1,286 research outputs found
Near-infrared Brightness of the Galilean Satellites Eclipsed in Jovian Shadow: A New Technique to Investigate Jovian Upper Atmosphere
We have discovered that Europa, Ganymede and Callisto are bright around 1.5
{\mu}m even when not directly lit by sunlight, based on observations from the
Hubble Space Telescope and the Subaru Telescope. The observations were
conducted with non-sidereal tracking on Jupiter outside of the field of view to
reduce the stray light subtraction uncertainty due to the close proximity of
Jupiter. Their eclipsed luminosity was - of their uneclipsed
brightness, which is low enough that this phenomenon has been undiscovered
until now. In addition, Europa in eclipse was <1/10 of the others at 1.5
{\mu}m, a potential clue to the origin of the source of luminosity. Likewise,
Ganymede observations were attempted at 3.6 {\mu}m by the Spitzer Space
Telescope but it was not detected, suggesting a significant wavelength
dependence. The reason why they are luminous even when in the Jovian shadow is
still unknown, but forward-scattered sunlight by haze in the Jovian upper
atmosphere is proposed as the most plausible candidate. If this is the case,
observations of these Galilean satellites while eclipsed by the Jovian shadow
provide us a new technique to investigate Jovian atmospheric composition, and
investigating the transmission spectrum of Jupiter by this method is important
for investigating the atmosphere of extrasolar giant planets by transit
spectroscopy.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, accepted to Ap
From time-series to complex networks: Application to the cerebrovascular flow patterns in atrial fibrillation
A network-based approach is presented to investigate the cerebrovascular flow
patterns during atrial fibrillation (AF) with respect to normal sinus rhythm
(NSR). AF, the most common cardiac arrhythmia with faster and irregular
beating, has been recently and independently associated with the increased risk
of dementia. However, the underlying hemodynamic mechanisms relating the two
pathologies remain mainly undetermined so far; thus the contribution of
modeling and refined statistical tools is valuable. Pressure and flow rate
temporal series in NSR and AF are here evaluated along representative cerebral
sites (from carotid arteries to capillary brain circulation), exploiting
reliable artificially built signals recently obtained from an in silico
approach. The complex network analysis evidences, in a synthetic and original
way, a dramatic signal variation towards the distal/capillary cerebral regions
during AF, which has no counterpart in NSR conditions. At the large artery
level, networks obtained from both AF and NSR hemodynamic signals exhibit
elongated and chained features, which are typical of pseudo-periodic series.
These aspects are almost completely lost towards the microcirculation during
AF, where the networks are topologically more circular and present random-like
characteristics. As a consequence, all the physiological phenomena at
microcerebral level ruled by periodicity - such as regular perfusion, mean
pressure per beat, and average nutrient supply at cellular level - can be
strongly compromised, since the AF hemodynamic signals assume irregular
behaviour and random-like features. Through a powerful approach which is
complementary to the classical statistical tools, the present findings further
strengthen the potential link between AF hemodynamic and cognitive decline.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figure
Hadron properties in the nuclear medium
The QCD vacuum shows the dynamical breaking of chiral symmetry. In the
hot/dense QCD medium, the chiral order parameter such as is
expected to change as function of temperature and density of the
medium, and its experimental detection is one of the main challenges in modern
hadron physics. In this article, we discuss theoretical expectations for the
in-medium hadron spectra associated with partial restoration of chiral symmetry
and the current status of experiments with an emphasis on the measurements of
properties of mesons produced in near-ground-state nuclei.Comment: 40 pages, submitted to Reviews of Modern Physic
Critical Scale-invariance in Healthy Human Heart Rate
We demonstrate the robust scale-invariance in the probability density
function (PDF) of detrended healthy human heart rate increments, which is
preserved not only in a quiescent condition, but also in a dynamic state where
the mean level of heart rate is dramatically changing. This scale-independent
and fractal structure is markedly different from the scale-dependent PDF
evolution observed in a turbulent-like, cascade heart rate model. These results
strongly support the view that healthy human heart rate is controlled to
converge continually to a critical state.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures. Phys. Rev. Lett., to appear (2004
Plans for Hadronic Structure Studies at J-PARC
Hadron-physics projects at J-PARC are explained. The J-PARC is the
most-intense hadron-beam facility in the multi-GeV high-energy region. By using
secondary beams of kaons, pions, and others as well as the primary-beam proton,
various hadron projects are planned. First, some of approved experiments are
introduced on strangeness hadron physics and hadron-mass modifications in
nuclear medium. Second, future possibilities are discussed on hadron-structure
physics, including structure functions of hadrons, spin physics, and
high-energy hadron reactions in nuclear medium. The second part is discussed in
more details because this is an article in the hadron-structure session.Comment: 10 pages, LaTeX, 20 eps files, to be published in Journal of Physics:
Conference Series (JPCS), Proceedings of the 24th International Nuclear
Physics Conference (INPC 2010), Vancouver, Canada, July 4 - 9, 201
Exponential distribution of long heart beat intervals during atrial fibrillation and their relevance for white noise behaviour in power spectrum
The statistical properties of heart beat intervals of 130 long-term surface
electrocardiogram recordings during atrial fibrillation (AF) are investigated.
We find that the distribution of interbeat intervals exhibits a characteristic
exponential tail, which is absent during sinus rhythm, as tested in a
corresponding control study with 72 healthy persons. The rate of the
exponential decay lies in the range 3-12 Hz and shows diurnal variations. It
equals, up to statistical uncertainties, the level of the previously uncovered
white noise part in the power spectrum, which is also characteristic for AF.
The overall statistical features can be described by decomposing the intervals
into two statistically independent times, where the first one is associated
with a correlated process with 1/f noise characteristics, while the second one
belongs to an uncorrelated process and is responsible for the exponential tail.
It is suggested to use the rate of the exponential decay as a further parameter
for a better classification of AF and for the medical diagnosis. The relevance
of the findings with respect to a general understanding of AF is pointed out
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