421 research outputs found
Corticothalamic projections control synchronization in locally coupled bistable thalamic oscillators
Thalamic circuits are able to generate state-dependent oscillations of
different frequencies and degrees of synchronization. However, only little is
known how synchronous oscillations, like spindle oscillations in the thalamus,
are organized in the intact brain. Experimental findings suggest that the
simultaneous occurrence of spindle oscillations over widespread territories of
the thalamus is due to the corticothalamic projections, as the synchrony is
lost in the decorticated thalamus. Here we study the influence of
corticothalamic projections on the synchrony in a thalamic network, and uncover
the underlying control mechanism, leading to a control method which is
applicable in wide range of stochastic driven excitable units.Comment: 4 pages with 4 figures (Color online on p.3-4) include
K^-/K^+ ratio at GSI in hot and dense matter
The ratio in heavy-ion collisions at GSI energies is studied
including the properties of the participating hadrons in hot and dense matter.
The determination of the temperature and chemical potential at freeze-out
conditions compatible with the ratio is very delicate, and depends on
the approach adopted for the antikaon self-energy. Three approaches for the
self-energy are considered: non-interacting , on-shell self-energy
and single-particle spectral density. With respect to the on-shell approach,
the use of an energy dependent spectral density, including both s-
and p-wave components of the interaction, lowers considerably the
freeze-out temperature and gives rise to the "broad-band equilibration"
advocated by Brown, Rho and Song.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, talk given at the Strange Quark Matter
Conference, Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, March 12-17, 200
PENTATRAP: A novel cryogenic multi-Penning trap experiment for high-precision mass measurements on highly charged ions
The novel five-Penning trap mass spectrometer PENTATRAP is developed at the
Max-Planck-Institut f\"ur Kernphysik (MPIK), Heidelberg. Ions of interest are
long-lived highly charged nuclides up to bare uranium. PENTATRAP aims for an
accuracy of a few parts in 10^12 for mass ratios of mass doublets. A physics
program for PENTATRAP includes Q-values measurements of \beta-transitions
relevant for neutrino physics, stringent tests of quantum electrodynamics in
the regime of extreme electric fields, and a test of special relativity. Main
features of PENTATRAP are an access to a source of highly charged ions, a
multi-trap configuration, simultaneous measurements of frequencies, a
continuous precise monitoring of magnetic field fluctuations, a fast exchange
between different ions, and a highly sensitive cryogenic non-destructive
detection system. This paper gives a motivation for the new mass spectrometer
PENTATRAP, presents its experimental setup, and describes the present status
Positivity of relative canonical bundles and applications
Given a family of canonically polarized manifolds, the
unique K\"ahler-Einstein metrics on the fibers induce a hermitian metric on the
relative canonical bundle . We use a global elliptic
equation to show that this metric is strictly positive on , unless
the family is infinitesimally trivial.
For degenerating families we show that the curvature form on the total space
can be extended as a (semi-)positive closed current. By fiber integration it
follows that the generalized Weil-Petersson form on the base possesses an
extension as a positive current. We prove an extension theorem for hermitian
line bundles, whose curvature forms have this property. This theorem can be
applied to a determinant line bundle associated to the relative canonical
bundle on the total space. As an application the quasi-projectivity of the
moduli space of canonically polarized varieties
follows.
The direct images , , carry natural hermitian metrics. We prove an
explicit formula for the curvature tensor of these direct images. We apply it
to the morphisms that are induced by the Kodaira-Spencer map and obtain a differential
geometric proof for hyperbolicity properties of .Comment: Supercedes arXiv:0808.3259v4 and arXiv:1002.4858v2. To appear in
Invent. mat
Hadron Production in Heavy Ion Collisions
We review hadron production in heavy ion collisions with emphasis on pion and
kaon production at energies below 2 AGeV and on partonic collectivity at RHIC
energies.Comment: 31 pages, 26 figures, accepted for publication in Landolt-Boernstein
Volume 1-23
Dilepton production in pp and CC collisions with HADES
Dilepton production has been measured with HADES, the "High Acceptance
DiElectron Spectrometer". In pp collisions at 2.2GeV kinetic beam energy,
exclusive eta production and the Dalitz decay eta -> gamma e+e- has been
reconstructed. The electromagnetic form factor is well in agreement with
existing data. In addition, an inclusive e+e- spectrum from the C+C reaction at
2AGeV is presented and compared with a thermal model.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, proceedings of the IVth International Conference
on Quarks and Nuclear Physics, Madrid, June 5th-10th, submitted to
Eur.Phys.J.
Low Prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis Infection in Non-Urban Pregnant Women in Vellore, S. India
Objective: To determine the prevalence and risk factors for Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) infection in pregnant women and the rate of transmission of CT to infants. Methods: Pregnant women ($28 weeks gestation) in Vellore, South India were approached for enrollment from April 2009 to January 2010. After informed consent was obtained, women completed a socio-demographic, prenatal, and sexual history questionnaire. Endocervical samples collected at delivery were examined for CT by a rapid enzyme test and nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT). Neonatal nasopharyngeal and conjunctival swabs were collected for NAAT testing. Results: Overall, 1198 women were enrolled and 799 (67%) endocervical samples were collected at birth. Analyses were completed on 784 participants with available rapid and NAAT results. The mean age of women was 25.8 years (range 18– 39 yrs) and 22 % (95 % CI: 19.7–24.4%) were primigravida. All women enrolled were married; one reported.one sexual partner; and six reported prior STI. We found 71 positive rapid CT tests and 1/784 (0.1%; 95 % CI: 0–0.38%) true positive CT infection using NAAT. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the largest study on CT prevalence amongst healthy pregnant mothers in southern India, and it documents a very low prevalence with NAAT. Many false positive results were noted using the rapid test. Thes
Evidence for the h_b(1P) meson in the decay Upsilon(3S) --> pi0 h_b(1P)
Using a sample of 122 million Upsilon(3S) events recorded with the BaBar
detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy e+e- collider at SLAC, we search for
the spin-singlet partner of the P-wave chi_{bJ}(1P) states in the
sequential decay Upsilon(3S) --> pi0 h_b(1P), h_b(1P) --> gamma eta_b(1S). We
observe an excess of events above background in the distribution of the recoil
mass against the pi0 at mass 9902 +/- 4(stat.) +/- 2(syst.) MeV/c^2. The width
of the observed signal is consistent with experimental resolution, and its
significance is 3.1sigma, including systematic uncertainties. We obtain the
value (4.3 +/- 1.1(stat.) +/- 0.9(syst.)) x 10^{-4} for the product branching
fraction BF(Upsilon(3S)-->pi0 h_b) x BF(h_b-->gamma eta_b).Comment: 8 pages, 4 postscript figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. D (Rapid
Communications
Single hadron response measurement and calorimeter jet energy scale uncertainty with the ATLAS detector at the LHC
The uncertainty on the calorimeter energy response to jets of particles is
derived for the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). First, the
calorimeter response to single isolated charged hadrons is measured and
compared to the Monte Carlo simulation using proton-proton collisions at
centre-of-mass energies of sqrt(s) = 900 GeV and 7 TeV collected during 2009
and 2010. Then, using the decay of K_s and Lambda particles, the calorimeter
response to specific types of particles (positively and negatively charged
pions, protons, and anti-protons) is measured and compared to the Monte Carlo
predictions. Finally, the jet energy scale uncertainty is determined by
propagating the response uncertainty for single charged and neutral particles
to jets. The response uncertainty is 2-5% for central isolated hadrons and 1-3%
for the final calorimeter jet energy scale.Comment: 24 pages plus author list (36 pages total), 23 figures, 1 table,
submitted to European Physical Journal
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