Quark mass density- and temperature- dependent model for strange quark matter

It is found that the radius of a stable strangelet decreases as the temperature increases in a quark mass density-dependent model. To overcome this difficulty, we extend this model to a quark mass density- and temperature- dependent model in which the vacuum energy density at zero baryon density limit B depends on temperature. An ansatz is introduced and the regions for the best choice of the parameters are studied.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Very Small Strangelets

We study the stability of small strangelets by employing a simple model of strange matter as a gas of non-interacting fermions confined in a bag. We solve the Dirac equation and populate the energy levels of the bag one quark at a time. Our results show that for system parameters such that strange matter is unbound in bulk, there may still exist strangelets with $A<100$ that are stable and/or metastable. The lifetime of these strangelets may be too small to detect in current accelerator experiments, however.Comment: 13 pages, MIT CTP#217

Color plasma oscillation in strangelets

The dispersion relation and damping rate of longitudinal color plasmons in finite strange quark matter (strangelets) are evaluated in the limits of weak coupling, low temperature, and long wavelength. The property of the QCD vacuum surrounding a strangelet makes the frequency of the plasmons nearly the same as the color plasma frequency of bulk matter. The plasmons are damped by their coupling with individual excitations of particle-hole pairs of quarks, of which the energy levels are discretized by the boundary. For strangelets of macroscopic size, the lifetime of the plasmons is found to be proportional to the size, as in the case of the usual plasma oscillations in metal nanoparticles.Comment: 9 pages (REVTeX), 2 Postscript figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.

Fidelity and the communication of quantum information

We compare and contrast the error probability and fidelity as measures of the quality of the receiver's measurement strategy for a quantum communications system. The error probability is a measure of the ability to retrieve classical information and the fidelity measures the retrieval of quantum information. We present the optimal measurement strategies for maximizing the fidelity given a source that encodes information on the symmetric qubit-states

Turbulence and jet-driven zonal flows: Secondary circulation in rotating fluids due to asymmetric forcing

We report on experiments and modeling on a rotating confined liquid that is forced by circumferential jets coaxial with the rotation axis, wherein system-scale secondary flows are observed to emerge. The jets are evenly divided in number between inlets and outlets and have zero net mass transport. For low forcing strengths the sign of this flow depends on the sign of a sloped end cap, which simulates a planetary β plane. For increased forcing strengths the secondary flow direction is insensitive to the slope sign, and instead appears to be dominated by an asymmetry in the forcing mechanism, namely, the difference in radial divergence between the inlet and outlet jet profiles. This asymmetry yields a net radial velocity that is affected by the Coriolis force, inducing secondary zonal flow

A Fokker-Planck formalism for diffusion with finite increments and absorbing boundaries

Gaussian white noise is frequently used to model fluctuations in physical systems. In Fokker-Planck theory, this leads to a vanishing probability density near the absorbing boundary of threshold models. Here we derive the boundary condition for the stationary density of a first-order stochastic differential equation for additive finite-grained Poisson noise and show that the response properties of threshold units are qualitatively altered. Applied to the integrate-and-fire neuron model, the response turns out to be instantaneous rather than exhibiting low-pass characteristics, highly non-linear, and asymmetric for excitation and inhibition. The novel mechanism is exhibited on the network level and is a generic property of pulse-coupled systems of threshold units.Comment: Consists of two parts: main article (3 figures) plus supplementary text (3 extra figures

Thirty Years After Michael E. Porter: What Do We Know About Business Exit?

Although a business exit is an important corporate change initiative, the buyer’s side seems to be more appealing to management researchers than the seller’s because acquisitions imply growth, i.e., success. Yet from an optimistic viewpoint, business exit can effectively create value for the selling company. In this paper we attempt to bring the relevance of the seller’s side back into our consciousness by asking: What do we know about business exit? We start our exploration with Porter (1976), focusing on literature that investigates the antecedents of, barriers to, and outcomes of business exit. We also include studies from related fields such as finance and economics.1 Through this research we determine three clusters of findings: factors promoting business exit, exit barriers, and exit outcomes. Overall, it is the intention of this paper to highlight the importance of business exit for research and practice. Knowing what we know about business exits and their high financial value we should bear in mind that exit need not mean failure but a new beginning for a corporation

Tara Pacific Expedition\u27s atmospheric measurements of marine aerosols across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans: Overview and preliminary results

Marine aerosols play a significant role in the global radiative budget, in clouds\u27 processes, and in the chemistry of the marine atmosphere. There is a critical need to better understand their production mechanisms, composition, chemical properties, and the contribution of ocean-derived biogenic matter to their mass and number concentration. Here we present an overview of a new dataset of in situ measurements of marine aerosols conducted over the 2.5-yr Tara Pacific Expedition over 110, 000 km across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Preliminary results are presented here to describe the new dataset that will be built using this novel set of measurements. It will characterize marine aerosols properties in detail and will open a new window to study the marine aerosol link to the water properties and environmental conditions

Strange quark matter within the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model

Equation of state of baryon rich quark matter is studied within the SU(3) Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model with flavour mixing interaction. Possible bound states (strangelets) and chiral phase transitions in this matter are investigated at various values of strangeness fraction S/3B. The model predictions are very sensitive to the ratio of vector (Gv) and scalar (Gs) coupling constants. At Gv/Gs=0.5 and zero temperature the maximum binding energy (about 15 MeV per baryon) takes place when strangeness fraction is about 0.4. Such strangelets are negatively charged and have typical life times of the order of 100 ns. Calculations are carried out also at finite temperatures. They show that bound states exist up to temperatures of about 15 MeV. The model predicts a first order chiral phase transition at finite baryon densities. The parameters of this phase transition are calculated as function of strangeness fraction.Comment: 29 pages, 10 figures, to be published in Physics of Atomic Nuclei, the memorial volume devoted to the 90th birthday of A.B. Migda