589 research outputs found
Geodesics in the static Mallett spacetime
Mallett has exhibited a cylindrically symmetric spacetime containing closed
timelike curves produced by a light beam circulating around a line singularity.
I analyze the static version of this spacetime obtained by setting the
intensity of the light to zero. Some null geodesics can escape to infinity, but
all timelike geodesics in this spacetime originate and terminate at the
singularity. Freely falling matter originally at rest quickly attains
relativistic velocity inward and is destroyed at the singularity.Comment: 5 page
Can a circulating light beam produce a time machine?
In a recent paper, Mallett found a solution of the Einstein equations in
which closed timelike curves (CTC's) are present in the empty space outside an
infinitely long cylinder of light moving in circular paths around an axis. Here
we show that, for physically realistic energy densities, the CTC's occur at
distances from the axis greater than the radius of the visible universe by an
immense factor. We then show that Mallett's solution has a curvature
singularity on the axis, even in the case where the intensity of the light
vanishes. Thus it is not the solution one would get by starting with Minkowski
space and establishing a cylinder of light.Comment: 5 pages, RevTe
Gravitational Perturbations of a Radiating Spacetime
This paper discusses the problem of gravitational perturbations of radiating spacetimes. We lay out the theoretical framework for describing the interaction of external gravitational fields with a radiating spacetime. This is done by deriving the field perturbation equations for a radiating metric. The equations are then specialized to a Vaidya spacetime. For the Hiscock ansatz of a linear mass model of a radiating blackhole the equations are found separable. Further, the resulting ordinary differential equations are found to admit analytic solutions. We obtain the solutions and discuss their characteristics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44462/1/10701_2004_Article_228309.pd
Non-stationary rotating black holes: Entropy and Hawking's radiation
We derive a class of non-stationary embedded rotating black holes and study
the Hawking's radiation effects on these embedded black holes. The surface
gravity, entropy and angular velocity, which are three important properties of
black holes, are presented for each of these embedded black holes.Comment: 36 pages, LaTe
Scaling of the Fano effect of the in-plane Fe-As phonon and the superconducting critical temperature in BaKFeAs
By means of infrared spectroscopy we determine the temperature-doping phase
diagram of the Fano effect for the in-plane Fe-As stretching mode in
BaKFeAs. The Fano parameter , which is a
measure of the phonon coupling to the electronic particle-hole continuum, shows
a remarkable sensitivity to the magnetic/structural orderings at low
temperatures. More strikingly, at elevated temperatures in the
paramagnetic/tetragonal state we find a linear correlation between and
the superconducting critical temperature . Based on theoretical
calculations and symmetry considerations, we identify the relevant interband
transitions that are coupled to the Fe-As mode. In particular, we show that a
sizable orbital component at the Fermi level is fundamental for the Fano
effect and possibly also for the superconducting pairing.Comment: Supplemental materials are available upon reques
Test evaluation trials present different challenges for trial managers compared to Intervention trials
Introduction
Test evaluation trials present different challenges for trial managers compared to intervention trials. There has been very little research on the management of test evaluation trials and how this impacts on trial success, in comparison with intervention trials. Evaluations of medical tests present specific challenges, because they are a pivot point bridging the complexities of pathways prompting testing with treatment decision-making. We systematically explored key differences in the trial design and management of test evaluation trials compared to intervention trials at the different stages of study design and delivery. We identified challenges in test evaluation trials that were more pronounced than in intervention trials, based on experience from 10 test evaluation trials.
Methods
We formed a focus group of 7 trial managers and a statistician who had been involved in the day-to-day management of both test evaluation trials and intervention trials. We used discussion and content analysis to group challenges from 10 trials into a structured thematic format. The trials covered a range of medical conditions, diagnostic tests, clinical pathways and conditions including chronic kidney disease, chronic pelvic pain, colitis, detrusor over-activity, group B streptococcal colonisation, tuberculosis and colorectal, lung, ovarian and thyroid cancers.
Results
We identified 10 common themes underlying challenges that are more pronounced in test evaluation compared to intervention trials. We illustrate these themes with examples from 10 trials, including with 31 specific challenges we experienced. The themes were ethics/governance; accessing patient populations; recruitment; patient preference; test processes, clinical pathways and samples storage; uncertainty of diagnostic results; verifying diagnosis (reference standard); follow-up; adverse effects; and diagnostic impact.
Conclusion
We present 10 common themes, including 31 challenges, in test evaluation trials that will be helpful to others designing and managing future test evaluation trials. Proactive identification of potential challenges at the design and planning stages of test evaluation trials will enable strategies to improve trial design and management that may be different from standard strategies used for intervention trials. Future work could extend this topic to include challenges for other trial stakeholders including participants, clinicians, statisticians and funders
Stress and deformation analysis of the metal extrusion process
A complete stress analysis of a metal-forming process is necessary in order to assess the onset of metal-forming defects such as the initiation of internal or surface cracks or the generation of residual stresses. This demands elasticplastic analysis. A program to evaluate complete stress distributions has been developed and applied to the extrusion process. Such solutions have not previously been obtained for general two- and three-dimensional problems encompassing the technologically important steady state processes, although these solutions are essential for the rational assessment of limits on process variables which will ensure a satisfactory metal-forming procedure. The stress fields obtained for the extrusion process exhibit features which are consistent with the known development of extrusion defects, such as the appearance of surface cracks.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/22971/1/0000538.pd
Inflating Lorentzian Wormholes
It has been speculated that Lorentzian wormholes of the Morris- Thorne type
might be allowed by the laws of physics at submicroscopic, e.g. Planck, scales
and that a sufficiently advanced civilization might be able to enlarge them to
classical size. The purpose of this paper is to explore the possibility that
inflation might provide a natural mechanism for the enlargement of such
wormholes to macroscopic size. A new classical metric is presented for a
Lorentzian wormhole which is imbedded in a flat deSitter space. It is shown
that the throat and proper length of the wormhole inflate. The resulting
properties and stress-energy tensor associated with this metric are discussed.Comment: 24 pg
Transition from an electron solid to the sequence of fractional quantum Hall states at very low Landau level filling factor
At low Landau level filling of a two-dimensional electron system, typically
associated with the formation of an electron crystal, we observe local minima
in Rxx at filling factors nu=2/11, 3/17, 3/19, 2/13, 1/7, 2/15, 2/17, and 1/9.
Each of these developing fractional quantum Hall (FQHE) states appears only
above a filling factor-specific temperature. This can be interpreted as the
melting of an electron crystal and subsequent FQHE liquid formation. The
observed sequence of FQHE states follow the series of composite fermion states
emanating from nu=1/6 and nu=1/8
Psychology studentsâ perception of and engagement with feedback as a function of year of study
Undergraduate studentsâ perception of feedback and level of engagement with the feedback they receive have gained increasing attention in the educational literature recently to identify areas which require educatorsâ attention. However, research in this area has generally been based on limited self-selecting samples, and has not considered how studentsâ relationship with feedback may alter depending on their year of study. To address this, a survey measuring studentsâ views and practices regarding feedback was completed at a higher education institution by 447 first-, second- and third-year psychology students, representing 77% of the cohort. Findings revealed that third years responded more negatively in both areas than their first- and second-year counterparts, whose ratings on these aspects themselves were far from optimal. These findings highlight the need for early interventions to improve studentsâ perception of and engagement with feedback in the earlier years, and to prevent the recorded deterioration later on in the degree course
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