135,866 research outputs found
Leptogenesis in the two right-handed neutrino model revisited
We revisit leptogenesis in the minimal non-supersymmetric type I see-saw
mechanism with two right-handed (RH) neutrinos, including flavour effects and
allowing both RH neutrinos N_1 and N_2 to contribute, rather than just the
lightest RH neutrino N_1 that has hitherto been considered. By performing scans
over parameter space in terms of the single complex angle z of the orthogonal
matrix R, for a range of PMNS parameters, we find that in regions around z \sim
\pm \pi/2, for the case of a normal mass hierarchy, the N_2 contribution can
dominate the contribution to leptogenesis, allowing the lightest RH neutrino
mass to be decreased by about an order of magnitude in these regions, down to
M_1 \sim 1.3*10^11 GeV for vanishing initial N_2-abundance, with the numerical
results supported by analytic estimates. We show that the regions around z \sim
\pm \pi /2 correspond to light sequential dominance, so the new results in this
paper may be relevant to unified model building.Comment: 41 pages, 10 figures; v2 matches published version in PR
Exclusive and photoproduction and the low gluon
We study exclusive vector meson photoproduction, with
or , at NLO in collinear factorisation, in order to
examine what may be learnt about the gluon distribution at very low . We
examine the factorisation scale dependence of the predictions. We argue that,
using knowledge of the NLO corrections, terms enhanced by a large
can be reabsorbed in the LO part by a choice of the factorisation scale. (In
these exclusive processes takes the role of Bjorken-.) Then, the scale
dependence coming from the remaining NLO contributions has no
enhancements. As a result, we find that predictions for the amplitude of
production are stable to within about . This will allow
data for the exclusive process at the LHC, particularly
from LHCb, to be included in global parton analyses to constrain the gluon PDF
down to . Moreover, the study of exclusive
photoproduction indicates that the gluon density found in the recent global PDF
analyses is too small at low and low scales.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures. Text significantly improved, references added,
version to be published in J.Phys.
Nematic cells with defect-patterned alignment layers
Using Monte Carlo simulations of the Lebwohl--Lasher model we study the
director ordering in a nematic cell where the top and bottom surfaces are
patterned with a lattice of point topological defects of lattice
spacing . We find that the nematic order depends crucially on the ratio of
the height of the cell to . When the system is very
well--ordered and the frustration induced by the lattice of defects is relieved
by a network of half--integer defect lines which emerge from the point defects
and hug the top and bottom surfaces of the cell. When the
system is disordered and the half--integer defect lines thread through the cell
joining point defects on the top and bottom surfaces. We present a simple
physical argument in terms of the length of the defect lines to explain these
results. To facilitate eventual comparison with experimental systems we also
simulate optical textures and study the switching behavior in the presence of
an electric field
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The effect of dyslexia on information retrieval: A pilot study
Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to resolve a gap in our knowledge of how people with dyslexia interact with Information Retrieval (IR) systems, specifically an understanding of their information searching behaviour. Very little research has been undertaken with this particular user group, and given the size of the group (an estimated 10% of the population) this lack of knowledge needs to be addressed.
Design/Methodology/Approach - We use elements of the dyslexia cognitive profile to design a logging system recording the difference between two sets of participants: dyslexic and control users. We use a standard Okapi interface together with two standard TREC topics in order to record the information searching behaviour of these users. We gather evidence from various sources, including quantitative information on search logs, together with qualitative information from interviews and questionnaires. We record variables on queries, documents, relevance assessments and sessions in the search logs. We use this evidence to examine the difference in searching between the two sets of users, in order to understand the effect of dyslexia on the information searching behaviour. A topic analysis is also conducted on the quantitative data to show any effect on the results from the information need.
Research limitations/implications – As this is a pilot study, only 10 participants were recruited for the study, 5 for each user group. Due to ethical issues, the number of topics per search was restricted to one topic only. The study shows that the methodology applied is useful for distinguishing between the two user groups, taking into account differences between topic. We outline further research on the back of this pilot study in four main areas. A different approach from the proposed methodology is needed to measure the effect on query variables, which takes account of topic variation. More details on users are needed such as reading abilities, speed of language processing and working memory to distinguish the user groups. Effect of topic on search interaction must be measured in order to record the potential impact on the dyslexic user group. Work is needed on relevance assessment and effect on precision and recall for users who may not read many documents.
Findings – Using the log data, we establish the differences in information searching behaviour of control and dyslexic users i.e. in the way the two groups interact with Okapi, and that qualitative information collected (such as experience etc) may not be able to account for these differences. Evidence from query variables was unable to distinguish between groups, but differences on topic for the same variables were recorded. Users who view more documents tended to judge more documents as being relevant, either in terms of the user group or topic. Session data indicated that there may be an important difference between the number of iterations used in a search between the user groups, as there may be little effect from the topic on this variable.
Originality/Value – This is the first study of the effect of dyslexia on information search behaviour, and provides some evidence to take the field forward
Structural templating as a route to improved photovoltaic performance in copper phthalocyanine/fullerene (C60) heterojunctions
We have developed a method to improve the short circuit current density in copper phthalocyanine (CuPc)/fullerene (C60) organic solar cells by ~60% by modifying the CuPc crystal orientation through use of a molecular interlayer to maximize charge transport in the direction between the two electrodes. Powder x-ray diffraction and electronic absorption spectroscopy show that a thin 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride interlayer before CuPc growth templates the CuPc film structure, forcing the molecules to lie flat with respect to the substrate surface, although the intrastack orientation is unaffected. This modified stacking configuration facilitates charge transport and improves charge collection
Slow synaptic transmission in frog sympathetic ganglia
Bullfrog ganglia contain two classes of neurone, B and C cells, which receive different inputs and exhibit different slow synaptic potentials. B cells, to which most effort has been directed, possess slow and late slow EPSPs. The sEPSP reflects a muscarinic action of acetylcholine released from boutons on B cells, whereas the late sEPSP is caused by a peptide (similar to teleost LHRH) released from boutons on C cells. During either sEPSP there is a selective reduction in two slow potassium conductances, designated 'M' and 'AHP'. The M conductance is voltage dependent and the AHP conductance is calcium dependent. Normally they act synergistically to prevent repetitive firing of action potentials during maintained stimuli. Computer stimulation of the interactions of these conductances with the other five voltage-dependent conductances present in the membrane allows a complete reconstruction of the effects of slow synaptic transmission on electrical behaviour
X-ray polarimetry with an active-matrix pixel proportional counter
We report the first results from an X-ray polarimeter with a micropattern gas
proportional counter using an amorphous silicon active matrix readout. With
100% polarized X-rays at 4.5 keV, we obtain a modulation factor of 0.33 +/-
0.03, confirming previous reports of the high polarization sensitivity of a
finely segmented pixel proportional counter. The detector described here has a
geometry suitable for the focal plane of an astronomical X-ray telescope.
Amorphous silicon readout technology will enable additional extensions and
improvements.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl
Efficient decoupling schemes with bounded controls based on Eulerian orthogonal arrays
The task of decoupling, i.e., removing unwanted interactions in a system
Hamiltonian and/or couplings with an environment (decoherence), plays an
important role in controlling quantum systems. There are many efficient
decoupling schemes based on combinatorial concepts like orthogonal arrays,
difference schemes and Hadamard matrices. So far these (combinatorial)
decoupling schemes have relied on the ability to effect sequences of
instantaneous, arbitrarily strong control Hamiltonians (bang-bang controls). To
overcome the shortcomings of bang-bang control Viola and Knill proposed a
method called Eulerian decoupling that allows the use of bounded-strength
controls for decoupling. However, their method was not directly designed to
take advantage of the composite structure of multipartite quantum systems. In
this paper we define a combinatorial structure called an Eulerian orthogonal
array. It merges the desirable properties of orthogonal arrays and Eulerian
cycles in Cayley graphs (that are the basis of Eulerian decoupling). We show
that this structure gives rise to decoupling schemes with bounded-strength
control Hamiltonians that can be applied to composite quantum systems with few
body Hamiltonians and special couplings with the environment. Furthermore, we
show how to construct Eulerian orthogonal arrays having good parameters in
order to obtain efficient decoupling schemes.Comment: 8 pages, revte
Dependence of the 0.5(2e2/h) conductance plateau on the aspect ratio of InAs quantum point contacts with in-plane side gates
The observation of a 0.5 conductance plateau in asymmetrically biased quantum
point contacts with in-plane side gates has been attributed to the onset of
spin-polarized current through these structures. For InAs quantum point
contacts with the same width but longer channel length, there is roughly a
fourfold increase in the range of common sweep voltage applied to the side
gates over which the 0.5 conductance plateau is observed when the QPC aspect
ratio (ratio of length over width of the narrow portion of the structure) is
increased by a factor 3. Non-equilibrium Green s function simulations indicate
that the increase in the size of the 0.5 conductance plateau is due to an
increased importance, over a larger range of common sweep voltage, of the
effects of electron-electron interactions in QPC devices with larger aspect
ratio. The use of asymmetrically biased QPCs with in-plane side gates and large
aspect ratio could therefore pave the way to build robust spin injectors and
detectors for the successful implementation of spin field effect transistorsComment: 30 pages, 9 figure
Using a fuzzy inference system to control a pumped storage hydro plant
The paper discusses the development of a fuzzy inference system (FIS) based governor control for a pumped storage hydroelectric plant. The First Hydro Company's plant at Dinorwig in North Wales is the largest of its kind in Europe and is mainly used for frequency control of the UK electrical grid. In previous investigations, a detailed model of the plant was developed using MATLAB(R)/SIMULINK(R) and this is now being used to compare FIS governor operation with the proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller currently used. The paper describes the development of an FIS governor, and shows that its response to a step increase in load is superior to the PID under certain conditions of load. The paper proceeds to discuss the implications of these results in view of the possible practical application of an FIS governor at the Dinorwig plant
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