9,477 research outputs found
HIGH INHERITANCE ELONGATE STROMATOLITIC MOUNDS FROM THE TRANSVAAL DOLOMITE
Elongate mound·like structures up to 10 metres across and 40 metres in length are
described. Characteristic features of the mounds are their high inheritance and
considerable relief which, along with the absence of sub-aerial exposure features, the
fine-grained nature of the carbonate, and their vertical persistence, are taken to suggest a
subtidal origin. Marine currents are considered adequate to account for their elongation
Gluon Radiation and Coherent States in Ultrarelativistic Nuclear Collisions
We explore the correspondence between classical gluon radiation and quantum
radiation in a coherent state for gluons produced in ultrarelativistic nuclear
collisions. The expectation value of the invariant momentum distribution of
gluons in the coherent state is found to agree with the gluon number
distribution obtained classically from the solution of the Yang-Mills
equations. A criterion for the applicability of the coherent state formalism to
the problem of radiation in ultrarelativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions is
discussed. This criterion is found to be fulfilled for midrapidity gluons with
perturbative transverse momenta larger than about 1-2 GeV and produced in
collisions between valence partons.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, RevTeX (with epsf, psfig style files
A programmable two-qubit quantum processor in silicon
With qubit measurement and control fidelities above the threshold of
fault-tolerance, much attention is moving towards the daunting task of scaling
up the number of physical qubits to the large numbers needed for fault tolerant
quantum computing. Here, quantum dot based spin qubits may offer significant
advantages due to their potential for high densities, all-electrical operation,
and integration onto an industrial platform. In this system, the
initialisation, readout, single- and two-qubit gates have been demonstrated in
various qubit representations. However, as seen with other small scale quantum
computer demonstrations, combining these elements leads to new challenges
involving qubit crosstalk, state leakage, calibration, and control hardware
which provide invaluable insight towards scaling up. Here we address these
challenges and demonstrate a programmable two-qubit quantum processor in
silicon by performing both the Deutsch-Josza and the Grover search algorithms.
In addition, we characterise the entanglement in our processor through quantum
state tomography of Bell states measuring state fidelities between 85-89% and
concurrences between 73-80%. These results pave the way for larger scale
quantum computers using spins confined to quantum dots
SU(N) Coherent States and Irreducible Schwinger Bosons
We exploit the SU(N) irreducible Schwinger boson to construct SU(N) coherent
states. This construction of SU(N) coherent state is analogous to the
construction of the simplest Heisenberg-Weyl coherent states. The coherent
states belonging to irreducible representations of SU(N) are labeled by the
eigenvalues of the SU(N) Casimir operators and are characterized by
complex orthonormal vectors describing the SU(N) group manifold.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure
Mira's wind explored in scattering infrared CO lines
We have observed the intermediate regions of the circumstellar envelope of
Mira (o Ceti) in photospheric light scattered by three vibration-rotation
transitions of the fundamental band of CO, from low-excited rotational levels
of the ground vibrational state, at an angular distance of beta = 2"-7" away
from the star. The data were obtained with the Phoenix spectrometer mounted on
the 4 m Mayall telescope at Kitt Peak. The spatial resolution is approximately
0.5" and seeing limited. Our observations provide absolute fluxes, leading to
an independent new estimate of the mass-loss rate of approximately 3e-7
Msun/yr, as derived from a simple analytic wind model. We find that the
scattered intensity from the wind of Mira for 2" < beta < 7" decreases as
beta^-3, which suggests a time constant mass-loss rate, when averaged over 100
years, over the past 1200 years.Comment: accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa
Thermo-mechanical behaviour of a compacted swelling clay
Compacted unsaturated swelling clay is often considered as a possible buffer
material for deep nuclear waste disposal. An isotropic cell permitting
simultaneous control of suction, temperature and pressure was used to study the
thermo-mechanical behaviour of this clay. Tests were performed at total
suctions ranging from 9 to 110 MPa, temperature from 25 to 80 degrees C,
isotropic pressure from 0.1 to 60 MPa. It was observed that heating at constant
suction and pressure induces either swelling or contraction. The results from
compression tests at constant suction and temperature evidenced that at lower
suction, the yield pressure was lower, the elastic compressibility parameter
and the plastic compressibility parameter were higher. On the other hand, at a
similar suction, the yield pressure was slightly influenced by the temperature;
and the compressibility parameters were insensitive to temperature changes. The
thermal hardening phenomenon was equally evidenced by following a
thermo-mechanical path of loading-heating-cooling-reloading
Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers of brain injury, inflammation and synaptic autoimmunity predict long-term neurocognitive outcome in herpes simplex encephalitis
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the correlation between biomarkers of brain injury and long-term neurocognitive outcome, and the interplay with intrathecal inflammation and neuronal autoimmunity, in patients with herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE). METHODS: A total of 53 adult/adolescent HSE patients were included from a prospective cohort in a randomized placebo-controlled trial investigating the effect of a 3-month follow-up treatment with valaciclovir. Study subjects underwent repeated serum/CSF sampling and brain MRI the first 3 months along with cognitive assessment by Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (MDRS) during 24 months. CSF samples were analyzed for biomarkers of brain injury, inflammation and synaptic autoimmunity. The pre-defined primary analysis was the correlation between peak CSF neurofilament protein (NFL), a biomarker of neuronal damage, and MDRS at 24 months. RESULTS: Impaired cognitive performance significantly correlated with NFL levels (rho = -0.36, p = 0.020). Development of IgG anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NDMAR) antibodies was associated with a broad and prolonged proinflammatory CSF response. In a linear regression model, lower MDRS at 24 months was associated with previous development of IgG anti-NMDAR (beta = -0.6249, p = 0.024) and age (z-score beta = -0.2784, p = 0.024), but not CSF NFL, which however significantly correlated with subsequent NMDAR autoimmunization (p = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that NFL levels are predictive of long-term neurocognitive outcome in HSE, and suggest a causative chain of events where brain tissue damage increases the risk of NMDAR autoimmunisation and subsequent prolongation of CSF inflammation. The data provides guidance for a future intervention study of immunosuppressive therapy administered in the recovery phase of HSE
Electronic structure of the strongly hybridized ferromagnet CeFe2
We report on results from high-energy spectroscopic measurements on CeFe2, a
system of particular interest due to its anomalous ferromagnetism with an
unusually low Curie temperature and small magnetization compared to the other
rare earth-iron Laves phase compounds. Our experimental results indicate very
strong hybridization of the Ce 4f states with the delocalized band states,
mainly the Fe 3d states. In the interpretation and analysis of our measured
spectra, we have made use of two different theoretical approaches: The first
one is based on the Anderson impurity model, with surface contributions
explicitly taken into account. The second method consists of band-structure
calculations for bulk CeFe2. The analysis based on the Anderson impurity model
gives calculated spectra in good agreement with the whole range of measured
spectra, and reveals that the Ce 4f -- Fe 3d hybridization is considerably
reduced at the surface, resulting in even stronger hybridization in the bulk
than previously thought. The band-structure calculations are ab initio
full-potential linear muffin-tin orbital calculations within the
local-spin-density approximation of the density functional. The Ce 4f electrons
were treated as itinerant band electrons. Interestingly, the Ce 4f partial
density of states obtained from the band-structure calculations also agree well
with the experimental spectra concerning both the 4f peak position and the 4f
bandwidth, if the surface effects are properly taken into account. In addition,
results, notably the partial spin magnetic moments, from the band-structure
calculations are discussed in some detail and compared to experimental findings
and earlier calculations.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. B in December 200
The Kr85 s-process Branching and the Mass of Carbon Stars
We present new spectroscopic observations for a sample of C(N)-type red
giants. These objects belong to the class of Asymptotic Giant Branch stars,
experiencing thermal instabilities in the He-burning shell (thermal pulses).
Mixing episodes called third dredge-up enrich the photosphere with newly
synthesized C12 in the He-rich zone, and this is the source of the high
observed ratio between carbon and oxygen (C/O > 1 by number). Our spectroscopic
abundance estimates confirm that, in agreement with the general understanding
of the late evolutionary stages of low and intermediate mass stars, carbon
enrichment is accompanied by the appearance of s-process elements in the
photosphere. We discuss the details of the observations and of the derived
abundances, focusing in particular on rubidium, a neutron-density sensitive
element, and on the s-elements Sr, Y and Zr belonging to the first s-peak. The
critical reaction branching at Kr85, which determines the relative enrichment
of the studied species, is discussed. Subsequently, we compare our data with
recent models for s-processing in Thermally Pulsing Asymptotic Giant Branch
stars, at metallicities relevant for our sample. A remarkable agreement between
model predictions and observations is found. Thanks to the different neutron
density prevailing in low and intermediate mass stars, comparison with the
models allows us to conclude that most C(N) stars are of low mass (M < 3Mo). We
also analyze the C12/C13 ratios measured, showing that most of them cannot be
explained by canonical stellar models. We discuss how this fact would require
the operation of an ad hoc additional mixing, currently called Cool Bottom
Process, operating only in low mass stars during the first ascent of the red
giant branch and, perhaps, also during the asymptotic giant branch.Comment: 54 pages + 6 figures + 6 tables. ApJ accepte
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