916 research outputs found
Black Hole Radiation and Volume Statistical Entropy
The simplest possible equation for Hawking radiation, and other black hole
radiated power is derived in terms of black hole density. Black hole density
also leads to the simplest possible model of a gas of elementary constituents
confined inside a gravitational bottle of Schwarzchild radius at tremendous
pressure, which yields identically the same functional dependence as the
traditional black hole entropy. Variations of Sbh can be obtained which depend
on the occupancy of phase space cells. A relation is derived between the
constituent momenta and the black hole radius which is similar to the Compton
wavelength relation.Comment: 11 pages, no figures. Key Words: Black Hole Entropy, Hawking
Radiation, Black Hole density. This is a better pdf versio
Penicillin Use in Meningococcal Disease Management: Active Bacterial Core Surveillance Sites, 2009.
In 2009, in the Active Bacterial Core surveillance sites, penicillin was not commonly used to treat meningococcal disease. This is likely because of inconsistent availability of antimicrobial susceptibility testing and ease of use of third-generation cephalosporins. Consideration of current practices may inform future meningococcal disease management guidelines
The Stellar Kinematic Signature of Massive Black Hole Binaries
The stalling radius of a merging massive binary black hole (BBH) is expected
to be below 0".1 even in nearby galaxies (Yu 2002), and thus BBHs are not
expected to be spatially resolved in the near future. However, as we show
below, a BBH may be detectable through the significantly anisotropic stellar
velocity distribution it produces on scales 5-10 times larger than the binary
separation. We calculate the velocity distribution of stable orbits near a BBH
by solving the restricted three body problem for a BBH embedded in a bulge
potential. We present high resolution maps of the projected velocity
distribution moments, based on snapshots of ~ 10^8 stable orbits. The kinematic
signature of a BBH in the average velocity maps is a counter rotating torus of
stars outside the BBH Hill spheres. The velocity dispersion maps reveal a dip
in the inner region, and an excess of 20-40% further out, compared to a single
BH of the same total mass. More pronounced signatures are seen in the third and
fourth Gauss-Hermite velocity moments maps. The detection of these signatures
may indicate the presence of a BBH currently, or at some earlier time, which
depends on the rate of velocity phase space mixing following the BBH merger.Comment: Accepted to MNRA
Diffuse Gamma-ray Emission from the Galactic Center - A Multiple Energy Injection Model
We suggest that the energy source of the observed diffuse gamma-ray emission
from the direction of the Galactic center is the Galactic black hole Sgr A*,
which becomes active when a star is captured at a rate of
yr^{-1}. Subsequently the star is tidally disrupted and its matter is accreted
into the black hole. During the active phase relativistic protons with a
characteristic energy erg per capture are ejected. Over
90% of these relativistic protons disappear due to proton-proton collisions on
a timescale years in the small central bulge region with
radius pc within Sgr A*, where the density is cm^{-3}. The
gamma-ray intensity, which results from the decay of neutral pions produced by
proton-proton collisions, decreases according to , where t is
the time after last stellar capture. Less than 5% of relativistic protons
escaped from the central bulge region can survive and maintain their energy for
>10^7 years due to much lower gas density outside, where the gas density can
drop to cm. They can diffuse to a pc region before
disappearing due to proton-proton collisions. The observed diffuse GeV
gamma-rays resulting from the decay of neutral pions produced via collision
between these escaped protons and the gas in this region is expected to be
insensitive to time in the multi-injection model with the characteristic
injection rate of 10^{-5} yr^{-1}. Our model calculated GeV and 511 keV
gamma-ray intensities are consistent with the observed results of EGRET and
INTEGRAL, however, our calculated inflight annihilation rate cannot produce
sufficient intensity to explain the COMPTEL data.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, accepted by A&
Prompt Tidal Disruption of Stars as an Electromagnetic Signature of Supermassive Black Hole Coalescence
A precise electromagnetic measurement of the sky coordinates and redshift of
a coalescing black hole binary holds the key for using its gravitational wave
(GW) signal to constrain cosmological parameters and to test general
relativity. Here we show that the merger of ~10^{6-7}M_sun black holes is
generically followed over a period of years by multiple electromagnetic flares
from tidally disrupted stars. The sudden recoil imparted to the merged black
hole by GW emission promptly fills its loss cone and results in a tidal
disruption rate of stars as high as ~0.1 per year. The prompt disruption of a
star within a single galaxy over a short period provides a unique
electromagnetic flag of a recent black hole coalescence event, and sequential
disruptions could be used on their own to calibrate the expected rate of GW
sources for pulsar timing arrays or the proposed Laser Interferometer Space
Antenna (LISA).Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Honesty, beliefs about honesty, and economic growth in 15 countries
The honesty of people in an online panel from 15 countries was measured in two experiments: reporting a coin flip with a reward for âheadsâ, and an online quiz with the possibility of cheating. There are large differences in honesty across countries. Average honesty is positively correlated with per capita GDP. This is driven mostly by GDP differences arising before 1950, rather than by GDP growth since 1950. A countryâs average honesty correlates with the proportion of its population that is Protestant. These facts suggest a long-run relationship between honesty and economic development. The experiment also elicited participantsâ expectations about different countriesâ levels of honesty. Expectations were not correlated with reality. Instead they appear to be driven by cognitive biases, including self-projection
The Scene Perception & Event Comprehension Theory (SPECT) applied to visual narratives
Understanding how people comprehend visual narratives (including picture stories, comics, and film) requires the combination of traditionally separate theories that span the initial sensory and perceptual processing of complex visual scenes, the perception of events over time, and comprehension of narratives. Existing piecemeal approaches fail to capture the interplay between these levels of processing. Here, we propose the Scene Perception & Event Comprehension Theory (SPECT), as applied to visual narratives, which distinguishes between frontâend and backâend cognitive processes. Frontâend processes occur during single eye fixations and are comprised of attentional selection and information extraction. Backâend processes occur across multiple fixations and support the construction of event models, which reflect understanding of what is happening now in a narrative (stored in working memory) and over the course of the entire narrative (stored in longâterm episodic memory). We describe relationships between frontâ and backâend processes, and mediumâspecific differences that likely produce variation in frontâend and backâend processes across media (e.g., picture stories vs. film). We describe several novel research questions derived from SPECT that we have explored. By addressing these questions, we provide greater insight into how attention, information extraction, and event model processes are dynamically coordinated to perceive and understand complex naturalistic visual events in narratives and the real world
Academic Performance and Behavioral Patterns
Identifying the factors that influence academic performance is an essential
part of educational research. Previous studies have documented the importance
of personality traits, class attendance, and social network structure. Because
most of these analyses were based on a single behavioral aspect and/or small
sample sizes, there is currently no quantification of the interplay of these
factors. Here, we study the academic performance among a cohort of 538
undergraduate students forming a single, densely connected social network. Our
work is based on data collected using smartphones, which the students used as
their primary phones for two years. The availability of multi-channel data from
a single population allows us to directly compare the explanatory power of
individual and social characteristics. We find that the most informative
indicators of performance are based on social ties and that network indicators
result in better model performance than individual characteristics (including
both personality and class attendance). We confirm earlier findings that class
attendance is the most important predictor among individual characteristics.
Finally, our results suggest the presence of strong homophily and/or peer
effects among university students
Algorithmic States of Exception
In this paper I argue that pervasive tracking and data-mining are leading to shifts in governmentality that can be characterised as algorithmic states of exception. I also argue that the apparatus that performs this change owes as much to everyday business models as it does to mass surveillance. I look at technical changes at the level of data structures, such as the move to NoSQL databases, and how this combines with data-mining and machine learning to accelerate the use of prediction as a form of governance. The consequent confusion between correlation and causation leads, I assert, to the creation of states of exception. I set out what I mean by states of exception using the ideas of Giorgio Agamben, focusing on the aspects most relevant to algorithmic regulation: force-of and topology. I argue that the effects of these states of exception escape legal constraints such as concepts of privacy. Having characterised this as a potentially totalising change and an erosion of civil liberties, I ask in what ways the states of exception might be opposed. I follow Agamben by drawing on Walter Benjamin's concept of pure means as a tactic that is itself outside the frame of law-producing or law-preserving activity. However, the urgent need to respond requires more than a philosophical stance, and I examine two examples of historical resistance that satisfy Benjamin's criteria. For each in turn I draw connections to contemporary cases of digital dissent that exhibit some of the same characteristics. I conclude that it is possible both theoretically and practically to resist the coming states of exception and I end by warning what is at stake if we do not
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