59 research outputs found
Primordial helium recombination II: two-photon processes
Interpretation of precision measurements of the cosmic microwave background
(CMB) will require a detailed understanding of the recombination era, which
determines such quantities as the acoustic oscillation scale and the Silk
damping scale. This paper is the second in a series devoted to the subject of
helium recombination, with a focus on two-photon processes in He I. The
standard treatment of these processes includes only the spontaneous two-photon
decay from the 2^1S level. We extend this treatment by including five
additional effects, some of which have been suggested in recent papers but
whose impact on He I recombination has not been fully quantified. These are:
(i) stimulated two-photon decays; (ii) two-photon absorption of redshifted HeI
line radiation; (iii) two-photon decays from highly excited levels in HeI (n^1S
and n^1D, with n>=3); (iv) Raman scattering; and (v) the finite width of the
2^1P^o resonance. We find that effect (iii) is highly suppressed when one takes
into account destructive interference between different intermediate states
contributing to the two-photon decay amplitude. Overall, these effects are
found to be insignificant: they modify the recombination history at the level
of several parts in 10^4.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures, to be submitted to PR
Predicting initial treatment failure of fiberglass casts in pediatric distal radius fractures: utility of the second metacarpal-radius angle
Topological quantum memory
We analyze surface codes, the topological quantum error-correcting codes
introduced by Kitaev. In these codes, qubits are arranged in a two-dimensional
array on a surface of nontrivial topology, and encoded quantum operations are
associated with nontrivial homology cycles of the surface. We formulate
protocols for error recovery, and study the efficacy of these protocols. An
order-disorder phase transition occurs in this system at a nonzero critical
value of the error rate; if the error rate is below the critical value (the
accuracy threshold), encoded information can be protected arbitrarily well in
the limit of a large code block. This phase transition can be accurately
modeled by a three-dimensional Z_2 lattice gauge theory with quenched disorder.
We estimate the accuracy threshold, assuming that all quantum gates are local,
that qubits can be measured rapidly, and that polynomial-size classical
computations can be executed instantaneously. We also devise a robust recovery
procedure that does not require measurement or fast classical processing;
however for this procedure the quantum gates are local only if the qubits are
arranged in four or more spatial dimensions. We discuss procedures for
encoding, measurement, and performing fault-tolerant universal quantum
computation with surface codes, and argue that these codes provide a promising
framework for quantum computing architectures.Comment: 39 pages, 21 figures, REVTe
Alternative Fourier Expansions for Inverse Square Law Forces
Few-body problems involving Coulomb or gravitational interactions between
pairs of particles, whether in classical or quantum physics, are generally
handled through a standard multipole expansion of the two-body potentials. We
discuss an alternative based on a compact, cylindrical Green's function
expansion that should have wide applicability throughout physics. Two-electron
"direct" and "exchange" integrals in many-electron quantum systems are
evaluated to illustrate the procedure which is more compact than the standard
one using Wigner coefficients and Slater integrals.Comment: 10 pages, latex/Revtex4, 1 figure
On the character of states near the Fermi level in (Ga,Mn)As: impurity to valence band crossover
We discuss the character of states near the Fermi level in Mn doped GaAs, as
revealed by a survey of dc transport and optical studies over a wide range of
Mn concentrations. A thermally activated valence band contribution to dc
transport, a mid-infrared peak at energy hbar omega approx 200 meV in the ac-
conductivity, and the hot photoluminescence spectra indicate the presence of an
impurity band in low doped (<<1% Mn) insulating GaAs:Mn materials. Consistent
with the implications of this picture, both the impurity band ionization energy
inferred from the dc transport and the position of the mid-infrared peak move
to lower energies and the peak broadens with increasing Mn concentration. In
metallic materials with > 2% doping, no traces of Mn-related activated
contribution can be identified in dc-transport, suggesting that the impurity
band has merged with the valence band. No discrepancies with this perception
are found when analyzing optical measurements in the high-doped GaAs:Mn. A
higher energy (hbar omega approx 250 meV) mid-infrared feature which appears in
the metallic samples is associated with inter-valence band transitions. Its
red-shift with increased doping can be interpreted as a consequence of
increased screening which narrows the localized-state valence-band tails and
weakens higher energy transition amplitudes. Our examination of the dc and ac
transport characteristics of GaAs:Mn is accompanied by comparisons with its
shallow acceptor counterparts, confirming the disordered valence band picture
of high-doped metallic GaAs:Mn material.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figure
Harnessing the NEON data revolution to advance open environmental science with a diverse and data-capable community
It is a critical time to reflect on the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) science to date as well as envision what research can be done right now with NEON (and other) data and what training is needed to enable a diverse user community. NEON became fully operational in May 2019 and has pivoted from planning and construction to operation and maintenance. In this overview, the history of and foundational thinking around NEON are discussed. A framework of open science is described with a discussion of how NEON can be situated as part of a larger data constellation—across existing networks and different suites of ecological measurements and sensors. Next, a synthesis of early NEON science, based on >100 existing publications, funded proposal efforts, and emergent science at the very first NEON Science Summit (hosted by Earth Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder in October 2019) is provided. Key questions that the ecology community will address with NEON data in the next 10 yr are outlined, from understanding drivers of biodiversity across spatial and temporal scales to defining complex feedback mechanisms in human–environmental systems. Last, the essential elements needed to engage and support a diverse and inclusive NEON user community are highlighted: training resources and tools that are openly available, funding for broad community engagement initiatives, and a mechanism to share and advertise those opportunities. NEON users require both the skills to work with NEON data and the ecological or environmental science domain knowledge to understand and interpret them. This paper synthesizes early directions in the community’s use of NEON data, and opportunities for the next 10 yr of NEON operations in emergent science themes, open science best practices, education and training, and community building
Retrospective evaluation of whole exome and genome mutation calls in 746 cancer samples
Funder: NCI U24CA211006Abstract: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) curated consensus somatic mutation calls using whole exome sequencing (WES) and whole genome sequencing (WGS), respectively. Here, as part of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium, which aggregated whole genome sequencing data from 2,658 cancers across 38 tumour types, we compare WES and WGS side-by-side from 746 TCGA samples, finding that ~80% of mutations overlap in covered exonic regions. We estimate that low variant allele fraction (VAF < 15%) and clonal heterogeneity contribute up to 68% of private WGS mutations and 71% of private WES mutations. We observe that ~30% of private WGS mutations trace to mutations identified by a single variant caller in WES consensus efforts. WGS captures both ~50% more variation in exonic regions and un-observed mutations in loci with variable GC-content. Together, our analysis highlights technological divergences between two reproducible somatic variant detection efforts
Vascular Access
Unwitnessed magnet ingestion in a 5 year-old boy leading to bowel perforation after magnetic resonance imaging: case report of a rare but potentially detrimental complicatio
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