22,288 research outputs found
An astronomical search for evidence of new physics: Limits on gravity-induced birefringence from the magnetic white dwarf RE J0317-853
The coupling of the electromagnetic field directly with gravitational gauge
fields leads to new physical effects that can be tested using astronomical
data. Here we consider a particular case for closer scrutiny, a specific
nonminimal coupling of torsion to electromagnetism, which enters into a
metric-affine geometry of space-time. We show that under the assumption of this
nonminimal coupling, spacetime is birefringent in the presence of such a
gravitational field. This leads to the depolarization of light emitted from
extended astrophysical sources. We use polarimetric data of the magnetic white
dwarf to set strong constraints on the essential coupling
constant for this effect, giving k^2 \lsim (19 {m})^2 .Comment: Statements about Moffat's NGT modified. Accepted for publication in
Phys.Rev.
Far Infrared Variability of Sagittarius A*: 25.5 Hours of Monitoring with
Variable emission from Sgr~A*, the luminous counterpart to the super-massive
black hole at the center of our Galaxy, arises from the innermost portions of
the accretion flow. Better characterization of the variability is important for
constraining models of the low-luminosity accretion mode powering Sgr~A*, and
could further our ability to use variable emission as a probe of the strong
gravitational potential in the vicinity of the
black hole. We use the \textit{Herschel}
Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE) to monitor Sgr~A* at
wavelengths that are difficult or impossible to observe from the ground. We
find highly significant variations at 0.25, 0.35, and 0.5 mm, with temporal
structure that is highly correlated across these wavelengths. While the
variations correspond to 1% changes in the total intensity in the
\textit{Herschel} beam containing Sgr~A*, comparison to independent,
simultaneous observations at 0.85 mm strongly supports the reality of the
variations. The lowest point in the light curves, 0.5 Jy below the
time-averaged flux density, places a lower bound on the emission of Sgr~A* at
0.25 mm, the first such constraint on the THz portion of the SED. The
variability on few hour timescales in the SPIRE light curves is similar to that
seen in historical 1.3 mm data, where the longest time series is available, but
the distribution of variations in the sub-mm do not show a tail of
large-amplitude variations seen at 1.3 mm. Simultaneous X-ray photometry from
XMM-Newton shows no significant variation within our observing period, which
may explain the lack of very large variations if X-ray and submillimeter flares
are correlated.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
Thermal correlators of anyons in two dimensions
The anyon fields have trivial -commutator for not integer.
For integer the commutators become temperature-dependent operator
valued distributions. The -point functions do not factorize as for quasifree
states.Comment: 14 pages, LaTeX (misprints corrected, a reference added
Less government intervention in biodiversity management: risks and opportunities
n a changing global environment, with increasing pressure on ecosystem goods and services, biodiversity conservation is likely to become increasingly important. However, with the current global financial crisis, governments are increasingly trying to stabilise economies through spending cuts aiming to reduce national deficits. Within such an economic climate, the devolution of governance through public participation is an intrinsically appealing concept. We outline a number of challenges that explain why increased participation in biodiversity management has been and may continue to be problematic. Using as a case study the local stakeholder-driven Moray Firth Seal Management Plan in Scotland, we identify four key conditions that were crucial to the successful participatory management of a biodiversity conflict: a local champion, the emergence of a crisis point, the involvement of decision-makers, and long-term financial and institutional support. Three of the four conditions point to the role of direct government involvement, highlighting the risk of devolving responsibility for biodiversity conflict management to local communities. We argue that without an informed debate, the move towards a more participatory approach could pose a danger to hard-won policy gains in relation to public participation, biodiversity conservation and conflict management
Preparing projected entangled pair states on a quantum computer
We present a quantum algorithm to prepare injective PEPS on a quantum
computer, a class of open tensor networks representing quantum states. The
run-time of our algorithm scales polynomially with the inverse of the minimum
condition number of the PEPS projectors and, essentially, with the inverse of
the spectral gap of the PEPS' parent Hamiltonian.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure. To be published in Physical Review Letters.
Removed heuristics, refined run-time boun
Electrostatics of ions inside the nanopores and trans-membrane channels
A model of a finite cylindrical ion channel through a phospholipid membrane
of width separating two electrolyte reservoirs is studied. Analytical
solution of the Poisson equation is obtained for an arbitrary distribution of
ions inside the trans-membrane pore. The solution is asymptotically exact in
the limit of large ionic strength of electrolyte on the two sides of membrane.
However, even for physiological concentrations of electrolyte, the
electrostatic barrier sizes found using the theory are in excellent agreement
with the numerical solution of the Poisson equation. The analytical solution is
used to calculate the electrostatic potential energy profiles for pores
containing charged protein residues. Availability of a semi-exact interionic
potential should greatly facilitate the study of ionic transport through
nanopores and ion channels
Probing Strong-Field Scalar-Tensor Gravity with Gravitational Wave Asteroseismology
We present an alternative way of tracing the existence of a scalar field
based on the analysis of the gravitational wave spectrum of a vibrating neutron
star. Scalar-tensor theories in strong-field gravity can potentially introduce
much greater differences in the parameters of a neutron star than the
uncertainties introduced by the various equations of state. The detection of
gravitational waves from neutron stars can set constraints on the existence and
the strength of scalar fields. We show that the oscillation spectrum is
dramatically affected by the presence of a scalar field, and can provide unique
confirmation of its existence.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figure
On second-order differential equations with highly oscillatory forcing terms
We present a method to compute efficiently solutions of systems of ordinary differential equations that possess highly oscillatory forcing terms. This approach is based on asymptotic expansions in inverse powers of the oscillatory parameter,and features two fundamental advantages with respect to standard ODE solvers: rstly, the construction of the numerical solution is more efficient when the system is highly oscillatory, and secondly, the cost of the computation is essentially independent of the oscillatory parameter. Numerical examples are provided, motivated by problems in electronic engineering
On the existence of infinitely many closed geodesics on orbifolds of revolution
Using the theory of geodesics on surfaces of revolution, we introduce the
period function. We use this as our main tool in showing that any
two-dimensional orbifold of revolution homeomorphic to S^2 must contain an
infinite number of geometrically distinct closed geodesics. Since any such
orbifold of revolution can be regarded as a topological two-sphere with metric
singularities, we will have extended Bangert's theorem on the existence of
infinitely many closed geodesics on any smooth Riemannian two-sphere. In
addition, we give an example of a two-sphere cone-manifold of revolution which
possesses a single closed geodesic, thus showing that Bangert's result does not
hold in the wider class of closed surfaces with cone manifold structures.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures; for a PDF version see
http://www.calpoly.edu/~jborzell/Publications/publications.htm
Analysis of the Hydrogen-rich Magnetic White Dwarfs in the SDSS
We have calculated optical spectra of hydrogen-rich (DA) white dwarfs with
magnetic field strengths between 1 MG and 1000 MG for temperatures between 7000
K and 50000 K. Through a least-squares minimization scheme with an evolutionary
algorithm, we have analyzed the spectra of 114 magnetic DAs from the SDSS (95
previously published plus 14 newly discovered within SDSS, and five discovered
by SEGUE). Since we were limited to a single spectrum for each object we used
only centered magnetic dipoles or dipoles which were shifted along the magnetic
dipole axis. We also statistically investigated the distribution of
magnetic-field strengths and geometries of our sample.Comment: to appear in the proceedings of the 16th European Workshop on White
Dwarfs, Barcelona, 200
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