4,903 research outputs found
Noncommutativity relations in type IIB theory and their supersymmetry
In the present paper we investigate noncommutativity of and -brane
world-volumes embedded in space-time of type IIB superstring theory. Boundary
conditions, which preserve half of the initial supersymmetry, are treated as
canonical constraints. Solving the constraints we obtain original coordinates
in terms of the effective coordinates and momenta. Presence of momenta induces
noncommutativity of string endpoints. We show that noncommutativity relations
are connected by N=1 supersymmetry transformations and noncommutativity
parameters are components of N=1 supermultiplet
Measurement of Antenna Surfaces from In- and Out-Of-Focus Beam Maps using Astronomical Sources
We present a technique for the accurate estimation of large-scale errors in
an antenna surface using astronomical sources and detectors. The technique
requires several out-of-focus images of a compact source and the
signal-to-noise ratio needs to be good but not unreasonably high. For a given
pattern of surface errors, the expected form of such images can be calculated
directly. We show that it is possible to solve the inverse problem of finding
the surface errors from the images in a stable manner using standard numerical
techniques. To do this we describe the surface error as a linear combination of
a suitable set of basis functions (we use Zernike polynomials). We present
simulations illustrating the technique and in particular we investigate the
effects of receiver noise and pointing errors. Measurements of the 15-m James
Clerk Maxwell telescope made using this technique are presented as an example.
The key result is that good measurements of errors on large spatial scales can
be obtained if the input images have a signal-to-noise ratio of order 100 or
more. The important advantage of this technique over transmitter-based
holography is that it allows measurements at arbitrary elevation angles, so
allowing one to characterise the large scale deformations in an antenna as a
function of elevation.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures (accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysics
Out-Of-Focus Holography at the Green Bank Telescope
We describe phase-retrieval holography measurements of the 100-m diameter
Green Bank Telescope using astronomical sources and an astronomical receiver
operating at a wavelength of 7 mm. We use the technique with parameterization
of the aperture in terms of Zernike polynomials and employing a large defocus,
as described by Nikolic, Hills & Richer (2006). Individual measurements take
around 25 minutes and from the resulting beam maps (which have peak signal to
noise ratios of 200:1) we show that it is possible to produce low-resolution
maps of the wavefront errors with accuracy around a hundredth of a wavelength.
Using such measurements over a wide range of elevations, we have calculated a
model for the wavefront-errors due to the uncompensated gravitational
deformation of the telescope. This model produces a significant improvement at
low elevations, where these errors are expected to be the largest; after
applying the model, the aperture efficiency is largely independent of
elevation. We have also demonstrated that the technique can be used to measure
and largely correct for thermal deformations of the antenna, which often exceed
the uncompensated gravitational deformations during daytime observing.
We conclude that the aberrations induced by gravity and thermal effects are
large-scale and the technique used here is particularly suitable for measuring
such deformations in large millimetre wave radio telescopes.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures (accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysics
Electrical current-driven pinhole formation and insulator-metal transition in tunnel junctions
Current Induced Resistance Switching (CIS) was recently observed in thin
tunnel junctions (TJs) with ferromagnetic (FM) electrodes and attributed to
electromigration of metallic atoms in nanoconstrictions in the insulating
barrier. The CIS effect is here studied in TJs with two thin (20 \AA)
non-magnetic (NM) Ta electrodes inserted above and below the insulating
barrier. We observe resistance (R) switching for positive applied electrical
current (flowing from the bottom to the top lead), characterized by a
continuous resistance decrease and associated with current-driven displacement
of metallic ions from the bottom electrode into the barrier (thin barrier
state). For negative currents, displaced ions return into their initial
positions in the electrode and the electrical resistance gradually increases
(thick barrier state). We measured the temperature (T) dependence of the
electrical resistance of both thin- and thick-barrier states ( and R
respectively). Experiments showed a weaker R(T) variation when the tunnel
junction is in the state, associated with a smaller tunnel contribution.
By applying large enough electrical currents we induced large irreversible
R-decreases in the studied TJs, associated with barrier degradation. We then
monitored the evolution of the R(T) dependence for different stages of barrier
degradation. In particular, we observed a smooth transition from tunnel- to
metallic-dominated transport. The initial degradation-stages are related to
irreversible barrier thickness decreases (without the formation of pinholes).
Only for later barrier degradation stages do we have the appearance of metallic
paths between the two electrodes that, however, do not lead to metallic
dominated transport for small enough pinhole radius.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure
Quantum transport through mesoscopic disordered interfaces, junctions, and multilayers
The study explores perpendicular transport through macroscopically
inhomogeneous three-dimensional disordered conductors using mesoscopic methods
(real-space Green function technique in a two-probe measuring geometry). The
nanoscale samples (containing atoms) are modeled by a tight-binding
Hamiltonian on a simple cubic lattice where disorder is introduced in the
on-site potential energy. I compute the transport properties of: disordered
metallic junctions formed by concatenating two homogenous samples with
different kinds of microscopic disorder, a single strongly disordered
interface, and multilayers composed of such interfaces and homogeneous layers
characterized by different strength of the same type of microscopic disorder.
This allows us to: contrast resistor model (semiclassical) approach with fully
quantum description of dirty mesoscopic multilayers; study the transmission
properties of dirty interfaces (where Schep-Bauer distribution of transmission
eigenvalues is confirmed for single interface, as well as for the stack of such
interfaces that is thinner than the localization length); and elucidate the
effect of coupling to ideal leads (``measuring apparatus'') on the conductance
of both bulk conductors and dirty interfaces When multilayer contains a
ballistic layer in between two interfaces, its disorder-averaged conductance
oscillates as a function of Fermi energy. I also address some fundamental
issues in quantum transport theory--the relationship between Kubo formula in
exact state representation and ``mesoscopic Kubo formula'' (which gives the
zero-temperature conductance of a finite-size sample attached to two
semi-infinite ideal leads) is thoroughly reexamined by comparing their answers
for both the junctions and homogeneous samples.Comment: 18 pages, 17 embedded EPS figure
General Relativity as Classical Limit of Evolutionary Quantum Gravity
We analyze the dynamics of the gravitational field when the covariance is
restricted to a synchronous gauge. In the spirit of the Noether theorem, we
determine the conservation law associated to the Lagrangian invariance and we
outline that a non-vanishing behavior of the Hamiltonian comes out. We then
interpret such resulting non-zero ``energy'' of the gravitational field in
terms of a dust fluid. This new matter contribution is co-moving to the slicing
and it accounts for the ``materialization'' of a synchronous reference from the
corresponding gauge condition. Further, we analyze the quantum dynamics of a
generic inhomogeneous Universe as described by this evolutionary scheme,
asymptotically to the singularity. We show how the phenomenology of such a
model overlaps the corresponding Wheeler-DeWitt picture. Finally, we study the
possibility of a Schr\"odinger dynamics of the gravitational field as a
consequence of the correspondence inferred between the ensemble dynamics of
stochastic systems and the WKB limit of their quantum evolution. We demonstrate
that the time dependence of the ensemble distribution is associated with the
first order correction in to the WKB expansion of the energy spectrum.Comment: 23 pages, to appear on Class. Quant. Gra
Some remarks on a nongeometrical interpretation of gravity and the flatness problem
In a nongeometrical interpretation of gravity, the metric
is interpreted as an {\em
effective} metric, whereas is interpreted as a fundamental
gravitational field, propagated in spacetime which is actually flat. Some
advantages and disadvantages of such an interpretation are discussed. The main
advantage is a natural resolution of the flatness problem.Comment: 6 pages, late
Effectiveness of high dose spinal cord stimulation for non-surgical intractable lumbar radiculopathy
OBJECTIVES: Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is being increasingly used in non-surgical intractable low back pain. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of high-dose (HD) SCS utilizing sub-perception stimulation with higher frequency and pulse width in non-surgical predominant low-back pain population at 12 months. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 20 patients were recruited (280 screened between March 2017 and July 2018) to undergo percutaneous fluoroscopic-guided SCS (Medtronic 8 contact standard leads and RestoreR IPG), with T8 and T9 midline anatomical parallel placement. Sixteen patients completed 12 months follow-up (500 Hz frequency, 500 μs pulse width, and 25% pulse density). Differences in patients’ clinical outcome (NRS back, NRS leg, ODI, PGIC, and PSQ) and medication usage (MQS) at 1, 3, and 12 months from the baseline were assessed using non-parametric Wilcoxon paired test. RESULTS: The mean NRS scores for back pain (baseline 7.53) improved significantly at 1, 3, and 12 months; 2.78 (p < 0.001), 4.45 (p = 0.002), and 3.85 (p = 0.002), respectively. The mean NRS score for leg pain (baseline 6.09) improved significantly at 1 and 3 months; 1.86 (p < 0.001) and 3.13 (p = 0.010), respectively. Mean NRS for leg pain at 12 months was 3.85 (p = 0.057). ODI and sleep demonstrated significant improvement as there was consistent improvement in medication particularly opioid usage (MQS) at 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that anatomical placement of leads with sub-perception HD stimulation could provide effective pain relief in patients who are not candidates for spinal surgery
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