682 research outputs found
Unitarity of Quantum Theory and Closed Time-Like Curves
Interacting quantum fields on spacetimes containing regions of closed
timelike curves (CTCs) are subject to a non-unitary evolution . Recently, a
prescription has been proposed, which restores unitarity of the evolution by
modifying the inner product on the final Hilbert space. We give a rigorous
description of this proposal and note an operational problem which arises when
one considers the composition of two or more non-unitary evolutions. We propose
an alternative method by which unitarity of the evolution may be regained, by
extending to a unitary evolution on a larger (possibly indefinite) inner
product space. The proposal removes the ambiguity noted by Jacobson in
assigning expectation values to observables localised in regions spacelike
separated from the CTC region. We comment on the physical significance of the
possible indefiniteness of the inner product introduced in our proposal.Comment: 13 pages, LaTeX. Final revised paper to be published in Phys Rev D.
Some changes are made to expand our discussion of Anderson's Proposal for
restoring unitarit
Vapor phase Beckmann rearrangement using high silica zeolite catalyst
Vapor phase Beckmann rearrangement of cyclohexanone oxime to e-caprolactam has been studied using high
silica zeolite catalysts. Catalysts with different crystal sizes and gel-ageing times have been activated by ionic
exchange in different conditions by means of a highly basic solution and a nearly neutral solution both
containing ammonium salts. Samples have been calcined at different temperatures in order modify the number
of defective sites. We observed that samples exchanged by means of a highly basic solution (pH > 10)1,2 and
calcined at a relatively lower temperature (450 C) show the most interesting catalytic results. X-ray powder
diffraction patterns of these samples show2 retention of the unit cell symmetry (orthorhombic cell) if compared
to the dried sample. NH3-TPD confirms the low acidity of high silica zeolites, however a higher amount of
desorbed ammonia is observed for the samples exchanged at higher pH and calcined at 450 C. Due to silanol
nests the IR spectra of the same samples show the formation of Si\u2013NH2 bonds which are absent in the
same material exchanged by other methods. Such sites seem to promote the high stability of the high silica
zeolite catalysts also to the regeneration which is needed to remove the heavy carbonaceous compounds
from the catalyst surface
Elastic modulus of multi-walled carbon nanotubes produced by catalytic chemical vapour deposition
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are ideal structures for use as reinforcement fibres in composite materials, due to their extraordinary mechanical properties, in particular high Young's modulus (EâŒ1TPa). Usually the high value of E is taken as granted for all types of carbon CNTs. Here we demonstrate that multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) produced by catalytic chemical vapour deposition (CCVD) have low moduli (E<100GPa) independently of their growth conditions. We attribute this to the presence of structural defects. Additional high-temperature annealing failed to improve the mechanical properties. This study urges a better control of the growth process in order to obtain high strength CCVD grown MWCNTs suitable for reinforcement in large-scale industrial application
Population ecology of Psammobates oculifer in a semi-arid environment
We studied the ecology of Psammobates oculifer over 13 months near Kimberley, South Africa, to ascertain if the populationâs life history traits conform to chelonian patterns in arid environments. Capture rates were highest in spring and lowest in winter when environmental conditions were respectively most and least favourable for tortoise activity. Body condition did not change from autumn to spring, but reached lower values during the summer drought. Capture effort averaged 5 hours/tortoise, which corresponds closely to that of species with low population densities in arid regions. Population size structure was skewed towards adults, indicative of low recruitment and/or low juvenile survivorship. Females were larger and heavier than males, confirming sexual dimorphism in this species. Body size of cohorts scaled to annuli counts, indicating a close correspondence between body size and age. Telemetered adults deposited one or no growth ring in the year of study; consequently, annuli counts could underestimate adult age. Regression analyses showed that male and female growth rates did not differ, but males matured at a smaller size and younger age than females. The smallest male showing reproductive behaviour had 12 annuli and a shell volume of 157 cm3, while similar measures for females were 14 annuli and 185 cm3. The sex ratio of the population did not differ from 1:1 but the bias towards males in spring, and towards females in autumn, indicates that studies limited to particular seasons can misrepresent life history traits of populations. We concluded that the life history of P. oculifer conforms to chelonian patterns in arid regions.Web of Scienc
Genome-wide meta-analysis associates HLA-DQA1/DRB1 and LPA and lifestyle factors with human longevity
Genomic analysis of longevity offers the potential to illuminate the biology of human aging. Here, using genome-wide association meta-analysis of 606,059 parents' survival, we discover two regions associated with longevity (HLA-DQA1/DRB1 and LPA). We also validate previous suggestions that APOE, CHRNA3/5, CDKN2A/B, SH2B3 and FOXO3A influence longevity. Next we show that giving up smoking, educational attainment, openness to new experience and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels are most positively genetically correlated with lifespan while susceptibility to coronary artery disease (CAD), cigarettes smoked per day, lung cancer, insulin resistance and body fat are most negatively correlated. We suggest that the effect of education on lifespan is principally mediated through smoking while the effect of obesity appears to act via CAD. Using instrumental variables, we suggest that an increase of one body mass index unit reduces lifespan by 7 months while 1 year of education adds 11 months to expected lifespan
COVAD survey 2 long-term outcomes: unmet need and protocol
Vaccine hesitancy is considered a major barrier to achieving herd immunity against COVID-19. While multiple alternative and synergistic approaches including heterologous vaccination, booster doses, and antiviral drugs have been developed, equitable vaccine uptake remains the foremost strategy to manage pandemic. Although none of the currently approved vaccines are live-attenuated, several reports of disease flares, waning protection, and acute-onset syndromes have emerged as short-term adverse events after vaccination. Hence, scientific literature falls short when discussing potential long-term effects in vulnerable cohorts. The COVAD-2 survey follows on from the baseline COVAD-1 survey with the aim to collect patient-reported data on the long-term safety and tolerability of COVID-19 vaccines in immune modulation. The e-survey has been extensively pilot-tested and validated with translations into multiple languages. Anticipated results will help improve vaccination efforts and reduce the imminent risks of COVID-19 infection, especially in understudied vulnerable groups
Search for electroweak production of single top quarks in collisions.
We present a search for electroweak production of single top quarks in the electron+jets and muon+jets decay channels. The measurements use ~90 pb^-1 of data from Run 1 of the Fermilab Tevatron collider, collected at 1.8 TeV with the DZero detector between 1992 and 1995. We use events that include a tagging muon, implying the presence of a b jet, to set an upper limit at the 95% confidence level on the cross section for the s-channel process ppbar->tb+X of 39 pb. The upper limit for the t-channel process ppbar->tqb+X is 58 pb. (arXiv
Measurement of the View the tt production cross-section using eÎŒ events with b-tagged jets in pp collisions at âs = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector
This paper describes a measurement of the inclusive top quark pair production cross-section (ÏttÂŻ) with a data sample of 3.2 fbâ1 of protonâproton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of âs = 13 TeV, collected in 2015 by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. This measurement uses events with an opposite-charge electronâmuon pair in the final state. Jets containing b-quarks are tagged using an algorithm based on track impact parameters and reconstructed secondary vertices. The numbers of events with exactly one and exactly two b-tagged jets are counted and used to determine simultaneously ÏttÂŻ and the efficiency to reconstruct and b-tag a jet from a top quark decay, thereby minimising the associated systematic uncertainties. The cross-section is measured to be:
ÏttÂŻ = 818 ± 8 (stat) ± 27 (syst) ± 19 (lumi) ± 12 (beam) pb,
where the four uncertainties arise from data statistics, experimental and theoretical systematic effects, the integrated luminosity and the LHC beam energy, giving a total relative uncertainty of 4.4%. The result is consistent with theoretical QCD calculations at next-to-next-to-leading order. A fiducial measurement corresponding to the experimental acceptance of the leptons is also presented
NEOTROPICAL XENARTHRANS: a data set of occurrence of xenarthran species in the Neotropics
Xenarthrans â anteaters, sloths, and armadillos â have essential functions for ecosystem maintenance, such as insect control and nutrient cycling, playing key roles as ecosystem engineers. Because of habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting pressure, and conflicts with 24 domestic dogs, these species have been threatened locally, regionally, or even across their full distribution ranges. The Neotropics harbor 21 species of armadillos, ten anteaters, and six sloths. Our dataset includes the families Chlamyphoridae (13), Dasypodidae (7), Myrmecophagidae (3), Bradypodidae (4), and Megalonychidae (2). We have no occurrence data on Dasypus pilosus (Dasypodidae). Regarding Cyclopedidae, until recently, only one species was recognized, but new genetic studies have revealed that the group is represented by seven species. In this data-paper, we compiled a total of 42,528 records of 31 species, represented by occurrence and quantitative data, totaling 24,847 unique georeferenced records. The geographic range is from the south of the USA, Mexico, and Caribbean countries at the northern portion of the Neotropics, to its austral distribution in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. Regarding anteaters, Myrmecophaga tridactyla has the most records (n=5,941), and Cyclopes sp. has the fewest (n=240). The armadillo species with the most data is Dasypus novemcinctus (n=11,588), and the least recorded for Calyptophractus retusus (n=33). With regards to sloth species, Bradypus variegatus has the most records (n=962), and Bradypus pygmaeus has the fewest (n=12). Our main objective with Neotropical Xenarthrans is to make occurrence and quantitative data available to facilitate more ecological research, particularly if we integrate the xenarthran data with other datasets of Neotropical Series which will become available very soon (i.e. Neotropical Carnivores, Neotropical Invasive Mammals, and Neotropical Hunters and Dogs). Therefore, studies on trophic cascades, hunting pressure, habitat loss, fragmentation effects, species invasion, and climate change effects will be possible with the Neotropical Xenarthrans dataset
The performance of the jet trigger for the ATLAS detector during 2011 data taking
The performance of the jet trigger for the ATLAS detector at the LHC during the 2011 data taking period is described. During 2011 the LHC provided protonâproton collisions with a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV and heavy ion collisions with a 2.76 TeV per nucleonânucleon collision energy. The ATLAS trigger is a three level system designed to reduce the rate of events from the 40 MHz nominal maximum bunch crossing rate to the approximate 400 Hz which can be written to offline storage. The ATLAS jet trigger is the primary means for the online selection of events containing jets. Events are accepted by the trigger if they contain one or more jets above some transverse energy threshold. During 2011 data taking the jet trigger was fully efficient for jets with transverse energy above 25 GeV for triggers seeded randomly at Level 1. For triggers which require a jet to be identified at each of the three trigger levels, full efficiency is reached for offline jets with transverse energy above 60 GeV. Jets reconstructed in the final trigger level and corresponding to offline jets with transverse energy greater than 60 GeV, are reconstructed with a resolution in transverse energy with respect to offline jets, of better than 4 % in the central region and better than 2.5 % in the forward direction
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