10,368 research outputs found
Sivers and Boer-Mulders functions in Light-Cone Quark Models
Results for the naive-time-reversal-odd quark distributions in a light-cone
quark model are presented. The final-state interaction effects are generated
via single-gluon exchange mechanism. The formalism of light-cone wave functions
is used to derive general expressions in terms of overlap of wave-function
amplitudes describing the different orbital angular momentum components of the
nucleon. In particular, the model predictions show a dominant contribution from
S- and P-wave interference in the Sivers function and a significant
contribution also from the interference of P and D waves in the Boer-Mulders
function. The favourable comparison with existing phenomenological
parametrizations motivates further applications to describe azimuthal
asymmetries in hadronic reactions.Comment: references and explanations added; version to appear in Phys. Rev.
Constraints on cosmic-ray efficiency in the supernova remnant RCW 86 using multi-wavelength observations
Several young supernova remnants (SNRs) have recently been detected in the
high-energy and very-high-energy gamma-ray domains. As exemplified by RX
J1713.7-3946, the nature of this emission has been hotly debated, and direct
evidence for the efficient acceleration of cosmic-ray protons at the SNR shocks
still remains elusive. We analyzed more than 40 months of data acquired by the
Large Area Telescope (LAT) on-board the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope in the
HE domain, and gathered all of the relevant multi-wavelength (from radio to VHE
gamma-rays) information about the broadband nonthermal emission from RCW 86.
For this purpose, we re-analyzed the archival X-ray data from the ASCA/Gas
Imaging Spectrometer (GIS), the XMM-Newton/EPIC-MOS, and the RXTE/Proportional
Counter Array (PCA). Beyond the expected Galactic diffuse background, no
significant gamma-ray emission in the direction of RCW 86 is detected in any of
the 0.1-1, 1-10 and 10-100 GeV Fermi-LAT maps. In the hadronic scenario, the
derived HE upper limits together with the HESS measurements in the VHE domain
can only be accommodated by a spectral index Gamma <= 1.8, i.e. a value
in-between the standard (test-particle) index and the asymptotic limit of
theoretical particle spectra in the case of strongly modified shocks. The
interpretation of the gamma-ray emission by inverse Compton scattering of high
energy electrons reproduces the multi-wavelength data using a reasonable value
for the average magnetic field of 15-25 muG. For these two scenarios, we
assessed the level of acceleration efficiency. We discuss these results in the
light of existing estimates of the magnetic field strength, the effective
density and the acceleration efficiency in RCW 86.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A; 10 pages and 4 figure
Are the school prevention programmes - aimed at de-normalizing smoking among youths - beneficial in the long term? An example from the Smoke Free Class Competition in Italy
Tobacco smoking by young people is of great concern because it usually leads to regular smoking, nicotine addiction and quitting difficulties. Young people "hooked" by tobacco maintain the profits of the tobacco industry by replacing smokers who quit or die. If new generations could be tobacco-free, as supported by tobacco endgame strategies, the tobacco epidemic could end within decades. Smoking prevention programmes for teens are offered by schools with the aim to prevent or delay smoking onset. Among these, the Smoke Free Class Competition (SFC) was widely implemented in Europe. Its effectiveness yielded conflicting results, but it was only evaluated at short/medium term (6 - 18 months). The aim of this study is to evaluate its effectiveness after a longer follow-up (3 to 5 years) in order to allow enough time for the maturing of the students and the internalization of the experience and its contents. Fifteen classes were randomly sampled from two Italian high schools of Bologna province that regularly offered the SFC to first year students; 382 students (174 participating in the SFC and 208 controls) were retrospectively followed-up and provided their "smoking histories". At the end of their last year of school (after 5 years from the SFC), the percentage of students who stated that they were regular smokers was lower among the SFC students than in controls: 13.5% vs 32.9% (p=0.03). From the students' "smoking histories", statistically significant protective ORs were observed for SFC students at the end of 1st and 5th year: 0.42 (95% CI 0.19-0.93) and 0.32 (95% CI 0.11-0.91) respectively. Absence of smokers in the family was also a strongly statistically significant factor associated with being a non-smoker student. These results suggest that SFC may have a positive impact on lowering the prevalence of smoking in the long term (5 years)
Efficient photosynthesis of carbon monoxide from CO2 using perovskite photovoltaics
Artificial photosynthesis, mimicking nature in its efforts to store solar energy, has received considerable attention from the research community. Most of these attempts target the production of H2 as a fuel and our group recently demonstrated solar-to-hydrogen conversion at 12.3% efficiency. Here, in an effort to take this approach closer to real photosynthesis, which is based on the conversion of CO2, we demonstrate the efficient reduction of CO2 to carbon monoxide driven solely by simulated sunlight using water as the electron source. Employing series-connected perovskite photovoltaics and high-performance catalyst electrodes, we reach a solar-to-CO efficiency exceeding 6.5%, which represents a new benchmark in sunlight-driven CO2 conversion. Considering hydrogen as a secondary product, an efficiency exceeding 7% is observed. Furthermore, this study represents one of the first demonstrations of extended, stable operation of perovskite photovoltaics, whose large open-circuit voltage is shown to be particularly suited for this process
Tiling groupoids and Bratteli diagrams
Let T be an aperiodic and repetitive tiling of R^d with finite local
complexity. Let O be its tiling space with canonical transversal X. The tiling
equivalence relation R_X is the set of pairs of tilings in X which are
translates of each others, with a certain (etale) topology. In this paper R_X
is reconstructed as a generalized "tail equivalence" on a Bratteli diagram,
with its standard AF-relation as a subequivalence relation.
Using a generalization of the Anderson-Putnam complex, O is identified with
the inverse limit of a sequence of finite CW-complexes. A Bratteli diagram B is
built from this sequence, and its set of infinite paths dB is homeomorphic to
X. The diagram B is endowed with a horizontal structure: additional edges that
encode the adjacencies of patches in T. This allows to define an etale
equivalence relation R_B on dB which is homeomorphic to R_X, and contains the
AF-relation of "tail equivalence".Comment: 34 pages, 4 figure
Comment on "Quantum Phase Slips and Transport in Ultrathin Superconducting Wires"
In a recent Letter (Phys. Rev. Lett.78, 1552 (1997) ), Zaikin, Golubev, van
Otterlo, and Zimanyi criticized the phenomenological time-dependent
Ginzburg-Laudau model which I used to study the quantum phase-slippage rate for
superconducting wires. They claimed that they developed a "microscopic" model,
made qualitative improvement on my overestimate of the tunnelling barrier due
to electromagnetic field. In this comment, I want to point out that, i), ZGVZ's
result on EM barrier is expected in my paper; ii), their work is also
phenomenological; iii), their renormalization scheme is fundamentally flawed;
iv), they underestimated the barrier for ultrathin wires; v), their comparison
with experiments is incorrect.Comment: Substantial changes made. Zaikin et al's main result was expected
from my work. They underestimated tunneling barrier for ultrathin wires by
one order of magnitude in the exponen
Risk-based bridge scour management:a survey
Scour is one of the major causes of bridge failure worldwide and results in significant economic losses through disruption to operation. This phenomenon naturally affects bridges with underwater foundations and is exacerbated during high river and/or turbulent flows (e.g. due to extreme events). When scour reaches the bottom or undermines shallow foundations it is likely to trigger various damage mechanisms that may in-fluence the safety of the structure and force asset managers to reduce traffic capacity. Currently, assessing risk of scour is a heuristic process, heavily reliant on qualitative approaches and expert opinion (e.g. visual inspections). These types of assessments typically suffer from insufficient knowledge of influencing factors (e.g. hydraulic parameters) and the requirement to rely on several assumptions (e.g. foundation depth). As a result, current scour assessment and bridge management practices do not provide reliable solutions for ad-dressing the potential risk of bridge failures. In this paper, cross-cutting needs and challenges related to the development of decision support tools for scour-risk management are highlighted and some preliminary re-sults of a literature survey are reported. The review has been performed with several objectives: (i) identify-ing scour-risk indicators describing hydrodynamic actions and the asset condition; (ii) defining indirect and direct consequences needed to assess the risks associated to different decision alternatives related to scour management; and (iii) identifying existing approaches to scour inspections and monitoring as support tools for informed decisions. The results of this survey will serve as a base for future research aimed to develop an informed decision support tool to manage scour risk at both the bridge and at the network level
First experimental evidence of one-dimensional plasma modes in superconducting thin wires
We have studied niobium superconducting thin wires deposited onto a
SrTiO substrate. By measuring the reflection coefficient of the wires,
resonances are observed in the superconducting state in the 130 MHz to 4 GHz
range. They are interpreted as standing wave resonances of one-dimensional
plasma modes propagating along the superconducting wire. The experimental
dispersion law, versus , presents a linear dependence over the
entire wave vector range. The modes are softened as the temperature increases
close the superconducting transition temperature. Very good agreement are
observed between our data and the dispersion relation predicted by Kulik and
Mooij and Sch\"on.Comment: Submitted to Physical review Letter
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