1,802 research outputs found
The muon component of extensive air showers
This thesis describes the determination of various characteristics of the muon component of extensive air showers (EAS) using the magnet spectrograph situated at the British Universities joint air shower array at Haverah Park, near Harrogate. After an introduction concerning the relevance of muon studies to current problems in the studies of air showers (Chapter l), the air shower arrays and the magnet spectrograph are briefly described and a summary given of the analysis of the data from each (Chapters 2 and 5)-The lateral density distribution of muons of momentum above 1 GeV/c is determined (Chapter k) for use in the normalization of the measured momentum spectrum of muons. The dependence of the number of muons on shower size is found to be constant over a wide range of size. The momentum spectrum of muons in air showers is determined as a function of distance from the shower core. The variation of spectrum with shower size and zenith angle is also investigated. These measurements extend beyond previous experimental work (Chapter 5), and do not agree with theoretical predictions. All the features can be accounted for by a careful treatment of air showers initiated by primary particles of mass greater than ten (Chapter 6), provided the multiplicity of pions follows an E (^0.5) law for high energy. The average heights of origin of muons of various momenta are determined by two different methods. It is further shown that the muons originate at heights compatible with the modified model (Chapter 7). The implications of these observations are discussed in Chapter 8 and, finally, experiments are suggested which might confirm the proposed model
Viscous instabilities in flowing foams: A Cellular Potts Model approach
The Cellular Potts Model (CPM) succesfully simulates drainage and shear in
foams. Here we use the CPM to investigate instabilities due to the flow of a
single large bubble in a dry, monodisperse two-dimensional flowing foam. As in
experiments in a Hele-Shaw cell, above a threshold velocity the large bubble
moves faster than the mean flow. Our simulations reproduce analytical and
experimental predictions for the velocity threshold and the relative velocity
of the large bubble, demonstrating the utility of the CPM in foam rheology
studies.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures. Replaced with revised version accepted for
publication in JSTA
Stiffness and energy losses in cylindrically symmetric superconductor levitating systems
Stiffness and hysteretic energy losses are calculated for a magnetically
levitating system composed of a type-II superconductor and a permanent magnet
when a small vibration is produced in the system. We consider a cylindrically
symmetric configuration with only vertical movements and calculate the current
profiles under the assumption of the critical state model. The calculations,
based on magnetic energy minimization, take into account the demagnetization
fields inside the superconductor and the actual shape of the applied field. The
dependence of stiffness and hysteretic energy losses upon the different
important parameters of the system such as the superconductor aspect ratio, the
relative size of the superconductor-permanent magnet, and the critical current
of the superconductor are all systematically studied. Finally, in view of the
results, we provide some trends on how a system such as the one studied here
could be designed in order to optimize both the stiffness and the hysteretic
losses.Comment: 8 pages; 8 figure
Anomalous temperature dependence of surface tension and capillary waves at liquid gallium
The temperature dependence of surface tension \gamma(T) at liquid gallium is
studied theoretically and experimentally using light scattering from capillary
waves. The theoretical model based on the Gibbs thermodynamics relates the
temperature derivative of \gamma to the surface excess entropy -\Delta S.
Although capillary waves contribute to the surface entropy with a positive sign
the effect of dipole layer on \Delta S is negative. Experimental data collected
at a free Ga surface in the temperature range from 30 to 160 C show that the
temperature derivative of the tension changes sign near 100 C.Comment: 11 pages, 1 Postscript figure, submitted to J. Phys.
Dynamics of particles and cages in an experimental 2D glass former
We investigate the dynamics of a glass forming 2D colloidal mixture and show
the existence of collective motions of the particles. We introduce a mean
square displacement MSD with respect to the nearest neighbors which shows
remarkable deviations from the usual MSD quantifying the individual motion of
our particles. Combined with the analysis of the self part of the Van Hove
function this indicates a coupled motion of particles with their cage as well
as intra cage hopping processes.Comment: Submitted to EP
Supersymmetric Electroweak Cosmic Strings
We study the connection between supersymmetry and a topological bound
in a two-Higgs-doublet system with an gauge group. We derive the Bogomol'nyi equations from
supersymmetry considerations showing that they hold provided certain conditions
on the coupling constants, which are a consequence of the huge symmetry of the
theory, are satisfied. Their solutions, which can be interpreted as electroweak
cosmic strings breaking one half of the supersymmetries of the theory, are
studied. Certain interesting limiting cases of our model which have recently
been considered in the literature are finally analyzed.Comment: 20 pages, RevTe
DNA content of a functioning chicken kinetochore
© The Author(s) 2014. In order to understand the three-dimensional structure of the functional kinetochore in vertebrates, we require a complete list and stoichiometry for the protein components of the kinetochore, which can be provided by genetic and proteomic experiments. We also need to know how the chromatin-containing CENP-A, which makes up the structural foundation for the kinetochore, is folded, and how much of that DNA is involved in assembling the kinetochore. In this MS, we demonstrate that functioning metaphase kinetochores in chicken DT40 cells contain roughly 50 kb of DNA, an amount that corresponds extremely closely to the length of chromosomal DNA associated with CENP-A in ChIP-seq experiments. Thus, during kinetochore assembly, CENP-A chromatin is compacted into the inner kinetochore plate without including significant amounts of flanking pericentromeric heterochromatin. © 2014 The Author(s).Wellcome Trust [grant number 073915]; Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology (core grant numbers 077707 and 092076); Darwin Trust of Edinburg
Mitotic chromosomes are compacted laterally by KIF4 and condensin and axially by topoisomerase IIα
© 2012 Samejima et al. This article is distributed under the terms of an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike–No Mirror Sites license for the first six months after the publication dateMitotic chromosome formation involves a relatively minor condensation of the chromatin volume coupled with a dramatic reorganization into the characteristic "X" shape. Here we report results of a detailed morphological analysis, which revealed that chromokinesin KIF4 cooperated in a parallel pathway with condensin complexes to promote the lateral compaction of chromatid arms. In this analysis, KIF4 and condensin were mutually dependent for their dynamic localization on the chromatid axes. Depletion of either caused sister chromatids to expand and compromised the "intrinsic structure" of the chromosomes (defined in an in vitro assay), with loss of condensin showing stronger effects. Simultaneous depletion of KIF4 and condensin caused complete loss of chromosome morphology. In these experiments, topoisomerase IIα contributed to shaping mitotic chromosomes by promoting the shortening of the chromatid axes and apparently acting in opposition to the actions of KIF4 and condensins. These three proteins are major determinants in shaping the characteristic mitotic chromosome morphology
Molecular cloning of a human homologue of Drosophila heterochromatin protein HP1 using anti-centromere autoantibodies with anti-chromo specificity
We have identified a novel autoantibody specificity in scleroderma that we term anti-chromo. These antibodies recognize several chromosomal antigens with apparent molecular mass of between 23 and 25 kDa, as determined by immunoblots. Anti-chromo autoantibodies occur in 10-15% of sera from patients with anti-centromere antibodies (ACA). We used anti-chromo antibodies to screen a human expression library and obtained cDNA clones encoding a 25 kDa chromosomal autoantigen. DNA sequence analysis reveals this protein to be a human homologue of HP1, a heterochromatin protein of Drosophila melanogaster. We designate our cloned protein HP1Hs alpha. Epitope mapping experiments using both human and Drosophila HP1 reveal that anti-chromo antibodies target a region at the amino terminus of the protein. This region contains a conserved motif, the chromo domain (or HP1/Pc box), first recognized by comparison of Drosophila HP1 with the Polycomb gene product. Both proteins are thought to play a role in creating chromatin structures in which gene expression is suppressed. Anti-chromo thus defines a novel type of autoantibody that recognizes a conserved structural motif found on a number of chromosomal proteins
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