596 research outputs found
Dynamics and genetic structure of Argentine ant supercolonies in their native range.
Some introduced ant populations have an extraordinary social organization, called unicoloniality, whereby individuals mix freely within large supercolonies. We investigated whether this mode of social organization also exists in native populations of the Argentine ant Linepithema humile. Behavioral analyses revealed the presence of 11 supercolonies (width 1 to 515 m) over a 3-km transect. As in the introduced range, there was always strong aggression between but never within supercolonies. The genetic data were in perfect agreement with the behavioral tests, all nests being assigned to identical supercolonies with the different methods. There was strong genetic differentiation between supercolonies but no genetic differentiation among nests within supercolonies. We never found more than a single mitochondrial haplotype per supercolony, further supporting the view that supercolonies are closed breeding units. Genetic and chemical distances between supercolonies were positively correlated, but there were no other significant associations between geographic, genetic, chemical, and behavioral distances. A comparison of supercolonies sampled in 1999 and 2005 revealed a very high turnover, with about one-third of the supercolonies being replaced yearly. This dynamic is likely to involve strong competition between supercolonies and thus act as a potent selective force maintaining unicoloniality over evolutionary time
A Systematic Extended Iterative Solution for QCD
An outline is given of an extended perturbative solution of Euclidean QCD
which systematically accounts for a class of nonperturbative effects, while
allowing renormalization by the perturbative counterterms. Proper vertices
Gamma are approximated by a double sequence Gamma[r,p], with r the degree of
rational approximation w.r.t. the QCD mass scale Lambda, nonanalytic in the
coupling g, and p the order of perturbative corrections in g-squared,
calculated from Gamma[r,0] - rather than from the perturbative Feynman rules
Gamma(0)(pert) - as a starting point. The mechanism allowing the
nonperturbative terms to reproduce themselves in the Dyson-Schwinger equations
preserves perturbative renormalizability and is tied to the divergence
structure of the theory. As a result, it restricts the self-consistency problem
for the Gamma[r,0] rigorously - i.e. without decoupling approximations - to the
superficially divergent vertices. An interesting aspect of the scheme is that
rational-function sequences for the propagators allow subsequences describing
short-lived excitations. The method is calculational, in that it allows known
techniques of loop computation to be used while dealing with integrands of
truly nonperturbative content.Comment: 48 pages (figures included). Scope of replacement: correction of a
technical defect; no changes in conten
Distributions and sources of isoprenoidal GDGTs in Lake Lugano and other central European (peri-)alpine lakes: Lessons for their use as paleotemperature proxies
Chiral Symmetry and Diffractive Neutral Pion Photo- and Electroproduction
We show that diffractive production of a single neutral pion in
photon-induced reactions at high energy is dynamically suppressed due to the
approximate chiral symmetry of QCD. These reactions have been proposed as a
test of the odderon exchange mechanism. We show that the odderon contribution
to the amplitude for such reactions vanishes exactly in the chiral limit. This
result is obtained in a nonperturbative framework and by using PCAC relations
between the amplitudes for neutral pion and axial vector current production.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figure
The effect of oxygen limitation on a xylophagous insect's heat tolerance is influenced by life-stage through variation in aerobic scope and respiratory anatomy
Temperature has a profound impact on insect fitness and performance via metabolic, enzymatic or chemical reaction rate effects. However, oxygen availability can interact with these thermal responses in complex and often poorly understood ways, especially in hypoxia-adapted species. Here we test the hypothesis that thermal limits are reduced under low oxygen availability - such as might happen when key life-stages reside within plants - but also extend this test to attempt to explain that the magnitude of the effect of hypoxia depends on variation in key respiration-related parameters such as aerobic scope and respiratory morphology. Using two life-stages of a xylophagous cerambycid beetle, Cacosceles (Zelogenes) newmannii we assessed oxygen-limitation effects on metabolic performance and thermal limits. We complement these physiological assessments with high-resolution 3D (micro-computed tomography scan) morphometry in both life-stages. Results showed that although larvae and adults have similar critical thermal maxima (CTmax) under normoxia, hypoxia reduces metabolic rate in adults to a greater extent than it does in larvae, thus reducing aerobic scope in the former far more markedly. In separate experiments, we also show that adults defend a tracheal oxygen (critical) setpoint more consistently than do larvae, indicated by switching between discontinuous gas exchange cycles (DGC) and continuous respiratory patterns under experimentally manipulated oxygen levels. These effects can be explained by the fact that the volume of respiratory anatomy is positively correlated with body mass in adults but is apparently size-invariant in larvae. Thus, the two life-stages of C. newmannii display key differences in respiratory structure and function that can explain the magnitude of the effect of hypoxia on upper thermal limits
Accurate evaluation of the interstitial KKR-Green function
It is shown that the Brillouin zone integral for the interstitial KKR-Green
function can be evaluated accurately by taking proper care of the free-electron
singularities in the integrand. The proposed method combines two recently
developed methods, a supermatrix method and a subtraction method. This
combination appears to provide a major improvement compared with an earlier
proposal based on the subtraction method only. By this the barrier preventing
the study of important interstitial-like defects, such as an electromigrating
atom halfway along its jump path, can be considered as being razed.Comment: 23 pages, RevTe
Charge-Symmetry Violation in Pion Scattering from Three-Body Nuclei
We discuss the experimental and theoretical status of charge-symmetry
violation (CSV) in the elastic scattering of pi+ and pi- on 3H and 3He.
Analysis of the experimental data for the ratios r1, r2, and R at Tpi = 142,
180, 220, and 256 MeV provides evidence for the presence of CSV. We describe
pion scattering from the three-nucleon system in terms of single- and
double-scattering amplitudes. External and internal Coulomb interactions as
well as the Delta-mass splitting are taken into account as sources of CSV.
Reasonable agreement between our theoretical calculations and the experimental
data is obtained for Tpi = 180, 220, and 256 MeV. For these energies, it is
found that the Delta-mass splitting and the internal Coulomb interaction are
the most important contributions for CSV in the three-nucleon system. The CSV
effects are rather sensitive to the choice of pion-nuclear scattering
mechanisms, but at the same time, our theoretical predictions are much less
sensitive to the choice of the nuclear wave function. It is found, however,
that data for r2 and R at Tpi = 142 MeV do not agree with the predictions of
our model, which may indicate that there are additional mechanisms for CSV
which are important only at lower energies.Comment: 26 pages of RevTeX, 16 postscript figure
Rate-equation calculations of the current flow through two-site molecular device and DNA-based junction
Here we present the calculations of incoherent current flowing through the
two-site molecular device as well as the DNA-based junction within the
rate-equation approach. Few interesting phenomena are discussed in detail.
Structural asymmetry of two-site molecule results in rectification effect,
which can be neutralized by asymmetric voltage drop at the molecule-metal
contacts due to coupling asymmetry. The results received for poly(dG)-poly(dC)
DNA molecule reveal the coupling- and temperature-independent saturation effect
of the current at high voltages, where for short chains we establish the
inverse square distance dependence. Besides, we document the shift of the
conductance peak in the direction to higher voltages due to the temperature
decrease.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure
Quantum Mechanics from Focusing and Symmetry
A foundation of quantum mechanics based on the concepts of focusing and
symmetry is proposed. Focusing is connected to c-variables - inaccessible
conceptually derived variables; several examples of such variables are given.
The focus is then on a maximal accessible parameter, a function of the common
c-variable. Symmetry is introduced via a group acting on the c-variable. From
this, the Hilbert space is constructed and state vectors and operators are
given a clear interpretation. The Born formula is proved from weak assumptions,
and from this the usual rules of quantum mechanics are derived. Several
paradoxes and other issues of quantum theory are discussed.Comment: 26 page
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