
states are labeled by energy and momentum surface densities, and parametrized
by the boundary metric. The sum over state labels is expressed as a functional
integral with measure determined by the density of states. The sum over metrics
is expressed as a functional integral with measure determined by the universal
expression for the inverse temperature gradient at the horizon. The analysis
applies to any stationary, nonextreme black hole in any theory of gravitational
and matter fields.Comment: 4 pages, Revte
The effective mass of two--dimensional 3He
We use structural information from diffusion Monte Carlo calculations for
two--dimensional 3He to calculate the effective mass. Static effective
interactions are constructed from the density-- and spin structure functions
using sumrules. We find that both spin-- and density-- fluctuations contribute
about equally to the effective mass. Our results show, in agreement with recent
experiments, a flattening of the single--particle self--energy with increasing
density, which eventually leads to a divergent effective mass.Comment: 4 pages, accepted in PR
Deuteron tensor polarization component T_20(Q^2) as a crucial test for deuteron wave functions
The deuteron tensor polarization component T_20(Q^2) is calculated by
relativistic Hamiltonian dynamics approach. It is shown that in the range of
momentum transfers available in to-day experiments, relativistic effects, meson
exchange currents and the choice of nucleon electromagnetic form factors almost
do not influence the value of T_20(Q^2). At the same time, this value depends
strongly on the actual form of the deuteron wave function, that is on the model
of NN-interaction in deuteron. So the existing data for T_20(Q^2) provide a
crucial test for deuteron wave functions.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure
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