1,405 research outputs found
Escort mean values and the characterization of power-law-decaying probability densities
Escort mean values (or -moments) constitute useful theoretical tools for
describing basic features of some probability densities such as those which
asymptotically decay like {\it power laws}. They naturally appear in the study
of many complex dynamical systems, particularly those obeying nonextensive
statistical mechanics, a current generalization of the Boltzmann-Gibbs theory.
They recover standard mean values (or moments) for . Here we discuss the
characterization of a (non-negative) probability density by a suitable set of
all its escort mean values together with the set of all associated normalizing
quantities, provided that all of them converge. This opens the door to a
natural extension of the well known characterization, for the instance,
of a distribution in terms of the standard moments, provided that {\it all} of
them have {\it finite} values. This question would be specially relevant in
connection with probability densities having {\it divergent} values for all
nonvanishing standard moments higher than a given one (e.g., probability
densities asymptotically decaying as power-laws), for which the standard
approach is not applicable. The Cauchy-Lorentz distribution, whose second and
higher even order moments diverge, constitutes a simple illustration of the
interest of this investigation. In this context, we also address some
mathematical subtleties with the aim of clarifying some aspects of an
interesting non-linear generalization of the Fourier Transform, namely, the
so-called -Fourier Transform.Comment: 20 pages (2 Appendices have been added
A new population of recently quenched elliptical galaxies in the SDSS
We use the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to investigate the properties of massive
elliptical galaxies in the local Universe (z\leq0.08) that have unusually blue
optical colors. Through careful inspection, we distinguish elliptical from
non-elliptical morphologies among a large sample of similarly blue galaxies
with high central light concentrations (c_r\geq2.6). These blue ellipticals
comprise 3.7 per cent of all c_r\geq2.6 galaxies with stellar masses between
10^10 and 10^11 h^{-2} {\rm M}_{\sun}. Using published fiber spectra
diagnostics, we identify a unique subset of 172 non-star-forming ellipticals
with distinctly blue urz colors and young (< 3 Gyr) light-weighted stellar
ages. These recently quenched ellipticals (RQEs) have a number density of
2.7-4.7\times 10^{-5}\,h^3\,{\rm Mpc}^{-3} and sufficient numbers above
2.5\times10^{10} h^{-2} {\rm M}_{\sun} to account for more than half of the
expected quiescent growth at late cosmic time assuming this phase lasts 0.5
Gyr. RQEs have properties that are consistent with a recent merger origin
(i.e., they are strong `first-generation' elliptical candidates), yet few
involved a starburst strong enough to produce an E+A signature. The preferred
environment of RQEs (90 per cent reside at the centers of < 3\times
10^{12}\,h^{-1}{\rm M}_{\sun} groups) agrees well with the `small group scale'
predicted for maximally efficient spiral merging onto their halo center and
rules out satellite-specific quenching processes. The high incidence of Seyfert
and LINER activity in RQEs and their plausible descendents may heat the
atmospheres of small host halos sufficiently to maintain quenching.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figures. Revised version; accepted for publication in
MNRA
Test of Lorentz Invariance in Electrodynamics Using Rotating Cryogenic Sapphire Microwave Oscillators
We present the first results from a rotating Michelson-Morley experiment that
uses two orthogonally orientated cryogenic sapphire resonator-oscillators
operating in whispering gallery modes near 10 GHz. The experiment is used to
test for violations of Lorentz Invariance in the frame-work of the photon
sector of the Standard Model Extension (SME), as well as the isotropy term of
the Robertson-Mansouri-Sexl (RMS) framework. In the SME we set a new bound on
the previously unmeasured component of
, and set more stringent bounds by up to a factor of 7
on seven other components. In the RMS a more stringent bound of
on the isotropy parameter, is set, which is more than a factor of 7 improvement. More detailed
description of the experiment and calculations can be found in: hep-ph/0506200Comment: Final published version, 4 pages, references adde
Separating Forced from Chaotic Climate Variability over the Past Millennium
Reconstructions of past climate show notable temperature variability over the past millennium, with relatively warm conditions during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) and a relatively cold Little Ice Age (LIA). Multimodel simulations of the past millennium are used together with a wide range of reconstructions of Northern Hemispheric mean annual temperature to separate climate variability from 850 to 1950 CE into components attributable to external forcing and internal climate variability. External forcing is found to contribute significantly to long-term temperature variations irrespective of the proxy reconstruction, particularly from 1400 onward. Over the MCA alone, however, the effect of forcing is only detectable in about half of the reconstructions considered, and the response to forcing in the models cannot explain the warm conditions around 1000 CE seen in some reconstructions. The residual from the detection analysis is used to estimate internal variability independent from climate modeling, and it is found that the recent observed 50- and 100-yr hemispheric temperature trends are substantially larger than any of the internally generated trends even using the large residuals over the MCA. Variations in solar output and explosive volcanism are found to be the main drivers of climate change from 1400 to 1900, but for the first time a significant contribution from greenhouse gas variations to the cold conditions during 1600-1800 is also detected. The proxy reconstructions tend to show a smaller forced response than is simulated by the models. This discrepancy is shown, at least partly, to be likely associated with the difference in the response to large volcanic eruptions between reconstructions and model simulations
A novel biosignature identifies patients with DCIS with high risk of local recurrence after breast conserving surgery and radiation therapy
PURPOSE: There is an unmet need to identify women diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) with a low risk of in-breast recurrence (IBR) after breast conserving surgery (BCS), which could omit radiation therapy (RT), and also to identify those with elevated IBR risk remaining after BCS plus RT. We evaluated a novel biosignature for a residual risk subtype (RRt) to help identify patients with elevated IBR risk after BCS plus RT.
METHODS AND MATERIALS: Women with DCIS treated with BCS with or without RT at centers in the US, Australia, and Sweden (n = 926) were evaluated. Patients were classified into 3 biosignature risk groups using the decision score (DS) and the RRt category: (1) Low Risk (DS ≤2.8 without RRt), (2) Elevated Risk (DS \u3e2.8 without RRt), and (3) Residual Risk (DS \u3e2.8 with RRt). Total and invasive IBR rates were assessed by risk group and treatment.
RESULTS: In patients at low risk, there was no significant difference in IBR rates with or without RT (total, P = .8; invasive IBR, P = .7), and there were low overall 10-year rates (total, 5.1%; invasive, 2.7%). In patients with elevated risk, IBR rates were decreased with RT (total: hazard ratio [HR], 0.25; P \u3c .001; invasive: HR, 0.28; P = .005); 10-year rates were 20.6% versus 4.9% (total) and 10.9% versus 3.1% (invasive). In patients with residual risk, although IBR rates decreased with RT after BCS (total: HR, 0.21; P \u3c .001; invasive: HR, 0.29; P = .028), IBR rates remained significantly higher after RT compared with patients with elevated risk (HR, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.2-5.4; P = .018), with 10-year rates of 42.1% versus 14.7% (total) and 18.3% versus 6.5% (invasive).
CONCLUSIONS: The novel biosignature identified patients with 3 distinct risk profiles: Low Risk patients with a low recurrence risk with or without adjuvant RT, Elevated Risk patients with excellent outcomes after BCS plus RT, and Residual Risk patients with an elevated recurrence risk remaining after BCS plus RT, warranting potential intensified or alternative treatment approaches
Quark propagator, instantons and gluon propagator
The Schwinger-Dyson formalism is used to check the consistency of instanton
model solutions for the quark propagator with recent models of confining gluon
propagators. We find that the models are not consistent. A major discrepancy is
the absence of a vector condensate in the instanton model that is present in
the solutions with nonperturbative confining gluons.Comment: Latex file, no figure
Maintenance treatment of renal anaemia in haemodialysis patients with methoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin beta versus darbepoetin alfa administered monthly: a randomized comparative trial
Background. Several studies with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents claim that maintenance therapy of renal anaemia may be possible at extended dosing intervals; however, few studies were randomized, results varied, and comparisons between agents were absent. We report results of a multi-national, randomized, prospective trial comparing haemoglobin maintenance with methoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin beta and darbepoetin alfa administered once monthly
A Gauge Invariant Unitary Theory for Pion Photoproduction
A covariant, unitary and gauge invariant theory for pion photoproduction on a
single nucleon is presented. To achieve gauge invariance at the operator level
one needs to include both the and thresholds. The final
amplitude can be written in terms of a distorted wave in the final
channel provided one includes additional diagrams to the standard Born term in
which the photon is coupled to the final state pion and nucleon. These
additional diagrams are required in order to satisfy gauge invariance.Comment: 4 pages, LaTeX, 1 figure as a separate uuencoded compressed tar fil
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