3,836 research outputs found
Effects of Foreground Contamination on the Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropy Measured by MAP
We study the effects of diffuse Galactic, far-infrared extragalactic source,
and radio point source emission on the cosmic microwave background (CMB)
anisotropy data anticipated from the MAP experiment. We focus on the
correlation function and genus statistics measured from mock MAP
foreground-contaminated CMB anisotropy maps generated in a spatially-flat
cosmological constant dominated cosmological model. Analyses of the simulated
MAP data at 90 GHz (0.3 deg FWHM resolution smoothed) show that foreground
effects on the correlation function are small compared with cosmic variance.
However, the Galactic emission, even just from the region with |b| > 20 deg,
significantly affects the topology of CMB anisotropy, causing a negative genus
shift non-Gaussianity signal. Given the expected level of cosmic variance, this
effect can be effectively reduced by subtracting existing Galactic foreground
emission models from the observed data. IRAS and DIRBE far-infrared
extragalactic sources have little effect on the CMB anisotropy. Radio point
sources raise the amplitude of the correlation function considerably on scales
below 0.5 deg. Removal of bright radio sources above a 5 \sigma detection limit
effectively eliminates this effect. Radio sources also result in a positive
genus curve asymmetry (significant at 2 \sigma) on 0.5 deg scales. Accurate
radio point source data is essential for an unambiguous detection of CMB
anisotropy non-Gaussianity on these scales. Non-Gaussianity of cosmological
origin can be detected from the foreground-subtracted CMB anisotropy map at the
2 \sigma level if the measured genus shift parameter |\Delta\nu| >= 0.02 (0.04)
or if the measured genus asymmetry parameter |\Delta g| >= 0.03 (0.08) on a 0.3
(1.0) deg FWHM scale.Comment: 26 pages, 7 figures, Accepted for Publication in Astrophysical
Journal (Some sentences and figures modified
Extended quantum conditional entropy and quantum uncertainty inequalities
Quantum states can be subjected to classical measurements, whose
incompatibility, or uncertainty, can be quantified by a comparison of certain
entropies. There is a long history of such entropy inequalities between
position and momentum. Recently these inequalities have been generalized to the
tensor product of several Hilbert spaces and we show here how their derivations
can be shortened to a few lines and how they can be generalized. All the
recently derived uncertainty relations utilize the strong subadditivity (SSA)
theorem; our contribution relies on directly utilizing the proof technique of
the original derivation of SSA.Comment: 4 page
Energy conditions in f(R) gravity and Brans-Dicke theories
The equivalence between f(R) gravity and scalar-tensor theories is invoked to
study the null, strong, weak and dominant energy conditions in Brans-Dicke
theory. We consider the validity of the energy conditions in Brans-Dicke theory
by invoking the energy conditions derived from a generic f(R) theory. The
parameters involved are shown to be consistent with an accelerated expanding
universe.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure, to appear in IJMP
The Topology of Large Scale Structure in the 1.2 Jy IRAS Redshift Survey
We measure the topology (genus) of isodensity contour surfaces in volume
limited subsets of the 1.2 Jy IRAS redshift survey, for smoothing scales
\lambda=4\hmpc, 7\hmpc, and 12\hmpc. At 12\hmpc, the observed genus
curve has a symmetric form similar to that predicted for a Gaussian random
field. At the shorter smoothing lengths, the observed genus curve shows a
modest shift in the direction of an isolated cluster or ``meatball'' topology.
We use mock catalogs drawn from cosmological N-body simulations to investigate
the systematic biases that affect topology measurements in samples of this size
and to determine the full covariance matrix of the expected random errors. We
incorporate the error correlations into our evaluations of theoretical models,
obtaining both frequentist assessments of absolute goodness-of-fit and Bayesian
assessments of models' relative likelihoods. We compare the observed topology
of the 1.2 Jy survey to the predictions of dynamically evolved, unbiased,
gravitational instability models that have Gaussian initial conditions. The
model with an , power-law initial power spectrum achieves the best
overall agreement with the data, though models with a low-density cold dark
matter power spectrum and an power-law spectrum are also consistent. The
observed topology is inconsistent with an initially Gaussian model that has
, and it is strongly inconsistent with a Voronoi foam model, which has a
non-Gaussian, bubble topology.Comment: ApJ submitted, 39 pages, LaTeX(aasms4), 12 figures, 1 Tabl
Conformal Radiotherapy Facilitates the Delivery of Concurrent Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy: A Case of Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumour of the Chest Wall
We illustrate the principle of conformal radiotherapy by discussing the case of a patient with a primitive neuroectodermal
tumour of the chest wall. Recent advances in radiotherapy planning enable precise localization of the planning target volume
(PTV) and normal organs at risk of irradiation. Customized blocks are subsequently designed to produce a treatment field
that âconformsâ to the PTV. The use of conformal radiotherapy (CRT) in this case facilitated the delivery of concurrent
chemotherapy and radiotherapy by significantly reducing the volume of red marrow irradiated.The lack of acute and late
toxicities was attributed to optimal exclusion of normal tissues from the treatment field, made possible by CRT
Evolution of Structure in the Intergalactic Medium and the Nature of the Ly-alpha Forest
We have performed a detailed statistical study of the evolution of structure
in a photoionized intergalactic medium (IGM) using analytical simulations to
extend the calculation into the mildly non-linear density regime found to
prevail at z = 3. Our work is based on a simple fundamental conjecture: that
the probability distribution function of the density of baryonic diffuse matter
in the universe is described by a lognormal (LN) random field. The LN field has
several attractive features and follows plausibly from the assumption of
initial linear Gaussian density and velocity fluctuations at arbitrarily early
times. Starting with a suitably normalized power spectrum of primordial fluc-
tuations in a universe dominated by cold dark matter (CDM), we compute the
behavior of the baryonic matter, which moves slowly toward minima in the dark
matter potential on scales larger than the Jeans length. We have computed two
models that succeed in matching observations. One is a non-standard CDM model
with Omega=1, h=0.5 and \Gamma=0.3, and the other is a low density flat model
with a cosmological constant(LCDM), with Omega=0.4, Omega_Lambda=0.6 and h=.65.
In both models, the variance of the density distribution function grows with
time, reaching unity at about z=4, where the simulation yields spectra that
closely resemble the Ly-alpha forest absorption seen in the spectra of high z
quasars. The calculations also successfully predict the observed properties of
the Ly-alpha forest clouds and their evolution from z=4 down to at least z=2,
assuming a constant intensity for the metagalactic UV background over this
redshift range. However, in our model the forest is not due to discrete clouds,
but rather to fluctuations in a continuous intergalactic medium. (This is an
abreviated abstract; the complete abstract is included with the manuscript.)Comment: Wrong Fig. 10 is corrected. Our custom made postscript is available
at ftp://hut4.pha.jhu.edu/incoming/igm, or contact Arthur Davidsen
([email protected]) for nice hardcopies; accepted for publication in Ap
The distance upon contact: Determination from roughness profile
The point at which two random rough surfaces make contact takes place at the
contact of the highest asperities. The distance upon contact d_0 in the limit
of zero load has crucial importance for determination of dispersive forces.
Using gold films as an example we demonstrate that for two parallel plates d_0
is a function of the nominal size of the contact area L and give a simple
expression for d_0(L) via the surface roughness characteristics. In the case of
a sphere of fixed radius R and a plate the scale dependence manifests itself as
an additional uncertainty \delta d(L) in the separation, where the scale L is
related with the separation d via the effective area of interaction L^2\sim\pi
Rd. This uncertainty depends on the roughness of interacting bodies and
disappears in the limit L\to \infty.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to be published in PR
SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY APPLIED IN THE AGRIFOOD SECTOR: SOCIETAL PRIORITIES AND PITFALLS
Synthetic biology offers potential for innovation in the agrifood sector, although concerns have been raised consumer rejection of applications will occur similar to that associated with the introduction of genetically modified foods. Risk-benefit assessment should address socio-economic, as well as health and environmental impacts. Ethical issues may be of particular relevance to the application synthetic biology, and may also resonate with societal concerns. A case-by-case analysis of relevant issues may be needed, and innovation must be driven by societal and consumer preferences as well as technological possibilities. Research into consumer and societal priorities is required early in the innovation trajector
Static critical exponents of the ferromagnetic transition in spin glass re-entrant systems
The static critical phenomenology near the Curie temperature of the
re-entrant metallic alloys Au_0.81Fe_0.19, Ni_0.78Mn_0.22, Ni_0.79Mn_0.21 and
amorphous a-Fe_0.98Zr_0.08 is studied using a variety of experimental
techniques and methods of analysis. We have generally found that the values for
the exponents alpha, beta, gamma and delta depart significantly from the
predictions for the 3D Heisenberg model and are intermediate between these
expectations and the values characterizing a typical spin glass transition.
Comparing the exponents obtained in our work with indices for other re-entrant
systems reported in the literature, a weak universality class may be defined
where the exponents distribute within a certain range around average values.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figure
Heartbeat of the Southern Oscillation explains ENSO climatic resonances
The El Ni~no-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) nonlinear oscillator phenomenon has a far reaching
influence on the climate and human activities. The up to 10 year quasi-period cycle of the El Ni~no and
subsequent La Ni~na is known to be dominated in the tropics by nonlinear physical interaction of wind with
the equatorial waveguide in the Pacific. Long-term cyclic phenomena do not feature in the current theory
of the ENSO process. We update the theory by assessing low (>10 years) and high (<10 years) frequency
coupling using evidence across tropical, extratropical, and Pacific basin scales. We analyze observations and
model simulations with a highly accurate method called Dominant Frequency State Analysis (DFSA) to
provide evidence of stable ENSO features. The observational data sets of the Southern Oscillation Index
(SOI), North Pacific Index Anomaly, and ENSO Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly, as well as a theoretical
model all confirm the existence of long-term and short-term climatic cycles of the ENSO process with
resonance frequencies of {2.5, 3.8, 5, 12â14, 61â75, 180} years. This fundamental result shows long-term and
short-term signal coupling with mode locking across the dominant ENSO dynamics. These dominant
oscillation frequency dynamics, defined as ENSO frequency states, contain a stable attractor with three
frequencies in resonance allowing us to coin the term Heartbeat of the Southern Oscillation due to its
characteristic shape. We predict future ENSO states based on a stable hysteresis scenario of short-term and
long-term ENSO oscillations over the next century
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