3,461 research outputs found
Different Methods of Forming Cold Fronts in Non-Merging Clusters
Sharp edges in X-ray surface brightness with continuous gas pressure called
cold fronts have been often found in relaxed galaxy clusters such as Abell 496.
Models that explain cold fronts as surviving cores of head-on subcluster
mergers do not work well for these clusters and competing models involving gas
sloshing have been recently proposed. Here, we test some concrete predictions
of these models in a combined analysis of density, temperature, metal
abundances and abundance ratios in a deep Chandra exposure of Abell 496. We
confirm that the chemical discontinuities found in this cluster are not
consistent with a core merger remnant scenario. However, we find chemical
gradients across a spiral "arm" discovered at 73 kpc north of the cluster
center and coincident with the sharp edge of the main cold front in the
cluster. Despite the overall SN Ia iron mass fraction dominance found within
the cooling radius of this cluster, the metal enrichment along the arm,
determined from silicon and iron abundances, is consistent with a lower SN Ia
iron mass fraction (51% +- 14%) than that measured in the surrounding regions
(85% +- 14%). The "arm" is also significantly colder than the surroundings by
0.5-1.6 keV. The arm extends from a boxy colder region surrounding the center
of the cluster, where two other cold fronts are found. This cold arm is a
prediction of current high resolution numerical simulations as a result of an
off-center encounter with a less massive pure dark matter halo and we suggest
that the cold fronts in A496 provide the first clear corroboration of such
model, where the closest encounter happened ~ 0.5 Gyr ago. We also argue for a
possible candidate dark matter halo responsible for the cold fronts in the
outskirts of A496.Comment: 11 ApJ pages, 1 Table, 16 Figures, accepted for publication in the
Astrophysical Journal. For full version with all hi-res figures click on
http://www.astro.lsa.umich.edu/~rdupke/a496sub.pd
Adaptive Evolutionary Clustering
In many practical applications of clustering, the objects to be clustered
evolve over time, and a clustering result is desired at each time step. In such
applications, evolutionary clustering typically outperforms traditional static
clustering by producing clustering results that reflect long-term trends while
being robust to short-term variations. Several evolutionary clustering
algorithms have recently been proposed, often by adding a temporal smoothness
penalty to the cost function of a static clustering method. In this paper, we
introduce a different approach to evolutionary clustering by accurately
tracking the time-varying proximities between objects followed by static
clustering. We present an evolutionary clustering framework that adaptively
estimates the optimal smoothing parameter using shrinkage estimation, a
statistical approach that improves a naive estimate using additional
information. The proposed framework can be used to extend a variety of static
clustering algorithms, including hierarchical, k-means, and spectral
clustering, into evolutionary clustering algorithms. Experiments on synthetic
and real data sets indicate that the proposed framework outperforms static
clustering and existing evolutionary clustering algorithms in many scenarios.Comment: To appear in Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery, MATLAB toolbox
available at http://tbayes.eecs.umich.edu/xukevin/affec
Determination of the chiral coupling constants c3 and c4 in new pp and np partial-wave analyses
As a first result of two new partial-wave analyses, one of the pp and another
one of the np scattering data below 500 MeV, we report a study of the
long-range chiral two-pion exchange interaction which contains the chiral
coupling constants c1, c3, and c4. By using as input a theoretical value for c1
we are able to determine in pp as well as in np scattering accurate values for
c3 and c4. The values determined from the pp data and independently from the np
data are in very good agreement, indicating the correctness of the chiral
two-pion exchange interaction. The weighted averages are c3 = -4.78(10) / GeV
and c4 = 3.96(22) / GeV, where the errors are statistical. The value of c3 is
best determined from the pp data and that of c4 from the np data.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
From wormhole to time machine: Comments on Hawking's Chronology Protection Conjecture
The recent interest in ``time machines'' has been largely fueled by the
apparent ease with which such systems may be formed in general relativity,
given relatively benign initial conditions such as the existence of traversable
wormholes or of infinite cosmic strings. This rather disturbing state of
affairs has led Hawking to formulate his Chronology Protection Conjecture,
whereby the formation of ``time machines'' is forbidden. This paper will use
several simple examples to argue that the universe appears to exhibit a
``defense in depth'' strategy in this regard. For appropriate parameter regimes
Casimir effects, wormhole disruption effects, and gravitational back reaction
effects all contribute to the fight against time travel. Particular attention
is paid to the role of the quantum gravity cutoff. For the class of model
problems considered it is shown that the gravitational back reaction becomes
large before the Planck scale quantum gravity cutoff is reached, thus
supporting Hawking's conjecture.Comment: 43 pages,ReV_TeX,major revision
Does respiratory health contribute to the effects of long-term air pollution exposure on cardiovascular mortality?
BACKGROUND: There is growing epidemiological evidence that short-term and long-term exposure to high levels of air pollution may increase cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In addition, epidemiological studies have shown an association between air pollution exposure and respiratory health. To what extent the association between cardiovascular mortality and air pollution is driven by the impact of air pollution on respiratory health is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate whether respiratory health at baseline contributes to the effects of long-term exposure to high levels of air pollution on cardiovascular mortality in a cohort of elderly women. METHOD: We analyzed data from 4750 women, aged 55 at the baseline investigation in the years 1985–1994. 2593 of these women had their lung function tested by spirometry. Respiratory diseases and symptoms were asked by questionnaire. Ambient air pollution exposure was assessed by the concentrations of NO(2 )and total suspended particles at fixed monitoring sites and by the distance of residency to a major road. A mortality follow-up of these women was conducted between 2001 and 2003. For the statistical analysis, Cox' regression was used. RESULTS: Women with impaired lung function or pre-existing respiratory diseases had a higher risk of dying from cardiovascular causes. The impact of impaired lung function declined over time. The risk ratio (RR) of women with forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV(1)) of less than 80% predicted to die from cardiovascular causes was RR = 3.79 (95%CI: 1.64–8.74) at 5 years survival time and RR = 1.35 (95%CI: 0.66–2.77) at 12 years. The association between air pollution levels and cardiovascular death rate was strong and statistically significant. However, this association did only change marginally when including indicators of respiratory health into the regression analysis. Furthermore, no interaction between air pollution and respiratory health on cardiovascular mortality indicating a higher risk of those with impaired respiratory health could be detected. CONCLUSION: Respiratory health is a predictor for cardiovascular mortality. In women followed about 15 years after the baseline investigation at age 55 years long-term air pollution exposure and impaired respiratory health were independently associated with increased cardiovascular mortality
Domain Wall Junction in N=2 Supersymmetric QED in four dimensions
An exact solution of domain wall junction is obtained in N=2 supersymmetric
(SUSY) QED with three massive hypermultiplets. The junction preserves two out
of eight SUSY. Both a (magnetic) Fayet-Iliopoulos (FI) term and complex masses
for hypermultiplets are needed to obtain the junction solution. There are zero
modes corresponding to spontaneously broken translation, SUSY, and U(1). All
broken and unbroken SUSY charges are explicitly worked out in the Wess-Zumino
gauge in N=1 superfields as well as in components. The relation to models in
five dimensions is also clarified.Comment: 27 pages, 6 figures, comments on zero modes added, a few references
adde
Hierarchy Theory of Evolution and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis: Some Epistemic Bridges, Some Conceptual Rifts
Contemporary evolutionary biology comprises a plural landscape of multiple co-existent conceptual frameworks and strenuous voices that disagree on the nature and scope of evolutionary theory. Since the mid-eighties, some of these conceptual frameworks have denounced the ontologies of the Modern Synthesis and of the updated Standard Theory of Evolution as unfinished or even flawed. In this paper, we analyze and compare two of those conceptual frameworks, namely Niles Eldredge’s Hierarchy Theory of Evolution (with its extended ontology of evolutionary entities) and the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis (with its proposal of an extended ontology of evolutionary processes), in an attempt to map some epistemic bridges (e.g. compatible views of causation; niche construction) and some conceptual rifts (e.g. extra-genetic inheritance; different perspectives on macroevolution; contrasting standpoints held in the “externalism–internalism” debate) that exist between them. This paper seeks to encourage theoretical, philosophical and historiographical discussions about pluralism or the possible unification of contemporary evolutionary biology
Six-dimensional Supergravity and Projective Superfields
We propose a superspace formulation of N=(1,0) conformal supergravity in six
dimensions. The corresponding superspace constraints are invariant under
super-Weyl transformations generated by a real scalar parameter. The known
variant Weyl super-multiplet is recovered by coupling the geometry to a
super-3-form tensor multiplet. Isotwistor variables are introduced and used to
define projective superfields. We formulate a locally supersymmetric and
super-Weyl invariant action principle in projective superspace. Some families
of dynamical supergravity-matter systems are presented.Comment: 39 pages; v3: some modifications in section 2; equations (2.3),
(2.14b), (2.16) and (2.17) correcte
Total sulfate vs. sulfuric acid monomer concenterations in nucleation studies
Sulfuric acid is known to be a key component for atmospheric nucleation. Precise determination of sulfuric-acid concentration is a crucial factor for prediction of nucleation rates and subsequent growth. In our study, we have noticed a substantial discrepancy between sulfuric-acid monomer concentrations and total-sulfate concentrations measured from the same source of sulfuric-acid vapor. The discrepancy of about 1-2 orders of magnitude was found with similar particle-formation rates. To investigate this discrepancy, and its effect on nucleation, a method of thermally controlled saturator filled with pure sulfuric acid (97% wt.) for production of sulfuric-acid vapor is applied and rigorously tested. The saturator provided an independent vapor-production method, compared to our previous method of the furnace (Brus et al., 2010, 2011), to find out if the discrepancy is caused by the production method itself. The saturator was used in a H2SO4-H2O nucleation experiment, using a laminar flow tube to check reproducibility of the nucleation results with the saturator method, compared to the furnace. Two independent methods of mass spectrometry and online ion chromatography were used for detecting sulfuric-acid or sulfate concentrations. Measured sulfuric-acid or total-sulfate concentrations are compared to theoretical predictions calculated using vapor pressure and a mixing law. The calculated prediction of sulfuric-acid concentrations agrees very well with the measured values when total sulfate is considered. Sulfuric-acid monomer concentration was found to be about 2 orders of magnitude lower than theoretical predictions, but with a temperature dependency similar to the predictions and the results obtained with the ion-chromatograph method. Formation rates are reproducible when compared to our previous results with both sulfuric-acid or total-sulfate detection and sulfuric-acid production methods separately, removing any doubts that the vapor-production method would cause the discrepancy. Possible reasons for the discrepancy are discussed and some suggestions include that the missing sulfuric acid is in clusters, formed with contaminants found in most laboratory experiments. One-to-two-order-of-magnitude higher sulfuric-acid concentrations (measured as total sulfate in this study) would contribute to a higher fraction of particle growth rate than assumed from the measurements by mass spectrometers (i.e. sulfuric-acid monomer). However, the observed growth rates by sulfate-containing vapor in this study does not directly imply a similar situation in the field, where sources of sulfate are much more diverse.Peer reviewe
Structural Phase Transition at High Temperatures in Solid Molecular Hydrogen and Deuterium
We study the effect of temperature up to 1000K on the structure of dense
molecular para-hydrogen and ortho-deuterium, using the path-integral Monte
Carlo method. We find a structural phase transition from orientationally
disordered hexagonal close packed (hcp) to an orthorhombic structure of Cmca
symmetry before melting. The transition is basically induced by thermal
fluctuations, but quantum fluctuations of protons (deuterons) are important in
determining the transition temperature through effectively hardening the
intermolecular interaction. We estimate the phase line between hcp and Cmca
phases as well as the melting line of the Cmca solid.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures; accepted in Phys. Rev.
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