Holographic dark energy described at the Hubble length

We consider holographic cosmological models of dark energy in which the infrared cutoff is set by the Hubble's radius. We show that any interacting dark energy model with a matter like term able to alleviate the coincidence problem (i.e., with a positive interaction term, regardless of its detailed form) can be recast as a noninteracting model in which the holographic parameter evolves slowly with time. Two specific cases are analyzed. First, the interacting model presented in [1] is considered, and its corresponding noninteracting version found. Then, a new noninteracting model, with a specific expression of the time-dependent holographic parameter, is proposed and analyzed along with its corresponding interacting version. We constrain the parameters of both models using observational data, and show that they can be told apart at the perturbative level.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figure

Dynamics of shallow impact cratering

We present data for the time-dependence of wooden spheres penetrating into a loose non-cohesive packing of glass beads. The stopping time is a factor of three longer than the time $d/v_\circ$ needed to travel the total penetration distance $d$ at the impact speed $v_\circ$. The acceleration decreases monotonically throughout the impact. These kinematics are modelled by a position- and velocity-dependent stopping force that is constrained to reproduce prior observations for the scaling of the penetration depth with the total drop distance.Comment: 4 pages, experimen

Packing Fractions and Maximum Angles of Stability of Granular Materials

In two-dimensional rotating drum experiments, we find two separate influences of the packing fraction of a granular heap on its stability. For a fixed grain shape, the stability increases with packing fraction. However, in determining the relative stability of different grain shapes, those with the lowest average packing fractions tend to form the most stable heaps. We also show that only the configuration close to the surface of the pile figures prominently.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Jamming during the discharge of granular matter from a silo

In this work we present an experimental study of the jamming that stops the free flow of grains from a silo discharging by gravity. When the outlet size is not much bigger than the beads, granular material jams the outlet of the container due to the formation of an arch. Statistical data from the number of grains fallen between consecutive jams are presented. The information that they provide can help to understand the jamming phenomenon. As the ratio between the size of the orifice and the size of the beads is increased, the probability that an arch blocks the outlet decreases. We show here that there is a power law divergence of the mean avalanche size for a finite critical radius. Beyond this critical radius no jamming can occur and the flow is never stopped. The dependence of the arch formation on the shape and the material of the grains has been explored. It has been found that the material properties of the grains do not affect the arch formation probability. On the contrary, the shape of the grains deeply influences it. A simple model to interpret the results is also discussed.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Fluctuation-Induced Casimir Forces in Granular Fluids

We have numerically investigated the behavior of driven non-cohesive granular media and found that two fixed large intruder particles, immersed in a sea of small particles, experience, in addition to a short range depletion force, a long range repulsive force. The observed long range interaction is fluctuation-induced and we propose a mechanism similar to the Casimir effect that generates it: the hydrodynamic fluctuations are geometrically confined between the intruders, producing an unbalanced renormalized pressure. An estimation based on computing the possible Fourier modes explains the repulsive force and is in qualitative agreement with the simulations.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Accepted in Phys. Rev. Letter

Penetration depth for shallow impact cratering

We present data for the penetration of a variety of spheres, dropped from rest, into a level non-cohesive granular medium. We improve upon our earlier work [Uehara {\it et al.} Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 90}, 194301 (2003)] in three regards. First, we explore the behavior vs sphere diameter and density more systematically, by holding one of these parameters constant while varying the other. Second, we prepare the granular medium more reproducibly and, third, we measure the penetration depth more accurately. The new data support our previous conclusion that the penetration depth is proportional to the 1/2 power of sphere density, the 2/3 power of sphere diameter, and the 1/3 power of total drop distance

Interstitial gas and density-segregation in vertically-vibrated granular media

We report experimental studies of the effect of interstitial gas on mass-density-segregation in a vertically-vibrated mixture of equal-sized bronze and glass spheres. Sufficiently strong vibration in the presence of interstitial gas induces vertical segregation into sharply separated bronze and glass layers. We find that the segregated steady state (i.e., bronze or glass layer on top) is a sensitive function of gas pressure and viscosity, as well as vibration frequency and amplitude. In particular, we identify distinct regimes of behavior that characterize the change from bronze-on-top to glass-on-top steady-state.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PRL; accepted in PRE as rapid communication, with revised text and reference

Statistical characterization of the forces on spheres in an upflow of air

The dynamics of a sphere fluidized in a nearly-levitating upflow of air were previously found to be identical to those of a Brownian particle in a two-dimensional harmonic trap, consistent with a Langevin equation [Ojha {\it et al.}, Nature {\bf 427}, 521 (2004)]. The random forcing, the drag, and the trapping potential represent different aspects of the interaction of the sphere with the air flow. In this paper we vary the experimental conditions for a single sphere, and report on how the force terms in the Langevin equation scale with air flow speed, sphere radius, sphere density, and system size. We also report on the effective interaction potential between two spheres in an upflow of air.Comment: 7 pages, experimen

Geometry dependence of the clogging transition in tilted hoppers

We report the effect of system geometry on the clogging of granular material flowing out of flat-bottomed hoppers with variable aperture size D. For such systems, there exists a critical aperture size Dc at which there is a divergence in the time for a flow to clog. To better understand the origins of Dc, we perturb the system by tilting the hopper an angle Q and mapping out a clogging phase diagram as a function of Q and D. The clogging transition demarcates the boundary between the freely-flowing (large D, small Q) and clogging (small D, large Q) regimes. We investigate how the system geometry affects Dc by mapping out this phase diagram for hoppers with either a circular hole or a rectangular narrow slit. Additionally, we vary the grain shape, investigating smooth spheres (glass beads), compact angular grains (beach sand), disk-like grains (lentils), and rod-like grains (rice). We find that the value of Dc grows with increasing Q, diverging at pi-Qr where Qr is the angle of repose. For circular apertures, the shape of the clogging transition is the same for all grain types. However, this is not the case for the narrow slit apertures, where the rate of growth of the critical hole size with tilt angle depends on the material

Feasibility of using teleradiology to improve tuberculosis screening and case management in a district hospital in Malawi.

Malawi has one of the world's highest rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (10.6%), and southern Malawi, where Thyolo district is located, bears the highest burden in the country (14.5%). Tuberculosis, common among HIV-infected people, requires radiologic diagnosis, yet Malawi has no radiologists in public service. This hinders rapid and accurate diagnosis and increases morbidity and mortality