21,985 research outputs found
A disintegrating cosmic string
We present a simple sandwich gravitational wave of the Robinson-Trautman
family. This is interpreted as representing a shock wave with a spherical
wavefront which propagates into a Minkowski background minus a wedge. (i.e. the
background contains a cosmic string.) The deficit angle (the tension) of the
string decreases through the gravitational wave, which then ceases. This leaves
an expanding spherical region of Minkowski space behind it. The decay of the
cosmic string over a finite interval of retarded time may be considered to
generate the gravitational wave.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure, to appear in Class. Quantum Gra
On the parameters of the Kerr-NUT-(anti-)de Sitter space-time
Different forms of the metric for the Kerr-NUT-(anti-)de Sitter space-time
are being widely used in its extension to higher dimensions. The purpose of
this note is to relate the parameters that are being used to the physical
parameters (mass, rotation, NUT and cosmological constant) in the basic four
dimensional situation.Comment: 4 pages. To appear as a Note in Classical and Quantum Gravit
Interpreting the C-metric
The basic properties of the C-metric are well known. It describes a pair of
causally separated black holes which accelerate in opposite directions under
the action of forces represented by conical singularities. However, these
properties can be demonstrated much more transparently by making use of
recently developed coordinate systems for which the metric functions have a
simple factor structure. These enable us to obtain explicit
Kruskal-Szekeres-type extensions through the horizons and construct
two-dimensional conformal Penrose diagrams. We then combine these into a
three-dimensional picture which illustrates the global causal structure of the
space-time outside the black hole horizons. Using both the weak field limit and
some invariant quantities, we give a direct physical interpretation of the
parameters which appear in the new form of the metric. For completeness,
relations to other familiar coordinate systems are also discussed.Comment: 22 pages, 14 figures (low-resolution figures; for the version with
high-resolution figures see http://utf.mff.cuni.cz/~krtous/papers/ or
http://www-staff.lboro.ac.uk/~majbg/
Gambling in Great Britain:a response to Rogers
A recent issue of Practice: Social Work in Action featured a paper by Rogers that examined whether the issue of problem gambling was a suitable case for social work. Rogers’ overview was (in various places) out of date, highly selective, contradictory, presented unsupported claims and somewhat misleading. Rogers’ paper is to be commended for putting the issue of problem gambling on the social work agenda. However, social workers need up-to-date information and contextually situated information if they are to make informed decisions in helping problem gamblers
Are Intervention-Design Characteristics More Predictive than Baseline Participant Characteristics on Participant Attendance to a Paediatric, Community Weight Management Programme?
BACKGROUND: Approximately 50% of participants complete a paediatric weight management programme, yet the predictors of attendance and dropout are inconsistent. This study investigates subject and intervention-design characteristics associated with attendance at a group based, family weight management programme.
SETTING AND SUBJECTS: Secondary data analysis of 2948 subjects (Age 10.4±2.8 years, BMI 26.0±5.7kg/m2, Standardised BMI (BMI SDS) 2.48±0.87, White 70.3%) from 244 MoreLife (UK) programmes. Subjects attend weekly for 10-12 weeks, sessions last 2-3 hours. Sessions include lifestyle guidance and physical activity.
METHOD: Subject characteristics (demographics, psychological (body satisfaction & self-esteem) and sedentary behaviour) were gathered at first contact and BMI SDS was noted weekly. Intervention-design characteristics were recorded (year, length (weeks), group size, age segregation and day of session). Attendance was calculated as total number of sessions attended (%). Multivariate linear regression examined predictors of attendance and multiple imputation countered missing data. RESULTS: Average attendance was 59.4%±29.3%. Baseline subject characteristics were ‘poor’ predictors of attendance. Intervention year, group size and day of session significantly predicted attendance (Tables 1 & 2). Yet, the most predictive marker of attendance was a change in BMI SDS during the programme (B = -0.38, 95% CI = -0.43 - -0.33).
CONCLUSION: A reduction in BMI was seen to predict greater attendance. However, baseline subject characteristics were weakly associated with attendance, refuting past findings. Dominant intervention characteristics (large groups, weekend sessions and recent delivery) predicted lower attendance. Future programmes may be better informed
Carbon Nanotubes in Helically Modulated Potentials
We calculate effects of an applied helically symmetric potential on the low
energy electronic spectrum of a carbon nanotube in the continuum approximation.
The spectrum depends on the strength of this potential and on a dimensionless
geometrical parameter, P, which is the ratio of the circumference of the
nanotube to the pitch of the helix. We find that the minimum band gap of a
semiconducting nanotube is reduced by an arbitrarily weak helical potential,
and for a given field strength there is an optimal P which produces the biggest
change in the band gap. For metallic nanotubes the Fermi velocity is reduced by
this potential and for strong fields two small gaps appear at the Fermi surface
in addition to the gapless Dirac point. A simple model is developed to estimate
the magnitude of the field strength and its effect on DNA-CNT complexes in an
aqueous solution. We find that under typical experimental conditions the
predicted effects of a helical potential are likely to be small and we discuss
several methods for increasing the size of these effects.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in Physical Review B.
Image quality reduced to comply with arxiv size limitation
Consistent Quantum Counterfactuals
An analysis using classical stochastic processes is used to construct a
consistent system of quantum counterfactual reasoning. When applied to a
counterfactual version of Hardy's paradox, it shows that the probabilistic
character of quantum reasoning together with the ``one framework'' rule
prevents a logical contradiction, and there is no evidence for any mysterious
nonlocal influences. Counterfactual reasoning can support a realistic
interpretation of standard quantum theory (measurements reveal what is actually
there) under appropriate circumstances.Comment: Minor modifications to make it agree with published version. Latex 8
pages, 2 figure
Optimal Eavesdropping in Quantum Cryptography. II. Quantum Circuit
It is shown that the optimum strategy of the eavesdropper, as described in
the preceding paper, can be expressed in terms of a quantum circuit in a way
which makes it obvious why certain parameters take on particular values, and
why obtaining information in one basis gives rise to noise in the conjugate
basis.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, Latex, the second part of quant-ph/970103
Radiation generated by accelerating and rotating charged black holes in (anti-)de Sitter space
Asymptotic behaviour of gravitational and electromagnetic fields of exact
type D solutions from the large Plebanski-Demianski family of black hole
spacetimes is analyzed. The amplitude and directional structure of radiation is
evaluated in cases when the cosmological constant is non-vanishing, so that the
conformal infinities have either de Sitter-like or anti-de Sitter-like
character. In particular, explicit relations between the parameters that
characterize the sources (that is their mass, electric and magnetic charges,
NUT parameter, rotational parameter, and acceleration) and properties of the
radiation generated by them are presented. The results further elucidate the
physical interpretation of these solutions and may help to understand radiative
characteristics of more general spacetimes than those that are asymptotically
flat.Comment: 24 pages, 18 figures. To appear in Classical and Quantum Gravit
On Vector Bundles of Finite Order
We study growth of holomorphic vector bundles E over smooth affine manifolds.
We define Finsler metrics of finite order on E by estimates on the holomorphic
bisectional curvature. These estimates are very similar to the ones used by
Griffiths and Cornalba to define Hermitian metrics of finite order. We then
generalize the Vanishing Theorem of Griffiths and Cornalba to the Finsler
context. We develop a value distribution theory for holomorphic maps from the
projectivization of E to projective space. We show that the projectivization of
E can be immersed into a projective space of sufficiently large dimension via a
map of finite order.Comment: version 2 has some typos corrected; to appear in Manuscripta
Mathematic
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