9,922 research outputs found
Youth opportunity spaces in low-emission dairy development in Kenya: Research findings and policy recommendations
The dairy sector in Kenya produces over 4 billion liters of milk per year and supports 1.3 million producer households with a vital contribution to incomes and nutrition. However, total national production fails to meet demand. There is a need for increased efforts to support value chain development growth in the sector. In addition to the potential of dairy to support economic growth, the dairy sector is receiving substantial attention as a pathway to achieve Kenya’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), commitments to international agreements to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensities. Intensification of production would reduce emission intensities by generating a higher volume of milk per unit of GHG emission. However, Kenya’s NDCs
specify that the environmental target of GHG emissions reduction should be pursued in accordance with its broader sustainable development agenda. Low-emission development has significant implications for reaching International Sustainable Development Goals; specifically, Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG #8) and Gender Equality (SDG #5)
Thermal conductivity of heterogeneous mixtures and lunar soils
The theoretical evaluation of the effective thermal conductivity of granular materials is discussed with emphasis upon the heat transport properties of lunar soil. The following types of models are compared: probabilistic, parallel isotherm, stochastic, lunar, and a model based on nonlinear heat flow system synthesis
Spin Foam Models of Matter Coupled to Gravity
We construct a class of spin foam models describing matter coupled to
gravity, such that the gravitational sector is described by the unitary
irreducible representations of the appropriate symmetry group, while the matter
sector is described by the finite-dimensional irreducible representations of
that group. The corresponding spin foam amplitudes in the four-dimensional
gravity case are expressed in terms of the spin network amplitudes for
pentagrams with additional external and internal matter edges. We also give a
quantum field theory formulation of the model, where the matter degrees of
freedom are described by spin network fields carrying the indices from the
appropriate group representation. In the non-topological Lorentzian gravity
case, we argue that the matter representations should be appropriate SO(3) or
SO(2) representations contained in a given Lorentz matter representation,
depending on whether one wants to describe a massive or a massless matter
field. The corresponding spin network amplitudes are given as multiple
integrals of propagators which are matrix spherical functions.Comment: 30 pages, 9 figures, further remarks and references added. Version to
appear in Class. Quant. Gra
4-Dimensional BF Theory as a Topological Quantum Field Theory
Starting from a Lie group G whose Lie algebra is equipped with an invariant
nondegenerate symmetric bilinear form, we show that 4-dimensional BF theory
with cosmological term gives rise to a TQFT satisfying a generalization of
Atiyah's axioms to manifolds equipped with principal G-bundle. The case G =
GL(4,R) is especially interesting because every 4-manifold is then naturally
equipped with a principal G-bundle, namely its frame bundle. In this case, the
partition function of a compact oriented 4-manifold is the exponential of its
signature, and the resulting TQFT is isomorphic to that constructed by Crane
and Yetter using a state sum model, or by Broda using a surgery presentation of
4-manifolds.Comment: 15 pages in LaTe
New fields on super Riemann surfaces
A new -dimensional super vector bundle which exists on any super
Riemann surface is described. Cross-sections of this bundle provide a new class
of fields on a super Riemann surface which closely resemble holomorphic
functions on a super Riemann surface, but which (in contrast to the case with
holomorphic functions) form spaces which have a well defined dimension which
does not change as odd moduli become non-zero.Comment: 12pp, kcl-th-94-
Spectral characteristics of normal and nutrient-deficient maize leaves
Reflectance, transmittance and absorbance spectra of normal and six types of mineral-deficient (N,P,K,S,Mg and Ca) maize (Zea mays L.) leaves were analyzed at 30 selected wavelengths along the electromagnetic spectrum from 500 to 2600 nm. Chlorophyll content and percent leaf moisture were also determined. Leaf thermograms were obtained for normal, N- and S- deficient leaves. The results of the analysis of variance showed significant differences in reflectance, transmittance and absorbance in the visible wavelengths among leaf numbers 3, 4, and 5, among the seven nutrient treatments, and among the interactions of leaves and treatments. In the reflective infrared wavelengths only treatments produced significant differences. The chlorophyll content of leaves was reduced in all deficiencies in comparison to controls. Percent moisture was increased in S-, Mg- and N- deficiencies. Positive correlation (r = 0.707) between moisture content and percent absorption at both 1450 and 1930 nm were obtained. Polynomial regression analysis of leaf thickness and leaf moisture content showed that these two variables were significantly and directly related (r = 0.894)
NGC 1866: First Spectroscopic Detection of Fast Rotating Stars in a Young LMC Cluster
High-resolution spectroscopic observations were taken of 29 extended main
sequence turn-off (eMSTO) stars in the young (200 Myr) LMC cluster, NGC
1866 using the Michigan/Magellan Fiber System and MSpec spectrograph on the
Magellan-Clay 6.5-m telescope. These spectra reveal the first direct detection
of rapidly rotating stars whose presence has only been inferred from
photometric studies. The eMSTO stars exhibit H-alpha emission (indicative of
Be-star decretion disks), others have shallow broad H-alpha absorption
(consistent with rotation 150 km s), or deep H-alpha core
absorption signaling lower rotation velocities (150 km s ).
The spectra appear consistent with two populations of stars - one rapidly
rotating, and the other, younger and slowly rotating.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
Spacetime as a Feynman diagram: the connection formulation
Spin foam models are the path integral counterparts to loop quantized
canonical theories. In the last few years several spin foam models of gravity
have been proposed, most of which live on finite simplicial lattice spacetime.
The lattice truncates the presumably infinite set of gravitational degrees of
freedom down to a finite set. Models that can accomodate an infinite set of
degrees of freedom and that are independent of any background simplicial
structure, or indeed any a priori spacetime topology, can be obtained from the
lattice models by summing them over all lattice spacetimes. Here we show that
this sum can be realized as the sum over Feynman diagrams of a quantum field
theory living on a suitable group manifold, with each Feynman diagram defining
a particular lattice spacetime. We give an explicit formula for the action of
the field theory corresponding to any given spin foam model in a wide class
which includes several gravity models. Such a field theory was recently found
for a particular gravity model [De Pietri et al, hep-th/9907154]. Our work
generalizes this result as well as Boulatov's and Ooguri's models of three and
four dimensional topological field theories, and ultimately the old matrix
models of two dimensional systems with dynamical topology. A first version of
our result has appeared in a companion paper [gr-qc\0002083]: here we present a
new and more detailed derivation based on the connection formulation of the
spin foam models.Comment: 32 pages, 2 figure
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