Quantum dissipative effects in graphene-like mirrors

We study quantum dissipative effects due to the accelerated motion of a single, imperfect, zero-width mirror. It is assumed that the microscopic degrees of freedom on the mirror are confined to it, like in plasma or graphene sheets. Therefore, the mirror is described by a vacuum polarization tensor $\Pi_{\alpha\beta}$ concentrated on a time-dependent surface. Under certain assumptions about the microscopic model for the mirror, we obtain a rather general expression for the Euclidean effective action, a functional of the time-dependent mirror's position, in terms of two invariants that characterize the tensor $\Pi_{\alpha\beta}$. The final result can be written in terms of the TE and TM reflection coefficients of the mirror, with qualitatively different contributions coming from them. We apply that general expression to derive the imaginary part of the `in-out' effective action, which measures dissipative effects induced by the mirror's motion, in different models, in particular for an accelerated graphene sheet.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures. Minor changes, version to be published in Phys. Rev.

The Medicinal Mushroom Agaricus blazei Murrill: Review of Literature and Pharmaco-Toxicological Problems

Agaricus blazei Murrill (ABM) popularly known as ‘Cogumelo do Sol’ in Brazil, or ‘Himematsutake’ in Japan, is a mushroom native to Brazil, and widely cultivated in Japan for its medicinal uses, so it is now considered as one of the most important edible and culinary-medicinal biotechnological species. It was traditionally used to treat many common diseases like atherosclerosis, hepatitis, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, dermatitis and cancer. In vitro and in vivo ABM has shown immunomodulatory and antimutagenic properties, although the biological pathways and chemical substances involved in its pharmacological activities are still not clear. The polysaccharides phytocomplex is thought to be responsible for its immunostimulant and antitumor properties, probably through an opsonizing biochemical pathway. Clinical studies are positive confirmations, but we are still at the beginning, and there are perplexing concerns especially relative to the content of agaritine. Argantine is a well-known carcinogenic and toxic substance in animals, that must be completely and fully evaluated

Quantum dissipative effects in moving mirrors: a functional approach

We use a functional approach to study various aspects of the quantum effective dynamics of moving, planar, dispersive mirrors, coupled to scalar or Dirac fields, in different numbers of dimensions. We first compute the Euclidean effective action, and use it to derive the imaginary part of the `in-out' effective action. We also obtain, for the case of the real scalar field in 1+1 dimensions, the Schwinger-Keldysh effective action and a semiclassical Langevin equation that describes the motion of the mirror including noise and dissipative effects due to its coupling to the quantum fields.Comment: References added. Version to appear in Phys. Rev.

Comparison of different fittings of experimental DSD

Retrieval of a distribution of raindrop sizes from measured drop spectra is critically influenced by the tail of the distribution. The influence of various tail-types is studied with reference to four parameterisations fitted both to the large dropsonlyand to the entire sample of the disdrometer-measured spectra. Results of this preliminary analysis show that the Weibull distribution with a shape parameter greater than oneseems to fit the highest percentages of the measured drop spectra. © 2013 AIP Publishing LLC

Values, ideological attitudes and patriotism

We tested a series of discriminant associations, investigating how dimensions of patriotism (i.e. blind and constructive) differently relate to value orientations, and to ideological attitudes such as Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) and Social Dominance Orientation (SDO). Using an Italian student sample (N = 146) we found that blind patriotism correlated positively with tradition and negatively with univer- salism, whilst constructive patriotism correlated negatively with tradition and positively with universal- ism. Both RWA and SDO correlated negatively with universalism, whilst only RWA was associated with security and tradition and only SDO related positively to power and self-direction. Mediation analyses revealed that most of the effects of value orientations on patriotism were mediated by SDO and RWA

The Functional Derivation of Master Equations

Master equations describe the quantum dynamics of open systems interacting with an environment. They play an increasingly important role in understanding the emergence of semiclassical behavior and the generation of entropy, both being related to quantum decoherence. Presently we derive the exact master equation for a homogeneous scalar Higgs or inflaton like field coupled to an environment field represented by an infinite set of harmonic oscillators. Our aim is to demonstrate a derivation directly from the path integral representation of the density matrix propagator. Applications and generalizations of this result are discussed.Comment: 10 pages; LaTex. - Contribution to the workshop Hadron Physics VI, March 1998, Florianopolis (Brazil); proceedings, E. Ferreira et al., eds. (World Scientific). Replaced by slightly modified published versio

Wavelength influence in sub-pixel temperature retrieval using the dual-band technique

The thermal model proposed by Crisp and Baloga (1990) for active lava flows considers thermal flux as a function of the fractional area of two thermally distinct radiant surfaces. In this model, the larger surface area corresponds to the cooler crust of the flow and the other, much smaller to fractures in the crust. These cracks temperature is much higher than the crust one and approaches the temperature of the molten or plastic interior flow. The dual-band method needs two distinct SWIR (short wave infrared) bands to formulate a two equations system from the simultaneous solution of the Planck equation in each band. The system solutions consist in the crust temperature and the fractional area of the hot component. The dual band technique originally builds on data acquired by sensors (such as Landsat TM) with two SWIR bands only. The use of hyperspectral imaging spectrometers allows us to test the dual-band technique using different wavelengths in the SWIR range of the spectrum. DAIS 7915 is equipped with 40 bands into the range 1.54-2.49 nm which represent potential input in dual band calculation. This study aims to compare results derived by inserting assorted couples of wavelengths into the equation system. The analysis of these data provides useful information on dual-band technique accuracy

Rainfall estimation and ground clutter rejection with dual polarization weather radar

Conventional radars, used for atmospheric remote sensing, usually operate at a single polarization and frequency to estimate storm parameters such as rainfallrate and water content. Because of the high variability of the drop size distribution conventional radars do not succeed in obtaining detailed information because they just use horizontal reflectivity. The potentiality of the dual-polarized weather radar is investigated, in order to reject the ground-clutter, using differential reflectivity. In this light, a radar meteorology campaign was conducted over the city of Rome (Italy), collecting measurements by the polarimetric Doppler radar Polar 55C and by a raingauge network. The goodness of the results is tested by comparison of radar rainfall estimates with raingauges rainfall measurements

Casimir interaction between two concentric cylinders at nonzero temperature

We study the finite temperature Casimir interaction between two concentric cylinders. When the separation between the cylinders is much smaller than the radii of the cylinders, the asymptotic expansions of the Casimir interaction are derived. Both the low temperature and the high temperature regions are considered. The leading terms are found to agree with the proximity force approximations. The low temperature leading term of the temperature correction is also computed and it is found to be independent of the boundary conditions imposed on the larger cylinder.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figur