38,884 research outputs found
Gravity and the Quantum: Are they Reconcilable?
General relativity and quantum mechanics are conflicting theories. The seeds
of discord are the fundamental principles on which these theories are grounded.
General relativity, on one hand, is based on the equivalence principle, whose
strong version establishes the local equivalence between gravitation and
inertia. Quantum mechanics, on the other hand, is fundamentally based on the
uncertainty principle, which is essentially nonlocal in the sense that a
particle does not follow one trajectory, but infinitely many trajectories, each
one with a different probability. This difference precludes the existence of a
quantum version of the strong equivalence principle, and consequently of a
quantum version of general relativity. Furthermore, there are compelling
experimental evidences that a quantum object in the presence of a gravitational
field violates the weak equivalence principle. Now it so happens that, in
addition to general relativity, gravitation has an alternative, though
equivalent description, given by teleparallel gravity, a gauge theory for the
translation group. In this theory torsion, instead of curvature, is assumed to
represent the gravitational field. These two descriptions lead to the same
classical results, but are conceptually different. In general relativity,
curvature geometrizes the interaction, while torsion in teleparallel gravity
acts as a force, similar to the Lorentz force of electrodynamics. Because of
this peculiar property, teleparallel gravity describes the gravitational
interaction without requiring any of the equivalence principles. The
replacement of general relativity by teleparallel gravity may, in consequence,
lead to a conceptual reconciliation of gravitation with quantum mechanics.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures. Talk presented at the conference "Quantum
Theory: Reconsideration of Foundations-3", June 6-11, 2005, Vaxjo University,
Vaxjo, Swede
The Aging Neuromuscular System and Motor Performance
Age-related changes in the basic functional unit of the neuromuscular system, the motor unit, and its neural inputs have a profound effect on motor function, especially among the expanding number of old (older than ∼60 yr) and very old (older than ∼80 yr) adults. This review presents evidence that age-related changes in motor unit morphology and properties lead to impaired motor performance that includes 1) reduced maximal strength and power, slower contractile velocity, and increased fatigability; and 2) increased variability during and between motor tasks, including decreased force steadiness and increased variability of contraction velocity and torque over repeat contractions. The age-related increase in variability of motor performance with aging appears to involve reduced and more variable synaptic inputs that drive motor neuron activation, fewer and larger motor units, less stable neuromuscular junctions, lower and more variable motor unit action potential discharge rates, and smaller and slower skeletal muscle fibers that coexpress different myosin heavy chain isoforms in the muscle of older adults. Physical activity may modify motor unit properties and function in old men and women, although the effects on variability of motor performance are largely unknown. Many studies are of cross-sectional design, so there is a tremendous opportunity to perform high-impact and longitudinal studies along the continuum of aging that determine 1) the influence and cause of the increased variability with aging on functional performance tasks, and 2) whether lifestyle factors such as physical exercise can minimize this age-related variability in motor performance in the rapidly expanding numbers of very old adults
Gravitation without the equivalence principle
In the general relativistic description of gravitation, geometry replaces the
concept of force. This is possible because of the universal character of free
fall, and would break down in its absence. On the other hand, the teleparallel
version of general relativity is a gauge theory for the translation group and,
as such, describes the gravitational interaction by a force similar to the
Lorentz force of electromagnetism, a non-universal interaction. Relying on this
analogy it is shown that, although the geometric description of general
relativity necessarily requires the existence of the equivalence principle, the
teleparallel gauge approach remains a consistent theory for gravitation in its
absence.Comment: Latex, 11 pages, no figures. Minor presentation changes. Version to
appear in Gen. Rel. Grav. (2004
Doing without the Equivalence Principle
In Einstein's general relativity, geometry replaces the concept of force in
the description of the gravitation interaction. Such an approach rests on the
universality of free-fall--the weak equivalence principle--and would break down
without it. On the other hand, the teleparallel version of general relativity,
a gauge theory for the translation group, describes the gravitational
interaction by a force similar to the Lorentz force of electromagnetism, a
non-universal interaction. It is shown that, similarly to the Maxwell's
description of electromagnetism, the teleparallel gauge approach provides a
consistent theory for gravitation even in the absence of the weak equivalence
principle.Comment: 7 pages, no figures. Talk presented at the "Tenth Marcel Grossmann
Meeting", July 20 to 26, 2003, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; to be published in the
Proceedings (World Scientific, Singapore, 2005
Detrital zircon from a late Paleozoic accretionary complex of SW Iberia (Variscan Belt): History of crustal growth and recycling at the Rheic convergent margin
In this study we present new U-Pb ages of detrital zircons from
greywackes and quartzites of the Pulo do Lobo Anticline (PLA) that have
been interpreted to represent a Late Paleozoic accretionary complex in SW
Iberia. The PLA separates the Ossa Morena Zone, which has a North-
Gondwana affinity throughout Late Ediacaran and Early Paleozoic times,
from the South Portuguese Zone, which is considered to be underlain by
Laurussia basement. The PLA stratigraphy most likely represents a
synorogenic basin that records the closure of the Late Paleozoic Rheic
Ocean and the amalgamation of Pangaea. The youngest formations of the
PLA contain upper Devonian microfossils.The results obtained indicate that the detrital zircons from the PLA
represent a wide range of Precambrian and Paleozoic crystallization ages.
Recycling of older sedimentary units of the Late Ediacaran active margin
(Cadomian/Pan-African orogenies) as well as of the Early Paleozoic rifting
and passive margin (Rheic Ocean) stages, accounts for the older
populations with North-Gondwana affinity (Cambrian, Neoproterozoic,
Paleoproterozoic and Archean, with a gap of Mesoproterozoic-age).
However, the Mesoproterozoic detrital zircon ages found in the
greywackes of the Pulo do Lobo Formation (< 7%) that do not correspond
to any substantial source within North-Gondwana, could come from
recycled sedimentary deposits or from denudation of Grenville-age
basement (Laurussia?). The more recent formations present in the northern
limb (Ferreira-Ficalho Group) of the PLA show a significant age cluster in
the upper Devonian (c. 378 Ma), whereas on the southern limb (Chança
Group), samples have from base to top of the stratigraphic sequence: a
minor age cluster in the middle Devonian (c. 390 Ma), a significant age
cluster in upper Devonian (c. 380 Ma) and very significant age cluster in
the upper Devonian (c. 372 Ma). The presence of middle-upper Devonian
detrital zircons in combination with very low abundances of
Mesoproterozoic detrital zircon suggests that the PLA sedimentary rocks
were not derived from exotic sources but rather have a North-Gondwanan
origin. The zircon population in the interval c. 390-380 Ma has no
identified corresponding magmatic or stratigraphic source in SW Iberia.
Considering that, during the development of the upper Devonian basins of
SW Iberia, Laurussia basement was not exposed and that there was no
magmatic arc on the North-Gondwana margin, we suggest that the c. 390-
380 Ma detrital zircons are most probably derived from denudation of a
(intra-oceanic) magmatic arc related to the closure of the Rheic Ocean
Sudden Floods, Prudential Regulation and Stability in an Open Economy
We develop a dynamic stochastic model of a middle-income, small open economy with a two-level banking intermediation structure, a risk-sensitive regulatory capital regime, and imperfect capital mobility. Firms borrow from a domestic bank and the bank borrows on world capital markets, in both cases subject to an endogenous premium. A sudden flood in capital flows generates an expansion in credit and activity, and asset price pressures. Countercyclical regulation, in the form of a Basel III-type rule based on real credit gaps, is effective at promoting macroeconomic stability (defined in terms of the volatility of a weighted average of inflation and the output gap) and financial stability (defined in terms of the volatility of a composite index of the nominal exchange rate and house prices). However, because the gain in terms of reduced volatility may exhibit diminishing returns, a countercyclical regulatory rule may need to be supplemented by other, more targeted, macroprudential instruments.
Sex Differences in Mechanisms of Recovery after Isometric and Dynamic Fatiguing Tasks
Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine whether supraspinal mechanisms contribute to the sex difference in fatigability during and recovery from a dynamic and isometric fatiguing task with the knee extensors.
Methods: Transcranial magnetic stimulation and electrical stimulation were used to determine voluntary activation and contractile properties of the knee extensors in 14 men and 17 women (20.8 ± 1.9 yr) after a 1) 60-s sustained, maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC), and 2) dynamic fatiguing task involving 120 maximal voluntary concentric contractions with a 20% MVIC load.
Results: There were no differences between men and women in the reduction of maximal torque during the sustained MVIC (54.4% ± 18.9% vs 55.9% ± 11.2%, P = 0.49) or in the decrease in power during the dynamic fatiguing task (14.7% ± 20.1% vs 14.2% ± 18.5%, P = 0.92). However, MVIC torque recovered more quickly for women than men after the sustained MVIC and the dynamic task (P \u3c 0.05). The transcranial magnetic stimulation–elicited superimposed twitch was larger for men than for women during the sustained MVIC and in recovery (immediately post, R0.1: 4.7% ± 3.3% vs 2.4% ± 1.9% MVIC; P = 0.02), with no sex difference after the dynamic task (P = 0.35). The reduction in resting twitch amplitude was larger for men than for women immediately after the dynamic task (37% ± 22% vs 23% ± 18%; P = 0.016) with no sex difference after the sustained MVIC (64% ± 16% vs 67% ± 11%; P = 0.46).
Conclusions: Supraspinal fatigue contributed to fatigability of the knee extensors more for men than for women after a maximal isometric task, whereas contractile mechanisms explained the sex difference in torque recovery after the fast-velocity dynamic task. The mechanisms for the sex difference in fatigability are task dependent
Bringing Together Gravity and the Quanta
Due to its underlying gauge structure, teleparallel gravity achieves a
separation between inertial and gravitational effects. It can, in consequence,
describe the isolated gravitational interaction without resorting to the
equivalence principle, and is able to provide a tensorial definition for the
energy-momentum density of the gravitational field. Considering the conceptual
conflict between the local equivalence principle and the nonlocal uncertainty
principle, the replacement of general relativity by its teleparallel equivalent
can be considered an important step towards a prospective reconciliation
between gravitation and quantum mechanics.Comment: 9 pages. Contribution to the proceedings of the Albert Einstein
Century International Conference, Paris, 18-22 July, 200
Lattice-corrected strain-induced vector potentials in graphene
The electronic implications of strain in graphene can be captured at low
energies by means of pseudovector potentials which can give rise to
pseudomagnetic fields. These strain-induced vector potentials arise from the
local perturbation to the electronic hopping amplitudes in a tight-binding
framework. Here we complete the standard description of the strain-induced
vector potential, which accounts only for the hopping perturbation, with the
explicit inclusion of the lattice deformations or, equivalently, the
deformation of the Brillouin zone. These corrections are linear in strain and
are different at each of the strained, inequivalent Dirac points, and hence are
equally necessary to identify the precise magnitude of the vector potential.
This effect can be relevant in scenarios of inhomogeneous strain profiles,
where electronic motion depends on the amount of overlap among the local Fermi
surfaces. In particular, it affects the pseudomagnetic field distribution
induced by inhomogeneous strain configurations, and can lead to new
opportunities in tailoring the optimal strain fields for certain desired
functionalities.Comment: Errata for version
- …