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Subsurface tropical Pacific nitrogen isotopic composition of nitrate: Biogeochemical signals and their transport
We report measurements of the nitrogen isotopic composition of nitrate (the ÎŽ15N of NO3â) across the equatorial Pacific, for zonal transects from 165°E to 95°W and meridional transects across 95° and 110°W. The ÎŽ15N of NO3â is similar in the equatorial thermocline (â100 m) and intermediate depth waters (â150 to 600 m), averaging (7.1 ± 0.3)â° and (7.1 ± 0.1)â°, respectively. These values are more than 2â° higher than subthermocline waters of the Southern and Atlantic Oceans and are â1â° higher than putative source waters in the high latitude South Pacific (Subantarctic Mode Water, SAMW). The combined constraints of nitrate concentration and ÎŽ15N of NO3âin the equatorial Pacific require (1) lateral exchange between the highâlatitude source waters and the zones of denitrification in the eastern tropical Pacific and (2) the accumulation of remineralized nutrients at depth. The zonal uniformity of the subsurface equatorial PacificÎŽ15N of NO3â indicates rapid transport within the equatorial zone, which works to homogenize the ÎŽ15N of NO3â across the Pacific basin. Against this backdrop of high ÎŽ15N of NO3âin the tropical Pacific, we find a discrete offâequatorial core of lowerÎŽ15N of NO3â (5.5 ± 0.3)â° concentrated at 5°S and 150 to 200 m along the 110° and 95°W transects and in apparent association with the Southern Subsurface Counter Current (SSCC). We propose that the remineralized products of nitrogen fixation, at the source of the SSCC in the western south Pacific, are the origin of the low ÎŽ15N of NO3â in these waters
Constraining the expansion history of the universe from the red shift evolution of cosmic shear
We present a quantitative analysis of the constraints on the total equation
of state parameter that can be obtained from measuring the red shift evolution
of the cosmic shear. We compare the constraints that can be obtained from
measurements of the spin two angular multipole moments of the cosmic shear to
those resulting from the two dimensional and three dimensional power spectra of
the cosmic shear. We find that if the multipole moments of the cosmic shear are
measured accurately enough for a few red shifts the constraints on the dark
energy equation of state parameter improve significantly compared to those that
can be obtained from other measurements.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figure
Improving Cosmological Distance Measurements by Reconstruction of the Baryon Acoustic Peak
The baryon acoustic oscillations are a promising route to the precision
measure of the cosmological distance scale and hence the measurement of the
time evolution of dark energy. We show that the non-linear degradation of the
acoustic signature in the correlations of low-redshift galaxies is a
correctable process. By suitable reconstruction of the linear density field,
one can sharpen the acoustic peak in the correlation function or, equivalently,
restore the higher harmonics of the oscillations in the power spectrum. With
this, one can achieve better measurements of the acoustic scale for a given
survey volume. Reconstruction is particularly effective at low redshift, where
the non-linearities are worse but where the dark energy density is highest. At
z=0.3, we find that one can reduce the sample variance error bar on the
acoustic scale by at least a factor of 2 and in principle by nearly a factor of
4. We discuss the significant implications our results have for the design of
galaxy surveys aimed at measuring the distance scale through the acoustic peak.Comment: 5 pages, LaTeX. Submitted to the Astrophysical Journa
Chiral effective theory predictions for deuteron form factor ratios at low Q^2
We use chiral effective theory to predict the deuteron form factor ratio
G_C/G_Q as well as ratios of deuteron to nucleon form factors. These ratios are
calculated to next-to-next-to-leading order. At this order the chiral expansion
for the NN isoscalar charge operator (including consistently calculated 1/M
corrections) is a parameter-free prediction of the effective theory. Use of
this operator in conjunction with NLO and NNLO chiral effective theory wave
functions produces results that are consistent with extant experimental data
for Q^2 < 0.35 GeV^2. These wave functions predict a deuteron quadrupole moment
G_Q(Q^2=0)=0.278-0.282 fm^2-with the variation arising from short-distance
contributions to this quantity. The variation is of the same size as the
discrepancy between the theoretical result and the experimental value. This
motivates the renormalization of G_Q via a two-nucleon operator that couples to
quadrupole photons. After that renormalization we obtain a robust prediction
for the shape of G_C/G_Q at Q^2 < 0.3 GeV^2. This allows us to make precise,
model-independent predictions for the values of this ratio that will be
measured at the lower end of the kinematic range explored at BLAST. We also
present results for the ratio G_C/G_M.Comment: 31 pages, 7 figure
Photo-z optimization for measurements of the BAO radial direction
Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) in the radial direction offer a method to
directly measure the Universe expansion history, and to set limits to space
curvature when combined to the angular BAO signal. In addition to spectroscopic
surveys, radial BAO might be measured from accurate enough photometric
redshifts obtained with narrow-band filters. We explore the requirements for a
photometric survey using Luminous Red Galaxies (LRG) to competitively measure
the radial BAO signal and discuss the possible systematic errors of this
approach. If LRG were a highly homogeneous population, we show that the photo-z
accuracy would not substantially improve by increasing the number of filters
beyond , except for a small fraction of the sources detected at high
signal-to-noise, and broad-band filters would suffice to achieve the target
for measuring radial BAO. Using the LRG spectra
obtained from SDSS, we find that the spectral variability of LRG substantially
worsens the achievable photometric redshift errors, and that the optimal system
consists of 30 filters of width . A
is generally necessary at the filters on the red side of the
break to reach the target photometric accuracy. We estimate that a
5-year survey in a dedicated telescope with etendue in excess of 60 would be necessary to obtain a high enough density of galaxies to
measure radial BAO with sufficiently low shot noise up to . We
conclude that spectroscopic surveys have a superior performance than
photometric ones for measuring BAO in the radial direction.Comment: Replaced with minor editorial comments and one extra figure. Results
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Continuously-variable survival exponent for random walks with movable partial reflectors
We study a one-dimensional lattice random walk with an absorbing boundary at
the origin and a movable partial reflector. On encountering the reflector, at
site x, the walker is reflected (with probability r) to x-1 and the reflector
is simultaneously pushed to x+1. Iteration of the transition matrix, and
asymptotic analysis of the probability generating function show that the
critical exponent delta governing the survival probability varies continuously
between 1/2 and 1 as r varies between 0 and 1. Our study suggests a mechanism
for nonuniversal kinetic critical behavior, observed in models with an infinite
number of absorbing configurations.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Dynamic Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Major Depression
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by abnormal resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC), especially in medial prefrontal cortical (MPFC) regions of the default network. However, prior research in MDD has not examined dynamic changes in functional connectivity as networks form, interact, and dissolve over time. We compared unmedicated individuals with MDD (n=100) to control participants (n=109) on dynamic RSFC (operationalized as SD in RSFC over a series of sliding windows) of an MPFC seed region during a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. Among participants with MDD, we also investigated the relationship between symptom severity and RSFC. Secondary analyses probed the association between dynamic RSFC and rumination. Results showed that individuals with MDD were characterized by decreased dynamic (less variable) RSFC between MPFC and regions of parahippocampal gyrus within the default network, a pattern related to sustained positive connectivity between these regions across sliding windows. In contrast, the MDD group exhibited increased dynamic (more variable) RSFC between MPFC and regions of insula, and higher severity of depression was related to increased dynamic RSFC between MPFC and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. These patterns of highly variable RSFC were related to greater frequency of strong positive and negative correlations in activity across sliding windows. Secondary analyses indicated that increased dynamic RSFC between MPFC and insula was related to higher levels of recent rumination. These findings provide initial evidence that depression, and ruminative thinking in depression, are related to abnormal patterns of fluctuating communication among brain systems involved in regulating attention and self-referential thinking
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