5,674 research outputs found

    The mass of the graviton and the cosmological constant

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    We show that the graviton acquires a mass in a de Sitter background given by mg2=2/3Λ.m_{g}^{2}=-{2/3}\Lambda. This is precisely the fine-tuning value required for the perturbed gravitational field to mantain its two degrees of freedom.Comment: Title changed and few details added, without any changes in the conclusio

    Past and future blurring at fundamental length scale

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    We obtain the κ\kappa-deformed versions of the retarded and advanced Green functions and show that their causality properties are blurred in a time interval of the order of a length parameter q=1/(2κ)q=1/(2\kappa). The functions also indicate a smearing of the light cone. These results favor the interpretation of qq as a fundamental length scale below which the concept of a point in spacetime should be substituted by the concept of a fuzzy region of radius qq, as proposed long ago by Heisenberg.Comment: Essentially, this is the version published in the Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 211601 (2010). It has 4 pages and contains 2 figure

    Ancient Amazonian populations left lasting impacts on forest structure

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    Amazonia contains a vast expanse of contiguous tropical forest and is influential in global carbon and hydrological cycles. Whether ancient Amazonia was highly disturbed or modestly impacted, and how ancient disturbances have shaped current forest ecosystem processes, is still under debate. Amazonian Dark Earths (ADEs), which are anthropic soil types with enriched nutrient levels, are one of the primary lines of evidence for ancient human presence and landscape modifications in settings that mostly lack stone structures and which are today covered by vegetation. We assessed the potential of using moderate spatial resolution optical satellite imagery to predict ADEs across the Amazon Basin. Maximum entropy modeling was used to develop a predictive model using locations of ADEs across the basin and satellite‐derived remotely sensed indices. Amazonian Dark Earth sites were predicted to be primarily along the main rivers and in eastern Amazonia. Amazonian Dark Earth sites, when compared with randomly selected forested sites located within 50 km of ADE sites, were less green canopies (lower normalized difference vegetation index) and had lower canopy water content. This difference was accentuated in two drought years, 2005 and 2010. This is contrary to our expectation that ADE sites would have nutrient‐rich soils that support trees with greener canopies and forests on ADE soils being more resilient to drought. Biomass and tree height were lower on ADE sites in comparison with randomly selected adjacent sites. Our results suggested that ADE‐related ancient human impact on the forest is measurable across the entirety of the 6 million km2 of Amazon Basin using remotely sensed data

    Modelagem e otimizacao de sistemas agrossilvipastoris no Municipio de Lagoa Dourada, microrregiao Campos das Vertentes, MG.

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    bitstream/item/63140/1/CNPS-PESQ.-AND.-1-99.pd

    Lagrangian formulation for noncommutative nonlinear systems

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    In this work we use the well known formalism developed by Faddeev and Jackiw to introduce noncommutativity within two nonlinear systems, the SU(2) Skyrme and O(3) nonlinear sigma models. The final result is the Lagrangian formulations for the noncommutative versions of both models. The possibility of obtaining different noncommutative versions for these nonlinear systems is demonstrated.Comment: 8 pages. Revex 4.

    Electroreductive intramolecular cyclization of bromoalkoxylated derivatives catalyzed by nickel(I) tetramethylcyclam in "green" media

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    The (1,4,8,11-tetramethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetra-decane)nickel(I), [Ni(tmc)]+, electrogenerated at glassy carbon cathodes is shown to be an effective catalyst for the intramolecular radical-type cyclisation of bromoalkoxylated derivatives 1 in alcohol and / or alcohol/water mixtures as well as in microemulsions made with cationic and anionic surfactants. The results obtained indicate that the reaction proceeds via cleavage of the carbon–bromine bond to form a radicaltype intermediate that undergoes cyclisation on the unsaturated C-C bond to afford substituted tetrahydrofurans. The reactions are more selective and take place at higher current density than when carried out in conventional aprotic solvents

    NIR spectroscopy of the Sun and HD20010 - Compiling a new linelist in the NIR

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    Context: Effective temperature, surface gravity, and metallicity are basic spectroscopic stellar parameters necessary to characterize a star or a planetary system. Reliable atmospheric parameters for FGK stars have been obtained mostly from methods that relay on high resolution and high signal-to-noise optical spectroscopy. The advent of a new generation of high resolution near-IR spectrographs opens the possibility of using classic spectroscopic methods with high resolution and high signal-to-noise in the NIR spectral window. Aims: We aim to compile a new iron line list in the NIR from a solar spectrum to derive precise stellar atmospheric parameters, comparable to the ones already obtained from high resolution optical spectra. The spectral range covers 10 000 {\AA} to 25 000 {\AA}, which is equivalent to the Y, J, H, and K bands. Methods: Our spectroscopic analysis is based on the iron excitation and ionization balance done in LTE. We use a high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio spectrum of the Sun from the Kitt Peak telescope as a starting point to compile the iron line list. The oscillator strengths (log gf) of the iron lines were calibrated for the Sun. The abundance analysis was done using the MOOG code after measuring equivalent widths of 357 solar iron lines. Results: We successfully derived stellar atmospheric parameters for the Sun. Furthermore, we analysed HD20010, a F8IV star, from which we derived stellar atmospheric parameters using the same line list as for the Sun. The spectrum was obtained from the CRIRES- POP database. The results are compatible with the ones found in the literature, confirming the reliability of our line list. However, due to the quality of the data we obtain large errors.Comment: 9 pages and 9 figure

    Open string with a background B-field as the first order mechanics, noncommutativity and soldering formalism

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    To study noncommutativity properties of the open string with constant B-field we construct a mechanical action which reproduces classical dynamics of the string sector under consideration. It allows one to apply the Dirac quantization procedure for constrained systems in a direct and unambiguous way. The mechanical action turns out to be the first order system without taking the strong field limit BB\longrightarrow\infty. In particular, it is true for zero mode of the string coordinate which means that the noncommutativity is intrinsic property of this mechanical system. We describe the arbitrariness in the relation existent between the mechanical and the string variables and show that noncommutativity of the string variables on the boundary can be removed. It is in correspondence with the result of Seiberg and Witten on relation among noncommutative and ordinary Yang-Mills theories. The recently developed soldering formalism helps us to establish a connection between the original open string action and the Polyakov action.Comment: Revtex4, 8 pages. To appear in Physical Review
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