384 research outputs found
de Sitter limit of inflation and nonlinear perturbation theory
We study the fourth order action of the comoving curvature perturbation in an
inflationary universe in order to understand more systematically the de Sitter
limit in nonlinear cosmological perturbation theory. We derive the action of
the curvature perturbation to fourth order in the comoving gauge, and show that
it vanishes sufficiently fast in the de Sitter limit. By studying the de Sitter
limit, we then extrapolate to the n'th order action of the comoving curvature
perturbation and discuss the slow-roll order of the n-point correlation
function.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figure; typos corrected and discussion of tensor modes
adde
South Africa, the arts and youth in conflict with the law
This paper describes the DIME (Diversion into Music Education) youth intervention program that originated in South Africa in 2001. DIME offers instruction in African marimba and djembe bands to juvenile offenders. Conceived as a community collaboration among organizations in the cities of Cape Town, SA and Tampa, USA (including the University of the Western Cape and the University of South
Florida), DIME offers a unique example of community music and multicultural music education.Web of Scienc
Lead Sources in Human Diet in Greenland
Although blood lead levels have declined in Greenland, they are still elevated despite the fact that lead levels in the Greenland environment are very low. Fragments of lead shot in game birds have been suggested as an important source of dietary exposure, and meals of sea birds, particularly eider, contain high concentrations of lead. In a cross-sectional population survey in Greenland in 1993–1994, blood lead adjusted for age and sex was found to be associated with the reported consumption of sea birds. Participants reporting less than weekly intake of sea birds had blood lead concentrations of approximately 75 μg/L, whereas those who reported eating sea birds several times a week had concentrations of approximately 110 μg/L, and those who reported daily intake had concentrations of 170 μg/L (p = 0.01). Blood lead was not associated with dietary exposure to other local or imported food items
A new diagrammatic representation for correlation functions in the in-in formalism
In this paper we provide an alternative method to compute correlation
functions in the in-in formalism, with a modified set of Feynman rules to
compute loop corrections. The diagrammatic expansion is based on an iterative
solution of the equation of motion for the quantum operators with only retarded
propagators, which makes each diagram intrinsically local (whereas in the
standard case locality is the result of several cancellations) and endowed with
a straightforward physical interpretation. While the final result is strictly
equivalent, as a bonus the formulation presented here also contains less graphs
than other diagrammatic approaches to in-in correlation functions. Our method
is particularly suitable for applications to cosmology.Comment: 14 pages, matches the published version. includes a modified version
of axodraw.sty that works with the Revtex4 clas
On the divergences of inflationary superhorizon perturbations
We discuss the infrared divergences that appear to plague cosmological
perturbation theory. We show that within the stochastic framework they are
regulated by eternal inflation so that the theory predicts finite fluctuations.
Using the formalism to one loop, we demonstrate that the infrared
modes can be absorbed into additive constants and the coefficients of the
diagrammatic expansion for the connected parts of two and three-point functions
of the curvature perturbation. As a result, the use of any infrared cutoff
below the scale of eternal inflation is permitted, provided that the background
fields are appropriately redefined. The natural choice for the infrared cutoff
would of course be the present horizon; other choices manifest themselves in
the running of the correlators. We also demonstrate that it is possible to
define observables that are renormalization group invariant. As an example, we
derive a non-perturbative, infrared finite and renormalization point
independent relation between the two-point correlators of the curvature
perturbation for the case of the free single field.Comment: 12 page
Enhancing the tensor-to-scalar ratio in simple inflation
We show that in theories with a nontrivial kinetic term the contribution of
the gravitational waves to the CMB fluctuations can be substantially larger
than that is naively expected in simple inflationary models. This increase of
the tensor-to-scalar perturbation ratio leads to a larger B-component of the
CMB polarization, thus making the prospects for future detection much more
promising. The other important consequence of the considered model is a higher
energy scale of inflation and hence higher reheating temperature compared to a
simple inflation.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure and references are added, discussion is slightly
extended, published versio
The Kramers-Moyal Equation of the Cosmological Comoving Curvature Perturbation
Fluctuations of the comoving curvature perturbation with wavelengths larger
than the horizon length are governed by a Langevin equation whose stochastic
noise arise from the quantum fluctuations that are assumed to become classical
at horizon crossing. The infrared part of the curvature perturbation performs a
random walk under the action of the stochastic noise and, at the same time, it
suffers a classical force caused by its self-interaction. By a path-interal
approach and, alternatively, by the standard procedure in random walk analysis
of adiabatic elimination of fast variables, we derive the corresponding
Kramers-Moyal equation which describes how the probability distribution of the
comoving curvature perturbation at a given spatial point evolves in time and is
a generalization of the Fokker-Planck equation. This approach offers an
alternative way to study the late time behaviour of the correlators of the
curvature perturbation from infrared effects.Comment: 27 page
Can seafood safety be compromised in the ocean of tomorrow?.
Autoria na publicação: FABIOLA FOGAÇA
Validation of a commercial system for the continuous and automated monitoring of dairy cows activity
In order to improve animal welfare and enhance the comfort of dairy cows, the application of information technology (IT) within the intensive livestock farming takes a key role in a proper routine management.
This study aims to compare localisation and activity data provided by the CowView system, an automatic indoor localisation system for dairy cattle, with those obtained by a manual labelling procedure, twice within an observation period of minimum 25 hours per dataset.
Data from five selected dairy cows were represented by behaviours performed in relation to the occupied zones, and were classified in two categories: activity and localisation.
The identified activities performed by the dairy cows were standing, walking (both considered as being in the alley), resting (being in the cubicle) and feeding (being at the feeder). Indeed, the zone considered in the analysis were alley, in bed and feeding zone. Data automatically and manually classified (used as a reference) were compared.
Among all the behaviours detected by the automated software, the most reliable results are those related to the activity of feeding (accuracy higher than 95%). The results showed that the CowView automatic monitoring system is able to identify activity zone classification (ALLEY, THROUGH, CUBICLES) with higher reliability compared to the specific activities performed by dairy cows. The results obtained support the CowView system as an innovative and effective solution for an easier management of dairy cows
Low-scale Quintessential Inflation
In quintessential inflationary model, the same master field that drives
inflation becomes, later on, the dynamical source of the (present) accelerated
expansion. Quintessential inflationary models require a curvature scale at the
end of inflation around in order to explain the large scale
fluctuations observed in the microwave sky. If the curvature scale at the end
of inflation is much smaller than , the large scale adiabatic
mode may be produced thanks to the relaxation of a scalar degree of freedom,
which will be generically denoted, according to the recent terminology, as the
curvaton field. The production of the adiabatic mode is analysed in detail in
the case of the minimal quintessential inflationary model originally proposed
by Peebles and Vilenkin.Comment: 25 pages; 5 figure
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