1,387 research outputs found
Kinetics of hydrogen and zirconium interactions
Imperial Users onl
On the robustness of acoustic black hole spectra
We study the robustness of the spectrum emitted by an acoustic black hole by
considering series of stationary flows that become either subsonic or
supersonic, i.e. when the horizon disappears. We work with the superluminal
Bogoliubov dispersion of Bose--Einstein condensates. We find that the spectrum
remains remarkably Planckian until the horizon disappears. When the flow is
everywhere supersonic, new pair creation channels open. This will be the
subject of a forthcoming work.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure, jpconf.cls; to appear in the proceedings of the
Spanish Relativity Meeting ERE201
Superradiant scattering from a hydrodynamic vortex
We show that sound waves scattered from a hydrodynamic vortex may be
amplified. Such superradiant scattering follows from the physical analogy
between spinning black holes and hydrodynamic vortices. However a sonic horizon
analogous to the black hole event horizon does not exist unless the vortex
possesses a central drain, which is challenging to produce experimentally. In
the astrophysical domain, superradiance can occur even in the absence of an
event horizon: we show that in the hydrodynamic analogue, a drain is not
required and a vortex scatters sound superradiantly. Possible experimental
realization in dilute gas Bose-Einstein condensates is discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figur
Analog black holes in flowing dielectrics
We show that a flowing dielectric medium with a linear response to an
external electric field can be used to generate an analog geometry that has
many of the formal properties of a Schwarzschild black hole for light rays, in
spite of birefringence. We also discuss the possibility of generating these
analog black holes in the laboratory.Comment: Revtex4 file, 7 pages, 4 eps figures, a few changes in presentation,
some references added, conclusions unchange
Acoustic horizons for axially and spherically symmetric fluid flow
We investigate the formation of acoustic horizons for an inviscid fluid
moving in a pipe in the case of stationary and axi-symmetric flow. We show
that, differently from what is generally believed, the acoustic horizon forms
in correspondence of either a local minimum or maximum of the flux tube
cross-section. Similarly, the external potential is required to have either a
maximum or a minimum at the horizon, so that the external force has to vanish
there. Choosing a power-law equation of state for the fluid, , we solve the equations of the fluid dynamics and show that the two
possibilities are realized respectively for and . These results
are extended also to the case of spherically symmetric flow.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Analogue Cosmological Particle Creation: Quantum Correlations in Expanding Bose Einstein Condensates
We investigate the structure of quantum correlations in an expanding Bose
Einstein Condensate (BEC) through the analogue gravity framework. We consider
both a 3+1 isotropically expanding BEC as well as the experimentally relevant
case of an elongated, effectively 1+1 dimensional, expanding condensate. In
this case we include the effects of inhomogeneities in the condensate, a
feature rarely included in the analogue gravity literature. In both cases we
link the BEC expansion to a simple model for an expanding spacetime and then
study the correlation structure numerically and analytically (in suitable
approximations). We also discuss the expected strength of such correlation
patterns and experimentally feasible BEC systems in which these effects might
be detected in the near future.Comment: Reference adde
Effective geometry in Astrophysics
The effective metric is introduced by means of two examples (non-linear
electromagnetism and hydrodynamics),along with applications in Astrophysics. A
sketch of the generality of the effect is also given.Comment: 9 pages, contributions for the proceedings of the First International
Workshop on Astronomy and Relativistic Astrophysics (IWARA 2003), Olinda
(Brazil
Black hole lasers, a mode analysis
We show that the black hole laser effect discovered by Corley & Jacobson
should be described in terms of frequency eigenmodes that are spatially bound.
The spectrum contains a discrete and finite set of complex frequency modes
which appear in pairs and which encode the laser effect. In addition, it
contains real frequency modes that form a continuous set when space is
infinite, and which are only elastically scattered, i.e., not subject to any
Bogoliubov transformation. The quantization is straightforward, but the
calculation of the asymptotic fluxes is rather involved. When the number of
complex frequency modes is small, our expressions differ from those given
earlier. In particular, when the region between the horizons shrinks, there is
a minimal distance under which no complex frequency mode exists, and no
radiation is emitted. Finally, we relate this effect to other dynamical
instabilities found for rotating black holes and in electric fields, and we
give the conditions to get this type of instability.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figures, main changes: new figure and new Sec.6
`conditions for having a laser effect', final version accepted in PR
Actuarial Senescence In A Dimorphic Bird: Different Rates Of Ageing In Morphs With Discrete Reproductive Strategies
It is often hypothesized that intra-sexual competition accelerates actuarial senescence, or the increase in mortality rates with age. However, an alternative hypothesis is that parental investment is more important to determining senescence rates. We used a unique model system, the white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis), to study variation in actuarial senescence. In this species, genetically determined morphs display discrete mating strategies and disassortative pairing, providing an excellent opportunity to test the predictions of the above hypotheses. Compared to tan-striped males, white-striped males are more polygynous and aggressive, and less parental. Tan-striped females receive less parental support, and invest more into parental care than white-striped females, which are also more aggressive. Thus, higher senescence rates in males and white-striped birds would support the intra-sexual competition hypothesis, whereas higher senescence rates in females and tan-striped birds would support the parental investment hypothesis. White-striped males showed the lowest rate of actuarial senescence. Tan-striped females had the highest senescence rate, and tan-striped males and white-striped females showed intermediate, relatively equal rates. Thus, results were inconsistent with sexual selection and competitive strategies increasing senescence rates, and instead indicate that senescence may be accelerated by female-biased parental care, and lessened by sharing of parental duties
Haplotype Analysis Reveals a Possible Founder Effect of RET Mutation R114H for Hirschsprung's Disease in the Chinese Population
Background Hirschsprung's disease (HSCR) is a congenital disorder associated with the lack of intramural ganglion cells in the myenteric and sub-mucosal plexuses along varying segments of the gastrointestinal tract. The RET gene is the major gene implicated in this gastrointestinal disease. A highly recurrent mutation in RET (RETR114H) has recently been identified in ~6-7% of the Chinese HSCR patients which, to date, has not been found in Caucasian patients or controls nor in Chinese controls. Due to the high frequency of RETR114H in this population, we sought to investigate whether this mutation may be a founder HSCR mutation in the Chinese population. Methodology and Principal Findings To test whether all RETR114H were originated from a single mutational event, we predicted the approximate age of RETR114H by applying a Bayesian method to RET SNPs genotyped in 430 Chinese HSCR patients (of whom 25 individuals had the mutation) to be between 4-23 generations old depending on growth rate. We reasoned that if RETR114H was a founder mutation then those with the mutation would share a haplotype on which the mutation resides. Including SNPs spanning 509.31 kb across RET from a recently obtained 500 K genome-wide dataset for a subset of 181 patients (14 RETR114H patients), we applied haplotype estimation methods to determine whether there were any segments shared between patients with RETR114H that are not present in those without the mutation or controls. Analysis yielded a 250.2 kb (51 SNP) shared segment over the RET gene (and downstream) in only those patients with the mutation with no similar segments found among other patients. Conclusions This suggests that RETR114H is a founder mutation for HSCR in the Chinese population. © 2010 Cornes et al.published_or_final_versio
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