37 research outputs found
Wave propagation in axion electrodynamics
In this paper, the axion contribution to the electromagnetic wave propagation
is studied. First we show how the axion electrodynamics model can be embedded
into a premetric formalism of Maxwell electrodynamics. In this formalism, the
axion field is not an arbitrary added Chern-Simon term of the Lagrangian, but
emerges in a natural way as an irreducible part of a general constitutive
tensor.We show that in order to represent the axion contribution to the wave
propagation it is necessary to go beyond the geometric approximation, which is
usually used in the premetric formalism. We derive a covariant dispersion
relation for the axion modified electrodynamics. The wave propagation in this
model is studied for an axion field with timelike, spacelike and null
derivative covectors. The birefringence effect emerges in all these classes as
a signal of Lorentz violation. This effect is however completely different from
the ordinary birefringence appearing in classical optics and in premetric
electrodynamics. The axion field does not simple double the ordinary light cone
structure. In fact, it modifies the global topological structure of light cones
surfaces. In CFJ-electrodynamics, such a modification results in violation of
causality. In addition, the optical metrics in axion electrodynamics are not
pseudo-Riemannian. In fact, for all types of the axion field, they are even
non-Finslerian
Non-perturbative Propagators, Running Coupling and Dynamical Quark Mass of Landau gauge QCD
The coupled system of renormalized Dyson-Schwinger equations for the quark,
gluon and ghost propagators of Landau gauge QCD is solved within truncation
schemes. These employ bare as well as non-perturbative ansaetze for the
vertices such that the running coupling as well as the quark mass function are
independent of the renormalization point. The one-loop anomalous dimensions of
all propagators are reproduced. Dynamical chiral symmetry breaking is found,
the dynamically generated quark mass agrees well with phenomenological values
and corresponding results from lattice calculations. The effects of unquenching
the system are small. In particular the infrared behavior of the ghost and
gluon dressing functions found in previous studies is almost unchanged as long
as the number of light flavors is smaller than four.Comment: 34 pages, 10 figures, version to be published by Phys. Rev.
Analytic properties of the Landau gauge gluon and quark propagators
We explore the analytic structure of the gluon and quark propagators of
Landau gauge QCD from numerical solutions of the coupled system of renormalized
Dyson--Schwinger equations and from fits to lattice data. We find sizable
negative norm contributions in the transverse gluon propagator indicating the
absence of the transverse gluon from the physical spectrum. A simple analytic
structure for the gluon propagator is proposed. For the quark propagator we
find evidence for a mass-like singularity on the real timelike momentum axis,
with a mass of 350 to 500 MeV. Within the employed Green's functions approach
we identify a crucial term in the quark-gluon vertex that leads to a positive
definite Schwinger function for the quark propagator.Comment: 42 pages, 16 figures, revtex; version to be published in Phys Rev
Proteomics reveals antiviral host response and NETosis during acute COVID-19 in high-risk patients.
SARS-CoV-2 remains an acute threat to human health, endangering hospital capacities worldwide. Previous studies have aimed at informing pathophysiologic understanding and identification of disease indicators for risk assessment, monitoring, and therapeutic guidance. While findings start to emerge in the general population, observations in high-risk patients with complex pre-existing conditions are limited. We addressed the gap of existing knowledge with regard to a differentiated understanding of disease dynamics in SARS-CoV-2 infection while specifically considering disease stage and severity. We biomedically characterized quantitative proteomics in a hospitalized cohort of COVID-19 patients with mild to severe symptoms suffering from different (co)-morbidities in comparison to both healthy individuals and patients with non-COVID related inflammation. Deep clinical phenotyping enabled the identification of individual disease trajectories in COVID-19 patients. By the use of the individualized disease phase assignment, proteome analysis revealed a severity dependent general type-2-centered host response side-by-side with a disease specific antiviral immune reaction in early disease. The identification of phenomena such as neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation and a pro-coagulatory response characterizing severe disease was successfully validated in a second cohort. Together with the regulation of proteins related to SARS-CoV-2-specific symptoms identified by proteome screening, we not only confirmed results from previous studies but provide novel information for biomarker and therapy development