69 research outputs found
Gravitational Couplings of Intrinsic Spin
The gravitational couplings of intrinsic spin are briefly reviewed. A
consequence of the Dirac equation in the exterior gravitational field of a
rotating mass is considered in detail, namely, the difference in the energy of
a spin-1/2 particle polarized vertically up and down near the surface of a
rotating body is . Here is the latitude and
, where and are, respectively, the angular
momentum and radius of the body. It seems that this relativistic quantum
gravitational effect could be measurable in the foreseeable future.Comment: LaTeX file, no figures, 16 page
Comparative Genome Analysis Reveals Divergent Genome Size Evolution in a Carnivorous Plant Genus
The C-value paradox remains incompletely resolved after >40 yr and is exemplified by 2,350-fold variation in genome sizes of flowering plants. The carnivorous Lentibulariaceae genus , displaying a 25-fold range of genome sizes, is a promising subject to study mechanisms and consequences of evolutionary genome size variation. Applying genomic, phylogenetic, and cytogenetic approaches, we uncovered bidirectional genome size evolution within the genus . The Steyerm. genome (86 Mbp) has probably shrunk by retroelement silencing and deletion-biased double-strand break (DSB) repair, from an ancestral size of 400 to 800 Mbp to become one of the smallest among flowering plants. The Stapf genome has expanded by whole-genome duplication (WGD) and retrotransposition to 1550 Mbp. became allotetraploid after the split from the clade âŒ29 Ma. A. St.-Hil. (179 Mbp), a close relative of , proved to be a recent (auto)tetraploid. Our analyses suggest a common ancestor of the genus a with an intermediate 1C value (400â800 Mbp) and subsequent rapid genome size evolution in opposite directions. Many abundant repeats of the larger genome are absent in the smaller, casting doubt on their functionality for the organism, while recurrent WGD seems to safeguard against the loss of essential elements in the face of genome shrinkage. We cannot identify any consistent differences in habitat or life strategy that correlate with genome size changes, raising the possibility that these changes may be selectively neutral
Entanglement, recoherence and information flow in an accelerated detector - quantum field system: Implications for black hole information issue
We study an exactly solvable model where an uniformly accelerated detector is
linearly coupled to a massless scalar field initially in the Minkowski vacuum.
Using the exact correlation functions we show that as soon as the coupling is
switched on one can see information flowing from the detector to the field and
propagating with the radiation into null infinity. By expressing the reduced
density matrix of the detector in terms of the two-point functions, we
calculate the purity function in the detector and study the evolution of
quantum entanglement between the detector and the field. Only in the ultraweak
coupling regime could some degree of recoherence in the detector appear at late
times, but never in full restoration. We explicitly show that under the most
general conditions the detector never recovers its quantum coherence and the
entanglement between the detector and the field remains large at late times. To
the extent this model can be used as an analog to the system of a black hole
interacting with a quantum field, our result seems to suggest in the prevalent
non-Markovian regime, assuming unitarity for the combined system, that black
hole information is not lost but transferred to the quantum field degrees of
freedom. Our combined system will evolve into a highly entangled state between
a remnant of large area (in Bekenstein's black hole atom analog) without any
information of its initial state, and the quantum field, now imbued with
complex information content not-so-easily retrievable by a local observer.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures; minor change
Sequencing of BAC pools by different next generation sequencing platforms and strategies
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Next generation sequencing of BACs is a viable option for deciphering the sequence of even large and highly repetitive genomes. In order to optimize this strategy, we examined the influence of read length on the quality of Roche/454 sequence assemblies, to what extent Illumina/Solexa mate pairs (MPs) improve the assemblies by scaffolding and whether barcoding of BACs is dispensable.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Sequencing four BACs with both FLX and Titanium technologies revealed similar sequencing accuracy, but showed that the longer Titanium reads produce considerably less misassemblies and gaps. The 454 assemblies of 96 barcoded BACs were improved by scaffolding 79% of the total contig length with MPs from a non-barcoded library.</p> <p>Assembly of the unmasked 454 sequences without separation by barcodes revealed chimeric contig formation to be a major problem, encompassing 47% of the total contig length. Masking the sequences reduced this fraction to 24%.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Optimal BAC pool sequencing should be based on the longest available reads, with barcoding essential for a comprehensive assessment of both repetitive and non-repetitive sequence information. When interest is restricted to non-repetitive regions and repeats are masked prior to assembly, barcoding is non-essential. In any case, the assemblies can be improved considerably by scaffolding with non-barcoded BAC pool MPs.</p
First light of VLT/HiRISE: High-resolution spectroscopy of young giant exoplanets
A major endeavor of this decade is the direct characterization of young giant
exoplanets at high spectral resolution to determine the composition of their
atmosphere and infer their formation processes and evolution. Such a goal
represents a major challenge owing to their small angular separation and
luminosity contrast with respect to their parent stars. Instead of designing
and implementing completely new facilities, it has been proposed to leverage
the capabilities of existing instruments that offer either high contrast
imaging or high dispersion spectroscopy, by coupling them using optical fibers.
In this work we present the implementation and first on-sky results of the
HiRISE instrument at the very large telescope (VLT), which combines the
exoplanet imager SPHERE with the recently upgraded high resolution spectrograph
CRIRES using single-mode fibers. The goal of HiRISE is to enable the
characterization of known companions in the band, at a spectral resolution
of the order of , in a few hours of
observing time. We present the main design choices and the technical
implementation of the system, which is constituted of three major parts: the
fiber injection module inside of SPHERE, the fiber bundle around the telescope,
and the fiber extraction module at the entrance of CRIRES. We also detail the
specific calibrations required for HiRISE and the operations of the instrument
for science observations. Finally, we detail the performance of the system in
terms of astrometry, temporal stability, optical aberrations, and transmission,
for which we report a peak value of 3.9% based on sky measurements in
median observing conditions. Finally, we report on the first astrophysical
detection of HiRISE to illustrate its potential.Comment: 17 pages, 15 figures, 3 tables. Submitted to A&A on 19 September 202
First light of VLT/HiRISE: High-resolution spectroscopy of young giant exoplanets
A major endeavor of this decade is the direct characterization of young giant exoplanets at high spectral resolution to determine the composition of their atmosphere and infer their formation processes and evolution. Such a goal represents a major challenge owing to their small angular separation and luminosity contrast with respect to their parent stars. Instead of designing and implementing completely new facilities, it has been proposed to leverage the capabilities of existing instruments that offer either high-contrast imaging or high-dispersion spectroscopy by coupling them using optical fibers. In this work, we present the implementation and first on-sky results of the High-Resolution Imaging and Spectroscopy of Exoplanets (HiRISE) instrument at the Very Large Telescope (VLT), which combines the exoplanet imager SPHERE with the recently upgraded high-resolution spectrograph CRIRES using single-mode fibers. The goal of HiRISE is to enable the characterization of known companions in the H band at a spectral resolution on the order of R = λ/âλ = 100 000 in a few hours of observing time. We present the main design choices and the technical implementation of the system, which is constituted of three major parts: the fiber injection module inside of SPHERE, the fiber bundle around the telescope, and the fiber extraction module at the entrance of CRIRES. We also detail the specific calibrations required for HiRISE and the operations of the instrument for science observations. Finally, we detail the performance of the system in terms of astrometry, temporal stability, optical aberrations, and transmission, for which we report a peak value of ~3.9% based on sky measurements in median observing conditions. Finally, we report on the first astrophysical detection of HiRISE to illustrate its potential
From Clock Synchronization to Dark Matter as a Relativistic Inertial Effect
Lecture at BOSS2011 on relativistic metrology, on clock synchronization,
relativistic dynamics and non-inertial frames in Minkowski spacetime, on
relativistic atomic physics, on ADM canonical tetrad gravity in asymptotically
Minkowskian spacetimes, on the York canonical basis identifying the inertial
(gauge) and tidal degrees of freedom of the gravitational field, on the
Post-Minkowskian linearization in 3-orthogonal gauges, on the Post-Newtonian
limit of matter Hamilton equations, on the possibility to interpret dark matter
as a relativistic inertial effect connected with relativistic metrology (i.e.
clock synchronization) in Einstein GR.Comment: 90 pages. Lecture at BOSS201
A physical, genetic and functional sequence assembly of the barley genome
Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is among the world's earliest domesticated and most important crop plants. It is diploid with a large haploid genome of 5.1 gigabases (Gb). Here we present an integrated and ordered physical, genetic and functional sequence resource that describes the barley gene-space in a structured whole-genome context. We developed a physical map of 4.98 Gb, with more than 3.90 Gb anchored to a high-resolution genetic map. Projecting a deep whole-genome shotgun assembly, complementary DNA and deep RNA sequence data onto this framework supports 79,379 transcript clusters, including 26,159 'high-confidence' genes with homology support from other plant genomes. Abundant alternative splicing, premature termination codons and novel transcriptionally active regions suggest that post-transcriptional processing forms an important regulatory layer. Survey sequences from diverse accessions reveal a landscape of extensive single-nucleotide variation. Our data provide a platform for both genome-assisted research and enabling contemporary crop improvement
- âŠ