37,497 research outputs found
Prospects for Reducing Uninsured Rates Among Children: How Much Can Premium Assistance Programs Help?
Examines the efficacy of premium assistance under Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Programs in extending coverage for children through a parent's employer-sponsored insurance. Considers policy implications for expanding public insurance
Formation of molecular oxygen in ultracold O + OH reaction
We discuss the formation of molecular oxygen in ultracold collisions between
hydroxyl radicals and atomic oxygen. A time-independent quantum formalism based
on hyperspherical coordinates is employed for the calculations. Elastic,
inelastic and reactive cross sections as well as the vibrational and rotational
populations of the product O2 molecules are reported. A J-shifting
approximation is used to compute the rate coefficients. At temperatures T = 10
- 100 mK for which the OH molecules have been cooled and trapped
experimentally, the elastic and reactive rate coefficients are of comparable
magnitude, while at colder temperatures, T < 1 mK, the formation of molecular
oxygen becomes the dominant pathway. The validity of a classical capture model
to describe cold collisions of OH and O is also discussed. While very good
agreement is found between classical and quantum results at T=0.3 K, at higher
temperatures, the quantum calculations predict a larger rate coefficient than
the classical model, in agreement with experimental data for the O + OH
reaction. The zero-temperature limiting value of the rate coefficient is
predicted to be about 6.10^{-12} cm^3 molecule^{-1} s^{-1}, a value comparable
to that of barrierless alkali-metal atom - dimer systems and about a factor of
five larger than that of the tunneling dominated F + H2 reaction.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure
ROBOSIM, a simulator for robotic systems
ROBOSIM, a simulator for robotic systems, was developed by NASA to aid in the rapid prototyping of automation. ROBOSIM has allowed the development of improved robotic systems concepts for both earth-based and proposed on-orbit applications while significantly reducing development costs. In a cooperative effort with an area university, ROBOSIM was further developed for use in the classroom as a safe and cost-effective way of allowing students to study robotic systems. Students have used ROBOSIM to study existing robotic systems and systems which they have designed in the classroom. Since an advanced simulator/trainer of this type is beneficial not only to NASA projects and programs but industry and academia as well, NASA is in the process of developing this technology for wider public use. An update on the simulators's new application areas, the improvements made to the simulator's design, and current efforts to ensure the timely transfer of this technology are presented
Two phase galaxy formation: The Evolutionary Properties of Galaxies
We use our model for the formation and evolution of galaxies within a
two-phase galaxy formation scenario, showing that the high-redshift domain
typically supports the growth of spheroidal systems, whereas at low redshifts
the predominant baryonic growth mechanism is quiescent and may therefore
support the growth of a disc structure. Under this framework we investigate the
evolving galaxy population by comparing key observations at both low and
high-redshifts, finding generally good agreement. By analysing the evolutionary
properties of this model, we are able to recreate several features of the
evolving galaxy population with redshift, naturally reproducing number counts
of massive star-forming galaxies at high redshifts, along with the galaxy
scaling relations, star formation rate density and evolution of the stellar
mass function. Building upon these encouraging agreements, we make model
predictions that can be tested by future observations. In particular, we
present the expected evolution to z=2 of the super-massive black hole mass
function, and we show that the gas fraction in galaxies should decrease with
increasing redshift in a mass, with more and more evolution going to higher and
higher masses. Also, the characteristic transition mass from disc to bulge
dominated system should decrease with increasing redshift.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures. Version polished for publication in MNRA
Stability of Majorana Fermions in Proximity-Coupled Topological Insulator Nanowires
It has been shown previously that a finite-length topological insulator
nanowire, proximity-coupled to an ordinary bulk s-wave superconductor and
subject to a longitudinal applied magnetic field, realizes a one-dimensional
topological superconductor with an unpaired Majorana fermion (MF) localized at
each end of the nanowire. Here, we study the stability of these MFs with
respect to various perturbations that are likely to occur in a physical
realization of the proposed device. We show that the unpaired Majorana fermions
persist in this system for any value of the chemical potential inside the bulk
band gap of order 300 meV in BiSe by computing the Majorana number.
From this calculation, we also show that the unpaired Majorana fermions persist
when the magnetic flux through the nanowire cross-section deviates
significantly from half flux quantum. Lastly, we demonstrate that the unpaired
Majorana fermions persist in strongly disordered wires with fluctuations in the
on-site potential ranging in magnitude up to several times the size of the bulk
band gap. These results suggest this solid-state system should exhibit unpaired
Majorana fermions under accessible conditions likely important for experimental
study or future applications.Comment: 17 pages, 13 figure
Muscle protein and glycogen responses to recovery from hypogravity and unloading by tail-cast suspension
Previous studies in this laboratory using the tail-bast hindlimb suspension model have shown that there are specific changes in protein and carbohydrate metabolism in the soleus muscle due to unloading. For example, 6 days of unloading caused a 27% decrease in mass and a 60% increase in glycogen content in the soleus muscle, while the extensor digitorum longus muscle was unaffected. Also, fresh tissue tyrosine and its in vitro release from the muscle are increased in the unloaded soleus, indicating that this condition causes a more negative protein balance. With these results in mind, studies to investigate the effect of hypogravity on protein and carbohydrate metabolism in a number of rat hindlimb muscles were carried out
Analysis of the Learjet 35/36 Wing and Correlation with Experimental Results
Two NASTRAN models of the Gates Learjet Corporation Model 35/36 Wing were developed. The models and the problems encountered in their development are discussed. A skin buckling analysis used for the ultimate loading conditions is presented. A discussion of the static tests and the correlation of the static test with the NASTRAN results and the results of a supplementary semimonocoque beam analysis are also included
Design principles for shift current photovoltaics
While the basic principles and limitations of conventional solar cells are
well understood, relatively little attention has gone toward maximizing the
potential efficiency of photovoltaic devices based on shift currents. In this
work, we outline simple design principles for the optimization of shift
currents for frequencies near the band gap, derived from the analysis of a
general effective model. The use of a novel sum rule allows us to express the
band edge shift current in terms of a few model parameters and to show it
depends explicitly on wavefunctions via Berry connections in addition to
standard band structure. We use our approach to identify two new classes of
shift current photovoltaics, ferroelectric polymer films and single-layer
orthorhombic monochalcogenides such as GeS. We introduce tight-binding models
for these systems, and show that they exhibit the largest shift current
responsivities at the band edge reported so far. Moreover, exploring the
parameter space of these models we find photoresponsivities that can exceed
mA/W. Our results show how the study of the shift current via effective
models allows one to improve the possible efficiency of devices based on this
mechanism and better grasp their potential to compete with conventional solar
cells.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, AC and BMF share equal contributions. Published
in Nature Communication
An improved effective-one-body Hamiltonian for spinning black-hole binaries
Building on a recent paper in which we computed the canonical Hamiltonian of
a spinning test particle in curved spacetime, at linear order in the particle's
spin, we work out an improved effective-one-body (EOB) Hamiltonian for spinning
black-hole binaries. As in previous descriptions, we endow the effective
particle not only with a mass m, but also with a spin S*. Thus, the effective
particle interacts with the effective Kerr background (having spin S_Kerr)
through a geodesic-type interaction and an additional spin-dependent
interaction proportional to S*. When expanded in post-Newtonian (PN) orders,
the EOB Hamiltonian reproduces the leading order spin-spin coupling and the
spin-orbit coupling through 2.5PN order, for any mass-ratio. Also, it
reproduces all spin-orbit couplings in the test-particle limit. Similarly to
the test-particle limit case, when we restrict the EOB dynamics to spins
aligned or antialigned with the orbital angular momentum, for which circular
orbits exist, the EOB dynamics has several interesting features, such as the
existence of an innermost stable circular orbit, a photon circular orbit, and a
maximum in the orbital frequency during the plunge subsequent to the inspiral.
These properties are crucial for reproducing the dynamics and
gravitational-wave emission of spinning black-hole binaries, as calculated in
numerical relativity simulations.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures. Minor changes to match version accepted for
publication in PR
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