1,298 research outputs found
Investigation of phonon behavior in Pr2NiMnO6 by micro-Raman spectroscopy
The temperature dependence of phonon excitations and the presence of spin
phonon coupling in polycrystalline Pr2NiMnO6 samples were studied using
micro-Raman spectroscopy and magnetometry. Magnetic properties show a single
ferromagnetic-to-paramagnetic transition at 228 K and a saturation
magnetization close to 4.95 \muB/f.u.. Three distinct Raman modes at 657, 642,
and 511 cm-1 are observed. The phonon excitations show a clear hardening due to
anharmonicity from 300 K down to 10 K. Further, temperature dependence of the
657 cm-1 mode shows only a small softening. This reflects the presence of a
relatively weak spin-phonon coupling in Pr2NiMnO6 contrary to other double
perovskites previously studied.Comment: 10 pages, 4 fig
Quantum-gravity-motivated Lorentz-symmetry tests with laser interferometers
We consider the implications for laser interferometry of the
quantum-gravity-motivated modifications in the laws of particle propagation,
which are presently being considered in attempts to explain puzzling
observations of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. We show that there are
interferometric setups in which the Planck-scale effect on propagation leads to
a characteristic signature. A naive estimate is encouraging with respect to the
possibility of achieving Planck-scale sensitivity, but we also point out some
severe technological challenges which would have to be overcome in order to
achieve this sensitivity.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figure
Experiment for Testing Special Relativity Theory
An experiment aimed at testing special relativity via a comparison of the
velocity of a non matter particle (annihilation photon) with the velocity of
the matter particle (Compton electron) produced by the second annihilation
photon from the decay Na-22(beta^+)Ne-22 is proposed.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, Report on the Conference of Nuclear Physics
Division of Russian Academy of Science "Physics of Fundamental Interactions",
ITEP, Moscow, November 26-30, 200
The representation of abstract task rules in the human prefrontal cortex
We have previously reported sustained activation in the ventral
prefrontal cortex while participants prepared to perform 1 of 2 tasks
as instructed. But there are studies that have reported activation
reflecting task rules elsewhere in prefrontal cortex, and this is true in
particular when it was left to the participants to decide which rule to
obey. The aim of the present experiment was to use functional
magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to find whether there was
activation in common, irrespective of the way that the task rules
were established. On each trial, we presented a word after a variable
delay, and participants had to decide either whether the word was
abstract or concrete or whether it had 2 syllables. The participants
either decided before the delay which task they would perform or
were instructed by written cues. Comparing the self-generated with
the instructed trials, there was early task set activation during the
delay in the middle frontal gyrus. On the other hand, a conjunction
analysis revealed sustained activation in the ventral prefrontal and
polar cortex for both conditions. We argue that the ventral prefrontal
cortex is specialized for handling conditional rules regardless of how
the task rules were established
An inhomogeneous universe with thick shells and without cosmological constant
We build an exact inhomogeneous universe composed of a central flat Friedmann
zone up to a small redshift , a thick shell made of anisotropic matter, an
hyperbolic Friedmann metric up to the scale where dimming galaxies are observed
() that can be matched to a hyperbolic Lema\^{i}tre-Tolman-Bondi
spacetime to best fit the WMAP data at early epochs. We construct a general
framework which permits us to consider a non-uniform clock rate for the
universe. As a result, both for a uniform time and a uniform Hubble flow, the
deceleration parameter extrapolated by the central observer is always positive.
Nevertheless, by taking a non-uniform Hubble flow, it is possible to obtain a
negative central deceleration parameter, that, with certain parameter choices,
can be made the one observed currently. Finally, it is conjectured a possible
physical mechanism to justify a non-uniform time flow.Comment: Version published in Class. Quantum gra
Towards an Ashtekar formalism in eight dimensions
We investigate the possibility of extending the Ashtekar theory to eight
dimensions. Our approach relies on two notions: the octonionic structure and
the MacDowell-Mansouri formalism generalized to a spacetime of signature 1+7.
The key mathematical tool for our construction is the self-dual (antiself-dual)
four-rank fully antisymmetric octonionic tensor. Our results may be of
particular interest in connection with a possible formulation of M-theory via
matroid theory.Comment: 15 pages, Latex, minor changes, to appear in Class. Quantum Gra
Casimir stress on parallel plates in de Sitter space
The Casimir stress on two parallel plates in de Sitter background for
massless scalar field satisfying Robin boundary conditions on the plates is
calculated. The metric is written in conformally flat form to make maximum use
of the Minkowski space calculations. Different cosmological constants are
assumed for the space between and outside of the plates to have general results
applicable to the case of domain wall formations in the early universe.Comment: 6 page
Cosmological Backreaction from Perturbations
We reformulate the averaged Einstein equations in a form suitable for use
with Newtonian gauge linear perturbation theory and track the size of the
modifications to standard Robertson-Walker evolution on the largest scales as a
function of redshift for both Einstein de-Sitter and Lambda CDM cosmologies. In
both cases the effective energy density arising from linear perturbations is of
the order of 10^-5 the matter density, as would be expected, with an effective
equation of state w ~ -1/19. Employing a modified Halofit code to extend our
results to quasilinear scales, we find that, while larger, the deviations from
Robertson-Walker behaviour remain of the order of 10^-5.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures; replaced by version accepted by JCA
Whole-exome sequencing in relapsing chronic lymphocytic leukemia: clinical impact of recurrent RPS15 mutations
Fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and rituximab (FCR) is first-line treatment for medically fit chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients, however despite good response rates many patients eventually relapse. Whilst recent high-throughput studies have identified novel recurrent genetic lesions in adverse-prognostic CLL, the mechanisms leading to relapse after FCR therapy are not completely understood. To gain insight into this issue, we performed whole-exome sequencing of sequential samples from 41 CLL patients who were uniformly treated with FCR but relapsed after a median of 2 years. In addition to mutations with known adverse-prognostic impact (TP53, NOTCH1, ATM, SF3B1, NFKBIE, BIRC3) a large proportion of cases (19.5%) harbored mutations in RPS15, a gene encoding a component of the 40S ribosomal subunit. Extended screening, totaling 1119 patients, supported a role for RPS15 mutations in aggressive CLL, with one-third of RPS15-mutant cases also carrying TP53 aberrations. In most cases selection of dominant, relapse-specific subclones was observed over time. However, RPS15 mutations were clonal prior to treatment and remained stable at relapse. Notably, all RPS15 mutations represented somatic missense variants and resided within a 7 amino-acid evolutionarily conserved region. We confirmed the recently postulated direct interaction between RPS15 and MDM2/MDMX and transient expression of mutant RPS15 revealed defective regulation of endogenous p53 compared to wildtype RPS15. In summary, we provide novel insights into the heterogeneous genetic landscape of CLL relapsing after FCR treatment and highlight a novel mechanism underlying clinical aggressiveness involving a mutated ribosomal protein, potentially representing an early genetic lesion in CLL pathobiology
Recent Experimental Tests of Special Relativity
We review our recent Michelson-Morley (MM) and Kennedy-Thorndike (KT)
experiment, which tests Lorentz invariance in the photon sector, and report
first results of our ongoing atomic clock test of Lorentz invariance in the
matter sector. The MM-KT experiment compares a cryogenic microwave resonator to
a hydrogen maser, and has set the most stringent limit on a number of
parameters in alternative theories to special relativity. We also report first
results of a test of Lorentz invariance in the SME (Standard Model Extension)
matter sector, using Zeeman transitions in a laser cooled Cs atomic fountain
clock. We describe the experiment together with the theoretical model and
analysis. Recent experimental results are presented and we give a first
estimate of components of the parameters of the SME matter
sector. A full analysis of systematic effects is still in progress, and will be
the subject of a future publication together with our final results. If
confirmed, the present limits would correspond to first ever measurements of
some components, and improvements by 11 and 14 orders of
magnitude on others.Comment: 29 pages. Contribution to Springer Lecture Notes, "Special Relativity
- Will it survive the next 100 years ?", Proceedings, Potsdam, 200
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