Gauge fields in a string-cigar braneworld

In this work we investigate the properties of an Abelian gauge vector field in a thin and in a smoothed string-like braneworld, the so-called string-cigar model. This thick brane scenario satisfies the regularity conditions and it can be regarded as an interior and exterior string-like solution. The source undergoes a geometric Ricci flow which is connected to a variation of the bulk cosmological constant. The Ricci flow changes the width and amplitude of the massless mode at the brane core and recover the usual thin string-like behavior at large distances. By numerical means we obtain the Kaluza-Klein (KK) spectrum for both the thin brane and the string-cigar. It turns out that both models exhibit a mass gap between the massless and the massive modes and between the high and the low mass regimes. The KK modes are smooth near the brane and their amplitude are enhanced by the string-cigar core. The analogue Schr\"odinger potential is also tuned by the geometric flow.Comment: The discussion about the Kaluza-Klein spectrum of the gauge field was improved. Numerical analysis was adapted to the conventional notation on Kaluza-Klein number. Some graphics were modified for considering other notation. Results unchanged. References added. Corrected typos. 17 pages. 6 figures. To match version to appears in Physics Letters

Carbon nanotube: a low-loss spin-current waveguide

We demonstrate with a quantum-mechanical approach that carbon nanotubes are excellent spin-current waveguides and are able to carry information stored in a precessing magnetic moment for long distances with very little dispersion and with tunable degrees of attenuation. Pulsed magnetic excitations are predicted to travel with the nanotube Fermi velocity and are able to induce similar excitations in remote locations. Such an efficient way of transporting magnetic information suggests that nanotubes are promising candidates for memory devices with fast magnetization switchings

Gemini spectra of 12000K white dwarf stars

We report signal-to-noise ratio SNR ~ 100 optical spectra for four DA white dwarf stars acquired with the GMOS spectrograph of the 8m Gemini north telescope. These stars have 18<g<19 and are around Teff ~ 12000 K, were the hydrogen lines are close to maximum. Our purpose is to test if the effective temperatures and surface gravities derived from the relatively low signal-to-noise ratio ( ~ 21) optical spectra acquired by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey through model atmosphere fitting are trustworthy. Our spectra range from 3800A to 6000A, therefore including H beta to H9. The H8 line was only marginally present in the SDSS spectra, but is crucial to determine the gravity. When we compare the values published by Kleinman et al. (2004) and Eisenstein et al. (2006) with our line-profile (LPT) fits, the average differences are: Delta Teff ~ 320 K, systematically lower in SDSS, and Delta log g ~ 0.24 dex, systematically larger in SDSS. The correlation between gravity and effective temperature can only be broken at wavelengths bluer than 3800 A. The uncertainties in Teff are 60% larger, and in log g larger by a factor of 4, than the Kleinman et al. (2004) and Eisenstein et al. (2006) internal uncertainties.Comment: 11 pages and 8 figure

Modelling a Particle Detector in Field Theory

Particle detector models allow to give an operational definition to the particle content of a given quantum state of a field theory. The commonly adopted Unruh-DeWitt type of detector is known to undergo temporary transitions to excited states even when at rest and in the Minkowski vacuum. We argue that real detectors do not feature this property, as the configuration "detector in its ground state + vacuum of the field" is generally a stable bound state of the underlying fundamental theory (e.g. the ground state-hydrogen atom in a suitable QED with electrons and protons) in the non-accelerated case. As a concrete example, we study a local relativistic field theory where a stable particle can capture a light quantum and form a quasi-stable state. As expected, to such a stable particle correspond energy eigenstates of the full theory, as is shown explicitly by using a dressed particle formalism at first order in perturbation theory. We derive an effective model of detector (at rest) where the stable particle and the quasi-stable configurations correspond to the two internal levels, "ground" and "excited", of the detector.Comment: 13 pages, references added, final versio

Efficiency of low versus high airline pressure in stunning cattle with a pneumatically powered penetrating captive bolt gun

The efficiency of stunning cattle was assessed in 443 animals (304 pure Zebu and 139 crossbred cattle), being mainly mature bulls and cows. Cattle were stunned using a Jarvis pneumatically powered penetrating captive bolt gun operating with low (160–175 psi, N = 82) and high (190 psi, N = 363) airline pressure, which was within the manufactures specifications. Signs of brain function and the position of the shots on the heads were recorded after stunning. Velocity of the captive bolt and its physical parameters were calculated. Cattle shot with low pressures showed more rhythmic respiration (27 vs. 8%, P < 0.001), less tongue protrusion (4 vs. 12%, P = 0.03) and less masseter relaxation (22 vs. 48%, P < 0.001). There was an increased frequency of shots in the ideal position when cattle were shot with the low compared to high airline pressures (15.3 vs. 3.1%). Bolt velocity and its physical parameters were significantly (P < 0.01) higher when using high pressure. Airline pressures below 190 psi are inappropriate when shooting adult Zebu beef cattle with pneumatically powered penetrating captive bolt guns

Predicting Intermediate Storage Performance for Workflow Applications

Configuring a storage system to better serve an application is a challenging task complicated by a multidimensional, discrete configuration space and the high cost of space exploration (e.g., by running the application with different storage configurations). To enable selecting the best configuration in a reasonable time, we design an end-to-end performance prediction mechanism that estimates the turn-around time of an application using storage system under a given configuration. This approach focuses on a generic object-based storage system design, supports exploring the impact of optimizations targeting workflow applications (e.g., various data placement schemes) in addition to other, more traditional, configuration knobs (e.g., stripe size or replication level), and models the system operation at data-chunk and control message level. This paper presents our experience to date with designing and using this prediction mechanism. We evaluate this mechanism using micro- as well as synthetic benchmarks mimicking real workflow applications, and a real application.. A preliminary evaluation shows that we are on a good track to meet our objectives: it can scale to model a workflow application run on an entire cluster while offering an over 200x speedup factor (normalized by resource) compared to running the actual application, and can achieve, in the limited number of scenarios we study, a prediction accuracy that enables identifying the best storage system configuration

All-strain based valley filter in graphene nanoribbons using snake states

A pseudo-magnetic field kink can be realized along a graphene nanoribbon using strain engineering. Electron transport along this kink is governed by snake states that are characterized by a single propagation direction. Those pseudo-magnetic fields point towards opposite directions in the K and K' valleys, leading to valley polarized snake states. In a graphene nanoribbon with armchair edges this effect results in a valley filter that is based only on strain engineering. We discuss how to maximize this valley filtering by adjusting the parameters that define the stress distribution along the graphene ribbon.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

Rare Co-occurrence of Beta-Thalassemia and Pseudoxanthoma elasticum: Novel Biomolecular Findings

A number of beta-thalassemia patients, independently from the type of beta-thalassemia (β0 or β+) and blood transfusion requirements, may develop, after puberty, dermal, cardiovascular, and ocular complications associated with an ectopic mineralization phenotype similar to that observed in another rare genetic disorder, namely, Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE). To date, the causes of these alterations in beta-thalassemia patients are not known, but it has been suggested that they could be the consequence of oxidative stress-driven epigenetic regulatory mechanisms producing an ABCC6 down-regulation. Since, in the last years, several genes have been associated to the ectopic mineralization phenotype, this study, for the first time, applied, on beta-thalassemia patients with ectopic mineralization phenotype, a multigene testing strategy. Selection of genes to be analyzed was done on the basis of (i) their genetic involvement in calcification diseases or (ii) their role in calcium-phosphate equilibrium. Although, due to the rarity of these conditions, a limited number of patients was analyzed, the detection of pathogenic variants represents the proof of concept that PXE and beta-thalassemia traits co-occur on a genetic basis and that, in addition to causative mutations, functional polymorphisms may further influence connective tissue manifestations. The use of a multigene-based next-generation sequencing represents a useful time- and cost-effective approach, allowing to identify sequence variants that might improve prognostic assessment and better management of these patients, especially in the current era of precision medicine aiming to identify individual optimal care based on a unique personal profile