156 research outputs found
Measurements of group velocity of light in the lake Baikal water
The results of direct measurements of group velocity of light in the lake
Baikal water at the depth of 1100 m are presented. The lake Baikal water
dispersion has been measured at three wavelengths: 370 nm, 470 nm and 525 nm.
The results are in a rather good agreement with theoretical predictions.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, talk presented at RICH2002, to be published in
NIMA; misprints corrected in formula at page
Gravitational radiation from a particle in circular orbit around a black hole. V. Black-hole absorption and tail corrections
A particle of mass moves on a circular orbit of a nonrotating black
hole of mass . Under the restrictions and , where
is the orbital velocity, we consider the gravitational waves emitted by such a
binary system. We calculate , the rate at which the gravitational
waves remove energy from the system. The total energy loss is given by , where denotes that part of the
gravitational-wave energy which is carried off to infinity, while
denotes the part which is absorbed by the black hole. We show that the
black-hole absorption is a small effect: . We
also compare the wave generation formalism which derives from perturbation
theory to the post-Newtonian formalism of Blanchet and Damour. Among other
things we consider the corrections to the asymptotic gravitational-wave field
which are due to wave-propagation (tail) effects.Comment: ReVTeX, 17 page
Coherent Radio Pulses From GEANT Generated Electromagnetic Showers In Ice
Radio Cherenkov radiation is arguably the most efficient mechanism for
detecting showers from ultra-high energy particles of 1 PeV and above. Showers
occuring in Antarctic ice should be detectable at distances up to 1 km. We
report on electromagnetic shower development in ice using a GEANT Monte Carlo
simulation. We have studied energy deposition by shower particles and
determined shower parameters for several different media, finding agreement
with published results where available. We also report on radio pulse emission
from the charged particles in the shower, focusing on coherent emission at the
Cherenkov angle. Previous work has focused on frequencies in the 100 MHz to 1
GHz range. Surprisingly, we find that the coherence regime extends up to tens
of Ghz. This may have substantial impact on future radio-based neutrino
detection experiments as well as any test beam experiment which seeks to
measure coherent Cherenkov radiation from an electromagnetic shower. Our study
is particularly important for the RICE experiment at the South Pole.Comment: 44 pages, 29 figures. Minor changes made, reference added, accepted
for publication in Phys. Rev.
Ten Proofs of the Generalized Second Law
Ten attempts to prove the Generalized Second Law of Thermodyanmics (GSL) are
described and critiqued. Each proof provides valuable insights which should be
useful for constructing future, more complete proofs. Rather than merely
summarizing previous research, this review offers new perspectives, and
strategies for overcoming limitations of the existing proofs. A long
introductory section addresses some choices that must be made in any
formulation the GSL: Should one use the Gibbs or the Boltzmann entropy? Should
one use the global or the apparent horizon? Is it necessary to assume any
entropy bounds? If the area has quantum fluctuations, should the GSL apply to
the average area? The definition and implications of the classical,
hydrodynamic, semiclassical and full quantum gravity regimes are also
discussed. A lack of agreement regarding how to define the "quasi-stationary"
regime is addressed by distinguishing it from the "quasi-steady" regime.Comment: 60 pages, 2 figures, 1 table. v2: corrected typos and added a
footnote to match the published versio
Star Formation and Dynamics in the Galactic Centre
The centre of our Galaxy is one of the most studied and yet enigmatic places
in the Universe. At a distance of about 8 kpc from our Sun, the Galactic centre
(GC) is the ideal environment to study the extreme processes that take place in
the vicinity of a supermassive black hole (SMBH). Despite the hostile
environment, several tens of early-type stars populate the central parsec of
our Galaxy. A fraction of them lie in a thin ring with mild eccentricity and
inner radius ~0.04 pc, while the S-stars, i.e. the ~30 stars closest to the
SMBH (<0.04 pc), have randomly oriented and highly eccentric orbits. The
formation of such early-type stars has been a puzzle for a long time: molecular
clouds should be tidally disrupted by the SMBH before they can fragment into
stars. We review the main scenarios proposed to explain the formation and the
dynamical evolution of the early-type stars in the GC. In particular, we
discuss the most popular in situ scenarios (accretion disc fragmentation and
molecular cloud disruption) and migration scenarios (star cluster inspiral and
Hills mechanism). We focus on the most pressing challenges that must be faced
to shed light on the process of star formation in the vicinity of a SMBH.Comment: 68 pages, 35 figures; invited review chapter, to be published in
expanded form in Haardt, F., Gorini, V., Moschella, U. and Treves, A.,
'Astrophysical Black Holes'. Lecture Notes in Physics. Springer 201
Coherent π0 photoproduction on the deuteron up to 4 GeV
The differential cross section for 2H(γ,d)π0 has been measured at deuteron center-of-mass angles of 90° and 136°. This work reports the first data for this reaction above a photon energy of 1 GeV, and permits a test of the apparent constituent counting rule and reduced nuclear amplitude behavior as observed in elastic ed scattering. Measurements were performed up to a photon energy of 4.0 GeV, and are in good agreement with previous lower energy measurements. Overall, the data are inconsistent with both constituent-counting rule and reduced nuclear amplitude predictions
Traffic exposures, air pollution and outcomes in pulmonary arterial hypertension: A United Kingdom cohort study analysis
While traffic and air pollution exposure is associated with increased mortality in numerous diseases, its association with disease severity and outcomes in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) remains unknown.Exposure to particulate matter ≤2.5 μm3 (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and indirect measures of traffic-related air pollution (distance to main road and length of roads within buffer zones surrounding residential addresses) were estimated for 301 patients with idiopathic/heritable PAH recruited in the UK PAH national Cohort study. Associations with transplant-free survival and pulmonary hemodynamic severity at baseline were assessed, adjusting for confounding variables defined a priori.Higher estimated exposure to PM2.5 was associated with higher risk of death or lung transplant (Unadjusted hazard ratio (HR) 2.68; 95% CI 1.11-6.47 per 3 μg·m-3, p=0.028). This association remained similar when adjusted for potential confounding variables (HR 4.38; 95% CI 1.44-13.36 per 3 μg·m-3, p=0.009). No associations were found between NO2 exposure or other traffic pollution indicators and transplant-free survival Conversely, indirect measures of exposure to traffic-related air pollution within the 500-1000 m buffer zones correlated with the ERS/ESC risk categories as well as pulmonary hemodynamics at baseline. This association was strongest for pulmonary vascular resistance.In idiopathic/heritable PAH, indirect measures of exposure to traffic-related air pollution were associated with disease severity at baseline, whereas higher PM2.5 exposure may independently predict shorter transplant-free survival
Recent advances in the chemistry of gold(I) complexes with C-, N- and S-donor ligands part I: alkynyl, amino, imino and nitrido derivatives
Population genomics of post-glacial western Eurasia.
Western Eurasia witnessed several large-scale human migrations during the Holocene <sup>1-5</sup> . Here, to investigate the cross-continental effects of these migrations, we shotgun-sequenced 317 genomes-mainly from the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods-from across northern and western Eurasia. These were imputed alongside published data to obtain diploid genotypes from more than 1,600 ancient humans. Our analyses revealed a 'great divide' genomic boundary extending from the Black Sea to the Baltic. Mesolithic hunter-gatherers were highly genetically differentiated east and west of this zone, and the effect of the neolithization was equally disparate. Large-scale ancestry shifts occurred in the west as farming was introduced, including near-total replacement of hunter-gatherers in many areas, whereas no substantial ancestry shifts happened east of the zone during the same period. Similarly, relatedness decreased in the west from the Neolithic transition onwards, whereas, east of the Urals, relatedness remained high until around 4,000 BP, consistent with the persistence of localized groups of hunter-gatherers. The boundary dissolved when Yamnaya-related ancestry spread across western Eurasia around 5,000 BP, resulting in a second major turnover that reached most parts of Europe within a 1,000-year span. The genetic origin and fate of the Yamnaya have remained elusive, but we show that hunter-gatherers from the Middle Don region contributed ancestry to them. Yamnaya groups later admixed with individuals associated with the Globular Amphora culture before expanding into Europe. Similar turnovers occurred in western Siberia, where we report new genomic data from a 'Neolithic steppe' cline spanning the Siberian forest steppe to Lake Baikal. These prehistoric migrations had profound and lasting effects on the genetic diversity of Eurasian populations
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