433 research outputs found
Critical behavior of a Ginzburg-Landau model with additive quenched noise
We address a mean-field zero-temperature Ginzburg-Landau, or \phi^4, model
subjected to quenched additive noise, which has been used recently as a
framework for analyzing collective effects induced by diversity. We first make
use of a self-consistent theory to calculate the phase diagram of the system,
predicting the onset of an order-disorder critical transition at a critical
value {\sigma}c of the quenched noise intensity \sigma, with critical exponents
that follow Landau theory of thermal phase transitions. We subsequently perform
a numerical integration of the system's dynamical variables in order to compare
the analytical results (valid in the thermodynamic limit and associated to the
ground state of the global Lyapunov potential) with the stationary state of the
(finite size) system. In the region of the parameter space where metastability
is absent (and therefore the stationary state coincide with the ground state of
the Lyapunov potential), a finite-size scaling analysis of the order parameter
fluctuations suggests that the magnetic susceptibility diverges quadratically
in the vicinity of the transition, what constitutes a violation of the
fluctuation-dissipation relation. We derive an effective Hamiltonian and
accordingly argue that its functional form does not allow to straightforwardly
relate the order parameter fluctuations to the linear response of the system,
at odds with equilibrium theory. In the region of the parameter space where the
system is susceptible to have a large number of metastable states (and
therefore the stationary state does not necessarily correspond to the ground
state of the global Lyapunov potential), we numerically find a phase diagram
that strongly depends on the initial conditions of the dynamical variables.Comment: 8 figure
Using chlorhexidine varnish to prevent early childhood caries in American Indian children
Objectives: To test the efficacy of 10% chlorhexidine (CHX) dental varnish applied to the mothers' dentition in preventing caries in American Indian children. Methods: This was a placeboâcontrolled, doubleâblind, randomized clinical trial. Motherâchild pairs were enrolled when the child was 4.5â6.0 months. Mothers received 4 weekly applications of the study treatment (CHX or placebo) followed by single applications when her child was age 12 and 18 months. Children received caries examinations at enrollment, 12, 18 and 24 months. Analyses were limited to the intentâtoâtreat (ITT) group: children whose mothers received the first study treatment and who received at least one postâbaseline exam. The outcome variable was the number of new carious surfaces (NNCS) at the child's last visit. Wilcoxon nonparametric and Fisher's exact tests were used to test differences between the active and placebo groups. Results: We randomized 414 motherâchild pairs, with 367 (88.6%) included in the ITT group (activeâ=â188, placeboâ=â179). The proportion of children cariesâfree at their final exam was 51.1% and 50.8% for the active and placebo groups ( P â>â0.99). The mean NNCS for the active and placebo groups was 3.82 (standard deviation [SD]â=â8.18) and 3.80 (SDâ=â6.08), respectively ( P â=â0.54). The proportion with NNCS > 6 was 18.1% for active children versus 27.9% for placebo (relative risk [RR]â=â0.65, P â=â0.03). The number needed to treat to shift one child from NNCS > 6 to a lower severity was 10.2. Conclusions: In this population CHX varnish did not reduce the mean NNCS or proportion of children with caries, but did reduce the proportion with severe caries.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/96744/1/jphd348.pd
An abyssal hill fractionates organic and inorganic matter in deep-sea surface sediments
Current estimates suggest that more than 60% of the global seafloor are covered by millions of abyssal hills and mountains. These features introduce spatial fluid-dynamic granularity whose influence on deep-ocean sediment biogeochemistry is unknown. Here we compare biogeochemical surface-sediment properties from a fluid-dynamically well-characterized abyssal hill and upstream plain: (1) In hill sediments, organic-carbon and -nitrogen contents are only about half as high as on the plain while proteinaceous material displays less degradation; (2) on the hill, more coarse-grained sediments (reducing particle surface area) and very variable calcite contents (influencing particle surface charge) are proposed to reduce the extent, and influence compound-specificity, of sorptive organic-matter preservation. Further studies are needed to estimate the representativeness of the results in a global context. Given millions of abyssal hills and mountains, their integrative influence on formation and composition of deep-sea sediments warrants more attention
Local behavior of p-harmonic Green's functions in metric spaces
We describe the behavior of p-harmonic Green's functions near a singularity
in metric measure spaces equipped with a doubling measure and supporting a
Poincar\'e inequality
ENSO forcing on climate change in Iran: Precipitation analysis
An investigation was conducted to detect the change-point years in the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) and precipitation time series in Iran for the period 1951-1999 (49 years). Due to the unavailability of data, the record length of the precipitation time series was not consistent for all stations, varying from 34 to 49 years. The Pettitt- Mann-Whitney and Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon tests were applied to determine the significance of the detected changes. The difference in SOI and precipitation amounts for the period before and after the change years was investigated. The coincidence of change-point years in the SOI time series and precipitation data was explored to evaluate the possible forcing effects of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon on the suppression or enhancement of Iran's hydrological cycle. The results indicated that the mid 1970s are the most probable change- point years in the time series of Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) data. The frequency and intensity of El Niño events have increased since then. Consistent with this finding, precipitation data from both south-western and northern parts of Iran have also shown significant change years in or around the mid 1970s. Compared to the period before 1975, annual precipitation over most of the studied regions has increased. This increase was found to be more considerable in southern rather than northern districts. Seasonal precipitation amounts in southern regions have generally increased during autumn and winter and decreased in spring. On the other hand, for northern regions, precipitation has increased during summer and autumn and decreased throughout winter and spring. The most enhanced portions of the hydrological cycle in the southern and northern regions were centred on March and May, respectively
Inhomogeneous tachyon dynamics and the zipper
We study the process of inhomogeneous tachyon condensation in an intersecting
D1- and anti-D1-brane system using an effective tachyon DBI action. By
switching to the Hamiltonian formalism, we numerically solve for the dynamical
evolution of the system at a small intersection angle. We find that the decay
proceeds indefinitely and resembles the action of two zippers moving away from
the intersection point at the speed of light, zipping the branes together and
leaving inhomogeneous tachyon matter behind. We also discuss the range of
validity of our analysis and discuss the relation of the D1-anti-D1 description
of the system to one in terms of an intersecting D1-D1-brane pair.Comment: 23 pages, 12 figures. v2: added references; v3: more references,
published versio
Disk Partition Function and Oscillatory Rolling Tachyons
An exact cubic open string field theory rolling tachyon solution was recently
found by Kiermaier et. al. and Schnabl. This oscillatory solution has been
argued to be related by a field redefinition to the simple exponential rolling
tachyon deformation of boundary conformal theory. In the latter approach, the
disk partition function takes a simple form. Out of curiosity, we compute the
disk partition function for an oscillatory tachyon profile, and find that the
result is nevertheless almost the same.Comment: 17 pages, 2 figures. v4: discussion clarified, appendix added,
conclusions unchanged; version to appear in J.Phys.
On the origin of thermal string gas
We investigate decaying D-branes as the origin of the thermal string gas of
string gas cosmology. We consider initial configurations of low-dimensional
branes and argue that they can time evolve to thermal string gas. We find that
there is a range in the weak string coupling and fast brane decay time regimes,
where the initial configuration could drive the evolution of the dilaton to
values, where exactly three spacelike directions grow large.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, v2: references adde
Fluctuations of a holographic quantum Hall fluid
We analyze the neutral spectrum of the holographic quantum Hall fluid
described by the D2-D8' model. As expected for a quantum Hall state, we find
the system to be stable and gapped and that, at least over much of the
parameter space, the lowest excitation mode is a magneto-roton. In addition, we
find magneto-rotons in higher modes as well. We show that these magneto-rotons
are direct consequences of level crossings between vector and scalar modes.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures; v.2 figures improved, 2 figures added, and text
clarified particularly in Sec. 5, to appear in JHE
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