37,702 research outputs found
Fish and freshwater crayfish in streams in the Cape Naturaliste region and Wilyabrup Brook
No abstract availabl
Influence of O2 and N2 on the conductivity of carbon nanotube networks
We have performed experiments on single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) networks
and compared with density-functional theory (DFT) calculations to identify the
microscopic origin of the observed sensitivity of the network conductivity to
physisorbed O2 and N2. Previous DFT calculations of the transmission function
for isolated pristine SWNTs have found physisorbed molecules have little
influence on their conductivity. However, by calculating the four-terminal
transmission function of crossed SWNT junctions, we show that physisorbed O2
and N2 do affect the junction's conductance. This may be understood as an
increase in tunneling probability due to hopping via molecular orbitals. We
find the effect is substantially larger for O2 than for N2, and for
semiconducting rather than metallic SWNTs junctions, in agreement with
experiment.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, 1 tabl
Novel Dynamical Resonances in Finite-Temperature Bose-Einstein Condensates
We describe a variety of intriguing mode-coupling effects which can occur in
a confined Bose-Einstein condensed system at finite temperature. These arise
from strong interactions between a condensate fluctuation and resonances of the
thermal cloud yielding strongly non-linear behaviour. We show how these
processes can be affected by altering the aspect ratio of the trap, thereby
changing the relevant mode-matching conditions. We illustrate how direct
driving of the thermal cloud can lead to significant shifts in the excitation
spectrum for a number of modes and provide further experimental scenarios in
which the dramatic behaviour observed for the mode at JILA (Jin {\it et
al.} 1997) can be repeated. Our theoretical description is based on a
successful second-order finite-temperature quantum field theory which includes
the full coupled dynamics of the condensate and thermal cloud and all relevant
finite-size effects
Arcuate nucleus homeostatic systems reflect blood leptin concentration but not feeding behaviour during scheduled feeding on a high-fat diet in mice
Acknowledgements T.B. was funded by a CASE studentship from the BBSRC and AstraZeneca. J.B. was a summer student from Bordeaux Sciences Agro and funded by student laboratory experience grant from the British Society of Neuroendocrinology. The authors are also grateful for funding from the Scottish Government, and from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreements 266408 (Full4Health) and 245009 (NeuroFAST).Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Exoplanetary atmosphere target selection in the era of comparative planetology
The large number of new planets expected from wide-area transit surveys means
that follow-up transmission spectroscopy studies of their atmospheres will be
limited by the availability of telescope assets. We argue that telescopes
covering a broad range of apertures will be required, with even 1m-class
instruments providing a potentially important contribution. Survey strategies
that employ automated target selection will enable robust population studies.
As part of such a strategy, we propose a decision metric to pair the best
target to the most suitable telescope, and demonstrate its effectiveness even
when only primary transit observables are available. Transmission spectroscopy
target selection need not therefore be impeded by the bottle-neck of requiring
prior follow-up observations to determine the planet mass. The decision metric
can be easily deployed within a distributed heterogeneous network of telescopes
equipped to undertake either broadband photometry or spectroscopy. We show how
the metric can be used either to optimise the observing strategy for a given
telescope (e.g. choice of filter) or to enable the selection of the best
telescope to optimise the overall sample size. Our decision metric can also
provide the basis for a selection function to help evaluate the statistical
completeness of follow-up transmission spectroscopy datasets. Finally, we
validate our metric by comparing its ranked set of targets against lists of
planets that have had their atmospheres successfully probed, and against some
existing prioritised exoplanet lists.Comment: 20 pages, 16 figures, 3 tables. Revision 3, accepted by MNRAS.
Improvements include always using planetary masses where available and
reliable, treatment for sky backgrounds and out-of-transit noise and a use
case for defocused photometr
Paradoxes in Fair Computer-Aided Decision Making
Computer-aided decision making--where a human decision-maker is aided by a
computational classifier in making a decision--is becoming increasingly
prevalent. For instance, judges in at least nine states make use of algorithmic
tools meant to determine "recidivism risk scores" for criminal defendants in
sentencing, parole, or bail decisions. A subject of much recent debate is
whether such algorithmic tools are "fair" in the sense that they do not
discriminate against certain groups (e.g., races) of people.
Our main result shows that for "non-trivial" computer-aided decision making,
either the classifier must be discriminatory, or a rational decision-maker
using the output of the classifier is forced to be discriminatory. We further
provide a complete characterization of situations where fair computer-aided
decision making is possible
Microlensing of the Lensed Quasar SDSS0924+0219
We analyze V, I and H band HST images and two seasons of R-band monitoring
data for the gravitationally lensed quasar SDSS0924+0219. We clearly see that
image D is a point-source image of the quasar at the center of its host galaxy.
We can easily track the host galaxy of the quasar close to image D because
microlensing has provided a natural coronograph that suppresses the flux of the
quasar image by roughly an order of magnitude. We observe low amplitude,
uncorrelated variability between the four quasar images due to microlensing,
but no correlated variations that could be used to measure a time delay. Monte
Carlo models of the microlensing variability provide estimates of the mean
stellar mass in the lens galaxy (0.02 Msun < M < 1.0 Msun), the accretion disk
size (the disk temperature is 5 x 10^4 K at 3.0 x 10^14 cm < rs < 1.4 x 10^15
cm), and the black hole mass (2.0 x 10^7 Msun < MBH \eta_{0.1}^{-1/2}
(L/LE)^{1/2} < 3.3 x 10^8 Msun), all at 68% confidence. The black hole mass
estimate based on microlensing is consistent with an estimate of MBH = 7.3 +-
2.4 x 10^7 Msun from the MgII emission line width. If we extrapolate the
best-fitting light curve models into the future, we expect the the flux of
images A and B to remain relatively stable and images C and D to brighten. In
particular, we estimate that image D has a roughly 12% probability of
brightening by a factor of two during the next year and a 45% probability of
brightening by an order of magnitude over the next decade.Comment: v.2 incorporates referee's comments and corrects two errors in the
original manuscript. 28 pages, 10 figures, published in Ap
On the structure of the scalar mesons and
We investigate the structure of the scalar mesons and
within realistic meson-exchange models of the and
interactions. Starting from a modified version of the J\"ulich model for
scattering we perform an analysis of the pole structure of the
resulting scattering amplitude and find, in contrast to existing models, a
somewhat large mass for the ( MeV,
MeV). It is shown that our model provides a description of
data comparable in quality with those of
alternative models. Furthermore, the formalism developed for the
system is consistently extended to the interaction leading to a
description of the as a dynamically generated threshold effect
(which is therefore neither a conventional state nor a
bound state). Exploring the corresponding pole position the
is found to be rather broad ( MeV,
MeV). The experimentally observed smaller width results from the influence of
the nearby threshold on this pole.Comment: 25 pages, 15 Postscript figure
Rotating Relativistic Thin Disks
Two families of models of rotating relativistic disks based on Taub-NUT and
Kerr metrics are constructed using the well-known "displace, cut and reflect"
method. We find that for disks built from a generic stationary axially
symmetric metric the "sound velocity", , is equal to
the geometric mean of the prograde and retrograde geodesic circular velocities
of test particles moving on the disk. We also found that for generic disks we
can have zones with heat flow. For the two families of models studied the
boundaries that separate the zones with and without heat flow are not stable
against radial perturbations (ring formation).Comment: 18 eps figures, to be published PR
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