630 research outputs found
Alternatives to standard puncture initial data for binary black hole evolution
Standard puncture initial data have been widely used for numerical binary
black hole evolutions despite their shortcomings, most notably the inherent
lack of gravitational radiation at the initial time that is later followed by a
burst of spurious radiation. We study the evolution of three alternative
initial data schemes. Two of the three alternatives are based on post-Newtonian
expansions that contain realistic gravitational waves. The first scheme is
based on a second-order post-Newtonian expansion in Arnowitt, Deser, and Misner
transverse-traceless (ADMTT) gauge that has been resummed to approach standard
puncture data at the black holes. The second scheme is based on asymptotic
matching of the 4-metrics of two tidally perturbed Schwarzschild solutions to a
first-order post-Newtonian expansion in ADMTT gauge away from the black holes.
The final alternative is obtained through asymptotic matching of the 4-metrics
of two tidally perturbed Schwarzschild solutions to a second-order
post-Newtonian expansion in harmonic gauge away from the black holes. When
evolved, the second scheme fails to produce quasicircular orbits (and instead
leads to a nearly head-on collision). This failure can be traced back to
inaccuracies in the extrinsic curvature due to low order matching. More
encouraging is that the latter two alternatives lead to quasicircular orbits
and show gravitational radiation from the onset of the evolution, as well as a
reduction of spurious radiation. Current deficiencies compared to standard
punctures data include more eccentric trajectories during the inspiral and
larger constraint violations, since the alternative data sets are only
approximate solutions of Einstein's equations. The eccentricity problem can be
ameliorated by adjusting the initial momentum parameters.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures, 1 appendix, typos corrected, removed duplicate
reference, matches published versio
Negative Differential Resistance in the Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy of Organic molecules
The conductance-voltage spectrum of molecular nanostructures measured by
scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) is generally assumed to reflect the local
density of states of the molecule. This excludes the possibility of observing
negative differential resistance (NDR). We report here the observation of NDR
in the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) current-voltage (I-V)
characteristics of self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of 4-p-Terphenylthiol
molecules on gold substrate measured using a platinum probe. We argue that the
NDR arises from narrow structures in the local density of states at the tip
apex atom and show that depending on the electrostatic potential profile across
the system, NDR could be observed in one or both bias directions.Comment: 13 Pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. B Rapid Communicatio
Hydrogen adsorption on Pd(133) surface
In this study used is an approach based on measurements of the total energy
distribution (TED) of field emitted electrons in order to examine the
properties of Pd (133) from the aspect of both hydrogen adsorption and surface
hydrides formation. The most favourable sites offered to a hydrogen atom to be
adsorbed have been indicated and an attempt to describe the peaks of the
enhancement factor R spectrum to the specific adsorption sites has also been
made.Comment: to be submitted to the Centr. Eur. J. Phy
First-line high-dose therapy and autologous blood stem cell transplantation in patients with primary central nervous system non-Hodgkin lymphomas-a single-centre experience in 61 patients
Primary central nervous system non-Hodgkin lymphomas (PCNS-NHLs) are extranodal B-cell lymphomas with poor prognosis. The role of high-dose therapy (HDT) followed by autologous blood stem cell transplantation (ASCT) as first-line therapy is still not clear. We retrospectively collected long-term follow up data of 61 consecutive patients with PCNS-NHL at the University Hospital Düsseldorf from January 2004 to December 2016. Thirty-six patients were treated with conventional chemoimmunotherapy (cCIT) only (CT-group). Seventeen patients received an induction cCIT followed by HDT and ASCT. In the CT-group, the overall response rate (ORR) was 61% (CR 47%, PR 14%), and there were 8% treatment-related deaths (TRD). Progression-free survival (PFS) was 31.8 months, and overall survival (OS) was 57.3 months. In the HDT-group, the ORR was 88% (59% CR, 29% PR), and there were 6% TRD. Median PFS and OS were not reached at 5 years. The 5-year PFS and OS were 64.7%. After a median follow up of 71 months, 10 patients (59%) were still alive in CR/PR following HDT and ASCT, one patient was treated for progressive disease (PD), and 7 had died (41%, 6 PD, 1 TRD). All patients achieving CR prior to HDT achieved durable CR. In the CT-group, 8 patients (22%) were alive in CR/PR after a median follow-up of 100 months. Twenty-eight patients died (78%, 24 PD, 2 TRD, 2 deaths in remission). In the univariate analysis, the HDT-group patients had significantly better PFS (not reached vs 31.8 months, p = 0.004) and OS (not reached vs 57.3 months, p = 0.021). The multivariate analysis showed HDT was not predictive for survival. Treatment with HDT + ASCT is feasible and offers the chance for long-term survival with low treatment-related mortality in younger patients. In this analysis, ORR, PFS and OS were better with HDT than with conventional cCIT alone. This result was not confirmed in the multivariate analysis, and further studies need to be done to examine the role of HDT in PCNSL
Evidence of d-wave Superconductivity in K_(1-x)Na_xFe_2As_2 (x = 0, 0.1) Single Crystals from Low-Temperature Specific Heat Measurements
From the measurement and analysis of the specific heat of high-quality
K_(1-x)Na_xFe_2As_2 single crystals we establish the presence of large T^2
contributions with coefficients alpha_sc ~ 30 mJ/mol K^3 at low-T for both x=0
and 0.1. Together with the observed square root field behavior of the specific
heat in the superconducting state both findings evidence d-wave
superconductivity on almost all Fermi surface sheets with an average gap
amplitude of Delta_0 in the range of 0.4 - 0.8 meV. The derived Delta_0 and the
observed T_c agree well with the values calculated within the Eliashberg
theory, adopting a spin-fluctuation mediated pairing in the intermediate
coupling regime.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, field dependence of the specific heat added,
slightly changed title, changed sequence of authors, one author added,
accepted by Phys. Rev. B Rapid Communication
Top-gated graphene field-effect-transistors formed by decomposition of SiC
Top-gated, few-layer graphene field-effect transistors (FETs) fabricated on
thermally-decomposed semi-insulating 4H-SiC substrates are demonstrated.
Physical vapor deposited SiO2 is used as the gate dielectric. A two-dimensional
hexagonal arrangement of carbon atoms with the correct lattice vectors,
observed by high-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy, confirms the
formation of multiple graphene layers on top of the SiC substrates. The
observation of n-type and p-type transition further verifies Dirac Fermions
unique transport properties in graphene layers. The measured electron and hole
mobility on these fabricated graphene FETs are as high as 5400 cm2/Vs and 4400
cm2/Vs respectively, which are much larger than the corresponding values from
conventional SiC or silicon
Loss of NOTCH2 Positively Predicts Survival in Subgroups of Human Glial Brain Tumors
The structural complexity of chromosome 1p centromeric region has been an obstacle for fine mapping of tumor suppressor genes in this area. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) on chromosome 1p is associated with the longer survival of oligodendroglioma (OD) patients. To test the clinical relevance of 1p loss in glioblastomas (GBM) patients and identifiy the underlying tumor suppressor locus, we constructed a somatic deletion map on chromosome 1p in 26 OG and 118 GBM. Deletion hotspots at 4 microsatellite markers located at 1p36.3, 1p36.1, 1p22 and 1p11 defined 10 distinct haplotypes that were related to patient survival. We found that loss of 1p centromeric marker D1S2696 within NOTCH2 intron 12 was associated with favorable prognosis in OD (P = 0.0007) as well as in GBM (P = 0.0175), while 19q loss, concomitant with 1p LOH in OD, had no influence on GBM survival (P = 0.918). Assessment of the intra-chromosomal ratio between NOTCH2 and its 1q21 pericentric duplication N2N (N2/N2N-test) allowed delineation of a consistent centromeric breakpoint in OD that also contained a minimally lost area in GBM. OD and GBM showed distinct deletion patterns that converged to the NOTCH2 gene in both glioma subtypes. Moreover, the N2/N2N-test disclosed homozygous deletions of NOTCH2 in primary OD. The N2/N2N test distinguished OD from GBM with a specificity of 100% and a sensitivity of 97%. Combined assessment of NOTCH2 genetic markers D1S2696 and N2/N2N predicted 24-month survival with an accuracy (0.925) that is equivalent to histological classification combined with the D1S2696 status (0.954) and higher than current genetic evaluation by 1p/19q LOH (0.762). Our data propose NOTCH2 as a powerful new molecular test to detect prognostically favorable gliomas
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