283 research outputs found
Reheating via a generalized non-minimal coupling of curvature to matter
In this work one shows that a generalized non-minimal coupling between
geometry and matter is compatible with Starobinsky inflation and leads to a
successful process of preheating, a reheating scenario based on the production
of massive particles via parametric resonance. The model naturally extends the
usual preheating mechanism, which resorts to an {\it ad-hoc} scalar
curvature-dependent mass term for a scalar field , and also encompasses a
previously studied preheating channel based upon a non-standard kinetic term.Comment: 12 page
Long-Lived Time-Dependent Remnants During Cosmological Symmetry Breaking: From Inflation to the Electroweak Scale
Through a detailed numerical investigation in three spatial dimensions, we
demonstrate that long-lived time-dependent field configurations emerge
dynamically during symmetry breaking in an expanding de Sitter spacetime. We
investigate two situations: a single scalar field with a double-well potential
and the bosonic sector of an SU(2) non-Abelian Higgs model. For the single
scalar, we show that large-amplitude oscillon configurations emerge
spontaneously and persist to contribute about 1.2% of the energy density of the
universe. We also show that for a range of parameters, oscillon lifetimes are
enhanced by the expansion and that this effect is a result of parametric
resonance. For the SU(2) case, we see about 4% of the final energy density in
oscillons.Comment: 10 pages, RevTex4, 6 figures; v2: expanded SU(2) model section, added
2 figures, added one section, improved overall presentation and updated
references, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D. Results remain the sam
Penetrating facial injury from angle grinder use: management and prevention
Injuries resulting from the use of angle grinders are numerous. The most common sites injured are the head and face. The high speed disc of angle grinders does not respect anatomical boundaries or structures and thus the injuries produced can be disfiguring, permanently disabling or even fatal. However, aesthetically pleasing results can be achieved with thorough debridement, resection of wound edges and careful layered functional closure after reduction and fixation of facial bone injuries. A series of penetrating facial wounds associated with angle grinder use are presented and the management and prevention of these injuries discussed
Observations and comparisons of cloud microphysical properties in spring and summertime Arctic stratocumulus clouds during the ACCACIA campaign
Measurements from four case studies in spring and summer-time Arctic stratocumulus clouds during the Aerosol-Cloud Coupling And Climate Interactions in the Arctic (ACCACIA) campaign are presented. We compare microphysics observations between cases and with previous measurements made in the Arctic and Antarctic. During ACCACIA, stratocumulus clouds were observed to consist of liquid at cloud tops, often at distinct temperature inversions. The cloud top regions precipitated low concentrations of ice into the cloud below. During the spring cases median ice number concentrations (~ 0.5 L−1) were found to be lower by about a factor of 5 than observations from the summer campaign (~ 3 L−1). Cloud layers in the summer spanned a warmer temperature regime than in the spring and enhancement of ice concentrations in these cases was found to be due to secondary ice production through the Hallett–Mossop (H–M) process. Aerosol concentrations during spring ranged from ~ 300–400 cm−3 in one case to lower values of ~ 50–100 cm−3 in the other. The concentration of aerosol with sizes Dp > 0.5 μm was used in a primary ice nucleus (IN) prediction scheme (DeMott et al., 2010). Predicted IN values varied depending on aerosol measurement periods but were generally greater than maximum observed median values of ice crystal concentrations in the spring cases, and less than the observed ice concentrations in the summer due to the influence of secondary ice production. Comparison with recent cloud observations in the Antarctic summer (Grosvenor et al., 2012), reveals lower ice concentrations in Antarctic clouds in comparable seasons. An enhancement of ice crystal number concentrations (when compared with predicted IN numbers) was also found in Antarctic stratocumulus clouds spanning the H–M temperature zone; however, concentrations were about an order of magnitude lower than those observed in the Arctic summer cases but were similar to the peak values observed in the colder Arctic spring cases, where the H–M mechanism did not operate
Are Kaluza-Klein modes enhanced by parametric resonance?
We study parametric amplification of Kaluza-Klein (KK) modes in a higher
-dimensional generalized Kaluza-Klein theory, which was originally
considered by Mukohyama in the narrow resonance case. It was suggested that KK
modes can be enhanced by an oscillation of a scale of compactification by the
-dimensional sphere and by the direct product . We extend this past work to the more general case where
initial values of the scale of compactification and the quantum number of the
angular momentum of KK modes are not small. We perform analytic approaches
based on the Mathieu equation as well as numerical calculations, and find that
the expansion of the universe rapidly makes the KK field deviate from
instability bands. As a result, KK modes are not enhanced sufficiently in an
expanding universe in these two classes of models.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure
The CC domain structure from the wheat stem rust resistance protein Sr33 challenges paradigms for dimerization in plant NLR proteins
Inhibition of Plasmepsin V activity demonstrates its essential role in protein export, PfEMP1 display, and survival of malaria parasites
The malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum exports several hundred proteins into the infected erythrocyte that are involved in cellular remodeling and severe virulence. The export mechanism involves the Plasmodium export element (PEXEL), which is a cleavage site for the parasite protease, Plasmepsin V (PMV). The PMV gene is refractory to deletion, suggesting it is essential, but definitive proof is lacking. Here, we generated a PEXEL-mimetic inhibitor that potently blocks the activity of PMV isolated from P. falciparum and Plasmodium vivax. Assessment of PMV activity in P. falciparum revealed PEXEL cleavage occurs cotranslationaly, similar to signal peptidase. Treatment of P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes with the inhibitor caused dose-dependent inhibition of PEXEL processing as well as protein export, including impaired display of the major virulence adhesin, PfEMP1, on the erythrocyte surface, and cytoadherence. The inhibitor killed parasites at the trophozoite stage and knockdown of PMV enhanced sensitivity to the inhibitor, while overexpression of PMV increased resistance. This provides the first direct evidence that PMV activity is essential for protein export in Plasmodium spp. and for parasite survival in human erythrocytes and validates PMV as an antimalarial drug target
Particle production in the oscillating inflation model
We investigate the particle production of a scalar field coupled to an
inflaton field () in the {\it oscillating inflation}
model, which was recently proposed by Damour and Mukhanov. Although the
fluctuation of the field can be effectively enhanced during a stage of
the oscillating inflation, the maximum fluctuation is suppressed as the
critical value which indicates the scale of the core part of the
inflaton potential decreases, in taking into account the back reaction effect
of created particles. As for the particle production, we find that
larger values of the coupling constant are required to lead to an efficient
parametric resonance with the decrease of , because an effective mass
of inflaton around the minimum of its potential becomes larger. However, it is
possible to generate the superheavy particle whose mass is greater than
GeV, which would result in an important consequence for the GUT
baryogenesis.Comment: 18 pages, 14 figure
Inflation Dynamics and Reheating
We review the theory of inflation with single and multiple fields paying
particular attention to the dynamics of adiabatic and entropy/isocurvature
perturbations which provide the primary means of testing inflationary models.
We review the theory and phenomenology of reheating and preheating after
inflation providing a unified discussion of both the gravitational and
nongravitational features of multi-field inflation. In addition we cover
inflation in theories with extra dimensions and models such as the curvaton
scenario and modulated reheating which provide alternative ways of generating
large-scale density perturbations. Finally we discuss the interesting
observational implications that can result from adiabatic-isocurvature
correlations and non-Gaussianity.Comment: 51 pages, latex, 16 figures, version to appear in Reviews of Modern
Physic
Resonant particle production with non-minimally coupled scalar fields in preheating after inflation
We investigate a resonant particle production of a scalar field
coupled non-minimally to a spacetime curvature () as well as
to an inflaton field (). In the case of , effect assists -resonance in certain parameter regimes.
However, for , -resonance is not enhanced by
effect because of suppression effect as well as a back reaction effect.
If , the maximal fluctuation of produced -particle is
GeV for , which is larger than the minimally coupled case with .Comment: 33pages, 12figures. to appear in Physical Review
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