8,424 research outputs found
Gauged Thirring Model in the Heisenberg Picture
We consider the (2+1)-dimensional gauged Thirring model in the Heisenberg
picture. In this context we evaluate the vacuum polarization tensor as well as
the corrected gauge boson propagator and address the issues of generation of
mass and dynamics for the gauge boson (in the limits of QED and Thirring
model as a gauge theory, respectively) due to the radiative corrections.Comment: 14 pages, LaTex, no figure
Messiah: An ITS drive safety application
This article describes a novel safety application based on the open source navigation software OsmAnd,
which runs on the Android platform. The application offers vehicles with "smart navigation", and maintains a network
of the vehicles that use our application. The process of network creation and maintenance is important as
our application enables vehicles to communicate with one another to exchange useful information. The main
function of the application is to inform vehicles of relevant vehicles approaching, termed as "administrative
vehicles" in this article, and include ambulances, police cars and fire brigades. Based on the received
information, our application notifies the driver, who can now take navigation decisions based on it. While developing
the application, problems were found when attempting to create an Ad-hoc network. A solution to the problem of managing the Ad-hoc network has been proposed and is under development
A novel on-board Unit to accelerate the penetration of ITS services
In-vehicle connectivity has experienced a big expansion in recent years. Car manufacturers have mainly proposed OBU-based solutions, but these solutions do not take full advantage of the opportunities of inter-vehicle peer-to-peer communications. In this paper we introduce GRCBox, a novel architecture that allows OEM user-devices to directly communicate when located in neighboring vehicles. In this paper we also describe EYES, an application we developed to illustrate the type of novel applications that can be implemented on top of the GRCBox. EYES is an ITS overtaking assistance system that provides the driver with real-time video fed from the vehicle located in front. Finally, we evaluated the GRCbox and the EYES application and showed that, for device-to-device communication, the performance of the GRCBox architecture is comparable to an infrastructure network, introducing a negligible impact
Optimization of photon storage fidelity in ordered atomic arrays
A major application for atomic ensembles consists of a quantum memory for
light, in which an optical state can be reversibly converted to a collective
atomic excitation on demand. There exists a well-known fundamental bound on the
storage error, when the ensemble is describable by a continuous medium governed
by the Maxwell-Bloch equations. The validity of this model can break down,
however, in systems such as dense, ordered atomic arrays, where strong
interference in emission can give rise to phenomena such as subradiance and
"selective" radiance. Here, we develop a general formalism that finds the
maximum storage efficiency for a collection of atoms with discrete, known
positions, and a given spatial mode in which an optical field is sent. As an
example, we apply this technique to study a finite two-dimensional square array
of atoms. We show that such a system enables a storage error that scales with
atom number like ,
and that, remarkably, an array of just atoms in principle allows
for an efficiency comparable to a disordered ensemble with optical depth of
around 600.Comment: paper is now identical to published versio
Robot-assisted laparoscopic pyeloplasty (RALP) in children with horseshoe kidneys: results of a multicentric study
This multicentric study aimed to report our experience with robot-assisted laparoscopic pyeloplasty (RALP) in children with horseshoe kidney (HSK).
METHODS:
The records of 14 patients (11 boys and 3 girls with an average age of 9 years), who underwent RALP for repair of pelvi-ureteric junction obstruction (PUJO) in HSK in five international pediatric urology units over a 5-year period, were retrospectively reviewed. A dismembered pyeloplasty with no division of isthmus was performed in all the cases.
RESULTS:
The average operative time including docking was 143.5 min (range 100-205). No conversions to laparoscopy or open surgery or intra-operative complications occurred. Patients were discharged on postoperative day 2 following catheter and drain removal. The JJ stent was removed at mean 33 days postoperatively. Overall success rate was 92.8%. As for postoperative complications, we recorded a urinary tract infection (UTI) and stent-related irritative symptoms, managed with medical therapy, in two patients (II Clavien) and an anastomotic stricture in one patient needing surgical revision with no further recurrence (IIIb Clavien). At follow-up, all the patients (one after redo-surgery) reported complete resolution of symptoms, improvement of hydronephrosis on ultrasound and no residual obstruction on diuretic renogram.
CONCLUSIONS:
Our experience suggested that RALP in HSK is safe, feasible and with good medium-term outcomes in expert hands. An accurate pre-operative planning associated with a standardized technique is key points to achieve good surgical and functional outcomes in these challenging cases. The da Vinci robot technology offers the advantages of MIS procedures and overcomes the technical challenges of laparoscopic approach
Electron-Phonon Coupling in High-Temperature Cuprate Superconductors Determined from Electron Relaxation Rates
We determined electronic relaxation times via pump-probe optical spectroscopy
using sub-15 fs pulses for the normal state of two different cuprate
superconductors.We show that the primary relaxation process is the
electron-phonon interaction and extract a measure of its strength, the second
moment of the Eliashberg function\lambda=800\pm200 meV^{2} for
La_{1.85}Sr_{0.15}CuO_{4} and \lambda=400\pm100 meV^{2} for
YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{6.5}. These values suggest a possible fundamental role of the
electron-phonon interaction in the superconducting pairing mechanism.Comment: As published in PR
Evaluating the potential of high pressure high temperature and thermal processing on volatile compounds, nutritional and structural properties of orange and yellow carrots
The present study compares the impact of thermal and high pressure high temperature(HPHT) processing on volatile profile (via a non-targeted headspace fingerprinting) and structural and nutritional quality parameter (via targeted approaches) of orange and yellow carrot purees. The effect of oil enrichment was also considered. Since oil enrichment affects compounds volatility, the effect of oil was not studied when comparing the volatile fraction. For the targeted part, as yellow carrot purees were shown to contain a very low amount of carotenoids, focus was given to orange carrot purees. The results of the non-targeted approach demonstrated HPHT processing exerts a distinct effect on the volatile fractions compared to thermal processing. In addition, different colored carrot varieties are characterized by distinct headspace fingerprints.
From a structural point of view, limited or no difference could be observed between orange carrot purees treated with HPHT or HT processes, both for samples without and with oil. From nutritional point of view, only in samples with oil, significant isomerisation of all-trans-β-carotene occurred due to both processing. Overall, for this type of product and for the selected conditions, HPHT processing seems to have a different impact on the volatile profile but rather similar impact on the structural and nutritional attributes compared to thermal processing
Carrier-envelope phase effects on the strong-field photoemission of electrons from metallic nanostructures
Sharp metallic nanotapers irradiated with few-cycle laser pulses are emerging
as a source of highly confined coherent electron wavepackets with attosecond
duration and strong directivity. The possibility to steer, control or switch
such electron wavepackets by light is expected to pave the way towards direct
visualization of nanoplasmonic field dynamics and real-time probing of electron
motion in solid state nanostructures. Such pulses can be generated by
strong-field induced tunneling and acceleration of electrons in the near-field
of sharp gold tapers within one half-cycle of the driving laser field. Here, we
show the effect of the carrier-envelope phase of the laser field on the
generation and motion of strong-field emitted electrons from such tips. This is
a step forward towards controlling the coherent electron motion in and around
metallic nanostructures on ultrashort length and time scales
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