1,515 research outputs found
Irreducible Hamiltonian BRST-anti-BRST symmetry for reducible systems
An irreducible Hamiltonian BRST-anti-BRST treatment of reducible first-class
systems based on homological arguments is proposed. The general formalism is
exemplified on the Freedman-Townsend model.Comment: LaTeX 2.09, 35 page
Coordination of Foliar and Wood Anatomical Traits Contributes to Tropical Tree Distributions and Productivity along the Malay-Thai Peninsula
Drought is a critical factor in plant species distributions. Much research points to its relevance even in moist tropical regions. Recent studies have begun to elucidate mechanisms underlying the distributions of tropical tree species with respect to drought; however, how such desiccation tolerance mechanisms correspond with the coordination of hydraulic and photosynthetic traits in determining species distributions with respect to rainfall seasonality deserves attention. In the present study, we used a common garden approach to quantify inherent differences in wood anatomical and foliar physiological traits in 21 tropical tree species with either widespread (occupying both seasonal and aseasonal climates) or southern (restricted to aseasonal forests) distributions with respect to rainfall seasonality. Use of congeneric species pairs and phylogenetically independent contrast analyses allowed examination of this question in a phylogenetic framework. Widespread species opted for wood traits that provide biomechanical support and prevent xylem cavitation and showed associated reductions in canopy productivity and consequently growth rates compared with southern species. These data support the hypothesis that species having broader distributions with respect to climatic variability will be characterized by traits conducive to abiotic stress tolerance. This study highlights the importance of the well-established performance vs. stress tolerance trade-off as a contributor to species distributions at larger scales
Towards Interpretable Deep Learning Models for Knowledge Tracing
As an important technique for modeling the knowledge states of learners, the
traditional knowledge tracing (KT) models have been widely used to support
intelligent tutoring systems and MOOC platforms. Driven by the fast
advancements of deep learning techniques, deep neural network has been recently
adopted to design new KT models for achieving better prediction performance.
However, the lack of interpretability of these models has painfully impeded
their practical applications, as their outputs and working mechanisms suffer
from the intransparent decision process and complex inner structures. We thus
propose to adopt the post-hoc method to tackle the interpretability issue for
deep learning based knowledge tracing (DLKT) models. Specifically, we focus on
applying the layer-wise relevance propagation (LRP) method to interpret
RNN-based DLKT model by backpropagating the relevance from the model's output
layer to its input layer. The experiment results show the feasibility using the
LRP method for interpreting the DLKT model's predictions, and partially
validate the computed relevance scores from both question level and concept
level. We believe it can be a solid step towards fully interpreting the DLKT
models and promote their practical applications in the education domain
Unconventional continuous phase transition in a three dimensional dimer model
Phase transitions occupy a central role in physics, due both to their
experimental ubiquity and their fundamental conceptual importance. The
explanation of universality at phase transitions was the great success of the
theory formulated by Ginzburg and Landau, and extended through the
renormalization group by Wilson. However, recent theoretical suggestions have
challenged this point of view in certain situations. In this Letter we report
the first large-scale simulations of a three-dimensional model proposed to be a
candidate for requiring a description beyond the Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson
framework: we study the phase transition from the dimer crystal to the Coulomb
phase in the cubic dimer model. Our numerical results strongly indicate that
the transition is continuous and are compatible with a tricritical universality
class, at variance with previous proposals.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; v2: minor changes, published versio
Triplectic Quantization of W2 gravity
The role of one loop order corrections in the triplectic quantization is
discussed in the case of W2 theory. This model illustrates the presence of
anomalies and Wess Zumino terms in this quantization scheme where extended BRST
invariance is represented in a completely anticanonical form.Comment: 10 pages, no figure
Hamiltonian BRST-anti-BRST Theory
The hamiltonian BRST-anti-BRST theory is developed in the general case of
arbitrary reducible first class systems. This is done by extending the methods
of homological perturbation theory, originally based on the use of a single
resolution, to the case of a biresolution. The BRST and the anti-BRST
generators are shown to exist. The respective links with the ordinary BRST
formulation and with the -covariant formalism are also established.Comment: 34 pages, Latex fil
Interacting classical dimers on the square lattice
We study a model of close-packed dimers on the square lattice with a nearest
neighbor interaction between parallel dimers. This model corresponds to the
classical limit of quantum dimer models [D.S. Rokhsar and S.A. Kivelson, Phys.
Rev. Lett.{\bf 61}, 2376 (1988)]. By means of Monte Carlo and Transfer Matrix
calculations, we show that this system undergoes a Kosterlitz-Thouless
transition separating a low temperature ordered phase where dimers are aligned
in columns from a high temperature critical phase with continuously varying
exponents. This is understood by constructing the corresponding Coulomb gas,
whose coupling constant is computed numerically. We also discuss doped models
and implications on the finite-temperature phase diagram of quantum dimer
models.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; v2 : Added results on doped models; published
versio
Typical equilibrium state of an embedded quantum system
We consider an arbitrary quantum system coupled non perturbatively to a large
arbitrary and fully quantum environment. In [G. Ithier and F. Benaych-Georges,
Phys. Rev. A 96, 012108 (2017)] the typicality of the dynamics of such an
embedded quantum system was established for several classes of random
interactions. In other words, the time evolution of its quantum state does not
depend on the microscopic details of the interaction. Focusing at the long time
regime, we use this property to calculate analytically a new partition function
characterizing the stationary state and involving the overlaps between
eigenvectors of a bare and a dressed Hamiltonian. This partition function
provides a new thermodynamical ensemble which includes the microcanonical and
canonical ensembles as particular cases. We check our predictions with
numerical simulations.Comment: 1 figure, 5 pages. This article supersedes the part on the
equilibrium state in arXiv:1510.0435
The Physiological Function of von Willebrand's Factor Depends on Its Tubular Storage in Endothelial Weibel-Palade Bodies
SummaryWeibel-Palade bodies are the 1–5 μm long rod-shaped storage organelles of endothelial cells. We have investigated the determinants and functional significance of this shape. We find that the folding of the hemostatic protein von Willebrand's factor (VWF) into tubules underpins the rod-like shape of Weibel-Palade bodies. Further, while the propeptide and the N-terminal domains of mature VWF are sufficient to form tubules, their maintenance relies on a pH-dependent interaction between the two. We show that the tubular conformation of VWF is essential for a rapid unfurling of 100 μm long, platelet-catching VWF filaments when exposed to neutral pH after exocytosis in cell culture and in living blood vessels. If tubules are disassembled prior to exocytosis, then short or tangled filaments are released and platelet recruitment is reduced. Thus, a 100-fold compaction of VWF into tubules determines the unique shape of Weibel-Palade bodies and is critical to this protein's hemostatic function
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