6,888 research outputs found
Vlasov Description Of Dense Quark Matter
We discuss properties of quark matter at finite baryon densities and zero
temperature in a Vlasov approach. We use a screened interquark Richardson's
potential consistent with the indications of Lattice QCD calculations.
We analyze the choices of the quark masses and the parameters entering the
potential which reproduce the binding energy (B.E.) of infinite nuclear matter.
There is a transition from nuclear to quark matter at densities 5 times above
normal nuclear matter density. The transition could be revealed from the
determination of the position of the shifted meson masses in dense baryonic
matter. A scaling form of the meson masses in dense matter is given.Comment: 15 pages 4 figure
Toward Interpretable Deep Reinforcement Learning with Linear Model U-Trees
Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) has achieved impressive success in many
applications. A key component of many DRL models is a neural network
representing a Q function, to estimate the expected cumulative reward following
a state-action pair. The Q function neural network contains a lot of implicit
knowledge about the RL problems, but often remains unexamined and
uninterpreted. To our knowledge, this work develops the first mimic learning
framework for Q functions in DRL. We introduce Linear Model U-trees (LMUTs) to
approximate neural network predictions. An LMUT is learned using a novel
on-line algorithm that is well-suited for an active play setting, where the
mimic learner observes an ongoing interaction between the neural net and the
environment. Empirical evaluation shows that an LMUT mimics a Q function
substantially better than five baseline methods. The transparent tree structure
of an LMUT facilitates understanding the network's learned knowledge by
analyzing feature influence, extracting rules, and highlighting the
super-pixels in image inputs.Comment: This paper is accepted by ECML-PKDD 201
Mystery of Excess Low Energy States in a Disordered Superconductor in a Zeeman Field
Tunneling density of states measurements of disordered superconducting (SC)
Al films in high Zeeman fields reveal a significant population of subgap states
which cannot be explained by standard BCS theory. We provide a natural
explanation of these excess states in terms of a novel disordered
Larkin-Ovchinnikov (dLO) phase that occurs near the spin-paramagnetic
transition at the Chandrasekhar-Clogston critical field. The dLO superconductor
is characterized by a pairing amplitude that changes sign at domain walls.
These domain walls carry magnetization and support Andreev bound states, which
lead to distinct spectral signatures at low energy.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, plus supplementary section describing methods (2
pages
Bioaccessibility of Carotenoids and Tocopherols in Marine Microalgae, Nannochloropsis sp. and Chaetoceros sp.
Microalgae can produce various natural products such as pigments, enzymes, unique
fatty acids and vitamin that benefit humans. The objective of the study is to study the
bioaccessibility of carotenoids (β-carotene and lycopene) and vitamin E (α- and β-
tocopherol) of Nannochloropsis oculata and Chaetoceros calcitrans. Analyses were carried
out for both the powdered forms of N. oculata and C. calcitrans, and the dried extract
forms of N. oculata and C. calcitrans. In vitro digestion method together with RP-HPLC
was used to determine the bioaccessibility of carotenoids and vitamin E for both forms
of microalgae. Powdered form of N. oculata had the highest bioaccessibility of β-carotene
(28.0 ± 0.6 g kg-1), followed by dried extract N. oculata (21.5 ± 1.1 g kg-1), dried extract C.
calcitrans (16.9 ± 0.1 g kg-1), and powdered C. calcitrans (15.6 ± 0.1 g kg-1). For lycopene,
dried extract of N. oculata had the highest bioaccessibility of lycopene (42.6 ± 1.1 g kg-
1), followed by dried extract C. calcitrans (41.9 ± 0.6 g kg-1), powdered C. calcitrans (39.7
± 0.1 g kg-1) and powdered N. oculata (32.6 ± 0.7 g kg-1). Dried extract C. calcitrans had the
highest bioaccessibility of α-tocopherol (72.1 ± 1.2 g kg-1). However, β-tocopherol was
not detected in both dried extract and powdered form of C. calcitrans. In conclusion, all
samples in their dried extract forms were found to have significantly higher
bioaccessibilities than their powdered forms. This may be due to the disruption of the
food matrix contributing to a higher bioaccessibility of nutrients shown by the dried
extract form
Theory of monolayers with boundaries: Exact results and Perturbative analysis
Domains and bubbles in tilted phases of Langmuir monolayers contain a class
of textures knows as boojums. The boundaries of such domains and bubbles may
display either cusp-like features or indentations. We derive analytic
expressions for the textures within domains and surrounding bubbles, and for
the shapes of the boundaries of these regions. The derivation is perturbative
in the deviation of the bounding curve from a circle. This method is not
expected to be accurate when the boundary suffers large distortions, but it
does provide important clues with regard to the influence of various energetic
terms on the order-parameter texture and the shape of the domain or bubble
bounding curve. We also look into the effects of thermal fluctuations, which
include a sample-size-dependent effective line tension.Comment: replaced with published version, 21 pages, 16 figures include
Measuring AGN Feedback with the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect
One of the most important and poorly-understood issues in structure formation
is the role of outflows driven by active galactic nuclei (AGN). Using
large-scale cosmological simulations, we compute the impact of such outflows on
the small-scale distribution of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Like
gravitationally-heated structures, AGN outflows induce CMB distortions both
through thermal motions and peculiar velocities, by processes known as the
thermal and kinetic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effects, respectively. For AGN
outflows the thermal SZ effect is dominant, doubling the angular power spectrum
on arcminute scales. But the most distinct imprint of AGN feedback is a
substantial increase in the thermal SZ distortions around elliptical galaxies,
post-starburst ellipticals, and quasars, which is linearly proportional to the
outflow energy. While point source subtraction is difficult for quasars, we
show that by appropriately stacking microwave measurements around early-type
galaxies, the new generation of small-scale microwave telescopes will be able
to directly measure AGN feedback at the level important for current theoretical
models.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures, submitted to ApJ (comments welcome
500 TeV gamma rays from Hercules X-1
A signal (chance probability = .0002) with the 1.24 s period of Hercules X-1 has been observed using the Utah Fly's Eye. The signal's relatively long period and high shower energy conflict with some popular models of particle acceleration by pulsars. Optical and X-ray data suggest a picture in which energetic particles produce multi-TeV gamma rays by collisions with Hercules X-1's accretion disk
All sky Northern Hemisphere 10(15) EV gamma-ray survey
Flux limits in the range 10 to the minus 13th power-10 to the minus 12 power/sq cm/s have been obtained by observing Cerenkov flashes from small air showers. During 1983, a 3.5 sigma excess of showers was observed during the phase interval 0.2 to 0.3 of the 4.8h period of Cygnus X-3, but no excess was found in 1984 observations
Limits on deeply penetrating particles in the 10(17) eV cosmic ray flux
Deeply penetrating particles in the 10 to the 17th power eV cosmic ray flux were investigated. No such events were found in 8.2 x 10 to the 6th power sec of running time. Limits were set on the following: quark-matter in the primary cosmic ray flux; long-lived, weakly interacting particles produced in p-air collisions; the astrophysical neutrino flux. In particular, the neutrino flux limit at 10 to the 17th power eV implies that z, the red shift of maximum activity is 10 in the model of Hill and Schramm
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