1,617 research outputs found
Determinants of short-period heart rate variability in the general population
Decreased heart rate variability (HRV) is associated with a worse prognosis in a variety of diseases and disorders. We evaluated the determinants of short-period HRV in a random sample of 149 middle-aged men and 137 women from the general population. Spectral analysis was used to compute low-frequency (LF), high-frequency (HF) and total-frequency power. HRV showed a strong inverse association with age and heart rate in both sexes with a more pronounced effect of heart rate on HRV in women. Age and heart rate-adjusted LF was significantly higher in men and HF higher in women. Significant negative correlations of BMI, triglycerides, insulin and positive correlations of HDL cholesterol with LF and total power occurred only in men. In multivariate analyses, heart rate and age persisted as prominent independent predictors of HRV. In addition, BMI was strongly negatively associated with LF in men but not in women, We conclude that the more pronounced vagal influence in cardiac regulation in middle-aged women and the gender-different influence of heart rate and metabolic factors on HRV may help to explain the lower susceptibility of women for cardiac arrhythmias. Copyright (C) 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel
Semiclassical Approach to Parametric Spectral Correlation with Spin 1/2
The spectral correlation of a chaotic system with spin 1/2 is universally
described by the GSE (Gaussian Symplectic Ensemble) of random matrices in the
semiclassical limit. In semiclassical theory, the spectral form factor is
expressed in terms of the periodic orbits and the spin state is simulated by
the uniform distribution on a sphere. In this paper, instead of the uniform
distribution, we introduce Brownian motion on a sphere to yield the parametric
motion of the energy levels. As a result, the small time expansion of the form
factor is obtained and found to be in agreement with the prediction of
parametric random matrices in the transition within the GSE universality class.
Moreover, by starting the Brownian motion from a point distribution on the
sphere, we gradually increase the effect of the spin and calculate the form
factor describing the transition from the GOE (Gaussian Orthogonal Ensemble)
class to the GSE class.Comment: 25 pages, 2 figure
Partner orbits and action differences on compact factors of the hyperbolic plane. Part I: Sieber-Richter pairs
Physicists have argued that periodic orbit bunching leads to universal
spectral fluctuations for chaotic quantum systems. To establish a more detailed
mathematical understanding of this fact, it is first necessary to look more
closely at the classical side of the problem and determine orbit pairs
consisting of orbits which have similar actions. In this paper we specialize to
the geodesic flow on compact factors of the hyperbolic plane as a classical
chaotic system. We prove the existence of a periodic partner orbit for a given
periodic orbit which has a small-angle self-crossing in configuration space
which is a `2-encounter'; such configurations are called `Sieber-Richter pairs'
in the physics literature. Furthermore, we derive an estimate for the action
difference of the partners. In the second part of this paper [13], an inductive
argument is provided to deal with higher-order encounters.Comment: to appear on Nonlinearit
Chemical Abundances For Evolved Stars In M5: Lithium Through Thorium
We present analysis of high-resolution spectra of a sample of stars in the globular cluster M5 (NGC 5904). The sample includes stars from the red giant branch (RGB; seven stars), the red horizontal branch (two stars), and the asymptotic giant branch (AGB; eight stars), with effective temperatures ranging from 4000 K to 6100 K. Spectra were obtained with the HIRES spectrometer on the Keck I telescope, with a wavelength coverage from 3700 angstrom to 7950 angstrom for the HB and AGB sample, and 5300 angstrom to 7600 angstrom for the majority of the RGB sample. We find offsets of some abundance ratios between the AGB and the RGB branches. However, these discrepancies appear to be due to analysis effects, and indicate that caution must be exerted when directly comparing abundance ratios between different evolutionary branches. We find the expected signatures of pollution from material enriched in the products of the hot hydrogen burning cycles such as the CNO, Ne-Na, and Mg-Al cycles, but no significant differences within these signatures among the three stellar evolutionary branches especially when considering the analysis offsets. We are also able to measure an assortment of neutron-capture element abundances, from Sr to Th, in the cluster. We find that the neutron-capture signature for all stars is the same, and shows a predominately r-process origin. However, we also see evidence of a small but consistent extra s-process signature that is not tied to the light-element variations, pointing to a pre-enrichment of this material in the protocluster gas.National Science Foundation AST-0802292NSF AST-0406988, AST-0607770, AST-0607482DFGW. M. Keck FoundationAstronom
From error bounds to the complexity of first-order descent methods for convex functions
This paper shows that error bounds can be used as effective tools for
deriving complexity results for first-order descent methods in convex
minimization. In a first stage, this objective led us to revisit the interplay
between error bounds and the Kurdyka-\L ojasiewicz (KL) inequality. One can
show the equivalence between the two concepts for convex functions having a
moderately flat profile near the set of minimizers (as those of functions with
H\"olderian growth). A counterexample shows that the equivalence is no longer
true for extremely flat functions. This fact reveals the relevance of an
approach based on KL inequality. In a second stage, we show how KL inequalities
can in turn be employed to compute new complexity bounds for a wealth of
descent methods for convex problems. Our approach is completely original and
makes use of a one-dimensional worst-case proximal sequence in the spirit of
the famous majorant method of Kantorovich. Our result applies to a very simple
abstract scheme that covers a wide class of descent methods. As a byproduct of
our study, we also provide new results for the globalization of KL inequalities
in the convex framework.
Our main results inaugurate a simple methodology: derive an error bound,
compute the desingularizing function whenever possible, identify essential
constants in the descent method and finally compute the complexity using the
one-dimensional worst case proximal sequence. Our method is illustrated through
projection methods for feasibility problems, and through the famous iterative
shrinkage thresholding algorithm (ISTA), for which we show that the complexity
bound is of the form where the constituents of the bound only depend
on error bound constants obtained for an arbitrary least squares objective with
regularization
The Selberg trace formula for Dirac operators
We examine spectra of Dirac operators on compact hyperbolic surfaces.
Particular attention is devoted to symmetry considerations, leading to
non-trivial multiplicities of eigenvalues. The relation to spectra of
Maass-Laplace operators is also exploited. Our main result is a Selberg trace
formula for Dirac operators on hyperbolic surfaces
Intermediate statistics for a system with symplectic symmetry: the Dirac rose graph
We study the spectral statistics of the Dirac operator on a rose-shaped
graph---a graph with a single vertex and all bonds connected at both ends to
the vertex. We formulate a secular equation that generically determines the
eigenvalues of the Dirac rose graph, which is seen to generalise the secular
equation for a star graph with Neumann boundary conditions. We derive
approximations to the spectral pair correlation function at large and small
values of spectral spacings, in the limit as the number of bonds approaches
infinity, and compare these predictions with results of numerical calculations.
Our results represent the first example of intermediate statistics from the
symplectic symmetry class.Comment: 26 pages, references adde
Laughlin states on the Poincare half-plane and its quantum group symmetry
We find the Laughlin states of the electrons on the Poincare half-plane in
different representations. In each case we show that there exist a quantum
group symmetry such that the Laughlin states are a representation of
it. We calculate the corresponding filling factor by using the plasma analogy
of the FQHE.Comment: 9 pages,Late
Semiclassical Approach to Chaotic Quantum Transport
We describe a semiclassical method to calculate universal transport
properties of chaotic cavities. While the energy-averaged conductance turns out
governed by pairs of entrance-to-exit trajectories, the conductance variance,
shot noise and other related quantities require trajectory quadruplets; simple
diagrammatic rules allow to find the contributions of these pairs and
quadruplets. Both pure symmetry classes and the crossover due to an external
magnetic field are considered.Comment: 33 pages, 11 figures (appendices B-D not included in journal version
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