7,439 research outputs found
Optimal search strategies for hidden targets
What is the fastest way of finding a randomly hidden target? This question of
general relevance is of vital importance for foraging animals. Experimental
observations reveal that the search behaviour of foragers is generally
intermittent: active search phases randomly alternate with phases of fast
ballistic motion. In this letter, we study the efficiency of this type of two
states search strategies, by calculating analytically the mean first passage
time at the target. We model the perception mecanism involved in the active
search phase by a diffusive process. In this framework, we show that the search
strategy is optimal when the average duration of "motion phases" varies like
the power either 3/5 or 2/3 of the average duration of "search phases",
depending on the regime. This scaling accounts for experimental data over a
wide range of species, which suggests that the kinetics of search trajectories
is a determining factor optimized by foragers and that the perception activity
is adequately described by a diffusion process.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures. to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
XMM-Newton observations of Nova Sgr 1998
We report on X-ray observations of Nova Sagittarius 1998 (V4633 Sgr),
performed with XMM-Newton at three different epochs, 934, 1083 and 1265 days
after discovery. The nova was detected with the EPIC cameras at all three
epochs, with emission spanning the whole energy range from 0.2 to 10 keV.
The X-ray spectra do not change significantly at the different epochs, and
are well fitted for the first and third observations with a multi-temperature
optically thin thermal plasma, while lower statistics in the second
observations lead to a poorer fit. The thermal plasma emission is most probably
originated in the shock heated ejecta, with chemical composition similar to
that of a CO nova. However, we can not completely rule out reestablished
accretion as the origin of the emission. We also obtain upper limits for the
temperature and luminosity of a potential white dwarf atmospheric component,
and conclude that hydrogen burning had already turned-off by the time of our
observations.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures. Accepted in Astrophysical Journa
The Union of Hearts Depicted: Gladstone, Home Rule and United Ireland
First paragraph: William Ewart Gladstone detested political cartoons. They embodied caricature, the exaggeration of a particular feature into a deformity to excite ridicule or hatred. Cartoons, Gladstone once pointed out, had not existed in ancient Greece. There the ideal of human beauty was so deeply cherished that its distortion was not tolerated. Yet cartoons did the statesman powerful service during his long career. Their very frequency consolidated his image as a popular politician, bringing out qualities such as courage and tenacity that he was happy to have publicised. Nowhere, however, did they advance his cause more than in Ireland after the introduction of Home Rule. The nationalist journal United Ireland, as the illustrations in this paper will show, gave currency to striking depictions of Gladstone; and they vividly portrayed the union of hearts between England and Ireland that he preached so persistently in the late 1880s. The purpose of this article is to examine a sample of the cartoons, but first they need to be placed in their context
Multiwavelength Monitoring of the Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy Akn 564. II. Ultraviolet Continuum and Emission-line Variability
We present results of an intensive two-month campaign of approximately daily
spectrophotometric monitoring of the narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy Akn 564 with
HST. The fractional variability amplitude of the continuum variations between
1365-3000 A is ~6%, about a factor 3 less than that found in typical Seyfert 1
galaxies over a similar period of time. However, large amplitude, short
time-scale flaring behavior is evident, with trough-to-peak flux changes of
about 18% in approximately 3 days. We present evidence for wavelength-dependent
continuum time delays, with the variations at 3000 A lagging behind those at
1365 A by about 1 day. These delays may be interpreted as evidence for a
stratified continuum reprocessing region, possibly an accretion-disk structure.
The Lyman-alpha 1216 emission-line exhibits flux variations of about 1%
amplitude.Comment: 27 pages, 14 figures. Accepted by Astrophysical Journa
A Snapshot of J. L. Synge
A brief description is given of the life and influence on relativity theory
of Professor J. L. Synge accompanied by some technical examples to illustrate
his style of work
Preparation of Knill-Laflamme-Milburn states using tunable controlled phase gate
A specific class of partially entangled states known as
Knill-Laflamme-Milburn states (or KLM states) has been proved to be useful in
relation to quantum information processing [Knill et al., Nature 409, 46
(2001)]. Although the usage of such states is widely investigated, considerably
less effort has been invested into experimentally accessible preparation
schemes. This paper discusses the possibility to employ a tunable controlled
phase gate to generate an arbitrary Knill-Laflamme-Milburn state. In the first
part, the idea of using the controlled phase gate is explained on the case of
two-qubit KLM states. Optimization of the proposed scheme is then discussed for
the framework of linear optics. Subsequent generalization of the scheme to
arbitrary n-qubit KLM state is derived in the second part of this paper.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted in Journal of Physics
The Current State and Future of CRISPR-Cas9 gRNA Design Tools
Recent years have seen the development of computational tools to assist researchers in performing CRISPR-Cas9 experiment optimally. More specifically, these tools aim to maximize on-target activity (guide efficiency) while also minimizing potential off-target effects (guide specificity) by analyzing the features of the target site. Nonetheless, currently available tools cannot robustly predict experimental success as prediction accuracy depends on the approximations of the underlying model and how closely the experimental setup matches the data the model was trained on. Here, we present an overview of the available computational tools, their current limitations and future considerations. We discuss new trends around personalized health by taking genomic variants into account when predicting target sites as well as discussing other governing factors that can improve prediction accuracy
MERLIN radio detection of an interaction zone within a binary Orion proplyd system
Presented here are high angular resolution MERLIN 5 GHz (6 cm) continuum
observations of the binary proplyd system, LV 1 in the Orion nebula, which
consists of proplyd 168--326SE and its binary proplyd companion 168--326NW
(separation 0.4 arcsec). Accurate astrometric alignment allows a detailed
comparison between these data and published HST PC Halpha and [Oiii] images.
Thermal radio sources coincide with the two proplyds and originate in the
ionized photoevaporating flows seen in the optical emission lines. Flow
velocities of approx 50 km/s from the ionized proplyd surfaces and \geq 100
km/s from a possible micro-jet have been detected using the Manchester Echelle
spectrometer.
A third radio source is found to coincide with a region of extended, high
excitation, optical line emission that lies between the binary proplyds
168--326SE/326NW . This is modelled as a bowshock due to the collision of the
photoevaporating flows from the two proplyds. Both a thermal and a non-thermal
origin for the radio emission in this collision zone are considered.Comment: 23 pages, 9 figures, accepted by Ap
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