Infrared cutoffs and the adiabatic limit in noncommutative spacetime

We discuss appropriate infrared cutoffs and their adiabatic limit for field theories on the noncommutative Minkowski space in the Yang-Feldman formalism. In order to do this, we consider a mass term as interaction term. We show that an infrared cutoff can be defined quite analogously to the commutative case and that the adiabatic limit of the two-point function exists and coincides with the expectation, to all orders.Comment: 19 page

Ledoux-Convection in Protoneutron Stars --- a Clue to Supernova Nucleosynthesis?

Two-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of the deleptonization of a newly formed neutron star were performed. Driven by negative lepton fraction and entropy gradients, convection starts near the neutrinosphere about 20-30 ms after core bounce, but moves deeper into the protoneutron star, and after about one second the whole protoneutron star is convective. The deleptonization of the star proceeds much faster than in the corresponding spherically symmetrical model because the lepton flux and the neutrino luminosities increase by up to a factor of two. The convection below the neutrinosphere raises the neutrinospheric temperatures and mean energies of the emitted neutrinos by 10-20%. This can have important implications for the supernova explosion mechanism and changes the detectable neutrino signal from the Kelvin-Helmholtz cooling of the protoneutron star. In particular, the enhanced electron neutrino flux relative to the electron antineutrino flux during the early post-bounce evolution might solve the overproduction problem of certain elements in the neutrino-heated ejecta in models of type-II supernova explosions.Comment: 17 pages, LaTeX, 8 postscript figures, uses epsf.sty. To appear in ApJ 473 (Letters), 1996 December 1

Plant Disease Outcome in 1967

The influence of disease on crops and trees will be decided by a large number of interacting factors. Most of the diseases responsible for loss and profit in crops can be eliminated by preventive measures you and your neighbors take

Causal perturbation theory in terms of retarded products, and a proof of the Action Ward Identity

In the framework of perturbative algebraic quantum field theory a local construction of interacting fields in terms of retarded products is performed, based on earlier work of Steinmann. In our formalism the entries of the retarded products are local functionals of the off shell classical fields, and we prove that the interacting fields depend only on the action and not on terms in the Lagrangian which are total derivatives, thus providing a proof of Stora's 'Action Ward Identity'. The theory depends on free parameters which flow under the renormalization group. This flow can be derived in our local framework independently of the infrared behavior, as was first established by Hollands and Wald. We explicitly compute non-trivial examples for the renormalization of the interaction and the field.Comment: 76 pages, to appear in Rev. Math. Phy

Limit cycles in the presence of convection, a travelling wave analysis

We consider a diffusion model with limit cycle reaction functions, in the presence of convection. We select a set of functions derived from a realistic reaction model: the Schnakenberg equations. This resultant form is unsymmetrical. We find a transformation which maps the irregular equations into model form. Next we transform the dependent variables into polar form. From here, a travelling wave analysis is performed on the radial variable. Results are complex, but we make some simple estimates. We carry out numerical experiments to test our analysis. An initial `knock' starts the propagation of pattern. The speed of the travelling wave is not quite as expected. We investigate further. The system demonstrates distinctly different behaviour to the left and the right. We explain how this phenomenon occurs by examining the underlying behaviour.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure

Large area pulse ionization chamber for measurement of extremely heavy cosmic rays

Parallel plate ionization chamber for identifying relativistic cosmic ray nucle

Fabrication and Characterization of Modulation-Doped ZnSe/(Zn,Cd)Se (110) Quantum Wells: A New System for Spin Coherence Studies

We describe the growth of modulation-doped ZnSe/(Zn,Cd)Se quantum wells on (110) GaAs substrates. Unlike the well-known protocol for the epitaxy of ZnSe-based quantum structures on (001) GaAs, we find that the fabrication of quantum well structures on (110) GaAs requires significantly different growth conditions and sample architecture. We use magnetotransport measurements to confirm the formation of a two-dimensional electron gas in these samples, and then measure transverse electron spin relaxation times using time-resolved Faraday rotation. In contrast to expectations based upon known spin relaxation mechanisms, we find surprisingly little difference between the spin lifetimes in these (110)-oriented samples in comparison with (100)-oriented control samples.Comment: To appear in Journal of Superconductivity (Proceedings of 3rd Conference on Physics and Applications of Spin-dependent Phenomena in Semiconductors

Frontostriatal Maturation Predicts Cognitive Control Failure to Appetitive Cues in Adolescents

Adolescent risk-taking is a public health issue that increases the odds of poor lifetime outcomes. One factor thought to influence adolescents' propensity for risk-taking is an enhanced sensitivity to appetitive cues, relative to an immature capacity to exert sufficient cognitive control. We tested this hypothesis by characterizing interactions among ventral striatal, dorsal striatal, and prefrontal cortical regions with varying appetitive load using fMRI scanning. Child, teen, and adult participants performed a go/no-go task with appetitive (happy faces) and neutral cues (calm faces). Impulse control to neutral cues showed linear improvement with age, whereas teens showed a nonlinear reduction in impulse control to appetitive cues. This performance decrement in teens was paralleled by enhanced activity in the ventral striatum. Prefrontal cortical recruitment correlated with overall accuracy and showed a linear response with age for no-go versus go trials. Connectivity analyses identified a ventral frontostriatal circuit including the inferior frontal gyrus and dorsal striatum during no-go versus go trials. Examining recruitment developmentally showed that teens had greater between-subject ventral-dorsal striatal coactivation relative to children and adults for happy no-go versus go trials. These findings implicate exaggerated ventral striatal representation of appetitive cues in adolescents relative to an intermediary cognitive control response. Connectivity and coactivity data suggest these systems communicate at the level of the dorsal striatum differentially across development. Biased responding in this system is one possible mechanism underlying heightened risk-taking during adolescence

Perturbative Gravity in the Causal Approach

Quantum theory of the gravitation in the causal approach is studied up to the second order of perturbation theory. We prove gauge invariance and renormalizability in the second order of perturbation theory for the pure gravity system (massless and massive). Then we investigate the interaction of massless gravity with matter (described by scalars and spinors) and massless Yang-Mills fields. We obtain a difference with respect to the classical field theory due to the fact that in quantum field theory one cannot enforce the divergenceless property on the vector potential and this spoils the divergenceless property of the usual energy-momentum tensor. To correct this one needs a supplementary ghost term in the interaction Lagrangian.Comment: 50 pages, no figures, some changes in the last sectio