2,715 research outputs found
Type II Seesaw Dominance in Non-supersymmetric and Split Susy SO(10) and Proton Life Time
Recently type II seesaw dominance in a supersymmetric SO(10) framework has
been found useful in explaining large solar and atmospheric mixing angles as
well as larger values of while unifying quark and lepton masses.
An important question in these models is whether there exists consistency
between coupling unification and type II seesaw dominance. Scenarios where this
consistency can be demonstrated have been given in a SUSY framework. In this
paper we give examples where type II dominance occurs in SO(10) models without
supersymmetry but with additional TeV scale particles and also in models with
split-supersummetry. Grand unification is realized in a two-step process via
breaking of SO(10) to SU(5) and then to a TeV scale standard model supplemented
by extra fields and an SU(5) Higgs multiplet at a scale about
GeV to give type-II seesaw. The predictions for proton lifetime in
these models are in the range yrs. to yrs.. A number of recent numerical fits to GUT-scale fermion
masses can be accommodated within this model.Comment: 7 pages LaTeX, 3 figures, related areas: hep-ex, hep-th, astro-ph;
Reference added, typo corrected, version to appear in Physical Review
Comparison of next-generation portable pollution monitors to measure exposure to PM2.5 from household air pollution in Puno, Peru.
Assessment of personal exposure to PM2.5 is critical for understanding intervention effectiveness and exposure-response relationships in household air pollution studies. In this pilot study, we compared PM2.5 concentrations obtained from two next-generation personal exposure monitors (the Enhanced Children MicroPEM or ECM; and the Ultrasonic Personal Air Sampler or UPAS) to those obtained with a traditional Triplex Cyclone and SKC Air Pump (a gravimetric cyclone/pump sampler). We co-located cyclone/pumps with an ECM and UPAS to obtain 24-hour kitchen concentrations and personal exposure measurements. We measured Spearmen correlations and evaluated agreement using the Bland-Altman method. We obtained 215 filters from 72 ECM and 71 UPAS co-locations. Overall, the ECM and the UPAS had similar correlation (ECM ρ = 0.91 vs UPAS ρ = 0.88) and agreement (ECM mean difference of 121.7 µg/m3 vs UPAS mean difference of 93.9 µg/m3 ) with overlapping confidence intervals when compared against the cyclone/pump. When adjusted for the limit of detection, agreement between the devices and the cyclone/pump was also similar for all samples (ECM mean difference of 68.8 µg/m3 vs UPAS mean difference of 65.4 µg/m3 ) and personal exposure samples (ECM mean difference of -3.8 µg/m3 vs UPAS mean difference of -12.9 µg/m3 ). Both the ECM and UPAS produced comparable measurements when compared against a cyclone/pump setup
Notorious places: image, reputation, stigma: the role of newspapers in area reputations for social housing estates
This paper reviews work in several disciplines to distinguish between image, reputation and stigma. It also shows that there has been little research on the process by which area reputations are established and sustained through transmission processes. This paper reports on research into the portrayal of two social housing estates in the printed media over an extended period of time (14 years). It was found that negative and mixed coverage of the estates dominated, with the amount of positive coverage being very small. By examining the way in which dominant themes were used by newspapers in respect of each estate, questions are raised about the mode of operation of the press and the communities' collective right to challenge this. By identifying the way regeneration stories are covered and the nature of the content of positive stories, lessons are drawn for programmes of area transformation. The need for social regeneration activities is identified as an important ingredient for changing deprived-area reputations
Fragile three-dimensionality in the quasi-one-dimensional cuprate PrBa_2Cu_4O_8
In this article we report on the experimental realization of dimensional
crossover phenomena in the chain compound PrBaCuO using
temperature, high magnetic fields and disorder as independent tuning
parameters. In purer crystals of PrBaCuO, a highly anisotropic
three-dimensional Fermi-liquid state develops at low temperatures. This
metallic state is extremely susceptible to disorder however and localization
rapidly sets in. We show, through quantitative comparison of the relevant
energy scales, that this metal/insulator crossover occurs precisely when the
scattering rate within the chain exceeds the interchain hopping rate(s), i.e.
once carriers become confined to a single conducting element.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, published at
http://www.iop.org/EJ/article/1367-2630/8/9/172/njp6_9_172.htm
A General Analysis of Corrections to the Standard See-saw Formula in Grand Unified Models
In realistic grand unified models there are typically extra vectorlike matter
multiplets at the GUT scale that are needed to explain the family hierarchy.
These contain neutrinos that, when integrated out, can modify the usual
neutrino see-saw formula. A general analysis is given. It is noted that such
modifications can explain why the neutrinos do not exhibit a strong family
hierarchy like the other types of fermions.Comment: 30 page
Next nearest neighbour Ising models on random graphs
This paper develops results for the next nearest neighbour Ising model on
random graphs. Besides being an essential ingredient in classic models for
frustrated systems, second neighbour interactions interactions arise naturally
in several applications such as the colour diversity problem and graphical
games. We demonstrate ensembles of random graphs, including regular
connectivity graphs, that have a periodic variation of free energy, with either
the ratio of nearest to next nearest couplings, or the mean number of nearest
neighbours. When the coupling ratio is integer paramagnetic phases can be found
at zero temperature. This is shown to be related to the locked or unlocked
nature of the interactions. For anti-ferromagnetic couplings, spin glass phases
are demonstrated at low temperature. The interaction structure is formulated as
a factor graph, the solution on a tree is developed. The replica symmetric and
energetic one-step replica symmetry breaking solution is developed using the
cavity method. We calculate within these frameworks the phase diagram and
demonstrate the existence of dynamical transitions at zero temperature for
cases of anti-ferromagnetic coupling on regular and inhomogeneous random
graphs.Comment: 55 pages, 15 figures, version 2 with minor revisions, to be published
J. Stat. Mec
On Neutrinos and Fermionic Mass Patterns
Recent data on neutrino mass differences are consistent with a hierarchical
neutrino mass structure strikingly similar to what is observed for the other
fermionic masses.Comment: 8pages, 2figure
Do residents’ perceptions of being well-placed and objective presence of local amenities match? A case study in West Central Scotland, UK
Background:<p></p>
Recently there has been growing interest in how neighbourhood features, such as the provision of local facilities and amenities, influence residents’ health and well-being. Prior research has measured amenity provision through subjective measures (surveying residents’ perceptions) or objective (GIS mapping of distance) methods. The latter may provide a more accurate measure of physical access, but residents may not use local amenities if they do not perceive them as ‘local’. We believe both subjective and objective measures should be explored, and use West Central Scotland data to investigate correspondence between residents’ subjective assessments of how well-placed they are for everyday amenities (food stores, primary and secondary schools, libraries, pharmacies, public recreation), and objective GIS-modelled measures, and examine correspondence by various sub-groups.<p></p>
Methods:<p></p>
ArcMap was used to map the postal locations of ‘Transport, Health and Well-being 2010 Study’ respondents (n = 1760), and the six amenities, and the presence/absence of each of them within various straight-line and network buffers around respondents’ homes was recorded. SPSS was used to investigate whether objective presence of an amenity within a specified buffer was perceived by a respondent as being well-placed for that amenity. Kappa statistics were used to test agreement between measures for all respondents, and by sex, age, social class, area deprivation, car ownership, dog ownership, walking in the local area, and years lived in current home.<p></p>
Results:<p></p>
In general, there was poor agreement (Kappa <0.20) between perceptions of being well-placed for each facility and objective presence, within 800 m and 1000 m straight-line and network buffers, with the exception of pharmacies (at 1000 m straight-line) (Kappa: 0.21). Results varied between respondent sub-groups, with some showing better agreement than others. Amongst sub-groups, at 800 m straight-line buffers, the highest correspondence between subjective and objective measures was for pharmacies and primary schools, and at 1000 m, for pharmacies, primary schools and libraries. For road network buffers under 1000 m, agreement was generally poor.<p></p>
Conclusion:<p></p>
Respondents did not necessarily regard themselves as well-placed for specific amenities when these amenities were present within specified boundaries around their homes, with some exceptions; the picture is not clear-cut with varying findings between different amenities, buffers, and sub-groups
Rational bidding using reinforcement learning: an application in automated resource allocation
The application of autonomous agents by the provisioning and usage of computational resources is an attractive research field. Various methods and technologies in the area of artificial intelligence, statistics and economics are playing together to achieve i) autonomic resource provisioning and usage of computational resources, to invent ii) competitive bidding strategies for widely used market mechanisms and to iii) incentivize consumers and providers to use such market-based systems.
The contributions of the paper are threefold. First, we present a framework for supporting consumers and providers in technical and economic preference elicitation and the generation of bids. Secondly, we introduce a consumer-side reinforcement learning bidding strategy which enables rational behavior by the generation and selection of bids. Thirdly, we evaluate and compare this bidding strategy against a truth-telling bidding strategy for two kinds of market mechanisms – one centralized and one decentralized
Fermion mixing in quasi-free states
Quantum field theoretic treatments of fermion oscillations are typically
restricted to calculations in Fock space. In this letter we extend the
oscillation formulae to include more general quasi-free states, and also
consider the case when the mixing is not unitary.Comment: 10 pages, Plain Te
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