97 research outputs found
The Topology of Dislocations in Smectic Liquid Crystals
The order parameter of the smectic liquid crystal phase is the same as that
of a superfluid or superconductor, namely a complex scalar field. We show that
the essential difference in boundary conditions between these systems leads to
a markedly different topological structure of the defects. Screw and edge
defects can be distinguished topologically. This implies an invariant on an
edge dislocation loop so that smectic defects can be topologically linked not
unlike defects in ordered systems with non-Abelian fundamental groups.Comment: 11 pages, many figures, the full catastrophe. Supplementary data with
two movies can be found at
http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1367-2630/18/5/05301
Z_2-gradings of Clifford algebras and multivector structures
Let Cl(V,g) be the real Clifford algebra associated to the real vector space
V, endowed with a nondegenerate metric g. In this paper, we study the class of
Z_2-gradings of Cl(V,g) which are somehow compatible with the multivector
structure of the Grassmann algebra over V. A complete characterization for such
Z_2-gradings is obtained by classifying all the even subalgebras coming from
them. An expression relating such subalgebras to the usual even part of Cl(V,g)
is also obtained. Finally, we employ this framework to define spinor spaces,
and to parametrize all the possible signature changes on Cl(V,g) by
Z_2-gradings of this algebra.Comment: 10 pages, LaTeX; v2 accepted for publication in J. Phys.
Environmental benefits of pet food obtained as a result of the valorisation of meat fraction derived from packaged food waste
The 2030 Agenda of the United Nations includes the objective of setting up sustainable production patterns by pursuing several Sustainable Development Goals. Among them, the âResponsible production and consumptionâ is a key topic in the food production and is strictly connected with the âClimate actionâ; the crucial point, however, is how to jointly act on all these aspects and apply them in practice. The waste yearly produced in the food chain represent both an ethical, economic and environmental issue. In particular, as far as the recovery of packaged food waste from retailers is concerned, the valorisation of the wasted meat is an extremely relevant issue. Pet food industries could be interested in valorising this waste fraction to replace meat coming from slaughters in their product recipes. This article evaluates the environmental impact of valorising meat fraction from packaged food waste to produce two different recipes of high quality pet food, called Natura and PĂątĂ©. A life cycle assessment of the current scenario (traditional pet food production and landfilling of packaged food waste) and of a new one (pet food production using meat fraction from packaged food waste) is carried out applying the ReCiPe 2016 method of impact assessment. Real data have been taken from retailers and pet food manufacturer. The production of pet food using the meat fraction from packaged food waste generates on average lower environmental impacts if compared to the traditional process, in terms of GWP (-56.40%), water consumption (â22.62%), land use (-87.50%) and fossil resource scarcity (-21.78%). Benefits are interesting even if considering the production of PĂątĂ© (-14.66%), for which the traditional production process makes use of some slaughter by-products. The proposed industrial process is demonstrated to be sustainable from an environmental point of view and appears to be in line with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2, 12 and 13
The Geometry of the Cholesteric Phase
We propose a construction of a cholesteric pitch axis for an arbitrary
nematic director field as an eigenvalue problem. Our definition leads to a
Frenet-Serret description of an orthonormal triad determined by this axis, the
director, and the mutually perpendicular direction. With this tool we are able
to compare defect structures in cholesterics, biaxial nematics, and smectics.
Though they all have similar ground state manifolds, the defect structures are
different and cannot be, in general, translated from one phase to the other.Comment: 5 pages, the full catastroph
Volume elements and torsion
We reexamine here the issue of consistency of minimal action formulation with
the minimal coupling procedure (MCP) in spaces with torsion. In Riemann-Cartan
spaces, it is known that a proper use of the MCP requires that the trace of the
torsion tensor be a gradient, , and that the modified
volume element be
used in the action formulation of a physical model. We rederive this result
here under considerably weaker assumptions, reinforcing some recent results
about the inadequacy of propagating torsion theories of gravity to explain the
available observational data. The results presented here also open the door to
possible applications of the modified volume element in the geometric theory of
crystalline defects.Comment: Revtex, 8 pages, 1 figure. v2 includes a discussion on
-symmetr
Conformal smectics and their many metrics
We establish that equally spaced smectic configurations enjoy an infinite-dimensional conformal symmetry and show that there is a natural map between them and null hypersurfaces in maximally symmetric spacetimes. By choosing the appropriate conformal factor it is possible to restore additional symmetries of focal structures only found before for smectics on flat substrates
Analogue gravity and radial fluid flows: the case of AdS and its deformations
FAPESP - FUNDAĂĂO DE AMPARO Ă PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SĂO PAULOCAPES - COORDENAĂĂO DE APERFEIĂOAMENTO DE PESSOAL E NĂVEL SUPERIORAn analogue model for the AdS(2) spacetime has been recently introduced by Mosna et al. [Phys. Rev. D 94, 104065 (2016)] by considering sound waves propagating on a fluid with an ill-defined velocity profile at its source/sink. The wave propagation is then uniquely defined only when one imposes an extra boundary condition at the source/sink (which corresponds to the spatial infinity of AdS(2)). Here we show that, once this velocity profile is smoothed out at the source/sink, the need for extra boundary conditions disappears. This, in turn, corresponds to deformations of the AdS(2) spacetime near its spatial infinity. We also examine how this regularization of the velocity profile picks up a specific boundary condition for the idealized system, so that both models agree in the long wavelength limit.971017FAPESP - FUNDAĂĂO DE AMPARO Ă PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SĂO PAULOCAPES - COORDENAĂĂO DE APERFEIĂOAMENTO DE PESSOAL E NĂVEL SUPERIORFAPESP - FUNDAĂĂO DE AMPARO Ă PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SĂO PAULOCAPES - COORDENAĂĂO DE APERFEIĂOAMENTO DE PESSOAL E NĂVEL SUPERIOR2013/09357-92016/07057-61490213/201
Torsion and the Gravitational Interaction
By using a nonholonomous-frame formulation of the general covariance
principle, seen as an active version of the strong equivalence principle, an
analysis of the gravitational coupling prescription in the presence of
curvature and torsion is made. The coupling prescription implied by this
principle is found to be always equivalent with that of general relativity, a
result that reinforces the completeness of this theory, as well as the
teleparallel point of view according to which torsion does not represent
additional degrees of freedom for gravity, but simply an alternative way of
representing the gravitational field.Comment: Version 2: minor presentation changes, a reference added, 11 pages
(IOP style
New half supersymmetric solutions of the heterotic string
We describe all supersymmetric solutions of the heterotic string which
preserve 8 supersymmetries and show that are distinguished by the holonomy,
, of the connection, , with skew-symmetric
torsion. The solutions are principal
bundles over a 4-dimensional hyper-K\"ahler manifold equipped with a
anti-self-dual connection and fibre group which has Lie algebra,
{\mathfrak Lie} (G)=\bR^{5,1}, \mathfrak{sl}(2,\bR)\oplus \mathfrak{su}(2)
or . Some of the solutions have the interpretation as 5-branes
wrapped on with transverse space any hyper-K\"ahler 4-dimensional manifold.
We construct new solutions for {\mathfrak Lie} (G)=\mathfrak{sl}(2,\bR)\oplus
\mathfrak{su}(2) and show that are characterized by 3 integers and have
continuous moduli. There is also a smooth family in this class with one
asymptotic region and the dilaton is bounded everywhere on the spacetime. We
also demonstrate that the worldvolume theory of the backgrounds with holonomy
SU(2) can be understood in terms of gauged WZW models for which the gauge
fields are composite. The {\rm hol}(\hat\nabla) \subseteq\bR^8 solutions are
superpositions of fundamental strings and pp-waves in flat space, which may
also include a null rotation. The heterotic
string backgrounds which preserve 8 supersymmetries are Lorentzian group
manifolds.Comment: 31 pages, minor corrections, analysis improved and more references
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A Comparison of the Conditioning Regimens BEAM and FEAM for Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Lymphoma: An Observational Study on 1038 Patients From Fondazione Italiana Linfomi
Abstract Background Carmustine (BCNU)-Etoposide-Citarabine-Melphalan (BEAM) chemotherapy is the standard conditioning regimen for autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in lymphomas. Owing to BCNU shortages, many centers switched to Fotemustine-substituted BEAM (FEAM), lacking proof of equivalence. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study in 18 Italian centers to compare safety and efficacy of BEAM and FEAM regimens for ASCT in lymphomas performed from 2008 to 2015. Results We enrolled 1038 patients (BEAM n=607, FEAM n=431), of which 27% had Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL), 14% indolent Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (iNHL) and 59% aggressive NHL (aNHL). Baseline characteristics including age, sex, stage, B-symptoms, extranodal involvement, previous treatments, response before ASCT, overall conditioning intensity, were well balanced between BEAM and FEAM; notable exceptions were: ASCT year (median: BEAM=2011 vs FEAM=2013, p Conclusions BEAM and FEAM do not appear different in terms of survival and disease control. However, due to concerns of higher toxicity, Fotemustine substitution in BEAM does not seem justified, if not for easier supply
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