227 research outputs found
Changes In Femoral Neck Bone Mineral Density: A Comparison Of NHANES 2005-2006, 2007-2008, And 2009-2010
Bone mass is an important component of quality of life and can be influenced by lifestyle factors, such as physical activity and diet. However the US surgeon general found a growing portion of Americans are not engaging in adequate amounts of physical activity and/or consuming less calcium and vitamin D. The purpose of this study was to compare bone mineral density (BMD) of American adults of different ethnicities and time periods to detect any differences. It was hypothesized that BMD would be lower in participants from more recent years, and African Americans would have the highest BMD. Measurements were taken at the femoral neck of volunteers between 18 and 35 years of age (n = 3578) from 2005-2006 (n = 1160), 2007-2008, (n = 1135), and 2009-2010 (n = 1283) by the National Center for Health Statistics. The data was analyzed using a three-way independent ANOVA with an alpha level of .05. Femoral neck BMD was used as the dependent variable; and year, age, and race were independent variables. The study found Hispanic women to have a significantly higher BMD from 2005-2006 (p \u3c.05) when compared to participants from later years. In addition, the study found significant differences based on age and ethnicity (p \u3c .001). African-American men (p \u3c .001) and women (p \u3c.001) had a higher BMD than any other ethnicity. Moreover, Hispanic men had a higher BMD (p \u3c.001) than Caucasian men. In men, BMD significantly decreased in each age group (p \u3c.001); whereas in women a significant decrease was detected in every other age group (p \u3c .05). However, in contradiction to literature, the results found peak BMD to occur between 18 and 19 years of age as opposed to mid-to-late twenties
Supernovae as a probe of particle physics and cosmology
It has very recently been demonstrated by Csaki, Kaloper and Terning (CKT)
that the faintness of supernovae at high redshift can be accommodated by mixing
of a light axion with the photon in the presence of an intergalactic magnetic
field, as opposed to the usual explanation of an accelerating universe by a
dark energy component. In this paper we analyze further aspects of the CKT
mechanism and its generalizations. The CKT mechanism also passes various
cosmological constraints from the fluctuations of the CMB and the formation of
structure at large scales, without requiring an accelerating phase in the
expansion of the Universe. We investigate the statistical significance of
current supernova data for pinning down the different components of the
cosmological energy-momentum tensor and for probing physics beyond the standard
models.Comment: 17 pages, LaTeX, 4 figures; v2: typos corrected, minor changes,
references added; v3: updated figures, details regarding fits include
Supersymmetry, Axions and Cosmology
Various authors have noted that in particular models, the upper bound on the
axion decay constant may not hold. We point out that within supersymmetry, this
is a generic issue. For large decay constants, the cosmological problems
associated with the axion's scalar partner are far more severe than those of
the axion. We survey a variety of models, both for the axion multiplet and for
cosmology, and find that in many cases where the cosmological problems of the
saxion are solved, the usual upper bound on the axion is significantly relaxed.
We discuss, more generally, the cosmological issues raised by the pseudoscalar
members of moduli multiplets, and find that they are potentially quite severe.Comment: 27 pages, published version, some discussions clarifie
Non-transitive maps in phase synchronization
Concepts from the Ergodic Theory are used to describe the existence of
non-transitive maps in attractors of phase synchronous chaotic systems. It is
shown that for a class of phase-coherent systems, e.g. the sinusoidally forced
Chua's circuit and two coupled R{\"o}ssler oscillators, phase synchronization
implies that such maps exist. These ideas are also extended to other coupled
chaotic systems. In addition, a phase for a chaotic attractor is defined from
the tangent vector of the flow. Finally, it is discussed how these maps can be
used to real time detection of phase synchronization in experimental systems
Closed String Tachyon Condensation on Twisted Circles
We study IIA/B string theory compactified on twisted circles. These models
possess closed string tachyons and reduce to type 0B/A theory in a special
limit. Using methods of gauged linear sigma models and mirror symmetry we
construct a conformal field theory which interpolates between these models and
flat space via an auxiliary Liouville direction. Interpreting motion in the
Liouville direction as renormalization group flow, we argue that the end point
of tachyon condensation in all these models (including 0B/A theory) is
supersymmetric type II theory. We also find a zero-slope limit of these models
which is best described in a T-dual picture as a type II NS-NS fluxbrane. In
this limit tachyon condensation is an interesting and well posed problem in
supergravity. We explicitly determine the tachyon as a fluctuation of
supergravity fields, and perform a rudimentary numerical analysis of the
relevant flows.Comment: 21 pages plus appendices (12 pages), harvmac, 1 fig, v2: minor
changes and references added, v3: minor changes version published in JHE
Constraining the primordial spectrum of metric perturbations from gravitino and moduli production
We consider the production of gravitinos and moduli fields from quantum
vacuum fluctuations induced by the presence of scalar metric perturbations at
the end of inflation. We obtain the corresponding occupation numbers, up to
first order in perturbation theory, in terms of the power spectrum of the
metric perturbations. We compute the limits imposed by nucleosynthesis on the
spectral index for different models with constant . The results show
that, in certain cases, such limits can be as strong as , which is
more stringent than those coming from primordial black hole production.Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX, 5 figures. Corrected figures, new references
included. Final version to appear in Phys. Rev.
Closed-String Tachyons and the Hagedorn Transition in AdS Space
We discuss some aspects of the behaviour of a string gas at the Hagedorn
temperature from a Euclidean point of view. Using AdS space as an infrared
regulator, the Hagedorn tachyon can be effectively quasi-localized and its
dynamics controled by a finite energetic balance. We propose that the off-shell
RG flow matches to an Euclidean AdS black hole geometry in a generalization of
the string/black-hole correspondence principle. The final stage of the RG flow
can be interpreted semiclassically as the growth of a cool black hole in a
hotter radiation bath. The end-point of the condensation is the large Euclidean
AdS black hole, and the part of spacetime behind the horizon has been removed.
In the flat-space limit, holography is manifest by the system creating its own
transverse screen at infinity. This leads to an argument, based on the
energetics of the system, explaining why the non-supersymmetric type 0A string
theory decays into the supersymmetric type IIB vacuum. We also suggest a notion
of `boundary entropy', the value of which decreases along the line of flow.Comment: 24 pages, Harvmac. 2 Figures. Typos corrected and reference adde
Axion Radiation from Strings
This paper revisits the problem of the string decay contribution to the axion
cosmological energy density. We show that this contribution is proportional to
the average relative increase when axion strings decay of a certain quantity
which we define. We carry out numerical simulations of the
evolution and decay of circular and non-circular string loops, of bent strings
with ends held fixed, and of vortex-antivortex pairs in two dimensions. In the
case of string loops and of vortex-antivortex pairs, decreases by
approximately 20%. In the case of bent strings, remains constant
or increases slightly. Our results imply that the string decay contribution to
the axion energy density is of the same order of magnitude as the
well-understood contribution from vacuum realignment.Comment: 29 pages, 10 figure
Primordial nucleosynthesis with a varying fine structure constant: An improved estimate
We compute primordial light-element abundances for cases with fine structure
constant alpha different from the present value, including many sources of
alpha dependence neglected in previous calculations. Specifically, we consider
contributions arising from Coulomb barrier penetration, photon coupling to
nuclear currents, and the electromagnetic components of nuclear masses. We find
the primordial abundances to depend more weakly on alpha than previously
estimated, by up to a factor of 2 in the case of ^7Li. We discuss the
constraints on variations in alpha from the individual abundance measurements
and the uncertainties affecting these constraints. While the present best
measurements of primordial D/H, ^4He/H, and ^7Li/H may be reconciled pairwise
by adjusting alpha and the universal baryon density, no value of alpha allows
all three to be accommodated simultaneously without consideration of systematic
error. The combination of measured abundances with observations of acoustic
peaks in the cosmic microwave background favors no change in alpha within the
uncertainties.Comment: Phys. Rev. D accepted version; minor changes in response to refere
Wormholes and Ringholes in a Dark-Energy Universe
The effects that the present accelerating expansion of the universe has on
the size and shape of Lorentzian wormholes and ringholes are considered. It is
shown that, quite similarly to how it occurs for inflating wormholes, relative
to the initial embedding-space coordinate system, whereas the shape of the
considered holes is always preserved with time, their size is driven by the
expansion to increase by a factor which is proportional to the scale factor of
the universe. In the case that dark energy is phantom energy, which is not
excluded by present constraints on the dark-energy equation of state, that size
increase with time becomes quite more remarkable, and a rather speculative
scenario is here presented where the big rip can be circumvented by future
advanced civilizations by utilizing sufficiently grown up wormholes and
ringholes as time machines that shortcut the big-rip singularity.Comment: 11 pages, RevTex, to appear in Phys. Rev.
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