8,479 research outputs found
Angular momentum conservation for uniformly expanding flows
Angular momentum has recently been defined as a surface integral involving an
axial vector and a twist 1-form, which measures the twisting around of
space-time due to a rotating mass. The axial vector is chosen to be a
transverse, divergence-free, coordinate vector, which is compatible with any
initial choice of axis and integral curves. Then a conservation equation
expresses rate of change of angular momentum along a uniformly expanding flow
as a surface integral of angular momentum densities, with the same form as the
standard equation for an axial Killing vector, apart from the inclusion of an
effective energy tensor for gravitational radiation.Comment: 5 revtex4 pages, 3 eps figure
Generalized inverse mean curvature flows in spacetime
Motivated by the conjectured Penrose inequality and by the work of Hawking,
Geroch, Huisken and Ilmanen in the null and the Riemannian case, we examine
necessary conditions on flows of two-surfaces in spacetime under which the
Hawking quasilocal mass is monotone. We focus on a subclass of such flows which
we call uniformly expanding, which can be considered for null as well as for
spacelike directions. In the null case, local existence of the flow is
guaranteed. In the spacelike case, the uniformly expanding condition leaves a
1-parameter freedom, but for the whole family, the embedding functions satisfy
a forward-backward parabolic system for which local existence does not hold in
general. Nevertheless, we have obtained a generalization of the weak
(distributional) formulation of this class of flows, generalizing the
corresponding step of Huisken and Ilmanen's proof of the Riemannian Penrose
inequality.Comment: 21 pages, 1 figur
How genomic information is accessed in clinical practice: an electronic survey of UK general practitioners.
Genomic technologies are having an increasing impact across medicine, including primary care. To enable their wider adoption and realize their potential, education of primary health-care practitioners will be required. To enable the development of such resources, understanding where GPs currently access genomic information is needed. One-hundred fifty-nine UK GPs completed the survey in response to an open invitation, between September 2017 and September 2018. Questions were in response to 4 clinical genomic scenarios, with further questions exploring resources used for rare disease patients, direct-to-consumer genetic testing and collecting a family history. Respondents were most commonly GP principals (independent GPs who own their clinic) (64.8%), aged 35-49Â years (54%), worked as a GP for more than 15Â years (44%) and practiced within suburban locations (typically wealthier) (50.3%). The most popular 'just in time' education source for all clinical genomic scenarios were online primary care focussed resources with general Internet search engines also popular. For genomic continuous medical education, over 70% of respondents preferred online learning. Considering specific scenarios, local guidelines were a popular resource for the familial breast cancer scenario. A large proportion (41%) had not heard of Genomics England's 100,000 genome project. Few respondents (4%) would access rare disease specific Internet resources (Orphanet, OMIM). Twenty-five percent of respondents were unsure how to respond to a direct-to-consumer commercial genetic test query, with 41% forwarding such queries to local genetic services. GPs require concise, relevant, primary care focussed resources in trusted and familiar online repositories of information. Inadequate genetic education of GPs could increase burden on local genetic services
Unified first law of black-hole dynamics and relativistic thermodynamics
A unified first law of black-hole dynamics and relativistic thermodynamics is
derived in spherically symmetric general relativity. This equation expresses
the gradient of the active gravitational energy E according to the Einstein
equation, divided into energy-supply and work terms. Projecting the equation
along the flow of thermodynamic matter and along the trapping horizon of a
blackhole yield, respectively, first laws of relativistic thermodynamics and
black-hole dynamics. In the black-hole case, this first law has the same form
as the first law of black-hole statics, with static perturbations replaced by
the derivative along the horizon. There is the expected term involving the area
and surface gravity, where the dynamic surface gravity is defined as in the
static case but using the Kodama vector and trapping horizon. This surface
gravity vanishes for degenerate trapping horizons and satisfies certain
expected inequalities involving the area and energy. In the thermodynamic case,
the quasi-local first law has the same form, apart from a relativistic factor,
as the classical first law of thermodynamics, involving heat supply and
hydrodynamic work, but with E replacing the internal energy. Expanding E in the
Newtonian limit shows that it incorporates the Newtonian mass, kinetic energy,
gravitational potential energy and thermal energy. There is also a weak type of
unified zeroth law: a Gibbs-like definition of thermal equilibrium requires
constancy of an effective temperature, generalising the Tolman condition and
the particular case of Hawking radiation, while gravithermal equilibrium
further requires constancy of surface gravity. Finally, it is suggested that
the energy operator of spherically symmetric quantum gravity is determined by
the Kodama vector, which encodes a dynamic time related to E.Comment: 18 pages, TeX, expanded somewhat, to appear in Class. Quantum Gra
Wyman's solution, self-similarity and critical behaviour
We show that the Wyman's solution may be obtained from the four-dimensional
Einstein's equations for a spherically symmetric, minimally coupled, massless
scalar field by using the continuous self-similarity of those equations. The
Wyman's solution depends on two parameters, the mass and the scalar charge
. If one fixes to a positive value, say , and let
take values along the real line we show that this solution exhibits critical
behaviour. For the space-times have eternal naked singularities,
for one has a Schwarzschild black hole of mass and finally
for one has eternal bouncing solutions.Comment: Revtex version, 15pages, 6 figure
Incidence of Guillain-Barre syndrome among patients with Campylobacter infection: A general practice research database study
The association between Campylobacter infection and subsequent Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) has been well documented. To date, however, there exists no direct estimate of the incidence of GBS among patients with Campylobacter infection. Using the General Practice Research Database, we estimate the incidence of GBS in a cohort of patients presenting with Campylobacter enteritis to be 1.17/1000 person-years, a rate 77 times greater than that in the general population. The probability that an individual who develops Campylobacter enteritis will also develop GBS during the subsequent 2-month period is < 2/10,000
Cosmic Evolution and Primordial Black Hole Evaporation
A cosmological model in which primordial black holes (PBHs) are present in
the cosmic fluid at some instant t=t_0 is investigated. The time t_0 is
naturally identified with the end of the inflationary period. The PBHs are
assumed to be nonrelativistic in the comoving fluid, to have the same mass, and
may be subject to evaporation for t>t_0. Our present work is related to an
earlier paper of Zimdahl and Pavon [Phys. Rev. D {\bf 58}, 103506 (1998)], but
in contradistinction to these authors we assume that the (negative) production
rate of the PBHs is zero. This assumption appears to us to be more simple and
more physical. Consequences of the formalism are worked out. In particular, the
four-divergence of the entropy four-vector in combination with the second law
in thermodynamics show in a clear way how the the case of PBH evaporation
corresponds to a production of entropy. Accretion of radiation onto the black
holes is neglected. We consider both a model where two different sub-fluids
interact, and a model involving one single fluid only. In the latter case an
effective bulk viscosity naturally appears in the formalism.Comment: 18 pages, LaTeX, no figures. Extended discussion of the black hole
evaporation process. Version to appear in Phys. Rev.
Energy conservation for dynamical black holes
An energy conservation law is described, expressing the increase in
mass-energy of a general black hole in terms of the energy densities of the
infalling matter and gravitational radiation. For a growing black hole, this
first law of black-hole dynamics is equivalent to an equation of Ashtekar &
Krishnan, but the new integral and differential forms are regular in the limit
where the black hole ceases to grow. An effective gravitational-radiation
energy tensor is obtained, providing measures of both ingoing and outgoing,
transverse and longitudinal gravitational radiation on and near a black hole.
Corresponding energy-tensor forms of the first law involve a preferred time
vector which plays the role for dynamical black holes which the stationary
Killing vector plays for stationary black holes. Identifying an energy flux,
vanishing if and only if the horizon is null, allows a division into
energy-supply and work terms, as in the first law of thermodynamics. The energy
supply can be expressed in terms of area increase and a newly defined surface
gravity, yielding a Gibbs-like equation, with a similar form to the so-called
first law for stationary black holes.Comment: 4 revtex4 pages. Many (mostly presentational) changes; emphasizes the
definition of gravitational radiation in the strong-field regim
The Magnetization of Cu_2(C_5H_{12}N_2)_2Cl_4 : A Heisenberg Spin Ladder System
We study the magnetization of a Heisenberg spin ladder using exact
diagonalization techniques, finding three distinct magnetic phases. We consider
the results in relation to the experimental behaviour of the new copper
compound Cu_2(C_5H_{12}N_2)_2Cl_4 and deduce that the compound is well
described by such a model with a ratio of `chain' to `rung' bond strengths
(J/J^\prime) of the order of 0.2, consistent with results from the magnetic
susceptibility. The effects of temperature, spin impurities and additional
diagonal bonds are presented and we give evidence that these diagonal bonds are
indeed of a ferromagnetic nature.Comment: Latex file (4 pages), related figures (encapsulated postscript)
appende
Spacetimes foliated by Killing horizons
It seems to be expected, that a horizon of a quasi-local type, like a Killing
or an isolated horizon, by analogy with a globally defined event horizon,
should be unique in some open neighborhood in the spacetime, provided the
vacuum Einstein or the Einstein-Maxwell equations are satisfied. The aim of our
paper is to verify whether that intuition is correct. If one can extend a so
called Kundt metric, in such a way that its null, shear-free surfaces have
spherical spacetime sections, the resulting spacetime is foliated by so called
non-expanding horizons. The obstacle is Kundt's constraint induced at the
surfaces by the Einstein or the Einstein-Maxwell equations, and the requirement
that a solution be globally defined on the sphere. We derived a transformation
(reflection) that creates a solution to Kundt's constraint out of data defining
an extremal isolated horizon. Using that transformation, we derived a class of
exact solutions to the Einstein or Einstein-Maxwell equations of very special
properties. Each spacetime we construct is foliated by a family of the Killing
horizons. Moreover, it admits another, transversal Killing horizon. The
intrinsic and extrinsic geometry of the transversal Killing horizon coincides
with the one defined on the event horizon of the extremal Kerr-Newman solution.
However, the Killing horizon in our example admits yet another Killing vector
tangent to and null at it. The geometries of the leaves are given by the
reflection.Comment: LaTeX 2e, 13 page
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