9,104 research outputs found
On the nature of spectral line broadening in solar coronal dimmings
We analyze the profiles of iron emission lines observed in solar coronal
dimmings associated with coronal mass ejections, using the EUV Imaging
Spectrometer on board Hinode. We quantify line profile distortions with
empirical coefficients (asymmetry and peakedness) that compare the fitted
Gaussian to the data. We find that the apparent line broadenings reported in
previous studies are likely to be caused by inhomogeneities of flow velocities
along the line of sight, or at scales smaller than the resolution scale, or by
velocity fluctuations during the exposure time. The increase in the amplitude
of Alfv\'en waves cannot, alone, explain the observed features. A
double-Gaussian fit of the line profiles shows that, both for dimmings and
active region loops, one component is nearly at rest while the second component
presents a larger Doppler shift than that derived from a single-Gaussian fit.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures - Accepted for publication in Ap
Prehension and perception of size in left visual neglect
Right hemisphere damaged patients with and without left visual neglect, and age-matched controls had objects of various sizes presented within left or right body hemispace. Subjects were asked to estimate the objects’ sizes or to reach out and grasp them, in order to assess visual size processing in perceptual-experiential and action-based contexts respectively. No impairments of size processing were detected in the prehension performance of the neglect patients but a generalised slowing of movement was observed, associated with an extended deceleration phase. Additionally both patient groups reached maximum grip aperture relatively later in the movement than did controls. For the estimation task it was predicted that the left visual neglect group would systematically underestimate the sizes of objects presented within left hemispace but no such abnormalities were observed. Possible reasons for this unexpected null finding are discussed
Scattering from a Domain Wall in a Spontaneously Broken Gauge Theory
We study the interaction of particles with a domain wall at a
symmetry-breaking phase transition by perturbing about the domain wall
solution. We find the particulate excitations appropriate near the domain wall
and relate them to the particles present far from the wall in the uniform
broken and unbroken phases. For a quartic Higgs potential we find analytic
solutions to the equations of motion and derive reflection and transmission
coefficients. We discover several bound states for particles near the wall.
Finally, we apply our results to the electroweak phase transition in the
standard model.Comment: 48 pages, 10 figures, LaTeX / epsf, revised to include references to
earlier related wor
KINETIC AND KINEMATIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TARGET AND FREE KICKING IN TAEKWONDO
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the kinematic and kinetic (EMG) changes induced by varying kicking target sizes and the absence of these in Taekwondo kicking. Peak velocities and intersegmental timing and coordination variables were used to assess the kinematic of kicking executions. The kinetics of kicking executions were assessed from muscle co-contraction indexes obtained from EMG recording from selected muscles. Expert participants (n = 20) performed a set of ten Ap chagi (front kick) and Dollyo chagi (round house kick) to a set of target paddles of different sizes and masses. Significant differences were found between kicking conditions in the intersegmental timing of Ap chagi (p = 0.02) and Dollyo chagi (p = 0.04). Peak linear velocity of the ankle joint of Ap chagi (p = 0.63) and Dollyo chagi (p = 0.12) executions showed no significant differences. Differences in the thigh and leg angular velocities ratio were however significant for Ap chagi (p =0.01) and Dollyo chagi (p = 0.03) kicks. A strong correlation between muscle co-contraction and the mass of the kicking target (r = 0.95) was found
Critiquing Variational Theories of the Anderson-Hubbard Model: Real-Space Self-Consistent Hartree-Fock Solutions
A simple and commonly employed approximate technique with which one can
examine spatially disordered systems when strong electronic correlations are
present is based on the use of real-space unrestricted self-consistent
Hartree-Fock wave functions. In such an approach the disorder is treated
exactly while the correlations are treated approximately. In this report we
critique the success of this approximation by making comparisons between such
solutions and the exact wave functions for the Anderson-Hubbard model. Due to
the sizes of the complete Hilbert spaces for these problems, the comparisons
are restricted to small one-dimensional chains, up to ten sites, and a 4x4
two-dimensional cluster, and at 1/2 filling these Hilbert spaces contain about
63,500 and 166 million states, respectively. We have completed these
calculations both at and away from 1/2 filling. This approximation is based on
a variational approach which minimizes the Hartree-Fock energy, and we have
completed comparisons of the exact and Hartree-Fock energies. However, in order
to assess the success of this approximation in reproducing ground-state
correlations we have completed comparisons of the local charge and spin
correlations, including the calculation of the overlap of the Hartree-Fock wave
functions with those of the exact solutions. We find that this approximation
reproduces the local charge densities to quite a high accuracy, but that the
local spin correlations, as represented by , are not as well
represented. In addition to these comparisons, we discuss the properties of the
spin degrees of freedom in the HF approximation, and where in the
disorder-interaction phase diagram such physics may be important
Knowledge-Driven Contrast Gain Control is Characterized by Two Distinct Electrocortical Markers
Sensitivity to variations in luminance (contrast) is fundamental to perception because contrasts define the edges and textures of visual objects. Recent research has shown that contrast sensitivity, in addition to being controlled by purely stimulus-driven mechanisms, is also affected by expectations and prior knowledge about the contrast of upcoming stimuli. The ability to adjust contrast sensitivity based on expectations and prior knowledge could help to maximize the information extracted when scanning familiar visual scenes. In the present study we used the event-related potentials (ERP) technique to resolve the stages that mediate knowledge-driven aspects of contrast gain control. Using groupwise independent components analysis and multivariate partial least squares, we isolated two robust spatiotemporal patterns of electrical brain activity associated with preparation for upcoming targets whose contrast was predicted by a cue. The patterns were sensitive to the informative value of the cue. When the cues were informative, these patterns were also able to differentiate among cues that predicted low-contrast targets and cues that predicted high-contrast targets. Both patterns were localized to parts of occipitotemporal cortex, and their morphology, latency, and topography resembled P2/N2 and P3 potentials. These two patterns provide electrophysiological markers of knowledge-driven preparation for impending changes in contrast and shed new light on the manner in which top-down factors modulate sensory processing
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