4,280 research outputs found
A Precision Calculation of the Next-to-Leading Order Energy-Energy Correlation Function
The O(alpha_s^2) contribution to the Energy-Energy Correlation function (EEC)
of e+e- -> hadrons is calculated to high precision and the results are shown to
be larger than previously reported. The consistency with the leading logarithm
approximation and the accurate cancellation of infrared singularities exhibited
by the new calculation suggest that it is reliable. We offer evidence that the
source of the disagreement with previous results lies in the regulation of
double singularities.Comment: 6 pages, uuencoded LaTeX and one eps figure appended Complete paper
as PostScript file (125 kB) available at:
http://www.phys.washington.edu/~clay/eecpaper1/paper.htm
Genotypic variation in a foundation tree (Populus tremula L.) explains community structure of associated epiphytes
Community genetics hypothesizes that within a foundation species, the genotype of an individual significantly influences the assemblage of dependent organisms. To assess whether these intra-specific genetic effects are ecologically important, it is required to compare their impact on dependent organisms with that attributable to environmental variation experienced over relevant spatial scales. We assessed bark epiphytes on 27 aspen (Populus tremula L.) genotypes grown in a randomized experimental array at two contrasting sites spanning the environmental conditions from which the aspen genotypes were collected. We found that variation in aspen genotype significantly influenced bark epiphyte community composition, and to the same degree as environmental variation between the test sites. We conclude that maintaining genotypic diversity of foundation species may be crucial for conservation of associated biodiversity
Physics in the Real Universe: Time and Spacetime
The Block Universe idea, representing spacetime as a fixed whole, suggests
the flow of time is an illusion: the entire universe just is, with no special
meaning attached to the present time. This view is however based on
time-reversible microphysical laws and does not represent macro-physical
behaviour and the development of emergent complex systems, including life,
which do indeed exist in the real universe. When these are taken into account,
the unchanging block universe view of spacetime is best replaced by an evolving
block universe which extends as time evolves, with the potential of the future
continually becoming the certainty of the past. However this time evolution is
not related to any preferred surfaces in spacetime; rather it is associated
with the evolution of proper time along families of world linesComment: 28 pages, including 9 Figures. Major revision in response to referee
comment
Nuclear Effects on Heavy Boson Production at RHIC and LHC
We predict W and Z transverse momentum distributions from proton-proton and
nuclear collisions at RHIC and LHC. A resummation formalism with power
corrections to the renormalization group equations is used. The dependence of
the resummed QCD results on the non-perturbative input is very weak for the
systems considered. Shadowing effects are discussed and found to be unimportant
at RHIC, but important for LHC. We study the enhancement of power corrections
due to multiple scattering in nuclear collisions and numerically illustrate the
weak effects of the dependence on the nuclear mass.Comment: 21 pages, 11 figure
Probing the low transverse momentum domain of Z production with novel variables
The measurement of the low transverse momentum region of vector boson
production in Drell-Yan processes has long been invaluable to testing our
knowledge of QCD dynamics both beyond fixed-order in perturbation theory as
well as in the non-perturbative region. Recently the D\O\ collaboration have
introduced novel variables which lead to improved measurements compared to the
case of the standard QT variable. To complement this improvement on the
experimental side, we develop here a complete phenomenological study dedicated
in particular to the new \phi* variable. We compare our study, which contains
the state-of-the-art next-to-next-to-leading resummation of large logarithms
and a smooth matching to the full next-to-leading order result, to the
experimental data and find excellent agreement over essentially the entire
range of \phi*, even without direct inclusion of non-perturbative effects. We
comment on our findings and on the potential for future studies to constrain
non-perturbative behaviour.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures. Version accepted for publication in JHEP. A
figure with comparison to RESBOS has been adde
Role of the nonperturbative input in QCD resummed Drell-Yan -distributions
We analyze the role of the nonperturbative input in the Collins, Soper, and
Sterman (CSS)'s -space QCD resummation formalism for Drell-Yan transverse
momentum () distributions, and investigate the predictive power of the CSS
formalism. We find that the predictive power of the CSS formalism has a strong
dependence on the collision energy in addition to its well-known
dependence, and the dependence improves the predictive power
at collider energies. We show that a reliable extrapolation from perturbatively
resummed -space distributions to the nonperturbative large region is
necessary to ensure the correct distributions. By adding power
corrections to the renormalization group equations in the CSS formalism, we
derive a new extrapolation formalism. We demonstrate that at collider energies,
the CSS resummation formalism plus our extrapolation has an excellent
predictive power for and production at all transverse momenta . We also show that the -space resummed distributions provide a good
description of Drell-Yan data at fixed target energies.Comment: Latex, 43 pages including 15 figures; typos were correcte
Computational and Biological Analogies for Understanding Fine-Tuned Parameters in Physics
In this philosophical paper, we explore computational and biological
analogies to address the fine-tuning problem in cosmology. We first clarify
what it means for physical constants or initial conditions to be fine-tuned. We
review important distinctions such as the dimensionless and dimensional
physical constants, and the classification of constants proposed by
Levy-Leblond. Then we explore how two great analogies, computational and
biological, can give new insights into our problem. This paper includes a
preliminary study to examine the two analogies. Importantly, analogies are both
useful and fundamental cognitive tools, but can also be misused or
misinterpreted. The idea that our universe might be modelled as a computational
entity is analysed, and we discuss the distinction between physical laws and
initial conditions using algorithmic information theory. Smolin introduced the
theory of "Cosmological Natural Selection" with a biological analogy in mind.
We examine an extension of this analogy involving intelligent life. We discuss
if and how this extension could be legitimated.
Keywords: origin of the universe, fine-tuning, physical constants, initial
conditions, computational universe, biological universe, role of intelligent
life, cosmological natural selection, cosmological artificial selection,
artificial cosmogenesis.Comment: 25 pages, Foundations of Science, in pres
Non-adiabatic-like accelerated expansion of the late universe in entropic cosmology
In `entropic cosmology', instead of a cosmological constant , an
extra driving term is added to the Friedmann equation and the acceleration
equation, taking into account the entropy and the temperature on the horizon of
the universe. By means of the modified Friedmann and acceleration equations, we
examine a non-adiabatic-like accelerated expansion of the universe in entropic
cosmology. In this study, we consider a homogeneous, isotropic, and spatially
flat universe, focusing on the single-fluid (single-component) dominated
universe at late-times. To examine the properties of the late universe, we
solve the modified Friedmann and acceleration equations, neglecting high-order
corrections for the early universe. We derive the continuity (conservation)
equation from the first law of thermodynamics, assuming non-adiabatic expansion
caused by the entropy and temperature on the horizon. Using the continuity
equation, we formulate the generalized Friedmann and acceleration equations,
and propose a simple model. Through the luminosity distance, it is demonstrated
that the simple model agrees well with both the observed accelerated expansion
of the universe and a fine-tuned standard CDM (lambda cold dark
matter) model. However, we find that the increase of the entropy for the simple
model is likely uniform, while the increase of the entropy for the standard
CDM model tends to be gradually slow especially after the present
time. In other words, the simple model predicts that the present time is not a
special time, unlike for the prediction of the standard CDM model.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures, revised. Appendices and References were added
and revise
The Algorithmic Origins of Life
Although it has been notoriously difficult to pin down precisely what it is
that makes life so distinctive and remarkable, there is general agreement that
its informational aspect is one key property, perhaps the key property. The
unique informational narrative of living systems suggests that life may be
characterized by context-dependent causal influences, and in particular, that
top-down (or downward) causation -- where higher-levels influence and constrain
the dynamics of lower-levels in organizational hierarchies -- may be a major
contributor to the hierarchal structure of living systems. Here we propose that
the origin of life may correspond to a physical transition associated with a
shift in causal structure, where information gains direct, and
context-dependent causal efficacy over the matter it is instantiated in. Such a
transition may be akin to more traditional physical transitions (e.g.
thermodynamic phase transitions), with the crucial distinction that determining
which phase (non-life or life) a given system is in requires dynamical
information and therefore can only be inferred by identifying causal
architecture. We discuss some potential novel research directions based on this
hypothesis, including potential measures of such a transition that may be
amenable to laboratory study, and how the proposed mechanism corresponds to the
onset of the unique mode of (algorithmic) information processing characteristic
of living systems.Comment: 13 pages, 1 tabl
Transverse Momentum Distributions for Heavy Quark Pairs
We study the transverse momentum distribution for a of heavy quarks
produced in hadron-hadron interactions. Predictions for the large transverse
momentum region are based on exact order QCD perturbation theory.
For the small transverse momentum region, we use techniques for all orders
resummation of leading logarithmic contributions associated with initial state
soft gluon radiation. The combination provides the transverse momentum
distribution of heavy quark pairs for all transverse momenta. Explicit results
are presented for pair production at the Fermilab Tevatron collider
and for pair production at fixed target energies.Comment: LaTeX (27 pages text, 8 figures not included, but available on
request
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