3,602 research outputs found
SN 1997bs in M66: Another Extragalactic Eta Carinae Analog?
We report on SN 1997bs in NGC 3627 (M66), the first supernova discovered by
the Lick Observatory Supernova Search using the 0.75-m Katzman Automatic
Imaging Telescope (KAIT). Based on its early-time optical spectrum, SN 1997bs
was classified as Type IIn. However, from the BVRI light curves obtained by
KAIT early in the supernova's evolution, and F555W and F814W light curves
obtained from Hubble Space Telescope archival WFPC2 images at late times, we
question the identification of SN 1997bs as a bona fide supernova. We believe
that it is more likely a super-outburst of a very massive luminous blue
variable star, analogous to Eta Carinae, and similar to SN 1961V in NGC 1058
(Filippenko et al. 1995 [AJ, 110, 2261]) and SN 1954J (``Variable 12'') in NGC
2403 (Humphreys & Davidson 1994 [PASP, 106, 1025]). The progenitor may have
survived the outburst, since the SN is seen in early 1998 at m_F555W=23.4,
about 0.5 mag fainter than the progenitor identified by Van Dyk et al. (1999,
[AJ, 118, 2331]) in a pre-discovery image. Based on analysis of its environment
in the Hubble Space Telescope images, the progenitor was not in an H II region
or association of massive stars. The recent discovery of additional objects
with properties similar to those of SN 1997bs suggests that the heterogeneous
class of Type IIn supernovae consists in part of ``impostors.''Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, to appear in the PASP (2000 Dec issue
A Study on the Parallelization of Terrain-Covering Ant Robots Simulations
Agent-based simulation is used as a tool for supporting (time-critical) decision making in differentiated contexts. Hence, techniques for speeding up the execution of agent-based models, such as Parallel Discrete Event Simulation (PDES), are of great relevance/benefit. On the other hand, parallelism entails that the final output provided by the simulator should closely match the one provided by a traditional sequential run. This is not obvious given that, for performance and efficiency reasons, parallel simulation engines do not allow the evaluation of global predicates on the simulation model evolution with arbitrary time-granularity along the simulation time-Axis. In this article we present a study on the effects of parallelization of agent-based simulations, focusing on complementary aspects such as performance and reliability of the provided simulation output. We target Terrain Covering Ant Robots (TCAR) simulations, which are useful in rescue scenarios to determine how many agents (i.e., robots) should be used to completely explore a certain terrain for possible victims within a given time. © 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
A Delphi Study on Research Priorities for Trauma Nursing
Objectives: To identify and prioritize research questions of importance to trauma patient care and of interest to trauma nurses.
Methods: A three-round Delphi technique was used to solicit, identify, and prioritize problems for trauma nursing research. In round 1, experienced trauma nurses (N = 208) generated 513 problems, which were analyzed, categorized, and collapsed into 111 items for subsequent rounds. Round 2 participants rated each research question on a 1 to 7 scale on two criteria: impact on patient welfare and value for practicing nurses. Group median scores provided by 166 round 2 respondents and respondents\u27 individual round 2 scores were indicated on the round 3 questionnaire. Subjects rated the questions again on the same criteria and indicated whether nurses, independently or in collaboration with other health professionals, should assume responsibility for that research. Median and mean scores and rank order were determined for each item.
Results: Respondents who completed all three rounds (n = 137) had a mean of 8.3 years of trauma experience. Nine research questions ranked within the top 20 on both criteria. The two research questions that ranked highest on both criteria were: What are the most effective nursing interventions in the prevention of pulmonary and circulatory complications in trauma patients? and What are the most effective methods for preventing aspiration in trauma patients during the postoperative phase? The third-ranked question regarding patient welfare was: What psychological and lifestyle changes result from traumatic injury? Regarding value for practicing nurses, What are the most effective educational methods to prepare and maintain proficiency in trauma care providers? ranked third.
Conclusion: These research priorities provide impetus and direction for nursing and collaborative investigation in trauma care
A zeta function approach to the relation between the numbers of symmetry planes and axes of a polytope
A derivation of the Ces\`aro-Fedorov relation from the Selberg trace formula
on an orbifolded 2-sphere is elaborated and extended to higher dimensions using
the known heat-kernel coefficients for manifolds with piecewise-linear
boundaries. Several results are obtained that relate the coefficients, ,
in the Shephard-Todd polynomial to the geometry of the fundamental domain. For
the 3-sphere we show that is given by the ratio of the volume of the
fundamental tetrahedron to its Schl\"afli reciprocal.Comment: Plain TeX, 26 pages (eqn. (86) corrected
Quantum effects in the quasiparticle structure of the ferromagnetic Kondo lattice model
A new ``Dynamical Mean-field theory'' based approach for the Kondo lattice
model with quantum spins is introduced. The inspection of exactly solvable
limiting cases and several known approximation methods, namely the second-order
perturbation theory, the self-consistent CPA and finally a moment-conserving
decoupling of the equations of motion help in evaluating the new approach. This
comprehensive investigation gives some certainty to our results: Whereas our
method is somewhat limited in the investigation of the J<0-model, the results
for J>0 reveal important aspects of the physics of the model: The energetically
lowest states are not completely spin-polarized.A band splitting, which occurs
already for relatively low interaction strengths, can be related to distinct
elementary excitations, namely magnon emission (absorption) and the formation
of magnetic polarons. We demonstrate the properties of the ferromagnetic Kondo
lattice model in terms of spectral densities and quasiparticle densities of
states.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figure
Nonlinear Magneto-Optical Response of - and -Wave Superconductors
The nonlinear magneto-optical response of - and -wave superconductors
is discussed. We carry out the symmetry analysis of the nonlinear
magneto-optical susceptibility in the superconducting state. Due to the surface
sensitivity of the nonlinear optical response for systems with bulk inversion
symmetry, we perform a group theoretical classification of the superconducting
order parameter close to a surface. For the first time, the mixing of singlet
and triplet pairing states induced by spin-orbit coupling is systematically
taken into account. We show that the interference of singlet and triplet
pairing states leads to an observable contribution of the nonlinear
magneto-optical Kerr effect. This effect is not only sensitive to the
anisotropy of the gap function but also to the symmetry itself. In view of the
current discussion of the order parameter symmetry of High-T
superconductors, results for a tetragonal system with bulk singlet pairing for
various pairing symmetries are discussed.Comment: 21 pages (REVTeX) with 8 figures (Postscript
Evanescence in Coined Quantum Walks
In this paper we complete the analysis begun by two of the authors in a
previous work on the discrete quantum walk on the line [J. Phys. A 36:8775-8795
(2003) quant-ph/0303105 ]. We obtain uniformly convergent asymptotics for the
"exponential decay'' regions at the leading edges of the main peaks in the
Schr{\"o}dinger (or wave-mechanics) picture. This calculation required us to
generalise the method of stationary phase and we describe this extension in
some detail, including self-contained proofs of all the technical lemmas
required. We also rigorously establish the exact Feynman equivalence between
the path-integral and wave-mechanics representations for this system using some
techniques from the theory of special functions. Taken together with the
previous work, we can now prove every theorem by both routes.Comment: 32 pages AMS LaTeX, 5 figures in .eps format. Rewritten in response
to referee comments, including some additional references. v3: typos fixed in
equations (131), (133) and (134). v5: published versio
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