5,544 research outputs found
NLIE for hole excited states in the sine-Gordon model with two boundaries
We derive a nonlinear integral equation (NLIE) for some bulk excited states
of the sine-Gordon model on a finite interval with general integrable boundary
interactions, including boundary terms proportional to the first time
derivative of the field. We use this NLIE to compute numerically the dimensions
of these states as a function of scale, and check the UV and IR limits
analytically. We also find further support for the ground-state NLIE by
comparison with boundary conformal perturbation theory (BCPT), boundary
truncated conformal space approach (BTCSA) and the boundary analogue of the
Luscher formula.Comment: 31 pages, LaTeX; graphicx, epstopdf, 4 figure
The spectrum of tachyons in AdS/CFT
We analyze the spectrum of open strings stretched between a D-brane and an
anti-D-brane in planar AdS/CFT using various tools. We focus on open strings
ending on two giant gravitons with different orientation in
and study the spectrum of string excitations using the following approaches:
open spin-chain, boundary asymptotic Bethe ansatz and boundary thermodynamic
Bethe ansatz (BTBA). We find agreement between a perturbative high order
diagrammatic calculation in SYM and the leading finite-size
boundary Luscher correction. We study the ground state energy of the system at
finite coupling by deriving and numerically solving a set of BTBA equations.
While the numerics give reasonable results at small coupling, they break down
at finite coupling when the total energy of the string gets close to zero,
possibly indicating that the state turns tachyonic. The location of the
breakdown is also predicted analytically.Comment: 40 pages, lots of figures, v2: typos corrected, accepted for
publication in JHE
Unfolded Description of Kerr Black Hole
It is shown that Kerr black hole is a solution of simple unfolded
differential equations that form a deformation of the zero-curvature
description of empty space-time. Our construction uses the Killing
symmetries of the Kerr solution. All known and some new algebraic properties of
the Kerr-Schild solution result from the obtained black hole unfolded system in
the coordinate-independent way. Kerr Schild type solutions of free equations in
for massless fields of any spin, associated to the proposed black hole
unfolded system, are found.Comment: 18 page
Systematic review of the scientific literature on the economic evaluation of cochlear implants in adult patients
A systematic review of the economic literature of cochlear implants (CI) was conducted with the aim of summarizing the results of studies on the cost effectiveness of monolateral and bilateral (sequential/simultaneous) CI in adult patients affected by severe to profound prelingual and postlingual hearing impairment. The literature search was performed using “PubMed MEDLINE” and the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination search engines. Inclusion criteria related to economic evaluation included primary studies published in English language from January 2000 to May 2010 and aimed to quantify costs of CI and compare monolateral CI vs. acoustic prosthesis and bilateral (sequential/ simultaneous) CI vs. monolateral CI in terms of cost per unit of effectiveness. Four articles were identified. The mean direct medical cost of the monolateral CI varied from € 30,026 to € 45,770 in postlingually deafened patients, and the cost of device represented the main cost component. Additional median costs of simultaneous and sequential bilateral CI were, respectively, € 21,831 and € 25,459. The mean direct medical cost of monolateral CI was € 31,942 in prelingually deafened patients. The monolateral CI in postlingually deafened patients represented a cost effective intervention as compared with no implant (€ /QALY varied from € 7,930, € 24,983 to € 33,094). Monolateral CI were not a cost effective intervention for traditional patients with more than 40 years of hearing impairment (€ 64,604/QALY ) or for patients with marginal benefits from using acoustic prosthesis with more than 30 years of hearing impairment (€ 106,267/QALY ). The cost effectiveness of monolateral CI worsened with increasing age (€ /QALY from € 23,439 for patients < 30 years old to € 55,369 for patients > 70 years). Bilateral CI in postlingually deafened patients were less cost effective than monolateral CI (from € 91,943/QALY to € 102,640/QALY ). Monolateral CI were cost effective in prelingually deafened patients (€ /QALY : € 8,096). Given the few economic evaluation studies in literature, future researches are needed to support the cost effectiveness results of CI in adults and to evaluate the cost effectiveness of bilateral CI, as well as to estimate the non-medical direct and indirect cost components
Systematic review of the scientific literature on the economic evaluation of cochlear implants in paediatric patients
The aim of the study consists in a systematic review concerning the economic evaluation of cochlear implant (CI) in children by searching the main international clinical and economic electronic databases. All primary studies published in English from January 2000 to May 2010 were included. The types of studies selected concerned partial economic evaluation, including direct and indirect costs of cochlear implantation; complete economic evaluation, including minimization of costs, cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA), cost-utility analysis (CUA) and cost-benefit analysis (CBA) performed through observational and experimental studies. A total of 68 articles were obtained from the database research. Of these, 54 did not meet the inclusion criteria and were eliminated. After reading the abstracts of the 14 articles selected, 11 were considered eligible. The articles were then read in full text. Furthermore, 5 articles identified by bibliography research were added manually. After reading 16 of the selected articles, 9 were included in the review. With regard to the studies included, countries examined, objectives, study design, methodology, prospect of analysis adopted, temporal horizon, the cost categories analyzed strongly differ from one study to another. Cost analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis and an analysis of educational costs associated with cochlear implants were performed. Regarding the cost analysis, only two articles reported both direct cost and indirect costs. The direct cost ranged between € 39,507 and € 68,235 (2011 values). The studies related to cost-effectiveness analysis were not easily comparable: one study reported a cost per QALY ranging between 9209; another referred a cost of 16,546 if discounted. Educational costs are significant, and increase with the level of hearing loss and type of school attended. This systematic review shows that the healthcare costs are high, but savings in terms of indirect and quality of life costs are also significant. Cochlear implantation in a paediatric age is cost-effective. The exiguity and heterogeneity of studies did not allow detailed comparative analysis of the studies included in the review
An HST Imaging Survey of Low-Mass Stars in the Chamaeleon I Star Forming region
We present new HST/WFPC2 observations of 20 fields centered around T Tauri
stars in the Chamaeleon I star forming region. Images have been obtained in the
F631N ([OI]6300A), F656N (Ha) and F673N ([SII]6716A+6731A) narrow-band filters,
plus the Johnson V-band equivalent F547M filter. We detect 31 T Tauri stars
falling within our fields. We discuss the optical morphology of 10 sources
showing evidence of either binarity, circumstellar material, or mass loss. We
supplement our photometry with a compilation of optical, infrared and
sub-millimeter data from the literature, together with new sub-mm data for
three objects, to build the Spectral Energy Distributions (SED) of 19 single
sources. Using an SED model fitting tool, we self-consistently estimate a
number of stellar and disk parameters, while mass accretion rates are directly
derived from our Ha photometry. We find that bolometric luminosities derived
from dereddened optical data tend to be underestimated in systems with high
alpha(2-24} IR spectral index, suggesting that disks seen nearly edge-on may
occasionally be interpreted as low luminosity (and therefore more evolved)
sources. On the other hand, the same alpha(2-24) spectral index, a tracer of
the amount of dust in the warmer layers of the circumstellar disks, and the
mass accretion rate appear to decay with the isocronal stellar age, suggesting
that the observed age spread (~0.5-5 Myr) within the cluster is real. Our
sample contains a few outliers that may have dissipated their circumstellar
disks on shorter time-scale.Comment: to appear on Astronomical Journal, accepted April 16, 2012 (AJ-10740
Triangle percolation in mean field random graphs -- with PDE
We apply a PDE-based method to deduce the critical time and the size of the
giant component of the ``triangle percolation'' on the Erd\H{o}s-R\'enyi random
graph process investigated by Palla, Der\'enyi and VicsekComment: Summary of the changes made: We have changed a remark about k-clique
percolation in the first paragraph. Two new paragraphs are inserted after
equation (4.4) with two applications of the equation. We have changed the
names of some variables in our formula
Are There Age Spreads in Star Forming Regions?
A luminosity spread at a given effective temperature is ubiquitously seen in
the Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagrams of young star forming regions and often
interpreted in terms of a prolonged period (>=10 Myr) of star formation. I
review the evidence that the observed luminosity spreads are genuine and not
caused by astrophysical sources of scatter. I then address whether the
luminosity spreads necessarily imply large age spreads, by comparing HR diagram
ages with ages from independent clocks such as stellar rotation rate, the
presence of circumstellar material and lithium depletion. I argue that whilst
there probably is a true luminosity dispersion, there is little evidence to
support age spreads larger than a few Myr. This paradox could be resolved by
brief periods of rapid accretion during the class I pre main-sequence phase.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of JENAM10: Star Clusters in the Era of
Large Surveys, 8 page
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