559 research outputs found
Harrison transformation of hyperelliptic solutions and charged dust disks
We use a Harrison transformation on solutions to the stationary axisymmetric
Einstein equations to generate solutions of the Einstein-Maxwell equations. The
case of hyperelliptic solutions to the Ernst equation is studied in detail.
Analytic expressions for the metric and the multipole moments are obtained. As
an example we consider the transformation of a family of counter-rotating dust
disks. The resulting solutions can be interpreted as disks with currents and
matter with a purely azimuthal pressure or as two streams of freely moving
charged particles. We discuss interesting limiting cases as the extreme limit
where the charge becomes identical to the mass, and the ultrarelativistic limit
where the central redshift diverges.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figure
Proof of the Double Bubble Conjecture in R^n
The least-area hypersurface enclosing and separating two given volumes in R^n
is the standard double bubble.Comment: 20 pages, 22 figure
Billiards in a general domain with random reflections
We study stochastic billiards on general tables: a particle moves according
to its constant velocity inside some domain until it hits the boundary and bounces randomly inside according to some
reflection law. We assume that the boundary of the domain is locally Lipschitz
and almost everywhere continuously differentiable. The angle of the outgoing
velocity with the inner normal vector has a specified, absolutely continuous
density. We construct the discrete time and the continuous time processes
recording the sequence of hitting points on the boundary and the pair
location/velocity. We mainly focus on the case of bounded domains. Then, we
prove exponential ergodicity of these two Markov processes, we study their
invariant distribution and their normal (Gaussian) fluctuations. Of particular
interest is the case of the cosine reflection law: the stationary distributions
for the two processes are uniform in this case, the discrete time chain is
reversible though the continuous time process is quasi-reversible. Also in this
case, we give a natural construction of a chord "picked at random" in
, and we study the angle of intersection of the process with a
-dimensional manifold contained in .Comment: 50 pages, 10 figures; To appear in: Archive for Rational Mechanics
and Analysis; corrected Theorem 2.8 (induced chords in nonconvex subdomains
Dependence of direct detection signals on the WIMP velocity distribution
The signals expected in WIMP direct detection experiments depend on the
ultra-local dark matter distribution. Observations probe the local density,
circular speed and escape speed, while simulations find velocity distributions
that deviate significantly from the standard Maxwellian distribution. We
calculate the energy, time and direction dependence of the event rate for a
range of velocity distributions motivated by recent observations and
simulations, and also investigate the uncertainty in the determination of WIMP
parameters. The dominant uncertainties are the systematic error in the local
circular speed and whether or not the MW has a high density dark disc. In both
cases there are substantial changes in the mean differential event rate and the
annual modulation signal, and hence exclusion limits and determinations of the
WIMP mass. The uncertainty in the shape of the halo velocity distribution is
less important, however it leads to a 5% systematic error in the WIMP mass. The
detailed direction dependence of the event rate is sensitive to the velocity
distribution. However the numbers of events required to detect anisotropy and
confirm the median recoil direction do not change substantially.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures, v2 version to appear in JCAP, minor change
Green manure in coffee systems in the region of Zona da Mata, Minas Gerais: characteristics and kinetics of carbon and nitrogen mineralization.
The use of green manure may contribute to reduce soil erosion and increase the soil organic matter content and N availability in coffee plantations in the Zona da Mata, State of Minas Gerais, in Southeastern Brazil. The potential of four legumes (A. pintoi, C. mucunoides, S. aterrimum and S. guianensis)to produce above-ground
biomass, accumulate nutrients and mineralize N was studied in two coffee plantations of subsistence farmers under different climate conditions. The biomass production of C. mucunoides was influenced by the shade of the coffee plantation.C. mucunoides tended to mineralize more N than the other legumes due to the low polyphenol content and polyphenol/N ratio. In the first year, the crop establishment of A. pintoi in the area took longer than of the other legumes, resulting in lower biomass production and N2 fixation. In the long term, cellulose was the main
factor controlling N mineralization. The biochemical characteristics, nutrient accumulation and biomass production of the legumes were greatly influenced by
the altitude and position of the area relative to the sun
Electrovacuum Static Counterrotating Relativistic Dust Disks
A detailed study is presented of the counterrotating model (CRM) for generic
electrovacuum static axially symmetric relativistic thin disks without radial
pressure. We find a general constraint over the counterrotating tangential
velocities needed to cast the surface energy-momentum tensor of the disk as the
superposition of two counterrotating charged dust fluids. We also find explicit
expressions for the energy densities, charge densities and velocities of the
counterrotating fluids. We then show that this constraint can be satisfied if
we take the two counterrotating streams as circulating along electro-geodesics.
However, we show that, in general, it is not possible to take the two
counterrotating fluids as circulating along electro-geodesics nor take the two
counterrotating tangential velocities as equal and opposite. Four simple
families of models of counterrotating charged disks based on Chazy-Curzon-like,
Zipoy-Voorhees-like, Bonnor-Sackfield-like and Kerr-like electrovacuum
solutions are considered where we obtain some disks with a CRM well behaved.
The models are constructed using the well-known ``displace, cut and reflect''
method extended to solutions of vacuum Einstein-Maxwell equations.Comment: 19 pages, 16 figures, revtex
Tomato: a crop species amenable to improvement by cellular and molecular methods
Tomato is a crop plant with a relatively small DNA content per haploid genome and a well developed genetics. Plant regeneration from explants and protoplasts is feasable which led to the development of efficient transformation procedures.
In view of the current data, the isolation of useful mutants at the cellular level probably will be of limited value in the genetic improvement of tomato. Protoplast fusion may lead to novel combinations of organelle and nuclear DNA (cybrids), whereas this technique also provides a means of introducing genetic information from alien species into tomato. Important developments have come from molecular approaches. Following the construction of an RFLP map, these RFLP markers can be used in tomato to tag quantitative traits bred in from related species. Both RFLP's and transposons are in the process of being used to clone desired genes for which no gene products are known. Cloned genes can be introduced and potentially improve specific properties of tomato especially those controlled by single genes. Recent results suggest that, in principle, phenotypic mutants can be created for cloned and characterized genes and will prove their value in further improving the cultivated tomato.
Two photons into \pi^0\pi^0
We perform a theoretical study based on dispersion relations of the reaction
\gamma\gamma\to \pi^0\pi^0 emphasizing the low energy region. We discuss how
the f_0(980) signal emerges in \gamma\gamma\to \pi\pi within the dispersive
approach and how this fixes to a large extent the phase of the isoscalar S-wave
\gamma\gamma\to \pi\pi amplitude above the K\bar{K} threshold. This allows us
to make sharper predictions for the cross section at lower energies and our
results could then be used to distinguish between different \pi\pi isoscalar
S-wave parameterizations with the advent of new precise data on
\gamma\gamma\to\pi^0\pi^0. We compare our dispersive approach with an updated
calculation employing Unitary Chiral Perturbation Theory (U\chiPT). We also pay
special attention to the role played by the \sigma resonance in
\gamma\gamma\to\pi\pi and calculate its coupling and width to gamma\gamma, for
which we obtain \Gamma(\sigma\to\gamma\gamma)=(1.68\pm 0.15) KeV.Comment: 31 pages, 9 figure
Prospects for Studies of Stellar Evolution and Stellar Death in the JWST Era
I review the prospects for studies of the advanced evolutionary stages of
low-, intermediate- and high-mass stars by the JWST and concurrent facilities,
with particular emphasis on how they may help elucidate the dominant
contributors to the interstellar dust component of galaxies. Observations
extending from the mid-infrared to the submillimeter can help quantify the
heavy element and dust species inputs to galaxies from AGB stars. JWST's MIRI
mid-infrared instrument will be so sensitive that observations of the dust
emission from individual intergalactic AGB stars and planetary nebulae in the
Virgo Cluster will be feasible. The Herschel Space Observatory will enable the
last largely unexplored spectral region, the far-IR to the submillimeter, to be
surveyed for new lines and dust features, while SOFIA will cover the wavelength
gap between JWST and Herschel, a spectral region containing important fine
structure lines, together with key water-ice and crystalline silicate bands.
Spitzer has significantly increased the number of Type II supernovae that have
been surveyed for early-epoch dust formation but reliable quantification of the
dust contributions from massive star supernovae of Type II, Type Ib and Type Ic
to low- and high-redshift galaxies should come from JWST MIRI observations,
which will be able to probe a volume over 1000 times larger than Spitzer.Comment: 24 pages, 19 figures. To appear in `Astrophysics in the Next Decade:
JWST and Concurrent Facilities' (JWST Conference Proceedings), edited by H.
A. Thronson, M. Stiavelli and A. G. G. M. Tielens; Springer Series:
Astrophysics and Space Science Proceeding
Heavy quarkonium: progress, puzzles, and opportunities
A golden age for heavy quarkonium physics dawned a decade ago, initiated by
the confluence of exciting advances in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and an
explosion of related experimental activity. The early years of this period were
chronicled in the Quarkonium Working Group (QWG) CERN Yellow Report (YR) in
2004, which presented a comprehensive review of the status of the field at that
time and provided specific recommendations for further progress. However, the
broad spectrum of subsequent breakthroughs, surprises, and continuing puzzles
could only be partially anticipated. Since the release of the YR, the BESII
program concluded only to give birth to BESIII; the -factories and CLEO-c
flourished; quarkonium production and polarization measurements at HERA and the
Tevatron matured; and heavy-ion collisions at RHIC have opened a window on the
deconfinement regime. All these experiments leave legacies of quality,
precision, and unsolved mysteries for quarkonium physics, and therefore beg for
continuing investigations. The plethora of newly-found quarkonium-like states
unleashed a flood of theoretical investigations into new forms of matter such
as quark-gluon hybrids, mesonic molecules, and tetraquarks. Measurements of the
spectroscopy, decays, production, and in-medium behavior of c\bar{c}, b\bar{b},
and b\bar{c} bound states have been shown to validate some theoretical
approaches to QCD and highlight lack of quantitative success for others. The
intriguing details of quarkonium suppression in heavy-ion collisions that have
emerged from RHIC have elevated the importance of separating hot- and
cold-nuclear-matter effects in quark-gluon plasma studies. This review
systematically addresses all these matters and concludes by prioritizing
directions for ongoing and future efforts.Comment: 182 pages, 112 figures. Editors: N. Brambilla, S. Eidelman, B. K.
Heltsley, R. Vogt. Section Coordinators: G. T. Bodwin, E. Eichten, A. D.
Frawley, A. B. Meyer, R. E. Mitchell, V. Papadimitriou, P. Petreczky, A. A.
Petrov, P. Robbe, A. Vair
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