1,117 research outputs found
The effect of solvent dynamics on the low frequency collective motions of DNA in solution and unoriented films
Infrared spectroscopy is used to probe the dynamics of invitro samples of DNA prepared as solutions and as solid unoriented films.The lowest frequency DNA mode identified in the far-infrared spectra ofthe DNA samples is found to shift in frequency when the solvent influencein the hydration shell is altered. The lowest frequency mode also hascharacteristics that are similar to beta - relaxations identified inother glass forming polymers
Non-Gaussianity from Instant and Tachyonic Preheating
We study non-Gaussianity in two distinct models of preheating: instant and
tachyonic. In instant preheating non-Gaussianity is sourced by the local terms
generated through the coupled perturbations of the two scalar fields. We find
that the non-Gaussianity parameter is given by ,
where is a coupling constant, so that instant preheating is unlikely to be
constrained by WMAP or Planck. In the case of tachyonic preheating
non-Gaussianity arises solely from the instability of the tachyon matter and is
found to be large. We find that for single field inflation the present WMAP
data implies a bound on the scale of tachyonic
instability. We argue that the tachyonic preheating limits are useful also for
string-motivated inflationary models.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure, additional discussion, improved constraint on the
scale of tachyonic preheatin
Production of spin 3/2 particles from vacuum fluctuations
We study the production of spin 3/2 particles in homogeneous scalar and
gravitational backgrounds from the mode-mixing Bogolyubov method. Considering
only helicity states we can reduce the problem to a standard Dirac
fermion calculation and apply the standard techniques in a straightforward way.
As an example we consider a supergravity inflationary model and calculate the
spectrum of gravitinos created during preheating at the end of inflation.Comment: 4 pages, RevTeX, 1 figure. New comments and references added. Final
version to appear in Phys.Rev.Let
The equivalence theorem and the production of gravitinos after inflation
We study the high-energy equivalence between helicity 1/2 gravitinos and
goldstinos in order to calculate the production of gravitinos in time-dependent
scalar and gravitational backgrounds. We derive this equivalence for equations
of motion, paying attention to some subtleties, mainly due to external sources,
that are not present in the standard proofs. We also propose the Landau gauge
as a simplifying alternative to the usual gauge choices, both for practical
calculations and in the equivalence theorem proof.Comment: 13 pp. 2 figures. Final and shorter version to appear in Phys. Rev.
D. References and minor errata correcte
The TAOS Project: Upper Bounds on the Population of Small KBOs and Tests of Models of Formation and Evolution of the Outer Solar System
We have analyzed the first 3.75 years of data from TAOS, the Taiwanese
American Occultation Survey. TAOS monitors bright stars to search for
occultations by Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs). This dataset comprises 5e5
star-hours of multi-telescope photometric data taken at 4 or 5 Hz. No events
consistent with KBO occultations were found in this dataset. We compute the
number of events expected for the Kuiper Belt formation and evolution models of
Pan & Sari (2005), Kenyon & Bromley (2004), Benavidez & Campo Bagatin (2009),
and Fraser (2009). A comparison with the upper limits we derive from our data
constrains the parameter space of these models. This is the first detailed
comparison of models of the KBO size distribution with data from an occultation
survey. Our results suggest that the KBO population is comprised of objects
with low internal strength and that planetary migration played a role in the
shaping of the size distribution.Comment: 18 pages, 16 figures, Aj submitte
Constraints from Solar and Reactor Neutrinos on Unparticle Long-Range Forces
We have investigated the impact of long-range forces induced by unparticle
operators of scalar, vector and tensor nature coupled to fermions in the
interpretation of solar neutrinos and KamLAND data. If the unparticle couplings
to the neutrinos are mildly non-universal, such long-range forces will not
factorize out in the neutrino flavour evolution. As a consequence large
deviations from the observed standard matter-induced oscillation pattern for
solar neutrinos would be generated. In this case, severe limits can be set on
the infrared fix point scale, Lambda_u, and the new physics scale, M, as a
function of the ultraviolet (d_UV) and anomalous (d) dimension of the
unparticle operator. For a scalar unparticle, for instance, assuming the
non-universality of the lepton couplings to unparticles to be of the order of a
few per mil we find that, for d_UV=3 and d=1.1, M is constrained to be M >
O(10^9) TeV (M > O(10^10) TeV) if Lambda_u= 1 TeV (10 TeV). For given values of
Lambda_u and d, the corresponding bounds on M for vector [tensor] unparticles
are approximately 100 [3/Sqrt(Lambda_u/TeV)] times those for the scalar case.
Conversely, these results can be translated into severe constraints on
universality violation of the fermion couplings to unparticle operators with
scales which can be accessible at future colliders.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures. Minor changes due to precision in numerical
factors and correction in figure labels. References added. Conclusions remain
unchange
Finite-element view-factor computations for radiant energy exchanges
Radiation heat transfer has very many applications within the building services sector. CIBSE (Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers) Guide A provides the physics background and the relevant mathematical functions for radiant energy exchanges between surfaces of different configurations in chapters 2 and 5. The aim of this article is to present procedures for inter-surface radiant energy exchange that range from the most simple (macro-) to most general formulations that are based on a micromesh, finite-element approach. The justification for such detailed procedures and their applicability within the modern building energy simulation software is also covered
Gravitational Microlensing Evidence for a Planet Orbiting a Binary Star System
The study of extra-solar planetary systems has emerged as a new discipline of
observational astronomy in the past few years with the discovery of a number of
extra-solar planets. The properties of most of these extra-solar planets were
not anticipated by theoretical work on the formation of planetary systems. Here
we report observations and light curve modeling of gravitational microlensing
event MACHO-97-BLG-41, which indicates that the lens system consists of a
planet orbiting a binary star system. According to this model, the mass ratio
of the binary star system is 3.8:1 and the stars are most likely to be a late K
dwarf and an M dwarf with a separation of about 1.8 AU. A planet of about 3
Jupiter masses orbits this system at a distance of about 7 AU. If our
interpretation of this light curve is correct, it represents the first
discovery of a planet orbiting a binary star system and the first detection of
a Jovian planet via the gravitational microlensing technique. It suggests that
giant planets may be common in short period binary star systems.Comment: 11 pages, with 1 color and 2 b/w Figures included (published version
Spectral quantification of nonlinear behaviour of the nearshore seabed and correlations with potential forcings at Duck, N.C., U.S.A
Local bathymetric quasi-periodic patterns of oscillation are identified from
monthly profile surveys taken at two shore-perpendicular transects at the USACE
field research facility in Duck, North Carolina, USA, spanning 24.5 years and
covering the swash and surf zones. The chosen transects are the two furthest
(north and south) from the pier located at the study site. Research at Duck has
traditionally focused on one or more of these transects as the effects of the
pier are least at these locations. The patterns are identified using singular
spectrum analysis (SSA). Possible correlations with potential forcing
mechanisms are discussed by 1) doing an SSA with same parameter settings to
independently identify the quasi-periodic cycles embedded within three
potentially linked sequences: monthly wave heights (MWH), monthly mean water
levels (MWL) and the large scale atmospheric index known as the North Atlantic
Oscillation (NAO) and 2) comparing the patterns within MWH, MWL and NAO to the
local bathymetric patterns. The results agree well with previous patterns
identified using wavelets and confirm the highly nonstationary behaviour of
beach levels at Duck; the discussion of potential correlations with
hydrodynamic and atmospheric phenomena is a new contribution. The study is then
extended to all measured bathymetric profiles, covering an area of 1100m
(alongshore) by 440m (cross-shore), to 1) analyse linear correlations between
the bathymetry and the potential forcings using multivariate empirical
orthogonal functions (MEOF) and linear correlation analysis and 2) identify
which collective quasi-periodic bathymetric patterns are correlated with those
within MWH, MWL or NAO, based on a (nonlinear) multichannel singular spectrum
analysis (MSSA). (...continued in submitted paper)Comment: 50 pages, 3 tables, 8 figure
Is CP Violation Observable in Long Baseline Neutrino Oscillation Experiments ?
We have studied CP violation originated by the phase of the neutrino mixing
matrix in the long baseline neutrino oscillation experiments. The direct
measurements of CP violation is the difference of the transition probabilities
between CP-conjugate channels. In those experiments, the CP violating effect is
not suppressed if the highest neutrino mass scale is taken to be 1\sim 5 \eV,
which is appropriate for the cosmological hot dark matter. Assuming the
hierarchy for the neutrino masses, the upper bounds of CP violation have been
caluculated for three cases, in which mixings are constrained by the recent
short baseline ones. The calculated upper bounds are larger than ,
which will be observable in the long baseline accelerator experiments. The
matter effect, which is not CP invariant, has been also estimated in those
experiments.Comment: 28 pages, LaTex file, 6 figures included using epsfig Matter effect
is estimated(Figs.3(a) (b)). Physical parameters are change
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