The relativistic precession of the orbits

The relativistic precession can be quickly inferred from the nonlinear polar orbit equation without actually solving it.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Scienc

Gravitomagnetism and Relative Observer Clock Effects

The gravitomagnetic clock effect and the Sagnac effect for circularly rotating orbits in stationary axisymmetric spacetimes are studied from a relative observer point of view, clarifying their relationships and the roles played by special observer families. In particular Semer\'ak's recent characterization of extremely accelerated observers in terms of the two-clock clock effect is shown to be complemented by a similarly special property of the single-clock clock effect.Comment: 19 pages, LaTeX, IOP macros with package epsf and 1 eps figure, to appear in Classical and Quantum Gravity, slight revisio

On the Lense-Thirring test with the Mars Global Surveyor in the gravitational field of Mars

I discuss some aspects of the recent test of frame-dragging performed by me by exploiting the Root-Mean-Square (RMS) orbit overlap differences of the out-of-plane component N of the orbit of the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft in the gravitational field of Mars. A linear fit of the full time series of the entire MGS data (4 February 1999-14 January 2005) yields a normalized slope 1.03 +/- 0.41 (with 95% confidence bounds). Other linear fits to different data sets confirm the agreement with general relativity. The huge systematic effects induced by the mismodeling in the martian gravitational field claimed by some authors are absent in the MGS out-of-plane record. The non-gravitational forces affect at the same level of the gravitomagnetic one the in-plane orbital components of MGS, not the out-of-plane one. Moreover, they experience high-frequency variations which does not matter in the present case in which secular effects are relevant.Comment: LaTex2e, 8 pages, no figures, no tables, 17 references. It refers to K. Krogh, Class. Quantum Grav., 24, 5709-5715, 2007 based on astro-ph/0701653. Final version to appear in CEJP (Central European Journal of Physics

On the energy-momentum tensor in non-commutative gauge theories

We study the properties of the energy-momentum tensor in non-commutative gauge theories by coupling them to a weak external gravitational field. In particular, we show that the stress tensor of such a theory coincides exactly with that derived from a theory where a Seiberg-Witten map has been implemented (namely, the procedure is commutative). Various other interesting features are also discussed.Comment: 3 page

Influence of rainfall on the discharge, nutrient concentrations and loads of a stream of the "Pampa Ondulada" (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

The basin area of the Durazno Stream covers approx. 360 km2 of a plain with a gentle slope, mainly devoted to cattle farming and agriculture. This study examines the variability of chemical composition of surface water of the stream in relation to stream discharge, estimated from a hydrological deterministic model from rainfall data. Fifteen samplings were carried out, four in high flow condition and the rest in baseline flow. In each sampling, the main physico-chemical variables were determined. Since discharge data from this stream were not available, it was estimated in situ through an instantaneous unitary hydrograph model. Both estimations of stream discharge were similar. The main forms of dissolved inorganic nitrogen were ammonium and nitrate. The four significant components of PCA that explained 84.4 % of total variance were: mineral component, particulate matter content, ammonium and dissolved phosphorus levels, and nitrates' level. The decreased concentrations of major ions and conductivity during high flow condition suggest solutes' dilution by the massive inflow of water originated by rainfalls. The highest concentrations and loads of suspended solids (SS) (86 mg/l and 22638 kg/day) and particulate organic carbon (POC) (3.1 mg/l and 832 kg/day) were observed in the sample obtained during the rising limb of the hydrograph following a drought period, suggesting that basin erosive processes are more important during the first hours of the storm. Three of the samplings that were carried out in high flow conditions showed low mineral and nutrient content that revealed better water quality. In contrast, the sampling with the greatest total runoff (14.1 mm) showed high concentrations of ammonium (1205 μg/l) and dissolved phosphorus (561 μg/l), suggesting that a long stagnant period on soils with low permeability, could favor reduction processes of nitrate to ammonium and mobilization of dissolved phosphorus to overlying water. The nutrients' loads increased in high flow conditions most likely due to runoff from the riverbank soils. The rise of nutrients, SS, POC and total organic carbon (TOC), loads in the same or in higher proportion than the stream discharge, alerts on the risk of contamination of surface water in an agricultural basin.La cuenca del Arroyo Durazno abarca aproximadamente 360 km2 de una llanura con suave pendiente, dedicada principalmente a ganadería y agricultura. Este estudio examina la variabilidad en la composición química del agua superficial del arroyo en relación con el caudal estimado a través de un modelo hidrológico determinístico a partir de los datos de lluvia. Se realizaron quince muestreos: cuatro en condiciones de alto caudal, los restantes en caudal base. En cada muestreo se determinaron las principales variables fisico-químicas. Dado que no existen datos publicados de caudal de este arroyo, se lo estimó in situ, y a partir del modelo de hidrograma unitario. Ambas estimaciones resultaron similares. Las principales formas de nitrógeno inorgánico disuelto fueron amonio y nitrato. Los primeros 4 factores extraídos del PCA que explicaron 84.4 % de la varianza total fueron: componente mineral, contenido de material particulado, niveles de amonio y fósforo disuelto y nivel de nitratos. El decrecimiento de iones mayoritarios y conductividad durante las condiciones de alto caudal sugiere su dilución por la entrada masiva de agua por lluvias. Las mayores concentraciones y cargas de sólidos suspendidos (SS) (86 mg/l y 22638 kg/día) y carbono orgánico particulado (COP) (3.1 mg/l y 832 kg/día) se hallaron en el muestreo realizado durante la rama ascendente del hidrograma posterior a un período de sequía, sugiriendo que los procesos erosivos de la cuenca son más importantes en las primeras horas de la tormenta. Tres de los muestreos realizados en condiciones de alto caudal presentaron bajo contenido mineral y de nutrientes, indicando mejor calidad de agua. En cambio en el muestreo de mayor lámina de escorrentía acumulada (14.1 mm) las concentraciones de amonio (1205μg/l) y fósforo disuelto (561μg/l) fueron elevadas, sugiriendo que un prolongado periodo de estancamiento en un suelo de baja permeabilidad favorecería los procesos de reducción de nitratos a amonio y la movilización de fósforo disuelto al agua de inundación. Las cargas de nutrientes aumentaron en condiciones de alto caudal probablemente debido al aporte por escorrentía de suelos ribereños. El ascenso en las cargas de nutrientes, SS, COP y carbono orgánico total en igual o mayor magnitud que el caudal alerta sobre el riesgo de contaminación de las aguas superficiales en una cuenca agrícola

Constraints from orbital motions around the Earth of the environmental fifth-force hypothesis for the OPERA superluminal neutrino phenomenology

It has been recently suggested by Dvali and Vikman that the superluminal neutrino phenomenology of the OPERA experiment may be due to an environmental feature of the Earth, naturally yielding a long-range fifth force of gravitational origin whose coupling with the neutrino is set by the scale M_*, in units of reduced Planck mass. Its characteristic length lambda should not be smaller than one Earth's radius R_e, while its upper bound is expected to be slightly smaller than the Earth-Moon distance (60 R_e). We analytically work out some orbital effects of a Yukawa-type fifth force for a test particle moving in the modified field of a central body. Our results are quite general since they are not restricted to any particular size of lambda; moreover, they are valid for an arbitrary orbital configuration of the particle, i.e. for any value of its eccentricity $e$. We find that the dimensionless strength coupling parameter alpha is constrained to |alpha| <= 1 10^-10-4 10^-9 for 1 R_e <= lambda <= 10 R_e by the laser data of the Earth's artificial satellite LAGEOS II, corresponding to M_* >= 4 10^9 -1.6 10^10. The Moon perigee allows to obtain |alpha| <= 3 10^-11 for the Earth-Moon pair in the range 15 R_e <= lambda = 3 10^10 - 4.5 10^10. Our results are neither necessarily limited to the superluminal OPERA scenario nor to the Dvali-Vikman model, in which it is M_* = 10^-6 at lambda = 1 R_e, in contrast with our bounds: they generally extend to any theoretical scenario implying a fifth-force of Yukawa-type.Comment: LaTex2e, 18 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, 81 reference

Risk of Salmonella transmission via cryopreserved semen in turkey flocks

To investigate the possibility to carry pathogen bacteria in turkey flocks via cryopreserved semen, research was carried out 1) to investigate the microbial contamination of fresh and frozen thawed turkey semen and 2) to evaluate the effect of the freezing-thawing process on the survival of 3 serovars of Salmonella spp. experimentally inoculated in turkey semen. Five pools of semen diluted 4-fold were cooled, added with 8% of dimethylacetamide as a cryoprotectant, and aliquots of 80 μL were directly plunged into liquid nitrogen to form frozen pellets. Mesophilic viable counts, total and fecal coliforms, Enterobacteriaceae, enterococci, Campylobacter spp., and Salmonella spp. were investigated on fresh and thawed samples. Further, 5 pools of diluted semen were each divided into 3 subsamples, inoculated with 7.8 ± 0.2 log cfu·mL ―1 of Salmonella Liverpool, Salmonella Montevideo, and Salmonella Braenderup, respectively, and cryopreserved before to assess the postthaw viability of Salmonella spp. strains. Fresh semen was highly contaminated by all of the saprophytic bacteria investigated and the cryopreservation process reduced the amount of mesophilic viable count and total coliforms (P < 0.05) and fecal coliforms, Enterobacteriaceae, and enterococci (P < 0.01) by about 1 log cfu·mL ―1 . Conversely, neither Campylobacter spp. nor Salmonella spp. were found as endogenous bacteria in semen. In the inoculated semen, both Salmonella Liverpool, Salmonella Montevideo, and Salmonella Braenderup colonies were recovered postthaw, showing a significant reduction of 2.03 ± 0.28, 3.08 ± 0.22, and 2.72 ± 0.23 log cfu·mL ―1 , respectively, compared with the fresh semen (P < 0.001). In conclusion, the cryopreservation process allowed us to obtain a low reduction of microbial count both in endogenous saprophytic bacteria and artificially inoculated Salmonella spp. strains; therefore, the possibility of Samonella spp. transmission to flocks through the use of infected cryopreserved semen does exist

Three Questions on Lorentz Violation

We review the basics of the two most widely used approaches to Lorentz violation - the Stardard Model Extension and Noncommutative Field Theory - and discuss in some detail the example of the modified spectrum of the synchrotron radiation. Motivated by touching upon such a fundamental issue as Lorentz symmetry, we ask three questions: What is behind the search for Lorentz violation? Is String Theory a physical theory? Is there an alternative to Supersymmetry?Comment: 16 pages; invited luecture at DICE2006 - Piombino, Italy - September 200

Perturbations of Self-Accelerated Universe

We discuss small perturbations on the self-accelerated solution of the DGP model, and argue that claims of instability of the solution that are based on linearized calculations are unwarranted because of the following: (1) Small perturbations of an empty self-accelerated background can be quantized consistently without yielding ghosts. (2) Conformal sources, such as radiation, do not give rise to instabilities either. (3) A typical non-conformal source could introduce ghosts in the linearized approximation and become unstable, however, it also invalidates the approximation itself. Such a source creates a halo of variable curvature that locally dominates over the self-accelerated background and extends over a domain in which the linearization breaks down. Perturbations that are valid outside the halo may not continue inside, as it is suggested by some non-perturbative solutions. (4) In the Euclidean continuation of the theory, with arbitrary sources, we derive certain constraints imposed by the second order equations on first order perturbations, thus restricting the linearized solutions that could be continued into the full nonlinear theory. Naive linearized solutions fail to satisfy the above constraints. (5) Finally, we clarify in detail subtleties associated with the boundary conditions and analytic properties of the Green's functions.Comment: 39 LaTex page