11,072 research outputs found
Quasi-isometries Between Groups with Two-Ended Splittings
We construct `structure invariants' of a one-ended, finitely presented group
that describe the way in which the factors of its JSJ decomposition over
two-ended subgroups fit together.
For groups satisfying two technical conditions, these invariants reduce the
problem of quasi-isometry classification of such groups to the problem of
relative quasi-isometry classification of the factors of their JSJ
decompositions. The first condition is that their JSJ decompositions have
two-ended cylinder stabilizers. The second is that every factor in their JSJ
decompositions is either `relatively rigid' or `hanging'. Hyperbolic groups
always satisfy the first condition, and it is an open question whether they
always satisfy the second.
The same methods also produce invariants that reduce the problem of
classification of one-ended hyperbolic groups up to homeomorphism of their
Gromov boundaries to the problem of classification of the factors of their JSJ
decompositions up to relative boundary homeomorphism type.Comment: 61pages, 6 figure
Comparison of habitat-based indices of abundance with fishery-independent biomass estimates from bottom trawl surveys
Rockfish species are notoriously difficult to sample with multispecies bottom trawl survey methods. Typically, biomass estimates have high coefficients of variation and
can fluctuate outside the bounds of biological reality from year to year. This variation may be due in part to their patchy distribution related to very specific habitat preferences. We successfully modeled the distribution of five commercially important and abundant rockf ish species. A two-stage modeling method (modeling both presence-absence and abundance) and a collection of important habitat variables were used to predict bottom trawl survey catch per unit of effort. The resulting models explained between 22% and 66% of the variation in rockfish distribution. The models were largely driven by depth, local slope, bottom temperature, abundance of coral and sponge, and measures
of water column productivity (i.e., phytoplankton and zooplankton). A year-effect in the models was back-transformed and used as an index of the time series of abundance. The abundance index trajectories of three of five species were similar to the existing estimates of their biomass. In the majority of cases the habitat-based indices exhibited less interannual variability and similar
precision when compared with stratified survey-based biomass estimates. These indices may provide for stock
assessment models a more stable alternative to current biomass estimates produced by the multispecies bottom trawl survey in the Gulf of Alaska
The arithmetic of arithmetic Coxeter groups
In the 1990s, J.H. Conway published a combinatorial-geometric method for
analyzing integer-valued binary quadratic forms (BQFs). Using a visualization
he named the "topograph," Conway revisited the reduction of BQFs and the
solution of quadratic Diophantine equations such as Pell's equation. It appears
that the crux of his method is the coincidence between the arithmetic group
and the Coxeter group of type . There are many
arithmetic Coxeter groups, and each may have unforeseen applications to
arithmetic. We introduce Conway's topograph, and generalizations to other
arithmetic Coxeter groups. This includes a study of "arithmetic flags" and
variants of binary quadratic forms.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figure
The role of stereotactic radiosurgery in the multimodal management of growth hormoneâsecreting pituitary adenomas
Growth hormone (GH)âsecreting pituitary adenomas represent a common source of GH excess in patients with acromegaly. Whereas surgical extirpation of the culprit lesion is considered first-line treatment, as many as 19% of patients develop recurrent symptoms due to regrowth of previously resected adenomatous tissue or to continued growth of the surgically inaccessible tumor. Although medical therapies that suppress GH production can be effective in the management of primary and recurrent acromegaly, these therapies are not curative, and lifelong treatment is required for hormonal control. Stereotactic radiosurgery has emerged as an effective adjunctive treatment modality, and is an appealing alternative to conventional fractionated radiation therapy. The authors reviewed the growing body of literature concerning the role of radiosurgical procedures in the treatment armamentarium of acromegaly, and identified more than 1350 patients across 45 case series. In this review, the authors report that radiosurgery offers true hormonal normalization in 17% to 82% of patients and tumor growth control in 37% to 100% of cases across all series, while minimizing adverse complications. As a result, stereotactic radiosurgery represents a safe and effective treatment option in the multimodal management of primary or recurrent acromegaly secondary to GH-secreting pituitary adenomas
The WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey: Galaxy Evolution at 0.25 †z †0.75 Using the Second Red-Sequence Cluster Survey
We study the evolution of galaxy populations around the spectroscopic WiggleZ sample of star-forming galaxies at 0.25 †z †0.75 using the photometric catalog from the Second Red-Sequence Cluster Survey (RCS2). We probe the optical photometric properties of the net excess neighbor galaxies. The key concept is that the marker galaxies and their neighbors are located at the same redshift, providing a sample of galaxies representing a complete census of galaxies in the neighborhood of star-forming galaxies. The results are compared with those using the RCS WiggleZ Spare-Fibre (RCS-WSF) sample as markers, representing galaxies in cluster environments at 0.25 †z †0.45. By analyzing the stacked color-color properties of the WiggleZ neighbor galaxies, we find that their optical colors are not a strong function of indicators of star-forming activities such as EW([O II]) or Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) near-UV luminosity of the markers. The galaxies around the WiggleZ markers exhibit a bimodal distribution on the color-magnitude diagram, with most of them located in the blue cloud. The optical galaxy luminosity functions (GLFs) of the blue neighbor galaxies have a faint-end slope α of ~ â1.3, similar to that for galaxies in cluster environments drawn from the RCS-WSF sample. The faint-end slope of the GLF for the red neighbors, however, is ~ â0.4, significantly shallower than the ~ â0.7 found for those in cluster environments. This suggests that the buildup of the faint end of the red sequence in cluster environments is in a significantly more advanced stage than that in the star-forming and lower galaxy density WiggleZ neighborhoods. We find that the red galaxy fraction (f_red) around the star-forming WiggleZ galaxies has similar values from z ~ 0.3 to z ~ 0.6 with f_red ~ 0.28, but drops to f_red ~ 0.20 at z gsim 0.7. This change of f_red with redshift suggests that there is either a higher rate of star-forming galaxies entering the luminosity-limited sample at z âł 0.7, or a decrease in the quenching rate of star formation at that redshift. Comparing to that in a dense cluster environment, the f_red of the WiggleZ neighbors is both considerably smaller and has a more moderate change with redshift, pointing to the stronger and more prevalent environmental influences on galaxy evolution in high-density regions
Kinematics of Circumgalactic Gas: Feeding Galaxies and Feedback
We present observations of 50 pairs of redshift z ~ 0.2 star-forming galaxies
and background quasars. These sightlines probe the circumgalactic medium (CGM)
out to half the virial radius, and we describe the circumgalactic gas
kinematics relative to the reference frame defined by the galactic disks. We
detect halo gas in MgII absorption, measure the equivalent-width-weighted
Doppler shifts relative to each galaxy, and find that the CGM has a component
of angular momentum that is aligned with the galactic disk. No net
counter-rotation of the CGM is detected within 45 degrees of the major axis at
any impact parameter. The velocity offset of the circumgalactic gas correlates
with the projected rotation speed in the disk plane out to disk radii of
roughly 70 kpc. We confirm previous claims that the MgII absorption becomes
stronger near the galactic minor axis and show that the equivalent width
correlates with the velocity range of the absorption. We cannot directly
measure the location of any absorber along the sightline, but we explore the
hypothesis that individual velocity components can be associated with gas
orbiting in the disk plane or flowing radially outward in a conical outflow. We
conclude that centrifugal forces partially support the low-ionization gas and
galactic outflows kinematically disturb the CGM producing excess absorption.
Our results firmly rule out schema for the inner CGM that lack rotation and
suggest that angular momentum as well as galactic winds should be included in
any viable model for the low-redshift CGM.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa
Estimation with Response Error and Non-Response: Food Stamp Participation in the SIPP
Estimation with Response Error and Non-response: Food Stamp Participation in the SIPP
Millimeter and Submillimeter Survey of the R Corona Australis Region
Using a combination of data from the Antarctic Submillimeter Telescope and
Remote Observatory (AST/RO), the Arizona Radio Observatory Kitt Peak 12m
telescope and the Arizona Radio Observatory 10m Heinrich Hertz Telescope, we
have studied the most active part of the R CrA molecular cloud in multiple
transitions of Carbon Monoxide, HCO and 870\micron continuum emission.
Since R CrA is nearby (130 pc), we are able to obtain physical spatial
resolution as high as 0.01pc over an area of 0.16 pc, with velocity
resolution finer than 1 km/s. Mass estimates of the protostar driving the
mm-wave emission derived from HCO, dust continuum emission and kinematic
techniques point to a young, deeply embedded protostar of 0.5-0.75
M, with a gaseous envelope of similar mass. A molecular outflow is
driven by this source that also contains at least 0.8 M of molecular
gas with 0.5 L of mechanical luminosity. HCO lines show the
kinematic signature of infall motions as well as bulk rotation. The source is
most likely a Class 0 protostellar object not yet visible at near-IR
wavelengths. With the combination of spatial and spectral resolution in our
data set, we are able to disentangle the effects of infall, rotation and
outflow towards this young object.Comment: 29 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
Novel candidate genes underlying extreme trophic specialization in Caribbean pupfishes
The genetic changes responsible for evolutionary transitions from generalist to specialist phenotypes are poorly understood. Here we examine the genetic basis of craniofacial traits enabling novel trophic specialization in a sympatric radiation of Cyprinodon pupfishes endemic to San Salvador Island, Bahamas. This recent radiation consists of a generalist species and two novel specialists: a small-jawed "snail-eater" and a large-jawed "scale-eater." We genotyped 12 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) by whole-genome resequencing of 37 individuals of all three species from nine populations and integrated genome-wide divergence scans with association mapping to identify divergent regions containing putatively causal SNPs affecting jaw size-the most rapidly diversifying trait in this radiation. A mere 22 fixed variants accompanied extreme ecological divergence between generalist and scale-eater species. We identified 31 regions (20âkb) containing variants fixed between specialists that were significantly associated with variation in jaw size which contained 11 genes annotated for skeletal system effects and 18 novel candidate genes never previously associated with craniofacial phenotypes. Six of these 31 regions showed robust signs of hard selective sweeps after accounting for demographic history. Our data are consistent with predictions based on quantitative genetic models of adaptation, suggesting that the effect sizes of regions influencing jaw phenotypes are positively correlated with distance between fitness peaks on a complex adaptive landscape
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