Phase asymmetry effect in longitudinal offset coupled resonator optical waveguides

We show that the implementation of the longitudinal displacement technique for adjusting the coupling coefficients in microring waveguides is subject to a phase asymmetry effect. This issue is shown to substantially alter the system response in apodized filters and cannot be ignored in the design stage

The pion-pion scattering amplitude. II: Improved analysis above KˉK\bar{K}K threshold

We improve, in the energy region between $\bar{K}K$ threshold and $\sim~1.4$ GeV, the energy-dependent phase shift analysis of $\pi\pi$ scattering presented in a previous paper. For the S0 wave we have included more data above $\bar{K}K$ threshold and we have taken into account systematically the elasticity data on the reaction $\pi\pi\to\bar{K}K$. We here made a coupled channel fit. For the D0 wave we have considered information on low energy parameters, and imposed a better fit to the $f_2$ resonance. For both waves the expressions we now find are substantially more precise than the previous ones. We also provide slightly improved D2 and P waves, including the estimated inelasticity for the first, and a more flexible parametrization between 1 and 1.42 GeV for the second. The accuracy of our amplitudes is now such that it requires a refinement of the Regge analysis, for $s^{1/2}\geq1.42$ GeV, which we also carry out. We show that this more realistic input produces $\pi\pi$ scattering amplitudes that satisfy better forward dispersion relations, particularly for $\pi^0\pi^0$ scattering.Comment: Plain TeX. 12 figures. Minor anomaly in the K-matrix fit corrected by moving matching point to 932 MeV, and pole $M_1$ to 910.6 MeV. Results unaltere

Forward dispersion relations and Roy equations in pi-pi scattering

We review results of an analysis of pipi interactions in S, P and D waves for two-pion effective mass from threshold to about 1.4 GeV. In particular we show a recent improvement of this analysis above the K anti-K threshold using more data for phase shifts and including the S0 wave inelasticity from pipi -> K anti-K. In addition, we have improved the fit to the f2(1270) resonance and used a more flexible P wave parametrization above the K anti-K threshold and included an estimation of the D2 wave inelasticity. The better accuracy thus achieved also required a refinement of the Regge analysis above 1.42 GeV. We have checked that the pipi scattering amplitudes obtained in this approach satisfy remarkably well forward dispersion relations and Roy's equations.Comment: 6 pages, invited talk to the IV International Conference on Quarks and Nuclear Physics QNP06, Madrid 5th-10th June 200

The pion-pion scattering amplitude

We obtain reliable $\pi\pi$ scattering amplitudes consistent with experimental data, both at low and high energies, and fulfilling appropriate analyticity properties. We do this by first fitting experimental low energy ($s^{1/2}\leq1.42 {\rm GeV}$) phase shifts and inelasticities with expressions that incorporate analyticity and unitarity. In particular, for the S wave with isospin~0, we discuss in detail several sets of experimental data. This provides low energy partial wave amplitudes that summarize the known experimental information. Then, we impose Regge behaviour as follows from factorization and experimental data for the imaginary parts of the scattering amplitudes at higher energy, and check fulfillment of dispersion relations up to 0.925 GeV. This allows us to improve our fits. The ensuing $\pi\pi$ scattering amplitudes are then shown to verify dispersion relations up to 1.42 GeV, as well as $s - t - u$ crossing sum rules and other consistency conditions. The improved parametrizations therefore provide a reliable representation of pion-pion amplitudes with which one can test chiral perturbation theory calculations, pionium decays, or use as input for CP-violating $K$ decays. In this respect, we find $[a_0^{(0)}-a_0^{(2)}]^2=(0.077\pm0.008) M^{-1}_\pi$ and $\delta_0^{(0)}(m^2_K)-\delta_0^{(2)}(m^2_K)=52.9\pm1.6^{\rm o}$.Comment: Version to be published in Phys. Rev. D. Plain TeX file. (minor changes). 16 figures (some multiple

A Comparison of Front-Ends for Bitstream-Based ASR over IP

Automatic speech recognition (ASR) is called to play a relevant role in the provision of spoken interfaces for IP-based applications. However, as a consequence of the transit of the speech signal over these particular networks, ASR systems need to face two new challenges: the impoverishment of the speech quality due to the compression needed to fit the channel capacity and the inevitable occurrence of packet losses. In this framework, bitstream-based approaches that obtain the ASR feature vectors directly from the coded bitstream, avoiding the speech decoding process, have been proposed ([S.H. Choi, H.K. Kim, H.S. Lee, Speech recognition using quantized LSP parameters and their transformations in digital communications, Speech Commun. 30 (4) (2000) 223–233. A. Gallardo-Antolín, C. Pelàez-Moreno, F. Díaz-de-María, Recognizing GSM digital speech, IEEE Trans. Speech Audio Process., to appear. H.K. Kim, R.V. Cox, R.C. Rose, Performance improvement of a bitstream-based front-end for wireless speech recognition in adverse environments, IEEE Trans. Speech Audio Process. 10 (8) (2002) 591–604. C. Peláez-Moreno, A. Gallardo-Antolín, F. Díaz-de-María, Recognizing voice over IP networks: a robust front-end for speech recognition on the WWW, IEEE Trans. Multimedia 3(2) (2001) 209–218], among others) to improve the robustness of ASR systems. LSP (Line Spectral Pairs) are the preferred set of parameters for the description of the speech spectral envelope in most of the modern speech coders. Nevertheless, LSP have proved to be unsuitable for ASR, and they must be transformed into cepstrum-type parameters. In this paper we comparatively evaluate the robustness of the most significant LSP to cepstrum transformations in a simulated VoIP (voice over IP) environment which includes two of the most popular codecs used in that network (G.723.1 and G.729) and several network conditions. In particular, we compare ‘pseudocepstrum’ [H.K. Kim, S.H. Choi, H.S. Lee, On approximating Line Spectral Frequencies to LPC cepstral coefficients, IEEE Trans. Speech Audio Process. 8 (2) (2000) 195–199], an approximated but straightforward transformation of LSP into LP cepstral coefficients, with a more computationally demanding but exact one. Our results show that pseudocepstrum is preferable when network conditions are good or computational resources low, while the exact procedure is recommended when network conditions become more adverse.Publicad

The pion-pion scattering amplitude. III: Improving the analysis with forward dispersion relations and Roy equations

We complete and improve the fits to experimental $\pi\pi$ scattering amplitudes, both at low and high energies, that we performed in the previous papers of this series. We then verify that the corresponding amplitudes satisfy analyticity requirements, in the form of partial wave analyticity at low energies, forward dispersion relations (FDR) at all energies, and Roy equations below$\bar{K}K$ threshold; the first by construction, the last two, inside experimental errors. Then we repeat the fits including as constraints FDR and Roy equations. The ensuing central values of the various scattering amplitudes verify very accurately FDR and, especially, Roy equations, and change very little from what we found by just fitting data, with the exception of the D2 wave phase shift, for which one parameter moves by $1.5 \sigma$. These improved parametrizations therefore provide a reliable representation of pion-pion amplitudes with which one can test various physical relations. We also present a list of low energy parameters and other observables. In particular, we find $a_0^{(0)}=0.223\pm0.009 M^{-1}_\pi$, $a_0^{(2)}=-0.0444\pm0.0045 M^{-1}_\pi$ and $\delta_0^{(0)}(m^2_K)-\delta_0^{(2)}(m^2_K)=50.9\pm1.2^{\rm o}$.Comment: Plain TeX. 29 figures. Version to be published in PRD, with improved P and F wave

Three-Body Dynamics and Self-Powering of an Electrodynamic Tether in a Plasmasphere

The dynamics of an electrodynamic tether in a three-body gravitational environment are investigated. In the classical two-body scenario the extraction of power is at the expense of orbital kinetic energy. As a result of power extraction, an electrodynamic tether satellite system loses altitude and deorbits. This concept has been proposed and well investigated in the past, for example for orbital debris mitigation and spent stages reentry. On the other hand, in the three-body scenario an electrodynamic tether can be placed in an equilibrium position fixed with respect to the two primary bodies without deorbiting, and at the same time generate power for onboard use. The appearance of new equilibrium positions in the perturbed three-body problem allow this to happen as the electrical power is extracted at the expenses of the plasma corotating with the primary body. Fundamental differences between the classical twobody dynamics and the new phenomena appearing in the circular restricted three-body problem perturbed by the electrodynamic force of the electrodynamic tether are shown in the paper. An interesting application of an electrodynamic tether placed in the Jupiter plasma torus is then considered, in which the electrodynamic tether generates useful electrical power of about 1 kW with a 20-km-long electrodynamic tether from the environmental plasma without losing orbital energy

Microbial natural products as a source of antifungals

The vast number and variety of chemotherapeutic agents isolated from microbial natural products and used to treat bacterial infections have greatly contributed to the improvement of human health during the past century. However, only a limited number of antifungal agents (polyenes and azoles, plus the recently introduced caspofungin acetate) are currently available for the treatment of life-threatening fungal infections. Furthermore, the prevalence of systemic fungal infections has increased significantly during the past decade. For this reason, the development of new antifungal agents, preferably with novel mechanisms of action, is an urgent medical need. Aselection of antifungal agents in early stages of development, produced by micro-organisms, is summarized in this review. The compounds are classified according to their mechanisms of action, covering inhibitors of the synthesis of cell wall components (glucan, chitin and mannoproteins), of sphingolipid synthesis (serine palmitoyltransferase, ceramide synthase, inositol phosphoceramide synthase and fatty acid elongation) and of protein synthesis (sordarins). In addition, some considerations related to the chemotaxonomy of the producing organisms and some issues relevant to antifungal drug discovery are also discussed