1,534 research outputs found
Influence of second-order corrections to the energy-dependence of neutrino flavor conversion formulae
We discuss the {\em intermediate} wave-packet formalism for analytically
quantifying the energy dependence of the two-flavor conversion formula that is
usually considered for analyzing neutrino oscillations and adjusting the
focusing horn, target position and/or detector location of some flavor
conversion experiments. Following a sequence of analytical approximations where
we consider the second-order corrections in a power series expansion of the
energy, we point out a {\em residual} time-dependent phase which, in addition
to some well known wave-packet effects, can subtly modify the oscillation
parameters and limits. In the present precision era of neutrino oscillation
experiments where higher precision measurements are required, we quantify some
small corrections in neutrino flavor conversion formulae which lead to a
modified energy-dependence for oscillations.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure
Energy localization on q-tori, long term stability and the interpretation of FPU recurrences
We focus on two approaches that have been proposed in recent years for the
explanation of the so-called FPU paradox, i.e. the persistence of energy
localization in the `low-q' Fourier modes of Fermi-Pasta-Ulam nonlinear
lattices, preventing equipartition among all modes at low energies. In the
first approach, a low-frequency fraction of the spectrum is initially excited
leading to the formation of `natural packets' exhibiting exponential stability,
while in the second, emphasis is placed on the existence of `q-breathers', i.e
periodic continuations of the linear modes of the lattice, which are
exponentially localized in Fourier space. Following ideas of the latter, we
introduce in this paper the concept of `q-tori' representing exponentially
localized solutions on low-dimensional tori and use their stability properties
to reconcile these two approaches and provide a more complete explanation of
the FPU paradox.Comment: 38 pages, 7 figure
Elastic scattering of solar neutrinos with electromagnetic moments
We consider the azimuthal asymmetry of the recoil electrons in elastic scattering of solar neutrinos, which can arise if neutrinos have
electromagnetic moments and there is a large solar magnetic field. We show that
using this effect it is not possible to distinguish between magnetic and
electric dipole moment in the 1-Dirac and 2-Majorana neutrino cases and that
averaging over neutrino energy is important and suppresses the azimuthal
asymmetry in the 2-Majorana case.Comment: 4 pages, Talk given by T. Schwetz at EuroConference on Frontiers in
Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, San Feliu de Guixols, Spain, 30 Sept.-5
Oct. 200
Hydrophobic profiles of the tail anchors in SLMAP dictate subcellular targeting
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Tail anchored (TA) membrane proteins target subcellular structures via a C-terminal transmembrane domain and serve prominent roles in membrane fusion and vesicle transport. Sarcolemmal Membrane Associated Protein (SLMAP) possesses two alternatively spliced tail anchors (TA1 or TA2) but their specificity of subcellular targeting remains unknown.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>TA1 or TA2 can direct SLMAP to reticular structures including the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), whilst TA2 directs SLMAP additionally to the mitochondria. Despite the general structural similarity of SLMAP to other vesicle trafficking proteins, we found no evidence for its localization with the vesicle transport machinery or a role in vesicle transport. The predicted transmembrane region of TA2 is flanked on either side by a positively charged amino acid and is itself less hydrophobic than the transmembrane helix present in TA1. Substitution of the positively charged amino acids, in the regions flanking the transmembrane helix of TA2, with leucine did not alter its subcellular targeting. The targeting of SLMAP to the mitochondria was dependent on the hydrophobic nature of TA2 since targeting of SLMAP-TA2 was prevented by the substitution of leucine (L) for moderately hydrophobic amino acid residues within the transmembrane region. The SLMAP-TA2-4L mutant had a hydrophobic profile that was comparable to that of SLMAP-TA1 and had identical targeting properties to SLMAP-TA1.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Thus the overall hydrophobicity of the two alternatively spliced TAs in SLMAP determines its subcellular targeting and TA2 predominantly directs SLMAP to the mitochondira where it may serve roles in the function of this organelle.</p
Genome-Wide Transcriptional Changes and Lipid Profile Modifications Induced by Medicago truncatula N5 Overexpression at an Early Stage of the Symbiotic Interaction with Sinorhizobium meliloti.
Plant lipid-transfer proteins (LTPs) are small basic secreted proteins, which are characterized by lipid-binding capacity and are putatively involved in lipid trafficking. LTPs play a role in several biological processes, including the root nodule symbiosis. The Medicago truncatula nodulin 5 (MtN5) LTP has been proved to positively regulate the nodulation capacity, controlling rhizobial infection and nodule primordia invasion. To better define the lipid transfer protein MtN5 function during the symbiosis, we produced MtN5-downregulated and -overexpressing plants, and we analysed the transcriptomic changes occurring in the roots at an early stage of Sinorhizobium meliloti infection. We also carried out the lipid profile analysis of wild type (WT) and MtN5-overexpressing roots after rhizobia infection. The downregulation of MtN5 increased the root hair curling, an early event of rhizobia infection, and concomitantly induced changes in the expression of defence-related genes. On the other hand, MtN5 overexpression favoured the invasion of the nodules by rhizobia and determined in the roots the modulation of genes that are involved in lipid transport and metabolism as well as an increased content of lipids, especially galactolipids that characterize the symbiosome membranes. Our findings suggest the potential participation of LTPs in the synthesis and rearrangement of membranes occurring during the formation of the infection threads and the symbiosome membrane
Primordial fractal density perturbations and structure formation in the Universe: 1-Dimensional collisionless sheet model
Two-point correlation function of galaxy distribution shows that the
structure in the present Universe is scale-free up to a certain scale (at least
several tens Mpc), which suggests that a fractal structure may exist. If small
primordial density fluctuations have a fractal structure, the present
fractal-like nonlinear structure below the horizon scale could be naturally
explained. We analyze the time evolution of fractal density perturbations in
Einstein-de Sitter universe, and study how the perturbation evolves and what
kind of nonlinear structure will come out. We assume a one-dimensional
collisionless sheet model with initial Cantor-type fractal perturbations. The
nonlinear structure seems to approach some attractor with a unique fractal
dimension, which is independent of the fractal dimensions of initial
perturbations. A discrete self-similarity in the phase space is also found when
the universal nonlinear fractal structure is reached.Comment: 17 pages, 19 jpeg figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ. Figures
are also available from
http://www.phys.waseda.ac.jp/gravity/~tatekawa/0003124/figs.tar.g
Parasitismo de Opsiphanes sp. (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) por Conura (Conura) maculata (Fabricius, 1787) (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae) no estado de Alagoas, Brasil.
The VIPERS Multi-Lambda Survey. II. Diving with massive galaxies in 22 square degrees since z = 1.5
We investigate the evolution of the galaxy stellar mass function (SMF) and
stellar mass density from redshift z=0.2 to z=1.5 of a <22-selected
sample with highly reliable photometric redshifts and over an unprecedentedly
large area. Our study is based on NIR observations carried out with WIRCam at
CFHT over the footprint of the VIPERS spectroscopic survey and benefits from
the high quality optical photometry from the CFHTLS and UV observations with
the GALEX satellite. The accuracy of our photometric redshifts is <
0.03 and 0.05 for the bright (22.5) samples,
respectively. The SMF is measured with ~760,000 galaxies down to =22 and
over an effective area of ~22.4 deg, the latter of which drastically
reduces the statistical uncertainties (i.e. Poissonian error & cosmic
variance). We point out the importance of a careful control of the photometric
calibration, whose impact becomes quickly dominant when statistical
uncertainties are reduced, which will be a major issue for future generation of
cosmological surveys with, e.g. EUCLID or LSST. By exploring the rest-frame
(NUV-r) vs (r-) color-color diagram separating star-forming and quiescent
galaxies, (1) we find that the density of very massive log() >
11.5 galaxies is largely dominated by quiescent galaxies and increases by a
factor 2 from z~1 to z~0.2, which allows for additional mass assembly via dry
mergers, (2) we confirm a scenario where star formation activity is impeded
above a stellar mass log() = 10.640.01, a value that
is found to be very stable at 0.2 < z < 1.5, (3) we discuss the existence of a
main quenching channel that is followed by massive star-forming galaxies, and
finally (4) we characterise another quenching mechanism required to explain the
clear excess of low-mass quiescent galaxies observed at low redshift.Comment: 22 pages, 20 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A. Version to be
publishe
Cluster Evolution in the ROSAT North Ecliptic Pole Survey
The deepest region of the ROSAT All-Sky Survey, at the North Ecliptic Pole,
has been studied to produce a complete and unbiased X-ray selected sample of
clusters of galaxies. This sample is used to investigate the nature of cluster
evolution and explore potential implications for large-scale structure models.
The survey is 99.6% optically identified. Spectroscopic redshifts have been
measured for all the extragalactic identifications. In this Letter, first
results on cluster evolution are presented based on a comparison between the
number of the observed clusters in the North Ecliptic Pole survey and the
number of expected clusters assuming no-evolution models. At z>0.3 there is a
deficit of clusters with respect to the local universe which is significant at
> 4.7sigma. The evolution appears to commence at L_{0.5-2.0} > 1.8x10^{44} erg
s^{-1} in our data. The negative evolution goes in the same direction as the
original EMSS result, the results from the 160 deg^{2} survey by Vikhlinin et
al. (1998) and the recent results from the RDCS (Rosati et al. 2000). At lower
redshifts there is no evidence for evolution, a result in agreement with these
and other cluster surveys.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
- âŠ