2,628 research outputs found
Packing defects and the width of biopolymer bundles
The formation of bundles composed of actin filaments and cross-linking
proteins is an essential process in the maintenance of the cells' cytoskeleton.
It has also been recreated by in-vitro experiments, where actin networks are
routinely produced to mimic and study the cellular structures. It has long been
observed that these bundles seem to have a well defined width distribution,
which has not been adequately described theoretically. We propose here that
packing defects of the filaments, quenched and random, contribute an effective
repulsion that counters the cross-linking adhesion energy and leads to a well
defined bundle width. This is a two-dimensional strain-field version of the
classic Rayleigh instability of charged droplets
Asymptotic Task-Based Quantization with Application to Massive MIMO
Quantizers take part in nearly every digital signal processing system which
operates on physical signals. They are commonly designed to accurately
represent the underlying signal, regardless of the specific task to be
performed on the quantized data. In systems working with high-dimensional
signals, such as massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems, it is
beneficial to utilize low-resolution quantizers, due to cost, power, and memory
constraints. In this work we study quantization of high-dimensional inputs,
aiming at improving performance under resolution constraints by accounting for
the system task in the quantizers design. We focus on the task of recovering a
desired signal statistically related to the high-dimensional input, and analyze
two quantization approaches: We first consider vector quantization, which is
typically computationally infeasible, and characterize the optimal performance
achievable with this approach. Next, we focus on practical systems which
utilize hardware-limited scalar uniform analog-to-digital converters (ADCs),
and design a task-based quantizer under this model. The resulting system
accounts for the task by linearly combining the observed signal into a lower
dimension prior to quantization. We then apply our proposed technique to
channel estimation in massive MIMO networks. Our results demonstrate that a
system utilizing low-resolution scalar ADCs can approach the optimal channel
estimation performance by properly accounting for the task in the system
design
Incorporation of three-nucleon force in the effective interaction hyperspherical harmonic approach
It is shown how a bare three-nucleon force is incorporated into the formalism
of the effective interaction approach for hyperspherical harmonics. As a
practical example we calculate the ground state properties of 3H and 3He using
the Argonne V18 nucleon-nucleon potential and the Urbana IX three-nucleon
force. A very good convergence of binding energies and matter radii is
obtained. We also find a very good agreement of our results compared to other
high precision calculations.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figure
Diamondlike carbon protective coatings for IR materials
Diamondlike carbon (DLC) films have the potential to protect optical windows in applications where it is important to maintain the integrity of the specular transmittance of these films on ZnS and ZnSe infrared transmitting windows. The films must be adherent and durable such that they protect the windows from rain and particle erosion as well as chemical attack. In order to optimize the performance of these films, 0.1 micro m thick diamondlike carbon films were deposited on fused silica and silicon wafers, using three different methods of ion beam deposition. One method was sputter deposition from a carbon target using an 8 cm ion source. The merits of hydrogen addition were experimentally evaluated in conjunction with this method. The second method used a 30 cm hollow cathode ion source with hydrocarbon/Argon gases to deposit diamondlike carbon films from the primary beam at 90 to 250 eV. The third method used a dual beam system employing a hydrocarbon/Argon 30 cm ion source and an 8 cm ion source. Films were evaluated for adherence, intrinsic stress, infrared transmittance between 2.5 and 50 micro m, and protection from particle erosion. An erosion test using a sandblaster was used to give quantitative values of the protection afforded to the fused silica by the diamondlike carbon films. The fused silica surfaces protected by diamondlike carbon films were exposed to 100 micro m diameter SiO particles at 60 mi/hr (26.8/sec) in the sandblaster
Interbank comptetition with costly screening
We analyse credit market equilibrium when banks screen loan applicants. When banks have a convex cost function of screening, a pure strategy equilibrium exists where banks optimally set interest rates at the same level as their competitors. This result complements Broecker’s (1990) analysis, where he demonstrates that no pure strategy equilibrium exists when banks have zero screening costs. In our set up we show that interest rate on loans are largely independent of marginal costs, a feature consistent with the extant empirical evidence. In equilibrium, banks make positive profits in our model in spite of the threat of entry by inactive banks. Moreover, an increase in the number of active banks increases credit risk and so does not improve credit market effciency: this point has important regulatory implications. Finally, we extend our analysis to the case where banks have differing screening abilities.Interbank Competition, Screening, Credit Risk, Adverse Selection
Leptogenesis from Supersymmetry Breaking
We show that soft supersymmetry breaking terms involving the heavy sneutrinos
can lead to sneutrino-antisneutrino mixing and to new sources of CP violation,
which are present even if a single generation is considered. These terms are
naturally present in supersymmetric versions of leptogenesis scenarios, and
they induce indirect CP violation in the decays of the heavy sneutrinos,
eventually generating a baryon asymmetry. This new contribution can be
comparable to or even dominate over the asymmetry produced in traditional
leptogenesis scenarios.Comment: 4 pages; An improved discussion of the relevant numerical range of
the soft breaking terms (in agreement with hep-ph/0308031
EPR entanglement strategies in two-well BEC
Criteria suitable for measuring entanglement between two different potential
wells in a Bose- Einstein condensation (BEC) are evaluated. We show how to
generate the required entanglement, utilizing either an adiabatic two-mode or
dynamic four-mode interaction strategy, with techniques that take advantage of
s-wave scattering interactions to provide the nonlinear coupling. The dynamic
entanglement method results in an entanglement signature with spatially
separated detectors, as in the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) paradox.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Inhomogeneity in the Supernova Remnant Distribution as the Origin of the PAMELA Anomaly
Recent measurements of the positron/electron ratio in the cosmic ray (CR)
flux exhibits an apparent anomaly, whereby this ratio increases between 10 and
100 GeV. We show that inhomogeneity of CR sources on a scale of order a kpc,
can naturally explain this anomaly. If the nearest major CR source is about a
kpc away, then low energy electrons ( GeV) can easily reach us. At
higher energies ( GeV), the source electrons cool via synchrotron
and inverse-Compton before reaching Earth. Pairs formed in the local vicinity
through the proton/ISM interactions can reach Earth also at high energies, thus
increasing the positron/electron ratio. A natural origin of source
inhomogeneity is the strong concentration of supernovae in the galactic spiral
arms. Assuming supernova remnants (SNRs) as the sole primary source of CRs, and
taking into account their concentration near the galactic spiral arms, we
consistently recover the observed positron fraction between 1 and 100 GeV.
ATIC's electron excess at GeV is explained, in this picture, as the
contribution of a few known nearby SNRs. The apparent coincident similarity
between the cooling time of electrons at 10 GeV (where the positron/electron
ratio upturn), Myr, and the CRs protons cosmogenic age at the same
energy is predicted by this model
Requirement for the NF-kappa B family member Re1A in the development of secondary lymphoid organs
The transcription factor nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB has been suggested to be a key mediator of the development of lymph nodes and Peyer's patches. However, targeted deletion of NF-kappaB/ Rel family members has not yet corroborated such a function. Here we report that when mice lacking the RelA subunit of NF-kappaB are brought to term by breeding onto a tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR)1-deficient background, the trice that are born lack lymph nodes, foyer's patches, and an organized splenic microarchitecture, and have a profound defect in T cell-dependent antigen responses. Analyses of TNFR1/1RelA-deficient embryonic tissues and of radiation chimeras suggest that the dependence on RelA is manifest not in hematopoietic cells but rather in radioresistant stromal cells needed for the development of secondary lymphoid organs
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