18,319 research outputs found
Persistence of black holes through a cosmological bounce
We discuss whether black holes could persist in a universe which recollapses
and then bounces into a new expansion phase. Whether the bounce is of classical
or quantum gravitational origin, such cosmological models are of great current
interest. In particular, we investigate the mass range in which black holes
might survive a bounce and ways of differentiating observationally between
black holes formed just after and just before the last bounce. We also discuss
the consequences of the universe going through a sequence of dimensional
changes as it passes through a bounce.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figur
Holes in the walls: primordial black holes as a solution to the cosmological domain wall problem
We propose a scenario in which the cosmological domain wall and monopole
problems are solved without any fine tuning of the initial conditions or
parameters in the Lagrangian of an underlying filed theory. In this scenario
domain walls sweep out (unwind) the monopoles from the early universe, then the
fast primordial black holes perforate the domain walls, change their topology
and destroy them. We find further that the (old vacuum) energy density released
from the domain walls could alleviate but not solve the cosmological flatness
problem.Comment: References added; Published in Phys. Rev.
Strong correlation effects in single-wall carbon nanotubes
We present an overview of strong correlations in single-wall carbon
nanotubes, and an introduction to the techniques used to study them
theoretically. We concentrate on zigzag nanotubes, although universality
dictates that much ofthe theory can also be applied to armchair or chiral
nanotubes. We show how interaction effects lead to exotic low energy properties
and discuss future directions for studies on correlation effects in nanotubes
Anisotropic dielectric function in polar nano-regions of relaxor ferroelectrics
The paper suggests to treat the infrared reflectivity spectra of single
crystal perovskite relaxors as fine-grained ferroelectric ceramics: locally
frozen polarization makes the dielectric function strongly anisotropic in the
phonon frequency range and the random orientation of the polarization at
nano-scopic scale requires to take into account the inhomogeneous
depolarization field. Employing a simple effective medium approximation
(Bruggeman symmetrical formula) to dielectric function describing the polar
optic modes as damped harmonic oscillators turns out to be sufficient for
reproducing all principal features of room temperature reflectivity of PMN. One
of the reflectivity bands is identified as a geometrical resonance entirely
related to the nanoscale polarization inhomogeneity. The approach provides a
general guide for systematic determination of the polar mode frequencies split
by the inhomogeneous polarization at nanometer scale.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure
A pulsed atomic soliton laser
It is shown that simultaneously changing the scattering length of an
elongated, harmonically trapped Bose-Einstein condensate from positive to
negative and inverting the axial portion of the trap, so that it becomes
expulsive, results in a train of self-coherent solitonic pulses. Each pulse is
itself a non-dispersive attractive Bose-Einstein condensate that rapidly
self-cools. The axial trap functions as a waveguide. The solitons can be made
robustly stable with the right choice of trap geometry, number of atoms, and
interaction strength. Theoretical and numerical evidence suggests that such a
pulsed atomic soliton laser can be made in present experiments.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure
Bose-Einstein condensates with attractive interactions on a ring
Considering an effectively attractive quasi-one-dimensional Bose-Einstein
condensate of atoms confined in a toroidal trap, we find that the system
undergoes a phase transition from a uniform to a localized state, as the
magnitude of the coupling constant increases. Both the mean-field
approximation, as well as a diagonalization scheme are used to attack the
problem.Comment: 4 pages, 4 ps figures, RevTex, typographic errors correcte
Deep subcutaneous application of poly-L-lactic acid as a filler for facial lipoatrophy in HIV-infected patients
Introduction: Facial lipoatrophy is a crucial problem of HIV-infected patients undergoing highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Poly-L-lactic acid (PLA), provided as New-Fill(R)/Sculptra(TM), is known as one possible treatment option. In 2004 PLA was approved by the FDA as Sculptra(TM) for the treatment of lipoatrophy of the face in HIV-infected patients. While the first trials demonstrated relevant efficacy, this was to some extent linked to unwanted effects. As the depth of injection was considered relevant in this context, the application modalities of the preparation were changed. The preparation was to be injected more deeply into subcutaneous tissue, after increased dilution. Material and Methods: To test this approach we performed a pilot study following the new recommendations in 14 patients. Results: While the efficacy turned out to be about the same, tolerability was markedly improved. The increase in facial dermal thickness was particularly obvious in those patients who had suffered from lipoatrophy for a comparatively small period of time. Conclusion: With the new recommendations to dilute PLA powder and to inject it into the deeper subcutaneous tissue nodule formation is a minor problem. However, good treatment results can only be achieved if lipoatrophy is not too intense; treatment intervals should be about 2 - 3 weeks. Copyright (C) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel
Spontaneous soliton formation and modulational instability in Bose-Einstein condensates
The dynamics of an elongated attractive Bose-Einstein condensate in an
axisymmetric harmonic trap is studied. It is shown that density fringes caused
by self-interference of the condensate order parameter seed modulational
instability. The latter has novel features in contradistinction to the usual
homogeneous case known from nonlinear fiber optics. Several open questions in
the interpretation of the recent creation of the first matter-wave bright
soliton train [Strecker {\it et al.} Nature {\bf 417} 150 (2002)] are
addressed. It is shown that primary transverse collapse, followed by secondary
collapse induced by soliton--soliton interactions, produce bursts of hot atoms
at different time scales.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Phys. Rev. Lett. in pres
Far-Infrared Conductivity Measurements of Pair Breaking in Superconducting NbTiN Thin Films Induced by an External Magnetic Field
We report the complex optical conductivity of a superconducting thin-film of
NbTiN in an external magnetic field. The field was applied
parallel to the film surface and the conductivity extracted from far-infrared
transmission and reflection measurements. The real part shows the
superconducting gap, which we observe to be suppressed by the applied magnetic
field. We compare our results with the pair-breaking theory of Abrikosov and
Gor'kov and confirm directly the theory's validity for the optical
conductivity.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
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