6,494 research outputs found
G minus TWO plus EMILIO
This verbatim transcription of a talk given on the occasion of Emilio Picasso's retirement from CERN in 1992 describes how he came to the organization following an improbable encounter with the author in a Bristol pub and his contribution to the first muon storage ring. It traces the series of false arguments leading to the discovery of the 'magic energy' used in the second muon storage ring, reviews his leadership style, and includes some physics results
Spin-2 Amplitudes in Black-Hole Evaporation
Quantum amplitudes for gravitational-wave perturbations of
Einstein/scalar collapse to a black hole are treated by analogy with
Maxwell perturbations. The spin-2 perturbations split into parts with odd and
even parity. We use the Regge-Wheeler gauge; at a certain point we make a gauge
transformation to an asymptotically-flat gauge, such that the metric
perturbations have the expected falloff behaviour at large radii. By analogy
with , for natural 'coordinate' variables are given by the magnetic
part of the Weyl tensor, which can be taken as boundary
data on a final space-like hypersurface . For simplicity, we take the
data on the initial surface to be exactly spherically-symmetric. The
(large) Lorentzian proper-time interval between and ,
measured at spatial infinity, is denoted by . We follow Feynman's
prescription and rotate into the complex: , for . The corresponding complexified {\it
classical} boundary-value problem is expected to be well-posed. The Lorentzian
quantum amplitude is recovered by taking the limit as . For
boundary data well below the Planck scale, and for a locally supersymmetric
theory, this involves only the semi-classical amplitude , where denotes the second-variation classical
action. The relations between the and natural boundary data,
involving supersymmetry, are investigated using 2-component spinor language in
terms of the Maxwell field strength and the Weyl spinor
Numerical analysis of the Iosipescu specimen for composite materials
A finite element analysis of the Iosipescu shear tests for unidirectional and cross-ply composites is presented. It is shown that an iterative analysis procedure must be used to model the fixture-specimen kinematics. The correction factors which are needed to compensate for the nonuniformity of stress distribution in calculating shear modulus are shown to be dependent on the material orthotropic ratio and the finite element loading models. Test section strain distributions representative of typical graphite-epoxy specimens are also presented
Black hole evaporation in a spherically symmetric non-commutative space-time
Recent work in the literature has studied the quantum-mechanical decay of a
Schwarzschild-like black hole, formed by gravitational collapse, into
almost-flat space-time and weak radiation at a very late time. The relevant
quantum amplitudes have been evaluated for bosonic and fermionic fields,
showing that no information is lost in collapse to a black hole. On the other
hand, recent developments in noncommutative geometry have shown that, in
general relativity, the effects of non-commutativity can be taken into account
by keeping the standard form of the Einstein tensor on the left-hand side of
the field equations and introducing a modified energy-momentum tensor as a
source on the right-hand side. Relying on the recently obtained
non-commutativity effect on a static, spherically symmetric metric, we have
considered from a new perspective the quantum amplitudes in black hole
evaporation. The general relativity analysis of spin-2 amplitudes has been
shown to be modified by a multiplicative factor F depending on a constant
non-commutativity parameter and on the upper limit R of the radial coordinate.
Limiting forms of F have been derived which are compatible with the adiabatic
approximation.Comment: 8 pages, Latex file with IOP macros, prepared for the QFEXT07
Conference, Leipzig, September 200
Sclerostin does not play a major role in the pathogenesis of skeletal complications in type 2 diabetes mellitus
In contrast to previously reported elevations in serum sclerostin levels in diabetic patients, the present study shows that the impaired bone microarchitecture and cellular turnover associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)-like conditions in ZDF rats are not correlated with changes in serum and bone sclerostin expression. INTRODUCTION: T2DM is associated with impaired skeletal structure and a higher prevalence of bone fractures. Sclerostin, a negative regulator of bone formation, is elevated in serum of diabetic patients. We aimed to relate changes in bone architecture and cellular activities to sclerostin production in the Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rat. METHODS: Bone density and architecture were measured by micro-CT and bone remodelling by histomorphometry in tibiae and femurs of 14-week-old male ZDF rats and lean Zucker controls (n = 6/group). RESULTS: ZDF rats showed lower trabecular bone mineral density and bone mass compared to controls, due to decreases in bone volume and thickness, along with impaired bone connectivity and cortical bone geometry. Bone remodelling was impaired in diabetic rats, demonstrated by decreased bone formation rate and increased percentage of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-positive osteoclastic surfaces. Serum sclerostin levels (ELISA) were higher in ZDF compared to lean rats at 9 weeks (+40 %, p < 0.01), but this difference disappeared as their glucose control deteriorated and by week 14, ZDF rats had lower sclerostin levels than control rats (-44 %, p < 0.0001). Bone sclerostin mRNA (qPCR) and protein (immunohistochemistry) were similar in ZDF, and lean rats at 14 weeks and genotype did not affect the number of empty osteocytic lacunae in cortical and trabecular bone. CONCLUSION: T2DM results in impaired skeletal architecture through altered remodelling pathways, but despite altered serum levels, it does not appear that sclerostin contributes to the deleterious effect of T2DM in rat bone
Gravitational amplitudes in black-hole evaporation: the effect of non-commutative geometry
Recent work in the literature has studied the quantum-mechanical decay of a
Schwarzschild-like black hole, formed by gravitational collapse, into
almost-flat space-time and weak radiation at a very late time. The relevant
quantum amplitudes have been evaluated for bosonic and fermionic fields,
showing that no information is lost in collapse to a black hole. On the other
hand, recent developments in noncommutative geometry have shown that, in
general relativity, the effects of noncommutativity can be taken into account
by keeping the standard form of the Einstein tensor on the left-hand side of
the field equations and introducing a modified energy-momentum tensor as a
source on the right-hand side. The present paper, relying on the recently
obtained noncommutativity effect on a static, spherically symmetric metric,
considers from a new perspective the quantum amplitudes in black hole
evaporation. The general relativity analysis of spin-2 amplitudes is shown to
be modified by a multiplicative factor F depending on a constant
non-commutativity parameter and on the upper limit R of the radial coordinate.
Limiting forms of F are derived which are compatible with the adiabatic
approximation here exploited. Approximate formulae for the particle emission
rate are also obtained within this framework.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures, Latex macros. In the final version, section 5
has been amended, the presentation has been improved, and References 21-24
have been added. Last misprints amended in Section 5 and Ref. 2
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