1,463 research outputs found
Linking Covariant and Canonical General Relativity via Local Observers
Hamiltonian gravity, relying on arbitrary choices of "space," can obscure
spacetime symmetries. We present an alternative, manifestly spacetime covariant
formulation that nonetheless distinguishes between "spatial" and "temporal"
variables. The key is viewing dynamical fields from the perspective of a field
of observers -- a unit timelike vector field that also transforms under local
Lorentz transformations. On one hand, all fields are spacetime fields,
covariant under spacetime symmeties. On the other, when the observer field is
normal to a spatial foliation, the fields automatically fall into Hamiltonian
form, recovering the Ashtekar formulation. We argue this provides a bridge
between Ashtekar variables and covariant phase space methods. We also outline a
framework where the 'space of observers' is fundamental, and spacetime geometry
itself may be observer-dependent.Comment: 8 pages; Essay written for the 2012 Gravity Research Foundation
Awards for Essays on Gravitatio
The geometric role of symmetry breaking in gravity
In gravity, breaking symmetry from a group G to a group H plays the role of
describing geometry in relation to the geometry the homogeneous space G/H. The
deep reason for this is Cartan's "method of equivalence," giving, in
particular, an exact correspondence between metrics and Cartan connections. I
argue that broken symmetry is thus implicit in any gravity theory, for purely
geometric reasons. As an application, I explain how this kind of thinking gives
a new approach to Hamiltonian gravity in which an observer field spontaneously
breaks Lorentz symmetry and gives a Cartan connection on space.Comment: 4 pages. Contribution written for proceedings of the conference
"Loops 11" (Madrid, May 2011
TRANSPORT AND INSTALLATION OF CRYO-MAGNETS IN CERN'S LARGE HADRON COLLIDER TUNNEL
The arcs of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will contain around 1700 main superconducting dipoles and quadrupoles. The long and heavy magnets are supported on fragile composite support posts inside a cryostat to reduce the heat in-leak to the magnets' super fluid helium bath. The presence of fragile components and the need to avoid geometry changes make the cryo-magnets very difficult to handle and transport. The transport and installation of the LHC cryo-magnets in the LEP tunnels originally designed for smaller, lighter LEP magnets has required development of completely new handling solutions. The paper explains the constraints imposed by the cryo-magnet characteristics, the existing tunnel infrastructure and schedule considerations. The development and realisation of transport and handling solutions are described, starting from conceptual design, through manufacture and testing to the installation of the first cryo-magnet. Integration studies to verify and reserve space needed for manoeuvre and the preparation of the infrastructure for transport and installation operations are also presented. The paper includes conclusions and some of the lessons learned
Intracranial oligodendroglioma with optic nerve infiltration in a Labrador retriever
A seven-year-old neutered male Labrador retriever was presented with behavioral changes and reduced vision. Neurological examination revealed blindness of the left eye with a positive pupillary light reflex and a decreased mental status. Blood and cerebrospinal fluid analyses showed no abnormalities. MRI revealed a deviant area located in the thalamic, hypothalamic and caudate nuclear regions. Invasion of the left optic nerve was also observed. The dog was euthanized after 38 days of palliative treatment. Necropsy showed a non-encapsulated extruding white lardaceous mass, with a diameter of 2 cm, in the white matter, located in the ventral thalamic region near the chiasma opticum, which extended along the left optic nerve. Histologically, neoplastic cells had a “fried egg” appearance. Immunolabelling for glial fibrillary acidic protein demonstrated the presence of numerous reactive astrocytes. The tumor was diagnosed as a low grade (II) intracranial oligodendroglioma with infiltration of the optic nerve.</jats:p
Decentralised delay-dependent static output feedback variable structure control
In this paper, an output feedback stabilisation problem is considered for a class of large scale interconnected time delay systems with uncertainties. The uncertainties appear in both isolated subsystems and interconnections. The bounds on the uncertainties are nonlinear and time delayed. It is not required that either the known interconnections or the uncertain interconnections are matched. Then, a decentralised delay-dependant static output feedback variable structure control is synthesised to stabilise the system globally uniformly asymptotically using the Lyapunov Razumikhin approach. A case study relating to a river pollution control problem is presented to illustrate the proposed approach
Dirac-Born-Infeld-Volkov-Akulov and deformation of supersymmetry
We deform the action and the supersymmetry transformations of the d = 10 and d = 4 Maxwell supermultiplets so that at each order of the deformation the theory has 16 Maxwell multiplet deformed supersymmetries as well as 16 Volkov-Akulov type non-linear supersymmetries. The result agrees with the expansion in the string tension of the explicit action of the Dirac-Born-Infeld model and its supersymmetries, extracted from D9 and D3 superbranes, respectively. The half-maximal Dirac-Born-Infeld models with 8 Maxwell supermultiplet deformed supersymmetries and 8 Volkov-Akulov type supersymmetries are described by a new class of d = 6 vector branes related to chiral (2,0) supergravity, which we denote as 'Vp-branes'. We use a space-filling V5 superbrane for the d = 6 model and a V3 superbrane for the d = 4 half-maximal Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) models. In this way we present a completion to all orders of the deformation of the Maxwell supermultiplets with maximal 16+16 supersymmetries in d = 10 and 4, and half-maximal 8+8 supersymmetries in d = 6 and 4.</p
On the metallicity dependence of crystalline silicates in oxygen-rich asymptotic giant branch stars and red supergiants
We investigate the occurrence of crystalline silicates in oxygen-rich evolved
stars across a range of metallicities and mass-loss rates. It has been
suggested that the crystalline silicate feature strength increases with
increasing mass-loss rate, implying a correlation between lattice structure and
wind density. To test this, we analyse Spitzer IRS and Infrared Space
Observatory SWS spectra of 217 oxygen-rich asymptotic giant branch stars and 98
red supergiants in the Milky Way, the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds and
Galactic globular clusters. These encompass a range of spectral morphologies
from the spectrally-rich which exhibit a wealth of crystalline and amorphous
silicate features to 'naked' (dust-free) stars. We combine spectroscopic and
photometric observations with the GRAMS grid of radiative transfer models to
derive (dust) mass-loss rates and temperature. We then measure the strength of
the crystalline silicate bands at 23, 28 and 33 microns. We detect crystalline
silicates in stars with dust mass-loss rates which span over 3 dex, down to
rates of ~10^-9 solar masses/year. Detections of crystalline silicates are more
prevalent in higher mass-loss rate objects, though the highest mass-loss rate
objects do not show the 23-micron feature, possibly due to the low temperature
of the forsterite grains or it may indicate that the 23-micron band is going
into absorption due to high column density. Furthermore, we detect a change in
the crystalline silicate mineralogy with metallicity, with enstatite seen
increasingly at low metallicity.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 24 pages, 16 figure
Properties of Interfaces in the two and three dimensional Ising Model
To investigate order-order interfaces, we perform multimagnetical Monte Carlo
simulations of the and Ising model. Following Binder we extract the
interfacial free energy from the infinite volume limit of the magnetic
probability density. Stringent tests of the numerical methods are performed by
reproducing with high precision exact results. In the physically more
interesting case we estimate the amplitude of the critical
interfacial tension to be . This
result is in good agreement with a previous MC calculation by Mon, as well as
with experimental results for related amplitude ratios. In addition, we study
in some details the shape of the magnetic probability density for temperatures
below the Curie point.Comment: 25 pages; sorry no figures include
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