2,970 research outputs found
Self-Similar Random Processes and Infinite-Dimensional Configuration Spaces
We discuss various infinite-dimensional configuration spaces that carry
measures quasiinvariant under compactly-supported diffeomorphisms of a manifold
M corresponding to a physical space. Such measures allow the construction of
unitary representations of the diffeomorphism group, which are important to
nonrelativistic quantum statistical physics and to the quantum theory of
extended objects in d-dimensional Euclidean space. Special attention is given
to measurable structure and topology underlying measures on generalized
configuration spaces obtained from self-similar random processes (both for d =
1 and d > 1), which describe infinite point configurations having accumulation
points
Indigenous and institutional profile: Limpopo River Basin
River basins / Water resource management / History / Institutions / Social aspects / Legal aspects
A Search for Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropies on Arcminute Scales with Bolocam
We have surveyed two science fields totaling one square degree with Bolocam
at 2.1 mm to search for secondary CMB anisotropies caused by the Sunyaev-
Zel'dovich effect (SZE). The fields are in the Lynx and Subaru/XMM SDS1 fields.
Our survey is sensitive to angular scales with an effective angular multipole
of l_eff = 5700 with FWHM_l = 2800 and has an angular resolution of 60
arcseconds FWHM. Our data provide no evidence for anisotropy. We are able to
constrain the level of total astronomical anisotropy, modeled as a flat
bandpower in C_l, with frequentist 68%, 90%, and 95% CL upper limits of 590,
760, and 830 uKCMB^2. We statistically subtract the known contribution from
primary CMB anisotropy, including cosmic variance, to obtain constraints on the
SZE anisotropy contribution. Now including flux calibration uncertainty, our
frequentist 68%, 90% and 95% CL upper limits on a flat bandpower in C_l are
690, 960, and 1000 uKCMB^2. When we instead employ the analytic spectrum
suggested by Komatsu and Seljak (2002), and account for the non-Gaussianity of
the SZE anisotropy signal, we obtain upper limits on the average amplitude of
their spectrum weighted by our transfer function of 790, 1060, and 1080
uKCMB^2. We obtain a 90% CL upper limit on sigma8, which normalizes the power
spectrum of density fluctuations, of 1.57. These are the first constraints on
anisotropy and sigma8 from survey data at these angular scales at frequencies
near 150 GHz.Comment: 68 pages, 17 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in Ap
Nonlinear Response of a Kondo system: Direct and Alternating Tunneling Currents
Non - equilibrium tunneling current of an Anderson impurity system subject to
both constant and alternating electric fields is studied. A time - dependent
Schrieffer - Wolff transformation maps the time - dependent Anderson
Hamiltonian onto a Kondo one. Perturbation expansion in powers of the Kondo
coupling strength is carried out up to third order, yielding a remarkably
simple analytical expression for the tunneling current. It is found that the
zero - bias anomaly is suppressed by an ac - field. Both dc and the first
harmonic are equally enhanced by the Kondo effect, while the higher harmonics
are relatively small. These results are shown to be valid also below the Kondo
temperature.Comment: 7 pages, RevTeX, 3 PS figures attached, the article has been
significantly developed: time - dependent Schrieffer - Wolff transformation
is presented in the full form, the results are applied to the change in the
direct current induced by an alternating field (2 figures are new
Signaling, Entanglement, and Quantum Evolution Beyond Cauchy Horizons
Consider a bipartite entangled system half of which falls through the event
horizon of an evaporating black hole, while the other half remains coherently
accessible to experiments in the exterior region. Beyond complete evaporation,
the evolution of the quantum state past the Cauchy horizon cannot remain
unitary, raising the questions: How can this evolution be described as a
quantum map, and how is causality preserved? What are the possible effects of
such nonstandard quantum evolution maps on the behavior of the entangled
laboratory partner? More generally, the laws of quantum evolution under extreme
conditions in remote regions (not just in evaporating black-hole interiors, but
possibly near other naked singularities and regions of extreme spacetime
structure) remain untested by observation, and might conceivably be non-unitary
or even nonlinear, raising the same questions about the evolution of entangled
states. The answers to these questions are subtle, and are linked in unexpected
ways to the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics. We show that terrestrial
experiments can be designed to probe and constrain exactly how the laws of
quantum evolution might be altered, either by black-hole evaporation, or by
other extreme processes in remote regions possibly governed by unknown physics.Comment: Combined, revised, and expanded version of quant-ph/0312160 and
hep-th/0402060; 13 pages, RevTeX, 2 eps figure
Tilt Modulus and Angle-Dependent Flux Lattice Melting in the Lowest Landau Level Approximation
For a clean high-T superconductor, we analyze the Lawrence-Doniach free
energy in a tilted magnetic field within the lowest Landau level (LLL)
approximation. The free energy maps onto that of a strictly -axis field, but
with a reduced interlayer coupling. We use this result to calculate the tilt
modulus of a vortex lattice and vortex liquid. The vortex contribution
to can be expressed in terms of the squared -axis Josephson plasmon
frequency . The transverse component of the field has very
little effect on the position of the melting curve.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review B
(Rapid Communications
Disorder Induced Transitions in Layered Coulomb Gases and Superconductors
A 3D layered system of charges with logarithmic interaction parallel to the
layers and random dipoles is studied via a novel variational method and an
energy rationale which reproduce the known phase diagram for a single layer.
Increasing interlayer coupling leads to successive transitions in which charge
rods correlated in N>1 neighboring layers are nucleated by weaker disorder. For
layered superconductors in the limit of only magnetic interlayer coupling, the
method predicts and locates a disorder-induced defect-unbinding transition in
the flux lattice. While N=1 charges dominate there, N>1 disorder induced defect
rods are predicted for multi-layer superconductors.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, RevTe
Representing addition and subtraction : learning the formal conventions
The study was designed to test the effects of a structured intervention in teaching children to represent addition and subtraction. In a post-test only control group design, 90 five-year-olds experienced the intervention entitled Bi-directional Translation whilst 90 control subjects experienced typical teaching. Post-intervention testing showed some significant differences between the two groups both in terms of being able to effect the addition and subtraction operations and in being able to determine which operation was appropriate. The results suggest that, contrary to historical practices, children's exploration of real world situations should precede practice in arithmetical symbol manipulation
Synchronization of Droop-Controlled Microgrids with Distributed Rotational and Electronic Generation
We consider the problem of frequency synchronization and power sharing in a lossy droop-controlled autonomous microgrid with distributed rotational and electronic generation (MDREG). At first, we establish equivalence of the dynamics of a regulated synchronous generator and a droop-controlled inverter with low pass filter. We then give a necessary and sufficient condition for local synchronization of the microgrid by using ideas from graph theory and second order consensus algorithms. In addition, we show that sources in an MDREG can achieve a desired active power distribution via frequency droop control and provide synchronization conditions for a lossless microgrid as a special case. Our analysis is further validated via a simulation example of a lossy microgrid based on the CIGRE benchmark medium voltage distribution network
Comparing open and minimally invasive surgical procedures for oesophagectomy in the treatment of cancer: the ROMIO (Randomised Oesophagectomy: Minimally Invasive or Open) feasibility study and pilot trial
Localised oesophageal cancer can be curatively treated with surgery (oesophagectomy) but the procedure is complex with a risk of complications, negative effects on quality of life and a recovery period of 6-9 months. Minimal-access surgery may accelerate recovery.The ROMIO (Randomised Oesophagectomy: Minimally Invasive or Open) study aimed to establish the feasibility of, and methodology for, a definitive trial comparing minimally invasive and open surgery for oesophagectomy. Objectives were to quantify the number of eligible patients in a pilot trial; develop surgical manuals as the basis for quality assurance; standardise pathological processing; establish a method to blind patients to their allocation in the first week post surgery; identify measures of postsurgical outcome of importance to patients and clinicians; and establish the main cost differences between the surgical approaches.Pilot parallel three-arm randomised controlled trial nested within feasibility work.Two UK NHS departments of upper gastrointestinal surgery.Patients aged ≥ 18 years with histopathological evidence of oesophageal or oesophagogastric junctional adenocarcinoma, squamous cell cancer or high-grade dysplasia, referred for oesophagectomy or oesophagectomy following neoadjuvant chemo(radio)therapy.Oesophagectomy, with patients randomised to open surgery, a hybrid open chest and minimally invasive abdomen or totally minimally invasive access.The primary outcome measure for the pilot trial was the number of patients recruited per month, with the main trial considered feasible if at least 2.5 patients per month were recruited.During 21 months of recruitment, 263 patients were assessed for eligibility; of these, 135 (51%) were found to be eligible and 104 (77%) agreed to participate, an average of five patients per month. In total, 41 patients were allocated to open surgery, 43 to the hybrid procedure and 20 to totally minimally invasive surgery. Recruitment is continuing, allowing a seamless transition into the definitive trial. Consequently, the database is unlocked at the time of writing and data presented here are for patients recruited by 31 August 2014. Random allocation achieved a good balance between the arms of the study, which, as a high proportion of patients underwent their allocated surgery (69/79, 87%), ensured a fair comparison between the interventions. Dressing patients with large bandages, covering all possible incisions, was successful in keeping patients blind while pain was assessed during the first week post surgery. Postsurgical length of stay and risk of adverse events were within the typical range for this group of patients, with one death occurring within 30 days among 76 patients. There were good completion rates for the assessment of pain at 6 days post surgery (88%) and of the patient-reported outcomes at 6 weeks post randomisation (74%).Rapid recruitment to the pilot trial and the successful refinement of methodology indicated the feasibility of a definitive trial comparing different approaches to oesophagectomy. Although we have shown a full trial of open compared with minimally invasive oesophagectomy to be feasible, this is necessarily based on our findings from the two clinical centres that we could include in this small preliminary study.Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN59036820.This project was funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 20, No. 48. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information
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