7,213 research outputs found
Chaotic motion of charged particles in toroidal magnetic configurations
We study the motion of a charged particle in a tokamak magnetic field and
discuss its chaotic nature. Contrary to most of recent studies, we do not make
any assumption on any constant of the motion and solve numerically the
cyclotron gyration using Hamiltonian formalism. We take advantage of a
symplectic integrator allowing us to make long-time simulations. First
considering an idealized magnetic configuration, we add a non generic
perturbation corresponding to a magnetic ripple, breaking one of the invariant
of the motion. Chaotic motion is then observed and opens questions about the
link between chaos of magnetic field lines and chaos of particle trajectories.
Second, we return to a axi-symmetric configuration and tune the safety factor
(magnetic configuration) in order to recover chaotic motion. In this last
setting with two constants of the motion, the presence of chaos implies that no
third global constant exists, we highlight this fact by looking at variations
of the first order of the magnetic moment in this chaotic setting. We are
facing a mixed phase space with both regular and chaotic regions and point out
the difficulties in performing a global reduction such as gyrokinetics
Non-Preemptive Scheduling on Machines with Setup Times
Consider the problem in which n jobs that are classified into k types are to
be scheduled on m identical machines without preemption. A machine requires a
proper setup taking s time units before processing jobs of a given type. The
objective is to minimize the makespan of the resulting schedule. We design and
analyze an approximation algorithm that runs in time polynomial in n, m and k
and computes a solution with an approximation factor that can be made
arbitrarily close to 3/2.Comment: A conference version of this paper has been accepted for publication
in the proceedings of the 14th Algorithms and Data Structures Symposium
(WADS
Bounds on the nonminimal coupling of the Higgs Boson to gravity
We derive the first bound on the value of the Higgs boson nonminimal coupling to the Ricci scalar. We show that the recent discovery of the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN implies that the nonminimal coupling is smaller than 2.6×10^15
A time-dependent density functional theory scheme for efficient calculations of dynamic (hyper)polarizabilities
We present an efficient perturbative method to obtain both static and dynamic
polarizabilities and hyperpolarizabilities of complex electronic systems. This
approach is based on the solution of a frequency dependent Sternheimer
equation, within the formalism of time-dependent density functional theory, and
allows the calculation of the response both in resonance and out of resonance.
Furthermore, the excellent scaling with the number of atoms opens the way to
the investigation of response properties of very large molecular systems. To
demonstrate the capabilities of this method, we implemented it in a real-space
(basis-set free) code, and applied it to benchmark molecules, namely CO, H2O,
and paranitroaniline (PNA). Our results are in agreement with experimental and
previous theoretical studies, and fully validate our approach.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure
Experimental polarization encoded quantum key distribution over optical fibres with real-time continuous birefringence compensation
In this paper we demonstrate an active polarization drift compensation scheme
for optical fibres employed in a quantum key distribution experiment with
polarization encoded qubits. The quantum signals are wavelength multiplexed in
one fibre along with two classical optical side channels that provide the
control information for the polarization compensation scheme. This set-up
allows us to continuously track any polarization change without the need to
interrupt the key exchange. The results obtained show that fast polarization
rotations of the order of 40*pi rad/s are effectively compensated for. We
demonstrate that our set-up allows continuous quantum key distribution even in
a fibre stressed by random polarization fluctuations. Our results pave the way
for Bell-state measurements using only linear optics with parties separated by
long-distance optical fibres
A Deep Search For Faint Galaxies Associated With Very Low-redshift C IV Absorbers: III. The Mass- and Environment-dependent Circumgalactic Medium
Using Hubble Space Telescope Cosmic Origins Spectrograph observations of 89
QSO sightlines through the Sloan Digital Sky Survey footprint, we study the
relationships between C IV absorption systems and the properties of nearby
galaxies as well as large-scale environment. To maintain sensitivity to very
faint galaxies, we restrict our sample to 0.0015 < z < 0.015, which defines a
complete galaxy survey to L > 0.01 L* or stellar mass log M_* > 8 Msun. We
report two principal findings. First, for galaxies with impact parameter rho <
1 rvir, C IV detection strongly depends on the luminosity/stellar mass of the
nearby galaxy. C IV is preferentially associated with galaxies with log M_* >
9.5 Msun; lower mass galaxies rarely exhibit significant C IV absorption
(covering fraction f = 9 +12-6% for 11 galaxies with log M_* < 9.5 Msun).
Second, C IV detection within the log M_* > 9.5 Msun population depends on
environment. Using a fixed-aperture environmental density metric for galaxies
with rho < 160 kpc at z < 0.055, we find that 57+/-12% (8/14) of galaxies in
low-density regions (regions with fewer than seven L > 0.15 L* galaxies within
1.5 Mpc) have affiliated C IV absorption; however, none (0/7) of the galaxies
in denser regions show C IV. Similarly, the C IV detection rate is lower for
galaxies residing in groups with dark-matter halo masses of log Mhalo > 12.5
Msun. In contrast to C IV, H I is pervasive in the CGM without regard to mass
or environment. These results indicate that C IV absorbers with log N(C IV) >
13.5 cm^-2 trace the halos of log M_* > 9.5 Msun galaxies but also reflect
larger scale environmental conditions.Comment: 26 pages, 13 figures. ApJ, in pres
Universality in Bacterial Colonies
The emergent spatial patterns generated by growing bacterial colonies have
been the focus of intense study in physics during the last twenty years. Both
experimental and theoretical investigations have made possible a clear
qualitative picture of the different structures that such colonies can exhibit,
depending on the medium on which they are growing. However, there are
relatively few quantitative descriptions of these patterns. In this paper, we
use a mechanistically detailed simulation framework to measure the scaling
exponents associated with the advancing fronts of bacterial colonies on hard
agar substrata, aiming to discern the universality class to which the system
belongs. We show that the universal behavior exhibited by the colonies can be
much richer than previously reported, and we propose the possibility of up to
four different sub-phases within the medium-to-high nutrient concentration
regime. We hypothesize that the quenched disorder that characterizes one of
these sub-phases is an emergent property of the growth and division of bacteria
competing for limited space and nutrients.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure
Very long O-antigen chains enhance fitness during Salmonella-induced colitis by increasing bile resistance.
Intestinal inflammation changes the luminal habitat for microbes through mechanisms that have not been fully resolved. We noticed that the FepE regulator of very long O-antigen chain assembly in the enteric pathogen Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) conferred a luminal fitness advantage in the mouse colitis model. However, a fepE mutant was not defective for survival in tissue, resistance to complement or resistance to polymyxin B. We performed metabolite profiling to identify changes in the luminal habitat that accompany S. Typhimurium-induced colitis. This analysis suggested that S. Typhimurium-induced colitis increased the luminal concentrations of total bile acids. A mutation in fepE significantly reduced the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of S. Typhimurium for bile acids in vitro. Oral administration of the bile acid sequestrant cholestyramine resin lowered the concentrations of total bile acids in colon contents during S. Typhimurium infection and significantly reduced the luminal fitness advantage conferred by the fepE gene in the mouse colitis model. Collectively, these data suggested that very long O-antigen chains function in bile acid resistance of S. Typhimurium, a property conferring a fitness advantage during luminal growth in the inflamed intestine
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