239 research outputs found
A solution of the coincidence problem based on the recent galactic core black hole mass density increase
A mechanism capable to provide a natural solution to two major cosmological
problems, i.e. the cosmic acceleration and the coincidence problem, is
proposed. A specific brane-bulk energy exchange mechanism produces a total dark
pressure, arising when adding all normal to the brane negative pressures in the
interior of galactic core black holes. This astrophysically produced negative
dark pressure explains cosmic acceleration and why the dark energy today is of
the same order to the matter density for a wide range of the involved
parameters. An exciting result of the analysis is that the recent rise of the
galactic core black hole mass density causes the recent passage from cosmic
deceleration to acceleration. Finally, it is worth mentioning that this work
corrects a wide spread fallacy among brane cosmologists, i.e. that escaping
gravitons result to positive dark pressure.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figure
Hamiltonian lattice QCD at finite density: equation of state in the strong coupling limit
The equation of state of Hamiltonian lattice QCD at finite density is
examined in the strong coupling limit by constructing a solution to the
equation of motion corresponding to an effective Hamiltonian describing the
ground state of the many body system. This solution exactly diagonalizes the
Hamiltonian to second order in field operators for all densities and is used to
evaluate the vacuum energy density from which we obtain the equation of state.
We find that up to and beyond the chiral symmetry restoration density the
pressure of the quark Fermi sea can be negative indicating its mechanical
instability. Our result is in qualitative agreement with continuum models and
should be verifiable by future lattice simulations of strongly coupled QCD at
finite density.Comment: 27 pages, 6 figures. Uses ReVTeX4 and BiBTeX. Revised versio
Phase structures of strong coupling lattice QCD with finite baryon and isospin density
Quantum chromodynamics (QCD) at finite temperature (T), baryon chemical
potential (\muB) and isospin chemical potential (\muI) is studied in the strong
coupling limit on a lattice with staggered fermions. With the use of large
dimensional expansion and the mean field approximation, we derive an effective
action written in terms of the chiral condensate and pion condensate as a
function of T, \muB and \muI. The phase structure in the space of T and \muB is
elucidated, and simple analytical formulas for the critical line of the chiral
phase transition and the tricritical point are derived. The effects of a finite
quark mass (m) and finite \muI on the phase diagram are discussed. We also
investigate the phase structure in the space of T, \muI and m, and clarify the
correspondence between color SU(3) QCD with finite isospin density and color
SU(2) QCD with finite baryon density. Comparisons of our results with those
from recent Monte Carlo lattice simulations on finite density QCD are given.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, revtex4; some discussions are clarified, version
to appear in Phys. Rev.
Diquark condensation at strong coupling
The possibility of diquark condensation at sufficiently large baryon chemical
potential and zero temperature is analyzed in QCD at strong coupling. In
agreement with other strong coupling analysis, it is found that a first order
phase transition separates a low density phase with chiral symmetry
spontaneously broken from a high density phase where chiral symmetry is
restored. In none of the phases diquark condensation takes place as an
equilibrium state, but, for any value of the chemical potential, there is a
metastable state characterized by a non-vanishing diquark condensate. The
energy difference between this metastable state and the equilibrium state
decreases with the chemical potential and is minimum in the high density phase.
The results indicate that there is attraction in the quark-quark sector also at
strong coupling, and that the attraction is more effective at high baryon
density, but for infinite coupling it is not enough to produce diquark
condensation. It is argued that the absence of diquark condensation is not a
peculiarity of the strong coupling limit, but persists at sufficiently large
finite couplings.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures. An important discussion concerning the extension
of the results to finite couplings adde
Innovations in air sampling to detect plant pathogens
Many innovations in the development and use of air sampling devices have occurred in plant pathology since the first description of the Hirst spore trap. These include improvements in capture efficiency at relatively high air-volume collection rates, methods to enhance the ease of sample processing with downstream diagnostic methods and even full automation of sampling, diagnosis and wireless reporting of results. Other innovations have been to mount air samplers on mobile platforms such as UAVs and ground vehicles to allow sampling at different altitudes and locations in a short space of time to identify potential sources and population structure. Geographical Information Systems and the application to a network of samplers can allow a greater prediction of airborne inoculum and dispersal dynamics. This field of technology is now developing quickly as novel diagnostic methods allow increasingly rapid and accurate quantifications of airborne species and genetic traits. Sampling and interpretation of results, particularly action-thresholds, is improved by understanding components of air dispersal and dilution processes and can add greater precision in the application of crop protection products as part of integrated pest and disease management decisions. The applications of air samplers are likely to increase, with much greater adoption by growers or industry support workers to aid in crop protection decisions. The same devices are likely to improve information available for detection of allergens causing hay fever and asthma or provide valuable metadata for regional plant disease dynamics
Grafting of Poly(methyl methacrylate) Brushes from Magnetite Nanoparticles Using a Phosphonic Acid Based Initiator by Ambient Temperature Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (ATATRP)
Poly(methyl methacrylate) in the brush form is grown from the surface of magnetite nanoparticles by ambient temperature atom transfer radical polymerization (ATATRP) using a phosphonic acid based initiator. The surface initiator was prepared by the reaction of ethylene glycol with 2-bromoisobutyrl bromide, followed by the reaction with phosphorus oxychloride and hydrolysis. This initiator is anchored to magnetite nanoparticles via physisorption. The ATATRP of methyl methacrylate was carried out in the presence of CuBr/PMDETA complex, without a sacrificial initiator, and the grafting density is found to be as high as 0.90 molecules/nm2. The organicâinorganic hybrid material thus prepared shows exceptional stability in organic solvents unlike unfunctionalized magnetite nanoparticles which tend to flocculate. The polymer brushes of various number average molecular weights were prepared and the molecular weight was determined using size exclusion chromatography, after degrafting the polymer from the magnetite core. Thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectra and diffused reflection FT-IR were used to confirm the grafting reaction
Theory and Applications of Non-Relativistic and Relativistic Turbulent Reconnection
Realistic astrophysical environments are turbulent due to the extremely high
Reynolds numbers. Therefore, the theories of reconnection intended for
describing astrophysical reconnection should not ignore the effects of
turbulence on magnetic reconnection. Turbulence is known to change the nature
of many physical processes dramatically and in this review we claim that
magnetic reconnection is not an exception. We stress that not only
astrophysical turbulence is ubiquitous, but also magnetic reconnection itself
induces turbulence. Thus turbulence must be accounted for in any realistic
astrophysical reconnection setup. We argue that due to the similarities of MHD
turbulence in relativistic and non-relativistic cases the theory of magnetic
reconnection developed for the non-relativistic case can be extended to the
relativistic case and we provide numerical simulations that support this
conjecture. We also provide quantitative comparisons of the theoretical
predictions and results of numerical experiments, including the situations when
turbulent reconnection is self-driven, i.e. the turbulence in the system is
generated by the reconnection process itself. We show how turbulent
reconnection entails the violation of magnetic flux freezing, the conclusion
that has really far reaching consequences for many realistically turbulent
astrophysical environments. In addition, we consider observational testing of
turbulent reconnection as well as numerous implications of the theory. The
former includes the Sun and solar wind reconnection, while the latter include
the process of reconnection diffusion induced by turbulent reconnection, the
acceleration of energetic particles, bursts of turbulent reconnection related
to black hole sources as well as gamma ray bursts. Finally, we explain why
turbulent reconnection cannot be explained by turbulent resistivity or derived
through the mean field approach.Comment: 66 pages, 24 figures, a chapter of the book "Magnetic Reconnection -
Concepts and Applications", editors W. Gonzalez, E. N. Parke
Black Hole Evaporation and Compact Extra Dimensions
We study the evaporation of black holes in space-times with extra dimensions
of size L. We first obtain a description which interpolates between the
expected behaviors of very large and very small black holes and then show that
the luminosity is greatly damped when the horizon shrinks towards L from a
larger value. Analogously, black holes born with an initial size smaller than L
are almost stable. This effect is due to the dependence of both the Hawking
temperature and the grey-body factor of a black hole on the dimensionality of
space. Although the picture of what happens when the horizon becomes of size L
is still incomplete, we argue that there occurs a (first order) phase
transition, possibly signaled by an outburst of energy which leaves a
quasi-stable remnant.Comment: RevTeX, 13 pages, 6 figures include
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