17,622 research outputs found
Vacuum Stability of the wrong sign Scalar Field Theory
We apply the effective potential method to study the vacuum stability of the
bounded from above (unstable) quantum field potential. The
stability ( and the mass renormalization
( conditions force the effective
potential of this theory to be bounded from below (stable). Since bounded from
below potentials are always associated with localized wave functions, the
algorithm we use replaces the boundary condition applied to the wave functions
in the complex contour method by two stability conditions on the effective
potential obtained. To test the validity of our calculations, we show that our
variational predictions can reproduce exactly the results in the literature for
the -symmetric theory. We then extend the applications
of the algorithm to the unstudied stability problem of the bounded from above
scalar field theory where classical analysis prohibits the
existence of a stable spectrum. Concerning this, we calculated the effective
potential up to first order in the couplings in space-time dimensions. We
find that a Hermitian effective theory is instable while a non-Hermitian but
-symmetric effective theory characterized by a pure imaginary
vacuum condensate is stable (bounded from below) which is against the classical
predictions of the instability of the theory. We assert that the work presented
here represents the first calculations that advocates the stability of the
scalar potential.Comment: 21pages, 12 figures. In this version, we updated the text and added
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A cryptotephra record from the Lake Victoria sediment core record of holocene palaeoenvironmental change
The sediment record from Lake Victoria is an important archive of regional environmental and climatic conditions, reaching back more than 15,000 cal. years before present (15 ka BP). As the largest lake by area in East Africa, its evolution is key to understanding regional palaeohydrological change during the late Pleistocene and Holocene, including controls on the Nile River flow. As well as important palaeoenvironmental proxies, the lake contains a unique record of explosive volcanism from the central Kenyan Rift, in the form of fine-grained volcanic ash (tephra) layers, interpreted as airfall deposits. In the V95-1P core, collected from the central northern basin of the lake, tephra layers vary in concentration from 10s to 10s of 1000s of glass shards per gram of sediment. None of the tephra are visible to the naked eye, and have only been revealed through careful laboratory processing. Compositional analyses of tephra glass shards has allowed the tephra layers to be correlated to previously unrecognized eruptions of Eburru volcano around 1.2 and 3.8 ka, and Olkaria volcano, prior to 15 ka. These volcanoes lie ~300 km east of the core site in the Kenyan Rift. Our results highlight the potential for developing cryptotephra analysis as a key tool in East African palaeolimnological research. Tephra layers offer opportunities for precise correlation of palaeoenvironmental sequences, as well as windows into the eruption frequency of regional volcanoes and the dispersal of volcanic ash. Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowshi
Transient nuclear criticality excursion analysis of highly dispersed particulate three-phase fluidised systems
The aim of this study was to perform sensitivity analysis, investigating how different fluidisation and sedimentation characteristics of three-phase wetted UO2 powder beds, may affect a transient nuclear criticality excursion initiated through the addition of water into a fissile powder bed. This type of postulated nuclear criticality accident scenario may occur in nuclear fuel fabrication facilities when a fire is fought through the use of water, supplied via an automatic or manual fire-suppression system. A similar scenario may also develop as a result of water leaks or flooding of the process area housing UO2 powder. The article introduces a model for gas-bubble induced fluidisation of a UO2 powder bed and examines how this phenomenon may affect the neutron kinetic response of a three-phase fluidised fissile powder system. Empirical analysis has shown that fissile suspensions form agglomerated structures when suspended in water, at agglomerate sizes that range from 18 to 40 . Simulation results indicate that both the critical gas velocity and rate of fluidisation may significantly affect transient nuclear criticality excursion dynamics. The re-distribution of fissile mass into a highly dispersed suspension generally reduces the reactivity of the system, however, depending on the H/U ratio, a positive reactivity may be added to the system. Low PĆ©clet numbers in the suspension suggest that gas-bubble induced motion of the suspension causes a highly dispersive flow field. An oscillatory power response is predicted for low critical gas velocities where the reactivity of the system is predominantly governed by the re-distribution of fissile mass within the system. The frequency of these oscillations is greater for a higher hindered settling rate of powder particles. At a higher critical gas velocity, the transient nuclear criticality excursion is governed by the voidage reactivity feedback, making the response quite independent of fluidisation. In all cases, large volumes of UO2 powder may leave the domain due to overflowing of the suspension. Transient nuclear criticality excursions in UO2 powder beds with a low critical gas velocity are terminated once the bed becomes fully saturated
The Reliability of Histamine Pharmacodynamic Response Phenotype Classification in Children With Allergic Disease.
We have identified distinct histamine pharmacodynamic response phenotypes in children with allergic disease utilizing histamine iontophoresis with laser Doppler (HILD). These response phenotypes may be relevant in guiding therapeutic decision making for agents targeting the allergic response pathways. However, the reliability of these response phenotypes has not been assessed. Therefore, we performed HILD in children with allergic rhinitis and/or asthma on two to three separate occasions. HILD response-time data were analyzed in NONMEM using a linked effect PKPD model. Examination of observed vs. classified response phenotypes predicted response plots and the sum of residuals. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to determine the reliability of phenotype classification. Eighty-two percent of children exhibited a reliable histamine response phenotype [intraclass correlation coefficient 0.77 (95% CI 0.44ā0.93]. These preliminary results suggest moderate reliability of HILD response phenotype in children. Further exploration is needed to determine contributions to phenotype variability
Wetting-induced volumetric collapse of UO2 powder beds and the consequence on transient nuclear criticality excursions
Mathematical and computational models are proposed to simulate wetting-induced volumetric collapse of fissile powder beds. Slumping, nuclear thermal hydraulics, radiolytic gas, and steam production models are coupled with point neutron kinetics to investigate transient nuclear criticality excursions in two 5-wt% enriched UO2 fissile powder beds with varying levels of wetting-induced volumetric collapse. The two beds are distinguished by their mean powder particle size of 30 Ī¼m and 100 Ī¼m. For the UO2 powder beds modelled, the re-distribution of UO2 powder and moderator due to slumping introduced a negative reactivity into the system. This increased the amount of time taken for a delayed critical state to be reached once infiltration began, and also reduced the total fission energy generated over the course of the simulated transient. The total fission energy generated ranged from 42 MJ to 48 MJ 100 seconds after the initial nuclear criticality excursion was observed for the 30 Ī¼m sized UO2 powder bed. The fission energy of the larger sized powder bed (100 Ī¼m), varied from 42 MJ to 57 MJ. Larger discrepancies between the slumped and un-slumped initial peak power are predicted. Peak powers varied from 29.2 MW to 106 MW for the smaller-sized powder particles, whereas for larger particles, the peak powers varied from 255 MW to 501 MW
Social and spatial heterogeneity in psychosis proneness in a multilevel case-prodrome-control study
To test whether spatial and social neighbourhood patterning of people at ultra-high risk (UHR) of psychosis differs from first-episode psychosis (FEP) participants or controls and to determine whether exposure to different social environments is evident before disorder onset
Hyperglycemia Has a Greater Impact on Left Ventricle Function in South Asians Than in Europeans
OBJECTIVE Diabetes is associated with left ventricular (LV) diastolic and systolic dysfunction. South Asians may be at particular risk of developing LV dysfunction owing to a high prevalence of diabetes. We investigated the role of diabetes and hyperglycemia in LV dysfunction in a community-based cohort of older South Asians and white Europeans. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Conventional and Doppler echocardiography was performed in 999 participants (542 Europeans and 457 South Asians aged 58ā86 years) in a population-based study. Anthropometry, fasting bloods, coronary artery calcification scoring, blood pressure, and renal function were measured. RESULTS Diabetes and hyperglycemia across the spectrum of HbA1c had a greater adverse effect on LV function in South Asians than Europeans (N-terminal-probrain natriuretic peptide Ī² Ā± SE 0.09 Ā± 0.04, P = 0.01, vs. ā0.04 Ā± 0.05, P = 0.4, P for HbA1c/ethnicity interaction 0.02), diastolic function (E/eā² 0.69 Ā± 0.12, P < 0.0001, vs. 0.09 Ā± 0.2, P = 0.6, P for interaction 0.005), and systolic function (sā² ā0.11 Ā± 0.06, P = 0.04, vs. 0.14 Ā± 0.09, P = 0.1, P for interaction 0.2). Multivariable adjustment for hypertension, microvascular disease, LV mass, coronary disease, and dyslipidemia only partially accounted for the ethnic differences. Adverse LV function in diabetic South Asians could not be accounted for by poorer glycemic control or longer diabetes duration. CONCLUSIONS Diabetes and hyperglycemia have a greater adverse effect on LV function in South Asians than Europeans, incompletely explained by adverse risk factors. South Asians may require earlier and more aggressive treatment of their cardiometabolic risk factors to reduce risks of LV dysfunction
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