11,179 research outputs found
Covariant approach to equilibration in effective field theories
The equilibration of two coupled reservoirs is studied using a Green function
approach which is suitable for future development with the closed time path
method. The problem is solved in two parameterizations, in order to demonstrate
the non-trivial issues of parameterization in both the intermediate steps and
the interpretation of physical quantities. We use a covariant approach to find
self-consistent solutions for the statistical distributions as functions of
time. We show that by formally introducing covariant connections, one can
rescale a slowly varying non-equilibrium theory so that it appears to be an
equilibrium one, for the purposes of calculation. We emphasize the importance
of properly tracking variable redefinitions in order to correctly interpret
physical quantities.Comment: 11 pages, Late
The static potential in QED with non-minimal coupling
Here we study the effect of the non-minimal coupling j^{\mu}\eps
\partial^{\nu} A^{\alpha} on the static potential in multiflavor QED.
Both cases of four and two components fermions are studied separately at
leading order in the expansion. Although a non-local Chern-Simons term
appears, in the four components case the photon is still massless leading to a
confining logarithmic potential similar to the classical one. In the two
components case, as expected, the parity breaking fermion mass term generates a
traditional Chern-Simons term which makes the photon massive and we have a
screening potential which vanishes at large inter-charge distance. The extra
non-minimal couplings have no important influence on the static potential at
large inter-charge distances. However, interesting effects show up at finite
distances. In particular, for strong enough non-minimal coupling we may have a
new massive pole in the photon propagator while in the opposite limit there may
be no poles at all in the irreducible case. We also found that, in general, the
non-minimal couplings lead to a finite range {\bf repulsive} force between
charges of opposite signs.Comment: 19 pages and 7 figure
An overview of tea research in Tanzania - with special reference to the Southern Highlands.
The history of tea development in Tanzania from the early part of this century
to the present is summarised. Average yields of made tea from well managed
estates in the Mufindi district have increased from around 600 kg ha-1 in the
late 1950s to 3000 kg ha-1 at the present time: by comparison, yields from
smallholder farms have remained much lower, averaging only 400-500 kg ha-1.
There have been a large number of technical, economic and other changes over the
last 30 to 40 years. The removal of shade trees, the use of herbicides, the
application of NPK compound fertilisers, the introduction of irrigation (on some
estates) and changes in harvesting policy have all contributed to the increases
in yield. Financial and infrastructural problems have contributed to the low
yields from many smallholders and others, and have limited the uptake of new
technology. The contribution of research is reviewed, from the start of the Tea
Research Institute of East Africa in Kenya in 1951, through to the development
of the Marikitanda Tea Research Centre in Amani in 1967; the Ngwazi Tea Research
Unit in Mufindi (1967 to 1970, and from 1986), and lastly the Kifyulilo Tea
Research Station, also in Mufindi in 1986. The yield potential of well
fertilized and irrigated clonal tea, grown at an altitude of 1800 m, is around
6000 kg ha-1. This potential is reduced by drought, lack of fertilizer, bush
vacancies and inefficient harvesting practices. The corresponding potential
yields at high (2200 m) and low (1200 m) altitude sites range from 3000-3500 kg
ha-1 up to 9000-10000 kg ha-1 and are largely a function of temperature. The
opportunities for increasing yields of existing tea, smallholder and estate, are
enormous. Tea production in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania is about to
expand rapidly. Good, appropriate research is needed to sustain this development
over the long term, and suggestions on how best this is done in order to assist
the large scale producers as well as the smallholders, are discussed
Consequences of Zeeman Degeneracy for van der Waals Blockade between Rydberg Atoms
We analyze the effects of Zeeman degeneracies on the long-range interactions
between like Rydberg atoms, with particular emphasis on applications to quantum
information processing using van der Waals blockade. We present a general
analysis of how degeneracies affect the primary error sources in blockade
experiments, emphasizing that blockade errors are sensitive primarily to the
weakest possible atom-atom interactions between the degenerate states, not the
mean interaction strength. We present explicit calculations of the van der
Waals potentials in the limit where the fine-structure interaction is large
compared to the atom-atom interactions. The results are presented for all
potential angular momentum channels invoving s, p, and d states. For most
channels there are one or more combinations of Zeeman levels that have
extremely small dipole-dipole interactions and are therefore poor candidates
for effective blockade experiments. Channels with promising properties are
identified and discussed. We also present numerical calculations of Rb and Cs
dipole matrix elements and relevant energy levels using quantum defect theory,
allowing for convenient quantitative estimates of the van der Waals
interactions to be made for principal quantum numbers up to 100. Finally, we
combine the blockade and van der Waals results to quantitatively analyze the
angular distribution of the blockade shift and its consequence for angular
momentum channels and geometries of particular interest for blockade
experiments with Rb.Comment: 16 figure
The high partial wave phenomenon of spin changing atomic transitions
The collisional transition between two highly excited atomic states with different spin is investigated theoretically. Taking helium-like n1S − n3P as an example, it is found that the transition is driven in the highly ion-ized Fe ion purely by exchange, and the cross section becomes increasingly dominated by partial waves of high orbital angular momentum as the scattering energy increases. Whereas for the near-neutral Li ion the transition is dominated by channel coupling in low partial waves. Analytical bench-marks and numerical methods are developed for the accurate calculation of the exchange integral at high angular momentum. It is shown how the partial wave and energy dependence of the collision strength for high n spin changing transitions in the highly ionized ion is related to the overlap of the extended atomic orbitals.</p
Toxoplasma gondii profilin does not stimulate an innate immune response through bovine or human TLR5
Toxoplasma gondii is responsible for one of the most prevalent infections in people. T. gondii profilin (TgPr) is a protein integral to parasite movement and cellular invasion. Murine TLR has been described to bind TgPr. Furthermore, more recently, human TLR5 has been described to recognise recombinant TgPr, as well as bacterial flagellin. In addition to infections in humans, T. gondii infects farm animals, but little information is available about its innate recognition. We aimed to investigate whether, similarly to their human orthologue, bovine and porcine TLR5 could also be stimulated by TgPr by using a combination of reporter cell lines expressing full length TLR5 from each species as well as primary cells. Although human and bovine TLR5-transfected cells responded to flagellin, no response was detected upon stimulation
with profilin. Furthermore, TgPr failed to elicit IL-6 secretion in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and CD14þ monocytes. In contrast, exposure of RAW cells, known to express TLR11 to TgPr, slightly increased the IL-6 response. Our data cast doubts on the possibility that profilin is a specific ligand for human TLR5 and bovine TLR5. This leaves the immunogenic properties of this potential target antigen uncharacterised outside of the murine system
Fluctuations and Pinch-Offs Observed in Viscous Fingering
Our experiments on viscous (Saffman-Taylor) fingering in Hele-Shaw channels
reveal several phenomena that were not observed in previous experiments. At low
flow rates, growing fingers undergo width fluctuations that intermittently
narrow the finger as they evolve. The magnitude of these fluctuations is
proportional to Ca^{-0.64}, where Ca is the capillary number, which is
proportional to the finger velocity. This relation holds for all aspect ratios
studied up to the onset of tip instabilities. At higher flow rates, finger
pinch-off and reconnection events are observed. These events appear to be
caused by an interaction between the actively growing finger and suppressed
fingers at the back of the channel. Both the fluctuation and pinch-off
phenomena are robust but not explained by current theory.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures; to appear in Proceedings of the Seventh
Experimental Chaos Conferenc
Fluctuations and Pinch-Offs Observed in Viscous Fingering
Our experiments on viscous (Saffman-Taylor) fingering in Hele-Shaw channels
reveal several phenomena that were not observed in previous experiments. At low
flow rates, growing fingers undergo width fluctuations that intermittently
narrow the finger as they evolve. The magnitude of these fluctuations is
proportional to Ca^{-0.64}, where Ca is the capillary number, which is
proportional to the finger velocity. This relation holds for all aspect ratios
studied up to the onset of tip instabilities. At higher flow rates, finger
pinch-off and reconnection events are observed. These events appear to be
caused by an interaction between the actively growing finger and suppressed
fingers at the back of the channel. Both the fluctuation and pinch-off
phenomena are robust but not explained by current theory.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures; to appear in Proceedings of the Seventh
Experimental Chaos Conferenc
Quasiperpendicular high Mach number Shocks
Shock waves exist throughout the universe and are fundamental to
understanding the nature of collisionless plasmas. Reformation is a process,
driven by microphysics, which typically occurs at high Mach number
supercritical shocks. While ongoing studies have investigated this process
extensively both theoretically and via simulations, their observations remain
few and far between. In this letter we present a study of very high Mach number
shocks in a parameter space that has been poorly explored and we identify
reformation using in situ magnetic field observations from the Cassini
spacecraft at 10 AU. This has given us an insight into quasi-perpendicular
shocks across two orders of magnitude in Alfven Mach number (MA) which could
potentially bridge the gap between modest terrestrial shocks and more exotic
astrophysical shocks. For the first time, we show evidence for cyclic
reformation controlled by specular ion reflection occurring at the predicted
timescale of ~0.3 {\tau}c, where {\tau}c is the ion gyroperiod. In addition, we
experimentally reveal the relationship between reformation and MA and focus on
the magnetic structure of such shocks to further show that for the same MA, a
reforming shock exhibits stronger magnetic field amplification than a shock
that is not reforming.Comment: Accepted and Published in Physical Review Letters (2015
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