861 research outputs found
Testing the Hubble Law with the IRAS 1.2 Jy Redshift Survey
We test and reject the claim of Segal et al. (1993) that the correlation of
redshifts and flux densities in a complete sample of IRAS galaxies favors a
quadratic redshift-distance relation over the linear Hubble law. This is done,
in effect, by treating the entire galaxy luminosity function as derived from
the 60 micron 1.2 Jy IRAS redshift survey of Fisher et al. (1995) as a distance
indicator; equivalently, we compare the flux density distribution of galaxies
as a function of redshift with predictions under different redshift-distance
cosmologies, under the assumption of a universal luminosity function. This
method does not assume a uniform distribution of galaxies in space. We find
that this test has rather weak discriminatory power, as argued by Petrosian
(1993), and the differences between models are not as stark as one might expect
a priori. Even so, we find that the Hubble law is indeed more strongly
supported by the analysis than is the quadratic redshift-distance relation. We
identify a bias in the the Segal et al. determination of the luminosity
function, which could lead one to mistakenly favor the quadratic
redshift-distance law. We also present several complementary analyses of the
density field of the sample; the galaxy density field is found to be close to
homogeneous on large scales if the Hubble law is assumed, while this is not the
case with the quadratic redshift-distance relation.Comment: 27 pages Latex (w/figures), ApJ, in press. Uses AAS macros,
postscript also available at
http://www.astro.princeton.edu/~library/preprints/pop682.ps.g
Long-Term Potentiation: One Kind or Many?
Do neurobiologists aim to discover natural kinds? I address this question in this chapter via a critical analysis of classification practices operative across the 43-year history of research on long-term potentiation (LTP). I argue that this 43-year history supports the idea that the structure of scientific practice surrounding LTP research has remained an obstacle to the discovery of natural kinds
Soil respiration in a northeastern US temperate forest: a 22âyear synthesis
To better understand how forest management, phenology, vegetation type, and actual and simulated climatic change affect seasonal and interâannual variations in soil respiration (Rs), we analyzed more than 100,000 individual measurements of soil respiration from 23 studies conducted over 22 years at the Harvard Forest in Petersham, Massachusetts, USA. We also used 24 siteâyears of eddyâcovariance measurements from two Harvard Forest sites to examine the relationship between soil and ecosystem respiration (Re).
Rs was highly variable at all spatial (respiration collar to forest stand) and temporal (minutes to years) scales of measurement. The response of Rs to experimental manipulations mimicking aspects of global change or aimed at partitioning Rs into component fluxes ranged from â70% to +52%. The response appears to arise from variations in substrate availability induced by changes in the size of soil C pools and of belowground C fluxes or in environmental conditions. In some cases (e.g., logging, warming), the effect of experimental manipulations on Rs was transient, but in other cases the time series were not long enough to rule out longâterm changes in respiration rates. Interâannual variations in weather and phenology induced variation among annual Rs estimates of a magnitude similar to that of other drivers of global change (i.e., invasive insects, forest management practices, N deposition). At both eddyâcovariance sites, aboveground respiration dominated Re early in the growing season, whereas belowground respiration dominated later. Unusual aboveground respiration patternsâhigh apparent rates of respiration during winter and very low rates in midâtoâlate summerâat the Environmental Measurement Site suggest either bias in Rs and Re estimates caused by differences in the spatial scale of processes influencing fluxes, or that additional research on the hardâtoâmeasure fluxes (e.g., wintertime Rs, unaccounted losses of CO2 from eddy covariance sites), daytime and nighttime canopy respiration and its impacts on estimates of Re, and independent measurements of flux partitioning (e.g., aboveground plant respiration, isotopic partitioning) may yield insight into the unusually high and low fluxes. Overall, however, this dataârich analysis identifies important seasonal and experimental variations in Rs and Re and in the partitioning of Re aboveâ vs. belowground
Exact renormalization group flow equations for non-relativistic fermions: scaling towards the Fermi surface
We construct exact functional renormalization group (RG) flow equations for
non-relativistic fermions in arbitrary dimensions, taking into account not only
mode elimination but also the rescaling of the momenta, frequencies and the
fermionic fields. The complete RG flow of all relevant, marginal and irrelevant
couplings can be described by a system of coupled flow equations for the
irreducible n-point vertices. Introducing suitable dimensionless variables, we
obtain flow equations for generalized scaling functions which are continuous
functions of the flow parameter, even if we consider quantities which are
dominated by momenta close to the Fermi surface, such as the density-density
correlation function at long wavelengths. We also show how the problem of
constructing the renormalized Fermi surface can be reduced to the problem of
finding the RG fixed point of the irreducible two-point vertex at vanishing
momentum and frequency. We argue that only if the degrees of freedom are
properly rescaled it is possible to reach scale-invariant non-Fermi liquid
fixed points within a truncation of the exact RG flow equations.Comment: 20 Revtex pages, with 4 figures; final version to appear in Phys.
Rev. B; references and some explanations adde
Soil respiration in a northeastern US temperate forest: a 22âyear synthesis
To better understand how forest management, phenology, vegetation type, and actual and simulated climatic change affect seasonal and interâannual variations in soil respiration (Rs), we analyzed more than 100,000 individual measurements of soil respiration from 23 studies conducted over 22 years at the Harvard Forest in Petersham, Massachusetts, USA. We also used 24 siteâyears of eddyâcovariance measurements from two Harvard Forest sites to examine the relationship between soil and ecosystem respiration (Re).
Rs was highly variable at all spatial (respiration collar to forest stand) and temporal (minutes to years) scales of measurement. The response of Rs to experimental manipulations mimicking aspects of global change or aimed at partitioning Rs into component fluxes ranged from â70% to +52%. The response appears to arise from variations in substrate availability induced by changes in the size of soil C pools and of belowground C fluxes or in environmental conditions. In some cases (e.g., logging, warming), the effect of experimental manipulations on Rs was transient, but in other cases the time series were not long enough to rule out longâterm changes in respiration rates. Interâannual variations in weather and phenology induced variation among annual Rs estimates of a magnitude similar to that of other drivers of global change (i.e., invasive insects, forest management practices, N deposition). At both eddyâcovariance sites, aboveground respiration dominated Re early in the growing season, whereas belowground respiration dominated later. Unusual aboveground respiration patternsâhigh apparent rates of respiration during winter and very low rates in midâtoâlate summerâat the Environmental Measurement Site suggest either bias in Rs and Re estimates caused by differences in the spatial scale of processes influencing fluxes, or that additional research on the hardâtoâmeasure fluxes (e.g., wintertime Rs, unaccounted losses of CO2 from eddy covariance sites), daytime and nighttime canopy respiration and its impacts on estimates of Re, and independent measurements of flux partitioning (e.g., aboveground plant respiration, isotopic partitioning) may yield insight into the unusually high and low fluxes. Overall, however, this dataârich analysis identifies important seasonal and experimental variations in Rs and Re and in the partitioning of Re aboveâ vs. belowground
An accurate high-speed single-electron quantum dot pump
Using standard microfabrication techniques, it is now possible to construct devices that appear to reliably manipulate electrons one at a time. These devices have potential use as building blocks in quantum computing devices, or as a standard of electrical current derived only from a frequency and the fundamental charge. To date, the error rate in semiconductor 'tuneable-barrier' pump devices, those which show most promise for high-frequency operation, have not been tested in detail. We present high-accuracy measurements of the current from an etched GaAs quantum dot pump, operated at zero source-drain bias voltage with a single ac-modulated gate at 340 MHz driving the pump cycle. By comparison with a reference current derived from primary standards, we show that the electron transfer accuracy is better than 15 parts per million. High-resolution studies of the dependence of the pump current on the quantum dot tuning parameters also reveal possible deviations from a model used to describe the pumping cycle
Inflammatory pathways in the mechanism of parturition
Increasing evidence suggests that parturition is an inflammatory process. In this brief overview, inflammatory events occurring in association with parturition, and the mechanism by which they may contribute to labour and delivery will be discussed. Mention will be made of how this information may be of use in regulating the timing and the onset of parturition
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Soil Respiration in a Northeastern US Temperate Forest: A 22-Year Synthesis
To better understand how forest management, phenology, vegetation type, and actual and simulated climatic change affect seasonal and inter-annual variations in soil respiration (R), we analyzed more than 100,000 individual measurements of soil respiration from 23 studies conducted over 22 years at the Harvard Forest in Petersham, Massachusetts, USA. We also used 24 site-years of eddy-covariance measurements from two Harvard Forest sites to examine the relationship between soil and ecosystem respiration (R).
R was highly variable at all spatial (respiration collar to forest stand) and temporal (minutes to years) scales of measurement. The response of R to experimental manipulations mimicking aspects of global change or aimed at partitioning R into component fluxes ranged from â70% to +52%. The response appears to arise from variations in substrate availability induced by changes in the size of soil C pools and of belowground C fluxes or in environmental conditions. In some cases (e.g., logging, warming), the effect of experimental manipulations on R was transient, but in other cases the time series were not long enough to rule out long-term changes in respiration rates. Inter-annual variations in weather and phenology induced variation among annual R estimates of a magnitude similar to that of other drivers of global change (i.e., invasive insects, forest management practices, N deposition). At both eddy-covariance sites, aboveground respiration dominated R early in the growing season, whereas belowground respiration dominated later. Unusual aboveground respiration patternsâhigh apparent rates of respiration during winter and very low rates in mid-to-late summerâat the Environmental Measurement Site suggest either bias in R and R estimates caused by differences in the spatial scale of processes influencing fluxes, or that additional research on the hard-to-measure fluxes (e.g., wintertime R, unaccounted losses of CO from eddy covariance sites), daytime and nighttime canopy respiration and its impacts on estimates of R, and independent measurements of flux partitioning (e.g., aboveground plant respiration, isotopic partitioning) may yield insight into the unusually high and low fluxes. Overall, however, this data-rich analysis identifies important seasonal and experimental variations in R and R and in the partitioning of R above- vs. belowground.Organismic and Evolutionary Biolog
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