1,401 research outputs found
(Twisted) Toroidal Compactification of pp-Waves
The maximally supersymmetric type IIB pp-wave is compactified on spatial
circles, with and without an auxiliary rotational twist. All spatial circles of
constant radius are identified. Without the twist, an S compactification
can preserve 24, 20 or 16 supercharges. compactifications can preserve
20, 18 or 16 supercharges; compactifications can preserve 18 or 16
supercharges and higher compactifications preserve 16 supercharges. The
worldsheet theory of this background is discussed. The T-dual and
decompactified type IIA and M-theoretic solutions which preserve 24
supercharges are given. Some comments are made regarding the AdS parent and the
CFT description.Comment: 22 pages REVTeX 4 and AMSLaTeX. v3: References and a paragraph on
nine dimensional Killing spinors were added. v4: A few typos corrected and a
footnote was modifie
Gold as an inflation hedge?
This paper attempts to reconcile an apparent contradiction between short-run and long-run movements in the price of gold. The theoretical model suggests a set of conditions under which the price of gold rises over time at the general rate of inflation and hence be an effective hedge against inflation. The model also demonstrates that short-run changes in the gold lease rate, the real interest rate, convenience yield, default risk, the covariance of gold returns with other assets and the dollar/world exchange rate can disturb this equilibrium relationship and generate short-run price volatility. Using monthly gold price data (1976-1999), and cointegration regression techniques, an empirical analysis confirms the central hypotheses of the theoretical model
Quantum optical coherence tomography with dispersion cancellation
We propose a new technique, called quantum optical coherence tomography
(QOCT), for carrying out tomographic measurements with dispersion-cancelled
resolution. The technique can also be used to extract the frequency-dependent
refractive index of the medium. QOCT makes use of a two-photon interferometer
in which a swept delay permits a coincidence interferogram to be traced. The
technique bears a resemblance to classical optical coherence tomography (OCT).
However, it makes use of a nonclassical entangled twin-photon light source that
permits measurements to be made at depths greater than those accessible via
OCT, which suffers from the deleterious effects of sample dispersion. Aside
from the dispersion cancellation, QOCT offers higher sensitivity than OCT as
well as an enhancement of resolution by a factor of 2 for the same source
bandwidth. QOCT and OCT are compared using an idealized sample.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figure
Encapsulation of Naproxen in Lipid-Based Matrix Microspheres: Characterization and Release Kinetics
The objective of this study was to microencapsulate the anti-inflammatory drug (naproxen) to provide controlled release and minimizing or eliminating local side effect by avoiding the drug release in the upper gastrointestinal track. Naproxen was microencapsulated with lipid-like carnauba wax, hydrogenated castor oil using modified melt dispersion (modified congealable disperse phase encapsulation) technique. Effect of various formulation and process variables such as drug-lipid ratio, concentration of modifier, concentration of dispersant, stirring speed, stirring time, temperature of external phase, on evaluatory parameters such as size, entrapment efficiency, and in vitro release of naproxen were studied. The microspheres were characterized for particle size, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), FT-IR spectroscopy, drug entrapment efficiency, in vitro release studies, for in vitro release kinetics. The shape of microspheres was found to be spherical by SEM. The drug entrapment efficiency of various batches of microspheres was found to be ranging from 60 to 90 %w/w. In vitro drug release studies were carried out up to 24 h in pH 7.4 phosphate buffer showing 50-65% drug release. In vitro drug release from all the batches showed better fitting with the Korsmeyer-Peppas model, indicating the possible mechanism of drug release to be by diffusion and erosion of the lipid matrix
A biphotons double slit experiment
In this paper we present a double slit experiment where two undistinguishable
photons produced by type I PDC are sent each to a well defined slit. Data about
the diffraction and interference patterns for coincidences are presented and
discussed. An analysis of these data allows a first test of standard quantum
mechanics against de Broglie-Bohm theory
Holstein polarons in a strong electric field: delocalized and stretched states
The coherent dynamics of a Holstein polaron in strong electric fields is
considered under different regimes. Using analytical and numerical analysis, we
show that even for small hopping constant and weak electron-phonon interaction,
the original discrete Wannier-Stark (WS) ladder electronic states are each
replaced by a semi-continuous band if a resonance condition is satisfied
between the phonon frequency and the ladder spacing. In this regime, the
original localized WS states can become {\em delocalized}, yielding both
`tunneling' and `stretched' polarons. The transport properties of such a system
would exhibit a modulation of the phonon replicas in typical tunneling
experiments. The modulation will reflect the complex spectra with
nearly-fractal structure of the semi-continuous band. In the off-resonance
regime, the WS ladder is strongly deformed, although the states are still
localized to a degree which depends on the detuning: Both the spacing between
the levels in the deformed ladder and the localization length of the resulting
eigenfunctions can be adjusted by the applied electric field. We also discuss
the regime beyond small hopping constant and weak coupling, and find an
interesting mapping to that limit via the Lang-Firsov transformation, which
allows one to extend the region of validity of the analysis.Comment: 10 pages, 13 figures, submitted to PR
Theory of excited state absorptions in phenylene-based -conjugated polymers
Within a rigid-band correlated electron model for oligomers of
poly-(paraphenylene) (PPP) and poly-(paraphenylenevinylene) (PPV), we show that
there exist two fundamentally different classes of two-photon A states in
these systems to which photoinduced absorption (PA) can occur. At relatively
lower energies there occur A states which are superpositions of one
electron - one hole (1e--1h) and two electron -- two hole (2e--2h) excitations,
that are both comprised of the highest delocalized valence band and the lowest
delocalized conduction band states only. The dominant PA is to one specific
member of this class of states (the mA). In addition to the above class of
A states, PA can also occur to a higher energy kA state whose 2e--2h
component is {\em different} and has significant contributions from excitations
involving both delocalized and localized bands. Our calculated scaled energies
of the mA and the kA agree reasonably well to the experimentally
observed low and high energy PAs in PPV. The calculated relative intensities of
the two PAs are also in qualitative agreement with experiment. In the case of
ladder-type PPP and its oligomers, we predict from our theoretical work a new
intense PA at an energy considerably lower than the region where PA have been
observed currently. Based on earlier work that showed that efficient
charge--carrier generation occurs upon excitation to odd--parity states that
involve both delocalized and localized bands, we speculate that it is the
characteristic electronic nature of the kA that leads to charge generation
subsequent to excitation to this state, as found experimentally.Comment: Revtex4 style, 2 figures inserted in the text, three tables, 10 page
Mobilisation of arsenic from bauxite residue (red mud) affected soils: effect of pH and redox conditions
The tailings dam breach at the Ajka alumina plant, western Hungary in 2010 introduced ~1 million m3 of red mud suspension into the surrounding area. Red mud (fine fraction bauxite residue) has a characteristically alkaline pH and contains several potentially toxic elements, including arsenic. Aerobic and anaerobic batch experiments were prepared using soils from near Ajka in order to investigate the effects of red mud addition on soil biogeochemistry and arsenic mobility in soil–water experiments representative of land affected by the red mud spill. XAS analysis showed that As was present in the red mud as As(V) in the form of arsenate. The remobilisation of red mud associated arsenate was highly pH dependent and the addition of phosphate to red mud suspensions greatly enhanced As release to solution. In aerobic batch experiments, where red mud was mixed with soils, As release to solution was highly dependent on pH. Carbonation of these alkaline solutions by dissolution of atmospheric CO2 reduced pH, which resulted in a decrease of aqueous As concentrations over time. However, this did not result in complete removal of aqueous As in any of the experiments. Carbonation did not occur in anaerobic experiments and pH remained high. Aqueous As concentrations initially increased in all the anaerobic red mud amended experiments, and then remained relatively constant as the systems became more reducing, both XANES and HPLC–ICP-MS showed that no As reduction processes occurred and that only As(V) species were present. These experiments show that there is the potential for increased As mobility in soil–water systems affected by red mud addition under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions
Can the "brick wall" model present the same results in different coordinate representations?
By using the 't Hooft's "brick wall" model and the Pauli-Villars
regularization scheme we calculate the statistical-mechanical entropies arising
from the quantum scalar field in different coordinate settings, such as the
Painlev\'{e} and Lemaitre coordinates. At first glance, it seems that the
entropies would be different from that in the standard Schwarzschild coordinate
since the metrics in both the Painlev\'{e} and Lemaitre coordinates do not
possess the singularity at the event horizon as that in the Schwarzschild-like
coordinate. However, after an exact calculation we find that, up to the
subleading correction, the statistical-mechanical entropies in these
coordinates are equivalent to that in the Schwarzschild-like coordinate. The
result is not only valid for black holes and de Sitter spaces, but also for the
case that the quantum field exerts back reaction on the gravitational field
provided that the back reaction does not alter the symmetry of the spacetime.Comment: 8 pages, Phys. Rev. D in pres
2d Stringy Black Holes and Varying Constants
Motivated by the recent interest on models with varying constants and whether
black hole physics can constrain such theories, two-dimensional charged stringy
black holes are considered. We exploit the role of two-dimensional stringy
black holes as toy models for exploring paradoxes which may lead to constrains
on a theory. A two-dimensional charged stringy black hole is investigated in
two different settings. Firstly, the two-dimensional black hole is treated as
an isolated object and secondly, it is contained in a thermal environment. In
both cases, it is shown that the temperature and the entropy of the
two-dimensional charged stringy black hole are decreased when its electric
charge is increased in time. By piecing together our results and previous ones,
we conclude that in the context of black hole thermodynamics one cannot derive
any model independent constraints for the varying constants. Therefore, it
seems that there aren't any varying constant theories that are out of favor
with black hole thermodynamics.Comment: 12 pages, LaTeX, to appear in JHE
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