407 research outputs found
The Quantum Mechanics of Hyperion
This paper is motivated by the suggestion [W. Zurek, Physica Scripta, T76,
186 (1998)] that the chaotic tumbling of the satellite Hyperion would become
non-classical within 20 years, but for the effects of environmental
decoherence. The dynamics of quantum and classical probability distributions
are compared for a satellite rotating perpendicular to its orbital plane,
driven by the gravitational gradient. The model is studied with and without
environmental decoherence. Without decoherence, the maximum quantum-classical
(QC) differences in its average angular momentum scale as hbar^{2/3} for
chaotic states, and as hbar^2 for non-chaotic states, leading to negligible QC
differences for a macroscopic object like Hyperion. The quantum probability
distributions do not approach their classical limit smoothly, having an
extremely fine oscillatory structure superimposed on the smooth classical
background. For a macroscopic object, this oscillatory structure is too fine to
be resolved by any realistic measurement. Either a small amount of smoothing
(due to the finite resolution of the apparatus) or a very small amount of
environmental decoherence is sufficient ensure the classical limit. Under
decoherence, the QC differences in the probability distributions scale as
(hbar^2/D)^{1/6}, where D is the momentum diffusion parameter. We conclude that
decoherence is not essential to explain the classical behavior of macroscopic
bodies.Comment: 17 pages, 24 figure
Contributions to the Power Spectrum of Cosmic Microwave Background from Fluctuations Caused by Clusters of Galaxies
We estimate the contributions to the cosmic microwave background radiation
(CMBR) power spectrum from the static and kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ)
effects, and from the moving cluster of galaxies (MCG) effect. We conclude, in
agreement with other studies, that at sufficiently small scales secondary
fluctuations caused by clusters provide important contributions to the CMBR. At
, these secondary fluctuations become important relative to
lensed primordial fluctuations. Gravitational lensing at small angular scales
has been proposed as a way to break the ``geometric degeneracy'' in determining
fundamental cosmological parameters. We show that this method requires the
separation of the static SZ effect, but the kinematic SZ effect and the MCG
effect are less important. The power spectrum of secondary fluctuations caused
by clusters of galaxies, if separated from the spectrum of lensed primordial
fluctuations, might provide an independent constraint on several important
cosmological parameters.Comment: LateX, 41 pages and 10 figures. Accepted for publication in the
Astrophysical Journa
Behavioral Inhibition as a Risk Factor for the Development of Childhood Anxiety Disorders: A Longitudinal Study
This longitudinal study examined the additive and interactive effects of behavioral inhibition and a wide range of other vulnerability factors in the development of anxiety problems in youths. A sample of 261 children, aged 5 to 8 years, 124 behaviorally inhibited and 137 control children, were followed during a 3-year period. Assessments took place on three occasions to measure children’s level of behavioral inhibition, anxiety disorder symptoms, other psychopathological symptoms, and a number of other vulnerability factors such as insecure attachment, negative parenting styles, adverse life events, and parental anxiety. Results obtained with Structural Equation Modeling indicated that behavioral inhibition primarily acted as a specific risk factor for the development of social anxiety symptoms. Furthermore, the longitudinal model showed additive as well as interactive effects for various vulnerability factors on the development of anxiety symptoms. That is, main effects of anxious rearing and parental trait anxiety were found, whereas behavioral inhibition and attachment had an interactive effect on anxiety symptomatology. Moreover, behavioral inhibition itself was also influenced by some of the vulnerability factors. These results provide support for dynamic, multifactorial models for the etiology of child anxiety problems
Target mass number dependence of subthreshold antiproton production in proton-, deuteron- and alpha-particle-induced reactions
Data from KEK on subthreshold \bar{\mrm{p}} as well as on and
\mrm{K}^\pm production in proton-, deuteron- and -induced reactions
at energies between 2.0 and 12.0 A GeV for C, Cu and Pb targets are described
within a unified approach. We use a model which considers a nuclear reaction as
an incoherent sum over collisions of varying numbers of projectile and target
nucleons. It samples complete events and thus allows for the simultaneous
consideration of all final particles including the decay products of the
nuclear residues. The enormous enhancement of the \bar{\mrm{p}} cross
section, as well as the moderate increase of meson production in deuteron and
induced compared to proton-induced reactions, is well reproduced for
all target nuclei. In our approach, the observed enhancement near the
production threshold is mainly due to the contributions from the interactions
of few-nucleon clusters by simultaneously considering fragmentation processes
of the nuclear residues. The ability of the model to reproduce the target mass
dependence may be considered as a further proof of the validity of the cluster
concept.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure
The Abnormally Weighting Energy Hypothesis: the Missing Link between Dark Matter and Dark Energy
We generalize tensor-scalar theories of gravitation by the introduction of an
abnormally weighting type of energy. This theory of tensor-scalar anomalous
gravity is based on a relaxation of the weak equivalence principle that is now
restricted to ordinary visible matter only. As a consequence, the convergence
mechanism toward general relativity is modified and produces naturally cosmic
acceleration as an inescapable gravitational feedback induced by the
mass-variation of some invisible sector. The cosmological implications of this
new theoretical framework are studied. From the Hubble diagram cosmological
test \textit{alone}, this theory provides an estimation of the amount of
baryons and dark matter in the Universe that is consistent with the independent
cosmological tests of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and Big Bang
Nucleosynthesis (BBN). Cosmic coincidence is naturally achieved from a equally
natural assumption on the amplitude of the scalar coupling strength. Finally,
from the adequacy to supernovae data, we derive a new intriguing relation
between the space-time dependences of the gravitational coupling and the dark
matter mass, providing an example of crucial constraint on microphysics from
cosmology. This glimpses at an enticing new symmetry between the visible and
invisible sectors, namely that the scalar charges of visible and invisible
matter are exactly opposite.Comment: 24 pages, 6 figures, new version with extended discussions and added
references. Accepted for publication in JCAP (sept. 2008
Modelling Clock Synchronization in the Chess gMAC WSN Protocol
We present a detailled timed automata model of the clock synchronization
algorithm that is currently being used in a wireless sensor network (WSN) that
has been developed by the Dutch company Chess. Using the Uppaal model checker,
we establish that in certain cases a static, fully synchronized network may
eventually become unsynchronized if the current algorithm is used, even in a
setting with infinitesimal clock drifts
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-Related Pathways in Hemato-Lymphoid Malignancies
Angiogenesis is essential for malignant tumor growth. This has been documented for solid tumors, and there is an emerging evidence suggesting that tumor progression of hematolymphoid malignancies also depends on the induction of new blood vessel formation. The most important proangiogenic agent is vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), activating VEGF receptors 1 and 2. The available data on angiogenesis in hemato-lymphoid malignancies, such as acute leukemias, myelodysplastic syndromes, myeloproliferative neoplasms, multiple myeloma, and lymphomas, point towards the significance of autocrine and paracrine VEGF-mediated effects for proliferation and survival of leukemia/lymphoma cells in addition to tumor vascularization. Antiangiogenic strategies have become an important therapeutic modality for solid tumors. Several antiangiogenic agents targeting VEGF-related pathways are also being utilized in clinical trials for the treatment of hemato-lymphoid malignancies, and in some instances these pathways have emerged as promising therapeutic targets. This review summarizes recent advances in the basic understanding of the role of angiogenesis in hemato-lymphoid malignancies and the translation of such basic findings into clinical studies
Phenomenological analysis of K+ meson production in proton-nucleus collisions
Total and differential cross sections from literature, on the production of
K+ mesons in pA interactions at projectile energies between T=0.8 and 2.9 GeV,
covering the transition across the free nucleon-nucleon threshold at 1.58 GeV,
have been investigated. From the target-mass dependence of the production cross
sections no evidence for the expected change of the dominant reaction mechanism
from two-step to direct kaon production was found. At T=1.0 GeV the A
dependences of the total cross sections and of the most recent data from
COSY-Juelich, differential cross sections measured under forward angles, are
strongly different. The invariant K+ production cross sections show an overall
exponential scaling behavior with the squared four-momentum transfer between
the beam proton and the produced K+ meson for t< -0.05 GeV^2 independent of the
beam energy and emission angle. The data from COSY-Juelich reveal a strongly
different t dependence in the region of t>0 GeV^2. Further data at forward
angles and different beam energies should be taken in order to explore this
region of kinematically extreme conditions.Comment: 9 Pages, 11 Figure
Inflationary attractor in Gauss-Bonnet brane cosmology
The inflationary attractor properties of the canonical scalar field and
Born-Infeld field are investigated in the Randall-Sundrum II scenario with a
Gauss-Bonnet term in the bulk action. We find that the inflationary attractor
property will always hold for both the canonical and Born-Infeld fields for any
allowed non-negative Gauss-Bonnet coupling. We also briefly discuss the
possibility of explaining the suppressed lower multiples and running scalar
spectral index simultaneously in the scenario of Gauss-Bonnet brane inflation.Comment: 7 pages, no figures. An error in the discussion of BI field
corrected, conclusion correcte
Overestimating Outcome Rates: Statistical Estimation When Reliability Is Suboptimal
To demonstrate how failure to account for measurement error in an outcome (dependent) variable can lead to significant estimation errors and to illustrate ways to recognize and avoid these errors. Data Sources . Medical literature and simulation models. Study Design/Data Collection . Systematic review of the published and unpublished epidemiological literature on the rate of preventable hospital deaths and statistical simulation of potential estimation errors based on data from these studies. Principal Findings . Most estimates of the rate of preventable deaths in U.S. hospitals rely upon classifying cases using one to three physician reviewers (implicit review). Because this method has low to moderate reliability, estimates based on statistical methods that do not account for error in the measurement of a “preventable death” can result in significant overestimation. For example, relying on a majority rule rating with three reviewers per case (reliability ∼0.45 for the average of three reviewers) can result in a 50–100 percent overestimation compared with an estimate based upon a reliably measured outcome (e.g., by using 50 reviewers per case). However, there are statistical methods that account for measurement error that can produce much more accurate estimates of outcome rates without requiring a large number of measurements per case. Conclusion . The statistical principles discussed in this case study are critically important whenever one seeks to estimate the proportion of cases belonging to specific categories (such as estimating how many patients have inadequate blood pressure control or identifying high-cost or low-quality physicians). When the true outcome rate is low (<20 percent), using an outcome measure that has low-to-moderate reliability will generally result in substantially overestimating the proportion of the population having the outcome unless statistical methods that adjust for measurement error are used.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74896/1/j.1475-6773.2006.00661.x.pd
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