247 research outputs found
Eclipsing Binaries in Open Clusters
Detached eclipsing binaries are very useful objects for calibrating
theoretical stellar models and checking their predictions. Detached eclipsing
binaries in open clusters are particularly important because of the additional
constraints on their age and chemical composition from their membership of the
cluster. I compile a list containing absolute parameters of well-studied
eclipsing binaries in open clusters, and present new observational data on the
B-type systems V1481 Cyg and V2263 Cyg which are members of the young open
cluster NGC 7128.Comment: 4 pages, 2 colour figures. Poster presentation for IAUS 240 (Binary
Stars as Critical Tools and Tests in Contemporary Astrophysics), Prague,
August 2006. The poster itself can be dowloaded in ppt and pdf versions from
http://www.astro.keele.ac.uk/~jkt/pubs.htm
Louse (Insecta : Phthiraptera) mitochondrial 12S rRNA secondary structure is highly variable
Lice are ectoparasitic insects hosted by birds and mammals. Mitochondrial 12S rRNA sequences obtained from lice show considerable length variation and are very difficult to align. We show that the louse 12S rRNA domain III secondary structure displays considerable variation compared to other insects, in both the shape and number of stems and loops. Phylogenetic trees constructed from tree edit distances between louse 12S rRNA structures do not closely resemble trees constructed from sequence data, suggesting that at least some of this structural variation has arisen independently in different louse lineages. Taken together with previous work on mitochondrial gene order and elevated rates of substitution in louse mitochondrial sequences, the structural variation in louse 12S rRNA confirms the highly distinctive nature of molecular evolution in these insects
D-branes in a Big Bang/Big Crunch Universe: Nappi-Witten Gauged WZW Model
We study D-branes in the Nappi-Witten model, which is a gauged WZW model
based on (SL(2,R) x SU(2)) / (U(1) x U(1)). The model describes a four
dimensional space-time consisting of cosmological regions with big bang/big
crunch singularities and static regions with closed time-like curves. The aim
of this paper is to investigate by D-brane probes whether there are pathologies
associated with the cosmological singularities and the closed time-like curves.
We first classify D-branes in a group theoretical way, and then examine DBI
actions for effective theories on the D-branes. In particular, we show that
D-brane metric from the DBI action does not include singularities, and wave
functions on the D-branes are well behaved even in the presence of closed
time-like curves.Comment: 50 pages, 2 figures, minor change
On the construction of a geometric invariant measuring the deviation from Kerr data
This article contains a detailed and rigorous proof of the construction of a
geometric invariant for initial data sets for the Einstein vacuum field
equations. This geometric invariant vanishes if and only if the initial data
set corresponds to data for the Kerr spacetime, and thus, it characterises this
type of data. The construction presented is valid for boosted and non-boosted
initial data sets which are, in a sense, asymptotically Schwarzschildean. As a
preliminary step to the construction of the geometric invariant, an analysis of
a characterisation of the Kerr spacetime in terms of Killing spinors is carried
out. A space spinor split of the (spacetime) Killing spinor equation is
performed, to obtain a set of three conditions ensuring the existence of a
Killing spinor of the development of the initial data set. In order to
construct the geometric invariant, we introduce the notion of approximate
Killing spinors. These spinors are symmetric valence 2 spinors intrinsic to the
initial hypersurface and satisfy a certain second order elliptic equation
---the approximate Killing spinor equation. This equation arises as the
Euler-Lagrange equation of a non-negative integral functional. This functional
constitutes part of our geometric invariant ---however, the whole functional
does not come from a variational principle. The asymptotic behaviour of
solutions to the approximate Killing spinor equation is studied and an
existence theorem is presented.Comment: 36 pages. Updated references. Technical details correcte
Measurement of the Proton Spin Structure Function g1p with a Pure Hydrogen Target
A measurement of the proton spin structure function g1p(x,Q^2) in
deep-inelastic scattering is presented. The data were taken with the 27.6 GeV
longitudinally polarised positron beam at HERA incident on a longitudinally
polarised pure hydrogen gas target internal to the storage ring. The kinematic
range is 0.021<x<0.85 and 0.8 GeV^2<Q^2<20 GeV^2. The integral
Int_{0.021}^{0.85} g1p(x)dx evaluated at Q0^2 of 2.5 GeV^2 is
0.122+/-0.003(stat.)+/-0.010(syst.).Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, RevTeX late
Determination of the Deep Inelastic Contribution to the Generalised Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn Integral for the Proton and Neutron
The virtual photon absorption cross section differences [sigma_1/2-sigma_3/2]
for the proton and neutron have been determined from measurements of polarised
cross section asymmetries in deep inelastic scattering of 27.5 GeV
longitudinally polarised positrons from polarised 1H and 3He internal gas
targets. The data were collected in the region above the nucleon resonances in
the kinematic range nu < 23.5 GeV and 0.8 GeV**2 < Q**2 < 12 GeV**2. For the
proton the contribution to the generalised Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn integral was
found to be substantial and must be included for an accurate determination of
the full integral. Furthermore the data are consistent with a QCD
next-to-leading order fit based on previous deep inelastic scattering data.
Therefore higher twist effects do not appear significant.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, revte
Observation of a Coherence Length Effect in Exclusive Rho^0 Electroproduction
Exclusive incoherent electroproduction of the rho^0(770) meson from 1H, 2H,
3He, and 14N targets has been studied by the HERMES experiment at squared
four-momentum transfer Q**2>0.4 GeV**2 and positron energy loss nu from 9 to 20
GeV. The ratio of the 14N to 1H cross sections per nucleon, known as the
nuclear transparency, was found to decrease with increasing coherence length of
quark-antiquark fluctuations of the virtual photon. The data provide clear
evidence of the interaction of the quark- antiquark fluctuations with the
nuclear medium.Comment: RevTeX, 5 pages, 3 figure
Double-Spin Asymmetry in the Cross Section for Exclusive rho^0 Production in Lepton-Proton Scattering
Evidence for a positive longitudinal double-spin asymmetry = 0.24
+-0.11 (stat) +-0.02 (syst) in the cross section for exclusive diffractive
rho^0(770) vector meson production in polarised lepton-proton scattering was
observed by the HERMES experiment. The longitudinally polarised 27.56 GeV HERA
positron beam was scattered off a longitudinally polarised pure hydrogen gas
target. The average invariant mass of the photon-proton system has a value of
= 4.9 GeV, while the average negative squared four-momentum of the virtual
photon is = 1.7 GeV^2. The ratio of the present result to the
corresponding spin asymmetry in inclusive deep-inelastic scattering is in
agreement with an early theoretical prediction based on the generalised vector
meson dominance model.Comment: 10 pages, 4 embedded figures, LaTe
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