12,792 research outputs found
Effect of initial correlations on short-time decoherence
We study the effect of initial correlations on the short-time decoherence of
a particle linearly coupled to a bath of harmonic oscillators. We analytically
evaluate the attenuation coefficient of a Schroedinger cat state both for a
free and a harmonically bound particle, with and without initial thermal
correlations between the particle and the bath. While short-time decoherence
appears to be independent of the system in the absence of initial correlations,
we find on the contrary that, for initial thermal correlations, decoherence
becomes system dependent even for times much shorter than the characteristic
time of the system. The temperature behavior of this system dependence is
discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figur
An Interaction of a Magellanic Leading Arm High Velocity Cloud with the Milky Way Disk
The Leading Arm of the Magellanic System is a tidally formed HI feature
extending \sim 60\arcdeg from the Magellanic Clouds ahead of their direction
of motion. Using atomic hydrogen (HI) data from the Galactic All Sky-Survey
(GASS), supplemented with data from the Australia Telescope Compact Array, we
have found evidence for an interaction between a cloud in the Leading Arm and
the Galactic disk where the Leading Arm crosses the Galactic plane. The
interaction occurs at velocities permitted by Galactic rotation, which allows
us to derive a kinematic distance to the cloud of 21 kpc, suggesting that the
Leading Arm crosses the Galactic Plane at a Galactic radius of
kpc.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, accepted to Astrophysical Journal Letters. Full
resolution version available at
ftp://ftp.atnf.csiro.au/pub/people/nmcclure/papers/LeadingArm_apjl.pd
REACTIVITY OF CHLOROPHYLL a/b-PROTEINS AND MICELLAR TRITON X-100 COMPLEXES OF CHLOROPHYLLS a OR b WITH BOROHYDRIDE
The reaction of several plant chlorophyll-protein complexes with NaBH4 has been studied by absorption spectroscopy. In all the complexes studied, chlorophyll b is more reactive than Chi a, due to preferential reaction of its formyl substituent at C-7. The complexes also show large variations in reactivity towards NaBH4 and the order of reactivity is: LHCI > PSII complex > LHCII > PSI > P700 (investigated as a component of PSI). Differential pools of the same type of chlorophyll have been observed in several complexes.
Parallel work was undertaken on the reactivity of micellar complexes of chlorophyll a and of chlorophyll b with NaBH4 to study the effect of aggregation state on this reactivity. In these complexes, both chlorophyll a and b show large variations in reactivity in the order monomer > oligomer > polymer with chlorophyll b generally being more reactive than chlorophyll a. It is concluded that aggregation decreases the reactivity of chlorophylls towards NaBH4 in vitro, and may similarly decrease reactivity in naturally-occurring chlorophyll-protein complexes
GHOSTS I: A New Faint very Isolated Dwarf Galaxy at D = 12 +/- 2 Mpc
We report the discovery of a new faint dwarf galaxy, GHOSTS I, using HST/ACS
data from one of our GHOSTS (Galaxy Halos, Outer disks, Substructure, Thick
disk, and Star clusters) fields. Its detected individual stars populate an
approximately one magnitude range of its luminosity function (LF). Using
synthetic color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) to compare with the galaxy's CMD, we
find that the colors and magnitudes of GHOSTS I's individual stars are most
consistent with being young helium-burning and asymptotic giant branch stars at
a distance of 12 +/- 2 Mpc. Morphologically, GHOSTS I appears to be actively
forming stars, so we tentatively classify it as a dwarf irregular (dIrr)
galaxy, although future HST observations deep enough to resolve a larger
magnitude range in its LF are required to make a more secure classification.
GHOSTS I's absolute magnitude is , making it one
of the least luminous dIrr galaxies known, and its metallicity is lower than
[Fe/H] =-1.5 dex. The half-light radius of GHOSTS I is 226 +/- 38 pc and its
ellipticity is 0.47 +/- 0.07, similar to Milky Way and M31 dwarf satellites at
comparable luminosity. There are no luminous massive galaxies or galaxy
clusters within ~ 4 Mpc from GHOSTS I that could be considered as its host,
making it a very isolated dwarf galaxy in the Local Universe.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap
There is no new physics in the multiplicative anomaly
We discuss the role of the multiplicative anomaly for a complex scalar field
at finite temperature and density. It is argued that physical considerations
must be applied to determine which of the many possible expressions for the
effective action obtained by the functional integral method is correct. This is
done by first studying the non-relativistic field where the thermodynamic
potential is well-known. The relativistic case is also considered. We emphasize
that the role of the multiplicative anomaly is not to lead to new physics, but
rather to preserve the equality among the various expressions for the effective
action.Comment: 24 pages, RevTex, no figure
Resonant transmission through an open quantum dot
We have measured the low-temperature transport properties of a quantum dot
formed in a one-dimensional channel. In zero magnetic field this device shows
quantized ballistic conductance plateaus with resonant tunneling peaks in each
transition region between plateaus. Studies of this structure as a function of
applied perpendicular magnetic field and source-drain bias indicate that
resonant structure deriving from tightly bound states is split by Coulomb
charging at zero magnetic field.Comment: To be published in Phys. Rev. B (1997). 8 LaTex pages with 5 figure
Community-based adaptation research in the Canadian Arctic
Community-based adaptation (CBA) has emerged over the last decade as an approach to empowering communities to plan for and cope with the impacts of climate change. While such approaches have been widely advocated, few have critically examined the tensions and challenges that CBA brings. Responding to this gap, this article critically examines the use of CBA approaches with Inuit communities in Canada. We suggest that CBA holds significant promise to make adaptation research more democratic and responsive to local needs, providing a basis for developing locally appropriate adaptations based on local/indigenous and Western knowledge. Yet, we argue that CBA is not a panacea, and its common portrayal as such obscures its limitations, nuances, and challenges. Indeed, if uncritically adopted, CBA can potentially lead to maladaptation, may be inappropriate in some instances, can legitimize outside intervention and control, and may further marginalize communities. We identify responsibilities for researchers engaging in CBA work to manage these challenges, emphasizing the centrality of how knowledge is generated, the need for project flexibility and openness to change, and the importance of ensuring partnerships between researchers and communities are transparent. Researchers also need to be realistic about what CBA can achieve, and should not assume that research has a positive role to play in community adaptation just because it utilizes participatory approaches
A Letter of Intent to Build a MiniBooNE Near Detector: BooNE
There is accumulating evidence for a difference between neutrino and
antineutrino oscillations at the eV scale. The MiniBooNE
experiment observes an unexplained excess of electron-like events at low
energies in neutrino mode, which may be due, for example, to either a neutral
current radiative interaction, sterile neutrino decay, or to neutrino
oscillations involving sterile neutrinos and which may be related to the LSND
signal. No excess of electron-like events (), however, is
observed so far at low energies in antineutrino mode. Furthermore, global 3+1
and 3+2 sterile neutrino fits to the world neutrino and antineutrino data
suggest a difference between neutrinos and antineutrinos with significant
() disappearance. In order to
test whether the low-energy excess is due to neutrino oscillations and whether
there is a difference between and disappearance, we
propose building a second MiniBooNE detector at (or moving the existing
MiniBooNE detector to) a distance of m from the Booster Neutrino
Beam (BNB) production target. With identical detectors at different distances,
most of the systematic errors will cancel when taking a ratio of events in the
two detectors, as the neutrino flux varies as to a calculable
approximation. This will allow sensitive tests of oscillations for both
and appearance and and disappearance.
Furthermore, a comparison between oscillations in neutrino mode and
antineutrino mode will allow a sensitive search for CP and CPT violation in the
lepton sector at short baseline ( eV).Comment: 43 pages, 40 figure
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