2,625 research outputs found
A New Perspective on Path Integral Quantum Mechanics in Curved Space-Time
A fundamentally different approach to path integral quantum mechanics in
curved space-time is presented, as compared to the standard approaches
currently available in the literature. Within the context of scalar particle
propagation in a locally curved background, such as described by Fermi or
Riemann normal co-ordinates, this approach requires use of a constructed
operator to rotate the initial, intermediate, and final position ket vectors
onto their respective local tangent spaces, defined at each local time step
along some arbitrary classical reference worldline. Local time translation is
described using a quantum mechanical representation of Lie transport, that
while strictly non-unitary in operator form, nevertheless correctly recovers
the free-particle Lagrangian in curved space-time, along with new
contributions. This propagator yields the prediction that all probability
violating terms due to curvature contribute to a quantum violation of the weak
equivalence principle, while the remaining terms that conserve probability also
correspondingly satisfy the weak equivalence principle, at least to
leading-order in the particle's Compton wavelength. Furthermore, this
propagator possesses an overall curvature-dependent and gauge-invariant phase
factor that can be interpreted as the gravitational Aharonov-Bohm effect and
Berry's phase.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figure; major additions and revisions introduced; main
conclusions are unchanged; new affiliation adde
The Lick-Carnegie Exoplanet Survey: A Saturn-Mass Planet in the Habitable Zone of the Nearby M4V Star HIP 57050
Precision radial velocities from Keck/HIRES reveal a Saturn-mass planet
orbiting the nearby M4V star HIP 57050. The planet has a minimum mass of 0.3
Jupiter-mass, an orbital period of 41.4 days, and an orbital eccentricity of
0.31. V-band photometry reveals a clear stellar rotation signature of the host
star with a period of 98 days, well separated from the period of the radial
velocity variations and reinforcing a Keplerian origin for the observed
velocity variations. The orbital period of this planet corresponds to an orbit
in the habitable zone of HIP 57050, with an expected planetary temperature of
approximately 230 K. The star has a metallicity of [Fe/H] = 0.32+/-0.06 dex, of
order twice solar and among the highest metallicity stars in the immediate
solar neighborhood. This newly discovered planet provides further support that
the well-known planet-metallicity correlation for F, G, and K stars also
extends down into the M-dwarf regime. The a priori geometric probability for
transits of this planet is only about 1%. However, the expected eclipse depth
is ~7%, considerably larger than that yet observed for any transiting planet.
Though long on the odds, such a transit is worth pursuing as it would allow for
high quality studies of the atmosphere via transmission spectroscopy with HST.
At the expected planetary effective temperature, the atmosphere may contain
water clouds.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables, to appear in the May 20 issue of ApJ
Avoiding metallic walls: Use of modal superposition in plasmonic waveguides to reduce propagation loss
We theoretically explore the possibility of reducing the propagation loss in
a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) waveguide, using mode combinations to achieve
wall-avoiding field distributions along a certain propagation length. We
present analytical results for several waveguides showing notable loss
reduction, and we discuss the tradeoffs between low loss and high confinement
present in this technique
The Dutch version of the Child Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory:validation in a clinical sample and a school sample
With the inclusion of trauma-related cognitions in the DSM-5 criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the assessment of these cognitions has become essential. Therefore, valid tools for the assessment of these cognitions are warranted
Dynamical Theory of Artificial Optical Magnetism Produced by Rings of Plasmonic Nanoparticles
We present a detailed analytical theory for the plasmonic nanoring
configuration first proposed in [A. Alu, A. Salandrino, N. Engheta, Opt. Expr.
14, 1557 (2006)], which is shown to provide negative magnetic permeability and
negative index of refraction at infrared and optical frequencies. We show
analytically how the nanoring configuration may provide superior performance
when compared to some other solutions for optical negative index materials,
offering a more 'pure' magnetic response at these high frequencies, which is
necessary for lowering the effects of radiation losses and absorption.
Sensitivity to losses and the bandwidth of operation of this magnetic inclusion
are also investigated in details and compared with other available setups.Comment: 34 pages, 3 figure
Lp-cohomology of negatively curved manifolds
We compute the -cohomology spaces of some negatively curved manifolds.
We deal with two cases: manifolds with finite volume and sufficiently pinched
negative curvature, and conformally compact manifolds
The Association of NOV/CCN3 With Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA): Preliminary Evidence of a Novel Biomarker in OSA
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has a strong association with cardiovascular and metabolic abnormalities, although the mechanism driving this association is not well established. NOV/CCN3, a multifunctional extracellular matrix protein, may play a mechanistic and/or prognostic role in these associations. We hypothesized that patients with OSA, which primarily affects obese individuals, will have increased levels of NOV, and that NOV can serve as a biomarker in patients to predict OSA as well as metabolic and cardiac risk. Ten morbidly obese and 10 healthy lean subjects underwent overnight polysomnography (PSG) and clinical evaluation. Blood samples were analyzed for NOV levels, adiponectin and IL-6. OSA was found in nine obese subjects and three lean subjects. NOV levels were significantly higher in the OSA vs. no OSA group (2.1 +/- 0.9 vs. 1.3 +/- 0.8, p \u3c 0.03). NOV levels were significantly higher in the obese vs. lean group (2.2 +/- 0.3 vs. 1.4 +/- 0.2-fold change, p \u3c 0.03). Among lean subjects, NOV levels were significantly higher in the OSA vs. no OSA group (2.1 +/- 0.9 vs. 1.0 +/- 0.4, p \u3c 0.05). NOV and AHI were positively correlated (rho = 0.49, p = 0.033). IL-6 and adiponectin differences in obese vs. lean and OSA vs. no OSA were consistent with an inflammatory phenotype in obese subjects and OSA subjects. NOV is a novel biomarker of the presence and severity of OSA and a potential marker of future cardiovascular and metabolic disease in OSA patients
Can Gravity Distinguish Between Dirac and Majorana Neutrinos?
We show that spin-gravity interaction can distinguish between Dirac and
Majorana neutrino wave packets propagating in a Lense-Thirring background.
Using time-independent perturbation theory and gravitational phase to generate
a perturbation Hamiltonian with spin-gravity coupling, we show that the
associated matrix element for the Majorana neutrino differs significantly from
its Dirac counterpart. This difference can be demonstrated through significant
gravitational corrections to the neutrino oscillation length for a two-flavour
system, as shown explicitly for SN1987A.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures; minor changes of text; typo corrected; accepted
in Physical Review Letter
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