Smeared and unsmeared chiral vertex operators

We prove unboundedness and boundedness of the unsmeared and smeared chiral vertex operators, respectively. We use elementary methods in bosonic Fock space, only. Possible applications to conformal two - dimensional quantum field theory, perturbation thereof, and to the perturbative construction of the sine-Gordon model by the Epstein-Glaser method are discussed. From another point of view the results of this paper can be looked at as a first step towards a Hilbert space interpretation of vertex operator algebras.Comment: 18 pages, latex, no figure

Digit Ratio (2D:4D) and Amniotic Testosterone and Estradiol: An Attempted Replication of Lutchmaya et al. (2004)

The ratio of length between the second (index) and fourth (ring) fingers (digit ratio or 2D:4D) is frequently employed as a retrospective marker of prenatal sex hormone exposure. Lutchmaya et al. (2004) reported that the ratio of testosterone (T) to estradiol (E) present in second trimester amniotic fluid was negatively correlated with digit ratios for the right hand (but not the left hand) in a sample of 29 children at 2-year follow-up. This observation is frequently cited as evidence for the measure’s validity but has not been replicated. We therefore present the findings of another study of amniotic T and E that did not find evidence for these effects at 4½-year follow-up. The confidence intervals were large, the direction of correlations observed was generally erratic, and the overall findings therefore question the premise that second trimester sex hormones affect the development of digit length ratios in humans

Education and Research in the SEENET-MTP Regional Framework for Higher Education in Physics

Southeastern European countries undergo significant changes in the demand/supply ratio on the labour market and in the structure of professional competences that are necessary for undertaking a professional activity. In addition, brain-drain process and decrease of interest for a career in basic sciences put many challenges for our community. Consequently, based on the activity of the Southeastern European Network in Mathematical and Theoretical Physics (SEENET MTP Network) in connecting groups and persons working in mathematics and theoretical physics, we investigate specific qualifications recognized in these fields in all the countries from the region, and the related competences necessary for practicing the respective occupations. A list of new possible occupations will be promoted for inclusion in the National Qualifications Register for Higher Education. Finally, we analyze the vision existing in this region on the higher education qualifications against the European vision and experience, in particular in training of Master students, PhD students, and senior teaching and research staff through the Network, i.e. multilateral and bilateral programs.Comment: 6 pages, Talk given at 7th International Conference of the Balkan Physical Union, Alexandruoplos, Greece, 9-13 September 2009. To be published in AIP Conf.Pro

Statistical atlases for electroanatomical mapping of cardiac arrhythmias

Electroanatomical mapping is a mandatory time-consuming planning step in cardiac catheter ablation. In practice, interventional cardiologists target specific endocardial areas for mapping based on personal experience, general electrophysiology principles, and preoperative anatomical scans. Effective fusion of all available information towards a useful mapping strategy has not been standardised and achieving the optimal map within time and space constraints is challenging. In this paper, a novel framework for computing optimal endocardial mapping locations in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) is proposed. The method is based on a statistical electroanatomical model (SEAM) which is instantiated from preoperative anatomy in order to achieve an initial prediction of the electrical map. Simultaneously, the anatomical areas with the highest frequency of mapping among the similar cases in the dataset are detected and a classifier is trained to filter these points based on the electroanatomical data. The framework was tested in an iterative process of adding mapping points to the SEAM and computing the instantiation error, with retrospective clinical data of 66 CHD cases available

Unstable states in QED of strong magnetic fields

We question the use of stable asymptotic scattering states in QED of strong magnetic fields. To correctly describe excited Landau states and photons above the pair creation threshold the asymptotic fields are chosen as generalized Licht fields. In this way the off-shell behavior of unstable particles is automatically taken into account, and the resonant divergences that occur in scattering cross sections in the presence of a strong external magnetic field are avoided. While in a limiting case the conventional electron propagator with Breit-Wigner form is obtained, in this formalism it is also possible to calculate $S$-matrix elements with external unstable particles.Comment: Revtex, 7 pages. To appear in Phys. Rev. D53(2

In-flight calibration of the Hot Ion Analyser on board Cluster

The Hot Ion Analyser (HIA), part of the Cluster Ion Spectrometry experiment, has the objective to measure the three-dimensional velocity distributions of ions. Due to a variety of factors (exposure to radiation, detector fatigue and aging, changes in the operating parameters, etc.), the particles' detection efficiency changes over time, prompting for continuous in-flight calibration. This is achieved by comparing the HIA data with the data provided by the WHISPER (Waves of HIgh frequency and Sounder for Probing of Electron density by Relaxation) experiment on magnetosheath intervals, for the high-sensitivity section of the instrument, or solar wind intervals, for the low-sensitivity section. The paper presents in detail the in-flight calibration methodology, reports on the work carried out for calibrating HIA and discusses plans to extend this activity in order to ensure the instrument's highest data accuracy