436 research outputs found
Charge and Isospin Fluctuations in High Energy pp-Collisions
Charge and isospin event-by-event fluctuations in high-energy pp-collisions
are predicted within the Unitary Eikonal Model, in particular the fluctuation
patterns of the ratios of charged-to-charged and neutral-to-charged pions.
These fluctuations are found to be sensitive to the presence of unstable
resonances, such as and mesons. We predict that the
charge-fluctuation observable should be restricted to the interval
depending on the production ratio. Also, the
isospin fluctuations of the DCC-type of the ratio of neutral-to-charged pions
are suppressed if pions are produced together with mesons.Comment: Latex, 5 pages, no figures. To appear in the proceedings of 9th
Adriatic Meeting, Dubrovnik, Croatia, 4 - 14 September 2003. Added reference
into reference no.
Triton binding energy calculated from the SU_6 quark-model nucleon-nucleon interaction
Properties of the three-nucleon bound state are examined in the Faddeev
formalism, in which the quark-model nucleon-nucleon interaction is explicitly
incorporated to calculate the off-shell T-matrix. The most recent version,
fss2, of the Kyoto-Niigata quark-model potential yields the ground-state energy
^3H=-8.514 MeV in the 34 channel calculation, when the np interaction is used
for the nucleon-nucleon interaction. The charge root mean square radii of the
^3H and ^3He are 1.72 fm and 1.90 fm, respectively, including the finite size
correction of the nucleons. These values are the closest to the experiments
among many results obtained by detailed Faddeev calculations employing modern
realistic nucleon-nucleon interaction models.Comment: 10 pages, no figure
Asymmetric Dark Matter and Dark Radiation
Asymmetric Dark Matter (ADM) models invoke a particle-antiparticle asymmetry,
similar to the one observed in the Baryon sector, to account for the Dark
Matter (DM) abundance. Both asymmetries are usually generated by the same
mechanism and generally related, thus predicting DM masses around 5 GeV in
order to obtain the correct density. The main challenge for successful models
is to ensure efficient annihilation of the thermally produced symmetric
component of such a light DM candidate without violating constraints from
collider or direct searches. A common way to overcome this involves a light
mediator, into which DM can efficiently annihilate and which subsequently
decays into Standard Model particles. Here we explore the scenario where the
light mediator decays instead into lighter degrees of freedom in the dark
sector that act as radiation in the early Universe. While this assumption makes
indirect DM searches challenging, it leads to signals of extra radiation at BBN
and CMB. Under certain conditions, precise measurements of the number of
relativistic species, such as those expected from the Planck satellite, can
provide information on the structure of the dark sector. We also discuss the
constraints of the interactions between DM and Dark Radiation from their
imprint in the matter power spectrum.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figures, to be published in JCAP, minor changes to match
version to be publishe
Effect of elevated substrate temperature deposition on the mechanical losses in tantala thin film coatings
Brownian thermal noise in dielectric multilayer coatings limits the sensitivity of current and future interferometric gravitational wave detectors. In this work we explore the possibility of improving the mechanical losses of tantala, often used as the high refractive index material, by depositing it on a substrate held at elevated temperature. Promising results have been previously obtained with this technique when applied to amorphous silicon. We show that depositing tantala on a hot substrate reduced the mechanical losses of the as-deposited coating, but subsequent thermal treatments had a larger impact, as they reduced the losses to levels previously reported in the literature. We also show that the reduction in mechanical loss correlates with increased medium range order in the atomic structure of the coatings using x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Finally, a discussion is included on our results, which shows that the elevated temperature deposition of pure tantala coatings does not appear to reduce mechanical loss in a similar way to that reported in the literature for amorphous silicon; and we suggest possible future research directions
Conformal Field Theories in Six-Dimensional Twistor Space
This article gives a study of the higher-dimensional Penrose transform
between conformally invariant massless fields on space-time and cohomology
classes on twistor space, where twistor space is defined to be the space of
projective pure spinors of the conformal group. We focus on the 6-dimensional
case in which twistor space is the six-quadric Q in CP^7 with a view to
applications to the self-dual (0,2)-theory. We show how spinor-helicity
momentum eigenstates have canonically defined distributional representatives on
twistor space (a story that we extend to arbitrary dimension). These give an
elementary proof of the surjectivity of the Penrose transform. We give a direct
construction of the twistor transform between the two different representations
of massless fields on twistor space (H^2 and H^3) in which the H^3s arise as
obstructions to extending the H^2s off Q into CP^7.
We also develop the theory of Sparling's `\Xi-transform', the analogous
totally real split signature story based now on real integral geometry where
cohomology no longer plays a role. We extend Sparling's \Xi-transform to all
helicities and homogeneities on twistor space and show that it maps kernels and
cokernels of conformally invariant powers of the ultrahyperbolic wave operator
on twistor space to conformally invariant massless fields on space-time. This
is proved by developing the 6-dimensional analogue of the half-Fourier
transform between functions on twistor space and momentum space. We give a
treatment of the elementary conformally invariant \Phi^3 amplitude on twistor
space and finish with a discussion of conformal field theories in twistor
space.Comment: 37 pages, 3 figures, in v2 a number of inaccuracies are removed and
the discussion is improved; in v3, one reference added;v4 extra
acknowledgemen
Assessment of stability and fluctuations of cultured lower airway bacterial communities in people with cystic fibrosis
Background: Routine clinical culture detects a subset of the cystic fibrosis (CF) airways microbiota based on culture-independent (molecular) methods. This study aimed to determine how extended sputum culture of viable bacteria changes over time in relation to clinical status and predicts exacerbations. Methods: Sputa from patients at a baseline stable and up to three subsequent time-points were analysed by extended-quantitative culture; aerobe/anaerobe densities, ecological indexes and community structure were assessed together with clinical outcomes. Results: Eighty patients were prospectively recruited. Sputa were successfully collected and cultured at 199/267 (74.5%) study visits. Eighty-two sputa from 25 patients comprised a complete sample-set for longitudinal analyses. Bacterial density, ecological indexes and clinical outcomes were unchanged in 18 patients with three sequential stable visits. Conversely, in 7 patients who had an exacerbation, total bacterial and aerobe densities differed over four study visits (P < .001) with this difference particularly apparent between the baseline visit and completion of acute antibiotic treatment where a decrease in density was observed. Bacterial communities were more similar within than between patients but stable patients had the least variation in community structure over time. Using logistic regression in a further analysis, baseline features in 37 patients without compared to 15 patients with a subsequent exacerbation showed that clinical measures rather than bacterial density or ecological indexes were independent predictors of an exacerbation. Conclusions: Greater fluctuation in the viable bacterial community during treatment of an exacerbation than between stable visits was observed. Extended-quantitative culture did not provide prognostic information of a future exacerbation
The Indigenous Australian Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Cohort Study 2, Continuation for 5 to 10 Years: Protocol for a Longitudinal Study
Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, a common sexually transmitted disease, is associated with cancers of the cervix, vulva, vagina, penis, anus, and head and neck. Oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC; throat cancer) is a type of cancer involving the head and neck area that is rapidly increasing across the globe. There are higher rates of OPSCC among Indigenous populations relative to nonâIndigenous Australian populations, although the HPV-attributable fraction remains unknown. For the first time at a global level, we plan to extend an Indigenous Australian adult cohort to monitor, screen, and ultimately prevent HPV-associated OPSCC and to undertake extensive cost-effectiveness modelling around HPV vaccination. Objective: This study aims to (1) extend follow-up to a minimum of 7 years post recruitment to describe the prevalence, incidence, clearance, and persistence of oral HPV infection; and (2) conduct clinical examinations of the head and neck, oral cavity, and oropharynx and collect saliva samples for early-stage OPSCC testing. Methods: We will continue to implement a longitudinal design for the next study phase, where we will ascertain the prevalence, incidence, clearance, and persistence of oral HPV infection at 48, 60, and 72 months; undertake clinical examinations/saliva assessments to detect early-stage OPSCC; and refer for treatment. The primary outcome measures are changes in oral HPV infection status, biomarker measures of early HPV-related cancer, and clinical evidence of early-stage OPSCC. Results: Participant 48-month follow-up will commence in January 2023. The first results are expected to be submitted for publication 1 year after 48-month follow-up begins. Conclusions: Our findings have potential to change the way in which OPSCC among Australian Indigenous adults is managed, with desired impacts including cost-savings on expensive cancer treatments; improved nutritional, social, and emotional outcomes; and improved quality of life for both Indigenous adults and the Indigenous community more broadly. Continuing a large, representative Indigenous adult cohort to track oral HPV infection and monitor early OPSCC is essential to yield critical information to include in the management armamentarium of health and well-being recommendations for Australiaâs First Nations.Joanne Hedges, Sneha Sethi, Gail Garvey, Lisa J Whop, Karen Canfell, Zell Dodd, Priscilla Larkins, Annika Antonsson, Megan A Smith, Murthy Mittinty, Catherine Leane, Nicolas Reid, Eng H Ooi, Xiangqun Ju, Richard Logan, Lisa Jamieso
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