964 research outputs found
Natural relations among physical observables in the neutrino mass matrix
We find all possible relations among physical observables arising from
neutrino mass matrices that describe in a natural way the currently observed
pattern (tan_23 and tan_12 large, dm^2_Sun/dm^2_Atm and tan_13 small) in terms
of a minimum number of parameters. Natural here means due only to the relative
smallness (vanishing) of some parameters in the relevant lagrangian, without
special relations or accidental cancellations among them.Comment: 14 pages, 1 eps figur
The UK risk assessment scheme for all non-native species
1. A pest risk assessment scheme, adapted from the EPPO (European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organisation) scheme, was developed to assess the risks posed to UK species, habitats and ecosystems by non-native taxa.
2. The scheme provides a structured framework for evaluating the potential for non-native organisms, whether intentional or unintentional introductions, to enter, establish, spread and cause significant impacts in all or part of the UK. Specialist modules permit the relative importance of entry pathways, the vulnerability of receptors and the consequences of policies to be assessed and appropriate risk management options to be selected. Spreadsheets for summarising the level of risk and uncertainty, invasive attributes and economic impact were created. In addition, new methods for quantifying economic impact and summarising risk and uncertainty were explored.
3. Although designed for the UK, the scheme can readily be applied elsewhere
Stratigraphic relationships of different terrain units on Ganymede and possible implications towards their evolution
Spin structure of the nucleon at low energies
The spin structure of the nucleon is analyzed in the framework of a
Lorentz-invariant formulation of baryon chiral perturbation theory. The
structure functions of doubly virtual Compton scattering are calculated to
one-loop accuracy (fourth order in the chiral expansion). We discuss the
generalization of the Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn sum rule, the Burkhardt-Cottingham
sum rule and moments of these. We give predictions for the forward and the
longitudinal-transverse spin polarizabilities of the proton and the neutron at
zero and finite photon virtuality. A detailed comparison to results obtained in
heavy baryon chiral perturbation theory is also given.Comment: 29 pp, 14 fig
Region graph partition function expansion and approximate free energy landscapes: Theory and some numerical results
Graphical models for finite-dimensional spin glasses and real-world
combinatorial optimization and satisfaction problems usually have an abundant
number of short loops. The cluster variation method and its extension, the
region graph method, are theoretical approaches for treating the complicated
short-loop-induced local correlations. For graphical models represented by
non-redundant or redundant region graphs, approximate free energy landscapes
are constructed in this paper through the mathematical framework of region
graph partition function expansion. Several free energy functionals are
obtained, each of which use a set of probability distribution functions or
functionals as order parameters. These probability distribution
function/functionals are required to satisfy the region graph
belief-propagation equation or the region graph survey-propagation equation to
ensure vanishing correction contributions of region subgraphs with dangling
edges. As a simple application of the general theory, we perform region graph
belief-propagation simulations on the square-lattice ferromagnetic Ising model
and the Edwards-Anderson model. Considerable improvements over the conventional
Bethe-Peierls approximation are achieved. Collective domains of different sizes
in the disordered and frustrated square lattice are identified by the
message-passing procedure. Such collective domains and the frustrations among
them are responsible for the low-temperature glass-like dynamical behaviors of
the system.Comment: 30 pages, 11 figures. More discussion on redundant region graphs. To
be published by Journal of Statistical Physic
Feasibility and acceptability of SEPA+PrEP: An HIV prevention intervention to increase PrEP knowledge, initiation, and persistence among cisgender heterosexual Hispanic women
The HIV epidemic disproportionately affects Hispanics in the U.S., with Hispanic women (HW) accounting for 18% of new HIV diagnoses in 2019 despite comprising only 16% of the female population. The imbalance of power related to cultural values and HW’s lack of knowledge and low perception of risk for HIV interferes with prevention efforts (e.g., condom use, HIV testing, and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis [PrEP]). It is estimated that in 2019, only 10% of women in the U.S. who could benefit from PrEP were given prescriptions for it. This number is estimated to be significantly lower among HW. PrEP is highly effective for preventing HIV, reducing the risk of acquiring HIV from sexual activity by about 99%. To respond to this need, we developed SEPA+PrEP, a biobehavioral HIV prevention intervention that adapted and integrated SEPA (Salud/Health, Educación/Education, Prevención/ Prevention, Autocuidado/Self-Care), an empirically validated behavioral HIV prevention intervention, with the evidence-based biomedical strategy of PrEP. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility and acceptability of SEPA+PrEP among cisgender heterosexual Hispanic women (HW). We used a mixed methods approach to gather data from 44 HW living in the City of Homestead and its surrounding communities in Miami-Dade County, Florida. None of the participants knew about PrEP prior to participating in the study, and the majority (70.5%, n = 23) had not used condoms when engaging in vaginal sex during the previous three months. Overall, study results suggest that SEPA+PrEP is an acceptable and feasible intervention to prevent HIV among HW, with a focus on PrEP knowledge, initiation, and maintenance
The ^4He trimer as an Efimov system
We review the results obtained in the last four decades which demonstrate the
Efimov nature of the He three-atomic system.Comment: Review article for a special issue of the Few-Body Systems journal
devoted to Efimov physic
Astroparticle Physics with a Customized Low-Background Broad Energy Germanium Detector
The MAJORANA Collaboration is building the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR, a 60 kg
array of high purity germanium detectors housed in an ultra-low background
shield at the Sanford Underground Laboratory in Lead, SD. The MAJORANA
DEMONSTRATOR will search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of 76Ge while
demonstrating the feasibility of a tonne-scale experiment. It may also carry
out a dark matter search in the 1-10 GeV/c^2 mass range. We have found that
customized Broad Energy Germanium (BEGe) detectors produced by Canberra have
several desirable features for a neutrinoless double-beta decay experiment,
including low electronic noise, excellent pulse shape analysis capabilities,
and simple fabrication. We have deployed a customized BEGe, the MAJORANA
Low-Background BEGe at Kimballton (MALBEK), in a low-background cryostat and
shield at the Kimballton Underground Research Facility in Virginia. This paper
will focus on the detector characteristics and measurements that can be
performed with such a radiation detector in a low-background environment.Comment: Submitted to NIMA Proceedings, SORMA XII. 9 pages, 4 figure
Search for composite and exotic fermions at LEP 2
A search for unstable heavy fermions with the DELPHI detector at LEP is
reported. Sequential and non-canonical leptons, as well as excited leptons and
quarks, are considered. The data analysed correspond to an integrated
luminosity of about 48 pb^{-1} at an e^+e^- centre-of-mass energy of 183 GeV
and about 20 pb^{-1} equally shared between the centre-of-mass energies of 172
GeV and 161 GeV. The search for pair-produced new leptons establishes 95%
confidence level mass limits in the region between 70 GeV/c^2 and 90 GeV/c^2,
depending on the channel. The search for singly produced excited leptons and
quarks establishes upper limits on the ratio of the coupling of the excited
fermio
Search for charginos in e+e- interactions at sqrt(s) = 189 GeV
An update of the searches for charginos and gravitinos is presented, based on
a data sample corresponding to the 158 pb^{-1} recorded by the DELPHI detector
in 1998, at a centre-of-mass energy of 189 GeV. No evidence for a signal was
found. The lower mass limits are 4-5 GeV/c^2 higher than those obtained at a
centre-of-mass energy of 183 GeV. The (\mu,M_2) MSSM domain excluded by
combining the chargino searches with neutralino searches at the Z resonance
implies a limit on the mass of the lightest neutralino which, for a heavy
sneutrino, is constrained to be above 31.0 GeV/c^2 for tan(beta) \geq 1.Comment: 22 pages, 8 figure
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