15,063 research outputs found
Gauge/string duality and scalar glueball mass ratios
It has been shown by Polchinski and Strassler that the scaling of high energy
QCD scattering amplitudes can be obtained from string theory. They considered
an AdS slice as an approximation for the dual space of a confining gauge
theory. Here we use this approximation to estimate in a very simple way the
ratios of scalar glueball masses imposing Dirichlet boundary conditions on the
string dilaton field. These ratios are in good agreement with the results in
the literature. We also find that they do not depend on the size of the slice.Comment: 5 pages, no figures. References updated. Version published in JHE
PORTFOLIOS OF AGRICULTURAL MARKET ADVISORY SERVICES: HOW MUCH DIVERSIFICATION IS ENOUGH?
Agricultural market advisory services offer specific advice to farmers on how to market their commodities. Farmers can subscribe to one or more of these services and follow their advice as a way of managing price risk. According to portfolio theory, a combination of these services may have risk/return benefits compared to individual services. This report analyzes the potential risk reduction gains from naïve diversification among market advisory services for corn and soybeans. Results show that increasing the number of (equal-weighting) services reduces portfolio expected risk, but the marginal decrease in risk from adding a new service decreases rapidly with portfolio size. The risk reduction benefits of naïve diversification among advisory services is relatively small compared to the results obtained in previous studies for stock portfolios, and this is mainly because advisory prices, on average, are highly correlated. A one service portfolio has only a 20%, 16% and 32% higher expected standard deviation than the minimum risk naïve portfolio for corn, soybeans and 50/50 revenue, respectively. Most risk reduction benefits are achieved with small portfolios. For instance, a four service portfolio has only 5%, 4% and 9% higher expected standard deviation than the minimum risk naïve portfolio for corn, soybeans and 50/50 revenue, respectively. Based on these results, there does not appear to be strong justification for farmers adopting portfolios with a large number of advisory services. Farmers may well choose portfolios with as few as two or three programs, since the relatively high total subscription costs associated with larger portfolios can be avoided while obtaining most of the benefits from diversification.Marketing,
Decoherence and the quantum-classical limit in the presence of chaos
We investigate how decoherence affects the short-time separation between
quantum and classical dynamics for classically chaotic systems, within the
framework of a specific model. For a wide range of parameters, the distance
between the corresponding phase-space distributions depends on a single
parameter that relates an effective Planck constant ,
the Lyapunov coeffficient, and the diffusion constant. This distance peaks at a
time that depends logarithmically on , in agreement with
previous estimations of the separation time for Hamiltonian systems. However,
for , the separation remains small, going down with , so the concept of separation time loses its meaning.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures (in 6 postscript files) two of them are color
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The Richardson's Law in Large-Eddy Simulations of Boundary Layer flows
Relative dispersion in a neutrally stratified planetary boundary layer (PBL)
is investigated by means of Large-Eddy Simulations (LES). Despite the small
extension of the inertial range of scales in the simulated PBL, our Lagrangian
statistics turns out to be compatible with the Richardson law for the
average of square particle separation. This emerges from the application of
nonstandard methods of analysis through which a precise measure of the
Richardson constant was also possible. Its values is estimated as
in close agreement with recent experiments and three-dimensional direct
numerical simulations.Comment: 15 LaTex pages, 4 PS figure
Model for erosion-deposition patterns
We investigate through computational simulations with a pore network model
the formation of patterns caused by erosion-deposition mechanisms. In this
model, the geometry of the pore space changes dynamically as a consequence of
the coupling between the fluid flow and the movement of particles due to local
drag forces. Our results for this irreversible process show that the model is
capable to reproduce typical natural patterns caused by well known erosion
processes. Moreover, we observe that, within a certain range of porosity
values, the grains form clusters that are tilted with respect to the horizontal
with a characteristic angle. We compare our results to recent experiments for
granular material in flowing water and show that they present a satisfactory
agreement.Comment: 8 pages, 12 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Research in Geant4 electromagnetic physics design, and its effects on computational performance and quality assurance
The Geant4 toolkit offers a rich variety of electromagnetic physics models;
so far the evaluation of this Geant4 domain has been mostly focused on its
physics functionality, while the features of its design and their impact on
simulation accuracy, computational performance and facilities for verification
and validation have not been the object of comparable attention yet, despite
the critical role they play in many experimental applications. A new project is
in progress to study the application of new design concepts and software
techniques in Geant4 electromagnetic physics, and to evaluate how they can
improve on the current simulation capabilities. The application of a
policy-based class design is investigated as a means to achieve the objective
of granular decomposition of processes; this design technique offers various
advantages in terms of flexibility of configuration and computational
performance. The current Geant4 physics models have been re-implemented
according to the new design as a pilot project. The main features of the new
design and first results of performance improvement and testing simplification
are presented; they are relevant to many Geant4 applications, where
computational speed and the containment of resources invested in simulation
production and quality assurance play a critical role.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures and images, to appear in proceedings of the
Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference 2009, Orland
Avaliação da resistência de variedades de mangueira Mangifera indica L., do BAG manga da Embrapa Mandioca e Fruticultura, ao fungo Coletotrichum gloeosporioides, Penz.).
O Brasil está entre os nove principais produtores de manga do mundo, com uma área de 67 mil hectares. Atualmente, a Tommy Atkins é a variedade mais produzida e a que possui a maior participação no volume comercializado no mundo, devido, principalmente, as suas características fenológicas e organolépticas
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