5,696 research outputs found
Improvement of Renormalization-Scale Uncertainties Within Empirical Determinations of the b-Quark Mass
Accurate determinations of the MS-bar b-quark mass from
experimental data currently contain three
comparable sources of uncertainty; the experimental uncertainty from moments of
this cross-section, the uncertainty associated with , and the
theoretical uncertainty associated with the renormalization scale. Through
resummation of all logarithmic terms explicitly determined in the perturbative
series by the renormalization-group (RG) equation, it is shown that the
renormalization-scale dependence is virtually eliminated as a source of
theoretical uncertainty in . This resummation also reduces the
estimated effect of higher-loop perturbative contributions, further reducing
the theoretical uncertainties in . Furthermore, such resummation
techniques improve the agreement between the values of the MS-bar b-quark mass
extracted from the various moments of [], obviating the need to
choose an optimummoment for determining . Resummation techniques are
also shown to reduce renormalization-scale dependence in the relation between
b-quark MS-bar and pole mass and in the relation between the pole and
mass.Comment: 19 pages, latex2e, 6 eps figures contained in latex file. Errors
corrected in equations (20)--(22
Colorectal cancer and its detection, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up: disease and treatment pathways
Mass along the Line of Sight to the Gravitational Lens B1608+656: Galaxy Groups and Implications for H_0
We report the discovery of four groups of galaxies along the line of sight to the B1608+656 gravitational lens system. One group is at the redshift of the primary lensing galaxy (z = 0.631) and appears to have a low mass, with eight spectroscopically confirmed members and an estimated velocity dispersion of 150 ± 60 km s^(-1). The three other groups are in the foreground of the lens. These groups contain ~10 confirmed members each and are located at redshifts of 0.265, 0.426, and 0.52. Two of the three additional groups are centered roughly on the lens system, while the third is centered ~1' south of the lens. We investigate the effect of each of the four groups on the gravitational lensing potential of the B1608+656 system, with a particular focus on the implications for the value of H_0 derived from this system. We find that each group provides an external convergence of ~0.005-0.060, depending on the assumptions made in the calculation. For the B1608+656 system, the stellar velocity dispersion of the lensing galaxy has been measured, thus breaking the mass sheet degeneracy due to the group that is physically associated with the lens. The effect of the other groups along the line of sight can be folded into the overall uncertainties due to large-scale structure (LSS) along the line of sight. Because B1608+656 appears to lie along an overdense line of sight, the LSS will cause the measurement of H_0 to be biased high for this system. This effect could be 5% or greater
Naturally occurring bacteriophages lyse a large proportion of canine and feline uropathogenic Escherichia coli isolates in vitro
We investigated the feasibility of bacteriophage therapy to combat canine and feline Escherichia coli urinary tract infections (UTIs) by testing the in vitro lytic ability of 40 naturally occurring bacteriophages on 53 uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC). The mean number of UPEC strains lysed by an individual bacteriophage was 21/53 (40%, range 17–72%). In total, 50/53 (94%) of the UPEC strains were killed by one or more of the bacteriophages. Ten bacteriophages lysed P51% of UPEC strains individually and 92% of UPEC strains as a group. Electron microscopy and DNA sequencing of 5 ‘promising’ bacteriophages revealed that 4 bacteriophages belonged to the lytic T4-like genus, while one displayed morphologic similarity to temperate P2-like bacteriophages. Overall, these results indicate that the majority of UPEC are susceptible to lysis by naturally occurring bacteriophages. Thus, bacteriophages show promise as therapeutic agents for treatment of canine and feline E. coli UTIs
An X-ray Selected Galaxy Cluster at z=1.11 in the Rosat Deep Cluster Survey
We report the discovery of an X-ray luminous galaxy cluster at z =1.11. RDCS
J0910+5422 was selected as an X-ray cluster candidate in the ROSAT Deep Cluster
Survey on the basis of its spatial extent in a Rosat PSPC image. Deep optical
and near-IR imaging reveal a red galaxy overdensity around the peak of the
X-ray emission, with a significant excess of objects with J-K and I-K colors
typical of elliptical galaxies at z ~ 1.0. Spectroscopic observations at the
Keck II telescope secured 9 galaxy redshifts in the range 1.095<z<1.120
yielding a mean cluster redshift of =1.106. Eight of these galaxies lie
within a 30 arcsec radius around the peak X-ray emission. A deep Chandra ACIS
exposure on this field shows extended X-ray morphology and allows the X-ray
spectrum of the intracluster medium to be measured. The cluster has a
bolometric luminosity L_x = 2.48^{+0.33}_{-0.26} x 10^44 ergs/s, a temperature
of kT = 7.2^{+2.2}_{-1.4} keV, and a mass within r = 1 Mpc of 7.0 x 10^14 M_sun
(H_0=65 km/s/Mpc, Omega_m = 0.3, and Lambda = 0.7). The spatial distribution of
the cluster members is elongated, which is not due to an observational
selection effect, and followed by the X-ray morphology. The X-ray surface
brightness profile and the spectrophotometric properties of the cluster members
suggest that this is an example of a massive cluster in an advanced stage of
formation with a hot ICM and an old galaxy population already in place at z >
1.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures: Figures 1,4,6 included as separate jpg files.
Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journa
Slip-velocity of large neutrally-buoyant particles in turbulent flows
We discuss possible definitions for a stochastic slip velocity that describes
the relative motion between large particles and a turbulent flow. This
definition is necessary because the slip velocity used in the standard drag
model fails when particle size falls within the inertial subrange of ambient
turbulence. We propose two definitions, selected in part due to their
simplicity: they do not require filtration of the fluid phase velocity field,
nor do they require the construction of conditional averages on particle
locations. A key benefit of this simplicity is that the stochastic slip
velocity proposed here can be calculated equally well for laboratory, field,
and numerical experiments. The stochastic slip velocity allows the definition
of a Reynolds number that should indicate whether large particles in turbulent
flow behave (a) as passive tracers; (b) as a linear filter of the velocity
field; or (c) as a nonlinear filter to the velocity field. We calculate the
value of stochastic slip for ellipsoidal and spherical particles (the size of
the Taylor microscale) measured in laboratory homogeneous isotropic turbulence.
The resulting Reynolds number is significantly higher than 1 for both particle
shapes, and velocity statistics show that particle motion is a complex
non-linear function of the fluid velocity. We further investigate the nonlinear
relationship by comparing the probability distribution of fluctuating
velocities for particle and fluid phases
A Compact Microchip-Based Atomic Clock Based on Ultracold Trapped Rb Atoms
We propose a compact atomic clock based on ultracold Rb atoms that are
magnetically trapped near the surface of an atom microchip. An interrogation
scheme that combines electromagnetically-induced transparency (EIT) with
Ramsey's method of separated oscillatory fields can achieve atomic shot-noise
level performance of 10^{-13}/sqrt(tau) for 10^6 atoms. The EIT signal can be
detected with a heterodyne technique that provides noiseless gain; with this
technique the optical phase shift of a 100 pW probe beam can be detected at the
photon shot-noise level. Numerical calculations of the density matrix equations
are used to identify realistic operating parameters at which AC Stark shifts
are eliminated. By considering fluctuations in these parameters, we estimate
that AC Stark shifts can be canceled to a level better than 2*10^{-14}. An
overview of the apparatus is presented with estimates of duty cycle and power
consumption.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures, 5 table
Modes of Growth in Dynamic Systems
Regardless of a system's complexity or scale, its growth can be considered to
be a spontaneous thermodynamic response to a local convergence of down-gradient
material flows. Here it is shown how growth can be constrained to a few
distinct modes that depend on the availability of material and energetic
resources. These modes include a law of diminishing returns, logistic behavior
and, if resources are expanding very rapidly, super-exponential growth. For a
case where a system has a resolved sink as well as a source, growth and decay
can be characterized in terms of a slightly modified form of the predator-prey
equations commonly employed in ecology, where the perturbation formulation of
these equations is equivalent to a damped simple harmonic oscillator. Thus, the
framework presented here suggests a common theoretical under-pinning for
emergent behaviors in the physical and life sciences. Specific examples are
described for phenomena as seemingly dissimilar as the development of rain and
the evolution of fish stocks.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures, including appendi
The Indian Star Tortoise, Geochelone elegans (Schoepff 1795) (Testudinidae), a new introduced species in Florida
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