25,760 research outputs found
Position-dependent noncommutativity in quantum mechanics
The model of the position-dependent noncommutativety in quantum mechanics is
proposed. We start with a given commutation relations between the operators of
coordinates [x^{i},x^{j}]=\omega^{ij}(x), and construct the complete algebra of
commutation relations, including the operators of momenta. The constructed
algebra is a deformation of a standard Heisenberg algebra and obey the Jacobi
identity. The key point of our construction is a proposed first-order
Lagrangian, which after quantization reproduces the desired commutation
relations. Also we study the possibility to localize the noncommutativety.Comment: published version, references adde
Plastic Deformation of 2D Crumpled Wires
When a single long piece of elastic wire is injected trough channels into a
confining two-dimensional cavity, a complex structure of hierarchical loops is
formed. In the limit of maximum packing density, these structures are described
by several scaling laws. In this paper it is investigated this packing process
but using plastic wires which give origin to completely irreversible structures
of different morphology. In particular, it is studied experimentally the
plastic deformation from circular to oblate configurations of crumpled wires,
obtained by the application of an axial strain. Among other things, it is shown
that in spite of plasticity, irreversibility, and very large deformations,
scaling is still observed.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure
Dynamics and control of measles in Portugal: Accessing the impact of anticipating the age for the first dose of MMR from 15 to 12 months of age
The all-time low incidence of measles in Portugal in the recent years, raises questions regarding whether the disease has been eliminated, the role of recent control measures, and the epidemiological consequences of the rise in the proportion of newborns to vaccinated mothers, as opposed to those born to mothers who acquired immunity by natural infection. We estimate the vaccination coverage against measles in Portugal. on a cohort-by-cohort basis, and incorporate this information into an age-structured seasonally-driven mathematical model aimed at reproducing measles dynamics in the past decades. The model reproduces documented trends in disease notifications and the serological profile of the Portuguese population, as estimated by a recent National Serological, Survey. We provide evidence that the effective reproduction number (R-e) of measles has been driven below 1 in Portugal, and that sustained measles elimination is crucially dependent upon the maintenance of a high (>95%) coverage with the MMR I vaccine in the future. If the vaccination coverage decreases to levels around 90% the anticipation of the first dose of the MMR I from 15 to 12 months of age, will. ensure that R-e remains below 1. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All. rights reserve
Axial Vector Duality in Affine NA Toda Models
A general and systematic construction of Non Abelian affine Toda models and
its symmetries is proposed in terms of its underlying Lie algebraic structure.
It is also shown that such class of two dimensional integrable models naturally
leads to the construction of a pair of actions related by T-duality
transformationsComment: 9 pages, to appear in JHEP Proc. of the Workshop on Integrable
Theories, Solitons and Duality, IFT-Unesp, Sao Paulo, Brasil, one reference
adde
The reinfection threshold promotes variability in tuberculosis epidemiology and vaccine efficacy
Population patterns of infection are determined largely by susceptibility to infection. Infection and vaccination induce an immune response that, typically, reduces susceptibility to subsequent infections. With a general epidemic model, we detect a 'reinfection threshold', above which reinfection is the principal type of transmission and, consequently, infection levels are much higher and vaccination fails. The model is further developed to address human tuberculosis (TB) and the impact of vaccination. The bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is the only vaccine in current use against TB, and there is no consensus about its usefulness. Estimates of protection range from 0 to 80%, and this variability is aggravated by an association between low vaccine efficacy and high prevalence of the disease. We propose an explanation based on three postulates: (i) the potential for transmission varies between populations, owing to differences in socio-economic and environmental factors; (ii) exposure to mycobacteria induces an immune response that is partially protective against reinfection; and (iii) this protection is not significantly improved by BCG vaccination. These postulates combine to reproduce the observed trends, and this is attributed to a reinfection threshold intrinsic to the transmission dynamics. Finally, we demonstrate how reinfection thresholds can be manipulated by vaccination programmes, suggesting that they have a potentially powerful role in global contro
Noncommutativity due to spin
Using the Berezin-Marinov pseudoclassical formulation of spin particle we
propose a classical model of spin noncommutativity. In the nonrelativistic
case, the Poisson brackets between the coordinates are proportional to the spin
angular momentum. The quantization of the model leads to the noncommutativity
with mixed spacial and spin degrees of freedom. A modified Pauli equation,
describing a spin half particle in an external e.m. field is obtained. We show
that nonlocality caused by the spin noncommutativity depends on the spin of the
particle; for spin zero, nonlocality does not appear, for spin half, , etc. In the relativistic case the noncommutative
Dirac equation was derived. For that we introduce a new star product. The
advantage of our model is that in spite of the presence of noncommutativity and
nonlocality, it is Lorentz invariant. Also, in the quasiclassical approximation
it gives noncommutativity with a nilpotent parameter.Comment: 11 pages, references adda
T-Duality in Affine NA Toda Models
The construction of Non Abelian affine Toda models is discussed in terms of
its underlying Lie algebraic structure. It is shown that a subclass of such non
conformal two dimensional integrable models naturally leads to the construction
of a pair of actions which share the same spectra and are related by canonical
transformations.Comment: 6 pages, Presented at the 13th International Colloquium on Integrable
Systems and Quantum Groups, Prague, June, 200
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