12,144 research outputs found
Magnification relations for Kerr lensing and testing Cosmic Censorship
A Kerr black hole with mass parameter m and angular momentum parameter a
acting as a gravitational lens gives rise to two images in the weak field
limit. We study the corresponding magnification relations, namely the signed
and absolute magnification sums and the centroid up to post-Newtonian order. We
show that there are post-Newtonian corrections to the total absolute
magnification and centroid proportional to a/m, which is in contrast to the
spherically symmetric case where such corrections vanish. Hence we also propose
a new set of lensing observables for the two images involving these
corrections, which should allow measuring a/m with gravitational lensing. In
fact, the resolution capabilities needed to observe this for the Galactic black
hole should in principle be accessible to current and near-future
instrumentation. Since a/m >1 indicates a naked singularity, a most interesting
application would be a test of the Cosmic Censorship conjecture. The technique
used to derive the image properties is based on the degeneracy of the Kerr lens
and a suitably displaced Schwarzschild lens at post-Newtonian order. A simple
physical explanation for this degeneracy is also given.Comment: 13 pages, version 2: references added, minor changes. To appear in
Phys. Rev.
Chandra X-Ray Observations of Nineteen Millisecond Pulsars in the Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae
We present spectral and long-timescale variability analyses of
\textit{Chandra} ACIS-S observations of the 19 millisecond pulsars (MSPs) with
precisely known positions in the globular cluster 47 Tucanae. The X-ray
emission of the majority of these MSPs is well described by a thermal
(blackbody or neutron star hydrogen atmosphere) spectrum with a temperature
K, emission radius km,
and luminosity ergs s. For several MSPs, there is
indication that a second thermal component is required, similar to what is seen
in some nearby field MSPs. The radio-eclipsing binary MSPs 47 Tuc J, O, and W
show a significant non-thermal component, with photon index ,
which may originate in an shock formed due to interaction between the
relativistic pulsar wind and matter from the stellar companion. We re-examine
the X-ray--spindown luminosity relation () and find that due to
the large uncertainties in both parameters the result is consistent with both
the linear relation and the flatter
predicted by polar cap heating models. In terms of X-ray properties, we find no
clear systematic differences between MSPs in globular clusters and in the field
of the Galaxy.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
Estimating entanglement measures in experiments
We present a method to estimate entanglement measures in experiments. We show
how a lower bound on a generic entanglement measure can be derived from the
measured expectation values of any finite collection of entanglement witnesses.
Hence witness measurements are given a quantitative meaning without the need of
further experimental data. We apply our results to a recent multi-photon
experiment [M. Bourennane et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 087902 (2004)], giving
bounds on the entanglement of formation and the geometric measure of
entanglement in this experiment.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, v2: final versio
Homozygous disruption of P450 side-chain cleavage (CYP11A1) is associated with prematurity, complete 46,XY sex reversal, and severe adrenal failure
Disruption of the P450 side-chain cleavage cytochrome (P450scc) enzyme due to deleterious mutations of the CYP11A1 gene is thought to be incompatible with fetal survival because of impaired progesterone production by the fetoplacental unit. We present a 46, XY patient with a homozygous disruption of CYP11A1.The child was born prematurely with complete sex reversal and severe adrenal insufficiency. Laboratory data showed diminished or absent steroidogenesis in all pathways. Molecular genetic analysis of the CYP11A1 gene revealed a homozygous single nucleotide deletion leading to a premature termination at codon position 288. This mutation will delete highly conserved regions of the P450scc enzyme and thus is predicted to lead to a nonfunctional protein. Both healthy parents were heterozygous for this mutation.Our report demonstrates that severe disruption of P450scc can be compatible with survival in rare instances. Furthermore, defects in this enzyme are inherited in an autosomal-recessive fashion, and heterozygote carriers can be healthy and fertile. The possibility of P450scc-independent pathways of steroid synthesis in addition to the current concept of luteoplacental shift of progesterone synthesis in humans has to be questioned
Indomethacin decreases viscosity of gallbladder bile in patients with cholesterol gallstone disease
There is experimental evidence that inhibition of cyclooxygenase with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may decrease cholesterol gall-stone formation and mitigate biliary pain in gall-stone patients. The mechanisms by which NSAIDs exert these effect are unclear. In a prospective, controlled clinical trial we examined the effects of oral indomethacin on the composition of human gall-bladder bile. The study included 28 patients with symptomatic cholesterol or mixed gallstones. Of these, 8 were treated with 3 × 25 mg indomethacin daily for 7 days prior to elective cholecystectomy while 20 received no treatment and served as controls. Bile and tissue samples from the gallbladder were obtained during cholecystectomy. Indomethacin tissue levels in the gallbladder mucosa, as assessed by HPLC, were 1.05±0.4 ng/mg wet weight, a concentration known to inhibit effectively cyclooxygenase activity. Nevertheless, no differences between the treated and untreated groups were found in the concentrations of biliary mucus glycoprotein (0.94±0.27 versus 0.93±0.32 mg/ml) or total protein (5.8±0.9 versus 6.4±1.3 mg/ml), cholesterol saturation (1.3±0.2 versus 1.5±0.2), or nucleation time (2.0±3.0 versus 1.5±2.0 days). However, biliary viscosity, measured using a low-shear rotation viscosimeter, was significantly lower in patients receiving indomethacin treatment (2.9±0.6 versus 5.6±1.2 mPa.s; P < 0.02). In conclusion, in man oral indomethacin decreases bile viscosity without alteration of bile lithogenicity or biliary mucus glycoprotein content. Since mucus glycoproteins are major determinants of bile viscosity, an alteration in mucin macromolecular composition may conceivably cause the indomethacin-induced decrease in biliary viscosity and explain the beneficial effects of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in gallstone disease
Determination of the s-wave Scattering Length of Chromium
We have measured the deca-triplet s-wave scattering length of the bosonic
chromium isotopes Cr and Cr. From the time constants for
cross-dimensional thermalization in atomic samples we have determined the
magnitudes and ,
where . By measuring the rethermalization rate of Cr over a
wide temperature range and comparing the temperature dependence with the
effective-range theory and single-channel calculations, we have obtained strong
evidence that the sign of is positive. Rescaling our Cr
model potential to Cr strongly suggests that is positive,
too.Comment: v3: corrected typo in y-axis scaling of Figs. 3 and
The optimal cloning of quantum coherent states is non-Gaussian
We consider the optimal cloning of quantum coherent states with single-clone
and joint fidelity as figures of merit. Both optimal fidelities are attained
for phase space translation covariant cloners. Remarkably, the joint fidelity
is maximized by a Gaussian cloner, whereas the single-clone fidelity can be
enhanced by non-Gaussian operations: a symmetric non-Gaussian 1-to-2 cloner can
achieve a single-clone fidelity of approximately 0.6826, perceivably higher
than the optimal fidelity of 2/3 in a Gaussian setting. This optimal cloner can
be realized by means of an optical parametric amplifier supplemented with a
particular source of non-Gaussian bimodal states. Finally, we show that the
single-clone fidelity of the optimal 1-to-infinity cloner, corresponding to a
measure-and-prepare scheme, cannot exceed 1/2. This value is achieved by a
Gaussian scheme and cannot be surpassed even with supplemental bound entangled
states.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, revtex; changed title, extended list of authors,
included optical implementation of optimal clone
Material modeling in forming simulation of three-dimensional fiber-metal-laminates - A parametric study
Forming of fiber-metal-laminates (FML) into complex geometries is challenging, due to the low fracture toughness of the fibers. Several researchers have addressed this topic in recent years. A new manufacturing process has been introduced in our previous work that successfully combines deep drawing with thermoplastic resin transfer molding (T-RTM) in a single process step. During molding, the fabric is infiltrated with a reactive monomeric matrix, which polymerizes to a thermoplastic after the forming process is completed. In our previous work, a numerical modeling approach was presented for this fully integrated process, investigating a hybrid laminate with 1 mm thick metal sheets of DC04 as top layers and three inner glass fiber layers. Although initial results were promising, there were still some pending issues regarding the modeling of material behavior. The current study aims to address several of these open issues and to provide a general modelling framework for future enhancements. For this purpose, the existing modelling approach is extended and used for parameter analysis. Regarding the influence of different material characteristics on the forming result, shear, bending and compression properties of the fabric are modified systematically. It is shown, that the compression behavior and particularly the tension-compression anisotropy of the fabric is of high importance for modelling the combined forming of fabric and metal. The bending and shear properties of the fabric are negligible small compared to the metal stiffness which dominates the draping process. Finally, it is demonstrated that modelling the fabric layers using continuum shells provides a promising approach for future research, as it enables a suitable way to account for transversal compaction during molding
Convergence rates in expectation for Tikhonov-type regularization of Inverse Problems with Poisson data
In this paper we study a Tikhonov-type method for ill-posed nonlinear
operator equations \gdag = F(
ag) where \gdag is an integrable,
non-negative function. We assume that data are drawn from a Poisson process
with density t\gdag where may be interpreted as an exposure time. Such
problems occur in many photonic imaging applications including positron
emission tomography, confocal fluorescence microscopy, astronomic observations,
and phase retrieval problems in optics. Our approach uses a
Kullback-Leibler-type data fidelity functional and allows for general convex
penalty terms. We prove convergence rates of the expectation of the
reconstruction error under a variational source condition as both
for an a priori and for a Lepski{\u\i}-type parameter choice rule
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