21,703 research outputs found
A simplified model of the source channel of the Leksell Gamma Knife: testing multisource configurations with PENELOPE
A simplification of the source channel geometry of the Leksell Gamma
Knife, recently proposed by the authors and checked for a single
source configuration (Al-Dweri et al 2004), has been used to calculate the dose
distributions along the , and axes in a water phantom with a
diameter of 160~mm, for different configurations of the Gamma Knife including
201, 150 and 102 unplugged sources. The code PENELOPE (v. 2001) has been used
to perform the Monte Carlo simulations. In addition, the output factors for the
14, 8 and 4~mm helmets have been calculated. The results found for the dose
profiles show a qualitatively good agreement with previous ones obtained with
EGS4 and PENELOPE (v. 2000) codes and with the predictions of
GammaPlan. The output factors obtained with our model agree
within the statistical uncertainties with those calculated with the same Monte
Carlo codes and with those measured with different techniques. Owing to the
accuracy of the results obtained and to the reduction in the computational time
with respect to full geometry simulations (larger than a factor 15), this
simplified model opens the possibility to use Monte Carlo tools for planning
purposes in the Gamma Knife.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, 5 table
A kpc-scale X-ray jet in the BL Lac source S5 2007+777
X-ray jets in AGN are commonly observed in FRII and FRI radio-galaxies, but
rarely in BL Lacs, most probably due to their orientation close to the line of
sight and the ensuing foreshortening effects. Only three BL Lacs are known so
far to contain a kpc-scale X-ray jet. In this paper, we present the evidence
for the existence of a fourth extended X-ray jet in the classical
radio-selected source S5 2007+777, which for its hybrid FRI/II radio morphology
has been classified as a HYMOR (HYbrid MOrphology Radio source). Our Chandra
ACIS-S observations of this source revealed an X-ray counterpart to the
19"-long radio jet. Interestingly, the X-ray properties of the kpc-scale jet in
S5 2007+777 are very similar to those observed in FRII jets. First, the X-ray
morphology closely mirrors the radio one, with the X-rays being concentrated in
the discrete radio knots. Second, the X-ray continuum of the jet/brightest knot
is described by a very hard power law, with photon index Gamma_x~1, although
the uncertainties are large. Third, the optical upper limit from archival HST
data implies a concave radio-to-X-ray SED. If the X-ray emission is attributed
to IC/CMB with equipartition, strong beaming (delta=13) is required, implying a
very large scale (Mpc) jet. The beaming requirement can be somewhat relaxed
assuming a magnetic field lower than equipartition. Alternatively, synchrotron
emission from a second population of very high-energy electrons is viable.
Comparison to other HYMOR jets detected with Chandra is discussed, as well as
general implications for the origin of the FRI/II division.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, 19 pages, 3 figure
Recent advances in coding theory for near error-free communications
Channel and source coding theories are discussed. The following subject areas are covered: large constraint length convolutional codes (the Galileo code); decoder design (the big Viterbi decoder); Voyager's and Galileo's data compression scheme; current research in data compression for images; neural networks for soft decoding; neural networks for source decoding; finite-state codes; and fractals for data compression
Jets from Sub-Parsec to Kiloparsec Scales: A Physical Connection
The Chandra discovery of bright X-ray emission from kpc-scale jets allows
insight into the physical parameters of the jet flow at large scale. At the
opposite extreme, extensive studies of the inner relativistic jets in Blazars
with multiwavelength observations, yield comparable information on sub-parsec
scales. In the framework of simple radiation models for the emission regions we
compare the physical parameters of jets on these two very different scales in
the only two well studied Blazars for which large-scale emission has been
resolved by Chandra. Notably, we find that the relativistic Doppler factors and
powers derived independently at the two scales are consistent, suggesting that
the jet does not suffer severe deceleration or dissipation. Moreover the
internal equipartition pressures in the inner jet and in the external X-ray
bright knots scale inversely with the jet cross section as expected in the
simple picture of a freely expanding jet in equipartition.Comment: 4 figures, accepted by Ap
Is the mind inherently predicting? Exploring forward and backward looking in language processing
Prediction is one characteristic of the human mind. But what does it mean to say the mind is a ’prediction machine’ and inherently forward looking as is frequently claimed? In natural languages, many contexts are not easily predictable in a forward fashion. In English for example many frequent verbs do not carry unique meaning on their own, but instead rely on another word or words that follow them to become meaningful. Upon reading take a the processor often cannot easily predict walk as the next word. But the system can ‘look back’ and integrate walk more easily when it follows take a (e.g., as opposed to make|get|have a walk). In the present paper we provide further evidence for the importance of both forward and backward looking in language processing. In two self-paced reading tasks and an eye-tracking reading task, we found evidence that adult English native speakers’ sensitivity to word forward and backward conditional probability significantly explained variance in reading times over and above psycholinguistic predictors of reading latencies. We conclude that both forward and backward-looking (prediction and integration) appear to be important characteristics of language processing. Our results thus suggest that it makes just as much sense to call the mind an ’integration machine’ which is inherently backward looking
Quantum Field Theory on the Noncommutative Plane with Symmetry
We study properties of a scalar quantum field theory on the two-dimensional
noncommutative plane with quantum symmetry. We start from the
consideration of a firstly quantized quantum particle on the noncommutative
plane. Then we define quantum fields depending on noncommutative coordinates
and construct a field theoretical action using the -invariant measure
on the noncommutative plane. With the help of the partial wave decomposition we
show that this quantum field theory can be considered as a second quantization
of the particle theory on the noncommutative plane and that this field theory
has (contrary to the common belief) even more severe ultraviolet divergences
than its counterpart on the usual commutative plane. Finally, we introduce the
symmetry transformations of physical states on noncommutative spaces and
discuss them in detail for the case of the quantum group.Comment: LaTeX, 26 page
Re-parameterization Invariance in Fractional Flux Periodicity
We analyze a common feature of a nontrivial fractional flux periodicity in
two-dimensional systems. We demonstrate that an addition of fractional flux can
be absorbed into re-parameterization of quantum numbers. For an exact
fractional periodicity, all the electronic states undergo the
re-parameterization, whereas for an approximate periodicity valid in a large
system, only the states near the Fermi level are involved in the
re-parameterization.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, minor changes, final version to appear in J. Phys.
Soc. Jp
Are Asians comfortable with discussing death in health valuation studies? A study in multi-ethnic Singapore
BACKGROUND
To characterize ease in discussing death (EID) and its influence on health valuation in a multi-ethnic Asian population and to determine the acceptability of various descriptors of death and "pits"/"all-worst" in health valuation.
METHODS
In-depth interviews (English or mother-tongue) among adult Chinese, Malay and Indian Singaporeans selected to represent both genders and a wide range of ages/educational levels. Subjects rated using 0–10 visual analogue scales (VAS): (1) EID, (2) acceptability of 8 descriptors for death, and (3) appropriateness of "pits" and "all-worst" as descriptors for the worst possible health state. Subjects also valued 3 health states using VAS followed by time trade-off (TTO). The influence of sociocultural variables on EID and these descriptors was studied using univariable analyses and multiple linear regression (MLR). The influence of EID on VAS/TTO utilities with adjustment for sociocultural variables was assessed using MLR.
RESULTS
Subjects (n = 63, 35% Chinese, 32% Malay, median age 44 years) were generally comfortable with discussing death (median EID: 8.0). Only education significantly influenced EID (p = 0.045). EID correlated weakly with VAS/TTO scores (range: VAS: -0.23 to 0.07; TTO: -0.14 to 0.11). All subjects felt "passed away", "departed" and "deceased" were most acceptable (median acceptability: 8.0) while "sudden death" and "immediate death" were least acceptable (median acceptability: 5.0). Subjects clearly preferred "all-worst" to "pits" (63% vs. 19%, p < 0.001).
CONCLUSION
Singaporeans were generally comfortable with discussing death and had clear preferences for several descriptors of death and for "all-worst". EID is unlikely to influence health preference measurement in health valuation studies
What is the Thouless Energy for Ballistic Systems?
The Thouless energy, \Ec characterizes numerous quantities associated with
sensitivity to boundary conditions in diffusive mesoscopic conductors. What
happens to these quantities if the disorder strength is decreased and a
transition to the ballistic regime takes place? In the present analysis we
refute the intuitively plausible assumption that \Ec loses its meaning as an
inverse diffusion time through the system at hand, and generally disorder
independent scales take over. Instead we find that a variety of (thermodynamic)
observables are still characterized by the Thouless energy.Comment: 4 pages REVTEX, uuencoded file. To appear in Physical Review Letter
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