Toward a more realistic holographic QCD model

By matching the $Dp-Dq$ system in type II superstring theory with the Regge trajectories of vector and axial-vector meson spectra, a possible 5-dimension metric of a $Dp-Dq$ soft-wall model has been determined. The dependence of the metric parameters on Regge trajectory parameters has been demonstrated. It is shown that the models defined in $Dp$ brane background for $p=3$ or 4 can be consistent with experimental data.Comment: 8 pages, proceedings for the YITP International Symposium "Fundamental Problems in Hot and/or Dense QCD", March 3-6, 2008, Kyoto, Japa

Aggregated Needs and the Location Choice of Households in Taipei

This paper examines the impact of aggregated needs of household members on the choice of housing location in Taipei, Taiwan, using a sample of 11,191 households and information collected from the 1990 Census of Population and Housing. Our results indicate that the choice of housing location is significantly affected impacted by the age, family origin, past housing location, education and occupation status, and the location of the workplaces of both spouses. We also find that this decision is more significantly influenced by the attributes of the male spouse than the female. However, among the households with a female household head, the female spouse characteristics are more likely to be significant. Our results also offer a snapshot of today’s Taiwanese culture and shows that it is dramatically different from the commonly believed male-dominated traditional Chinese culture.Aggregated Needs, Location Choice, Probit Model

The Influenza M2 Cytoplasmic Tail Changes the Proton-Exchange Equilibria and the Backbone Conformation of the Transmembrane Histidine Residue to Facilitate Proton Conduction

National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (GM088204

Confronting strange stars with compact-star observations and new physics

Strange stars ought to exist in the universe according to the strange quark matter hypothesis, which states that matter made of roughly equal numbers of up, down, and strange quarks could be the true ground state of baryonic matter rather than ordinary atomic nuclei. Theoretical models of strange quark matter, such as the standard MIT bag model, the density-dependent quark mass model, or the quasi-particle model, however, appear to be unable to reproduce some of the properties (masses, radii and tidal deformabilities) of recently observed compact stars. This is different if alternative gravity theory (e.g., non-Newtonian gravity) or dark matter (e.g., mirror dark matter) are considered, which resolve these issues. The possible existence of strange stars could thus provide a clue to new physics, as discussed in this review.Comment: 26 pages, 11 figures. Review paper accepted for publication in Univers

Distribution of Spectral Lags in Gamma Ray Bursts

Using the data acquired in the Time To Spill (TTS) mode for long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) collected by the Burst and Transient Source Experiment on board the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (BATSE/CGRO), we have carefully measured spectral lags in time between the low (25-55 keV) and high (110-320 keV) energy bands of individual pulses contained in 64 multi-peak GRBs. We find that the temporal lead by higher-energy gamma-ray photons (i.e., positive lags) is the norm in this selected sample set of long GRBs. While relatively few in number, some pulses of several long GRBs do show negative lags. This distribution of spectral lags in long GRBs is in contrast to that in short GRBs. This apparent difference poses challenges and constraints on the physical mechanism(s) of producing long and short GRBs. The relation between the pulse peak count rates and the spectral lags is also examined. Observationally, there seems to be no clear evidence for systematic spectral lag-luminosity connection for pulses within a given long GRB.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figure