1,224 research outputs found
Instability of (1+1) de sitter space in the presence of interacting fields
Instabilities of two dimensional (1+1) de Sitter space induced by interacting
fields are studied. As for the case of flat Minkowski space, several
interacting fermion models can be translated into free boson ones and vice
versa. It is found that interacting fermion theories do not lead to any
instabilities, while the interacting bosonic sine-Gordon model does lead to a
breakdown of de Sitter symmetry and to the vanishing of the vacuum expectation
value of the S matrix.Comment: 7 page
Numerical comparison between a Gyrofluid and Gyrokinetic model investigating collisionless magnetic reconnection
The first detailed comparison between gyrokinetic and gyrofluid simulations
of collisionless magnetic reconnection has been carried out. Both the linear
and nonlinear evolution of the collisionless tearing mode have been analyzed.
In the linear regime, we have found a good agreement between the two approaches
over the whole spectrum of linearly unstable wave numbers, both in the drift
kinetic limit and for finite ion temperature. Nonlinearly, focusing on the
small- regime, with indicating the standard tearing
stability parameter, we have compared relevant observables such as the
evolution and saturation of the island width, as well as the island oscillation
frequency in the saturated phase.The results are basically the same, with small
discrepancies only in the value of the saturated island width for moderately
high values of . Therefore, in the regimes investigated here, the
gyrofluid approach can describe the collisionless reconnection process as well
as the more complete gyrokinetic model.Comment: Accepted for publication on Physics of Plasma
Gender equality in climate policy and practice hindered by assumptions
Gender has a powerful influence on people’s experience of, and resilience to, climate change. Global climate change policy is committed to tackling gender inequalities in mitigation and adaptation. However, progress is hindered by numerous challenges, including an enduring set of gender assumptions: women are caring and connected to the environment, women are a homogenous and vulnerable group, gender equality is a women’s issue and gender equality is a numbers game. We provide an overview of how these assumptions essentialize women’s and men’s characteristics, narrowly diagnose the causes of gender inequality, and thereby propel strategies that have unintended and even counterproductive consequences. We offer four suggestions for a more informed pursuit of gender equality in climate change policy and practice
On neoclassical impurity transport in stellarator geometry
The impurity dynamics in stellarators has become an issue of moderate concern
due to the inherent tendency of the impurities to accumulate in the core when
the neoclassical ambipolar radial electric field points radially inwards (ion
root regime). This accumulation can lead to collapse of the plasma due to
radiative losses, and thus limit high performance plasma discharges in
non-axisymmetric devices.\\ A quantitative description of the neoclassical
impurity transport is complicated by the breakdown of the assumption of small
drift and trapping due to the electrostatic
potential variation on a flux surface compared to those due to
the magnetic field gradient. The present work examines the impact of this
potential variation on neoclassical impurity transport in the Large Helical
Device (LHD) stellarator. It shows that the neoclassical impurity transport can
be strongly affected by . The central numerical tool used is the
particle in cell (PIC) Monte Carlo code EUTERPE. The
used in the calculations is provided by the neoclassical code GSRAKE. The
possibility of obtaining a more general self-consistently with
EUTERPE is also addressed and a preliminary calculation is presented.Comment: 11 pages, 15 figures, presented at Joint Varenna-Lausanne
International Workshop on Theory of Fusion Plasmas, 2012. Accepted for
publication to Plasma Phys. and Control. Fusio
Graphical representations of ELEFAN I response surfaces
Growth, Graphics, ELEFAN (computer programme), Fishery biology, Computer programs Engraulis ringens, Upeneus moluccensis, Sarda chiliensis
Resting vs. active: a meta-analysis of the intra- and inter-specific associations between minimum, sustained, and maximum metabolic rates in vertebrates
Variation in aerobic capacity has far reaching consequences for the physiology, ecology, and evolution of vertebrates. Whether at rest or active, animals are constrained to operate within the energetic bounds determined by their minimum (minMR) and sustained or maximum metabolic rates (upperMR). MinMR and upperMR can differ considerably among individuals and species but are often presumed to be mechanistically linked to one another. Specifically, minMR is thought to reflect the idling cost of the machinery needed to support upperMR. However, previous analyses based on limited datasets have come to conflicting conclusions regarding the generality and strength of their association.
Here we conduct the first comprehensive assessment of their relationship, based on a large number of published estimates of both the intra-specific (n = 176) and inter-specific (n = 41) phenotypic correlations between minMR and upperMR, estimated as either exercise-induced maximum metabolic rate (VO2max), cold-induced summit metabolic rate (Msum), or daily energy expenditure (DEE).
Our meta-analysis shows that there is a general positive association between minMR and upperMR that is shared among vertebrate taxonomic classes. However, there was stronger evidence for intra-specific correlations between minMR and Msum and between minMR and DEE than there was for a correlation between minMR and VO2max across different taxa. As expected, inter-specific correlation estimates were consistently higher than intra-specific estimates across all traits and vertebrate classes.
An interesting exception to this general trend was observed in mammals, which contrast with birds and exhibit no correlation between minMR and Msum. We speculate that this is due to the evolution and recruitment of brown fat as a thermogenic tissue, which illustrates how some species and lineages might circumvent this seemingly general association.
We conclude that, in spite of some variability across taxa and traits, the contention that minMR and upperMR are positively correlated generally holds true both within and across vertebrate species. Ecological and comparative studies should therefore take into consideration the possibility that variation in any one of these traits might partly reflect correlated responses to selection on other metabolic parameters
Pareto versus lognormal: a maximum entropy test
It is commonly found that distributions that seem to be lognormal over a broad range change to a power-law (Pareto) distribution for the last few percentiles. The distributions of many physical, natural, and social events (earthquake size, species abundance, income and wealth, as well as file, city, and firm sizes) display this structure. We present a test for the occurrence of power-law tails in statistical distributions based on maximum entropy. This methodology allows one to identify the true data-generating processes even in the case when it is neither lognormal nor Pareto. The maximum entropy approach is then compared with other widely used methods and applied to different levels of aggregation of complex systems. Our results provide support for the theory that distributions with lognormal body and Pareto tail can be generated as mixtures of lognormally distributed units
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