799 research outputs found
Multiplicativity of completely bounded p-norms implies a new additivity result
We prove additivity of the minimal conditional entropy associated with a
quantum channel Phi, represented by a completely positive (CP),
trace-preserving map, when the infimum of S(gamma_{12}) - S(gamma_1) is
restricted to states of the form gamma_{12} = (I \ot Phi)(| psi >< psi |). We
show that this follows from multiplicativity of the completely bounded norm of
Phi considered as a map from L_1 -> L_p for L_p spaces defined by the Schatten
p-norm on matrices; we also give an independent proof based on entropy
inequalities. Several related multiplicativity results are discussed and
proved. In particular, we show that both the usual L_1 -> L_p norm of a CP map
and the corresponding completely bounded norm are achieved for positive
semi-definite matrices. Physical interpretations are considered, and a new
proof of strong subadditivity is presented.Comment: Final version for Commun. Math. Physics. Section 5.2 of previous
version deleted in view of the results in quant-ph/0601071 Other changes
mino
Mechanical Cell-Matrix Feedback Explains Pairwise and Collective Endothelial Cell Behavior In Vitro
During the embryonic development of multicellular organisms, millions of cells cooperatively build structured tissues, organs and whole organisms, a process called morphogenesis. How the behavior of so many cells is coordinated to produce complex structures is still incompletely understood. Most biomedical research focuses on the molecular signals that cells exchange with one another. It has now become clear that cells also communicate biomechanically during morphogenesis. In cell cultures, endothelial cells—the building blocks of blood vessels—can organize into structures resembling networks of capillaries. Experimental work has shown that the endothelial cells pull onto the protein gel that they live in, called the extracellular matrix. On sufficiently compliant matrices, the strains resulting from these cellular pulling forces slow down and reorient adjacent cells. Here we propose a new computational model to show that this simple form of mechanical cell-cell communication suffices for reproducing the formation of blood vessel-like structures in cell cultures. These findings advance our understanding of biomechanical signaling during morphogenesis, and introduce a new set of computational tools for modeling mechanical interactions between cells and the extracellular matrix
An integrated sequence stratigraphic, palaeoenvironmental, and chronostratigraphic analysis of the Tangahoe Formation, southern Taranaki coast, with implications for mid-Pliocene (c. 3.4–3.0 Ma) glacio-eustatic sea-level changes
Sediments of the mid-Pliocene (c. 3.4–3.0 Ma) Tangahoe Formation exposed in cliffs along the South Taranaki coastline of New Zealand comprise a 270 m thick, cyclothemic shallow-marine succession that has been gently warped into a north to south trending, low angle anticline. This study examines the sedimentologic, faunal, and petrographic characteristics of 10 Milankovitch-scale (6th order), shallow-marine depositional sequences exposed on the western limb of the anticline. The sequences are recognised on the basis of the cyclic vertical stacking of their constituent lithofacies, which are bound by sharp wave cut surfaces produced during transgressive shoreface erosion. Each sequence comprises three parts: (1) a 0.2–2 m thick, deepening upwards, basal suite of reworked bioclastic lag deposits (onlap shellbed) and/or an overlying matrix supported, molluscan shellbed of offshore shelf affinity (backlap shellbed); (2) a 5–20 m thick, gradually shoaling, aggradational siltstone succession; and (3) a 5–10 m thick, strongly progradational, well sorted “forced regressive” shoreline sandstone. The three-fold subdivision corresponds to transgressive, highstand, and regressive systems tracts (TSTs, HSTs, and RSTs) respectively, and represents deposition during a glacio-eustatic sea-level cycle. Lowstand systems tract sediments are not recorded because the outcrop is situated c. 100 km east of the contemporary shelf edge and was subaerially exposed at that time. Well developed, sharp- and gradational-based forced regressive sandstones contain a variety of storm-emplaced sedimentary structures, and represent the rapid and abrupt basinward translation of the shoreline on to a storm dominated, shallow shelf during eustatic sea-level fall. Increased supply of sediment from north-west South Island during “forced regression” is indicated from petrographic analyses of the heavy mineralogy of the sandstones. A chronology based on biostratigraphy and the correlation of a new magnetostratigraphy to the magnetic polarity timescale allows: (1) identification of the Mammoth (C2An.2r) and Kaena (C2An.1r) subchrons; (2) correlation of the coastal section to the Waipipian Stage; and (3) estimation of the age of the coastal section as 3.36–3.06 Ma. Qualitative assessment of foraminiferal census data and molluscan palaeoecology reveals cyclic changes in water depth from shelf to shoreline environments during the deposition of each sequence. Seven major cycles in water depth of between 20 and 50m have been correlated to individual 40 ka glacio-eustatic sea-level cycles on the marine oxygen isotope timescale. The coastal Tangahoe Formation provides a shallow-marine record of global glacio-eustasy prior to the development of significant ice sheets on Northern Hemisphere continents, and supports evidence from marine δ18O archives that changes in Antarctic ice volume were occurring during the Pliocene
Unification, KK-thresholds and the top Yukawa coupling in F-theory GUTs
In a class of F-theory SU(5) GUTs the low energy chiral mass spectrum is
obtained from rank one fermion mass textures with a hierarchical structure
organised by U(1) symmetries embedded in the exceptional E_8 group. In these
theories chiral fields reside on matter `curves' and the tree level masses are
computed from integrals of overlapping wavefuctions of the particles at the
triple intersection points. This calculation requires knowledge of the exact
form of the wavefuctions. In this work we propose a way to obtain a reliable
estimate of the various quantities which determine the strength of the Yukawa
couplings. We use previous analysis of KK threshold effects to determine the
(ratios of) heavy mass scales of the theory which are involved in the
normalization of the wave functions. We consider similar effects from the
chiral spectrum of these models and discuss possible constraints on the
emerging matter content. In this approach, we find that the Yukawa couplings
can be determined solely from the U(1) charges of the states in the
`intersection' and the torsion which is a topological invariant quantity. We
apply the results to a viable SU(5) model with minimal spectrum which satisfies
all the constraints imposed by our analysis. We use renormalization group
analysis to estimate the top and bottom masses and find that they are in
agreement with the experimental values.Comment: 28 pages, 2 figure
Generalized plane-fronted gravitational waves in any dimension
We study the gravitational waves in spacetimes of arbitrary dimension. They
generalize the pp-waves and the Kundt waves, obtained earlier in four
dimensions. Explicit solutions of the Einstein and Einstein-Maxwell equations
are derived for an arbitrary cosmological constant.Comment: Revtex, 18 pages, no figure
An overview of jets and outflows in stellar mass black holes
In this book chapter, we will briefly review the current empirical
understanding of the relation between accretion state and and outflows in
accreting stellar mass black holes. The focus will be on the empirical
connections between X-ray states and relativistic (`radio') jets, although we
are now also able to draw accretion disc winds into the picture in a systematic
way. We will furthermore consider the latest attempts to measure/order jet
power, and to compare it to other (potentially) measurable quantities, most
importantly black hole spin.Comment: Accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews. Also to appear in
the Space Sciences Series of ISSI - The Physics of Accretion on to Black
Holes (Springer Publisher
Epistemic and social scripts in computer-supported collaborative learning
Collaborative learning in computer-supported learning environments typically means that learners work on tasks together, discussing their individual perspectives via text-based media or videoconferencing, and consequently acquire knowledge. Collaborative learning, however, is often sub-optimal with respect to how learners work on the concepts that are supposed to be learned and how learners interact with each other. One possibility to improve collaborative learning environments is to conceptualize epistemic scripts, which specify how learners work on a given task, and social scripts, which structure how learners interact with each other. In this contribution, two studies will be reported that investigated the effects of epistemic and social scripts in a text-based computer-supported learning environment and in a videoconferencing learning environment in order to foster the individual acquisition of knowledge. In each study the factors ‘epistemic script’ and ‘social script’ have been independently varied in a 2×2-factorial design. 182 university students of Educational Science participated in these two studies. Results of both studies show that social scripts can be substantially beneficial with respect to the individual acquisition of knowledge, whereas epistemic scripts apparently do not to lead to the expected effects
New solutions in 3D gravity
We study gravitational theory in 1+2 spacetime dimensions which is determined
by the Lagrangian constructed as a sum of the Einstein-Hilbert term plus the
two (translational and rotational) gravitational Chern-Simons terms. When the
corresponding coupling constants vanish, we are left with the purely Einstein
theory of gravity. We obtain new exact solutions for the gravitational field
equations with the nontrivial material sources. Special attention is paid to
plane-fronted gravitational waves (in case of the Maxwell field source) and to
the circularly symmetric as well as the anisotropic cosmological solutions
which arise for the ideal fluid matter source.Comment: Revtex, 21 pages, no figure
Synthesis, structure and magnetic properties ofβ-MnO2nanorods
We present synthesis, structure and magnetic properties of structurally well-ordered single-crystalline β-MnO2nanorods of 50–100 nm diameter and several µm length. Thorough structural characterization shows that the basic β-MnO2material is covered by a thin surface layer (∼2.5 nm) of α-Mn2O3phase with a reduced Mn valence that adds its own magnetic signal to the total magnetization of the β-MnO2nanorods. The relatively complicated temperature-dependent magnetism of the nanorods can be explained in terms of a superposition of bulk magnetic properties of spatially segregated β-MnO2and α-Mn2O3constituent phases and the soft ferromagnetism of the thin interface layer between these two phases
Professional closure by proxy: the impact of changing educational requirements on class mobility for a cohort of Big 8 partners
Closure events impacting on class mobility may include mechanisms initiated by bodies other than the professional body. The research examines if the introduction of full-time study requirements at universities for aspiring accountants effectively introduced a closure mechanism in the accounting profession. Data was derived from an Oral History study of partners in large firms. The younger partners (born after the Second World War) completed full-time degree study at university, but did not provide evidence of class mobility into the profession. The older cohort, born between 1928 and 1946, completed part-time studies only, few completed a degree, and, in contrast to the younger cohort, shows a perceptible upward movement from lower socio-economic classes into the professional class. This suggests that changing the preferred educational routes for new accountants entering the large chartered accounting (CA) firms compromised the "stepping stone" function of accounting as a portal into the professional class
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