127 research outputs found
Vacuum Polarization Effects in the Lorentz and PCT Violating Electrodynamics
In this work we report new results concerning the question of dynamical mass
generation in the Lorentz and PCT violating quantum electrodynamics. A one loop
calculation for the vacuum polarization tensor is presented. The electron
propagator, "dressed" by a Lorentz breaking extra term in the fermion
Lagrangian density, is approximated by its first order: this scheme is shown to
break gauge invariance. Then we rather consider a full calculation to second
order in the Lorentz breaking parameter: we recover gauge invariance and use
the Schwinger-Dyson equation to discuss the full photon propagator. This allows
a discussion on a possible photon mass shift as well as measurable, observable
physical consequences, such as the Lamb-shift.Comment: Latex file, 19 pages, no figures, includes PACS number
The geometry of spontaneous spiking in neuronal networks
The mathematical theory of pattern formation in electrically coupled networks
of excitable neurons forced by small noise is presented in this work. Using the
Freidlin-Wentzell large deviation theory for randomly perturbed dynamical
systems and the elements of the algebraic graph theory, we identify and analyze
the main regimes in the network dynamics in terms of the key control
parameters: excitability, coupling strength, and network topology. The analysis
reveals the geometry of spontaneous dynamics in electrically coupled network.
Specifically, we show that the location of the minima of a certain continuous
function on the surface of the unit n-cube encodes the most likely activity
patterns generated by the network. By studying how the minima of this function
evolve under the variation of the coupling strength, we describe the principal
transformations in the network dynamics. The minimization problem is also used
for the quantitative description of the main dynamical regimes and transitions
between them. In particular, for the weak and strong coupling regimes, we
present asymptotic formulas for the network activity rate as a function of the
coupling strength and the degree of the network. The variational analysis is
complemented by the stability analysis of the synchronous state in the strong
coupling regime. The stability estimates reveal the contribution of the network
connectivity and the properties of the cycle subspace associated with the graph
of the network to its synchronization properties. This work is motivated by the
experimental and modeling studies of the ensemble of neurons in the Locus
Coeruleus, a nucleus in the brainstem involved in the regulation of cognitive
performance and behavior
UHECR as Decay Products of Heavy Relics? The Lifetime Problem
The essential features underlying the top-down scenarii for UHECR are
discussed, namely, the stability (or lifetime) imposed to the heavy objects
(particles) whatever they be: topological and non-topological solitons,
X-particles, cosmic defects, microscopic black-holes, fundamental strings. We
provide an unified formula for the quantum decay rate of all these objects as
well as the particle decays in the standard model. The key point in the
top-down scenarii is the necessity to adjust the lifetime of the heavy object
to the age of the universe. This ad-hoc requirement needs a very high
dimensional operator to govern its decay and/or an extremely small coupling
constant. The natural lifetimes of such heavy objects are, however, microscopic
times associated to the GUT energy scale (sim 10^{-28} sec. or shorter). It is
at this energy scale (by the end of inflation) where they could have been
abundantly formed in the early universe and it seems natural that they decayed
shortly after being formed.Comment: 11 pages, LaTex, no figures, updated versio
Closed-Form Critical Conditions of Saddle-Node Bifurcations for Buck Converters
A general and exact critical condition of saddle-node bifurcation is derived
in closed form for the buck converter. The critical condition is helpful for
the converter designers to predict or prevent some jump instabilities or
coexistence of multiple solutions associated with the saddle-node bifurcation.
Some previously known critical conditions become special cases in this
generalized framework. Given an arbitrary control scheme, a systematic
procedure is proposed to derive the critical condition for that control scheme.Comment: Submitted to IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control on Jan. 9, 2012.
Seven of my arXiv manuscripts have a common reviewe
Measurement of the Bottom contribution to non-photonic electron production in collisions at =200 GeV
The contribution of meson decays to non-photonic electrons, which are
mainly produced by the semi-leptonic decays of heavy flavor mesons, in
collisions at 200 GeV has been measured using azimuthal
correlations between non-photonic electrons and hadrons. The extracted
decay contribution is approximately 50% at a transverse momentum of GeV/. These measurements constrain the nuclear modification factor for
electrons from and meson decays. The result indicates that meson
production in heavy ion collisions is also suppressed at high .Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, accepted by PR
The PHENIX Experiment at RHIC
The physics emphases of the PHENIX collaboration and the design and current
status of the PHENIX detector are discussed. The plan of the collaboration for
making the most effective use of the available luminosity in the first years of
RHIC operation is also presented.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure. Further details of the PHENIX physics program
available at http://www.rhic.bnl.gov/phenix
Search for charged Higgs bosons in top quark decays
We present a search for charged Higgs bosons in top quark decays. We analyze
the \eplus, \muplus, , , , \etau and \mutau final states from
top quark pair production events, using data from about 1 of
integrated luminosity recorded by the \dzero experiment at the Fermilab
Tevatron Collider. We consider different scenarios of possible charged Higgs
boson decays, one where the charged Higgs boson decays purely hadronically into
a charm and a strange quark, another where it decays into a lepton and a
neutrino and a third one where both decays appear. We extract limits on
the branching ratio for all these models. We use two methods,
one where the production cross section is fixed, and one where the
cross section is fitted simultaneously with . Based on the
extracted limits, we exclude regions in the charged Higgs boson mass and parameter space for different scenarios of the minimal supersymmetric
standard model.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, submitted to PL
Hard Single Diffraction in pbarp Collisions at root-s = 630 and 1800 GeV
Using the D0 detector, we have studied events produced in proton-antiproton
collisions that contain large forward regions with very little energy
deposition (``rapidity gaps'') and concurrent jet production at center-of-mass
energies of root-s = 630 and 1800 Gev. The fractions of forward and central jet
events associated with such rapidity gaps are measured and compared to
predictions from Monte Carlo models. For hard diffractive candidate events, we
use the calorimeter to extract the fractional momentum loss of the scattered
protons.Comment: 11 pages 4 figures. submitted to PR
A global research priority agenda to advance public health responses to fatty liver disease
Background & aims
An estimated 38% of adults worldwide have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). From individual impacts to widespread public health and economic consequences, the implications of this disease are profound. This study aimed to develop an aligned, prioritised fatty liver disease research agenda for the global health community.
Methods
Nine co-chairs drafted initial research priorities, subsequently reviewed by 40 core authors and debated during a three-day in-person meeting. Following a Delphi methodology, over two rounds, a large panel (R1 n = 344, R2 n = 288) reviewed the priorities, via Qualtrics XM, indicating agreement using a four-point Likert-scale and providing written feedback. The core group revised the draft priorities between rounds. In R2, panellists also ranked the priorities within six domains: epidemiology, models of care, treatment and care, education and awareness, patient and community perspectives, and leadership and public health policy.
Results
The consensus-built fatty liver disease research agenda encompasses 28 priorities. The mean percentage of ‘agree’ responses increased from 78.3 in R1 to 81.1 in R2. Five priorities received unanimous combined agreement (‘agree’ + ‘somewhat agree’); the remaining 23 priorities had >90% combined agreement. While all but one of the priorities exhibited at least a super-majority of agreement (>66.7% ‘agree’), 13 priorities had 90% combined agreement.
Conclusions
Adopting this multidisciplinary consensus-built research priorities agenda can deliver a step-change in addressing fatty liver disease, mitigating against its individual and societal harms and proactively altering its natural history through prevention, identification, treatment, and care. This agenda should catalyse the global health community’s efforts to advance and accelerate responses to this widespread and fast-growing public health threat.
Impact and implications
An estimated 38% of adults and 13% of children and adolescents worldwide have fatty liver disease, making it the most prevalent liver disease in history. Despite substantial scientific progress in the past three decades, the burden continues to grow, with an urgent need to advance understanding of how to prevent, manage, and treat the disease. Through a global consensus process, a multidisciplinary group agreed on 28 research priorities covering a broad range of themes, from disease burden, treatment, and health system responses to awareness and policy. The findings have relevance for clinical and non-clinical researchers as well as funders working on fatty liver disease and non-communicable diseases more broadly, setting out a prioritised, ranked research agenda for turning the tide on this fast-growing public health threat
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