238 research outputs found
Brazilian elections: voting for a scaling democracy
The proportional elections held in Brazil in 1998 and 2002 display identical
statistical signatures. In particular, the distribution of votes among
candidates includes a power-law regimen. We suggest that the rationale behind
this robust scaling invariance is a multiplicative process in which the voter's
choice for a candidate is governed by a product of probabilities.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Final state effects on superfluid He in the deep inelastic regime
A study of Final State Effects (FSE) on the dynamic structure function of
superfluid He in the Gersch--Rodriguez formalism is presented. The main
ingredients needed in the calculation are the momentum distribution and the
semidiagonal two--body density matrix. The influence of these ground state
quantities on the FSE is analyzed. A variational form of is used, even
though simpler forms turn out to give accurate results if properly chosen.
Comparison to the experimental response at high momentum transfer is performed.
The predicted response is quite sensitive to slight variations on the value of
the condensate fraction, the best agreement with experiment being obtained with
. Sum rules of the FSE broadening function are also derived and
commented. Finally, it is shown that Gersch--Rodriguez theory produces results
as accurate as those coming from other more recent FSE theories.Comment: 20 pages, RevTex 3.0, 11 figures available upon request, to be appear
in Phys. Rev.
Beyond the binary collision approximation for the large- response of liquid He
We discuss corrections to the linear response of a many-body system beyond
the binary collision approximation. We first derive for smooth pair
interactions an exact expression of the response , considerably
simplifying existing forms and present also the generalization for interactions
with a strong, short-range repulsion. We then apply the latter to the case of
liquid He. We display the numerical influence of the correction
around the quasi-elastic peak and in the low-intensity wings of the response,
far from that peak. Finally we resolve an apparent contradiction in previous
discussions around the fourth order cumulant expansion coefficient. Our results
prove that the large- response of liquid He can be accurately understood
on the basis of a dynamical theory.Comment: 19 p. Figs. available on reques
Truncated Levy Random Walks and Generalized Cauchy Processes
A continuous Markovian model for truncated Levy random walks is proposed. It
generalizes the approach developed previously by Lubashevsky et al. Phys. Rev.
E 79, 011110 (2009); 80, 031148 (2009), Eur. Phys. J. B 78, 207 (2010) allowing
for nonlinear friction in wondering particle motion and saturation of the noise
intensity depending on the particle velocity. Both the effects have own reason
to be considered and individually give rise to truncated Levy random walks as
shown in the paper. The nonlinear Langevin equation governing the particle
motion was solved numerically using an order 1.5 strong stochastic Runge-Kutta
method and the obtained numerical data were employed to calculate the geometric
mean of the particle displacement during a certain time interval and to
construct its distribution function. It is demonstrated that the time
dependence of the geometric mean comprises three fragments following one
another as the time scale increases that can be categorized as the ballistic
regime, the Levy type regime (superballistic, quasiballistic, or superdiffusive
one), and the standard motion of Brownian particles. For the intermediate Levy
type part the distribution of the particle displacement is found to be of the
generalized Cauchy form with cutoff. Besides, the properties of the random
walks at hand are shown to be determined mainly by a certain ratio of the
friction coefficient and the noise intensity rather then their characteristics
individually.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure
Interactions between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and intraspecific competition affect size and size inequality of Plantago lanceolata L.
Intraspecific competition causes decreases in plant size and increases in size inequality. Arbuscular mycorrhizas usually increase the size and inequality of non-competing plants, but mycorrhizal effects often disappear when plants begin competing. We hypothesized that mycorrhizal effects on size inequality would be determined by the experimental conditions, and conducted simultaneous field and glasshouse experiments to investigate how AM fungi and intraspecific competition determine size inequality in Plantago lanceolata.
2 As predicted, plant size was reduced when plants were competing, in both field and controlled conditions. However, size inequality was unexpectedly reduced by competition. Plants may have competed in a symmetric fashion, probably for nutrients, rather than the more common situation, in which plant competition is strongly asymmetric.
3 Mycorrhizas had no effect on plant size or size inequality in competing plants in either field or controlled conditions, possibly because competition for nutrients was intense and negated any benefit the fungi could provide.
4 The effects of mycorrhizas on non-competing plants were also unexpected. In field-grown plants, AM fungi increased plant size, but decreased size inequality: mycorrhizal plants were more even in size, with few very small individuals. In glasshouse conditions, mycorrhizal colonization was extremely high, and was generally antagonistic, causing a reduction in plant size. Here, however, mycorrhizas caused an increase in size inequality, supporting our original hypothesis. This was because most plants were heavily colonized and small, but a few had low levels of colonization and grew relatively large.
5 This study has important implications for understanding the forces that structure plant communities. AM fungi can have a variety of effects on size inequality and thus potentially important influences on long-term plant population dynamics, by affecting the genetic contribution of individuals to the next generation. However, these effects differ, depending on whether plants are competing or not, the degree of mycorrhizal colonization and the responsiveness of the plant to different colonization densities
Probing exotic phenomena at the interface of nuclear and particle physics with the electric dipole moments of diamagnetic atoms: A unique window to hadronic and semi-leptonic CP violation
The current status of electric dipole moments of diamagnetic atoms which
involves the synergy between atomic experiments and three different theoretical
areas -- particle, nuclear and atomic is reviewed. Various models of particle
physics that predict CP violation, which is necessary for the existence of such
electric dipole moments, are presented. These include the standard model of
particle physics and various extensions of it. Effective hadron level combined
charge conjugation (C) and parity (P) symmetry violating interactions are
derived taking into consideration different ways in which a nucleon interacts
with other nucleons as well as with electrons. Nuclear structure calculations
of the CP-odd nuclear Schiff moment are discussed using the shell model and
other theoretical approaches. Results of the calculations of atomic electric
dipole moments due to the interaction of the nuclear Schiff moment with the
electrons and the P and time-reversal (T) symmetry violating
tensor-pseudotensor electron-nucleus are elucidated using different
relativistic many-body theories. The principles of the measurement of the
electric dipole moments of diamagnetic atoms are outlined. Upper limits for the
nuclear Schiff moment and tensor-pseudotensor coupling constant are obtained
combining the results of atomic experiments and relativistic many-body
theories. The coefficients for the different sources of CP violation have been
estimated at the elementary particle level for all the diamagnetic atoms of
current experimental interest and their implications for physics beyond the
standard model is discussed. Possible improvements of the current results of
the measurements as well as quantum chromodynamics, nuclear and atomic
calculations are suggested.Comment: 46 pages, 19 tables and 16 figures. A review article accepted for
EPJ
Search for Doubly-Charged Higgs Boson Production at HERA
A search for the single production of doubly-charged Higgs bosons H^{\pm \pm}
in ep collisions is presented. The signal is searched for via the Higgs decays
into a high mass pair of same charge leptons, one of them being an electron.
The analysis uses up to 118 pb^{-1} of ep data collected by the H1 experiment
at HERA. No evidence for doubly-charged Higgs production is observed and mass
dependent upper limits are derived on the Yukawa couplings h_{el} of the Higgs
boson to an electron-lepton pair. Assuming that the doubly-charged Higgs only
decays into an electron and a muon via a coupling of electromagnetic strength
h_{e \mu} = \sqrt{4 \pi \alpha_{em}} = 0.3, a lower limit of 141 GeV on the
H^{\pm\pm} mass is obtained at the 95% confidence level. For a doubly-charged
Higgs decaying only into an electron and a tau and a coupling h_{e\tau} = 0.3,
masses below 112 GeV are ruled out.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl
Titan's cold case files - Outstanding questions after Cassini-Huygens
Abstract The entry of the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft into orbit around Saturn in July 2004 marked the start of a golden era in the exploration of Titan, Saturn's giant moon. During the Prime Mission (2004–2008), ground-breaking discoveries were made by the Cassini orbiter including the equatorial dune fields (flyby T3, 2005), northern lakes and seas (T16, 2006), and the large positive and negative ions (T16 & T18, 2006), to name a few. In 2005 the Huygens probe descended through Titan's atmosphere, taking the first close-up pictures of the surface, including large networks of dendritic channels leading to a dried-up seabed, and also obtaining detailed profiles of temperature and gas composition during the atmospheric descent. The discoveries continued through the Equinox Mission (2008–2010) and Solstice Mission (2010–2017) totaling 127 targeted flybys of Titan in all. Now at the end of the mission, we are able to look back on the high-level scientific questions from the start of the mission, and assess the progress that has been made towards answering these. At the same time, new scientific questions regarding Titan have emerged from the discoveries that have been made. In this paper we review a cross-section of important scientific questions that remain partially or completely unanswered, ranging from Titan's deep interior to the exosphere. Our intention is to help formulate the science goals for the next generation of planetary missions to Titan, and to stimulate new experimental, observational and theoretical investigations in the interim
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