Problematic internet use and study motivation in higher education

The current study explored the relationship between problematic internet use (PIU) and motivation to learn, and examined psychological and social factors mediating this relationship. Two hundred and eighty-five students in an Italian University were recruited for the current study. There was a negative relationship between PIU and motivation to study: a negative impact on learning strategies, meaning that the students found it harder to organize their learning productively; and PIU also positively associated with test anxiety. The current results also demonstrated that there was partial mediation of this effect of PIU on learning strategies in terms of loneliness. This suggest at those with high levels of PIU may be particularly at risk from lower motivations to study, and, hence, lower actual generalized academic performance due to a number of consequences of PIU

Inverse scattering at fixed energy on surfaces with Euclidean ends

On a fixed Riemann surface $(M_0,g_0)$ with $N$ Euclidean ends and genus $g$, we show that, under a topological condition, the scattering matrix S_V(\la) at frequency \la > 0 for the operator $\Delta+V$ determines the potential $V$ if $V\in C^{1,\alpha}(M_0)\cap e^{-\gamma d(\cdot,z_0)^j}L^\infty(M_0)$ for all $\gamma>0$ and for some $j\in\{1,2\}$, where $d(z,z_0)$ denotes the distance from $z$ to a fixed point $z_0\in M_0$. The topological condition is given by $N\geq\max(2g+1,2)$ for $j=1$ and by $N\geq g+1$ if $j=2$. In \rr^2 this implies that the operator S_V(\la) determines any $C^{1,\alpha}$ potential $V$ such that $V(z)=O(e^{-\gamma|z|^2})$ for all $\gamma>0$.Comment: 21 page

An Algebraic Jost-Schroer Theorem for Massive Theories

We consider a purely massive local relativistic quantum theory specified by a family of von Neumann algebras indexed by the space-time regions. We assume that, affiliated with the algebras associated to wedge regions, there are operators which create only single particle states from the vacuum (so-called polarization-free generators) and are well-behaved under the space-time translations. Strengthening a result of Borchers, Buchholz and Schroer, we show that then the theory is unitarily equivalent to that of a free field for the corresponding particle type. We admit particles with any spin and localization of the charge in space-like cones, thereby covering the case of string-localized covariant quantum fields.Comment: 21 pages. The second (and crucial) hypothesis of the theorem has been relaxed and clarified, thanks to the stimulus of an anonymous referee. (The polarization-free generators associated with wedge regions, which always exist, are assumed to be temperate.

The External Field Dependence of the BCS Critical Temperature

We consider the Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer free energy functional for particles interacting via a two-body potential on a microscopic scale and in the presence of weak external fields varying on a macroscopic scale. We study the influence of the external fields on the critical temperature. We show that in the limit where the ratio between the microscopic and macroscopic scale tends to zero, the next to leading order of the critical temperature is determined by the lowest eigenvalue of the linearization of the Ginzburg–Landau equation

The spectral curve of a quaternionic holomorphic line bundle over a 2-torus

A conformal immersion of a 2-torus into the 4-sphere is characterized by an auxiliary Riemann surface, its spectral curve. This complex curve encodes the monodromies of a certain Dirac type operator on a quaternionic line bundle associated to the immersion. The paper provides a detailed description of the geometry and asymptotic behavior of the spectral curve. If this curve has finite genus the Dirichlet energy of a map from a 2-torus to the 2-sphere or the Willmore energy of an immersion from a 2-torus into the 4-sphere is given by the residue of a specific meromorphic differential on the curve. Also, the kernel bundle of the Dirac type operator evaluated over points on the 2-torus linearizes in the Jacobian of the spectral curve. Those results are presented in a geometric and self contained manner.Comment: 36 page

A review of Monte Carlo simulations of polymers with PERM

In this review, we describe applications of the pruned-enriched Rosenbluth method (PERM), a sequential Monte Carlo algorithm with resampling, to various problems in polymer physics. PERM produces samples according to any given prescribed weight distribution, by growing configurations step by step with controlled bias, and correcting "bad" configurations by "population control". The latter is implemented, in contrast to other population based algorithms like e.g. genetic algorithms, by depth-first recursion which avoids storing all members of the population at the same time in computer memory. The problems we discuss all concern single polymers (with one exception), but under various conditions: Homopolymers in good solvents and at the $\Theta$ point, semi-stiff polymers, polymers in confining geometries, stretched polymers undergoing a forced globule-linear transition, star polymers, bottle brushes, lattice animals as a model for randomly branched polymers, DNA melting, and finally -- as the only system at low temperatures, lattice heteropolymers as simple models for protein folding. PERM is for some of these problems the method of choice, but it can also fail. We discuss how to recognize when a result is reliable, and we discuss also some types of bias that can be crucial in guiding the growth into the right directions.Comment: 29 pages, 26 figures, to be published in J. Stat. Phys. (2011

Longitudinal double-spin asymmetry and cross section for inclusive neutral pion production at midrapidity in polarized proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV

We report a measurement of the longitudinal double-spin asymmetry A_LL and the differential cross section for inclusive Pi0 production at midrapidity in polarized proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV. The cross section was measured over a transverse momentum range of 1 < p_T < 17 GeV/c and found to be in good agreement with a next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculation. The longitudinal double-spin asymmetry was measured in the range of 3.7 < p_T < 11 GeV/c and excludes a maximal positive gluon polarization in the proton. The mean transverse momentum fraction of Pi0's in their parent jets was found to be around 0.7 for electromagnetically triggered events.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. D (RC

Longitudinal scaling property of the charge balance function in Au + Au collisions at 200 GeV

We present measurements of the charge balance function, from the charged particles, for diverse pseudorapidity and transverse momentum ranges in Au + Au collisions at 200 GeV using the STAR detector at RHIC. We observe that the balance function is boost-invariant within the pseudorapidity coverage [-1.3, 1.3]. The balance function properly scaled by the width of the observed pseudorapidity window does not depend on the position or size of the pseudorapidity window. This scaling property also holds for particles in different transverse momentum ranges. In addition, we find that the width of the balance function decreases monotonically with increasing transverse momentum for all centrality classes.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Energy and system size dependence of \phi meson production in Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions

We study the beam-energy and system-size dependence of \phi meson production (using the hadronic decay mode \phi -- K+K-) by comparing the new results from Cu+Cu collisions and previously reported Au+Au collisions at \sqrt{s_NN} = 62.4 and 200 GeV measured in the STAR experiment at RHIC. Data presented are from mid-rapidity (|y|<0.5) for 0.4 < pT < 5 GeV/c. At a given beam energy, the transverse momentum distributions for \phi mesons are observed to be similar in yield and shape for Cu+Cu and Au+Au colliding systems with similar average numbers of participating nucleons. The \phi meson yields in nucleus-nucleus collisions, normalised by the average number of participating nucleons, are found to be enhanced relative to those from p+p collisions with a different trend compared to strange baryons. The enhancement for \phi mesons is observed to be higher at \sqrt{s_NN} = 200 GeV compared to 62.4 GeV. These observations for the produced \phi(s\bar{s}) mesons clearly suggest that, at these collision energies, the source of enhancement of strange hadrons is related to the formation of a dense partonic medium in high energy nucleus-nucleus collisions and cannot be alone due to canonical suppression of their production in smaller systems.Comment: 20 pages and 5 figure

Measurement of the Bottom contribution to non-photonic electron production in p+pp+p collisions at s\sqrt{s} =200 GeV

The contribution of $B$ meson decays to non-photonic electrons, which are mainly produced by the semi-leptonic decays of heavy flavor mesons, in $p+p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 200 GeV has been measured using azimuthal correlations between non-photonic electrons and hadrons. The extracted $B$ decay contribution is approximately 50% at a transverse momentum of $p_{T} \geq 5$ GeV/$c$. These measurements constrain the nuclear modification factor for electrons from $B$ and $D$ meson decays. The result indicates that $B$ meson production in heavy ion collisions is also suppressed at high $p_{T}$.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, accepted by PR