6,943 research outputs found
Interaction of iron oxide nanoparticles synthesized by laser target evaporation with polyacrylamide in composites and ferrogels
Received: 05.06.2017; accepted: 20.06.2017;published: 14.07.2017.Iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) with average diameter 11.7 nm synthesized by laser target evaporation were used for the synthesis of composites and ferrogels based on polyacrylamide network. The chemical composition of MNPs corresponded to maghemite. It was shown that intact MNPs strongly interacted with polyacrylamide polymeric network, while the adsorption of electrostatic stabilizer on the surface of MNPs efficiently prevents such interaction. Synthesis of ferrogels was performed by the radical polymerization of acrylamide in electrostatically stabilized suspensions of MNPs in water. It was shown that the molecular structure, water uptake, and compression modulus can be controlled by the concentration of monomer taken in the synthesis
On Gauge Invariance and Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking
We show how the widely used concept of spontaneous symmetry breaking can be
explained in causal perturbation theory by introducing a perturbative version
of quantum gauge invariance. Perturbative gauge invariance, formulated
exclusively by means of asymptotic fields, is discussed for the simple example
of Abelian U(1) gauge theory (Abelian Higgs model). Our findings are relevant
for the electroweak theory, as pointed out elsewhere.Comment: 13 pages, latex, no figure
The statistical properties of the city transport in Cuernavaca (Mexico) and Random matrix ensembles
We analyze statistical properties of the city bus transport in Cuernavaca
(Mexico) and show that the bus arrivals display probability distributions
conforming those given by the Unitary Ensemble of random matrices.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
The Interaction of Quantum Gravity with Matter
The interaction of (linearized) gravitation with matter is studied in the
causal approach up to the second order of perturbation theory. We consider the
generic case and prove that gravitation is universal in the sense that the
existence of the interaction with gravitation does not put new constraints on
the Lagrangian for lower spin fields. We use the formalism of quantum off-shell
fields which makes our computation more straightforward and simpler.Comment: 25 page
Metatranscriptome analysis reveals bacterial symbiont contributions to lower termite physiology and potential immune functions.
Background: Symbioses throughout the animal kingdom are known to extend physiological and ecological capabilities to hosts. Insect-microbe associations are extremely common and are often related to novel niche exploitation, fitness advantages, and even speciation events. These phenomena include expansions in host diet, detoxification of insecticides and toxins, and increased defense against pathogens. However, dissecting the contributions of individual groups of symbionts at the molecular level is often underexplored due to methodological and analytical limitations. Termites are one of the best studied systems for physiological collaborations between host and symbiota however, most work in lower termites (those with bacterial and protist symbionts) focuses on the eukaryotic members of this symbiotic consortium. Here we present a metatranscriptomic analysis which provides novel insights into bacterial contributions to the holobiont of the eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes, in the presence and absence of a fungal pathogen. Results: Using a customized ribodepletion strategy, a metatranscriptome assembly was obtained representing the host termite as well as bacterial and protist symbiota. Sequence data provide new insights into biosynthesis, catabolism, and transport of major organic molecules and ions by the gut consortium, and corroborate previous findings suggesting that bacteria play direct roles in nitrogen fixation, amino acid biosynthesis, and lignocellulose digestion. With regard to fungal pathogen challenge, a total of 563 differentially expressed candidate host and symbiont contigs were identified (162 up- and 401 downregulated; α/FDR = 0.05) including an upregulated bacterial amidohydrolase. Conclusions: This study presents the most complete bacterial metatranscriptome from a lower termite and provides a framework on which to build a more complete model of termite-symbiont interactions including, but not limited to, digestion and pathogen defense. © 2016 The Author(s)
The Galaxy Cluster Luminosity-Temperature Relationship and Iron Abundances - A Measure of Formation History ?
Both the X-ray luminosity-temperature (L-T) relationship and the iron
abundance distribution of galaxy clusters show intrinsic dispersion. Using a
large set of galaxy clusters with measured iron abundances we find a
correlation between abundance and the relative deviation of a cluster from the
mean L-T relationship. We argue that these observations can be explained by
taking into account the range of cluster formation epochs expected within a
hierarchical universe. The known relationship of cooling flow mass deposition
rate to luminosity and temperature is also consistent with this explanation.
From the observed cluster population we estimate that the oldest clusters
formed at z>~2. We propose that the iron abundance of a galaxy cluster can
provide a parameterization of its age and dynamical history.Comment: 13 pages Latex, 2 figures, postscript. Accepted for publication in
ApJ Letter
Spectral Statistics for the Dirac Operator on Graphs
We determine conditions for the quantisation of graphs using the Dirac
operator for both two and four component spinors. According to the
Bohigas-Giannoni-Schmit conjecture for such systems with time-reversal symmetry
the energy level statistics are expected, in the semiclassical limit, to
correspond to those of random matrices from the Gaussian symplectic ensemble.
This is confirmed by numerical investigation. The scattering matrix used to
formulate the quantisation condition is found to be independent of the type of
spinor. We derive an exact trace formula for the spectrum and use this to
investigate the form factor in the diagonal approximation
The Epstein-Glaser approach to pQFT: graphs and Hopf algebras
The paper aims at investigating perturbative quantum field theory (pQFT) in
the approach of Epstein and Glaser (EG) and, in particular, its formulation in
the language of graphs and Hopf algebras (HAs). Various HAs are encountered,
each one associated with a special combination of physical concepts such as
normalization, localization, pseudo-unitarity, causality and an associated
regularization, and renormalization. The algebraic structures, representing the
perturbative expansion of the S-matrix, are imposed on the operator-valued
distributions which are equipped with appropriate graph indices. Translation
invariance ensures the algebras to be analytically well-defined and graded
total symmetry allows to formulate bialgebras. The algebraic results are given
embedded in the physical framework, which covers the two recent EG versions by
Fredenhagen and Scharf that differ with respect to the concrete recursive
implementation of causality. Besides, the ultraviolet divergences occuring in
Feynman's representation are mathematically reasoned. As a final result, the
change of the renormalization scheme in the EG framework is modeled via a HA
which can be seen as the EG-analog of Kreimer's HA.Comment: 52 pages, 5 figure
An XMM and Chandra view of massive clusters of galaxies to z=1
The X-ray properties of a sample of high redshift (z>0.6), massive clusters
observed with XMM-Newton and Chandra are described, including two exceptional
systems. One, at z=0.89, has an X-ray temperature of T=11.5 (+1.1, -0.9) keV
(the highest temperature of any cluster known at z>0.6), an estimated mass of
(1.4+/-0.2)x10^15 solar masses and appears relaxed. The other, at z=0.83, has
at least three sub-clumps, probably in the process of merging, and may also
show signs of faint filamentary structure at large radii,observed in X-rays. In
general there is a mix of X-ray morphologies, from those clusters which appear
relaxed and containing little substructure to some highly non-virialized and
probably merging systems. The X-ray gas metallicities and gas mass fractions of
the relaxed systems are similar to those of low redshift clusters of the same
temperature, suggesting that the gas was in place, and containing its metals,
by z=0.8. The evolution of the mass-temperature relation may be consistent with
no evolution or with the ``late formation'' assumption. The effect of point
source contamination in the ROSAT survey from which these clusters were
selected is estimated, and the implications for the ROSAT X-ray luminosity
function discussed.Comment: 9 pages, in Carnegie Observatories Astrophysics Series, Vol. 3:
Clusters of Galaxies: Probes of Cosmological Structure and Galaxy Evolution,
ed. J. S. Mulchaey, A. Dressler, and A. Oemler. See
http://www.ociw.edu/ociw/symposia/series/symposium3/proceedings.html for a
full-resolution versio
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