37,996 research outputs found
QED \otimes QCD Threshold Corrections at the LHC
We use the theory of YFS resummation to compute the size of the expected
resummed soft radiative threshold effects in precision studies of heavy
particle production at the LHC, where accuracies of 1 percent are desired in
some processes. We find that the soft QED threshold effects are at the level of
0.3 percent whereas the soft QCD threshold effects enter at the level of 20
percent and hence both must be controlled to be on the conservative side to
achieve such goals.Comment: 8 pages, no figures; improved text; improved refs. and tex
Extended Gas in Seyfert Galaxies: Near Infrared Observations of NGC 2110 and Circinus
We present results of near--IR long-slit spectroscopy in the J and K bands of
the Seyfert 2 galaxies NGC 2110 and Circinus, investigating the gaseous
distribution, excitation, reddening and kinematics. In NGC 2110, the emission
line ratio [FeII]/Pa beta increases towards the nucleus (to ~ 7). The nuclear
[Fe II]1.257 (microns) and Pa beta lines are broader (FWHM ~ 500 km/s) than the
H2 (2.121) line (FWHM ~ 300 km/s). Both these results suggest that shocks,
driven by the radio jet, are an important source of excitation of [Fe II]. The
H2 excitation appears to be dominated by X-rays from the nucleus. In Circinus,
both [FeII]/Pa beta and H2/Br gamma decrease from ~ 2 at 4 arcsec from the
nucleus to nuclear values of ~ 0.6 and ~ 1, respectively, suggesting that the
starburst dominates the nuclear excitation, while the AGN dominates the
excitation further out (r > 2 arcsec). For both galaxies, the gaseous
kinematics are consistent with circular rotation in the plane of the disk. Our
rotation curves suggest that the nucleus (identified with the peak of the IR
continuum) is displaced from the kinematic centre of the galaxies. This effect
has been observed previously in NGC 2110 based on the kinematics of optical
emission lines, but the displacement is smaller in the infrared, suggesting the
effect is related to obscuration. The continuum J-K colours of the nuclear
region indicate a red stellar population in NGC 2110 and a reddened young
stellar population in Circinus. Right at the nucleus of both galaxies, the
colours are redder, apparently a result of hot dust emission from the inner
edge of a circumnuclear torus.Comment: 11 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Field enhancement in subnanometer metallic gaps
Motivated by recent experiments [Ward et al., Nature Nanotech. 5, 732
(2010)], we present here a theoretical analysis of the optical response of
sharp gold electrodes separated by a subnanometer gap. In particular, we have
used classical finite difference time domain simulations to investigate the
electric field distribution in these nanojunctions upon illumination. Our
results show a strong confinement of the field within the gap region, resulting
in a large enhancement compared to the incident field. Enhancement factors
exceeding 1000 are found for interelectrode distances on the order of a few
angstroms, which are fully compatible with the experimental findings. Such huge
enhancements originate from the coupling of the incident light to the
evanescent field of hybrid plasmons involving charge density oscillations in
both electrodes.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Physical Review
Task oriented nonlinear control laws for telerobotic assembly operations
The goal of this research is to achieve very intelligent telerobotic controllers which are capable of receiving high-level commands from the human operator and implementing them in an adaptive manner in the object/task/manipulator workspace. Initiatives by the authors at Integrated Systems, Inc. to identify and develop the key technologies necessary to create such a flexible, highly programmable, telerobotic controller are presented. The focus of the discussion is on the modeling of insertion tasks in three dimensions and nonlinear implicit force feedback control laws which incorporate tool/workspace constraints. Preliminary experiments with dual arm beam assembly in 2-D are presented
A comparison of operationally determined atmospheric densities from satellite orbit solutions and the exospheric temperature from the Jacchia-Roberts model
Operational orbit determination by the Flight Dynamics Division at the Goddard Space Flight Center has yielded a data base of orbit solutions covering the onset of solar cycle 22. Solutions for nine satellites include an estimated drag adjustment parameter (rho sub 1) determined by the Goddard Trajectory Determination System (GTDS). The rho sub 1 is used to evaluate correlations between density variations and changes in the following: 10.7-centimeter wavelength solar flux (F sub 10.7), the geomagnetic index A sub p, and two exospheric temperatures (T sub c and T sub infinity) adapted from the Jacchia-Roberts atmospheric density model in GTDS. T sub c depends on the daily and 81-day centered mean F sub 10.7; T sub infinity depends on T sub c and the geomagnetic index K sub p values. The highest correlations are between density and T sub infinity. Correlations with T sub c and F sub 10.7 are lower by 9 and 10 percent, respectively. For most cases, correlations with A sub p are considerably lower; however, significant correlations with A sub p were found for some high-inclination, moderate-altitude orbits. Results from this analysis enhance the understanding of the drag model and the accommodation of atmospheric density variations in the operational orbit determination support. The degree of correlation demonstrates the sensitivity of the orbit determination process to drag variations and to the input parameters that characterize aspects of the atmospheric density model. To this extent, the degree of correlation provides a measure of performance for methods of selecting or modeling the thermospheric densities using the solar F sub 10.7 and geomagnetic data as input to the process
Threshold Corrections in Precision LHC Physics: QED otimes QCD
With an eye toward LHC processes in which theoretical precisions of 1 percent
are desired, we introduce the theory of the simultaneous YFS resummation of QED
and QCD to compute the size of the expected resummed soft radiative threshold
effects in precision studies of heavy particle production at the LHC. Our
results show that both QED and QCD soft threshold effects must be controlled to
be on the conservative side to achieve such precision goals.Comment: 4 pages, no figures; presented by B.F.L. Ward in DPF200
Pathogen-host reorganization during Chlamydia invasion revealed by cryo-electron tomography
Invasion of host cells is a key early event during bacterial infection, but the underlying pathogen-host interactions are yet to be fully visualised in three-dimensional detail. We have captured snapshots of the early stages of bacterial-mediated endocytosis in situ by exploiting the small size of chlamydial elementary bodies (EBs) for whole cell cryo-electron tomography. Chlamydiae are obligate intracellular bacteria that infect eukaryotic cells and cause sexually transmitted infections and trachoma, the leading cause of preventable blindness. We demonstrate that Chlamydia trachomatis LGV2 EBs are intrinsically polarised. One pole is characterised by a tubular inner membrane invagination, while the other exhibits asymmetric periplasmic expansion to accommodate an array of type III secretion systems (T3SSs). Strikingly, EBs orient with their T3SS-containing pole facing target cells, enabling the T3SSs to directly contact the cellular plasma membrane. This contact induces enveloping macropinosomes, actin-rich filopodia and phagocytic cups to zipper tightly around the internalising bacteria. Once encapsulated into tight early vacuoles, EB polarity and the T3SSs are lost. Our findings reveal previously undescribed structural transitions in both pathogen and host during the initial steps of chlamydial invasion
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