3,424 research outputs found
Feynman Diagrams and Differential Equations
We review in a pedagogical way the method of differential equations for the
evaluation of D-dimensionally regulated Feynman integrals. After dealing with
the general features of the technique, we discuss its application in the
context of one- and two-loop corrections to the photon propagator in QED, by
computing the Vacuum Polarization tensor exactly in D. Finally, we treat two
cases of less trivial differential equations, respectively associated to a
two-loop three-point, and a four-loop two-point integral. These two examples
are the playgrounds for showing more technical aspects about: Laurent expansion
of the differential equations in D (around D=4); the choice of the boundary
conditions; and the link among differential and difference equations for
Feynman integrals.Comment: invited review article from Int. J. Mod. Phys.
The potassic sedimentary rocks in Gale Crater, Mars, as seen by ChemCam on board Curiosity
The Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity encountered potassium-rich clastic sedimentary rocks at two sites in Gale Crater, the waypoints Cooperstown and Kimberley. These rocks include several distinct meters thick sedimentary outcrops ranging from fine sandstone to conglomerate, interpreted to record an ancient fluvial or fluvio-deltaic depositional system. From ChemCam Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) chemical analyses, this suite of sedimentary rocks has an overall mean K2O abundance that is more than 5 times higher than that of the average Martian crust. The combined analysis of ChemCam data with stratigraphic and geographic locations reveals that the mean K2O abundance increases upward through the stratigraphic section. Chemical analyses across each unit can be represented as mixtures of several distinct chemical components, i.e., mineral phases, including K-bearing minerals, mafic silicates, Fe-oxides, and Fe-hydroxide/oxyhydroxides. Possible K-bearing minerals include alkali feldspar (including anorthoclase and sanidine) and K-bearing phyllosilicate such as illite. Mixtures of different source rocks, including a potassium-rich rock located on the rim and walls of Gale Crater, are the likely origin of observed chemical variations within each unit. Physical sorting may have also played a role in the enrichment in K in the Kimberley formation. The occurrence of these potassic sedimentary rocks provides additional evidence for the chemical diversity of the crust exposed at Gale Crater
A measurement of the differential cross section for the two-body photodisintegration of 3He at theta_LAB = 90deg using tagged photons in the energy range 14 -- 31 MeV
The two-body photodisintegration of 3He has been investigated using tagged
photons with energies from 14 -- 31 MeV at MAX-lab in Lund, Sweden. The
two-body breakup channel was unambiguously identified by the (nonsimultaneous)
detection of both protons and deuterons. This approach was made feasible by the
over-determined kinematic situation afforded by the tagged-photon technique.
Proton- and deuteron-energy spectra were measured using four silicon
surface-barrier detector telescopes located at a laboratory angle of 90deg with
respect to the incident photon-beam direction. Average statistical and
systematic uncertainties of 5.7% and 6.6% in the differential cross section
were obtained for 11 photon-energy bins with an average width of 1.2 MeV. The
results are compared to previous experimental data measured at comparable
photon energies as well as to the results of two recent Faddeev calculations
which employ realistic potential models and take into account three-nucleon
forces and final-state interactions. Both the accuracy and precision of the
present data are improved over the previous measurements. The data are in good
agreement with most of the previous results, and favor the inclusion of
three-nucleon forces in the calculations.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures; further Referee comments addresse
Electron Spin for Classical Information Processing: A Brief Survey of Spin-Based Logic Devices, Gates and Circuits
In electronics, information has been traditionally stored, processed and
communicated using an electron's charge. This paradigm is increasingly turning
out to be energy-inefficient, because movement of charge within an
information-processing device invariably causes current flow and an associated
dissipation. Replacing charge with the "spin" of an electron to encode
information may eliminate much of this dissipation and lead to more
energy-efficient "green electronics". This realization has spurred significant
research in spintronic devices and circuits where spin either directly acts as
the physical variable for hosting information or augments the role of charge.
In this review article, we discuss and elucidate some of these ideas, and
highlight their strengths and weaknesses. Many of them can potentially reduce
energy dissipation significantly, but unfortunately are error-prone and
unreliable. Moreover, there are serious obstacles to their technological
implementation that may be difficult to overcome in the near term.
This review addresses three constructs: (1) single devices or binary switches
that can be constituents of Boolean logic gates for digital information
processing, (2) complete gates that are capable of performing specific Boolean
logic operations, and (3) combinational circuits or architectures (equivalent
to many gates working in unison) that are capable of performing universal
computation.Comment: Topical Revie
Extended structures of polyiodide salts of transition metal macrocyclic complexes
The structures of five polyiodide salts, [Co([9]aneS3)2]I11 (1),
[Ni([9]aneS3)2]I6 (2), [Ni([9]aneS3)2]I10 (3), [Pd([12]aneS4)]I6
(4) and [Pd([14]aneS4)]I10#1;MeCN (5), containing the template
cations [Co([9]aneS3)2]3+, [Ni([9]aneS3)2]2+, [Pd([12]aneS4)]2+
and [Pd([14]aneS4)]2+ ([9]aneS3 = 1,4,7-trithiacyclononane,
[12]aneS4 = 1,4,7,10-tetrathiacyclododecane, [14]aneS4 =
1,4,8,11-tetrathiacyclotetradecane) exhibit a range of polyiodide
and polyanionic framework structures. In (1) the charge
on the CoIII cation is balanced by three I#2;
3 anions, which along
with a neutral di-iodine molecule form I3#2;
11 rings in an
extended structure comprising undulating chains of alternating
I3#2;
11 rings and complex cations. In (2) the complex cation
is linked to two tri-iodide anions by S#1; #1; #1;I interactions into well
separated sheets of cations and anions, while in (3), I#2;
5 anions
are linked by I#1; #1; #1;I interactions into helices which are crosslinked
by S#1; #1; #1;I contacts to form sheets. Rather longer I#1; #1; #1;I
contacts in (4) assemble I#2;
3 ions into 2 #3; 2 rods, which are
linked into a three-dimensional network by S#1; #1; #1;I contacts. In
(5) the N atom of the acetonitrile solvent molecule forms an
array of four weak CâH#1; #1; #1;N hydrogen bonds to the
macrocycle. The extended structure comprises corrugated
zigzag chains of polyiodide rings formed by linked I#2;
5 units; the
complex cations are attached to the polyiodide network by
S...I contacts, which link the chains to form layers
Pervasively Altered Hematite-Rich Deposits Southeast of Home Plate, Gusev Crater, Mars
The investigation of Home Plate and its surroundings in the Inner Basin of the Columbia Hills in Gusev Crater has added substantially to the water story on Mars. Textural, morphological, and geochemical evidence from Home Plate point towards an explosive origin, probably a hydrovolcanic explosion [1]. High silica deposits in the immediate vicinity of Home Plate suggest hydrothermal alteration [e.g. 2,3]. Pervasively altered deposits rich in hematite were investigated to the southeast of Home Plate. Of these, the target Halley, the target KingGeorgeIsland on the GrahamLand outcrop, and the targets Montalva and Riquelme on the Troll outcrop were investigated in situ with the Alpha Particle X-ray spectrometer (APXS), the Microscopic Imager (MI), and the Moessbauer (MB) spectrometer (Fig. 1)
The dynamical evolution of the circumstellar gas around low-and intermediate-mass stars I: the AGB
We have investigated the dynamical interaction of low- and-intermediate mass
stars (from 1 to 5 Msun) with their interstellar medium (ISM). In this first
paper, we examine the structures generated by the stellar winds during the
Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) phase, using a numerical code and the wind
history predicted by stellar evolution. The influence of the external ISM is
also taken into account. We find that the wind variations associated with the
thermal pulses lead to the formation of transient shells with an average
lifetime of 20,000 yr, and consequently do not remain recorded in the density
or velocity structure of the gas. The formation of shells that survive at the
end of the AGB occurs via two main processes: shocks between the shells formed
by two consecutive enhancements of the mass-loss or via continuous accumulation
of the material ejected by the star in the interaction region with the ISM. Our
models show that the mass of the circumstellar envelope increases appreciably
due to the ISM material swept up by the wind (up to 70 % for the 1 Msun stellar
model). We also point out the importance of the ISM on the deceleration and
compression of the external shells. According to our simulations, large regions
(up to 2.5 pc) of neutral gas surrounding the molecular envelopes of AGB stars
are expected. These large regions of gas are formed from the mass-loss
experienced by the star during the AGB evolution.Comment: 43 pages, 15 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
Casimir forces and non-Newtonian gravitation
The search for non-relativistic deviations from Newtonian gravitation can
lead to new phenomena signalling the unification of gravity with the other
fundamental interactions. Various recent theoretical frameworks indicate a
possible window for non-Newtonian forces with gravitational coupling strength
in the micrometre range. The major expected background in the same range is
attributable to the Casimir force or variants of it if dielectric materials,
rather than conducting ones, are considered. Here we review the measurements of
the Casimir force performed so far in the micrometre range and how they
determine constraints on non-Newtonian gravitation, also discussing the
dominant sources of false signals. We also propose a geometry-independent
parameterization of all data in terms of the measurement of the constant c. Any
Casimir force measurement should lead, once all corrections are taken into
account, to a determination of the constant c which, in order to assess the
accuracy of the measurement, can be compared with its more precise value known
through microscopic measurements. Although the last decade of experiments has
resulted in solid demonstrations of the Casimir force, the situation is not
conclusive with respect to being able to discover new physics. Future
experiments and novel phenomenological analysis will be necessary to discover
non-Newtonian forces or to push the window for their possible existence into
regions of the parameter space which theoretically appear unnatural.Comment: Also available at http://www.iop.org/EJ/abstract/1367-2630/8/10/23
Multiwavelength observations of Mkn 501 during the 1997 high state
During the observation period 1997, the nearby Blazar Mkn 501 showed
extremely strong emission and high variability. We examine multiwavelength
aspects of this event using radio, optical, soft and hard X-ray and TeV data.
We concentrate on the medium-timescale variability of the broadband spectra,
averaged over weekly intervals.
We confirm the previously found correlation between soft and hard X-ray
emission and the emission at TeV energies, while the source shows only minor
variability at radio and optical wavelengths. The non-linear correlation
between hard X-ray and TeV fluxes is consistent with a simple analytic estimate
based on an SSC model in which Klein-Nishina effects are important for the
highest-energy electrons in the jet, and flux variations are caused by
variations of the electron density and/or the spectral index of the electron
injection spectrum.
The time-averaged spectra are fitted with a Synchrotron Self-Compton (SSC)
dominated leptonic jet model, using the full Klein-Nishina cross section and
following the self-consistent evolution of relativistic particles along the
jet, accounting for gamma-gamma absorption and pair production within the
source as well as due to the intergalactic infrared background radiation. The
contribution from external inverse-Compton scattering is tightly constrained by
the low maximum EGRET flux and found to be negligible at TeV energies. We find
that high levels of the X-ray and TeV fluxes can be explained by a hardening of
the energy spectra of electrons injected at the base of the jet, in remarkable
contrast to the trend found for gamma-ray flares of the flat-spectrum radio
quasar PKS 0528+134.Comment: accepted for publication in ApJ, 31 pages, 11 figure
Simultaneous X-Ray and TeV Gamma-Ray Observations of the TeV Blazar Markarian 421 during February and May 2000
In this paper we present the results of simultaneous observations of the TeV
blazar Markarian 421 (Mrk 421) at X-ray and TeV Gamma-ray energies with the
Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) and the stereoscopic Cherenkov Telescope
system of the HEGRA (High Energy Gamma Ray Astronomy) experiment, respectively.
The source was monitored from February 2nd to February 16th and from May 3rd to
May 8th, 2000. We discuss in detail the temporal and spectral properties of the
source. Remarkably, the TeV observations of February 7th/8th showed
statistically significant evidence for substantial TeV flux variability on 30
min time scale. We show the results of modeling the data with a time dependent
homogeneous Synchrotron Self-Compton (SSC) model. The X-ray and TeV gamma-ray
emission strengths and energy spectra together with the rapid flux variability
strongly suggest that the emission volume is approaching the observer with a
Doppler factor of 50 or higher. The different flux variability time scales
observed at X-rays and TeV Gamma-rays indicate that a more detailed analysis
will require inhomogeneous models with several emission zones.Comment: Accepted for Publication in ApJ, 21 Pages, 5 Figure
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