783 research outputs found
Fractional smoothness and applications in finance
This overview article concerns the notion of fractional smoothness of random
variables of the form , where is a certain
diffusion process. We review the connection to the real interpolation theory,
give examples and applications of this concept. The applications in stochastic
finance mainly concern the analysis of discrete time hedging errors. We close
the review by indicating some further developments.Comment: Chapter of AMAMEF book. 20 pages
Charmonium Suppression with cc~ Dissociation by Strings
We study the production of cc~ pairs in nuclear reactions at SPS energies
within the covariant transport approach HSD. The production of cc~ is treated
perturbatively employing experimental cross sections while the interactions of
cc~ pairs with baryons are included by conventional cascade-type two-body
collisions. Adopting 6 mb for the cc~-baryon cross sections the data on J/\Psi
suppression in p+A reactions are reproduced in line with calculations based on
the Glauber model. Additionally the dissociation of the cc~ pairs by strings is
included in a purely geometrical way. We find good agreement with experimental
data from the NA38 and NA50 collaboration with an estimate for the string
radius of ~0.2-0.3 fm.Comment: 9 pages (LaTeX), 5 PS figure
Can Galactic Cosmic Rays Account for Solar 6Li Without Overproducing Gamma Rays?
Cosmic-ray interactions with interstellar gas produces both 6Li, which
accumulates in the interstellar medium (ISM), and mesons, which decay
to gamma-rays which propagate throughout the cosmos. Local 6Li abundances and
extragalactic gamma-rays thus have a common origin which tightly links them. We
exploit this connection to use gamma-ray observations to infer the contribution
to 6Li nucleosynthesis by standard Galactic cosmic-ray (GCR) interactions with
the ISM. Our calculation uses a carefully propagated cosmic-ray spectrum and
accounts for 6Li production from both fusion reactions () as well as from spallation channels ({p,\alpha+CNO \to ^6Li). We find
that although extreme assumptions yield a consistent picture, more realistic
ones indicate that solar 6Li cannot be produced by standard GCRs alone without
overproducing the hadronic gamma rays. Implications for the primordial 6Li
production by decaying dark matter and cosmic rays from cosmological structure
formation are discussed. Upcoming gamma-ray observations by GLAST will be
crucial for determining the resolution of this problem.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure To be published in ApJ
Cluster structures on quantum coordinate rings
We show that the quantum coordinate ring of the unipotent subgroup N(w) of a
symmetric Kac-Moody group G associated with a Weyl group element w has the
structure of a quantum cluster algebra. This quantum cluster structure arises
naturally from a subcategory C_w of the module category of the corresponding
preprojective algebra. An important ingredient of the proof is a system of
quantum determinantal identities which can be viewed as a q-analogue of a
T-system. In case G is a simple algebraic group of type A, D, E, we deduce from
these results that the quantum coordinate ring of an open cell of a partial
flag variety attached to G also has a cluster structure.Comment: v2: minor corrections. v3: references updated, final version to
appear in Selecta Mathematic
Suppression of RNA interference increases alphavirus replication and virus-associated mortality in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) can persistently infect and cause limited damage to mosquito vectors. RNA interference (RNAi) is a mosquito antiviral response important in restricting RNA virus replication and has been shown to be active against some arboviruses. The goal of this study was to use a recombinant Sindbis virus (SINV; family <it>Togaviridae</it>; genus <it>Alphavirus</it>) that expresses B2 protein of Flock House virus (FHV; family <it>Nodaviridae</it>; genus <it>Alphanodavirus</it>), a protein that inhibits RNAi, to determine the effects of linking arbovirus infection with RNAi inhibition.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>B2 protein expression from SINV (TE/3'2J) inhibited the accumulation of non-specific small RNAs in <it>Aedes aegypti </it>mosquito cell culture and virus-specific small RNAs both in infected cell culture and <it>Ae. aegypti </it>mosquitoes. More viral genomic and subgenomic RNA accumulated in cells and mosquitoes infected with TE/3'2J virus expressing B2 (TE/3'2J/B2) compared to TE/3'2J and TE/3'2J virus expressing GFP. TE/3'2J/B2 exhibited increased infection rates, dissemination rates, and infectious virus titers in mosquitoes following oral bloodmeal. Following infectious oral bloodmeal, significantly more mosquitoes died when TE/3'2J/B2 was ingested. The virus was 100% lethal following intrathoracic inoculation of multiple mosquito species and lethality was dose-dependent in <it>Ae. aegypti</it>.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We show that RNAi is active in <it>Ae. aegypti </it>cell culture and that B2 protein inhibits RNAi in mosquito cells when expressed by a recombinant SINV. Also, SINV more efficiently replicates in mosquito cells when RNAi is inhibited. Finally, TE/3'2J/B2 kills mosquitoes in a dose-dependent manner independent of infection route and mosquito species.</p
IMAPS Observations of Interstellar Neutral Argon and the Implications for Partially Ionized Gas
We use the absorption features from neutral argon at 1048 and 1066 A to
determine interstellar abundances or their lower limits toward nine early-type
stars. These features were observed with the Interstellar Medium Absorption
Profile Spectrograph (IMAPS) along sight lines with low reddening and low
fractional abundances of molecular hydrogen. We find that the interstellar Ar I
is below its solar and B-star abundance with respect to hydrogen toward zeta
Pup, gamma2 Vel and beta Cen A with (logarithmic) reduction factors
-0.37+/-0.09, -0.18+/-0.10, and -0.61+/-0.12 dex, respectively.
While Ar can condense onto the surfaces of dust grains in the interiors of
dense clouds, it is unlikely that argon atoms are depleted by this process in
the low-density lines of sight considered in this study. Instead, we propose
that the relatively large photoionization cross section of Ar makes it much
easier to hide in its ionized form than H. In regions that are about half
ionized, this effect can lower Ar I/H I by -0.11 to -0.96 dex, depending on the
energy of the photoionizing radiation and its intensity divided by the local
electron density. We apply this interpretation for the condition of the gas in
front of beta Cen A, which shows the largest deficiency of Ar. Also, we
determine the expected magnitudes of the differential ionizations for He, N, O,
Ne and Ar in the partly ionized, warm gas in the local cloud around our solar
system. For the local cloud and others that can be probed by UV studies, the
observed Ar I to H I ratio may be a good discriminant between two possible
alternatives, collisional ionization or photoionization, for explaining the
existence of partly ionized regions.Comment: 36 pages, 3 figure
Dust in the Local Interstellar Wind
The gas-to-dust mass ratios found for interstellar dust within the Solar
System, versus values determined astronomically for the cloud around the Solar
System, suggest that large and small interstellar grains have separate
histories, and that large interstellar grains preferentially detected by
spacecraft are not formed exclusively by mass exchange with nearby interstellar
gas. Observations by the Ulysses and Galileo satellites of the mass spectrum
and flux rate of interstellar dust within the heliosphere are combined with
information about the density, composition, and relative flow speed and
direction of interstellar gas in the cloud surrounding the solar system to
derive an in situ value for the gas-to-dust mass ratio, . Hubble observations of the cloud surrounding the solar system
yield a gas-to-dust mass ratio of Rg/d=551+61-251 when B-star reference
abundances are assumed. The exclusion of small dust grains from the heliosheath
and heliosphere regions are modeled, increasing the discrepancy between
interstellar and in situ observations. The shock destruction of interstellar
grains is considered, and comparisons are made with interplanetary and presolar
dust grains.Comment: 87 pages, 9 figures, 6 tables, accepted for publication in
Astrophysical Journal. Uses AASTe
On the monotone stability approach to BSDEs with jumps: Extensions, concrete criteria and examples
We show a concise extension of the monotone stability approach to backward
stochastic differential equations (BSDEs) that are jointly driven by a Brownian
motion and a random measure for jumps, which could be of infinite activity with
a non-deterministic and time inhomogeneous compensator. The BSDE generator
function can be non convex and needs not to satisfy global Lipschitz conditions
in the jump integrand. We contribute concrete criteria, that are easy to
verify, for results on existence and uniqueness of bounded solutions to BSDEs
with jumps, and on comparison and a-priori -bounds. Several
examples and counter examples are discussed to shed light on the scope and
applicability of different assumptions, and we provide an overview of major
applications in finance and optimal control.Comment: 28 pages. Added DOI
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-030-22285-7_1 for final
publication, corrected typo (missing gamma) in example 4.1
Origin and evolution of the light nuclides
After a short historical (and highly subjective) introduction to the field, I
discuss our current understanding of the origin and evolution of the light
nuclides D, He-3, He-4, Li-6, Li-7, Be-9, B-10 and B-11. Despite considerable
observational and theoretical progress, important uncertainties still persist
for each and every one of those nuclides. The present-day abundance of D in the
local interstellar medium is currently uncertain, making it difficult to infer
the recent chemical evolution of the solar neighborhood. To account for the
observed quasi-constancy of He-3 abundance from the Big Bang to our days, the
stellar production of that nuclide must be negligible; however, the scarce
observations of its abundance in planetary nebulae seem to contradict this
idea. The observed Be and B evolution as primaries suggests that the source
composition of cosmic rays has remained quasi-constant since the early days of
the Galaxy, a suggestion with far reaching implications for the origin of
cosmic rays; however, the main idea proposed to account for that constancy,
namely that superbubbles are at the source of cosmic rays, encounters some
serious difficulties. The best explanation for the mismatch between primordial
Li and the observed "Spite-plateau" in halo stars appears to be depletion of Li
in stellar envelopes, by some yet poorly understood mechanism. But this
explanation impacts on the level of the recently discovered early ``Li-6
plateau'', which (if confirmed), seriously challenges current ideas of cosmic
ray nucleosynthesis.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figs. Invited Review in "Symposium on the Composition of
Matter", honoring Johannes Geiss on the occasion of his 80th birthday
(Grindelwald, Switzerland, Sept. 2006), to be published in Space Science
Series of ISS
Baryon stopping and strange baryon/antibaryon production at SPS energies
The amount of proton stopping in central Pb+Pb collisions from 20-160 AGeV as
well as hyperon and antihyperon rapidity distributions are calculated within
the UrQMD model in comparison to experimental data at 40, 80 and 160 AGeV taken
recently from the NA49 collaboration. Furthermore, the amount of baryon
stopping at 160 AGeV for Pb+Pb collisions is studied as a function of
centrality in comparison to the NA49 data. We find that the strange baryon
yield is reasonably described for central collisions, however, the rapidity
distributions are somewhat more narrow than the data. Moreover, the
experimental antihyperon rapidity distributions at 40, 80 and 160 AGeV are
underestimated by up to factors of 3 - depending on the annihilation cross
section employed - which might be addressed to missing multi-meson fusion
channels in the UrQMD model.Comment: 18 pages, including 7 eps figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.
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