6,001 research outputs found
Interstitial Electronic Localization
We investigate the ground-state properties of a collection of \textit{N}
non-interacting electrons in a macroscopic volume also containing a
crystalline array of \textit{N} spheres of radius each taken as largely
impenetrable to electrons and with proximity of neighboring excluding regions
playing a key physical role. The sole parameter of this quantum system is the
ratio , where is the Wigner- Seitz radius. Two lattices (FCC and
BCC) are selected to illustrate the behavior of the system as a function of
. As this ratio increases valence electrons localize in the
interstitial regions and the relative band-width is
found to decrease monotonically for both. The system is motivated by the
behavior of the alkali metals at significant compression. It accounts for band
narrowing, leads to electronic densities with interstitially centered maxima,
and can be taken as a model which clearly may be improved upon by perturbation
and other methods.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure
Optimal statistic for detecting gravitational wave signals from binary inspirals with LISA
A binary compact object early in its inspiral phase will be picked up by its
nearly monochromatic gravitational radiation by LISA. But even this innocuous
appearing candidate poses interesting detection challenges. The data that will
be scanned for such sources will be a set of three functions of LISA's twelve
data streams obtained through time-delay interferometry, which is necessary to
cancel the noise contributions from laser-frequency fluctuations and
optical-bench motions to these data streams. We call these three functions
pseudo-detectors. The sensitivity of any pseudo-detector to a given sky
position is a function of LISA's orbital position. Moreover, at a given point
in LISA's orbit, each pseudo-detector has a different sensitivity to the same
sky position. In this work, we obtain the optimal statistic for detecting
gravitational wave signals, such as from compact binaries early in their
inspiral stage, in LISA data. We also present how the sensitivity of LISA,
defined by this optimal statistic, varies as a function of sky position and
LISA's orbital location. Finally, we show how a real-time search for inspiral
signals can be implemented on the LISA data by constructing a bank of templates
in the sky positions.Comment: 22 pages, 15 eps figures, Latex, uses iopart style/class files. Based
on talk given at the 8th Gravitational Wave Data Analysis Workshop,
Milwaukee, USA, December 17-20, 2003. Accepted for publication in Class.
Quant. Gra
Technology requirements of exploration beyond Neptune by solar sail propulsion
This paper provides a set of requirements for the technology development of a solar sail propelled Interstellar Heliopause Probe mission. The mission is placed in the context of other outer solar systems missions, ranging from a Kuiper Belt mission through to an Oort cloud mission. Mission requirements are defined and a detailed parametric trajectory analysis and launch date scan performed. Through analysis of the complete mission trade space a set of critical technology development requirements are identified which include an advanced lightweight composite High-Gain Antenna, a high-efficiency Ka-band travelling-wave tube amplifier and a radioisotope thermoelectric generator with power density of approximately 12 W/kg. It is also shown that the Interstellar Heliopause Probe mission necessitates the use of a spinning sail, limiting the direct application of current hardware development activities. A Kuiper Belt mission is then considered as a pre-curser to the Interstellar Heliopause Probe, while it is also shown through study of an Oort cloud mission that the Interstellar Heliopause Probe mission is the likely end-goal of any future solar sail technology development program. As such, the technology requirements identified to enable the Interstellar Heliopause Probe must be enabled through all prior missions, with each mission acting as an enabling facilitator towards the next
How low can SUSY go? Matching, monojets and compressed spectra
If supersymmetry (SUSY) has a compressed spectrum then the current mass
limits from the LHC can be drastically reduced. We consider a possible 'worst
case' scenario where the gluino and/or squarks are degenerate with the lightest
SUSY particle (LSP). The most sensitive searches for these compressed spectra
are via the final state LSPs recoiling against initial state radiation (ISR).
Therefore it is vital that the ISR is understood and possible uncertainties in
the predictions are evaluated. We use both MLM (with Pythia 6) and CKKW- L
(with Pythia 8) matching and vary matching scales and parton shower properties
to accurately determine the theoretical uncertainties in the kinematic
distributions. All current LHC SUSY and monojet analyses are employed and we
find the most constraining limits come from the CMS Razor and CMS monojet
searches. For a scenario of squarks degenerate with the LSP and decoupled
gluinos we find GeV. For gluinos degenerate with the LSP
and decoupled squarks, GeV. For equal mass squarks and
gluinos degenerate with the LSP, GeV.Comment: References added, version submitted to ep
Two nonrecombining sympatric forms of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium ovale occur globally.
BACKGROUND: Malaria in humans is caused by apicomplexan parasites belonging to 5 species of the genus Plasmodium. Infections with Plasmodium ovale are widely distributed but rarely investigated, and the resulting burden of disease is not known. Dimorphism in defined genes has led to P. ovale parasites being divided into classic and variant types. We hypothesized that these dimorphs represent distinct parasite species. METHODS: Multilocus sequence analysis of 6 genetic characters was carried out among 55 isolates from 12 African and 3 Asia-Pacific countries. RESULTS: Each genetic character displayed complete dimorphism and segregated perfectly between the 2 types. Both types were identified in samples from Ghana, Nigeria, São Tomé, Sierra Leone, and Uganda and have been described previously in Myanmar. Splitting of the 2 lineages is estimated to have occurred between 1.0 and 3.5 million years ago in hominid hosts. CONCLUSIONS: We propose that P. ovale comprises 2 nonrecombining species that are sympatric in Africa and Asia. We speculate on possible scenarios that could have led to this speciation. Furthermore, the relatively high frequency of imported cases of symptomatic P. ovale infection in the United Kingdom suggests that the morbidity caused by ovale malaria has been underestimated
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