4,808 research outputs found
Should active recruitment of health workers from sub-Saharan Africa be viewed as a crime?
[No abstract available]Articl
Graviton n-point functions for UV-complete theories in Anti-de Sitter space
We calculate graviton n-point functions in an anti-de Sitter black brane
background for effective gravity theories whose linearized equations of motion
have at most two time derivatives. We compare the n-point functions in Einstein
gravity to those in theories whose leading correction is quadratic in the
Riemann tensor. The comparison is made for any number of gravitons and for all
physical graviton modes in a kinematic region for which the leading correction
can significantly modify the Einstein result. We find that the n-point
functions of Einstein gravity depend on at most a single angle, whereas those
of the corrected theories may depend on two angles. For the four-point
functions, Einstein gravity exhibits linear dependence on the Mandelstam
variable s versus a quadratic dependence on s for the corrected theory.Comment: 29 page
Unitarity constraints on the ratio of shear viscosity to entropy density in higher derivative gravity
We discuss corrections to the ratio of shear viscosity to entropy density
in higher-derivative gravity theories. Generically, these theories
contain ghost modes with Planck-scale masses. Motivated by general
considerations about unitarity, we propose new boundary conditions for the
equations of motion of the graviton perturbations that force the amplitude of
the ghosts modes to vanish. We analyze explicitly four-derivative perturbative
corrections to Einstein gravity which generically lead to four-derivative
equations of motion, compare our choice of boundary conditions to previous
proposals and show that, with our new prescription, the ratio remains
at the Einstein-gravity value of to leading order in the corrections.
It is argued that, when the new boundary conditions are imposed on six and
higher-derivative equations of motion, can only increase from the
Einstein-gravity value. We also recall some general arguments that support the
validity of our results to all orders in the strength of the corrections to
Einstein gravity. We then discuss the particular case of Gauss-Bonnet gravity,
for which the equations of motion are only of two-derivative order and the
value of can decrease below when treated in a nonperturbative
way. Our findings provide further evidence for the validity of the KSS bound
for theories that can be viewed as perturbative corrections to Einstein
Gravity.Comment: Sign error in the equations of motion corrected, leading to several
numerical changes. Clarifications added, references added. Main results and
cnclusions essentially unchanged. V3 published version. Clarifications added,
discussion of Gauss-Bonnet moved to main tex
Present day challenges in understanding the geomagnetic hazard to national power grids
Power grids and pipeline networks at all latitudes are known to be at risk from the natural hazard of geomagnetically induced currents. At a recent workshop in South Africa, UK and South African scientists and engineers discussed the current understanding of this hazard, as it affects major power systems in Europe and Africa. They also summarised, to better inform the public and industry, what can be said with some certainty about the hazard and what research is yet required to develop useful tools for geomagnetic hazard mitigation
Above ground woody community attributes, biomass and carbon stocks along a rainfall gradient in the savannas of the central lowveld, South Africa
Enumeration of carbon stocks at benchmark sites is a necessary activity in assessing the potential carbon sequestration and possible generation of credits through restoration of intensively impacted sites. However, there is a lack of empirical studies throughout much of the savannas of sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa. We report an estimation of species specific and site biomass and carbon stocks, and general vegetation structural attributes from three protected areas along a rainfall gradient in the central lowveld, South Africa. Estimates of biomass and carbon stocks were effected through destructive sampling to establish locally derived allometric equations. There was a gradient of increasing woody density, height of the canopy, number of species, density of regenerative stems and a greater proportion of stems in small size classes from the arid locality to the mesic locality, with the semi-arid locality being intermediate. The proportion of spinescent species decreased with increasing rainfall. The mesic locality was significantly more woody than either the arid or semi-arid sites, having double the biomass, four times the density and 40% higher basal area. Above ground carbon pools were also higher; carbon stocks were approximately 9 t/ha for the arid and semi-arid sites and 18 t/ha for the mesic site.
Evaluating the Wald Entropy from two-derivative terms in quadratic actions
We evaluate the Wald Noether charge entropy for a black hole in generalized
theories of gravity. Expanding the Lagrangian to second order in gravitational
perturbations, we show that contributions to the entropy density originate only
from the coefficients of two-derivative terms. The same considerations are
extended to include matter fields and to show that arbitrary powers of matter
fields and their symmetrized covariant derivatives cannot contribute to the
entropy density. We also explain how to use the linearized gravitational field
equation rather than quadratic actions to obtain the same results. Several
explicit examples are presented that allow us to clarify subtle points in the
derivation and application of our method
Welcome Address of the ViceâChancellor of Rhodes University, Dr Saleem Badat, to FirstâYear students
From introduction: Our first purpose is to produce knowledge, so that we can better understand our natural and social worlds and also enrich our scientific and cultural heritage. The second purpose of a university is to disseminate knowledge and to develop critical and creative minds. Our goals, yours and ours, must be for you to think imaginatively, âeffectively and critically;â to âachieve depth in some field of knowledge;â to appreciate how we âgain knowledge and understanding of the universe, of society, and of ourselves;â to have âa broad knowledge of other cultures and other times;â to critique ideas and views and construct alternatives, and to communicate cogently, orally and in writing. Our final purpose as a university is to undertake community engagement, whether this is as part of academic courses or your voluntary participation in community projects organized by our Community Engagement Office
Nathaniel Merriman's lecture: "On the study of Shakspeare".
Nathaniel Merrimanâs lectures on Shakespeare were published in 1857 and 1858. The first, âOn the Study of Shakspeare,â was delivered in the Court House, Grahamstown on the 2nd September 1857 to an audience of more than four hundred and fifty people. The second, âShakspeare, as Bearing on English History,â was given in the same venue two months later, on Friday, 6 November 1857, and was also well attended. The lectures were published under the auspices of the Committee of âThe General Institute,â which sponsored the lectures, and printed at the Anglo-African Office in the High Street. The two lectures and their context are little known in Shakespeare studies because the original pamphlets are rare. The first lecture appears in Mendelssohnâs South African Bibliography (1910), while the second is picked up only in the 1979 revision of that work. Copies of âOn the Study of Shakspeareâ are held by the Mendelssohn Library in the Library of Parliament, Cape Town; by The South African Library, Cape Town; and in the Oppenheimer Collection, Johannesburg. Copies of âShakspeare, as Bearing on English Historyâ are held by the Mendelssohn Library; by the University of the Witwatersrand Library, Johannesburg; and by the Kimberley Public Library. The purpose of preparing annotated editions of these lectures is to make them more accessible to scholars and draw them further into the mainstream of international discussion on colonial Shakespeare
Fluorescence studies of quantum dots and zinc tetraamino phthalocyanine conjugates
CdTe Qds capped with mercapto propionic acid (MPA) were covalently linked to zinc tetraamino phthalocyanine (ZnTAPc) using N-ethyl-N(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide (EDC) and N-hydroxy succinimide (NHS) as the coupling agents. The results presented give evidence in favour of the formation of an amide bond between ZnTAPc and CdTe QDs. Both the linked ZnTAPcâQD complexes and a mixture of QDs and ZnTAPc (i.e. without chemical linking) showed Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET). ZnTAPc quenched the QDs emission, giving quenching constants in the order of 103 Mâ1
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