Backreaction in Acoustic Black Holes

The backreaction equations for the linearized quantum fluctuations in an acoustic black hole are given. The solution near the horizon, obtained within a dimensional reduction, indicates that acoustic black holes, unlike Schwarzschild ones, get cooler as they radiate phonons. They show remarkable analogies with near-extremal Reissner-Nordstrom black holes.Comment: 4 pages, revtex, 1 figure. revised version, published in pr

The three-body recombination of a condensed Bose gas near a Feshbach resonance

In this paper, we study the three-body recombination rate of a homogeneous dilute Bose gas with a Feshbach resonance at zero temperature. The ground state and excitations of this system are obtained. The three-body recombination in the ground state is due to the break-up of an atom pair in the quantum depletion and the formation of a molecule by an atom from the broken pair and an atom from the condensate. The rate of this process is in good agreement with the experiment on $^{23}$Na in a wide range of magnetic fields.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.

On the solar origin of the 200 y Suess wiggles: Evidence from thermoluminescence in sea sediments

In order to understand the origin of the Suess wiggles, present in the tree ring 14C record, we have studied the thermoluminescence (TL) of a shallow-water Ionian sea core, in an attempt to provide a record of an indicator responding to the solar output more promptly than 14C in tree rings. The spectral content of the TL and radiocarbon records is very similar; neverthless, in addition to the 207 y Suess wave (A43.6% ), the TL record shows the second harmonic (103.5 y; A42.4% ), in phase with the envelope of the 11 y solar cycles. This result, obtained by different spectral methods, in particular by Superposition of Epochs (SE) and by Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA), strongly supports the solar origin of the 200 y Suess wiggles

A 20 GHz bright sample for {\delta} > +72{\deg}: I. Catalogue

During 2010-2011, the Medicina 32-m dish hosted the 7-feed 18-26.5 GHz receiver built for the Sardinia Radio Telescope, with the goal to perform its commissioning. This opportunity was exploited to carry out a pilot survey at 20 GHz over the area for {\delta} > + 72.3{\deg}. This paper describes all the phases of the observations, as they were performed using new hardware and software facilities. The map-making and source extraction procedures are illustrated. A customised data reduction tool was used during the follow-up phase, which produced a list of 73 confirmed sources down to a flux density of 115 mJy. The resulting catalogue, here presented, is complete above 200 mJy. Source counts are in agreement with those provided by the AT20G survey. This pilot activity paves the way to a larger project, the K-band Northern Wide Survey (KNoWS), whose final aim is to survey the whole Northern Hemisphere down to a flux limit of 50 mJy (5{\sigma}).Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures. Accepted by MNRA

CP-odd static electromagnetic properties of the W gauge boson and the t quark via the anomalous tbW coupling

In the framework of the electroweak chiral Lagrangian, the one-loop induced effects of the anomalous $tbW$ coupling, which includes both left- and right-handed complex components, on the static electromagnetic properties of the $W$ boson and the $t$ quark are studied. The attention is focused mainly on the CP-violating electromagnetic properties. It is found that the $tbW$ anomalous coupling can induce both CP-violating moments of the $W$ boson, namely, its electric dipole ($\tilde{\mu}_W$) and magnetic quadrupole ($\tilde{Q}_W$) moments. As far as the $t$ quark is concerned, a potentially large electric dipole moment $(d_t)$ can arise due to the anomalous $tbW$ coupling. The most recent bounds on the left- and right-handed parameters from $B$ meson physics lead to the following estimates $\tilde{\mu}_W ~ 10^{-23}-10^{-22}$ e-cm and $\tilde{Q}_W~ 10^{-38}-10^{-37}$ e-cm$^2$, which are 7 and 14 orders of magnitude larger than the standard model (SM) predictions, whereas $d_t$ may be as large as $10^{-22}$ e-cm, which is about 8 orders of magnitude larger than its SM counterpart.Comment: This paper has been merged with hep-ph/0612171 for publication in Physical Review

Approximate characterization of large Photovoltaic power plants at the Point of Interconnection

The aim of the present article is that of proposing a calculation procedure to assess electric quantities at the Point of Interconnection (POI) of large PhotoVoltaic (PV) power plants on the basis of rated data and main design elements of the plant itself. The quantities of inters are active and reactive power available at the POI in order to extrapolate the power plant capability starting from the capabilities of PWM inverters. The procedure also allows evaluating the POI voltage variations, an important element due to the increasing requirements for renewable generation units to participate in voltage regulation. The main interest in such a methodology lays in its simplicity of application, that allows avoiding the usage of dedicated software for load flow calculations, and flexibility, that makes it suitable for the support of the bidding and pre-design phase of large photovoltaic power plants

Combined use of x-ray fluorescence microscopy, phase contrast imaging for high resolution quantitative iron mapping in inflamed cells

X-ray fluorescence microscopy (XRFM) is a powerful technique to detect and localize elements in cells. To derive information useful for biology and medicine, it is essential not only to localize, but also to map quantitatively the element concentration. Here we applied quantitative XRFM to iron in phagocytic cells. Iron, a primary component of living cells, can become toxic when present in excess. In human fluids, free iron is maintained at 10-18 M concentration thanks to iron binding proteins as lactoferrin (Lf). The iron homeostasis, involving the physiological ratio of iron between tissues/secretions and blood, is strictly regulated by ferroportin, the sole protein able to export iron from cells to blood. Inflammatory processes induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or bacterial pathoge inhibit ferroportin synthesis in epithelial and phagocytic cells thus hindering iron export, increasing intracellular iron and bacterial multiplication. In this respect, Lf is emerging as an important regulator of both iron and inflammatory homeostasis. Here we studied phagocytic cells inflamed by bacterial LPS and untreated or treated with milk derived bovine Lf. Quantitative mapping of iron concentration and mass fraction at high spatial resolution is obtained combining X-ray fluorescence microscopy, atomic force microscopy and synchrotron phase contrast imaging