913 research outputs found
Particle physics models of inflation
Inflation models are compared with observation on the assumption that the
curvature perturbation is generated from the vacuum fluctuation of the inflaton
field. The focus is on single-field models with canonical kinetic terms,
classified as small- medium- and large-field according to the variation of the
inflaton field while cosmological scales leave the horizon. Small-field models
are constructed according to the usual paradigm for beyond Standard Model
physicsComment: Based on a talk given at the 22nd IAP Colloquium, ``Inflation +25'',
Paris, June 2006 Curve omitted from final Figur
Low-temperature concentration of tellurium and gold in continental red bed successions
Acknowledgements This research was supported by NERC grants (NE/L001764/1, NE/M010953/1). We are grateful to J. Still and A. Sandison for technical support and to the gypsum mines and C. Brolley for access and sampling. Critical comments from Cristiana Ciobanu, Eric Gloaguen and Georges Calas are gratefully acknowledged. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Direct amplification of nodD from community DNA reveals the genetic diversity of Rhizobium leguminosarum in soil
Sequences of nodD, a gene found only in rhizobia, were amplified from total community DNA isolated from a pasture soil. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers used, Y5 and Y6, match nodD from Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar trifolii, R. leguminosarum biovar viciae and Sinorhizobium meliloti. The PCR product was cloned and yielded 68 clones that were identified by restriction pattern as derived from biovar trifolii [11 restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) types] and 15 clones identified as viciae (seven RFLP types). These identifications were confirmed by sequencing. There were no clones related to S. meliloti nodD. For comparison, 122 strains were isolated from nodules of white clover (Trifolium repens) growing at the field site, and 134 from nodules on trap plants of T. repens inoculated with the soil. The nodule isolates were of four nodD RFLP types, with 77% being of a single type. All four of these patterns were also found among the clones from soil DNA, and the same type was the most abundant, although it made up only 34% of the trifolii-like clones. We conclude that clover selects specific genotypes from the available soil population, and that R. leguminosarum biovar trifolii was approximately five times more abundant than biovar viciae in this pasture soil, whereas S. meliloti was rare
Dark energy, non-minimal couplings and the origin of cosmic magnetic fields
In this work we consider the most general electromagnetic theory in curved
space-time leading to linear second order differential equations, including
non-minimal couplings to the space-time curvature. We assume the presence of a
temporal electromagnetic background whose energy density plays the role of dark
energy, as has been recently suggested. Imposing the consistency of the theory
in the weak-field limit, we show that it reduces to standard electromagnetism
in the presence of an effective electromagnetic current which is generated by
the momentum density of the matter/energy distribution, even for neutral
sources. This implies that in the presence of dark energy, the motion of
large-scale structures generates magnetic fields. Estimates of the present
amplitude of the generated seed fields for typical spiral galaxies could reach
G without any amplification. In the case of compact rotating objects,
the theory predicts their magnetic moments to be related to their angular
momenta in the way suggested by the so called Schuster-Blackett conjecture.Comment: 5 pages, no figure
Mid-infrared luminous quasars in the GOODSâHerschel fields: a large population of heavily obscured, Compton-thick quasars at z â 2
We present the infrared (IR) and X-ray properties of a sample of 33 mid-IR luminous quasars (ÎœL6âÎŒm â„ 6 Ă 1044âergâsâ1) at redshift z â 1â3, identified through detailed spectral energy distribution analyses of distant star-forming galaxies, using the deepest IR data from Spitzer and Herschel in the GOODSâHerschel fields. The aim is to constrain the fraction of obscured, and Compton-thick (CT, NH > 1.5 Ă 1024âcmâ2) quasars at the peak era of nuclear and star formation activities. Despite being very bright in the mid-IR band, â30 perâcent of these quasars are not detected in the extremely deep 2 and 4 Ms Chandra X-ray data available in these fields. X-ray spectral analysis of the detected sources reveals that the majority (â67 perâcent) are obscured by column densities NH > 1022âcmâ2; this fraction reaches â80 perâcent when including the X-ray-undetected sources (9 out of 33), which are likely to be the most heavily obscured, CT quasars. We constrain the fraction of CT quasars in our sample to be â24â48 perâcent, and their space density to be Ί = (6.7 ± 2.2) Ă 10â6âMpcâ3. From the investigation of the quasar host galaxies in terms of star formation rates (SFRs) and morphological distortions, as a sign of galaxy mergers/interactions, we do not find any direct relation between SFRs and quasar luminosity or X-ray obscuration. On the other hand, there is tentative evidence that the most heavily obscured quasars have, on average, more disturbed morphologies than the unobscured/moderately obscured quasar hosts, which preferentially live in undisturbed systems. However, the fraction of quasars with disturbed morphology amongst the whole sample is â40 perâcent, suggesting that galaxy mergers are not the main fuelling mechanism of quasars at z â 2
Simulating Cosmic Microwave Background maps in multi-connected spaces
This article describes the computation of cosmic microwave background
anisotropies in a universe with multi-connected spatial sections and focuses on
the implementation of the topology in standard CMB computer codes. The key
ingredient is the computation of the eigenmodes of the Laplacian with boundary
conditions compatible with multi-connected space topology. The correlators of
the coefficients of the decomposition of the temperature fluctuation in
spherical harmonics are computed and examples are given for spatially flat
spaces and one family of spherical spaces, namely the lens spaces. Under the
hypothesis of Gaussian initial conditions, these correlators encode all the
topological information of the CMB and suffice to simulate CMB maps.Comment: 33 pages, 55 figures, submitted to PRD. Higher resolution figures
available on deman
Larval fish dispersal in a coral-reef seascape
Free to read at publisher's site. Larval dispersal is a critical yet enigmatic process in the persistence and productivity of marine metapopulations. Empirical data on larval dispersal remain scarce, hindering the use of spatial management tools in efforts to sustain ocean biodiversity and fisheries. Here we document dispersal among subpopulations of clownfish (Amphiprion percula) and butterflyfish (Chaetodon vagabundus) from eight sites across a large seascape (10,000 km(2)) in Papua New Guinea across 2 years. Dispersal of clownfish was consistent between years, with mean observed dispersal distances of 15 km and 10 km in 2009 and 2011, respectively. A Laplacian statistical distribution (the dispersal kernel) predicted a mean dispersal distance of 13-19 km, with 90% of settlement occurring within 31-43 km. Mean dispersal distances were considerably greater (43-64 km) for butterfly-fish, with kernels declining only gradually from spawning locations. We demonstrate that dispersal can be measured on spatial scales sufficient to inform the design of and test the performance of marine reserve networks
Signatures of the slow solar wind streams from active regions in the inner corona
Some of local sources of the slow solar wind can be associated with
spectroscopically detected plasma outflows at edges of active regions
accompanied with specific signatures in the inner corona. The EUV telescopes
(e.g. SPIRIT/CORONAS-F, TESIS/CORONAS-Photon and SWAP/PROBA2) sometimes
observed extended ray-like structures seen at the limb above active regions in
1MK iron emission lines and described as "coronal rays". To verify the
relationship between coronal rays and plasma outflows, we analyze an isolated
active region (AR) adjacent to small coronal hole (CH) observed by different
EUV instruments in the end of July - beginning of August 2009. On August 1 EIS
revealed in the AR two compact outflows with the Doppler velocities V =10-30
km/s accompanied with fan loops diverging from their regions. At the limb the
ARCH interface region produced coronal rays observed by EUVI/STEREO-A on July
31 as well as by TESIS on August 7. The rays were co-aligned with open magnetic
field lines expanded to the streamer stalks. Using the DEM analysis, it was
found that the fan loops diverged from the outflow regions had the dominant
temperature of ~1 MK, which is similar to that of the outgoing plasma streams.
Parameters of the solar wind measured by STEREO-B, ACE, WIND, STEREO-A were
conformed with identification of the ARCH as a source region at the
Wang-Sheeley-Arge map of derived coronal holes for CR 2086. The results of the
study support the suggestion that coronal rays can represent signatures of
outflows from ARs propagating in the inner corona along open field lines into
the heliosphere.Comment: Accepted for publication in Solar Physics; 31 Pages; 13 Figure
Unconventional Cosmology
I review two cosmological paradigms which are alternative to the current
inflationary scenario. The first alternative is the "matter bounce", a
non-singular bouncing cosmology with a matter-dominated phase of contraction.
The second is an "emergent" scenario, which can be implemented in the context
of "string gas cosmology". I will compare these scenarios with the inflationary
one and demonstrate that all three lead to an approximately scale-invariant
spectrum of cosmological perturbations.Comment: 45 pages, 10 figures; invited lectures at the 6th Aegean Summer
School "Quantum Gravity and Quantum Cosmology", Chora, Naxos, Greece, Sept.
12 - 17 2012, to be publ. in the proceedings; these lecture notes form an
updated version of arXiv:1003.1745 and arXiv:1103.227
Responding to pupil led tangential thinking: a case study of teaching romantic poetry in a post-16 setting
This paper considers alternative ways of teaching Romantic poetry to post-sixteen English Literature pupils in England. It explores how practitioners can value tangents developed by pupilsâ independent thinking when pupils are given the freedom to develop their own ideas. It reflects on a lesson planned to respond to a tangent developed by the class in a previous session; that William Blakeâs âThe Tygerâ, to a contemporary reader, explores the 21st century preoccupation of climate change. The lesson outlined in this report built
upon these ideas further, valuing the pupilsâ tangential thinking.
Approaches like these are particularly important now as the performativity agenda in schools, promoted by league tables as a measure of effectiveness, can result in some schools teaching to the test, at the exclusion of encouraging personal and creative responses to texts
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