38 research outputs found
BRST charges for finite nonlinear algebras
Some ingredients of the BRST construction for quantum Lie algebras are
applied to a wider class of quadratic algebras of constraints. We build the
BRST charge for a quantum Lie algebra with three generators and
ghost-anti-ghosts commuting with constraints. We consider a one-parametric
family of quadratic algebras with three generators and show that the BRST
charge acquires the conventional form after a redefinition of ghosts. The
modified ghosts form a quadratic algebra. The family possesses a non-linear
involution, which implies the existence of two independent BRST charges for
each algebra in the family. These BRST charges anticommute and form a double
BRST complex.Comment: 10 page
New Spinor Field Realizations of the Non-Critical String
We investigate the new spinor field realizations of the algebra,
making use of the fact that the algebra can be linearized by the
addition of a spin-1 current. We then use these new realizations to build the
nilpotent Becchi-Rouet-Stora--Tyutin (BRST) charges of the spinor non-critical
string.Comment: 8 pages, no figures, revtex4 style, accepted by Chin. Phys. Let
New Super Calogero Models and OSp(4|2) Superconformal Mechanics
We report on the new approach to constructing superconformal extensions of
the Calogero-type systems with an arbitrary number of involved particles. It is
based upon the superfield gauging of non-abelian isometries of some
supersymmetric matrix models. Among its applications, we focus on the new N=4
superconformal system yielding the U(2) spin Calogero model in the bosonic
sector, and the one-particle case of this system, which is a new OSp(4|2)
superconformal mechanics with non-dynamical U(2) spin variables. The
characteristic feature of these models is that the strength of the conformal
inverse-square potential is quantized.Comment: 12 pages, talk presented by E.Ivanov at the XIII International
Conference "Symmetry Methods in Physics", Dubna, July 6-9, 200
Optical Identification of Four Hard X-ray Sources from the Swift All-Sky Survey
We present the results of our optical identifications of four hard X-ray
sources from the Swift all-sky survey. We obtained optical spectra for each of
the program objects with the 6-m BTA telescope (Special Astrophysical
Observatory, Russian Academy of Sciences, Nizhnii Arkhyz), which allowed their
nature to be established. Two sources (SWIFT J2237.2+6324} and SWIFT
J2341.0+7645) are shown to belong to the class of cataclysmic variables
(suspected polars or intermediate polars). The measured emission line width
turns out to be fairly large (FWHM ~ 15-25 A), suggesting the presence of
extended, rapidly rotating (v~400-600 km/s) accretion disks in the systems.
Apart from line broadening, we have detected a change in the positions of the
line centroids for SWIFT J2341.0+7645, which is most likely attributable to the
orbital motion of the white dwarf in the binary system. The other two program
objects (SWIFT J0003.3+2737 and SWIFT J0113.8+2515) are extragalactic in
origin: the first is a Seyfert 2 galaxy and the second is a blazar at redshift
z=1.594. Apart from the optical spectra, we provide the X-ray spectra for all
sources in the 0.6-10 keV energy band obtained from XRT/Swift data.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, will be published in Astronomy Letters, 38, No.5,
pp.281-289 (2012
The ART-XC telescope on board the SRG observatory
ART-XC (Astronomical Roentgen Telescope - X-ray Concentrator) is the hard
X-ray instrument with grazing incidence imaging optics on board the
Spektr-Roentgen-Gamma (SRG) observatory. The SRG observatory is the flagship
astrophysical mission of the Russian Federal Space Program, which was
successively launched into orbit around the second Lagrangian point (L2) of the
Earth-Sun system with a Proton rocket from the Baikonur cosmodrome on 13 July
2019. The ART-XC telescope will provide the first ever true imaging all-sky
survey performed with grazing incidence optics in the 4-30 keV energy band and
will obtain the deepest and sharpest map of the sky in the energy range of 4-12
keV. Observations performed during the early calibration and performance
verification phase as well as during the on-going all-sky survey that started
on 12 Dec. 2019 have demonstrated that the in-flight characteristics of the
ART-XC telescope are very close to expectations based on the results of ground
calibrations. Upon completion of its 4-year all-sky survey, ART-XC is expected
to detect ~5000 sources (~3000 active galactic nuclei, including heavily
obscured ones, several hundred clusters of galaxies, ~1000 cataclysmic
variables and other Galactic sources), and to provide a high-quality map of the
Galactic background emission in the 4-12 keV energy band. ART-XC is also well
suited for discovering transient X-ray sources. In this paper, we describe the
telescope, results of its ground calibrations, major aspects of the mission,
the in-flight performance of ART-XC and first scientific results.Comment: 19 pages, 30 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
Superconformal mechanics
We survey the salient features and problems of conformal and superconformal
mechanics and portray some of its developments over the past decade. Both
classical and quantum issues of single- and multiparticle systems are covered.Comment: 1+68 pages, invited review for Journal of Physics A; v2: revised text
extended by 4 pages and 11 references, published versio
The association between alcohol use, alcohol use disorders and tuberculosis (TB). A systematic review
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In 2004, tuberculosis (TB) was responsible for 2.5% of global mortality (among men 3.1%; among women 1.8%) and 2.2% of global burden of disease (men 2.7%; women 1.7%). The present work portrays accumulated evidence on the association between alcohol consumption and TB with the aim to clarify the nature of the relationship.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A systematic review of existing scientific data on the association between alcohol consumption and TB, and on studies relevant for clarification of causality was undertaken.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There is a strong association between heavy alcohol use/alcohol use disorders (AUD) and TB. A meta-analysis on the risk of TB for these factors yielded a pooled relative risk of 2.94 (95% CI: 1.89-4.59). Numerous studies show pathogenic impact of alcohol on the immune system causing susceptibility to TB among heavy drinkers. In addition, there are potential social pathways linking AUD and TB. Heavy alcohol use strongly influences both the incidence and the outcome of the disease and was found to be linked to altered pharmacokinetics of medicines used in treatment of TB, social marginalization and drift, higher rate of re-infection, higher rate of treatment defaults and development of drug-resistant forms of TB. Based on the available data, about 10% of the TB cases globally were estimated to be attributable to alcohol.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The epidemiological and other evidence presented indicates that heavy alcohol use/AUD constitute a risk factor for incidence and re-infection of TB. Consequences for prevention and clinical interventions are discussed.</p
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The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) High-Energy X-Ray Mission
The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) mission, launched on 2012 June 13, is the first focusing high-energy X-ray telescope in orbit. NuSTAR operates in the band from 3 to 79 keV, extending the sensitivity of focusing far beyond the ~10 keV high-energy cutoff achieved by all previous X-ray satellites. The inherently low background associated with concentrating the X-ray light enables NuSTAR to probe the hard X-ray sky with a more than 100-fold improvement in sensitivity over the collimated or coded mask instruments that have operated in this bandpass. Using its unprecedented combination of sensitivity and spatial and spectral resolution, NuSTAR will pursue five primary scientific objectives: (1) probe obscured active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity out to the peak epoch of galaxy assembly in the universe (at z lsim 2) by surveying selected regions of the sky; (2) study the population of hard X-ray-emitting compact objects in the Galaxy by mapping the central regions of the Milky Way; (3) study the non-thermal radiation in young supernova remnants, both the hard X-ray continuum and the emission from the radioactive element 44Ti; (4) observe blazars contemporaneously with ground-based radio, optical, and TeV telescopes, as well as with Fermi and Swift, to constrain the structure of AGN jets; and (5) observe line and continuum emission from core-collapse supernovae in the Local Group, and from nearby Type Ia events, to constrain explosion models. During its baseline two-year mission, NuSTAR will also undertake a broad program of targeted observations. The observatory consists of two co-aligned grazing-incidence X-ray telescopes pointed at celestial targets by a three-axis stabilized spacecraft. Deployed into a 600 km, near-circular, 6° inclination orbit, the observatory has now completed commissioning, and is performing consistent with pre-launch expectations. NuSTAR is now executing its primary science mission, and with an expected orbit lifetime of 10 yr, we anticipate proposing a guest investigator program, to begin in late 2014.Astronom