221 research outputs found
Re-examination of the possible tidal stream in front of the LMC
It has recently been suggested that the stars in a vertical extension of the
red clump feature seen in LMC color-magnitude diagrams could belong to a tidal
stream of material located in front of that galaxy. If this claim is correct,
this foreground concentration of stars could contribute significantly to the
rate of gravitational microlensing events observed in the LMC microlensing
experiments. Here we present radial velocity measurements of stars in this
so-called ``vertical red clump'' (VRC) population. The observed stellar sample,
it transpires, has typical LMC kinematics. It is shown that it is improbable
that an intervening tidal stream should have the same distribution of radial
velocities as the LMC, which is consistent with an earlier study that showed
that the VRC feature is more likely a young stellar population in the main body
of that galaxy. However, the kinematic data do not discriminate against the
possibility that the VRC is an LMC halo population.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in ApJ
Local Field effects on the radiative lifetime of emitters in surrounding media: virtual- or real-cavity model?
For emitters embedded in media of various refractive indices, different
macroscopic or microscopic theoretical models predict different dependencies of
the spontaneous emission lifetime on refractive index. Among those models are
the two most promising models: the virtual-cavity model and the real-cavity
model. It is a priori not clear which model is more relevant for a given
situation. By close analysis of the available experimental results and
examining the assumptions underlying the two models, we reach a consistent
interpretation of the experimental results and give the criteria which model
should apply for a given situation.Comment: 12 pages with 4 figure
On the Uniform Random Generation of Non Deterministic Automata Up to Isomorphism
In this paper we address the problem of the uniform random generation of non
deterministic automata (NFA) up to isomorphism. First, we show how to use a
Monte-Carlo approach to uniformly sample a NFA. Secondly, we show how to use
the Metropolis-Hastings Algorithm to uniformly generate NFAs up to isomorphism.
Using labeling techniques, we show that in practice it is possible to move into
the modified Markov Chain efficiently, allowing the random generation of NFAs
up to isomorphism with dozens of states. This general approach is also applied
to several interesting subclasses of NFAs (up to isomorphism), such as NFAs
having a unique initial states and a bounded output degree. Finally, we prove
that for these interesting subclasses of NFAs, moving into the Metropolis
Markov chain can be done in polynomial time. Promising experimental results
constitute a practical contribution.Comment: Frank Drewes. CIAA 2015, Aug 2015, Umea, Sweden. Springer, 9223,
pp.12, 2015, Implementation and Application of Automata - 20th International
Conferenc
Minimal chordal sense of direction and circulant graphs
A sense of direction is an edge labeling on graphs that follows a globally
consistent scheme and is known to considerably reduce the complexity of several
distributed problems. In this paper, we study a particular instance of sense of
direction, called a chordal sense of direction (CSD). In special, we identify
the class of k-regular graphs that admit a CSD with exactly k labels (a minimal
CSD). We prove that connected graphs in this class are Hamiltonian and that the
class is equivalent to that of circulant graphs, presenting an efficient
(polynomial-time) way of recognizing it when the graphs' degree k is fixed
Local field effects on the radiative lifetimes of Ce in different hosts
For emitters embedded in media of various refractive indices, different
theoretical models predicted substantially different dependencies of the
spontaneous emission lifetime on refractive index. It has been claimed that
various measurements on radiative transition of Eu in hosts
with variable refractive index appear to favor the real-cavity model [J.
Fluoresc. 13, 201 (2003) and references therein, Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 203903
(2003)]. We notice that radiative transition of rare-earth ions,
dominated by allowed electric-dipole transitions with line strengths less
perturbed by the ligands, serves as a better test of different models. We
analyze the lifetimes of transition of Ce in hosts of
refractive indices varying from 1.4 to 2.2. The results favor the macroscopic
virtual-cavity model based on Lorentz local field [J. Fluoresc. 13, 201
(2003)].Comment: 9pages, 1 figures, presented on AMN-2 and to appear on Current
Applied Physic
Single copy shRNA configuration for ubiquitous gene knockdown in mice
RNA interference through the expression of small hairpin RNA (shRNA) molecules has become a very promising tool in reverse mouse genetics as it may allow inexpensive and rapid gene function analysis in vivo. However, the prerequisites for ubiquitous and reproducible shRNA expression are not well defined. Here we show that a single copy shRNA-transgene can mediate body-wide gene silencing in mice when inserted in a defined locus of the genome. The most commonly used promoters for shRNA expression, H1 and U6, showed a comparably broad activity in this configuration. Taken together, the results define a novel approach for efficient interference with expression of defined genes in vivo. Moreover, we provide a rapid strategy for the production of gene knockdown mice combining recombinase mediated cassette exchange and tetraploid blastocyst complementation approaches
Finite-dimensional Schwinger basis, deformed symmetries, Wigner function, and an algebraic approach to quantum phase
Schwinger's finite (D) dimensional periodic Hilbert space representations are
studied on the toroidal lattice {\ee Z}_{D} \times {\ee Z}_{D} with specific
emphasis on the deformed oscillator subalgebras and the generalized
representations of the Wigner function. These subalgebras are shown to be
admissible endowed with the non-negative norm of Hilbert space vectors. Hence,
they provide the desired canonical basis for the algebraic formulation of the
quantum phase problem. Certain equivalence classes in the space of labels are
identified within each subalgebra, and connections with area-preserving
canonical transformations are examined. The generalized representations of the
Wigner function are examined in the finite-dimensional cyclic Schwinger basis.
These representations are shown to conform to all fundamental conditions of the
generalized phase space Wigner distribution. As a specific application of the
Schwinger basis, the number-phase unitary operator pair in {\ee Z}_{D} \times
{\ee Z}_{D} is studied and, based on the admissibility of the underlying
q-oscillator subalgebra, an {\it algebraic} approach to the unitary quantum
phase operator is established. This being the focus of this work, connections
with the Susskind-Glogower- Carruthers-Nieto phase operator formalism as well
as standard action-angle Wigner function formalisms are examined in the
infinite-period limit. The concept of continuously shifted Fock basis is
introduced to facilitate the Fock space representations of the Wigner function.Comment: 19 pages, no figure
A Study of the Populations of X-ray Sources in the Small Magellanic Cloud with ASCA
The Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics (ASCA) has made
multiple observations of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). X-ray mosaic images
in the soft (0.7--2.0 keV) and hard (2.0--7.0 keV) bands are separately
constructed, and the latter provides the first hard X-ray view of the SMC. We
extract 39 sources from the two-band images with a criterion of S/N>5, and
conduct timing and spectral analyses for all of these sources. Coherent
pulsations are detected from 12 X-ray sources; five of which are new
discoveries. Most of the 12 X-ray pulsars are found to exhibit long-term flux
variabilities, hence they are likely to be X-ray binary pulsars (XBPs). On the
other hand, we classify four supernova remnants (SNRs) as thermal SNRs, because
their spectra exhibit emission lines from highly ionized atoms. We find that
XBPs and thermal SNRs in the SMC can be clearly separated by their hardness
ratio (the ratio of the count rate between the hard and soft bands). Using this
empirical grouping, we find many XBP candidates in the SMC, although no
pulsations have yet been detected from these sources. Possible implications on
the star-formation history and evolution of the SMC are presented by a
comparison of the source populations in the SMC and our Galaxy.Comment: 11 pages, 39 Figures, to be published in ApJ Supplement. Tables (body
and figures also) are available at
http://www-cr.scphys.kyoto-u.ac.jp/member/jun/job
Constraints on Intervening Stellar Populations Toward the Large Magellanic Cloud
The suggestion by Zaritsky & Lin that a vertical extension of the red clump
feature in color-magnitude diagrams of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is
consistent with a significant population of foreground stars to the LMC that
could account for the observed microlensing optical depth has been challenged
by various investigators. We respond by (1) examining each of the challenges
presented and (2) presenting new photometric and spectroscopic data. We
conclude that although the CMD data do not mandate the existence of a
foreground population, they are entirely consistent with a foreground
population associated with the LMC that contributes significantly (~ 50%) to
the observed microlensing optical depth. From our new data, we conclude that <~
40% of the VRC stars are young, massive red clump stars because (1) synthetic
color-magnitude diagrams created using the star formation history derived
indepdently from HST data suggest that < 50% of the VRC stars are young,
massive red clump stars, (2) the angular distribution of the VRC stars is more
uniform than that of the young (age < 1 Gyr) main sequence stars, and (3) the
velocity dispersion of the VRC stars in the region of the LMC examined by ZL is
inconsistent with the expectation for a young disk population. Each of these
arguments is predicated on assumptions and the conclusions are uncertain.
Therefore, an exact determination of the contribution to the microlensing
optical depth by the various hypothesized foreground populations, and the
subsequent conclusions regarding the existence of halo MACHOs, requires a
detailed knowledge of many complex astrophysical issues, such as the IMF, star
formation history, and post-main sequence stellar evolution. (abridged)Comment: Scheduled for publication in AJ in May 199
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