3,423 research outputs found
NNNLO correction to the toponium and bottomonium wave-functions at the origin
We report new results of the NNNLO correction to the S-wave quarkonium
wave-functions at the origin, which also provide an estimate of the resonance
cross section in t-tbar threshold production at the ILC.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, Proceedings of 2007 International Linear Collider
Workshop: LCWS07 and ILC07, Hamburg, Germany, 30 May - 3 Jun 200
Characterization of Infrared Dark Clouds -- NH Observations of an Absorption-contrast Selected IRDC Sample
Despite increasing research in massive star formation, little is known about
its earliest stages. Infrared Dark Clouds (IRDCs) are cold, dense and massive
enough to harbour the sites of future high-mass star formation. But up to now,
mainly small samples have been observed and analysed. To understand the
physical conditions during the early stages of high-mass star formation, it is
necessary to learn more about the physical conditions and stability in
relatively unevolved IRDCs. Thus, for characterising IRDCs studies of large
samples are needed. We investigate a complete sample of 218 northern hemisphere
high-contrast IRDCs using the ammonia (1,1)- and (2,2)-inversion transitions.
We detected ammonia (1,1)-inversion transition lines in 109 of our IRDC
candidates. Using the data we were able to study the physical conditions within
the star-forming regions statistically. We compared them with the conditions in
more evolved regions which have been observed in the same fashion as our sample
sources. Our results show that IRDCs have, on average, rotation temperatures of
15 K, are turbulent (with line width FWHMs around 2 km s), have ammonia
column densities on the order of cm and molecular hydrogen
column densities on the order of cm. Their virial masses are
between 100 and a few 1000 M. The comparison of bulk kinetic and
potential energies indicate that the sources are close to virial equilibrium.
IRDCs are on average cooler and less turbulent than a comparison sample of
high-mass protostellar objects, and have lower ammonia column densities. Virial
parameters indicate that the majority of IRDCs are currently stable, but are
expected to collapse in the future.Comment: 21 pages, 11 figures, 7 tables. Paper accepted for publication in
Astronomy & Astrophysic
Faster Base64 Encoding and Decoding Using AVX2 Instructions
Web developers use base64 formats to include images, fonts, sounds and other
resources directly inside HTML, JavaScript, JSON and XML files. We estimate
that billions of base64 messages are decoded every day. We are motivated to
improve the efficiency of base64 encoding and decoding. Compared to
state-of-the-art implementations, we multiply the speeds of both the encoding
(~10x) and the decoding (~7x). We achieve these good results by using the
single-instruction-multiple-data (SIMD) instructions available on recent Intel
processors (AVX2). Our accelerated software abides by the specification and
reports errors when encountering characters outside of the base64 set. It is
available online as free software under a liberal license.Comment: software at https://github.com/lemire/fastbase6
Naturalistic Affective Expression Classification by a Multi-Stage Approach Based on Hidden Markov Models
In naturalistic behaviour, the affective states of a person
change at a rate much slower than the typical rate at which video or
audio is recorded (e.g. 25fps for video). Hence, there is a high probability
that consecutive recorded instants of expressions represent a same
affective content. In this paper, a multi-stage automatic affective expression
recognition system is proposed which uses Hidden Markov Models
(HMMs) to take into account this temporal relationship and finalize the
classification process. The hidden states of the HMMs are associated
with the levels of affective dimensions to convert the classification problem
into a best path finding problem in HMM. The system was tested on
the audio data of the Audio/Visual Emotion Challenge (AVEC) datasets
showing performance significantly above that of a one-stage classification
system that does not take into account the temporal relationship, as well
as above the baseline set provided by this Challenge. Due to the generality
of the approach, this system could be applied to other types of
affective modalities
Radiation-dominated area metric cosmology
We provide further crucial support for a refined, area metric structure of
spacetime. Based on the solution of conceptual issues, such as the consistent
coupling of fermions and the covariant identification of radiation fields on
area metric backgrounds, we show that the radiation-dominated epoch of area
metric cosmology is equivalent to that epoch in standard Einstein cosmology.
This ensures, in particular, successful nucleosynthesis. This surprising result
complements the previously derived prediction of a small late-time acceleration
of an area metric universe.Comment: 23 pages, no figures; references adde
Canonical differential geometry of string backgrounds
String backgrounds and D-branes do not possess the structure of Lorentzian
manifolds, but that of manifolds with area metric. Area metric geometry is a
true generalization of metric geometry, which in particular may accommodate a
B-field. While an area metric does not determine a connection, we identify the
appropriate differential geometric structure which is of relevance for the
minimal surface equation in such a generalized geometry. In particular the
notion of a derivative action of areas on areas emerges naturally. Area metric
geometry provides new tools in differential geometry, which promise to play a
role in the description of gravitational dynamics on D-branes.Comment: 20 pages, no figures, improved journal versio
Inelastic light scattering and the excited states of many-electron quantum dots
A consistent calculation of resonant inelastic (Raman) scattering amplitudes
for relatively large quantum dots, which takes account of valence-band mixing,
discrete character of the spectrum in intermediate and final states, and
interference effects, is presented. Raman peaks in charge and spin channels are
compared with multipole strengths and with the density of energy levels in
final states. A qualitative comparison with the available experimental results
is given.Comment: 5 pages, accepted in J. Phys.: Condens. Matte
Triggered/sequential star formation? A multi-phase ISM study around the prominent IRDC G18.93-0.03
G18.93-0.03 is a prominent dust complex within an 0.8deg long filament, with
the molecular clump G18.93/m being IR dark from near IR wavelength up to 160mu.
Spitzer composite images show an IR bubble spatially associated with G18.93. We
use GRS 13CO and IRAM 30m H13CO+ data to disentangle the spatial structure of
the region. From ATLASGAL submm data we calculate the gas mass, while we use
the H13CO+ line width to estimate its virial mass. Using HERSCHEL data we
produce temperature maps from fitting the SED. With the MAGPIS 20cm and
SuperCOSMOS Halpha data we trace the ionized gas, and the VGPS HI survey
provides information on the atomic hydrogen gas. We show that the bubble is
spatially associated with G18.93, located at a kinematic near distance of
3.6kpc. With 280Msun, the most massive clump within G18.93 is G18.93/m. The
virial analysis shows that it may be gravitationally bound and has neither
Spitzer young stellar objects nor mid-IR point sources within. Fitting the SED
reveals a temperature distribution that decreases towards its center, but
heating from the ionizing source puts it above the general ISM temperature. We
find that the bubble is filled by HII gas, ionized by an O8.5 star. Between the
ionizing source and the IR dark clump G18.93/m we find a layered structure,
from ionized to atomic to molecular hydrogen, revealing a PDR. Furthermore, we
identify an additional velocity component within the bubble's 8mu emission rim
at the edge of the infrared dark cloud and speculate that it might be shock
induced by the expanding HII region. While the elevated temperature allows for
the build-up of larger fragments, and the shock induced velocity component may
lead to additional turbulent support, we do not find conclusive evidence that
the massive clump G18.93/m is prone to collapse because of the expanding HII
region.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
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