Black Hole Evaporation in an Expanding Universe

We calculate the quantum radiation power of black holes which are asymptotic to the Einstein-de Sitter universe at spatial and null infinities. We consider two limiting mass accretion scenarios, no accretion and significant accretion. We find that the radiation power strongly depends on not only the asymptotic condition but also the mass accretion scenario. For the no accretion case, we consider the Einstein-Straus solution, where a black hole of constant mass resides in the dust Friedmann universe. We find negative cosmological correction besides the expected redshift factor. This is given in terms of the cubic root of ratio in size of the black hole to the cosmological horizon, so that it is currently of order $10^{-5} (M/10^{6}M_{\odot})^{1/3} (t/14 {Gyr})^{-1/3}$ but could have been significant at the formation epoch of primordial black holes. Due to the cosmological effects, this black hole has not settled down to an equilibrium state. This cosmological correction may be interpreted in an analogy with the radiation from a moving mirror in a flat spacetime. For the significant accretion case, we consider the Sultana-Dyer solution, where a black hole tends to increase its mass in proportion to the cosmological scale factor. In this model, we find that the radiation power is apparently the same as the Hawking radiation from the Schwarzschild black hole of which mass is that of the growing mass at each moment. Hence, the energy loss rate decreases and tends to vanish as time proceeds. Consequently, the energy loss due to evaporation is insignificant compared to huge mass accretion onto the black hole. Based on this model, we propose a definition of quasi-equilibrium temperature for general conformal stationary black holes.Comment: Accepted for publication in Class.Quant.Grav., 18 pages and 3 figure

Polynomial Time Algorithms for Branching Markov Decision Processes and Probabilistic Min(Max) Polynomial Bellman Equations

We show that one can approximate the least fixed point solution for a multivariate system of monotone probabilistic max(min) polynomial equations, referred to as maxPPSs (and minPPSs, respectively), in time polynomial in both the encoding size of the system of equations and in log(1/epsilon), where epsilon > 0 is the desired additive error bound of the solution. (The model of computation is the standard Turing machine model.) We establish this result using a generalization of Newton's method which applies to maxPPSs and minPPSs, even though the underlying functions are only piecewise-differentiable. This generalizes our recent work which provided a P-time algorithm for purely probabilistic PPSs. These equations form the Bellman optimality equations for several important classes of infinite-state Markov Decision Processes (MDPs). Thus, as a corollary, we obtain the first polynomial time algorithms for computing to within arbitrary desired precision the optimal value vector for several classes of infinite-state MDPs which arise as extensions of classic, and heavily studied, purely stochastic processes. These include both the problem of maximizing and mininizing the termination (extinction) probability of multi-type branching MDPs, stochastic context-free MDPs, and 1-exit Recursive MDPs. Furthermore, we also show that we can compute in P-time an epsilon-optimal policy for both maximizing and minimizing branching, context-free, and 1-exit-Recursive MDPs, for any given desired epsilon > 0. This is despite the fact that actually computing optimal strategies is Sqrt-Sum-hard and PosSLP-hard in this setting. We also derive, as an easy consequence of these results, an FNP upper bound on the complexity of computing the value (within arbitrary desired precision) of branching simple stochastic games (BSSGs)

Development of a high-velocity free-flight launcher : the Ames light-gas gun

Recent interest in long-range missiles has stimulated a search for new experimental techniques which can reproduce in the laboratory the high temperatures and Mach numbers associated with the missiles' flight. One promising possibility lies in free-flight testing of laboratory models which are flown at the full velocity of the missile. In this type of test, temperatures are approximated and aerodynamic heating of the model is representative of that experienced by the missile in high-velocity flight. A prime requirement of the free-flight test technique is a device which had the capacity for launching models at the velocities desired. In response to thie need, a gun firing light models at velocities up to 15,000 feet per second has been developed at the Ames Aeronautical Laboratory. The design of this gun, the analysis of its performance, and the results of the initial firing trials are described in this paper. The firing trials showed that the measured velocities and pressures agreed well with the predicted values. Also, the erosion of the launch tube was very small for the eleven rounds fired. The performance of the gun suggests that it will prove to be a satisfactory launcher for high-velocity free-flight tests. However, it should be mentioned that only the gross performance has been evaluated so far, and, consequently, the operation of the gun must be investigated in further detail before its performance can be reliably predicted over its full operating range

Universality of geometry

In models of emergent gravity the metric arises as the expectation value of some collective field. Usually, many different collective fields with appropriate tensor properties are candidates for a metric. Which collective field describes the "physical geometry"? We resolve this "metric ambiguity" by an investigation of the most general form of the quantum effective action for several metrics. In the long-distance limit the physical metric is universal and accounts for a massless graviton. Other degrees of freedom contained in the various metric candidates describe very massive scalars and symmetric second rank tensors. They only play a role at microscopic distances, typically around the Planck length. The universality of geometry at long distances extends to the vierbein and the connection. On the other hand, for distances and time intervals of Planck size geometry looses its universal meaning. Time is born with the big bang.Comment: 6 page

Gravity from Spinors

We investigate a possible unified theory of all interactions which is based only on fundamental spinor fields. The vielbein and metric arise as composite objects. The effective quantum gravitational theory can lead to a modification of Einstein's equations due to the lack of local Lorentz-symmetry. We explore the generalized gravity with global instead of local Lorentz symmetry in first order of a systematic derivative expansion. At this level diffeomorphisms and global Lorentz symmetry allow for two new invariants in the gravitational effective action. The one which arises in the one loop approximation to spinor gravity is consistent with all present tests of general relativity and cosmology. This shows that local Lorentz symmetry is tested only very partially by present observations. In contrast, the second possible new coupling is severely restricted by present solar system observations.Comment: New material on absence of observational tests of local Lorentz invariance, 21 pages, to appear in Phys.Rev.

SPLENIC VOLUME CHANGE AND THERAPUETIC RESPONSE IN PATIENTS TREATED WITH RADIOMMUNOCONJUGATES

Splenomegaly is frequently found in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) patients. This study evaluated the implications of splenic volume change in response to radioimmunotherapy (RIT). Twenty-nine NHL patients treated with radiolabeled-Lym-1 and 9 breast cancer patients (reference group) treated with radiolabeled-ChL6, BrE-3 or m170 were analyzed using CT splenic images obtained before and after RIT. Patient-specific radiation doses to spleen were determined using actual splenic volume determined by CT and body weight. In 13 of 29 NHL patients who had splenic volume {le} 310 ml, there was no or small change (-23 to 15 mL) in splenic volume, despite splenic doses as high as 14.4 Gy. Similarly, in a reference group of 9 breast cancer patients, there was no or small change (-5 to 13 mL), despite splenic doses as high as 11.4 Gy. In contrast, 13 of 29 NHL patients who had splenic volume 380-1400 mL, splenic volume decreased by 68 to 548 mL despite splenic doses as low as 1.40 Gy. Ten of 29 NHL patients with greater than a 15% decrease in splenic volume after RIT had nodal tumor regression (5 CR, 5 PR). In the remaining 19 NHL patients with less than a 15% decrease in splenic volume after RIT, there were 7 non-responders (5 CR and 7 PR). Splenic volume changes were found in NHL patients with splenomegaly. These splenic volume changes is likely due to therapeutic effect on malignant lymphocytes associated with splenomegaly. Nodal tumor response was more likely when splenomegaly decreased after RIT

In-Vivo Biodistribution and Safety of 99mTc-LLP2A-HYNIC in Canine Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Theranostic agents are critical for improving the diagnosis and treatment of non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL). The peptidomimetic LLP2A is a novel peptide receptor radiotherapy candidate for treating NHL that expresses the activated α4β1 integrin. Tumor-bearing dogs are an excellent model of human NHL with similar clinical characteristics, behavior, and compressed clinical course. Canine in vivo imaging studies will provide valuable biodistribution and affinity information that reflects a diverse clinical population of lymphoma. This may also help to determine potential dose-limiting radiotoxicity to organs in human clinical trials. To validate this construct in a naturally occurring model of NHL, we performed in-vivo molecular targeted imaging and biodistribution in 3 normal dogs and 5 NHL bearing dogs. 99mTc-LLP2A-HYNIC-PEG and 99mTc-LLP2A-HYNIC were successfully synthesized and had very good labeling efficiency and radiochemical purity. 99mTc-LLP2A-HYNIC and 99mTc-LLP2A-HYNIC-PEG had biodistribution in keeping with their molecular size, with 99mTc-LLP2A-HYNIC-PEG remaining longer in the circulation, having higher tissue uptake, and having more activity in the liver compared to 99mTc-LLP2A-HYNIC. 99mTc-LLP2A-HYNIC was mainly eliminated through the kidneys with some residual activity. Radioactivity was reduced to near-background levels at 6 hours after injection. In NHL dogs, tumor showed moderately increased activity over background, with tumor activity in B-cell lymphoma dogs decreasing after chemotherapy. This compound is promising in the development of targeted drug-delivery radiopharmaceuticals and may contribute to translational work in people affected by non-Hodgkin lymphoma

GenomeVIP: A cloud platform for genomic variant discovery and interpretation

Identifying genomic variants is a fundamental first step toward the understanding of the role of inherited and acquired variation in disease. The accelerating growth in the corpus of sequencing data that underpins such analysis is making the data-download bottleneck more evident, placing substantial burdens on the research community to keep pace. As a result, the search for alternative approaches to the traditional “download and analyze” paradigm on local computing resources has led to a rapidly growing demand for cloud-computing solutions for genomics analysis. Here, we introduce the Genome Variant Investigation Platform (GenomeVIP), an open-source framework for performing genomics variant discovery and annotation using cloud- or local high-performance computing infrastructure. GenomeVIP orchestrates the analysis of whole-genome and exome sequence data using a set of robust and popular task-specific tools, including VarScan, GATK, Pindel, BreakDancer, Strelka, and Genome STRiP, through a web interface. GenomeVIP has been used for genomic analysis in large-data projects such as the TCGA PanCanAtlas and in other projects, such as the ICGC Pilots, CPTAC, ICGC-TCGA DREAM Challenges, and the 1000 Genomes SV Project. Here, we demonstrate GenomeVIP's ability to provide high-confidence annotated somatic, germline, and de novo variants of potential biological significance using publicly available data sets.</jats:p

Homogeneous catalysis under ultra-dilute conditions: TAML/NaClO oxidation of persistent metaldehyde

This document is the unedited Author’s version of a Submitted Work that was subsequently accepted for publication in Journal of the American Chemical Society, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.6b11145TAML activators enable homogenous oxidation catalysis where the catalyst and substrate (S) are ultra-dilute (pM–low μM) and the oxidant is very dilute (high nM–low mM). Water contamination by exceptionally persistent micropollutants (MPs), including metaldehyde (Met), provides an ideal space for determining the characteristics and utilitarian limits of this ultradilute catalysis. The low MP concentrations decrease throughout catalysis with S oxidation (kII) and catalyst inactivation (ki) competing for the active catalyst. The percentage of substrate converted (%Cvn) can be increased by discovering methods to increase kII/ki. Here we show that NaClO extends catalyst lifetime to increase the Met turnover number (TON) threefold compared with H2O2, highlighting the importance of oxidant choice as a design tool in TAML systems. Met oxidation studies (pH 7, D2O, 0.01 M phosphate, 25 °C) monitored by 1H NMR spectroscopy show benign acetic acid as the only significant product. Analysis of TAML/NaClO treated Met solutions employing successive identical catalyst doses revealed that the processes can be modeled by the recently published relationship between the initial and final [S] (S0 and S∞, respectively), the initial [catalyst] (FeTot) and kII/ki. Consequently, this study establishes that S is proportional to S0 and that the %Cvn is conserved across all catalyst doses in multicatalyst-dose processes because the rate of the kII process depends on [S] while that of the ki process does not. A general tool for determining the FeTot required to effect a desired %Cvn is presented. Examination of the dependence of TON on kII/ki and FeTot at a fixed S0 indicates that for any TAML process employing FeTot < 1 10-6 M, small catalyst doses are not more efficient than one large dose.T.J.C thanks the Heinz Endowments for funding. NMR instrumentation at CMU was partially supported by NSF (CHE-0130903 and CHE-1039870)