2,521 research outputs found
On the Entropy and the Density Matrix of Cosmological Perturbations
We look at the transition to the semiclassical behaviour and the decoherence
process for the inhomogeneous perturbations in the inflationary universe. Two
different decoherence mechanisms appear: one dynamical, accompanied with a
negligible, if at all, entropy gain, and the other, effectively irreversible
dephasing, due to a rapid variation in time of the off-diagonal density matrix
elements in the post-inflationary epoch. We thus settle the discrepancies in
the entropy content of perturbations evaluated by different authors.Comment: LaTeX2e with the epsf packag
Return to Play Following Shoulder Stabilization: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
BackgroundAnterior shoulder instability can be a disabling condition for the young athlete; however, the best surgical treatment remains controversial. Traditionally, anterior shoulder instability was treated with open stabilization. More recently, arthroscopic repair of the Bankart injury with suture anchor fixation has become an accepted technique.HypothesisNo systematic reviews have compared the rate of return to play following arthroscopic Bankart repair with suture anchor fixation with the Bristow-Latarjet procedure and open stabilization. We hypothesized that the rate of return to play will be similar regardless of surgical technique.Study designSystematic review; Level of evidence, 4.MethodsWe performed a systematic review and meta-analysis focused on return to play following shoulder stabilization. Inclusion criteria included studies in English that reported on rate of return to play and clinical outcomes following primary arthroscopic Bankart repair with suture anchors, the Latarjet procedure, or open stabilization. Statistical analyses included Student t tests and analyses of variance.ResultsSixteen papers reporting on 1036 patients were included. A total of 545 patients underwent arthroscopic Bankart repair with suture anchors, 353 with the Latarjet procedure, and 138 with open repair. No significant difference was found in patient demographic data among the studies. Patients returned to sport at the same level of play (preinjury level) more consistently following arthroscopic Bankart repair (71%) or the Latarjet procedure (73%) than open stabilization (66%) (P < .05). Return to play at any level and postoperative Rowe scores were not significantly different among studies. Recurrent dislocation was significantly less following the Latarjet procedure (3.5%) than after arthroscopic Bankart repair (6.6%) or open stabilization (6.7%) (P < .05).ConclusionThis systematic review demonstrates a greater rate of return to play at the preinjury level following arthroscopic Bankart repair and the Latarjet procedure than open stabilization. Despite this difference, >65% of all treated athletes returned to sport at their preinjury levels, with other outcome measures being similar among the treatment groups. Therefore, arthroscopic Bankart repair, the Latarjet procedure, and open stabilization remain good surgical options in the treatment of the athlete with anterior shoulder instability
Penrose Limits, the Colliding Plane Wave Problem and the Classical String Backgrounds
We show how the Szekeres form of the line element is naturally adapted to
study Penrose limits in classical string backgrounds. Relating the "old"
colliding wave problem to the Penrose limiting procedure as employed in string
theory we discuss how two orthogonal Penrose limits uniquely determine the
underlying target space when certain symmetry is imposed. We construct a
conformally deformed background with two distinct, yet exactly solvable in
terms of the string theory on R-R backgrounds, Penrose limits. Exploiting
further the similarities between the two problems we find that the Penrose
limit of the gauged WZW Nappi-Witten universe is itself a gauged WZW plane wave
solution of Sfetsos and Tseytlin. Finally, we discuss some issues related to
singularity, show the existence of a large class of non-Hausdorff solutions
with Killing Cauchy Horizons and indicate a possible resolution of the problem
of the definition of quantum vacuum in string theory on these time-dependent
backgrounds.Comment: Some misprints corrected. Matches the version in print. To appear in
Classical & Quantum Gravit
Locally suppressed transverse-field protocol for diabatic quantum annealing
Diabatic quantum annealing (DQA) is an alternative algorithm to adiabatic quantum annealing that can be used to circumvent the exponential slowdown caused by small minima in the annealing energy spectrum. We present the locally suppressed transverse-field (LSTF) protocol, a heuristic method for making stoquastic optimization problems compatible with DQA. We show that, provided an optimization problem intrinsically has magnetic frustration due to inhomogeneous local fields, a target qubit in the problem can always be manipulated to create a double minimum in the energy gap between the ground and first excited states during the evolution of the algorithm. Such a double energy minimum can be exploited to induce diabatic transitions to the first excited state and back to the ground state. In addition to its relevance to classical and quantum algorithmic speedups, the LSTF protocol enables DQA proof-of-principle and physics experiments to be performed on existing hardware, provided independent controls exist for the transverse qubit magnetization fields. We discuss the implications on the coherence requirements of the quantum annealing hardware when using the LSTF protocol, considering specifically the cases of relaxation and dephasing. We show that the relaxation rate of a large system can be made to depend only on the target qubit, presenting opportunities for the characterization of the decohering environment in a quantum annealing processor
Gravitational Optics: Self-phase modulation and harmonic cascades
Nonlinear wave interaction of low amplitude gravitational waves in flat
space-time is considered. Analogy with optics is established. It is shown that
the flat metric space-time is equivalent to a centro-symmetric optical medium,
with no second order susceptibility. The lowest order nonlinear effects are
those due to the third order nonlinearity and include self-phase modulation and
high harmonic generation. These processes lead to an efficient energy dilution
of the gravitational wave energy over an increasingly large spectral range.Comment: 12 pages, REVTEX
Fast Quantitative Real-Time PCR-Based Screening for Common Chromosomal Aneuploidies in Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells
Chromosomal integrity has been known for many years to affect the ability of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) to contribute to the germline of chimeric mice. Abnormal chromosomes are generally detected by standard cytogenetic karyotyping. However, this method is expensive, time consuming, and often omitted prior to blastocyst injection, consequently reducing the frequency of mESC-derived offspring. Here, we show a fast, accurate, and inexpensive screen for identifying the two most common aneuploidies (Trisomy 8 and loss of chromosome Y) in genetically manipulated mESCs using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). Screening against these two aneuploidies significantly increases the fraction of normal mESC clones. Our method is extremely sensitive and can detect as low as 10% aneuploidy among a large population of mESCs. It greatly expedites the generation of mutant mice and provides a quick tool for assessing the aneuploidy percentages of any mESC line
eleanor: An open-source tool for extracting light curves from the TESS Full-Frame Images
During its two year prime mission the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
(TESS) will perform a time-series photometric survey covering over 80% of the
sky. This survey comprises observations of 26 24 x 96 degree sectors that are
each monitored continuously for approximately 27 days. The main goal of TESS is
to find transiting planets around 200,000 pre-selected stars for which fixed
aperture photometry is recorded every two minutes. However, TESS is also
recording and delivering Full-Frame Images (FFIs) of each detector at a 30
minute cadence. We have created an open-source tool, eleanor, to produce light
curves for objects in the TESS FFIs. Here, we describe the methods used in
eleanor to produce light curves that are optimized for planet searches. The
tool performs background subtraction, aperture and PSF photometry,
decorrelation of instrument systematics, and cotrending using principal
component analysis. We recover known transiting exoplanets in the FFIs to
validate the pipeline and perform a limited search for new planet candidates in
Sector 1. Our tests indicate that eleanor produces light curves with
significantly less scatter than other tools that have been used in the
literature. Cadence-stacked images, and raw and detrended eleanor light curves
for each analyzed star will be hosted on MAST, with planet candidates on
ExoFOP-TESS as Community TESS Objects of Interest (CTOIs). This work confirms
the promise that the TESS FFIs will enable the detection of thousands of new
exoplanets and a broad range of time domain astrophysics.Comment: 21 pages, 13 figures, 2 tables, Accepted to PAS
Higher education, mature students and employment goals: policies and practices in the UK
This article considers recent policies of Higher Education in the UK, which are aimed at widening participation and meeting the needs of employers. The focus is on the growing population of part-time students, and the implications of policies for this group. The article takes a critical perspective on government policies, using data from a major study of mature part-time students, conducted in two specialist institutions in the UK, a London University college and a distance learning university. Findings from this study throw doubt on the feasibility of determining a priori what kind of study pathway is most conducive for the individual in terms of employment gains and opportunities for upward social mobility. In conclusion, doubts are raised as to whether policies such as those of the present UK government are likely to achieve its aims. Such policies are not unique to the UK, and lessons from this country are relevant to most of the developed world
Cloud fragmentation and proplyd-like features in HII regions imaged by HST
We have analyzed HST ACS and WFPC2 new and archival images of eight HII
regions to look for new proto-planetary disks (proplyds) similar to those found
in the Orion Nebula. We find a wealth of features similar in size (though many
are larger) to the bright cusps around the Orion Nebula proplyds. None of them,
however, contains a definitive central star. From this, we deduce that the new
cusps may not be proplyds, but instead are fragments of molecular cloud
material. Out of all the features found in the eight HII regions examined, only
one, an apparent edge-on silhouette in M17, may have a central star. This
feature might join the small number of bona fide proplyds found outside the
Orion Nebula, in M8, M20 and possibly in M16. In line with the results found
recently by Smith et al. (2005), the paucity of proplyds outside the Orion
Nebula, may be explained by their transient nature as well as by the specific
environmental conditions under whichthey can be observed.Comment: 51 pages; 19 figures; 5 tables. Accepted by A
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