530 research outputs found
The SO(N) principal chiral field on a half-line
We investigate the integrability of the SO(N) principal chiral model on a
half-line, and find that mixed Dirichlet/Neumann boundary conditions (as well
as pure Dirichlet or Neumann) lead to infinitely many conserved charges
classically in involution. We use an anomaly-counting method to show that at
least one non-trivial example survives quantization, compare our results with
the proposed reflection matrices, and, based on these, make some preliminary
remarks about expected boundary bound-states.Comment: 7 pages, Late
Qatar's multi-actors sports strategy: Diplomacy, critics and legitimisation
Drawing on official documents and empirical examples, this article analyses Qatar’s sports strategy to gain attraction and generate soft power globally. The paper shows how the country based has efficiently used sport as a mean for modernisation, diplomacy and soft power, through a strategy based in the participation of national and foreign actors and institutions. While Qatar’s sports diplomacy has been very ambitious, the newfound global attention has led to an increased scrutiny regarding national internal policies. This has resulted in massive criticism regarding corruption allegations and several reports of labour abuses towards the migrant workers in the country. In consequence, critics consider Qatar as an example of sportswashing, which is understood as a deliberate use of sports soft power in seeking to alter a tarnished global reputation. We claim that the Qatari strategy, even having a bit of both, can be used to generate a positive context for social development and we describe how the county has managed to engage foreign actors and institutions to counter external denounces. The context created by successful sports diplomacy strategies and evidence-based external critics might generate an adequate ecosystem to promote substantial cultural and political changes, respect for human rights and individual freedom. In this context, western countries, sport institutions and external actors play (or not) a crucial legitimator role, and so does money.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio
Instanton Theory of Burgers Shocks and Intermittency
A lagrangian approach to Burgers turbulence is carried out along the lines of
the field theoretical Martin-Siggia-Rose formalism of stochastic hydrodynamics.
We derive, from an analysis based on the hypothesis of unbroken galilean
invariance, the asymptotic form of the probability distribution function of
negative velocity-differences. The origin of Burgers intermittency is found to
rely on the dynamical coupling between shocks, identified to instantons, and
non-coherent background fluctuations, which, then, cannot be discarded in a
consistent statistical description of the flow.Comment: 7 pages; LaTe
A Minimalist Turbulent Boundary Layer Model
We introduce an elementary model of a turbulent boundary layer over a flat
surface, given as a vertical random distribution of spanwise Lamb-Oseen vortex
configurations placed over a non-slip boundary condition line. We are able to
reproduce several important features of realistic flows, such as the viscous
and logarithmic boundary sublayers, and the general behavior of the first
statistical moments (turbulent intensity, skewness and flatness) of the
streamwise velocity fluctuations. As an application, we advance some heuristic
considerations on the boundary layer underlying kinematics that could be
associated with the phenomenon of drag reduction by polymers, finding a
suggestive support from its experimental signatures.Comment: 5 pages, 10 figure
Stochastic Perturbations in Vortex Tube Dynamics
A dual lattice vortex formulation of homogeneous turbulence is developed,
within the Martin-Siggia-Rose field theoretical approach. It consists of a
generalization of the usual dipole version of the Navier-Stokes equations,
known to hold in the limit of vanishing external forcing. We investigate, as a
straightforward application of our formalism, the dynamics of closed vortex
tubes, randomly stirred at large length scales by gaussian stochastic forces.
We find that besides the usual self-induced propagation, the vortex tube
evolution may be effectively modeled through the introduction of an additional
white-noise correlated velocity field background. The resulting
phenomenological picture is closely related to observations previously reported
from a wavelet decomposition analysis of turbulent flow configurations.Comment: 16 pages + 2 eps figures, REVTeX
The attack of Trigona spinipes in Artemisia annua plants can affect its artemisinin production, an antimalarial drug.
Special Theory of Relativity through the Doppler Effect
We present the special theory of relativity taking the Doppler effect as the
starting point, and derive several of its main effects, such as time dilation,
length contraction, addition of velocities, and the mass-energy relation, and
assuming energy and momentum conservation, we discuss how to introduce the
4-momentum in a natural way. We also use the Doppler effect to explain the
"twin paradox", and its version on a cylinder. As a by-product we discuss
Bell's spaceship paradox, and the Lorentz transformation for arbitrary
velocities in one dimension.Comment: 20 pages, 1 figur
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