27,416 research outputs found
Quantum Decoherence in a D-Foam Background
Within the general framework of Liouville string theory, we construct a model
for quantum D-brane fluctuations in the space-time background through which
light closed-string states propagate. The model is based on monopole and vortex
defects on the world sheet, which have been discussed previously in a treatment
of 1+1-dimensional black-hole fluctuations in the space-time background, and
makes use of a T-duality transformation to relate formulations with Neumann and
Dirichlet boundary conditions. In accordance with previous general arguments,
we derive an open quantum-mechanical description of this D-brane foam which
embodies momentum and energy conservation and small mean energy fluctuations.
Quantum decoherence effects appear at a rate consistent with previous
estimates.Comment: 16 pages, Latex, two eps figures include
In-flight simulation study of decoupled longitudinal controls for the approach and landing of a STOL aircraft
In this decoupled concept, the natural interactions of the flight variables were suppressed, and the pilot operated a separate controller for each (fore-and-aft control column for flight path angle without speed or pitch attitude change, for example). The handling qualities of the decoupled airplane were judged to be very favorable. The precise path control led to small touchdown point dispersion along with consistently low sink rates. The decoupled control system provided significantly better flying qualities than did conventional SAS applied to the same basic airframe
Exaggerated CpH methylation in the autism-affected brain.
BackgroundThe etiology of autism, a complex, heritable, neurodevelopmental disorder, remains largely unexplained. Given the unexplained risk and recent evidence supporting a role for epigenetic mechanisms in the development of autism, we explored the role of CpG and CpH (H = A, C, or T) methylation within the autism-affected cortical brain tissue.MethodsReduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) was completed, and analysis was carried out in 63 post-mortem cortical brain samples (Brodmann area 19) from 29 autism-affected and 34 control individuals. Analyses to identify single sites that were differentially methylated and to identify any global methylation alterations at either CpG or CpH sites throughout the genome were carried out.ResultsWe report that while no individual site or region of methylation was significantly associated with autism after multi-test correction, methylated CpH dinucleotides were markedly enriched in autism-affected brains (~2-fold enrichment at p < 0.05 cutoff, p = 0.002).ConclusionsThese results further implicate epigenetic alterations in pathobiological mechanisms that underlie autism
Time-Dependent Vacuum Energy Induced by D-Particle Recoil
We consider cosmology in the framework of a `material reference system' of D
particles, including the effects of quantum recoil induced by closed-string
probe particles. We find a time-dependent contribution to the cosmological
vacuum energy, which relaxes to zero as for large times . If
this energy density is dominant, the Universe expands with a scale factor . We show that this possibility is compatible with recent
observational constraints from high-redshift supernovae, and may also respect
other phenomenological bounds on time variation in the vacuum energy imposed by
early cosmology.Comment: 14 pages LATEX, no figure
M Theory from World-Sheet Defects in Liouville String
We have argued previously that black holes may be represented in a D-brane
approach by monopole and vortex defects in a sine-Gordon field theory model of
Liouville dynamics on the world sheet. Supersymmetrizing this sine-Gordon
system, we find critical behaviour in 11 dimensions, due to defect condensation
that is the world-sheet analogue of D-brane condensation around an extra
space-time dimension in M theory. This supersymmetric description of Liouville
dynamics has a natural embedding within a 12-dimensional framework suggestive
of F theory.Comment: 17 pages LATEX, 1 epsf figure include
Stability of attitude control systems acted upon by random perturbations
Mathematical models on stability of attitude control systems acted upon by random perturbation processe
Dark Matter in SuperGUT Unification Models
After a brief update on the prospects for dark matter in the constrained
version of the MSSM (CMSSM) and its differences with models based on minimal
supergravity (mSUGRA), I will consider the effects of unifying the
supersymmetry-breaking parameters at a scale above M_{GUT}. One of the
consequences of superGUT unification, is the ability to take vanishing scalar
masses at the unification scale with a neutralino LSP dark matter candidate.
This allows one to resurrect no-scale supergravity as a viable phenomenological
model.Comment: 12 pages, 16 figures, To be published in the Proceedings of the 6th
DSU Conference, Leon, Mexico, ed. D. Delepin
RNA-Seq optimization with eQTL gold standards.
BackgroundRNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq) experiments have been optimized for library preparation, mapping, and gene expression estimation. These methods, however, have revealed weaknesses in the next stages of analysis of differential expression, with results sensitive to systematic sample stratification or, in more extreme cases, to outliers. Further, a method to assess normalization and adjustment measures imposed on the data is lacking.ResultsTo address these issues, we utilize previously published eQTLs as a novel gold standard at the center of a framework that integrates DNA genotypes and RNA-Seq data to optimize analysis and aid in the understanding of genetic variation and gene expression. After detecting sample contamination and sequencing outliers in RNA-Seq data, a set of previously published brain eQTLs was used to determine if sample outlier removal was appropriate. Improved replication of known eQTLs supported removal of these samples in downstream analyses. eQTL replication was further employed to assess normalization methods, covariate inclusion, and gene annotation. This method was validated in an independent RNA-Seq blood data set from the GTEx project and a tissue-appropriate set of eQTLs. eQTL replication in both data sets highlights the necessity of accounting for unknown covariates in RNA-Seq data analysis.ConclusionAs each RNA-Seq experiment is unique with its own experiment-specific limitations, we offer an easily-implementable method that uses the replication of known eQTLs to guide each step in one's data analysis pipeline. In the two data sets presented herein, we highlight not only the necessity of careful outlier detection but also the need to account for unknown covariates in RNA-Seq experiments
Brany Liouville Inflation
We present a specific model for cosmological inflation driven by the
Liouville field in a non-critical supersymmetric string framework, in which the
departure from criticality is due to open strings stretched between the two
moving Type-II 5-branes. We use WMAP and other data on fluctuations in the
cosmic microwave background to fix parameters of the model, such as the
relative separation and velocity of the 5-branes, respecting also the
constraints imposed by data on light propagation from distant gamma-ray
bursters. The model also suggests a small, relaxing component in the present
vacuum energy that may accommodate the breaking of supersymmetry.Comment: 23 pages LATEX, two eps figures incorporated; version accepted for
publication in NJ
The String Coupling Accelerates the Expansion of the Universe
Generic cosmological models in non-critical string theory have a
time-dependent dilaton background at a late epoch. The cosmological
deceleration parameter Q_0 is given by the square of the string coupling,
g_s^2, up to a negative sign. Hence the expansion of the Universe must
accelerate eventually, and the observed value of Q_0 coresponds to g_s^2 ~ 0.6.
In this scenario, the string coupling is asymptotically free at large times,
but its present rate of change is imperceptibly small.Comment: 7 page
- …