On the Number of Unbordered Factors

We illustrate a general technique for enumerating factors of k-automatic sequences by proving a conjecture on the number f(n) of unbordered factors of the Thue-Morse sequence. We show that f(n) = 4 and that f(n) = n infinitely often. We also give examples of automatic sequences having exactly 2 unbordered factors of every length

Path integral representations in noncommutative quantum mechanics and noncommutative version of Berezin-Marinov action

It is known that actions of field theories on a noncommutative space-time can be written as some modified (we call them $\theta$-modified) classical actions already on the commutative space-time (introducing a star product). Then the quantization of such modified actions reproduces both space-time noncommutativity and usual quantum mechanical features of the corresponding field theory. The $\theta$-modification for arbitrary finite-dimensional nonrelativistic system was proposed by Deriglazov (2003). In the present article, we discuss the problem of constructing $\theta$-modified actions for relativistic QM. We construct such actions for relativistic spinless and spinning particles. The key idea is to extract $\theta$-modified actions of the relativistic particles from path integral representations of the corresponding noncommtative field theory propagators. We consider Klein-Gordon and Dirac equations for the causal propagators in such theories. Then we construct for the propagators path-integral representations. Effective actions in such representations we treat as $\theta$-modified actions of the relativistic particles. To confirm the interpretation, we quantize canonically these actions. Thus, we obtain the Klein-Gordon and Dirac equations in the noncommutative field theories. The $\theta$-modified action of the relativistic spinning particle is just a generalization of the Berezin-Marinov pseudoclassical action for the noncommutative case

Semiclassical and quantum description of motion on noncommutative plane

We study the canonical and the coherent state quantization of a particle moving in a magnetic field on a non-commutative plane. Starting from the so called \theta-modified action, we perform the canonical quantization and analyze the gauge dependence of the obtained quantum theory. We construct the Malkin-Man'ko coherent states of the system in question, and the corresponding quantization. On this base, we study the relation between the coherent states and the "classical" trajectories predicted by the \theta-modified action. In addition, we construct different semiclassical states, making use of special properties of circular squeezed states. With the help of these states, we perform the Berezin-Klauder-Toeplitz quantization and present a numerical exploration of the semiclassical behavior of physical quantities in these states.Comment: 20 page

Topics in Noncommutative Geometry Inspired Physics

In this review article we discuss some of the applications of noncommutative geometry in physics that are of recent interest, such as noncommutative many-body systems, noncommutative extension of Special Theory of Relativity kinematics, twisted gauge theories and noncommutative gravity.Comment: New references added, Published online in Foundations of Physic

Autoantibodies against type I IFNs in patients with life-threatening COVID-19

Interindividual clinical variability in the course of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is vast. We report that at least 101 of 987 patients with life-threatening coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia had neutralizing immunoglobulin G (IgG) autoantibodies (auto-Abs) against interferon-w (IFN-w) (13 patients), against the 13 types of IFN-a (36), or against both (52) at the onset of critical disease; a few also had auto-Abs against the other three type I IFNs. The auto-Abs neutralize the ability of the corresponding type I IFNs to block SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro. These auto-Abs were not found in 663 individuals with asymptomatic or mild SARS-CoV-2 infection and were present in only 4 of 1227 healthy individuals. Patients with auto-Abs were aged 25 to 87 years and 95 of the 101 were men. A B cell autoimmune phenocopy of inborn errors of type I IFN immunity accounts for life-threatening COVID-19 pneumonia in at least 2.6% of women and 12.5% of men

On the mechanisms governing gas penetration into a tokamak plasma during a massive gas injection

A new 1D radial fluid code, IMAGINE, is used to simulate the penetration of gas into a tokamak plasma during a massive gas injection (MGI). The main result is that the gas is in general strongly braked as it reaches the plasma, due to mechanisms related to charge exchange and (to a smaller extent) recombination. As a result, only a fraction of the gas penetrates into the plasma. Also, a shock wave is created in the gas which propagates away from the plasma, braking and compressing the incoming gas. Simulation results are quantitatively consistent, at least in terms of orders of magnitude, with experimental data for a D 2 MGI into a JET Ohmic plasma. Simulations of MGI into the background plasma surrounding a runaway electron beam show that if the background electron density is too high, the gas may not penetrate, suggesting a possible explanation for the recent results of Reux et al in JET (2015 Nucl. Fusion 55 093013)