3,367 research outputs found
Why the Universe Started from a Low Entropy State
We show that the inclusion of backreaction of massive long wavelengths
imposes dynamical constraints on the allowed phase space of initial conditions
for inflation, which results in a superselection rule for the initial
conditions. Only high energy inflation is stable against collapse due to the
gravitational instability of massive perturbations. We present arguments to the
effect that the initial conditions problem {\it cannot} be meaningfully
addressed by thermostatistics as far as the gravitational degrees of freedom
are concerned. Rather, the choice of the initial conditions for the universe in
the phase space and the emergence of an arrow of time have to be treated as a
dynamic selection.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figs. Final version; agrees with accepted version in
Phys. Rev.
Low-Altitude Reconnection Inflow-Outflow Observations during a 2010 November 3 Solar Eruption
For a solar flare occurring on 2010 November 3, we present observations using
several SDO/AIA extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) passbands of an erupting flux rope
followed by inflows sweeping into a current sheet region. The inflows are soon
followed by outflows appearing to originate from near the termination point of
the inflowing motion - an observation in line with standard magnetic
reconnection models. We measure average inflow plane-of-sky speeds to range
from ~150-690 km/s with the initial, high-temperature inflows being the
fastest. Using the inflow speeds and a range of Alfven speeds, we estimate the
Alfvenic Mach number which appears to decrease with time. We also provide
inflow and outflow times with respect to RHESSI count rates and find that the
fast, high-temperature inflows occur simultaneously with a peak in the RHESSI
thermal lightcurve. Five candidate inflow-outflow pairs are identified with no
more than a minute delay between detections. The inflow speeds of these pairs
are measured to be 10^2 km/s with outflow speeds ranging from 10^2-10^3 km/s -
indicating acceleration during the reconnection process. The fastest of these
outflows are in the form of apparently traveling density enhancements along the
legs of the loops rather than the loop apexes themselves. These flows could
either be accelerated plasma, shocks, or waves prompted by reconnection. The
measurements presented here show an order of magnitude difference between the
retraction speeds of the loops and the speed of the density enhancements within
the loops - presumably exiting the reconnection site.Comment: 31 pages, 13 figures, 1 table, Accepted to ApJ (expected publication
~July 2012
The Size Distribution of Trans-Neptunian Bodies
[Condensed] We search 0.02 deg^2 for trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) with
m<=29.2 (diameter ~15 km) using the ACS on HST. Three new objects are
discovered, roughly 25 times fewer than expected from extrapolation of the
differential sky density Sigma(m) of brighter objects. The ACS and other recent
TNO surveys show departures from a power law size distribution. Division of the
TNO sample into ``classical Kuiper belt'' (CKB) and ``Excited'' samples reveals
that Sigma(m) differs for the two populations at 96% confidence. A double power
law adequately fits all data. Implications include: The total mass of the CKB
is ~0.010 M_Earth, only a few times Pluto's mass, and is predominately in the
form of ~100 km bodies. The mass of Excited objects is perhaps a few times
larger. The Excited class has a shallower bright-end size distribution; the
largest objects, including Pluto, comprise tens of percent of the total mass
whereas the largest CKBOs are only ~2% of its mass. The predicted mass of the
largest Excited body is close to the Pluto mass; the largest CKBO is ~60 times
less massive. The deficit of small TNOs occurs for sizes subject to disruption
by present-day collisions, suggesting extensive depletion by collisions. Both
accretion and erosion appearing to have proceeded to more advanced stages in
the Excited class than the CKB. The absence of distant TNOs implies that any
distant (60 AU) population must have less than the CKB mass in the form of
objects 40 km or larger. The CKB population is sparser than theoretical
estimates of the required precursor population for short period comets, but the
Excited population could be a viable precursor population.Comment: Revised version accepted to the Astronomical Journal. Numerical
results are very slightly revised. Implications for the origins of
short-period comets are substantially revised, and tedious material on
statistical tests has been collected into a new Appendi
Trans-Planckian signals from the breaking of local Lorentz invariance
This article examines how a breakdown of a locally Lorentz invariant,
point-like description of nature at tiny space-time intervals would translate
into a distinctive set of signals in the primordial power spectrum generated by
inflation. We examine the leading irrelevant operators that are consistent with
the spatial translations and rotations of a preferred, isotropically expanding,
background. A few of the resulting corrections to the primordial power spectrum
do not have the usual oscillatory factor, which is sometimes taken to be
characteristic of a "trans-Planckian" signal. Perhaps more interestingly, one
of these leading irrelevant operators exactly reproduces a correction to the
power spectrum that occurs in effective descriptions of the state of the field
responsible for inflation.Comment: 11 pages, no figures, uses ReVTe
Re-entrant ferroelectricity in liquid crystals
The ferroelectric (Sm C) -- antiferroelectric (Sm C) -- reentrant
ferroelectric (re Sm C) phase temperature sequence was observed for system
with competing synclinic - anticlinic interactions. The basic properties of
this system are as follows (1) the Sm C phase is metastable in temperature
range of the Sm C stability (2) the double inversions of the helix
handedness at Sm C -- Sm C and Sm C% -- re-Sm C phase
transitions were found (3) the threshold electric field that is necessary to
induce synclinic ordering in the Sm C phase decreases near both Sm
C -- Sm C and Sm C -- re-Sm C phase boundaries, and it has
maximum in the middle of the Sm C stability region. All these properties
are properly described by simple Landau model that accounts for nearest
neighboring layer steric interactions and quadrupolar ordering only.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PR
Detection of community-wide impacts of bottom trawl fishing on deep-sea assemblages using environmental DNA metabarcoding
Although considerable research progress on the effects of anthropogenic disturbance in the deep sea has been made in recent years, our understanding of these impacts at community level remains limited. Here, we studied deep-sea assemblages of Sicily (Mediterranean Sea) subject to different intensities of benthic trawling using environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding and taxonomic identification of meiofauna communities. Firstly, eDNA metabarcoding data did not detect trawling impacts using alpha diversity whereas meiofauna data detected a significant effect of trawling. Secondly, both eDNA and meiofauna data detected significantly different communities across distinct levels of trawling intensity when we examined beta diversity. Taxonomic assignment of the eDNA data revealed that Bryozoa was present only at untrawled sites, highlighting their vulnerability to trawling. Our results provide evidence for community-wide impacts of trawling, with different trawling intensities leading to distinct deep-sea communities. Finally, we highlight the need for further studies to unravel understudied deep-sea biodiversity
Nontrivial Geometries: Bounds on the Curvature of the Universe
Probing the geometry of the universe is one of the most important endevours
in cosmology. Current observational data from the Cosmic Microwave Background
anisotropy (CMB), galaxy surveys and type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) strongly
constrain the curvature of the universe to be close to zero for a universe
dominated by a cosmological constant or dark energy with a constant equation of
state. Here we investigate the role of cosmic priors on deriving these tight
bounds on geometry, by considering a landscape motivated scenario with an
oscillating curvature term. We perform a likelihood analysis of current data
under such a model of non-trivial geometry and find that the uncertainties on
curvature, and correspondingly on parameters of the matter and dark energy
sectors, are larger. Future dark energy experiments together with CMB data from
experiments like Planck could dramatically improve our ability to constrain
cosmic curvature under such models enabling us to probe possible imprints of
quantum gravity.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures. Submitte
Twenty-One New Light Curves of OGLE-TR-56b: New System Parameters and Limits on Timing Variations
Although OGLE-TR-56b was the second transiting exoplanet discovered, only one
light curve, observed in 2006, has been published besides the discovery data.
We present twenty-one light curves of nineteen different transits observed
between July 2003 and July 2009 with the Magellan Telescopes and Gemini South.
The combined analysis of the new light curves confirms a slightly inflated
planetary radius relative to model predictions, with R_p = 1.378 +/- 0.090 R_J.
However, the values found for the transit duration, semimajor axis, and
inclination values differ significantly from the previous result, likely due to
systematic errors. The new semimajor axis and inclination, a = 0.01942 +/-
0.00015 AU and i = 73.72 +/- 0.18 degrees, are smaller than previously
reported, while the total duration, T_14 = 7931 +/- 38 s, is 18 minutes longer.
The transit midtimes have errors from 23 s to several minutes, and no evidence
is seen for transit midtime or duration variations. Similarly, no change is
seen in the orbital period, implying a nominal stellar tidal decay factor of
Q_* = 10^7, with a three-sigma lower limit of 10^5.7.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, accepted to Ap
Renormalization of initial conditions and the trans-Planckian problem of inflation
Understanding how a field theory propagates the information contained in a
given initial state is essential for quantifying the sensitivity of the cosmic
microwave background to physics above the Hubble scale during inflation. Here
we examine the renormalization of a scalar theory with nontrivial initial
conditions in the simpler setting of flat space. The renormalization of the
bulk theory proceeds exactly as for the standard vacuum state. However, the
short distance features of the initial conditions can introduce new divergences
which are confined to the surface on which the initial conditions are imposed.
We show how the addition of boundary counterterms removes these divergences and
induces a renormalization group flow in the space of initial conditions.Comment: 22 pages, 4 eps figures, uses RevTe
Intermediate septal accessory pathways: Electrocardiographic characteristics, electrophysiologic observations and their surgical implications
AbstractIntermediate septal accessory pathways are located in close proximity to the atrioventricular (AV) node and His bundle, have unique features that distinguish them from typical anterior and posterior accessory pathways and have been associated with a high risk for unsuccessful pathway division and the production of complete AV block after surgery. Between July 1986 and May 1990, 4 of 70 patients (3 men and 1 woman; mean age 33 ± 13 years) undergoing surgery for accessory pathway division were found to have an intermediate septal accessory pathway. The presenting arrhythmia was atrial fibrillation with rapid anterograde conduction over the accessory pathway in two patients and recurrent orthodromic reciprocating tachycardia in two patients.In all patients, the delta wave on the electrocardiogram (ECG) was inversed in lead V1, but two patterns of delta wave configuration were observed. In three patients (type 1 intermediate septal accessory pathway), the delta wave was upright in lead II, inverted in lead III and isoelectric in lead aVF; the transition from a negative to an upright delta wave occurred in lead V2. The fourth patient exhibited a different delta wave pattern (type 2 intermediate septal accessory pathway). The delta wave was upright in each of leads II, III and aVF; the transition from a negative to an upright delta wave occurred at lead V3.Intraoperative electrophysiologic study localized the atrial insertion of type 1 pathways to the midpoint of Koch's triangle close to the AV node. In the one patient with a type 1 pathway in which both anterograde and retrograde accessory pathway conduction was present, preoperative catheter mapping demonstrated that earliest retrograde atrial activation occurred near the foramen ovale. Intraoperative mapping during anterograde conduction over the type 1 pathway demonstrated earliest epicardial ventricular activation to occur simultaneously at the crux and the base of the aorta. The atrial insertion of the type 2 intermediate septal accessory pathway was localized to the apex of Koch's triangle in close proximity to the bundle of His. Preoperative catheter mapping revealed that earliest retrograde atrial activation occurred on the His bundle electrogram. Intraoperative mapping during anterograde conduction over the type 2 pathway demonstrated that earliest epicardial ventricular activation occurred anteriorly at the base of the aorta.Intraoperative ablation of the intermediate septal accessory pathway was accomplished by cooling the endocardium at the site of pathway insertion on the atrial side of the tricuspid anulus with a 5 mm cryoprobe. Patients with a type 1 intermediate septal accessory pathway had preservation of AV conduction, but the patient with the type 2 pathway did not and required permanent pacing. At late follow-up study, no patient has had return of intermediate septal accessory pathway conduction. Distinguishing an intermediate septal accessory pathway close to the AV node (type 1) from one close to the His bundle (type 2) is useful to predict both surgical success and success without the production of permanent complete AV block
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