237 research outputs found
Transport properties of a meson gas
We present recent results on a systematic method to calculate transport
coefficients for a meson gas (in particular, we analyze a pion gas) at low
temperatures in the context of Chiral Perturbation Theory. Our method is based
on the study of Feynman diagrams with a power counting which takes into account
collisions in the plasma by means of a non-zero particle width. In this way, we
obtain results compatible with analysis of Kinetic Theory with just the leading
order diagram. We show the behavior with temperature of electrical and thermal
conductivities and shear and bulk viscosities, and we discuss the fundamental
role played by unitarity. We obtain that bulk viscosity is negligible against
shear viscosity near the chiral phase transition. Relations between the
different transport coefficients and bounds on them based on different
theoretical approximations are also discussed. We also comment on some
applications to heavy-ion collisions.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, IJMPE style. Contribution to the International
Workshop X Hadron Physics (2007), Florianopolis, Brazil. Accepted for
publication in IJMPE; 1 typo correcte
Bulk viscosity and the conformal anomaly in the pion gas
We calculate the bulk viscosity of the massive pion gas within Unitarized
Chiral Perturbation Theory. We obtain a low temperature peak arising from
explicit conformal breaking due to the pion mass and another peak near the
critical temperature, dominated by the conformal anomaly through gluon
condensate terms. The correlation between bulk viscosity and conformal breaking
supports a recent QCD proposal. We discuss the role of resonances, heavier
states and large- counting.Comment: Revised version accepted in Phys.Rev.Lett. 4 pages, 3 figure
Transport coefficients in Chiral Perturbation Theory
We present recent results on the calculation of transport coefficients for a
pion gas at zero chemical potential in Chiral Perturbation Theory using Linear
Response Theory. More precisely, we show the behavior of DC conductivity and
shear viscosity at low temperatures. To compute transport coefficients, the
standard power counting of ChPT has to be modified. The effects derived from
imposing unitarity are also analyzed. As physical applications in Relativistic
Heavy Ion Collisions, we show the relation of the DC conductivity to
soft-photon production and phenomenological effects related to a nonzero shear
viscosity. In addition, our values for the shear viscosity to entropy ratio
satisfy the KSS bound.Comment: 3 pages, 6 figures, EPJA style. Talk given at the QNP06 conference in
Madrid, and accepted for publication in EPJ
Pion scattering poles and chiral symmetry restoration
Using unitarized Chiral Perturbation Theory methods, we perform a detailed
analysis of the scattering poles and behaviour
when medium effects such as temperature or density drive the system towards
Chiral Symmetry Restoration. In the analysis of real poles below threshold, we
show that it is crucial to extend properly the unitarized amplitudes so that
they match the perturbative Adler zeros. Our results do not show threshold
enhancement effects at finite temperature in the channel, which
remains as a pole of broad nature. We also implement T=0 finite density effects
related to chiral symmetry restoration, by varying the pole position with the
pion decay constant. Although this approach takes into account only a limited
class of contributions, we reproduce the expected finite density restoration
behaviour, which drives the poles towards the real axis, producing threshold
enhancement and bound states. We compare our results with several
model approaches and discuss the experimental consequences, both in
Relativistic Heavy Ion Collisions and in and
reactions in nuclei.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures, final version to appear in Phys.Rev.D, added
comments and reference
Using the Social-Local-Mobile App for Smoking Cessation in the SmokeFreeBrain Project: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial
Background: Smoking is considered the main cause of preventable illness and early deaths worldwide. The treatment usually prescribed to people who wish to quit smoking is a multidisciplinary intervention, combining both psychological advice and pharmacological therapy, since the application of both strategies significantly increases the chance of success in a quit attempt.
Objective: We present a study protocol of a 12-month randomized open-label parallel-group trial whose primary objective is to analyze the efficacy and efficiency of usual psychopharmacological therapy plus the Social-Local-Mobile app (intervention group) applied to the smoking cessation process compared with usual psychopharmacological therapy alone (control group).
Methods: The target population consists of adult smokers (both male and female) attending the Smoking Cessation Unit at Virgen del Rocío University Hospital, Seville, Spain. Social-Local-Mobile is an innovative intervention based on mobile technologies and their capacity to trigger behavioral changes. The app is a complement to pharmacological therapies to quit smoking by providing personalized motivational messages, physical activity monitoring, lifestyle advice, and distractions (minigames) to help overcome cravings. Usual pharmacological therapy consists of bupropion (Zyntabac 150 mg) or varenicline (Champix 0.5 mg or 1 mg). The main outcomes will be (1) the smoking abstinence rate at 1 year measured by means of exhaled carbon monoxide and urinary cotinine tests, and (2) the result of the cost-effectiveness analysis, which will be expressed in terms of an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio. Secondary outcome measures will be (1) analysis of the safety of pharmacological therapy, (2) analysis of the health-related quality of life of patients, and (3) monitoring of healthy lifestyle and physical exercise habits.
Results: Of 548 patients identified using the hospital’s electronic records system, we excluded 308 patients: 188 declined to participate and 120 did not meet the inclusion criteria. A total of 240 patients were enrolled: the control group (n=120) will receive usual psychopharmacological therapy, while the intervention group (n=120) will receive usual psychopharmacological therapy plus the So-Lo-Mo app. The project was approved for funding in June 2015. Enrollment started in October 2016 and was completed in October 2017. Data gathering was completed in November 2018, and data analysis is under way. The first results are expected to be submitted for publication in early 2019.
Conclusions: Social networks and mobile technologies influence our daily lives and, therefore, may influence our smoking habits as well. As part of the SmokeFreeBrain H2020 European Commission project, this study aims at elucidating the potential role of these technologies when used as an extra aid to quit smoking
Chemical nonequilibrium for interacting bosons: applications to the pion gas
We consider an interacting pion gas in the regime where thermal but not
chemical equilibrium has been reached. Approximate particle number conservation
is implemented by a nonvanishing pion chemical potential within a
diagrammatic thermal field theory approach, valid in principle for any bosonic
field theory in this regime. The resulting Feynman rules are then applied
within the context of Chiral Perturbation Theory to discuss thermodynamical
quantities of interest for the pion gas such as the free energy, the quark
condensate and thermal self-energy. In particular, we derive the generalization of Luscher and Gell-Mann-Oakes-Renner type relations. We pay
special attention to the comparison with the conventional kinetic theory
approach in the dilute regime, which allows for a check of consistency of our
approach. Several phenomenological applications are discussed, concerning
chiral symmetry restoration, freeze-out conditions and Bose-Einstein pion
condensation.Comment: 30 pages, 10 figures. Final version accepted in Phys.Rev.
IFE Plant Technology Overview and contribution to HiPER proposal
HiPER is the European Project for Laser Fusion that has been able to join 26 institutions and signed under formal government agreement by 6 countries inside the ESFRI Program of the European Union (EU). The project is already extended by EU for two years more (until 2013) after its first preparatory phase from 2008. A large work has been developed in different areas to arrive to a design of repetitive operation of Laser Fusion Reactor, and decisions are envisioned in the next phase of Technology Development or Risk Reduction for Engineering or Power Plant facilities (or both). Chamber design has been very much completed for Engineering phase and starting of preliminary options for Reactor Power Plant have been established and review here
Shear Viscosity of a Hot Pion Gas
The shear viscosity of an interacting pion gas is studied using the Kubo
formalism as a microscopic description of thermal systems close to global
equilibrium. We implement the skeleton expansion in order to approximate the
retarded correlator of the viscous part of the energy-momentum tensor. After
exploring this in theory we show how the skeleton expansion can be
consistently applied to pions in chiral perturbation theory. The shear
viscosity is determined by the spectral width, or equivalently, the mean
free path of pions in the heat bath. We derive a new analytical result for the
mean free path which is well-conditioned for numerical evaluation and discuss
the temperature and pion-mass dependence of the mean free path and the shear
viscosity. The ratio of the interacting pion gas exceeds the lower
bound from AdS/CFT correspondence.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures. Revision includes additional Appendix B. Matches
published versio
Revised and extended level scheme of the doubly-odd nucleus
High-spin states in the doubly odd Z=77 nucleus 188Ir were studied using the reaction 186W(7Li, 5n) at 59 MeV and the GASP spectrometer for γ-ray detection. The level structures recently suggested to be built on the known 4.1(3) ms isomeric state of this nucleus have been considerably revised and extended and an isomer with a lifetime of 17.7(2) ns has been identified within the main decay sequence. In addition two rotational bands built on low spin states below the ms isomer have been observed for the first time. The basic features of the excitation scheme of 188Ir are discussed within the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov theory within the Lipkin-Nogami approach with the finite-range density-dependent Gogn
Seafloor geomorphology of the Passage of Lanzarote (West Africa Margin): Influences of the oceanographic processes
The seafloor morphology of the Passage of Lanzarote has been analysed with the aim to know
the active processes on the bottom surface related to the oceanographic context. Multibeam bathymetric
data and high and very high resolution seismic profiles obtained in the SUBVENT2 cruise have been
used. Five main morphological groups have been analysed: (a) Volcanic or diapiric submarine hills; (b)
Tectonic features on the continental slope (linear scarps and a rhombohedral depression) related to
normal faults; (c) Submarine venting at top of diapirs initially triggered circular depressions; (d)
Sedimentary instabilities (gullies, canyons, mass transport deposits) are present specially on the
Fuerteventura-Lanzarote ridge; and (e) Contouritic bottom features both erosive (central valley,
marginal valleys) and depositional (plastered drifts) are on the central part of the passage, and are
generated by the interaction of MW and the interface MW-AAIW with seafloor.Versión del edito
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