801 research outputs found
Chlorophyll fluorescence-based high-throughput phenotyping facilitates the genetic dissection of photosynthetic heat tolerance in African (Oryza glaberrima) and Asian (Oryza sativa) rice.
Acknowledgements We are grateful to the University of Nottingham glasshouse staff for their assistance with general plant maintenance. We acknowledge the insight of two anonymous reviews whose comments greatly improved this manuscript. JR and JNF were supported by the Palaeobenchmarking Resilient Agriculture Systems (PalaeoRAS) project funded by the Future Food Beacon of the University of Nottingham.Peer reviewedPostprin
Quantum phase transitions and collapse of the Mott gap in the dimensional half-filled Hubbard model
We study the low-energy asymptotics of the half-filled Hubbard model with a
circular Fermi surface in continuous dimensions, based on the
one-loop renormalization-group (RG) method. Peculiarity of the
dimensions is incorporated through the mathematica structure of the elementary
particle-partcile (PP) and particle-hole (PH) loops: infrared logarithmic
singularity of the PH loop is smeared for . The RG flows indicate
that a quantum phase transition (QPT) from a metallic phase to the Mott
insulator phase occurs at a finite on-site Coulomb repulsion for
. We also discuss effects of randomness.Comment: 12 pages, 10 eps figure
Flavor Physics and the Triviality Bound on the Higgs Mass
The triviality of the scalar sector of the standard one-doublet Higgs model
implies that this model is only an effective low-energy theory valid below some
cut-off scale . The underlying high-energy theory must include flavor
dynamics at a scale of order or greater in order to give rise to the
different Yukawa couplings of the Higgs to ordinary fermions. This flavor
dynamics will generically produce flavor-changing neutral currents and
non-universal corrections to Z -> b b-bar. We show that the experimental
constraints on the neutral D-meson mass difference imply that must be
greater than of order 21 TeV. We also discuss bounds on from the
constraints on extra contributions to the K_L - K_S mass difference and to the
coupling of the Z boson to b-quarks. For theories defined about the
infrared-stable Gaussian fixed-point, we estimate that this lower bound on
yields an upper bound of approximately 460 GeV on the Higgs boson's
mass, independent of the regulator chosen to define the theory.Comment: 11 pages, 2 embedded figures, LaTeX; references and discussion of CP
violation adde
SS Ari: a shallow-contact close binary system
Two CCD epochs of light minimum and a complete R light curve of SS Ari are
presented. The light curve obtained in 2007 was analyzed with the 2003 version
of the W-D code. It is shown that SS Ari is a shallow contact binary system
with a mass ratio and a degree of contact factor f=9.4(\pm0.8%). A
period investigation based on all available data shows that there may exist two
distinct solutions about the assumed third body. One, assuming eccentric orbit
of the third body and constant orbital period of the eclipsing pair results in
a massive third body with and P_3=87.00.278M_{\odot}$. Both of the cases
suggest the presence of an unseen third component in the system.Comment: 28 pages, 9 figures and 5 table
Application of the Density Matrix Renormalization Group in momentum space
We investigate the application of the Density Matrix Renormalization Group
(DMRG) to the Hubbard model in momentum-space. We treat the one-dimensional
models with dispersion relations corresponding to nearest-neighbor hopping and
hopping and the two-dimensional model with isotropic nearest-neighbor
hopping. By comparing with the exact solutions for both one-dimensional models
and with exact diagonalization in two dimensions, we first investigate the
convergence of the ground-state energy. We find variational convergence of the
energy with the number of states kept for all models and parameter sets. In
contrast to the real-space algorithm, the accuracy becomes rapidly worse with
increasing interaction and is not significantly better at half filling. We
compare the results for different dispersion relations at fixed interaction
strength over bandwidth and find that extending the range of the hopping in one
dimension has little effect, but that changing the dimensionality from one to
two leads to lower accuracy at weak to moderate interaction strength. In the
one-dimensional models at half-filling, we also investigate the behavior of the
single-particle gap, the dispersion of spinon excitations, and the momentum
distribution function. For the single-particle gap, we find that proper
extrapolation in the number of states kept is important. For the spinon
dispersion, we find that good agreement with the exact forms can be achieved at
weak coupling if the large momentum-dependent finite-size effects are taken
into account for nearest-neighbor hopping. For the momentum distribution, we
compare with various weak-coupling and strong-coupling approximations and
discuss the importance of finite-size effects as well as the accuracy of the
DMRG.Comment: 15 pages, 11 eps figures, revtex
Basic principles of stable isotope analysis in humanitarian forensic science.
While the identity of a victim of a localized disaster – such as a train or bus crash – may be established quickly through personal effects, fingerprints, dental records, and a comparison of decedent DNA to family reference specimen DNA, a different scenario presents itself in mass disasters, such as the Asian Tsunami of 2004. In the aftermath of the tsunami, visual appearance was initially used to assign “foreign” or “indigenous” classifications to the remains of thousands of victims. However, this visual identification approach was undermined by the speed with which bodies deteriorated under the hot and humid conditions. Time was spent populating ante-mortem DNA databases for different nationalities, which led to problems when creating a post-mortem DNA database because recovery of viable DNA was compromised due to rapid decomposition. As a consequence, only 1.3% of victims were identified by DNA; in contrast, 61% were identified based on dental examination, although this process took several months and a significant number of deceased from the 2004 Asian Tsunami still remain to be identified
Analysis of a spatial Lotka-Volterra model with a finite range predator-prey interaction
We perform an analysis of a recent spatial version of the classical
Lotka-Volterra model, where a finite scale controls individuals' interaction.
We study the behavior of the predator-prey dynamics in physical spaces higher
than one, showing how spatial patterns can emerge for some values of the
interaction range and of the diffusion parameter.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure
Spatial prediction of the concentration of selenium (Se) in grain across part of Amhara Region, Ethiopia
Grain and soil were sampled across a large part of Amhara, Ethiopia in a study motivated by prior evidence of selenium (Se) deficiency in the Region's population. The grain samples (teff, Eragrostis tef, and wheat, Triticum aestivum) were analysed for concentration of Se and the soils were analysed for various properties, including Se concentration measured in different extractants. Predictive models for concentration of Se in the respective grains were developed, and the predicted values, along with observed concentrations in the two grains were represented by a multivariate linear mixed model in which selected covariates, derived from remote sensor observations and a digital elevation model, were included as fixed effects. In all modelling steps the selection of predictors was done using false discovery rate control, to avoid over-fitting, and using an α-investment procedure to maximize the statistical power to detect significant relationships by ordering the tests in a sequence based on scientific understanding of the underlying processes likely to control Se concentration in grain. Cross-validation indicated that uncertainties in the empirical best linear unbiased predictions of the Se concentration in both grains were well-characterized by the prediction error variances obtained from the model. The predictions were displayed as maps, and their uncertainty was characterized by computing the probability that the true concentration of Se in grain would be such that a standard serving would not provide the recommended daily allowance of Se. The spatial variation of grain Se was substantial, concentrations in wheat and teff differed but showed the same broad spatial pattern. Such information could be used to target effective interventions to address Se deficiency, and the general procedure used for mapping could be applied to other micronutrients and crops in similar settings
Self-dual noncommutative \phi^4-theory in four dimensions is a non-perturbatively solvable and non-trivial quantum field theory
We study quartic matrix models with partition function Z[E,J]=\int dM
\exp(trace(JM-EM^2-(\lambda/4)M^4)). The integral is over the space of
Hermitean NxN-matrices, the external matrix E encodes the dynamics, \lambda>0
is a scalar coupling constant and the matrix J is used to generate correlation
functions. For E not a multiple of the identity matrix, we prove a universal
algebraic recursion formula which gives all higher correlation functions in
terms of the 2-point function and the distinct eigenvalues of E. The 2-point
function itself satisfies a closed non-linear equation which must be solved
case by case for given E. These results imply that if the 2-point function of a
quartic matrix model is renormalisable by mass and wavefunction
renormalisation, then the entire model is renormalisable and has vanishing
\beta-function.
As main application we prove that Euclidean \phi^4-quantum field theory on
four-dimensional Moyal space with harmonic propagation, taken at its
self-duality point and in the infinite volume limit, is exactly solvable and
non-trivial. This model is a quartic matrix model, where E has for N->\infty
the same spectrum as the Laplace operator in 4 dimensions. Using the theory of
singular integral equations of Carleman type we compute (for N->\infty and
after renormalisation of E,\lambda) the free energy density
(1/volume)\log(Z[E,J]/Z[E,0]) exactly in terms of the solution of a non-linear
integral equation. Existence of a solution is proved via the Schauder fixed
point theorem.
The derivation of the non-linear integral equation relies on an assumption
which we verified numerically for coupling constants 0<\lambda\leq (1/\pi).Comment: LaTeX, 64 pages, xypic figures. v4: We prove that recursion formulae
and vanishing of \beta-function hold for general quartic matrix models. v3:
We add the existence proof for a solution of the non-linear integral
equation. A rescaling of matrix indices was necessary. v2: We provide
Schwinger-Dyson equations for all correlation functions and prove an
algebraic recursion formula for their solutio
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