13,165 research outputs found
Superconformal defects in the tricritical Ising model
We study superconformal defect lines in the tricritical Ising model in 2
dimensions. By the folding trick, a superconformal defect is mapped to a
superconformal boundary of the N=1 superconformal unitary minimal model of
c=7/5 with D_6-E_6 modular invariant. It turns out that the complete set of the
boundary states of c=7/5 D_6-E_6 model cannot be interpreted as the consistent
set of superconformal defects in the tricritical Ising model since it does not
contain the "no defect" boundary state. Instead, we find a set of 18 consistent
superconformal defects including "no defect" and satisfying the Cardy
condition. This set also includes some defects which are not purely
transmissive or purely reflective.Comment: 25 pages, 3 figures. v2: typos corrected. v3: clarification about
spin structure aligned theory added, references adde
Why People Fail to use Condoms for STD and HIV Prevention
The world is almost 30 years into the AIDS pandemic. People know how to prevent HIV by using abstinence, monogamy and condom use. Despite this awareness, people still put themselves at risk for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Why? This thesis catalogues the various reasons why people fail to use condoms during sexual intercourse. The qualitative information represents specific selections from anonymous personal interviews with over 1500 individuals combined with other available data and information from other HIV field workers and organizations. The findings show four major categories of influences effecting an individual\u27s decision to engage in unprotected sexual intercourse. These major categories include
1. Partner influence
2. Perception of risk
3. Desire for health and
4. Personal barriers to condom use
Each major category is explained and analyzed. Finally a series of practical solutions are offered to address each of the different barriers to HIV and STD prevention
Properties of dust in the detached shells around U Ant, DR Ser, and V644 Sco
Understanding the properties of dust produced during the asymptotic giant
branch phase of stellar evolution is important for understanding the evolution
of stars and galaxies. Recent observations of the carbon AGB star R Scl have
shown that observations at far-infrared and submillimetre wavelengths can
effectively constrain the grain sizes in the shell, while the total mass
depends on the structure of the grains (solid vs. hollow or fluffy). We aim to
constrain the properties of the dust observed in the submillimetre in the
detached shells around the three carbon AGB stars U Ant, DR Ser, and V644 Sco,
and to investigate the constraints on the dust masses and grain sizes provided
by far-infrared and submm observations. We observed the carbon AGB stars U Ant,
DR Ser, and V644 Sco at 870 micron using LABOCA on APEX. Combined with
observations from the optical to far-infrared, we produced dust radiative
transfer models of the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) with contributions
from the stars, present-day mass-loss and detached shells. We tested the effect
of different total dust masses and grain sizes on the SED, and attempted to
consistently reproduce the SEDs from the optical to the submm. We derive dust
masses in the shells of a few 10e-5 Msun, assuming spherical, solid grains. The
best-fit grain radii are comparatively large, and indicate the presence of
grains between 0.1 micron-2 micron. The LABOCA observations suffer from
contamination from 12CO(3-2), and hence gives fluxes that are higher than the
predicted dust emission at submm wavelengths. We investigate the effect on the
best-fitting models by assuming different degrees of contamination and show
that far-infrared and submillimetre observations are important to constrain the
dust mass and grain sizes in the shells.Comment: Accepted by A&
Measuring the equation of state of a hard-disc fluid
We use video microscopy to study a two-dimensional (2D) model fluid of
charged colloidal particles suspended in water and compute the pressure from
the measured particle configurations. Direct experimental control over the
particle density by means of optical tweezers allows the precise measurement of
pressure as a function of density. We compare our data with theoretical
predictions for the equation of state, the pair-correlation function and the
compressibility of a hard-disc fluid and find good agreement, both for the
fluid and the solid phase. In particular the location of the transition point
agrees well with results from Monte Carlo simulations.Comment: 7 pages, to appear in EPL, slightly corrected versio
On the Nagaoka polaron in the t-J model
It is widely believed that a single hole in the two (or three) dimensional
t-J model, for sufficiently small exchange coupling J, creates a ferromagnetic
bubble around itself, a finite J remnant of the ferromagnetic groundstate at
J=0 (the infinite U Hubbard model), first established by Nagaoka. We
investigate this phenomenon in two dimensions using the density matrix
renormalization group, for system sizes up to 9x9. We find that the polaron
forms for J/t<0.02-0.03 (a somewhat larger value than estimated previously).
Although finite-size effects appear large, our data seems consistent with the
expected 1.1(J/t)^{-1/4} variation of polarion radius. We also test the
Brinkman-Rice model of non-retracing paths in a Neel background, showing that
it is quite accurate, at larger J. Results are also presented in the case where
the
Heisenberg interaction is dropped (the t-J^z model). Finally we discuss a
"dressed polaron" picture in which the hole propagates freely inside a finite
region but makes only self-retracing excursions outside this region.Comment: 7 pages, 9 encapsulated figure
Chandra survey in the AKARI North Ecliptic Pole Deep Field. I. X-ray data, point-like source catalog, sensitivity maps, and number counts
We present data products from the 300 ks Chandra survey in the AKARI North
Ecliptic Pole (NEP) deep field. This field has a unique set of 9-band infrared
photometry covering 2-24 micron from the AKARI Infrared Camera, including
mid-infrared (MIR) bands not covered by Spitzer. The survey is one of the
deepest ever achieved at ~15 micron, and is by far the widest among those with
similar depths in the MIR. This makes this field unique for the MIR-selection
of AGN at z~1. We design a source detection procedure, which performs joint
Maximum Likelihood PSF fits on all of our 15 mosaicked Chandra pointings
covering an area of 0.34 square degree. The procedure has been highly optimized
and tested by simulations. We provide a point source catalog with photometry
and Bayesian-based 90 per cent confidence upper limits in the 0.5-7, 0.5-2,
2-7, 2-4, and 4-7 keV bands. The catalog contains 457 X-ray sources and the
spurious fraction is estimated to be ~1.7 per cent. Sensitivity and 90 per cent
confidence upper flux limits maps in all bands are provided as well. We search
for optical MIR counterparts in the central 0.25 square degree, where deep
Subaru Suprime-Cam multiband images exist. Among the 377 X-ray sources detected
there, ~80 per cent have optical counterparts and ~60 per cent also have AKARI
mid-IR counterparts. We cross-match our X-ray sources with MIR-selected AGN
from Hanami et al. (2012). Around 30 per cent of all AGN that have MID-IR SEDs
purely explainable by AGN activity are strong Compton-thick AGN candidates.Comment: 23 pages, 20 figures; catalogs, sensitivity maps, and upper limit
flux maps are available from the VizieR Servic
Tobacco Control Measures to Reduce Socioeconomic Inequality in Smoking: The Necessity, Time-Course Perspective, and Future Implications
Previous systematic reviews of population-level tobacco control interventions and their effects on smoking inequality by socioeconomic factors concluded that tobacco taxation reduce smoking inequality by income (although this is not consistent for other socioeconomic factors, such as education). Inconsistent results have been reported for socioeconomic differences, especially for other tobacco control measures, such as smoke-free policies and anti-tobacco media campaigns. To understand smoking inequality itself and to develop strategies to reduce smoking inequality, knowledge of the underlying principles or mechanisms of the inequality over a long time-course may be important. For example, the inverse equity hypothesis recognizes that inequality may evolve in stages. New population-based interventions are initially primarily accessed by the affluent and well-educated, so there is an initial increase in socioeconomic inequality (early stage). These inequalities narrow when the deprived population can access the intervention after the affluent have gained maximum benefit (late stage). Following this hypothesis, all tobacco control measures may have the potential to reduce smoking inequality, if they continue for a long term, covering and reaching all socioeconomic subgroups. Re-evaluation of the impact of the interventions on smoking inequality using a long time-course perspective may lead to a favorable next step in equity effectiveness. Tackling socioeconomic inequality in smoking may be a key public health target for the reduction of inequality in health
- …