2,126 research outputs found
The Fulling-Unruh effect in general stationary accelerated frames
We study the generalized Unruh effect for accelerated reference frames that
include rotation in addition to acceleration. We focus particularly on the case
where the motion is planar, with presence of a static limit in addition to the
event horizon. Possible definitions of an accelerated vacuum state are examined
and the interpretation of the Minkowski vacuum state as a thermodynamic state
is discussed. Such athermodynamic state is shown to depend on two parameters,
the acceleration temperature and a drift velocity, which are determined by the
acceleration and angular velocity of the accelerated frame. We relate the
properties of Minkowski vacuum in the accelerated frame to the excitation
spectrum of a detector that is stationary in this frame. The detector can be
excited both by absorbing positive energy quanta in the "hot" vacuum state and
by emitting negative energy quanta into the "ergosphere" between the horizon
and the static limit. The effects are related to similar effects in the
gravitational field of a rotating black hole.Comment: Latex, 39 pages, 5 figure
J.S. Bell's Concept of Local Causality
John Stewart Bell's famous 1964 theorem is widely regarded as one of the most
important developments in the foundations of physics. It has even been
described as "the most profound discovery of science." Yet even as we approach
the 50th anniversary of Bell's discovery, its meaning and implications remain
controversial. Many textbooks and commentators report that Bell's theorem
refutes the possibility (suggested especially by Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen
in 1935) of supplementing ordinary quantum theory with additional ("hidden")
variables that might restore determinism and/or some notion of an
observer-independent reality. On this view, Bell's theorem supports the
orthodox Copenhagen interpretation. Bell's own view of his theorem, however,
was quite different. He instead took the theorem as establishing an "essential
conflict" between the now well-tested empirical predictions of quantum theory
and relativistic \emph{local causality}. The goal of the present paper is, in
general, to make Bell's own views more widely known and, in particular, to
explain in detail Bell's little-known mathematical formulation of the concept
of relativistic local causality on which his theorem rests. We thus collect and
organize many of Bell's crucial statements on these topics, which are scattered
throughout his writings, into a self-contained, pedagogical discussion
including elaborations of the concepts "beable", "completeness", and
"causality" which figure in the formulation. We also show how local causality
(as formulated by Bell) can be used to derive an empirically testable Bell-type
inequality, and how it can be used to recapitulate the EPR argument.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figure
Nitrogen and water dynamics in farming systems – multi-year impact of crop sequences
Take home messages
• Grain legumes have utilised soil mineral nitrogen (N) to the same extent as cereal crops and have higher N export which often offsets N fixation inputs
• Additional applied N reduced the depletion of background soil mineral N status at most sites; we are recovering a high percentage (>50%) in soil mineral pool.
• Application of ~50 t/ha of compost or manure (10 t/ha OC) coupled with N fertiliser rates for 90th percentile yield potential has dramatically increased the soil mineral N in four years
• Decreasing cropping frequency has reduced N export and so stored more N over the longer fallows, which has reduced N fertiliser requirements for following crops
• Long fallows are mineralising N and moving N down the soil profile even under some very dry conditions
• Most excess N is not lost in the system rather it is moved down the soil profile for future crops
• The marginal WUE of crops (i.e. the grain yield increase per extra mm of available water) is lower when crops have less than 100 mm prior to planting. Hence, waiting until soil moisture reaches these levels is critical to maximise conversion of accumulated soil moisture into grain
• The previous crop influences the efficiency of fallow water accumulation with winter cereals > sorghum > pulses. Long fallows are also less efficient than shorter fallows (<8 months). This has implications for assuming how much soil moisture may have accumulated during fallows
Quenched Cold Accretion of a Large Scale Metal-Poor Filament due to Virial Shocking in the Halo of a Massive z=0.7 Galaxy
Using HST/COS/STIS and HIRES/Keck high-resolution spectra, we have studied a
remarkable HI absorbing complex at z=0.672 toward the quasar Q1317+277. The HI
absorption has a velocity spread of 1600 km/s, comprises 21 Voigt profile
components, and resides at an impact parameter of D=58 kpc from a bright, high
mass [log(M_vir/M_sun) ~ 13.7] elliptical galaxy that is deduced to have a 6
Gyr old, solar metallicity stellar population. Ionization models suggest the
majority of the structure is cold gas surrounding a shock heated cloud that is
kinematically adjacent to a multi-phase group of clouds with detected CIII, CIV
and OVI absorption, suggestive of a conductive interface near the shock. The
deduced metallicities are consistent with the moderate in situ enrichment
relative to the levels observed in the z ~ 3 Ly-alpha forest. We interpret the
HI complex as a metal-poor filamentary structure being shock heated as it
accretes into the halo of the galaxy. The data support the scenario of an early
formation period (z > 4) in which the galaxy was presumably fed by cold-mode
gas accretion that was later quenched via virial shocking by the hot halo such
that, by intermediate redshift, the cold filamentary accreting gas is
continuing to be disrupted by shock heating. Thus, continued filamentary
accretion is being mixed into the hot halo, indicating that the star formation
of the galaxy will likely remain quenched. To date, the galaxy and the HI
absorption complex provide some of the most compelling observational data
supporting the theoretical picture in which accretion is virial shocked in the
hot coronal halos of high mass galaxies.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures, submitted to Ap
Anatomy of a post-starburst minor merger: a multi-wavelength WFC3 study of NGC 4150
(Abridged) We present a spatially-resolved near-UV/optical study of NGC 4150,
using the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on board the Hubble Space Telescope.
Previous studies of this early-type galaxy (ETG) indicate that it has a large
reservoir of molecular gas, exhibits a kinematically decoupled core (likely
indication of recent merging) and strong, central H_B absorption (indicative of
young stars). The core of NGC 4150 shows ubiquitous near-UV emission and
remarkable dusty substructure. Our analysis shows this galaxy to lie in the
near-UV green valley, and its pixel-by-pixel photometry exhibits a narrow range
of near-UV/optical colours that are similar to those of nearby E+A
(post-starburst) galaxies. We parametrise the properties of the recent star
formation (age, mass fraction, metallicity and internal dust content) in the
NGC 4150 pixels by comparing the observed near-UV/optical photometry to stellar
models. The typical age of the recent star formation (RSF) is around 0.9 Gyrs,
consistent with the similarity of the near-UV colours to post-starburst
systems, while the morphological structure of the young component supports the
proposed merger scenario. The RSF metallicity, representative of the
metallicity of the gas fuelling star formation, is around 0.3 - 0.5 Zsun.
Assuming that this galaxy is a merger and that the gas is sourced mainly from
the infalling companion, these metallicities plausibly indicate the gas-phase
metallicity (GPM) of the accreted satellite. Comparison to the local mass-GPM
relation suggests (crudely) that the mass of the accreted system is around
3x10^8 Msun, making NGC 4150 a 1:20 minor merger. A summation of the pixel RSF
mass fractions indicates that the RSF contributes about 2-3 percent of the
stellar mass. This work reaffirms our hypothesis that minor mergers play a
significant role in the evolution of ETGs at late epochs.Comment: 28 pages, 2 tables, accepted for publication in Ap
The microaerophilic microbiota of de-novo paediatric inflammatory bowel disease: the BISCUIT study
<p>Introduction: Children presenting for the first time with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) offer a unique opportunity to study aetiological agents before the confounders of treatment. Microaerophilic bacteria can exploit the ecological niche of the intestinal epithelium; Helicobacter and Campylobacter are previously implicated in IBD pathogenesis. We set out to study these and other microaerophilic bacteria in de-novo paediatric IBD.</p>
<p>Patients and Methods: 100 children undergoing colonoscopy were recruited including 44 treatment naïve de-novo IBD patients and 42 with normal colons. Colonic biopsies were subjected to microaerophilic culture with Gram-negative isolates then identified by sequencing. Biopsies were also PCR screened for the specific microaerophilic bacterial groups: Helicobacteraceae, Campylobacteraceae and Sutterella wadsworthensis.</p>
<p>Results: 129 Gram-negative microaerophilic bacterial isolates were identified from 10 genera. The most frequently cultured was S. wadsworthensis (32 distinct isolates). Unusual Campylobacter were isolated from 8 subjects (including 3 C. concisus, 1 C. curvus, 1 C. lari, 1 C. rectus, 3 C. showae). No Helicobacter were cultured. When comparing IBD vs. normal colon control by PCR the prevalence figures were not significantly different (Helicobacter 11% vs. 12%, p = 1.00; Campylobacter 75% vs. 76%, p = 1.00; S. wadsworthensis 82% vs. 71%, p = 0.312).</p>
<p>Conclusions: This study offers a comprehensive overview of the microaerophilic microbiota of the paediatric colon including at IBD onset. Campylobacter appear to be surprisingly common, are not more strongly associated with IBD and can be isolated from around 8% of paediatric colonic biopsies. S. wadsworthensis appears to be a common commensal. Helicobacter species are relatively rare in the paediatric colon.</p>
Spatial and habitat variation in aphid, butterfly, moth and bird phenologies over the last half century
Global warming has advanced the timing of biological events, potentially leading to disruption across trophic levels. The potential importance of phenological change as a driver of population trends has been suggested. To fully understand the possible impacts, there is a need to quantify the scale of these changes spatially and according to habitat type. We studied the relationship between phenological trends, space and habitat type between 1965 and 2012 using an extensive UK dataset comprising 269 aphid, bird, butterfly and moth species. We modelled phenologies using generalized additive mixed models that included covariates for geographical (latitude, longitude, altitude), temporal (year, season) and habitat terms (woodland, scrub, grassland). Model selection showed that a baseline model with geographical and temporal components explained the variation in phenologies better than either a model in which space and time interacted or a habitat model without spatial terms. This baseline model showed strongly that phenologies shifted progressively earlier over time, that increasing altitude produced later phenologies and that a strong spatial component determined phenological timings, particularly latitude. The seasonal timing of a phenological event, in terms of whether it fell in the first or second half of the year, did not result in substantially different trends for butterflies. For moths, early season phenologies advanced more rapidly than those recorded later. Whilst temporal trends across all habitats resulted in earlier phenologies over time, agricultural habitats produced significantly later phenologies than most other habitats studied, probably because of nonclimatic drivers. A model with a significant habitat‐time interaction was the best‐fitting model for birds, moths and butterflies, emphasizing that the rates of phenological advance also differ among habitats for these groups. Our results suggest the presence of strong spatial gradients in mean seasonal timing and nonlinear trends towards earlier seasonal timing that varies in form and rate among habitat types
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