ISO far-infrared observations of rich galaxy clusters II. Sersic 159-03

The far-infrared emission from rich galaxy clusters is investigated. Maps have been obtained by ISO at 60, 100, 135, and 200 microns using the PHT-C camera. Ground based imaging and spectroscopy were also acquired. Here we present the results for the cooling flow cluster Sersic 159-03. An infrared source coincident with the dominant cD galaxy is found. Some off-center sources are also present, but without any obvious counterparts.Comment: 6 pages, 4 postscript figures, accepted for publication in `Astronomy and Astrophysics

Measuring Polynomial Invariants of Multi-Party Quantum States

We present networks for directly estimating the polynomial invariants of multi-party quantum states under local transformations. The structure of these networks is closely related to the structure of the invariants themselves and this lends a physical interpretation to these otherwise abstract mathematical quantities. Specifically, our networks estimate the invariants under local unitary (LU) transformations and under stochastic local operations and classical communication (SLOCC). Our networks can estimate the LU invariants for multi-party states, where each party can have a Hilbert space of arbitrary dimension and the SLOCC invariants for multi-qubit states. We analyze the statistical efficiency of our networks compared to methods based on estimating the state coefficients and calculating the invariants.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, RevTex4, v2 references update

Deep far infrared ISOPHOT survey in "Selected Area 57", I. Observations and source counts

We present here the results of a deep survey in a 0.4 sq.deg. blank field in Selected Area 57 conducted with the ISOPHOT instrument aboard ESAs Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) at both 60 um and 90 um. The resulting sky maps have a spatial resolution of 15 x 23 sq.arcsec. per pixel which is much higher than the 90 x 90 sq.arcsec. pixels of the IRAS All Sky Survey. We describe the main instrumental effects encountered in our data, outline our data reduction and analysis scheme and present astrometry and photometry of the detected point sources. With a formal signal to noise ratio of 6.75 we have source detection limits of 90 mJy at 60 um and 50 mJy at 90 um. To these limits we find cumulated number densities of 5+-3.5 per sq.deg. at 60 um and 14.8+-5.0 per sq.deg.at 90 um. These number densities of sources are found to be lower than previously reported results from ISO but the data do not allow us to discriminate between no-evolution scenarios and various evolutionary models.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures, accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysic

Measurement of the numu Charged Current pi+ to Quasi-Elastic Cross Section Ratio on Mineral Oil in a 0.8 GeV Neutrino Beam

Charged current single pion production (CC{pi}{sup +}) and charged current quasi-elastic scattering (CCQE) are the most abundant interaction types for neutrinos at energies around 1 GeV, a region of great interest to oscillation experiments. The cross-sections for these processes, however, are not well understood in this energy range. This dissertation presents a measurement of the ratio of CC{pi}{sup +} to CCQE cross-sections for muon neutrinos on mineral oil (CH{sub 2}) in the MiniBooNE experiment. The measurement is presented here both with and without corrections for hadronic re-interactions in the target nucleus and is given as a function of neutrino energy in the range 0.4 GeV < E{sub {nu}} < 2.4 GeV. With more than 46,000 CC{pi}{sup +} events collected in MiniBooNE, and with a fractional uncertainty of roughly 11% in the region of highest statistics, this measurement represents a dramatic improvement in statistics and precision over previous CC{pi}{sup +} and CCQE measurements

Accessing the dynamics of large many-particle systems using Stochastic Series Expansion

The Stochastic Series Expansion method (SSE) is a Quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) technique working directly in the imaginary time continuum and thus avoiding "Trotter discretization" errors. Using a non-local "operator-loop update" it allows treating large quantum mechanical systems of many thousand sites. In this paper we first give a comprehensive review on SSE and present benchmark calculations of SSE's scaling behavior with system size and inverse temperature, and compare it to the loop algorithm, whose scaling is known to be one of the best of all QMC methods. Finally we introduce a new and efficient algorithm to measure Green's functions and thus dynamical properties within SSE.Comment: 11 RevTeX pages including 7 figures and 5 table

Zero-variance principle for Monte Carlo algorithms

We present a general approach to greatly increase at little cost the efficiency of Monte Carlo algorithms. To each observable to be computed we associate a renormalized observable (improved estimator) having the same average but a different variance. By writing down the zero-variance condition a fundamental equation determining the optimal choice for the renormalized observable is derived (zero-variance principle for each observable separately). We show, with several examples including classical and quantum Monte Carlo calculations, that the method can be very powerful.Comment: 9 pages, Latex, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

THE PREVALENCE OF PALPABLE FINGER JOINT NODULES IN DIFFUSE IDIOPATHIC SKELETAL HYPEROSTOSIS (DISH). A CONTROLLED STUDY

The presence of clinically palpable finger joint nodules a(Heberden's and Bouchard's nodes) was documented in 123 consecutive cases with diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) of the thoracic spine and 191 matched DISH negative controls. The prevalence of palpable finger joint nodules was almost twice as frequent in cases with spinal DISH compared to controls (46% versus 31%, X2 = 7.67, P<0.01; multivariate adjusted odds ratio OR = 1.84; 95% CI: 1.14-2.98). This increase was most marked at the proximal interphalangeal joint, in males and in patients up to the age of 65 years. In addition and independent of other variables such as hyperostotic features, age and sex, the prevalence of palpable finger joint nodules was about twice as high in probands with a history of physically heavy work compared to those without (43% ver sus 26%, X = 9.18, P<0.005; multivariate adjusted odds ratio OR = 2.10; 95% CI: 1.26-3.52). From these results we con clude that DISH should be considered as an independent risk factor in the development of finger joint nodule

DIFFUSE IDIOPATHIC SKELETAL HYPEROSTOSIS (DISH) OF THE SPINE: A CAUSE OF BACK PAIN? A CONTROLLED STUDY

This is the first controlled study of the frequency of back pain in a European caucasian population with diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH). Elderly patients admitted to hospital for reasons other than back pain were assessed for the presence of spinal DISH using the routine lateral chest radiograph films. A total of 106 probands (82 males, 24 females) with a mean age of 70 years fulfilled the criteria for DISH as defined previously. One hundred and seventyeight patients (117 males, 61 females) not meeting these criteria were used as controls. The prevalence of back pain was assessed by a blinded interviewer using a structured questionnaire. Our primary hymthesis was that spinal DISH positive probands had not had back pain more often than controls. The controlled study showed no statistically significant difference in pain frequency between spinal DISH positive probands and controls at any spinal level. We conclude that back pain does not occur more often in radiographically defined DISH positive probands than in controls. The radiological finding of spinal DISH, as far as it does not lead to stenosis of the spinal canal or dysphagia, thus seems to be a finding without clinical relevanc