70 research outputs found
The Legacy of Rolf Hagedorn: Statistical Bootstrap and Ultimate Temperature
In the latter half of the last century, it became evident that there exists
an ever increasing number of different states of the so-called elementary
particles. The usual reductionist approach to this problem was to search for a
simpler infrastructure, culminating in the formulation of the quark model and
quantum chromodynamics. In a complementary, completely novel approach, Hagedorn
suggested that the mass distribution of the produced particles follows a
self-similar composition pattern, predicting an unbounded number of states of
increasing mass. He then concluded that such a growth would lead to a limiting
temperature for strongly interacting matter. We discuss the conceptual basis
for this approach, its relation to critical behavior, and its subsequent
applications in different areas of high energy physics.Comment: 25 pages, 5 figures; to appear in R. Hagedorn and J. Rafelski (Ed.),
"Melting Hadrons, Boiling Quarks", Springer Verlag 201
Photon Physics in Heavy Ion Collisions at the LHC
Various pion and photon production mechanisms in high-energy nuclear
collisions at RHIC and LHC are discussed. Comparison with RHIC data is done
whenever possible. The prospect of using electromagnetic probes to characterize
quark-gluon plasma formation is assessed.Comment: Writeup of the working group "Photon Physics" for the CERN Yellow
Report on "Hard Probes in Heavy Ion Collisions at the LHC", 134 pages. One
figure added in chapter 5 (comparison with PHENIX data). Some figures and
correponding text corrected in chapter 6 (off-chemical equilibrium thermal
photon rates). Some figures modified in chapter 7 (off-chemical equilibrium
photon rates) and comparison with PHENIX data adde
Stochastic Heterostructures in B/N-Doped Carbon Nanotubes
Carbon nanotubes are one-dimensional and very narrow. These obvious facts
imply that under doping with boron and nitrogen, microscopic doping
inhomogeneity is much more important than for bulk semiconductors. We consider
the possibility of exploiting such fluctuations to create interesting devices.
Using self-consistent tight-binding (SCTB), we study heavily doped highly
compensated nanotubes, revealing the spontaneous formation of structures
resembling chains of random quantum dots, or nano-scale diode-like elements in
series. We also consider truly isolated impurities, revealing simple scaling
properties of bound state sizes and energies.Comment: 4 pages RevTeX, 4 PostScript figure
The Speed of Sound in Hadronic Matter
We calculate the speed of sound in an ideal gas of resonances whose
mass spectrum is assumed to have the Hagedorn form , which leads to singular behavior at the critical temperature
. With the pressure and the energy density remain finite at
, while the specific heat diverges there. As a function of the temperature
the corresponding speed of sound initially increases similarly to that of an
ideal pion gas until near where the resonance effects dominate causing
to vanish as . In order to compare this result to the
physical resonance gas models, we introduce an upper cut-off M in the resonance
mass integration. Although the truncated form still decreases somewhat in the
region around , the actual critical behavior in these models is no longer
present.Comment: 11 Pages, 9 Figures and 17 Reference
Global lung function initiative 2012 reference values for spirometry in Asian Americans
Background
Spirometry reference values specifically designed for Asian Americans are currently unavailable. The performance of Global Lung Function Initiative 2012 (GLI-2012) equations on assessing spirometry in Asian Americans has not been evaluated. This study aimed to assess the fitness of relevant GLI-2012 equations for spirometry in Asian Americans.
Methods
Asian subjects who never smoked and had qualified spirometry data were extracted from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011–2012. Z-scores of forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), and FEV1/FVC were separately constructed with GLI-2012 equations for North East (NE) Asians, South East (SE) Asians, and individuals of mixed ethnic origin (Mixed). In addition, Proportions of subjects with observed spirometry data below the lower limit of normal (LLN) were also evaluated on each GLI-2012 equation of interest.
Results
This study included 567 subjects (250 men and 317 women) aged 6–79 years. Spirometry z-scores (z-FEV1, z-FVC, and z-FEV1/FVC) based on GLI-2012 Mixed equations had mean values close to zero (− 0.278 to − 0.057) and standard deviations close to one (1.001 to 1.128); additionally, 6.0% (95% confidence interval (CI) 3.1–8.9%) and 6.4% (95% CI 3.7–9.1%) of subjects were with observed data below LLN for FEV1/FVC in men and women, respectively. In contrast, for NE Asian equations, all mean values of z-FEV1 and z-FVC were smaller than − 0.5; for SE Asian equations, mean values of z-FEV1/FVC were significantly smaller than zero in men (− 0.333) and women (− 0.440).
Conclusions
GLI-2012 equations for individuals of mixed ethnic origin adequately fitted spirometry data in this sample of Asian Americans. Future studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm these findings
Domain wall fermions for planar physics
In 2+1 dimensions, Dirac fermions in reducible, i.e. four-component representations of the spinor algebra form the basis of many interesting model field theories and effective descriptions of condensed matter phenomena. This paper explores lattice formulations which preserve the global U(2N) symmetry present in the massless limit, and its breakdown to U(N)xU(N) implemented by three independent and parity-invariant fermion mass terms. I set out generalisations of the Ginsparg-Wilson relation, leading to a formulation of an overlap operator, and explore the remnants of the global symmetries which depart from the continuum form by terms of order of the lattice spacing. I also define a domain wall formulation in 2+1+1d, and present numerical evidence, in the form of bilinear condensate and meson correlator calculations in quenched non-compact QED using reformulations of all three mass terms, to show that U(2N) symmetry is recovered in the limit that the domain-wall separation L tends to infinity. The possibility that overlap and domain wall formulations of reducible fermions may coincide only in the continuum limit is discussed
Covalently bonded three-dimensional carbon nanotube solids via boron induced nanojunctions
The establishment of covalent junctions between carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and the modification of their straight tubular morphology are two strategies needed to successfully synthesize nanotube-based three-dimensional (3D) frameworks exhibiting superior material properties. Engineering such 3D structures in scalable synthetic processes still remains a challenge. This work pioneers the bulk synthesis of 3D macroscale nanotube elastic solids directly via a boron-doping strategy during chemical vapour deposition, which influences the formation of atomic-scale “elbow” junctions and nanotube covalent interconnections. Detailed elemental analysis revealed that the “elbow” junctions are preferred sites for excess boron atoms, indicating the role of boron and curvature in the junction formation mechanism, in agreement with our first principle theoretical calculations. Exploiting this material’s ultra-light weight, super-hydrophobicity, high porosity, thermal stability, and mechanical flexibility, the strongly oleophilic sponge-like solids are demonstrated as unique reusable sorbent scaffolds able to efficiently remove oil from contaminated seawater even after repeated use
Improvement of attention span and reaction time with hyperbaric oxygen treatment in patients with toxic injury due to mold exposure
It is, by now, well established that mold toxins (mycotoxins) can cause significant adverse health effects. In this study, 15 subjects who developed an attention deficit disorder (ADD) and slowing of reaction time at the time of exposure to mold toxins were identified. Deficits in attention span and reaction time were documented not only by taking a careful history, but also by performing a Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA). The TOVA test provides an objective measure of these two variables. It was found that mold-exposed subjects show statistically significant decreases in attention span and significant increases in reaction time to stimuli compared to controls. After ten sessions of hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT), a statistically significant improvement was seen in both measures. This preliminary study suggests promising outcomes in treating mold-exposed patients with hyperbaric oxygen
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