14,962 research outputs found
MEXIT: Maximal un-coupling times for stochastic processes
Classical coupling constructions arrange for copies of the \emph{same} Markov
process started at two \emph{different} initial states to become equal as soon
as possible. In this paper, we consider an alternative coupling framework in
which one seeks to arrange for two \emph{different} Markov (or other
stochastic) processes to remain equal for as long as possible, when started in
the \emph{same} state. We refer to this "un-coupling" or "maximal agreement"
construction as \emph{MEXIT}, standing for "maximal exit". After highlighting
the importance of un-coupling arguments in a few key statistical and
probabilistic settings, we develop an explicit \MEXIT construction for
stochastic processes in discrete time with countable state-space. This
construction is generalized to random processes on general state-space running
in continuous time, and then exemplified by discussion of \MEXIT for Brownian
motions with two different constant drifts.Comment: 28 page
Measuring the mass of a sterile neutrino with a very short baseline reactor experiment
An analysis of the world's neutrino oscillation data, including sterile
neutrinos, (M. Sorel, C. M. Conrad, and M. H. Shaevitz, Phys. Rev. D 70,
073004) found a peak in the allowed region at a mass-squared difference eV. We trace its origin to harmonic oscillations in the
electron survival probability as a function of L/E, the ratio of
baseline to neutrino energy, as measured in the near detector of the Bugey
experiment. We find a second occurrence for eV. We
point out that the phenomenon of harmonic oscillations of as a
function of L/E, as seen in the Bugey experiment, can be used to measure the
mass-squared difference associated with a sterile neutrino in the range from a
fraction of an eV to several eV (compatible with that indicated by the
LSND experiment), as well as measure the amount of electron-sterile neutrino
mixing. We observe that the experiment is independent, to lowest order, of the
size of the reactor and suggest the possibility of a small reactor with a
detector sitting at a very short baseline.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Time resolved spectroscopy of dust and gas from extrasolar planetesimals orbiting WD 1145+017
Multiple long and variable transits caused by dust from possibly
disintegrating asteroids were detected in light curves of WD 1145+017. We
present time-resolved spectroscopic observations of this target with QUCAM CCDs
mounted in the Intermediate dispersion Spectrograph and Imaging System at the
4.2-m William Herschel Telescope in two different spectral arms: the blue arm
covering 3800-4025 {\AA} and the red arm covering 7000-7430 {\AA}. When
comparing individual transits in both arms, our observations show with 20
{\sigma} significance an evident colour difference between the in- and
out-of-transit data of the order of 0.05-0.1 mag, where transits are deeper in
the red arm. We also show with > 6 {\sigma} significance that spectral lines in
the blue arm are shallower during transits than out-of-transit. For the
circumstellar lines it also appears that during transits the reduction in
absorption is larger on the red side of the spectral profiles. Our results
confirm previous findings showing the u'-band excess and a decrease in line
absorption during transits. Both can be explained by an opaque body blocking a
fraction of the gas disc causing the absorption, implying that the absorbing
gas is between the white dwarf and the transiting objects. Our results also
demonstrate the capability of EMCCDs to perform high-quality time resolved
spectroscopy of relatively faint targets.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures. Accepted to MNRA
The orbital motion, absolute mass, and high-altitude winds of exoplanet HD209458b
For extrasolar planets discovered using the radial velocity method, the
spectral characterization of the host star leads to a mass-estimate of the star
and subsequently of the orbiting planet. In contrast, if also the orbital
velocity of the planet would be known, the masses of both star and planet could
be determined directly using Newton's law of gravity, just as in the case of
stellar double-line eclipsing binaries. Here we report on the detection of the
orbital velocity of extrasolar planet HD209458b. High dispersion ground-based
spectroscopy during a transit of this planet reveals absorption lines from
carbon monoxide produced in the planet atmosphere, which shift significantly in
wavelength due to the change in the radial component of the planet orbital
velocity. These observations result in a mass determination of the star and
planet of 1.00+-0.22 Msun and 0.64+-0.09 Mjup respectively. A ~2 km/sec
blueshift of the carbon monoxide signal with respect to the systemic velocity
of the host star suggests the presence of a strong wind flowing from the
irradiated dayside to the non-irradiated nightside of the planet within the
0.01-0.1 mbar atmospheric pressure range probed by these observations. The
strength of the carbon monoxide signal suggests a CO mixing ratio of 1-3x10-3
in this planet's upper atmosphere.Comment: 11 Pages main article and 6 pages suppl. information: A final, edited
version appears in the 24 May 2010 issue of Natur
A new form of the rotating C-metric
In a previous paper, we showed that the traditional form of the charged
C-metric can be transformed, by a change of coordinates, into one with an
explicitly factorizable structure function. This new form of the C-metric has
the advantage that its properties become much simpler to analyze. In this
paper, we propose an analogous new form for the rotating charged C-metric, with
structure function G(\xi)=(1-\xi^2)(1+r_{+}A\xi)(1+r_{-}A\xi), where r_\pm are
the usual locations of the horizons in the Kerr-Newman black hole. Unlike the
non-rotating case, this new form is not related to the traditional one by a
coordinate transformation. We show that the physical distinction between these
two forms of the rotating C-metric lies in the nature of the conical
singularities causing the black holes to accelerate apart: the new form is free
of torsion singularities and therefore does not contain any closed timelike
curves. We claim that this new form should be considered the natural
generalization of the C-metric with rotation.Comment: 13 pages, LaTe
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