Covers of Point-Hyperplane Graphs

We construct a cover of the non-incident point-hyperplane graph of projective dimension 3 for fields of characteristic 2. If the cardinality of the field is larger than 2, we obtain an elementary construction of the non-split extension of SL_4 (F) by F^6.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Who is laughing last in the South African classroom? A critical reflection on language in education

The performance of pupils using African languages at home testifies to both the inequalities of South African society and education and to a failure to address language problems in education. We reflect on findings from a case study in a secondary school. It was found that pupils struggle to articulate ideas in English which is, for most pupils using African languages at home, both their second language (L2) or First Additional Language (FAL) at school and their language of learning. This article aims to offer a new analytical perspective by focusing not simply on cognitive and linguistic issues, but also on the different ways in which reality (or ontics) is enacted within different language communities. A postcolonial view is developed which does not oppose the use of English instead of the home language (HL), but which emphasises the importance of developing pupils’ abilities to live in tensions created by the opposing ontological assumptions embedded in the different languages and cultures. In order to benefit from these insights, pupils must be well grounded in their HL, as well as in the dominant language, and furthermore, pupils must be enabled to live simultaneously within different realities (ontics)

Curvaton Scenario with Affleck-Dine Baryogenesis

We discuss the curvaton scenario with the Affleck-Dine baryogenesis. In this scenario, non-vanishing baryonic entropy fluctuation may be generated even without primordial fluctuation of the Affleck-Dine field. Too large entropy fluctuation is inconsistent with the observations and hence constraints on the curvaton scenario with the Affleck-Dine baryogenesis are obtained. We calculate the baryonic entropy fluctuation (as well as other cosmological density fluctuations) in this case and derive constraints. Implications to some of the models of the curvaton are also discussed.Comment: 16 pages,2 figure

Curvatons in the minimally supersymmetric standard model

Curvaton is an effectively massless field whose energy density during inflation is negligible but which later becomes dominant. This is a novel mechanism to generate the scale invariant perturbations. I discuss the possibility that the curvaton could be found among the fields of the minimally supersymmetric standard model (MSSM), which contains a number of flat directions along which the renormalizable potential vanishes. The requirements of late domination and the absence of damping of the perturbations pick out essentially a unique candidate for the MSSM curvaton. One must also require that inflation takes place in a hidden sector. If the inflaton energy density can be radiated into extra dimensions, many constraints can be relaxed, and the simplest flat direction consisting of the Higgses H_u and H_d would provide a working example of an MSSM curvaton.Comment: 16 pages, 1 Figur

Resonant tunneling in a Luttinger liquid for arbitrary barrier transmission

A numerically exact dynamical quantum Monte Carlo approach has been developed and applied to transport through a double barrier in a Luttinger liquid with arbitrary transmission. For strong transmission, we find broad Fabry-Perot Coulomb blockade peaks, with a lineshape parametrized by a single parameter, but at sufficiently low temperatures, non-Lorentzian universal lineshapes characteristic of coherent resonant tunneling emerge, even for strong interactions. For weak transmission, our data supports the recently proposed correlated sequential tunneling picture and is consistent with experimental results on intrinsic nanotube dots.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Biophysical modelling of a drosophila photoreceptor

It remains unclear how visual information is co-processed by different layers of neurons in the retina. In particular, relatively little is known how retina translates vast environmental light changes into neural responses of limited range. We began examining this question in a bottom-up way in a relatively simple °y eye. To gain understanding of how complex bio-molecular interactions govern the conversion of light input into voltage output (phototransduction), we are building a biophysical model of the Drosophila R1-R6 photoreceptor. Our model, which relates molecular dynamics of the underlying biochemical reactions to external light input, attempts to capture the molecular dynamics of phototransduction gain control in a quantitative way

Tuning nonlinearity, dynamic range, and frequency of nanomechanical resonators

We explore an electrostatic mechanism for tuning the nonlinearity of nanomechanical resonators and increasing their dynamic range for sensor applications. We also demonstrate tuning the resonant frequency of resonators both upward and downward. A theoretical model is developed that qualitatively explains the experimental results and serves as a simple guide for design of tunable nanomechanical devices

Dynamic range of nanotube- and nanowire-based electromechanical systems

Nanomechanical resonators with high aspect ratio, such as nanotubes and nanowires are of interest due to their expected high sensitivity. However, a strongly nonlinear response combined with a high thermomechanical noise level limits the useful linear dynamic range of this type of device. We derive the equations governing this behavior and find a strong dependence [[proportional]dsqrt((d/L)[sup 5])] of the dynamic range on aspect ratio