437 research outputs found
Conserved charges in timelike warped AdS3 spaces
We consider the timelike version of warped anti-de Sitter space (WAdS), which corresponds to the three-dimensional section of the Gödel solution of four-dimensional cosmological Einstein equations. This geometry presents closed timelike curves (CTCs), which are inherited from its four-dimensional embedding. In three dimensions, this type of solution can be supported without matter provided the graviton acquires mass. Here, among the different ways to consistently give mass to the graviton in three dimensions, we consider the parity-even model known as new massive gravity (NMG). In the bulk of timelike WAdS3 space, we introduce defects that, from the three-dimensional point of view, represent spinning massive particlelike objects. For this type of source, we investigate the definition of quasilocal gravitational energy as seen from infinity, far beyond the region where the CTCs appear. We also consider the covariant formalism applied to NMG to compute the mass and the angular momentum of spinning particlelike defects and compare the result with the one obtained by means of the quasilocal stress tensor. We apply these methods to special limits in which the WAdS3 solutions coincide with locally AdS3 and locally AdS2×R spaces. Finally, we make some comments about the asymptotic symmetry algebra of asymptotically WAdS3 spaces in NMG.Fil: Donnay, L.. Université Libre de Bruxelles; BélgicaFil: Fernández Melgarejo, J.J.. Harvard University; Estados UnidosFil: Giribet, Gaston Enrique. Université Libre de Bruxelles; Bélgica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso; ChileFil: Goya, Andrés Fabio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Lavia, Edmundo. Ministerio de Defensa. Armada Argentina. Dirección Gral. de Investigación y Desarrollo de la Ara. Dirección de Investigación de la Armada; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentin
Billiards with polynomial mixing rates
While many dynamical systems of mechanical origin, in particular billiards,
are strongly chaotic -- enjoy exponential mixing, the rates of mixing in many
other models are slow (algebraic, or polynomial). The dynamics in the latter
are intermittent between regular and chaotic, which makes them particularly
interesting in physical studies. However, mathematical methods for the analysis
of systems with slow mixing rates were developed just recently and are still
difficult to apply to realistic models. Here we reduce those methods to a
practical scheme that allows us to obtain a nearly optimal bound on mixing
rates. We demonstrate how the method works by applying it to several classes of
chaotic billiards with slow mixing as well as discuss a few examples where the
method, in its present form, fails.Comment: 39pages, 11 figue
Convergence of invariant densities in the small-noise limit
This paper presents a systematic numerical study of the effects of noise on
the invariant probability densities of dynamical systems with varying degrees
of hyperbolicity. It is found that the rate of convergence of invariant
densities in the small-noise limit is frequently governed by power laws. In
addition, a simple heuristic is proposed and found to correctly predict the
power law exponent in exponentially mixing systems. In systems which are not
exponentially mixing, the heuristic provides only an upper bound on the power
law exponent. As this numerical study requires the computation of invariant
densities across more than 2 decades of noise amplitudes, it also provides an
opportunity to discuss and compare standard numerical methods for computing
invariant probability densities.Comment: 27 pages, 19 figures, revised with minor correction
A maximum density rule for surfaces of quasicrystals
A rule due to Bravais of wide validity for crystals is that their surfaces
correspond to the densest planes of atoms in the bulk of the material.
Comparing a theoretical model of i-AlPdMn with experimental results, we find
that this correspondence breaks down and that surfaces parallel to the densest
planes in the bulk are not the most stable, i.e. they are not so-called bulk
terminations. The correspondence can be restored by recognizing that there is a
contribution to the surface not just from one geometrical plane but from a
layer of stacked atoms, possibly containing more than one plane. We find that
not only does the stability of high-symmetry surfaces match the density of the
corresponding layer-like bulk terminations but the exact spacings between
surface terraces and their degree of pittedness may be determined by a simple
analysis of the density of layers predicted by the bulk geometric model.Comment: 8 pages of ps-file, 3 Figs (jpg
Topological entropy and secondary folding
A convenient measure of a map or flow's chaotic action is the topological
entropy. In many cases, the entropy has a homological origin: it is forced by
the topology of the space. For example, in simple toral maps, the topological
entropy is exactly equal to the growth induced by the map on the fundamental
group of the torus. However, in many situations the numerically-computed
topological entropy is greater than the bound implied by this action. We
associate this gap between the bound and the true entropy with 'secondary
folding': material lines undergo folding which is not homologically forced. We
examine this phenomenon both for physical rod-stirring devices and toral linked
twist maps, and show rigorously that for the latter secondary folds occur.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures. pdfLaTeX with RevTeX4 macro
Track billiards
We study a class of planar billiards having the remarkable property that
their phase space consists up to a set of zero measure of two invariant sets
formed by orbits moving in opposite directions. The tables of these billiards
are tubular neighborhoods of differentiable Jordan curves that are unions of
finitely many segments and arcs of circles. We prove that under proper
conditions on the segments and the arcs, the billiards considered have non-zero
Lyapunov exponents almost everywhere. These results are then extended to a
similar class of of 3-dimensional billiards. Finally, we find that for some
subclasses of track billiards, the mechanism generating hyperbolicity is not
the defocusing one that requires every infinitesimal beam of parallel rays to
defocus after every reflection off of the focusing boundary.Comment: 7 figure
How metal films de-wet substrates - identifying the kinetic pathways and energetic driving forces
We study how single-crystal chromium films of uniform thickness on W(110)
substrates are converted to arrays of three-dimensional (3D) Cr islands during
annealing. We use low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM) to directly observe a
kinetic pathway that produces trenches that expose the wetting layer. Adjacent
film steps move simultaneously uphill and downhill relative to the staircase of
atomic steps on the substrate. This step motion thickens the film regions where
steps advance. Where film steps retract, the film thins, eventually exposing
the stable wetting layer. Since our analysis shows that thick Cr films have a
lattice constant close to bulk Cr, we propose that surface and interface stress
provide a possible driving force for the observed morphological instability.
Atomistic simulations and analytic elastic models show that surface and
interface stress can cause a dependence of film energy on thickness that leads
to an instability to simultaneous thinning and thickening. We observe that
de-wetting is also initiated at bunches of substrate steps in two other
systems, Ag/W(110) and Ag/Ru(0001). We additionally describe how Cr films are
converted into patterns of unidirectional stripes as the trenches that expose
the wetting layer lengthen along the W[001] direction. Finally, we observe how
3D Cr islands form directly during film growth at elevated temperature. The Cr
mesas (wedges) form as Cr film steps advance down the staircase of substrate
steps, another example of the critical role that substrate steps play in 3D
island formation
On stochastic sea of the standard map
Consider a generic one-parameter unfolding of a homoclinic tangency of an
area preserving surface diffeomorphism. We show that for many parameters
(residual subset in an open set approaching the critical value) the
corresponding diffeomorphism has a transitive invariant set of full
Hausdorff dimension. The set is a topological limit of hyperbolic sets
and is accumulated by elliptic islands.
As an application we prove that stochastic sea of the standard map has full
Hausdorff dimension for sufficiently large topologically generic parameters.Comment: 36 pages, 5 figure
In vitro production of bovine embryos derived from individual donors in the Corral® dish
Background: Since the identity of the embryo is of outmost importance during commercial in vitro embryo production, bovine oocytes and embryos have to be cultured strictly per donor. Due to the rather low yield of oocytes collected after ovum pick-up (OPU) per individual cow, oocyte maturation and embryo culture take place in small groups, which is often associated with inferior embryo development. The objective of this study was to improve embryonic development in small donor groups by using the Corral (R) dish. This commercial dish is designed for human embryo production. It contains two central wells that are divided into quadrants by a semi-permeable wall. In human embryo culture, one embryo is placed per quadrant, allowing individual follow-up while embryos are exposed to a common medium. In our study, small groups of oocytes and subsequently embryos of different bovine donors were placed in the Corral (R) dish, each donor group in a separate quadrant.
Results: In two experiments, the Corral (R) dish was evaluated during in vitro maturation (IVM) and/or in vitro culture (IVC) by grouping oocytes and embryos of individual bovine donors per quadrant. At day 7, a significantly higher blastocyst rate was noted in the Corral (R) dish used during IVM and IVC than when only used during IVM (12.9% +/- 2.10 versus 22.8% +/- 2.67) (P < 0.05). However, no significant differences in blastocyst yield were observed anymore between treatment groups at day 8 post insemination.
Conclusions: In the present study, the Corral (R) dish was used for in vitro embryo production (IVP) in cattle; allowing to allocate oocytes and/or embryos per donor. As fresh embryo transfers on day 7 have higher pregnancy outcomes, the Corral (R) dish offers an added value for commercial OPU/IVP, since a higher blastocyst development at day 7 is obtained when the Corral (R) dish is used during IVM and IVC
Obstetric fistula in Burundi: a comprehensive approach to managing women with this neglected disease.
BACKGROUND: In Burundi, the annual incidence of obstetric fistula is estimated to be 0.2-0.5% of all deliveries, with 1000-2000 new cases per year. Despite this relatively high incidence, national capacity for identifying and managing obstetric fistula is very limited. Thus, in July 2010, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) set up a specialised Obstetric Fistula Centre in Gitega (Gitega Fistula Centre, GFC), the only permanent referral centre for obstetric fistula in Burundi. A comprehensive model of care is offered including psychosocial support, conservative and surgical management, post-operative care and follow-up. We describe this model of care, patient outcomes and the operational challenges. METHODS: Descriptive study using routine programme data. RESULTS: Between July 2010 and December 2011, 470 women with obstetric fistula presented for the first time at GFC, of whom 458 (98%) received treatment. Early urinary catheterization (conservative management) was successful in four out of 35 (11%) women. Of 454 (99%) women requiring surgical management, 394 (87%) were discharged with a closed fistula, of whom 301 (76%) were continent of urine and/or faeces, while 93 (24%) remained incontinent of urine and/or faeces. In 59 (13%) cases, the fistula was complex and could not be closed. Outcome status was unknown for one woman. Median duration of stay at GFC was 39 days (Interquartile range IQR, 31-51 days). CONCLUSION: In a rural African setting, it is feasible to implement a comprehensive package of fistula care using a dedicated fistula facility, and satisfactory surgical repair outcomes can be achieved. Several operational challenges are discussed
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