The origin and propagation of VVH primary cosmic ray particles

Several source spectra were constructed from combinations of 4- and s-process nuclei to match the observed charge spectrum of VVH particles. Their propagation was then followed, allowing for interactions and decay, and comparisons were made between the calculated near-earth spectra and those observed during high altitude balloon flights. None of the models gave good agreement with observations

Primary cosmic ray particles with z 35 (VVH particles)

Large areas of nuclear emulsions and plastic detectors were exposed to the primary cosmic radiation during high altitude balloon flights. From the analysis of 141 particle tracks recorded during a total exposure of 1.3 x 10 to the 7th power sq m ster.sec., a charge spectrum of the VVH particles has been derived

Second-order gravitational self-force

We derive an expression for the second-order gravitational self-force that acts on a self-gravitating compact-object moving in a curved background spacetime. First we develop a new method of derivation and apply it to the derivation of the first-order gravitational self-force. Here we find that our result conforms with the previously derived expression. Next we generalize our method and derive a new expression for the second-order gravitational self-force. This study also has a practical motivation: The data analysis for the planned gravitational wave detector LISA requires construction of waveforms templates for the expected gravitational waves. Calculation of the two leading orders of the gravitational self-force will enable one to construct highly accurate waveform templates, which are needed for the data analysis of gravitational-waves that are emitted from extreme mass-ratio binaries.Comment: 35 page

Cohomology for infinitesimal unipotent algebraic and quantum groups

In this paper we study the structure of cohomology spaces for the Frobenius kernels of unipotent and parabolic algebraic group schemes and of their quantum analogs. Given a simple algebraic group $G$, a parabolic subgroup $P_J$, and its unipotent radical $U_J$, we determine the ring structure of the cohomology ring $H^\bullet((U_J)_1,k)$. We also obtain new results on computing $H^\bullet((P_J)_1,L(\lambda))$ as an $L_J$-module where $L(\lambda)$ is a simple $G$-module with high weight $\lambda$ in the closure of the bottom $p$-alcove. Finally, we provide generalizations of all our results to the quantum situation.Comment: 18 pages. Some proofs streamlined over previous version. Additional details added to some proofs in Section

Johnson-Kendall-Roberts theory applied to living cells

Johnson-Kendall-Roberts (JKR) theory is an accurate model for strong adhesion energies of soft slightly deformable material. Little is known about the validity of this theory on complex systems such as living cells. We have addressed this problem using a depletion controlled cell adhesion and measured the force necessary to separate the cells with a micropipette technique. We show that the cytoskeleton can provide the cells with a 3D structure that is sufficiently elastic and has a sufficiently low deformability for JKR theory to be valid. When the cytoskeleton is disrupted, JKR theory is no longer applicable

"Peeling property" for linearized gravity in null coordinates

A complete description of the linearized gravitational field on a flat background is given in terms of gauge-independent quasilocal quantities. This is an extension of the results from gr-qc/9801068. Asymptotic spherical quasilocal parameterization of the Weyl field and its relation with Einstein equations is presented. The field equations are equivalent to the wave equation. A generalization for Schwarzschild background is developed and the axial part of gravitational field is fully analyzed. In the case of axial degree of freedom for linearized gravitational field the corresponding generalization of the d'Alembert operator is a Regge-Wheeler equation. Finally, the asymptotics at null infinity is investigated and strong peeling property for axial waves is proved.Comment: 27 page

Vacuum polarization for lukewarm black holes

We compute the renormalized expectation value of the square of a quantum scalar field on a Reissner-Nordström–de Sitter black hole in which the temperatures of the event and cosmological horizons are equal (“lukewarm” black hole). Our numerical calculations for a thermal state at the same temperature as the two horizons indicate that this renormalized expectation value is regular on both the event and cosmological horizons. We are able to show analytically, using an approximation for the field modes near the horizons, that this is indeed the case

The self-consistent gravitational self-force

I review the problem of motion for small bodies in General Relativity, with an emphasis on developing a self-consistent treatment of the gravitational self-force. An analysis of the various derivations extant in the literature leads me to formulate an asymptotic expansion in which the metric is expanded while a representative worldline is held fixed; I discuss the utility of this expansion for both exact point particles and asymptotically small bodies, contrasting it with a regular expansion in which both the metric and the worldline are expanded. Based on these preliminary analyses, I present a general method of deriving self-consistent equations of motion for arbitrarily structured (sufficiently compact) small bodies. My method utilizes two expansions: an inner expansion that keeps the size of the body fixed, and an outer expansion that lets the body shrink while holding its worldline fixed. By imposing the Lorenz gauge, I express the global solution to the Einstein equation in the outer expansion in terms of an integral over a worldtube of small radius surrounding the body. Appropriate boundary data on the tube are determined from a local-in-space expansion in a buffer region where both the inner and outer expansions are valid. This buffer-region expansion also results in an expression for the self-force in terms of irreducible pieces of the metric perturbation on the worldline. Based on the global solution, these pieces of the perturbation can be written in terms of a tail integral over the body's past history. This approach can be applied at any order to obtain a self-consistent approximation that is valid on long timescales, both near and far from the small body. I conclude by discussing possible extensions of my method and comparing it to alternative approaches.Comment: 44 pages, 4 figure

Measuring the Deployment Hiccups of DNSSEC

On May 5, 2010 the last step of the DNSSEC deployment on the 13 root servers was completed. DNSSEC is a set of security extensions on the traditional DNS protocol, that aim in preventing attacks based on the authenticity and integrity of the messages. Although the transition was completed without major faults, it is not clear whether problems of smaller scale occurred. In this paper we try to quantify the effects of that transition, using as many vantage points as possible. In order to achieve that, we deployed a distributed DNS monitoring infrastructure over the PlanetLab and gathered periodic DNS lookups, performed from each of the roughly 300 nodes, during the DNSSEC deployment on the last root name server. In addition, in order to broaden our view, we also collected data using the Tor anonymity network. After analyzing all the gathered data, we observed that around 4% of the monitored networks had an interesting DNS query failure pattern, which, to the best of our knowledge, was due to the transition

Performance requirements analysis for payload delivery from a space station

Operations conducted from a space station in low Earth orbit which have different constraints and opportunities than those conducted from direct Earth launch were examined. While a space station relieves many size and performance constraints on the space shuttle, the space station's inertial orbit has different launch window constraints from those associated with customary Earth launches which reflect upon upper stage capability. A performance requirements analysis was developed to provide a reference source of parametric data, and specific case solutions and upper stage sizing trade to assist potential space station users and space station and upper stage developers assess the impacts of a space station on missions of interest