809 research outputs found
Last interglacial temperature evolution – a model inter-comparison
Abstract. There is a growing number of proxy-based reconstructions detailing the climatic changes during the Last Interglacial period. This period is of special interest because large parts of the globe were characterized by a warmer-than-present-day climate, making this period an interesting test bed for climate models in the light of projected global warming. However, mainly because synchronizing the different records is difficult, there is no consensus on a global picture of Last Interglacial temperature changes. Here we present the first model inter-comparison of transient simulations covering the Last Interglacial period. By comparing the different simulations we aim at investigating the robustness of the simulated surface air temperature evolution. The model inter-comparison shows a robust Northern Hemisphere July temperature evolution characterized by a maximum between 130–122 ka BP with temperatures 0.4 to 6.8 K above pre-industrial values. This temperature evolution is in line with the changes in June insolation and greenhouse-gas concentrations. For the evolution of July temperatures in the Southern Hemisphere, the picture emerging from the inter-comparison is less clear. However, it does show that including greenhouse-gas concentration changes is critical. The simulations that include this forcing show an early, 128 ka BP July temperature anomaly maximum of 0.5 to 2.6 K. The robustness of simulated January temperatures is large in the Southern Hemisphere and the mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. In these latitudes maximum January temperature anomalies of respectively −2.5 to 2 K and 0 to 2 K are simulated for the period after 118 ka BP. The inter-comparison is inconclusive on the evolution of January temperatures in the high-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Further investigation of regional anomalous patterns and inter-model differences indicate that in specific regions, feedbacks within the climate system are important for the simulated temperature evolution. Firstly in the Arctic region, changes in the summer sea-ice cover control the evolution of Last Interglacial winter temperatures. Secondly, for the Atlantic region, the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific, possible changes in the characteristics of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation are critical. The third important feedback, having an impact on the temperature evolution of the Northern Hemisphere, is shown to be the presence of remnant continental ice from the preceding glacial period. Another important feedback are changes in the monsoon regime which controls the evolution of temperatures over parts of Africa and India. Finally, the simulations reveal an important land-sea contrast, with temperature changes over the oceans lagging continental temperatures by up to several thousand years. The aforementioned feedback mechanisms tend to be highly model-dependent, indicating that specific proxy-data is needed to constrain future climate simulations and to further enhance our understanding of the evolution of the climate during the Last Interglacial period
Quantum phase transitions from topology in momentum space
Many quantum condensed matter systems are strongly correlated and strongly
interacting fermionic systems, which cannot be treated perturbatively. However,
physics which emerges in the low-energy corner does not depend on the
complicated details of the system and is relatively simple. It is determined by
the nodes in the fermionic spectrum, which are protected by topology in
momentum space (in some cases, in combination with the vacuum symmetry). Close
to the nodes the behavior of the system becomes universal; and the universality
classes are determined by the toplogical invariants in momentum space. When one
changes the parameters of the system, the transitions are expected to occur
between the vacua with the same symmetry but which belong to different
universality classes. Different types of quantum phase transitions governed by
topology in momentum space are discussed in this Chapter. They involve Fermi
surfaces, Fermi points, Fermi lines, and also the topological transitions
between the fully gapped states. The consideration based on the momentum space
topology of the Green's function is general and is applicable to the vacua of
relativistic quantum fields. This is illustrated by the possible quantum phase
transition governed by topology of nodes in the spectrum of elementary
particles of Standard Model.Comment: 45 pages, 17 figures, 83 references, Chapter for the book "Quantum
Simulations via Analogues: From Phase Transitions to Black Holes", to appear
in Springer lecture notes in physics (LNP
Urgent care axis for the older adult: where is best to target interventions?
Background We explored the urgent care axis across EDs in Yorkshire and Humber (Y&H) for patients aged ≥75 years to identify where interventions could be targeted to prevent ED attendances and inpatient admissions.
Methods Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data for attendances across 18 EDs in Y&H from April 2011 to March 2014 were retrospectively analysed. HES A&E and Admitted Patient Care patient records data were linked to describe the entire patient pathway. The population studied was adult patients attending type 1 EDs, comparing those ≥75 years with those under 75. Data analysed included arrival mode, presentation time, time in ED, outcome (admitted/discharged), admission length of stay, International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD-10) and cause codes related to admission. Short-stay admissions and admissions with potentially avoidable conditions (identified by ICD-10 codes and cause codes) were identified. Comparative analysis was undertaken between sites.
Results There were 3 736 541 ED attendances, of which 625 772 (16.7%) were ≥75 years. Older patients were significantly more likely to attend via ambulance than the younger cohort (OR 7.7, 95% CI 7.6 to 7.7), and had significantly longer median stays within ED (195 vs 136 min, p<0.001) and increased likelihood of admission (OR 4.5, 95% CI 4.5 to 4.6). Short-stay admissions accounted for 28.3% of older adult admissions. 37.3% of older adult admissions were with conditions that were potentially avoidable, accounting for 42.3% of short-stay admissions. There was regional variation in the proportions of older adults admitted (between 34.3% and 40.9%).
Discussion Large numbers of older adults present to EDs mainly by ambulance. Significant proportions are admitted for short periods with conditions that might potentially be managed outside of hospital. Variation across the region warrants further study
Accretion, Outflows, and Winds of Magnetized Stars
Many types of stars have strong magnetic fields that can dynamically
influence the flow of circumstellar matter. In stars with accretion disks, the
stellar magnetic field can truncate the inner disk and determine the paths that
matter can take to flow onto the star. These paths are different in stars with
different magnetospheres and periods of rotation. External field lines of the
magnetosphere may inflate and produce favorable conditions for outflows from
the disk-magnetosphere boundary. Outflows can be particularly strong in the
propeller regime, wherein a star rotates more rapidly than the inner disk.
Outflows may also form at the disk-magnetosphere boundary of slowly rotating
stars, if the magnetosphere is compressed by the accreting matter. In isolated,
strongly magnetized stars, the magnetic field can influence formation and/or
propagation of stellar wind outflows. Winds from low-mass, solar-type stars may
be either thermally or magnetically driven, while winds from massive, luminous
O and B type stars are radiatively driven. In all of these cases, the magnetic
field influences matter flow from the stars and determines many observational
properties. In this chapter we review recent studies of accretion, outflows,
and winds of magnetized stars with a focus on three main topics: (1) accretion
onto magnetized stars; (2) outflows from the disk-magnetosphere boundary; and
(3) winds from isolated massive magnetized stars. We show results obtained from
global magnetohydrodynamic simulations and, in a number of cases compare global
simulations with observations.Comment: 60 pages, 44 figure
Magnetic fields in cosmic particle acceleration sources
We review here some magnetic phenomena in astrophysical particle accelerators
associated with collisionless shocks in supernova remnants, radio galaxies and
clusters of galaxies. A specific feature is that the accelerated particles can
play an important role in magnetic field evolution in the objects. We discuss a
number of CR-driven, magnetic field amplification processes that are likely to
operate when diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) becomes efficient and
nonlinear. The turbulent magnetic fields produced by these processes determine
the maximum energies of accelerated particles and result in specific features
in the observed photon radiation of the sources. Equally important, magnetic
field amplification by the CR currents and pressure anisotropies may affect the
shocked gas temperatures and compression, both in the shock precursor and in
the downstream flow, if the shock is an efficient CR accelerator. Strong
fluctuations of the magnetic field on scales above the radiation formation
length in the shock vicinity result in intermittent structures observable in
synchrotron emission images. Resonant and non-resonant CR streaming
instabilities in the shock precursor can generate mesoscale magnetic fields
with scale-sizes comparable to supernova remnants and even superbubbles. This
opens the possibility that magnetic fields in the earliest galaxies were
produced by the first generation Population III supernova remnants and by
clustered supernovae in star forming regions.Comment: 30 pages, Space Science Review
Relation Between Chiral Susceptibility and Solutions of Gap Equation in Nambu--Jona-Lasinio Model
We study the solutions of the gap equation, the thermodynamic potential and
the chiral susceptibility in and beyond the chiral limit at finite chemical
potential in the Nambu--Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model. We give an explicit relation
between the chiral susceptibility and the thermodynamic potential in the NJL
model. We find that the chiral susceptibility is a quantity being able to
represent the furcation of the solutions of the gap equation and the
concavo-convexity of the thermodynamic potential in NJL model. It indicates
that the chiral susceptibility can identify the stable state and the
possibility of the chiral phase transition in NJL model.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures, misprints are correcte
Observation of a Narrow Resonance of Mass 2.46 GeV/c^2 Decaying to D_s^*+ pi^0 and Confirmation of the D_sJ^* (2317) State
Using 13.5 inverse fb of e+e- annihilation data collected with the CLEO II
detector we have observed a narrow resonance in the Ds*+pi0 final state, with a
mass near 2.46 GeV. The search for such a state was motivated by the recent
discovery by the BaBar Collaboration of a narrow state at 2.32 GeV, the
DsJ*(2317)+ that decays to Ds+pi0. Reconstructing the Ds+pi0 and Ds*+pi0 final
states in CLEO data, we observe peaks in both of the corresponding
reconstructed mass difference distributions, dM(Dspi0)=M(Dspi0)-M(Ds) and
dM(Ds*pi0)=M(Ds*pi0)-M(Ds*), both of them at values near 350 MeV. We interpret
these peaks as signatures of two distinct states, the DsJ*(2317)+ plus a new
state, designated as the DsJ(2463)+. Because of the similar dM values, each of
these states represents a source of background for the other if photons are
lost, ignored or added. A quantitative accounting of these reflections confirms
that both states exist. We have measured the mean mass differences
= 350.0 +/- 1.2 [stat] +/- 1.0 [syst] MeV for the DsJ*(2317) state, and
= 351.2 +/- 1.7 [stat] +/- 1.0 [syst] MeV for the new DsJ(2463)+
state. We have also searched, but find no evidence, for decays of the two
states via the channels Ds*+gamma, Ds+gamma, and Ds+pi+pi-. The observations of
the two states at 2.32 and 2.46 GeV, in the Ds+pi0 and Ds*+pi0 decay channels
respectively, are consistent with their interpretations as (c anti-strange)
mesons with orbital angular momentum L=1, and spin-parities of 0+ and 1+.Comment: 16 pages postscript, also available through
http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS, version to be published in Physical
Review D; minor modifications and fixes to typographical errors, plus an
added section on production properties. The main results are unchanged; they
supersede those reported in hep-ex/030501
Measurement of the Charge Asymmetry in
We report on a search for a CP-violating asymmetry in the charmless hadronic
decay B -> K*(892)+- pi-+, using 9.12 fb^-1 of integrated luminosity produced
at \sqrt{s}=10.58 GeV and collected with the CLEO detector. We find A_{CP}(B ->
K*(892)+- pi-+) = 0.26+0.33-0.34(stat.)+0.10-0.08(syst.), giving an allowed
interval of [-0.31,0.78] at the 90% confidence level.Comment: 7 pages postscript, also available through
http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS, submitted to PR
Study of the q^2-Dependence of B --> pi ell nu and B --> rho(omega)ell nu Decay and Extraction of |V_ub|
We report on determinations of |Vub| resulting from studies of the branching
fraction and q^2 distributions in exclusive semileptonic B decays that proceed
via the b->u transition. Our data set consists of the 9.7x10^6 BBbar meson
pairs collected at the Y(4S) resonance with the CLEO II detector. We measure
B(B0 -> pi- l+ nu) = (1.33 +- 0.18 +- 0.11 +- 0.01 +- 0.07)x10^{-4} and B(B0 ->
rho- l+ nu) = (2.17 +- 0.34 +0.47/-0.54 +- 0.41 +- 0.01)x10^{-4}, where the
errors are statistical, experimental systematic, systematic due to residual
form-factor uncertainties in the signal, and systematic due to residual
form-factor uncertainties in the cross-feed modes, respectively. We also find
B(B+ -> eta l+ nu) = (0.84 +- 0.31 +- 0.16 +- 0.09)x10^{-4}, consistent with
what is expected from the B -> pi l nu mode and quark model symmetries. We
extract |Vub| using Light-Cone Sum Rules (LCSR) for 0<= q^2<16 GeV^2 and
Lattice QCD (LQCD) for 16 GeV^2 <= q^2 < q^2_max. Combining both intervals
yields |Vub| = (3.24 +- 0.22 +- 0.13 +0.55/-0.39 +- 0.09)x10^{-3}$ for pi l nu,
and |Vub| = (3.00 +- 0.21 +0.29/-0.35 +0.49/-0.38 +-0.28)x10^{-3} for rho l nu,
where the errors are statistical, experimental systematic, theoretical, and
signal form-factor shape, respectively. Our combined value from both decay
modes is |Vub| = (3.17 +- 0.17 +0.16/-0.17 +0.53/-0.39 +-0.03)x10^{-3}.Comment: 45 pages postscript, also available through
http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS, submitted to PR
Search for CP Violation in D^0--> K_S^0 pi^+pi^-
We report on a search for CP violation in the decay of D0 and D0B to Kshort
pi+pi-. The data come from an integrated luminosity of 9.0 1/fb of e+e-
collisions at sqrt(s) ~ 10 GeV recorded with the CLEO II.V detector. The
resonance substructure of this decay is well described by ten quasi-two-body
decay channels (K*-pi+, K*0(1430)-pi+, K*2(1430)-pi+, K*(1680)-pi+, Kshort rho,
Kshort omega, Kshort f0(980), Kshort f2(1270), Kshort f0(1370), and the ``wrong
sign'' K*+ pi-) plus a small non-resonant component. We observe no evidence for
CP violation in the amplitudes and phases that describe the decay D0 to K_S^0
pi+pi-.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, also available at
http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS/, submitted to PR
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