8,723 research outputs found
Direct Image-to-Geometry Registration Using Mobile Sensor Data
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Conformal Mapping, Power Corrections, and the QCD Bound State Spectrum
We analyze the heavy quark bound state spectrum using an order-dependent
conformal mapping to re-sum the perturbative expansion for current correlators.
The procedure consists of two main steps. Firstly, the Borel plane structure of
the truncated perturbative expression is modified to ensure consistency with
the operator product expansion. This is analogous to a resummation of infrared
renormalon chains. Secondly, this perturbative expansion is conformally mapped
to a new series with improved convergence properties. This approach may be
shown to induce power corrections consistent with existing condensates, and the
resulting expansion may be ordered in powers of an infrared-analytic effective
coupling. The technique is then applied to and sum rules
without any explicit introduction of vacuum condensate parameters. Ground state
masses for the vector, axial--vector, and channels are well reproduced,
while results for the scalar--pseudoscalar mass splitting are less impressive.Comment: 26 pages, RevTeX, 10 postscript figure
Convergence of the Optimized Delta Expansion for the Connected Vacuum Amplitude: Zero Dimensions
Recent proofs of the convergence of the linear delta expansion in zero and in
one dimensions have been limited to the analogue of the vacuum generating
functional in field theory. In zero dimensions it was shown that with an
appropriate, -dependent, choice of an optimizing parameter \l, which is an
important feature of the method, the sequence of approximants tends to
with an error proportional to . In the present paper we
establish the convergence of the linear delta expansion for the connected
vacuum function . We show that with the same choice of \l the
corresponding sequence tends to with an error proportional to . The rate of convergence of the latter sequence is governed by
the positions of the zeros of .Comment: 20 pages, LaTeX, Imperial/TP/92-93/5
On the Divergence of Perturbation Theory. Steps Towards a Convergent Series
The mechanism underlying the divergence of perturbation theory is exposed.
This is done through a detailed study of the violation of the hypothesis of the
Dominated Convergence Theorem of Lebesgue using familiar techniques of Quantum
Field Theory. That theorem governs the validity (or lack of it) of the formal
manipulations done to generate the perturbative series in the functional
integral formalism. The aspects of the perturbative series that need to be
modified to obtain a convergent series are presented. Useful tools for a
practical implementation of these modifications are developed. Some resummation
methods are analyzed in the light of the above mentioned mechanism.Comment: 42 pages, Latex, 4 figure
Building capacity and developing human capital: an exploration of curriculum development in ICT programmes at South African universities
There is a growing consensus on the potential for information and communications technologies (ICTs) to support socio-economic development in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Universities as providers of higher education are critical to developing SSA countries by, amongst others, empowering the region to develop appropriate ICT solutions for local challenges. The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss how contextual realities influence the development of ICT programme curricula at public universities in South Africa, a developing country in SSA, in order to meet the demand for ICT skills. After a brief discussion of the factors that influence the content and delivery in education systems an overview of the South African public higher education context is provided. Against this background the content and delivery of ICT programme offerings and the rationale behind the programmes at four South African public universities are presented in case study format and concludes with a discussion of the case studies. The paper may be of value to academic departments as examples of how other departments are responding and adjusting their offerings, to government departments and policy makers by engendering a better understanding of the impact of policy on programme development and to industry by illustrating the diverse stakeholders in higher education and academia’s responsiveness to these diverse requirements
Nonthermal Emission from a Supernova Remnant in a Molecular Cloud
In evolved supernova remnants (SNRs) interacting with molecular clouds, such
as IC 443, W44, and 3C391, a highly inhomogeneous structure consisting of a
forward shock of moderate Mach number, a cooling layer, a dense radiative shell
and an interior region filled with hot tenuous plasma is expected. We present a
kinetic model of nonthermal electron injection, acceleration and propagation in
that environment and find that these SNRs are efficient electron accelerators
and sources of hard X- and gamma-ray emission. The energy spectrum of the
nonthermal electrons is shaped by the joint action of first and second order
Fermi acceleration in a turbulent plasma with substantial Coulomb losses.
Bremsstrahlung, synchrotron, and inverse Compton radiation of the nonthermal
electrons produce multiwavelength photon spectra in quantitative agreement with
the radio and the hard emission observed by ASCA and EGRET from IC 443. We
distinguish interclump shock wave emission from molecular clump shock wave
emission accounting for a complex structure of molecular cloud. Spatially
resolved X- and gamma- ray spectra from the supernova remnants IC 443, W44, and
3C391 as might be observed with BeppoSAX, Chandra XRO, XMM, INTEGRAL and GLAST
would distinguish the contribution of the energetic lepton component to the
gamma-rays observed by EGRET.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure, Astrophysical Journal, v.538, 2000 (in press
Evaluating implicit feedback models using searcher simulations
In this article we describe an evaluation of relevance feedback (RF) algorithms using searcher simulations. Since these algorithms select additional terms for query modification based on inferences made from searcher interaction, not on relevance information searchers explicitly provide (as in traditional RF), we refer to them as implicit feedback models. We introduce six different models that base their decisions on the interactions of searchers and use different approaches to rank query modification terms. The aim of this article is to determine which of these models should be used to assist searchers in the systems we develop. To evaluate these models we used searcher simulations that afforded us more control over the experimental conditions than experiments with human subjects and allowed complex interaction to be modeled without the need for costly human experimentation. The simulation-based evaluation methodology measures how well the models learn the distribution of terms across relevant documents (i.e., learn what information is relevant) and how well they improve search effectiveness (i.e., create effective search queries). Our findings show that an implicit feedback model based on Jeffrey's rule of conditioning outperformed other models under investigation
Do good health and material circumstances protect older people from the increased risk of death after bereavement?
This is an open access Article. Copyright @ 2012 The AuthorsAn increased risk of death in persons who have suffered spousal bereavement has been described in many populations. The impact of modifying factors, such as chronic disease and material circumstances, is less well understood. The authors followed 171,120 couples 60 years of age or older in a United Kingdom primary care database between 2005 and 2010 for an average of 4 years. A total of 26,646 (15.5%) couples experienced bereavement, with mean follow up after bereavement of 2 years. In a model adjusted for age, sex, comorbid conditions at baseline, material deprivation based on area of residence, season, and smoking status, the hazard ratio for mortality in the first year after bereavement was 1.25 (95% confidence interval: 1.18, 1.33). Further adjustment for changes in comorbid conditions throughout follow up did not alter the hazard ratio for bereavement (hazard ratio = 1.27, 95% confidence interval: 1.19, 1.35). The association was strongest in individuals with no significant chronic comorbid conditions throughout follow up (hazard ratio = 1.50, 95% confidence interval: 1.28, 1.77) and in more affluent couples (P = 0.035). In the first year after bereavement, the association between bereavement and death is not primarily mediated through worsening or new onset of chronic disease. Good health and material circumstances do not protect individuals from increased mortality rates after bereavement.This study was funded by a grant from the Dunhill Medical Trust
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