10,394 research outputs found
Tests of Factorization and SU(3) Relations in B Decays into Heavy-Light Final States
Using data from the B factories and the Tevatron, we perform tests of how
well non-leptonic B decays of the kind B -> D^{(*)}_{(s)} P, where P is a pion
or kaon, are described within the factorization framework. We find that
factorization works well - as is theoretically expected - for color-allowed,
tree-diagram-like topologies. Moreover, also exchange topologies, which have a
non-factorizable character, do not show any anomalous behavior. We discuss also
isospin triangles between the B -> D^{(*)} pi decay amplitudes, and determine
the corresponding amplitudes in the complex plane, which show a significant
enhancement of the color-suppressed tree contribution with respect to the
factorization picture. Using data for B -> D^{(*)} K decays, we determine
SU(3)-breaking effects and cannot resolve any non-factorizable SU(3)-breaking
corrections larger than \sim 5%. In view of these results, we point out that a
comparison between the \bar B^0_d -> D^+\pi^- and \bar B^0_s -> D_s^+\pi^-
decays offers an interesting new determination of f_d/f_s. Using CDF data, we
obtain the most precise value of this ratio at CDF, and discuss the prospects
for a corresponding measurement at LHCb.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, matches published version in Physical Review
Maltreated children in the Looked After System: a comparison of outcomes for those who go home and those who do not
This project focuses on the consequences of decisions to reunify children who had entered the looked-after system for abuse or neglect. It compares the progress and outcomes of a sample of maltreated children who either went home or remained in the looked-after system
Perturbation Theory for Antisymmetric Tensor Fields in Four Dimensions
Perturbation theory for a class of topological field theories containing
antisymmetric tensor fields is considered. These models are characterized by a
supersymmetric structure which allows to establish their perturbative
finiteness.Comment: 23 page
Improving Software Reliability Forecasting
This work investigates some methods for software reliability forecasting. A supermodel is presented as a suited tool for prediction of reliability in software project development. Also, times series forecasting for cumulative interfailure time is proposed and illustrated
Visual control of flight speed in Drosophila melanogaster
Flight control in insects depends on self-induced image motion (optic flow), which the visual system must process to generate appropriate corrective steering maneuvers. Classic experiments in tethered insects applied rigorous system identification techniques for the analysis of turning reactions in the presence of rotating pattern stimuli delivered in open-loop. However, the functional relevance of these measurements for visual free-flight control remains equivocal due to the largely unknown effects of the highly constrained experimental conditions. To perform a systems analysis of the visual flight speed response under free-flight conditions, we implemented a `one-parameter open-loop' paradigm using `TrackFly' in a wind tunnel equipped with real-time tracking and virtual reality display technology. Upwind flying flies were stimulated with sine gratings of varying temporal and spatial frequencies, and the resulting speed responses were measured from the resulting flight speed reactions. To control flight speed, the visual system of the fruit fly extracts linear pattern velocity robustly over a broad range of spatioâtemporal frequencies. The speed signal is used for a proportional control of flight speed within locomotor limits. The extraction of pattern velocity over a broad spatioâtemporal frequency range may require more sophisticated motion processing mechanisms than those identified in flies so far. In Drosophila, the neuromotor pathways underlying flight speed control may be suitably explored by applying advanced genetic techniques, for which our data can serve as a baseline. Finally, the high-level control principles identified in the fly can be meaningfully transferred into a robotic context, such as for the robust and efficient control of autonomous flying micro air vehicles
Dependence of boundary lubrication on the misfit angle between the sliding surfaces
Using molecular dynamics based on Langevin equations with a coordinate- and
velocity-dependent damping coefficient, we study the frictional properties of a
thin layer of "soft" lubricant (where the interaction within the lubricant is
weaker than the lubricant-substrate interaction) confined between two solids.
At low driving velocities the system demonstrates stick-slip motion. The
lubricant may or may not be melted during sliding, thus exhibiting either the
"liquid sliding" (LS) or the "layer over layer sliding" (LoLS) regimes. The
LoLS regime mainly operates at low sliding velocities. We investigate the
dependence of friction properties on the misfit angle between the sliding
surfaces and calculate the distribution of static frictional thresholds for a
contact of polycrystalline surfaces.Comment: 8 pages, 11 figure
Gauge-Invariant Temperature Anisotropies and Primordial Non-Gaussianity
We provide the gauge-invariant expression for large-scale cosmic microwave
background temperature fluctuations at second-order in perturbation theory. It
enables to unambiguously define the nonlinearity parameter f_NL which is used
by experimental collaborations to pin down the level of Non-Gaussianity in the
temperature fluctuations. Furthermore, it contains a primordial term encoding
all the information about the Non-Gaussianity generated at primordial epochs
and about the mechanism which gave rise to cosmological perturbations, thus
neatly disentangling the primordial contribution to Non-Gaussianity from the
one caused by the post-inflationary evolution.Comment: 4 pages, LaTeX file. Revised to match the version to appear in Phys.
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