5,728 research outputs found
Hadronic physics at KLOE
New KLOE results on scalar mesons, physics and physics
are presented.Comment: 4 pages, 5 postscript figures, contributed to the Proceedings of
CIPANP 2009: 10th Conference on the Intersections of Particle and Nuclear
Physics, San Diego, USA, 26-31 May, 200
Dark Matter and IMF normalization in Virgo dwarf early-type galaxies
In this work we analyze the dark matter (DM) fraction, , and
mass-to-light ratio mismatch parameter, (computed with respect
to a Milky-Way-like IMF), for a sample of 39 dwarf early-type galaxies (dEs) in
the Virgo cluster. Both and are estimated within the
central (one effective radius) galaxy regions, with a Jeans dynamical analysis
that relies on galaxy velocity dispersions, structural parameters, and stellar
M/L ratios from the SMAKCED survey. In this first attempt to constrain,
simultaneously, the IMF normalization and the DM content, we explore the impact
of different assumptions on the DM model profile. On average, for a NFW
profile, the is consistent with a Chabrier-like normalization
(), with . One of the main results of
the present work is that for at least a few systems the is
heavier than the MW-like value (i.e. either top- or bottom-heavy). When
introducing tangential anisotropy, larger and smaller
are derived. Adopting a steeper concentration-mass relation than that from
simulations, we find lower () and larger . A
constant M/L profile with null gives the heaviest
(). In the MONDian framework, we find consistent results to those for
our reference NFW model. If confirmed, the large scatter of for
dEs would provide (further) evidence for a non-universal IMF in early-type
systems. On average, our reference estimates are consistent with those
found for low- () early-type
galaxies (ETGs). Furthermore, we find consistent with values from the
SMAKCED survey, and find a double-value behavior of with stellar mass,
which mirrors the trend of dynamical M/L and global star formation efficiency
with mass.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, published on MNRAS. Figure 1 has been
updated with respect to version 1, including the range of values found if the
S\'ersic index, n, is varied from 0.5 to 2 (dark-green curves
Protecting the operation from general and residual errors by continuous dynamical decoupling
We study the occurrence of errors in a continuously decoupled two-qubit state
during a quantum operation under decoherence. We consider a
realization of this quantum gate based on the Heisenberg exchange interaction,
which alone suffices for achieving universal quantum computation. Furthermore,
we introduce a continuous-dynamical-decoupling scheme that commutes with the
Heisenberg Hamiltonian to protect it from the amplitude damping and dephasing
errors caused by the system-environment interaction. We consider two
error-protection settings. One protects the qubits from both amplitude damping
and dephasing errors. The other features the amplitude damping as a residual
error and protects the qubits from dephasing errors only. In both settings, we
investigate the interaction of qubits with common and independent environments
separately. We study how errors affect the entanglement and fidelity for
different environmental spectral densities.Comment: Extended version of arXiv:1005.1666. To appear in PR
Unifying static analysis of gravitational structures with a scale-dependent scalar field gravity as an alternative to dark matter
Aims. We investigated the gravitational effects of a scalar field within
scalar-tensor gravity as an alternative to dark matter. Motivated by chameleon,
symmetron and f(R)-gravity models, we studied a phenomenological scenario where
the scalar field has both a mass (i.e. interaction length) and a coupling
constant to the ordinary matter which scale with the local properties of the
considered astrophysical system. Methods. We analysed the feasibility of this
scenario using the modified gravitational potential obtained in its context and
applied it to the galactic and hot gas/stellar dynamics in galaxy clusters and
elliptical/spiral galaxies respectively. This is intended to be a first step in
assessing the viability of this new approach in the context of "alternative
gravity" models. Results. The main results are: 1. the velocity dispersion of
elliptical galaxies can be fitted remarkably well by the suggested scalar
field, with model significance similar to a classical Navarro-Frenk-White dark
halo profile; 2. the analysis of the stellar dynamics and the gas equilibrium
in elliptical galaxies has shown that the scalar field can couple with ordinary
matter with different strengths (different coupling constants) producing and/or
depending on the different clustering state of matter components; 3. elliptical
and spiral galaxies, combined with clusters of galaxies, show evident
correlations among theory parameters which suggest the general validity of our
results at all scales and a way toward a possible unification of the theory for
all types of gravitational systems we considered. All these results demonstrate
that the proposed scalar field scenario can work fairly well as an alternative
to dark matter.Comment: 23 pages, 15 figures, 5 tables, accepted for publication on Astronomy
& Astrophysic
Preface of minisymposium "Fifth Symposium on mathematical modelling of hydrological sciences"
The challenges that poses the hydrological sciences require a lot of efforts, especially in the development and improvement of mathematical models. The need to understand deeply the phenomena puts us in the condition of create models that are more accurate, but at the same time increase their simplicity and reliability. It is therefore important to be provided with high-quality data, whether observed or simulated samples through appropriate software. Statistical models are a constant in all the works of this symposium, which are needed to verify the reliability of empirical literature expression, to predict floods, rainfalls and important economic quantities and to identify the main influencing factors of pluviometric regimes. In this Minisymposium all these problems are faced with original solutions, to contribute the development of hydrology on science pathway.
Predicting precipitation is the main focus of Latini et al. [1], who use probabilistic statistical models to estimate the monthly precipitation in the Midwest U.S. area using forecasts of temperature at the resolution of ~30km.
The main aim of Bertini et al. [2] is to define the optimal location of rain gauges within a measuring network in Mignone River basin, using a multi-objective optimization approach based on hydrological models.
The authors in Moccia and Mineo [3] investigate the influence of time series length in estimating the intensity-duration-frequency curves using observations of annual maxima rainfall in Lazio region.
Mineo et al. [4] provide monthly erosivity maps for the Lazio region using the density approach introduced in Revised Unviersal Soil Loss Equation
The qualitative assessment of responsiveness to environmental challenge in horses and ponies.
The responsiveness of 10 horses and 10 ponies to environmental challenge (represented by an open field
test) was assessed using a qualitative approach based on free choice profiling methodology (FCP), which
gives observers complete freedom to choose their own descriptive terms. Data were analysed with
generalised Procrustes analysis (GPA), a multivariate statistical technique associated with FCP. A
cross-validation of the outcomes of this approach to data recorded through quantitative behaviour analysis,
and through a questionnaire given to the animals’ owner/riding instructor, was also performed using
principal component analysis (PCA). Twelve undergraduate students generated their own descriptive
vocabularies, by watching 20 horse/pony video clips lasting 2.5 min each. GPA showed that the consensus
profile explained a high percentage of variation among the 12 observers, and differed significantly from the
mean randomised profile ( p < 0.001). Two main dimensions of the consensus profile were identified,
explaining 60% and 5.2% of the variation between animals, respectively. The 12 observer word charts
interpreting these dimensions were semantically consistent, as they all converged towards the same
meaning, albeit using different terms. The most used term to describe the positive end of axis 1 was
‘‘quiet’’, whereas ‘‘attentive’’ was the best positive descriptor of axis 2. The most frequently used
descriptors for the negative ends of axes 1 and 2 were ‘‘nervous’’ and ‘‘bored’’, respectively. Thus, axis
1 was labelled as ‘‘quiet/nervous’’ and axis 2 was named as ‘‘attentive/bored’’. A marked effect of animal
category was observed on the scores of the animals on the first dimension ( p < 0.001). Horses received
significantly higher scores, and were thus assessed as more quiet and calm, than ponies. Conversely, ponies
tended to receive lower scores on the second dimension ( p < 0.12), therefore they appeared less curious and attentive. The results of the PCA showed that the variables from different types of measurement clearly had
meaningful relationships. For instance, the variables with the highest loading on the positive end of axis 1
were all indicative of tractable and docile animals, whereas axis 2 showed high loadings on the positive end
for variables indicating attentive animals. Qualitative behaviour assessment proved to be an appropriate
methodology for the study of horse behavioural responsiveness, in that it provided a multifaceted
characterisation of horse behavioural expression that was in agreement with other quantitative and
subjective assessments of the animals’ behaviour
On the use of radar reflectivity for estimation of the areal reduction factor
International audienceIn order to estimate the rainfall fields over an entire basin raingauge, pointwise measurements need to be interpolated and the small-scale variability of rainfall fields can lead to biases in the rain rate estimation over an entire basin, above all for small or medium size mountainous and urban catchments. For these reasons, several raingauges should be installed in different places in order to determine the spatial rainfall distribution during the evolution of the natural phenomena over the selected area. In technical applications, many empirical relations are used in order to deduce heavy areal rainfall, when just one raingauge is available. In this work, we studied the areal reduction factor (ARF) using radar reflectivity maps collected with the Polar 55C, a C-band Doppler dual polarized coherent weather radar with polarization agility and with a 0.9° beamwidth. The radar rainfall estimates, for an area of 1 km2, were integrated for heavy rainfall with an upscaling process, until we had rainfall estimate for an area of 900 km2. The results obtained for a significant amount of data by using this technique are compared with the most important relations of the areal reduction factor reported in the literature
Sustainability and welfare of Podolian cattle
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the sustainability and welfare of extensively farmed Podolian cattle. A trained interviewer visited 50 farms and filled in a checklist which included four cards corresponding to the following animal categories: calves, replacements, feeders and adults. The analysis of the farming system showed that animals were able to express their main behavioural patterns. In addition, recorded animal-related variables indicated that Podolian cattle could benefit from high standards of welfare. Sustainability of the Podolian farming system in terms of human edible returns was evaluated for two production systems producing 10-month-old calves (10 month) and 18-month-old young bulls (18 month), respectively. Edible returns for humans were low when all animal intakes were considered for both production systems. However, if returns were computed using not only the amount of food used by the animals but also consumable by humans, yields were much higher for 18-month systems [103% crude protein (CP) and 37.1% gross energy (GE)] and so high that they could not be computed for 10-month systems. These results indicate either a low degree of competition (18-month system) or no competition (10-month system) between humans and Podolian cattle. Perceptions of sustainability and welfare of Podolian cattle may promote a favourable positioning of products in premium-price markets and help preserving this breed and the related traditional farming system
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