61,015 research outputs found
Secure Identification of Free-Floating Planets
Among the methods proposed to detect extrasolar planets, microlensing is the
only technique that can detect free-floating planets. Free-floating planets are
detected through the channel of short-duration isolated lensing events.
However, if a seemingly isolated planetary event is detected, it is difficult
to firmly conclude that the event is caused by a free-floating planet because a
wide-separation planet can also produce an isolated event. There were several
methods proposed to break the degeneracy between the isolated planetary events
produced by the free-floating and wide-separation planets, but they are
incomplete. In this paper, we show that free-floating planets can be securely
identified by conducting astrometric follow-up observations of isolated events
to be detected in future photometric lensing surveys by using high-precision
interferometers to be operated contemporarily with the photometric surveys. The
method is based on the fact that astrometric lensing effect covers much longer
range of the lens-source separation than the photometric effect. We demonstrate
that several astrometric follow-up observations of isolated planetary events
associated with source stars brighter than by using the {\it Space
Interferometry Mission} with an exposure time of for
each observation will make it possible to measure the centroid shift induced by
primaries with projected separations up to . Therefore, the
proposed method is far more complete than previously proposed methods that are
flawed by the limited applicability only to planets with projected separations
or planets accompanied by bright primaries.Comment: 5 pages including 2 figure
Influence of the Cortical Midline Structures on Moral Emotion and Motivation in Moral Decision-Making
The present study aims to examine the relationship between the cortical midline structures (CMS), which have been regarded to be associated with selfhood, and moral decision making processes at the neural level. Traditional moral psychological studies have suggested the role of moral self as the moderator of moral cognition, so activity of moral self would present at the neural level. The present study examined the interaction between the CMS and other moral-related regions by conducting psycho-physiological interaction analysis of functional images acquired while 16 subjects were solving moral dilemmas. Furthermore, we performed Granger causality analysis to demonstrate the direction of influences between activities in the regions in moral decision-making. We first demonstrate there are significant positive interactions between two central CMS seed regions—i.e., the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC)—and brain regions associated with moral functioning including the cerebellum, brainstem, midbrain, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex and anterior insula (AI); on the other hand, the posterior insula (PI) showed significant negative interaction with the seed regions. Second, several significant Granger causality was found from CMS to insula regions particularly under the moral-personal condition. Furthermore, significant dominant influence from the AI to PI was reported. Moral psychological implications of these findings are discussed. The present study demonstrated the significant interaction and influence between the CMS and morality-related regions while subject were solving moral dilemmas. Given that, activity in the CMS is significantly involved in human moral functioning
Stokes Parameters as a Minkowskian Four-vector
It is noted that the Jones-matrix formalism for polarization optics is a
six-parameter two-by-two representation of the Lorentz group. It is shown that
the four independent Stokes parameters form a Minkowskian four-vector, just
like the energy-momentum four-vector in special relativity. The optical filters
are represented by four-by-four Lorentz-transformation matrices. This
four-by-four formalism can deal with partial coherence described by the Stokes
parameters. A four-by-four matrix formulation is given for decoherence effects
on the Stokes parameters, and a possible experiment is proposed. It is shown
also that this Lorentz-group formalism leads to optical filters with a symmetry
property corresponding to that of two-dimensional Euclidean transformations.Comment: RevTeX, 22 pages, no figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Recommended from our members
Spatial restriction of alpha4 integrin phosphorylation regulates lamellipodial stability and alpha4beta1-dependent cell migration.
Integrins coordinate spatial signaling events essential for cell polarity and directed migration. Such signals from alpha4 integrins regulate cell migration in development and in leukocyte trafficking. Here, we report that efficient alpha4-mediated migration requires spatial control of alpha4 phosphorylation by protein kinase A, and hence localized inhibition of binding of the signaling adaptor, paxillin, to the integrin. In migrating cells, phosphorylated alpha4 accumulated along the leading edge. Blocking alpha4 phosphorylation by mutagenesis or by inhibition of protein kinase A drastically reduced alpha4-dependent migration and lamellipodial stability. alpha4 phosphorylation blocks paxillin binding in vitro; we now find that paxillin and phospho-alpha4 were in distinct clusters at the leading edge of migrating cells, whereas unphosphorylated alpha4 and paxillin colocalized along the lateral edges of those cells. Furthermore, enforced paxillin association with alpha4 inhibits migration and reduced lamellipodial stability. These results show that topographically specific integrin phosphorylation can control cell migration and polarization by spatial segregation of adaptor protein binding
Iwasawa Effects in Multi-layer Optics
There are many two-by-two matrices in layer optics. It is shown that they can
be formulated in terms of a three-parameter group whose algebraic property is
the same as the group of Lorentz transformations in a space with two space-like
and one time-like dimensions, or the group which is a standard
theoretical tool in optics. Among the interesting mathematical properties of
this group, the Iwasawa decomposition drastically simplifies the matrix algebra
under certain conditions, and leads to a concise expression for the S-matrix
for transmitted and reflected rays. It is shown that the Iwasawa effect can be
observed in multi-layer optics, and a sample calculation of the S-matrix is
given.Comment: RevTex 10 pages including 1 psfi
1082 Free-breathing single-shot DENSE myocardial strain imaging using deformable registration
Free-breathing scans are often desirable in patients who find breath-holding difficult. We present a new approach for free-breathing myocardial strain imaging with displacement-encoding (DENSE) [1]. It acquires images with a single-shot sequence and removes respiratory motion using deformable registration
Tuning Fermi-surface properties through quantum confinement in metallic meta-lattices: New metals from old atoms
We describe a new class of nanoscale structured metals wherein the effects of
quantum confinement are combined with dispersive metallic electronic states to
induce modifications to the fundamental low-energy microscopic properties of a
three-dimensional metal: the density of states, the distribution of Fermi
velocities, and the collective electronic response.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
- …