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We propose a perturbation method for determining the (largest) group of invariance of a toric ideal defined in Aoki and Takemura [2008a]. In the perturbation method, we investigate how a generic element in the row space of the configuration defining a toric ideal is mapped by a permutation of the indeterminates. Compared to the proof in Aoki and Takemura [2008a] which was based on stabilizers of a subset of indeterminates, the perturbation method gives a much simpler proof of the group of invariance. In particular, we determine the group of invariance for a general hierarchical model of contingency tables in statistics, under the assumption that the numbers of the levels of the factors are generic. We prove that it is a wreath product indexed by a poset related to the intersection poset of the maximal interaction effects of the model.
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arxiv:0808.2725
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Let $(X_n:n\geq 0)$ be a sequence of i.i.d. r.v.'s with negative mean. Set $S_0=0$ and define $S_n=X_1+... +X_n$. We propose an importance sampling algorithm to estimate the tail of $M=\max \{S_n:n\geq 0\}$ that is strongly efficient for both light and heavy-tailed increment distributions. Moreover, in the case of heavy-tailed increments and under additional technical assumptions, our estimator can be shown to have asymptotically vanishing relative variance in the sense that its coefficient of variation vanishes as the tail parameter increases. A key feature of our algorithm is that it is state-dependent. In the presence of light tails, our procedure leads to Siegmund's (1979) algorithm. The rigorous analysis of efficiency requires new Lyapunov-type inequalities that can be useful in the study of more general importance sampling algorithms.
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arxiv:0808.2731
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We develop the cluster self-consistent field method incorporating both electronic and lattice degrees of freedom to study the origin of ferromagnetism in Cs$_{2}$AgF$_{4}$. After self-consistently determining the harmonic and anharmonic Jahn-Teller distortions, we show that the anharmonic distortion stabilizes the staggered x$^{2}$-z$^{2}$/y$^{2}$-z$^{2}$ orbital and ferromagnetic ground state, rather than the antiferromagnetic one. The amplitudes of lattice distortions, Q$_{2}$ and Q$_{3}$, the magnetic coupling strengthes, J$_{x,y}$, and the magnetic moment, are in good agreement with the experimental observation.
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arxiv:0808.2759
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We analyze the effects of charged lepton corrections and renormalization group (RG) running on the low energy predictions of theories which accurately predict tri-bimaximal neutrino mixing at the high energy scale. In particular we focus on GUT inspired see-saw models with accurate tri-bimaximal neutrino mixing at the GUT scale, in which the charged lepton corrections are Cabibbo-like and give rise to sum rules valid at the GUT scale. We study numerically the RG corrections to a variety of such neutrino mixing sum rules in order to assess their accuracy and reliability when comparing them to future low energy neutrino oscillation experiments. Our results indicate that the RG corrections to neutrino mixing sum rules are typically small (less than one degree), at least in the examples studied with hierarchical neutrinos.
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arxiv:0808.2782
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We report neutron scattering measurements of cooperative spin excitations in antiferromagnetically ordered BaFe2As2, the parent phase of an iron pnictide superconductor. The data extend up to ~100meV and show that the spin excitation spectrum is sharp and highly dispersive. By fitting the spectrum to a linear spin-wave model we estimate the magnon bandwidth to be in the region of 0.17eV. The large characteristic spin fluctuation energy suggests that magnetism could play a role in the formation of the superconducting state.
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arxiv:0808.2836
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Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are cosmologically distributed, very energetic and very transient sources detected in the gamma-ray domain. The identification of their x-ray and optical afterglows allowed so far the redshift measurement of 150 events, from z = 0.01 to z = 6.29. For about half of them, we have some knowledge of the properties of the parent galaxy. At high redshift (z > 2), absorption lines in the afterglow spectra give information on the cold interstellar medium in the host. At low redshift (z < 1.0) multi-band optical-NIR photometry and integrated spectroscopy reveal the GRB host general properties. A redshift evolution of metallicity is not noticeable in the whole sample. The typical value is a few times lower than solar. The mean host stellar mass is similar to that of the Large Magellanic Cloud, but the mean star formation rate is five times higher. GRBs are discovered with gamma-ray, not optical or NIR, instruments. Their hosts do not suffer from the same selection biases of typical galaxy surveys. Therefore, they might represent a fair sample of the most common galaxies that existed in the past history of the universe, and can be used to better understand galaxy formation and evolution.
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arxiv:0808.2917
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We consider a novel mechanism for J/Psi production in nuclear collisions arising due to the high density of gluons. We calculate the resulting J/Psi production cross section as a function of rapidity and centrality. We evaluate the nuclear modification factor and show that the rapidity distribution of the produced J/Psi's is significantly more narrow in AA collisions due to the gluon saturation effects. Our results indicate that gluon saturation in the colliding nuclei is a significant source of J/Psi suppression that can be disentangled from the quark-gluon plasma effects.
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arxiv:0808.2954
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The goal of this paper is to define fermionic fields on causal set. This is done by the use of holonomies to define vierbines, and then defining spinor fields by taking advantage of the leftover degrees of freedom of holonomies plus additional scalar fields. Grassmann nature is being enforced by allowing measure to take both positive and negative values, and also by introducing a vector space to have both commutting dot product and anticommutting wedge product.
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arxiv:0808.2956
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We present a statistical result on the properties of solar source regions that have produced 57 fastest front-side coronal mass ejections (CMEs) (speed 1500 km/s) occurred from 1996 June to 2007 January. The properties of these fast-CME-producing regions, 35 in total, are compared with those of all 1143 active regions (ARs) in the period studied. An automated method, based on SOHO/MDI magnetic synoptic charts, is used to select and characterize the ARs. For each AR, a set of parameters are derived including the areas (positive, negative and total, denoted by A_P, A_N and A_T respectively), the magnetic fluxes (positive, negative and total, F_P, F_N and F_T respectively), the average magnetic field strength (B_avg), quasi-elongation (e) characterizing the overall shape of the AR, the number and length of polarity inversion lines (PILs, or neutral lines, N_PIL and L_PIL respectively), and the average and maximum of magnetic gradient on the PILs (GOP_avg and GOP_max respectively). Our statistical analysis shows a general trend between the scales of an AR and the likelihood of producing a fast CME, i.e., the larger the geometric size (A_T), the larger the magnetic flux (F_T), the stronger the magnetic field (B_avg), and/or the more complex the magnetic configuration (N_PIL and L_PIL), then the higher the possibility of producing a fast CME. When all ARs are sorted into three equally-numbered groups with low, middle and high values of these parameters, we find that, for all these AR parameters, more than 60% of extremely fast CMEs are from the high-value group. The two PIL parameters are the best indicators of producing fast CMEs, with more than 80% from the high value group.
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arxiv:0808.2971
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We show that the Loss-Yau zero modes of the 3d abelian Dirac operator may be interpreted in a simple manner in terms of a stereographic projection from a 4d Dirac operator with a constant field strength of definite helicity. This is an alternative to the conventional viewpoint involving Hopf maps from S^3 to S^2. Furthermore, our construction generalizes in a straightforward way to any odd dimension. The number of zero modes is related to the Chern-Simons number in a nonlinear manner.
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arxiv:0808.2991
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Only ~10% of baryons in the universe are in the form of stars, yet most models of luminous structure formation have concentrated on the properties of the luminous stellar matter. In this paper we focus on the "flip side" of galaxy formation and investigate the properties of the material that is not presently locked up in galaxies. This "by-product" of galaxy formation can be observed as an X-ray emitting plasma (the intracluster medium, hereafter ICM) in groups and clusters, and we present a version of the Durham semi-analytic galaxy formation model GALFORM that allows us to investigate the properties of the ICM. As we would expect on the basis of gravitational scaling arguments, the previous model (presented in Bower et al. 2006) fails to reproduce even the most basic observed properties of the ICM; however, we present a simple modification to the model to allow for heat input into the ICM from the AGN "radio mode" feedback. This heating acts to expel gas from the X-ray luminous central regions of the host halo. With this modification, the model reproduces the observed gas mass fractions and luminosity-temperature relation of groups and clusters. Introducing the heating process into the model requires changes to a number of model parameters in order to retain a good match to the observed galaxy properties. With the revised parameters, the best fitting luminosity function is comparable to that presented in Bower et al. (2006). The new model makes a fundamental step forward, providing a unified model of galaxy and cluster ICM formation. However, the detailed comparison with the data is not completely satisfactory, and we highlight key areas for improvement.
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arxiv:0808.2994
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We construct the moduli space of r-jets at a point of Riemannian metrics on a smooth manifold. The construction is closely related to the problem of classification of jet metrics via differential invariants. The moduli space is proved to be a differentiable space which admits a finite canonical stratification into smooth manifolds. A complete study on the stratification of moduli spaces is carried out for metrics in dimension n=2.
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arxiv:0808.2996
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We report spatially resolved tunneling spectroscopic evidence for field-induced microscopic orders in a high-$T_c$ superconductor $\rm YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-\delta}$. The spectral characteristics inside vortices reveal a pseudogap ($V_{\rm CO}$) larger than the superconducting gap ($\Delta\_{\rm SC}$) as well as a subgap ($\Delta\^{\prime}$) smaller than $\Delta\_{\rm SC}$, and the spectral weight shifts steadily from $\Delta_{\rm SC}$ to $V_{\rm CO}$ and $\Delta\^{\prime}$ upon increasing magnetic field. Additionally, energy-independent conductance modulations at 3.6 and 7.1 lattice constants along the Cu-O bonding directions and at 9.5 lattice constants along the nodal directions are manifested in the vortex state. These wave-vectors differ fundamentally from the strongly dispersive modes due to Bogoliubov quasiparticle scattering interferences and may be associated with field-induced microscopic orders of pair-, charge- and spin-density waves.
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arxiv:0808.3016
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We observed an area of 10 deg^2 of the Large Magellanic Cloud using the Infrared Camera on board AKARI. The observations were carried out using five imaging filters (3, 7, 11, 15, and 24 micron) and a dispersion prism (2 -- 5 micron, $\lambda / \Delta\lambda$ $\sim$ 20) equipped in the IRC. This paper describes the outline of our survey project and presents some initial results using the imaging data that detected over 5.9x10^5 near-infrared and 6.4x10^4 mid-infrared point sources. The 10 $\sigma$ detection limits of our survey are about 16.5, 14.0, 12.3, 10.8, and 9.2 in Vega-magnitude at 3, 7, 11, 15, and 24 micron, respectively. The 11 and 15 micron data, which are unique to AKARI IRC, allow us to construct color-magnitude diagrams that are useful to identify stars with circumstellar dust. We found a new sequence in the color-magnitude diagram, which is attributed to red giants with luminosity fainter than that of the tip of the first red giant branch. We suggest that this sequence is likely to be related to the broad emission feature of aluminium oxide at 11.5 micron. The 11 and 15 micron data also indicate that the ([11] - [15]) micron color of both oxygen-rich and carbon-rich red giants once becomes blue and then turns red again in the course of their evolution, probably due to the change in the flux ratio of the silicate or silicon carbide emission feature at 10 or 11.3 micron to the 15 micron flux.
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arxiv:0808.3022
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In this paper we present an approach towards the comprehensive analysis of the non-integrability of differential equations in the form $\ddot x=f(x,t)$ which is analogous to Hamiltonian systems with 1+1/2 degree of freedom. In particular, we analyze the non-integrability of some important families of differential equations such as Painlev\'e II, Sitnikov and Hill-Schr\"odinger equation. We emphasize in Painlev\'e II, showing its non-integrability through three different Hamiltonian systems, and also in Sitnikov in which two different version including numerical results are shown. The main tool to study the non-integrability of these kind of Hamiltonian systems is Morales-Ramis theory. This paper is a very slight improvement of the talk with the almost-same title delivered by the author in SIAM Conference on Applications of Dynamical Systems 2007.
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arxiv:0808.3028
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We define the concept of Tschirnhaus-Weierstrass curve, named after the Weierstrass form of an elliptic curve and Tschirnhaus transformations. Every pointed curve has a Tschirnhaus-Weierstrass form, and this representation is unique up to a scaling of variables. This is useful for computing isomorphisms between curves.
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arxiv:0808.3038
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We propose a quantum analogue of a Tits-Kantor-Koecher algebra with a Jordan torus as an coordinated algebra by looking at the vertex operator construction over a Fock space.
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arxiv:0808.3056
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We present a set of three-dimensional (3D) direct numerical simulations of incompressible decaying magnetohydrodynamic turbulence in which we investigate the influence of an external uniform magnetic field B_0. A parametric study in terms of B_0 intensity is made where, in particular, we distinguish the shear- from the pseudo-Alfven waves dynamics. The initial kinetic and magnetic energies are equal with a negligible cross-correlation. Both the temporal and spectral effects of B_0 are discussed. A sub-critical balance is found between the Alfven and nonlinear times with both a global and a spectral definition. The nonlinear dynamics of strongly magnetized flows is characterized by a different k_perp-spectrum (where B_0 defines the parallel direction) if it is plotted at a fixed k_// (2D spectrum) or if it is integrated (averaged) over all k_// (1D spectrum). In the former case a much wider inertial range is found with a steep power law, closer to the wave turbulence prediction than the Kolmogorov one like in the latter case. It is believed that the averaging effect may be a source of difficulty to detect the transition towards wave turbulence in natural plasmas. For the first time, the formation of filaments is reported within current and vorticity sheets in strongly magnetized flows which modifies our classical picture of dissipative sheets in conductive flows.
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arxiv:0808.3061
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We introduce information bearing systems (IBRS) as an abstraction of many logical systems. We define a general semantics for IBRS, and show that IBRS generalize in a natural way preferential semantics and solve open representation problems.
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arxiv:0808.3075
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We study flavor oscillations in the early universe, assuming primordial neutrino-antineutrino asymmetries. Including collisions and pair processes in the kinetic equations, we not only estimate the degree of flavor equilibration, but for the first time also kinetic equilibration among neutrinos and with the ambient plasma. Typically the restrictive BBN bound on the nue-antinue asymmetry indeed applies to all flavors as claimed in the previous literature, but fine-tuned initial asymmetries always allow for a large surviving neutrino excess radiation that may show up in precision cosmological data.
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arxiv:0808.3137
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The discovery of supersymmetry is one of the major goals of the current experiments at the Tevatron and in proposed experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). However when sparticles are produced the signatures of their production will to a significant degree depend on their hierarchical mass patterns. Here we investigate hierarchical mass patterns for the four lightest sparticles within one of the leading candidate theories - the SUGRA model. Specifically we analyze the hierarchies for the four lightest sparticles for the mSUGRA as well as for a general class of supergravity unified models including nonuniversalities in the soft breaking sector. It is shown that out of nearly $10^4$ possibilities of sparticle mass hierarchies, only a small number survives the rigorous constraints of radiative electroweak symmetry breaking, relic density and other experimental constraints. The signature space of these mass patterns at the LHC is investigated using a large set of final states including multi-leptonic states, hadronically decaying $\tau$s, tagged $b$ jets and other hadronic jets. In all, we analyze more than 40 such lepton plus jet and missing energy signatures along with several kinematical signatures such as missing transverse momentum, effective mass, and invariant mass distributions of final state observables. It is shown that a composite analysis can produce significant discrimination among sparticle mass patterns allowing for a possible identification of the source of soft breaking. While the analysis given is for supergravity models, the techniques used in the analysis are applicable to wide class of models including string and brane models.
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arxiv:0808.3157
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Delayed-choice erasure is investigated in two-photon two-slit experiments that are generalizations of the micromaser experiment of Scully et al. [Scully, M. O. et al. Nature 351, 111-116 (1991)]. Applying quantum mechanics to the localization detector, it is shown that erasure with delayed choice in the sense of Scully, has an analogous structure as simple erasure. The description goes beyond probabilities. The EPR-type disentanglement, consisting in two mutually incompatible distant measurements, is used as a general framework in both parts of this study. Two simple coherence cases are shown to emerge naturally, and they are precisely the two experiments of Scully et al. The treatment seems to require the relative-reality-of-unitarily-evolving-state (RRUES) approach. Besides insight in the exoeriments, this study has also the goal of insight in quantum mechanics. The question is if it can be more than just a "book-keeping device" for calculating probabilities as Scully et al. modestly and cautiously claim.
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arxiv:0808.3176
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Let $(A,\m)$ be a Noetherian local ring, let $M$ be a finitely generated \CM $A$-module of dimension $r \geq 2$ and let $I$ be an ideal of definition for $M$. Set $L^I(M) = \bigoplus_{n\geq 0}M/I^{n+1}M$. In part one of this paper we showed that $L^I(M)$ is a module over $\R$, the Rees algebra of $I$ and we gave many applications of $L^I(M)$ to study the associated graded module, $G_I(M)$. In this paper we give many further applications of our technique; most notable is a reformulation of a classical result due to Narita in terms of the Ratliff-Rush filtration. This reformulation can be extended to all dimensions $\geq 2$.
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arxiv:0808.3258
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The local conformal symmetry is spontaneously broken down to the Local Lorentz invariance symmetry through the approach of nonlinear realization. The resulting effective Lagrangian, in the unitary gauge, describes a cosmological vector field non-minimally coupling to the gravitational field. As a result of the Higgs mechanism, the vector field absorbs the dilaton and becomes massive, but with an independent energy scale. The Proca type vector field can be modelled as dark energy candidate. The possibility that it further triggers Lorentz symmetry violation is also pointed out.
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arxiv:0808.3277
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Obliquely deposited amorphous Ge_xSe{1-x} thin-films at several compositions in the 0.15 < x < 0.333 range, and at several obliqueness angles in the 0 < alpha < 80 range at each x were evaporated on Si and glass substrates. Here alpha designates the angle between film normal and direction of vapor transport. Raman scattering, ir reflectance and optical absorption measurements were undertaken to characterize the vibrational density of states and optical band gaps. Edge views of films in SEM confirm the columnar structure of obliquely (alpha = 80) deposited films. Films, mounted in a cold stage flushed with N2 gas, were irradiated to UV radiation from a Hg-Xe arc lamp, and
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arxiv:0808.3289
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I study the physical meaning of Deformed, or Doubly, Special Relativity (DSR). I argue that DSR could be physically relevant in a certain large-distance limit. I consider a concrete physical effect: the gravitational slowing down of time due to the gravitational potential well of a massive-particle, and its effect on the dynamics of the particle itself. I argue that this physical effect can survive in a limit in which gravitation and quantum mechanics can be disregarded, and that taking it into account leads directy to the Girelli-Livine DSR formalism. This provides a physical interpretation to the corresponding 5d spacetime, and a concrete physical derivation of DSR.
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arxiv:0808.3505
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We present a quantum mechanical treatment of the mechanical stirring of Bose-Einstein condensates using classical field techniques. In our approach the condensate and excited modes are described using a Hamiltonian classical field method in which the atom number and (rotating frame) energy are strictly conserved. We simulate a T = 0 quasi-2D condensate perturbed by a rotating anisotropic trapping potential. Vacuum fluctuations in the initial state provide an irreducible mechanism for breaking the initial symmetries of the condensate and seeding the subsequent dynamical instability. Highly turbulent motion develops and we quantify the emergence of a rotating thermal component that provides the dissipation necessary for the nucleation and motional-damping of vortices in the condensate. Vortex lattice formation is not observed, rather the vortices assemble into a spatially disordered vortex liquid state. We discuss methods we have developed to identify the condensate in the presence of an irregular distribution of vortices, determine the thermodynamic parameters of the thermal component, and extract damping rates from the classical field trajectories.
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arxiv:0808.3552
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This keynote paper: presents a 21st century vision of computing; identifies various computing paradigms promising to deliver the vision of computing utilities; defines Cloud computing and provides the architecture for creating market-oriented Clouds by leveraging technologies such as VMs; provides thoughts on market-based resource management strategies that encompass both customer-driven service management and computational risk management to sustain SLA-oriented resource allocation; presents some representative Cloud platforms especially those developed in industries along with our current work towards realising market-oriented resource allocation of Clouds by leveraging the 3rd generation Aneka enterprise Grid technology; reveals our early thoughts on interconnecting Clouds for dynamically creating an atmospheric computing environment along with pointers to future community research; and concludes with the need for convergence of competing IT paradigms for delivering our 21st century vision.
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arxiv:0808.3558
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We compute the second Hochschild cohomology space $HH^2(\mathcal{H}_1)$ of Connes-Moscovici's Hopf algebra $\mathcal{H}_1$, giving the infinitesimal deformations (up to equivalence) of the associative structure. $HH^2(\mathcal{H}_1)$ is shown to be one dimensional, and thus Connes-Moscovici's formal deformation of $\mathcal{H}_1$ using Rankin-Cohen brackets is unique up to equivalence.
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arxiv:0808.3653
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Searches for gravitational waves with km-scale laser interferometers often involve the long-wavelength approximation to describe the detector response. The prevailing assumption is that the corrections to the detector response due to its finite size are small and the errors due to the long-wavelength approximation are negligible. Recently, however, Baskaran and Grishchuk (2004 Class. Quantum Grav. 21 4041) found that in a simple Michelson interferometer such errors can be as large as 10 percent. For more accurate analysis, these authors proposed to use a linear-frequency correction to the long wavelength approximation. In this paper we revisit these calculations. We show that the linear-frequency correction is inadequate for certain locations in the sky and therefore accurate analysis requires taking into account the exact formula, commonly derived from the photon round-trip propagation time. Also, we extend the calculations to include the effect of Fabry-Perot resonators in the interferometer arms. Here we show that a simple approximation which combines the long-wavelength Michelson response with the single-pole approximation to the Fabry-Perot transfer function produces rather accurate results. In particular, the difference between the exact and the approximate formulae is at most 2-3 percent for those locations in the sky where the detector response is greater than half of its maximum value. We analyse the impact of such errors on detection sensitivity and parameter estimation in searches for periodic gravitational waves emitted by a known pulsar, and in searches for an isotropic stochastic gravitational-wave background. At frequencies up to 1 kHz, the effect of such errors is at most 1-2 percent. For higher frequencies, or if more accuracy is required, one should use the exact formula for the response.
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arxiv:0808.3805
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In this paper, we consider minimal hypersurfaces in the product space $\mathbb{H}^n \times \mathbb{R}$. We begin by studying examples of rotation hypersurfaces and hypersurfaces invariant under hyperbolic translations. We then consider minimal hypersurfaces with finite total curvature. This assumption implies that the corresponding curvature goes to zero uniformly at infinity. We show that surfaces with finite total intrinsic curvature have finite index. The converse statement is not true as shown by our examples which also serve as useful barriers.
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arxiv:0808.3838
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Combinig the harmonic balance method (HBM) and a continuation method is a well-known technique to follow the periodic solutions of dynamical systems when a control parameter is varied. However, since deriving the algebraic system containing the Fourier coefficients can be a highly cumbersome procedure, the classical HBM is often limited to polynomial (quadratic and cubic) nonlinearities and/or a few harmonics. Several variations on the classical HBM, such as the incremental HBM or the alternating frequency/time domain HBM, have been presented in the literature to overcome this shortcoming. Here, we present an alternative approach that can be applied to a very large class of dynamical systems (autonomous or forced) with smooth equations. The main idea is to systematically recast the dynamical system in quadratic polynomial form before applying the HBM. Once the equations have been rendered quadratic, it becomes obvious to derive the algebraic system and solve it by the so-called ANM continuation technique. Several classical examples are presented to illustrate the use of this numerical approach.
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arxiv:0808.3839
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This article explains and extends semialgebraic homotopy theory (developed by H. Delfs and M. Knebusch) to o-minimal homotopy theory (over a field). The homotopy category of definable CW-complexes is equivalent to the homotopy category of topological CW-complexes (with continuous mappings). If the theory of the o-minimal expansion of a field is bounded, then these categories are equivalent to the homotopy category of weakly definable spaces. Similar facts hold for decreasing systems of spaces. As a result, generalized homology and cohomology theories on pointed weak polytopes uniquely correspond (up to an isomorphism) to the known topological generalized homology and cohomology theories on pointed CW-complexes.
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arxiv:0808.3866
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Cosmological simulations consistently predict specific properties of dark matter halos, but these have not yet led to a physical understanding that is generally accepted. This is especially true for the central regions of these structures. Recently two major themes have emerged. In one, the dark matter halo is primarily a result of the sequential accretion of primordial structure (ie `Nature'); while in the other, dynamical relaxation (ie `Nurture') dominates at least in the central regions. Some relaxation is however required in either mechanism. In this paper we accept the recently established scale-free sub-structure of halos as an essential part of both mechanisms. Consequently; a simple model for the central relaxation based on a self-similar cascade of tidal interactions, is contrasted with a model based on the accretion of adiabatically self-similar, primordial structure. We conclude that a weak form of this relaxation is present in the simulations, but that is normally described as the radial orbit instability.
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arxiv:0808.3898
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The masses of the excited heavy tetraquarks with hidden charm are calculated within the relativistic diquark-antidiquark picture. The dynamics of the light quark in a heavy-light diquark is treated completely relativistically. The diquark structure is taken into account by calculating the diquark-gluon form factor. New experimental data on charmonium-like states above open charm threshold are discussed. The obtained results indicate that X(3872), Y(4260), Y(4360), Z(4248), Z(4433) and Y(4660) could be tetraquark states with hidden charm.
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arxiv:0808.3912
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This paper describes latest results on lepton (electron, muon and tau) and photon particle identification at the ATLAS and CMS experiments, with emphasis on how the particle identification can be validated and its performance determined using early LHC data.
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arxiv:0808.3920
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We report on the observation of five Feshbach resonances in collisions between ultracold $^7$Li and $^{87}$Rb atoms in the absolute ground state mixture where both species are in their $|f,m_f>=|1,1>$ hyperfine states. The resonances appear as trap losses for the $^7$Li cloud induced by inelastic heteronuclear three-body collisions. The magnetic field values where they occur are important quantities for an accurate determination of the interspecies interaction potentials. Results of coupled channels calculations based on the observed resonances are presented and refined potential parameters are given. A very broad Feshbach resonance centered around 649 G should allow for fine tuning of the interaction strength in future experiments.
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arxiv:0808.3967
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We present Suzaku spectra of X-ray emission in the fields just off the LMC X-3 sight line. OVII, OVIII, and NeIX emission lines are clearly detected, suggesting the presence of an optically thin thermal plasma with an average temperature of 2.4E6. This temperature is significantly higher than that inferred from existing X-ray absorption line data obtained with Chandra grating observations of LMC X-3, strongly suggesting that the gas is not isothermal. We then jointly analyze these data to characterize the spatial and temperature distributions of the gas. Assuming a vertical exponential Galactic disk model, we estimate the gas temperature and density at the Galactic plane and their scale heights as 3.6(2.9, 4.7)E6 K and 1.4(0.3, 3.4)E-3 cm^{-3} and 1.4(0.2, 5.2) kpc and $2.8(1.0, 6.4)$ kpc, respectively. This characterization can account for all the \ovi line absorption, as observed in a FUSE spectrum of LMC X-3, but only predicts less than one tenth of the OVI line emission intensity typically detected at high Galactic latitudes. The bulk of the OVI emission most likely arises at interfaces between cool and hot gases.
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arxiv:0808.3985
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Transiting planets like HD209458b offer a unique opportunity to scrutinize their atmospheric composition and structure. Transit spectroscopy probes the transition region between the day and night sides, called limb. We present a re-analysis of existing archived HST/STIS transmission spectra of HD209458b's atmosphere. From these observations we: Identify H2 Rayleigh scattering, derive the absolute Sodium abundance and quantify its depletion in the upper atmosphere, extract a stratospheric T-P profile with a temperature inversion and explain broad band absorptions with the presence of TiO and VO molecules in the atmosphere of this planet.
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arxiv:0808.3987
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The linear and non-linear dynamic response to an oscillatory shear flow of giant wormlike micelles consisting of Pb-Peo block copolymers is studied by means of Fourier transform rheology. Experiments are performed in the vicinity of the isotropic-nematic phase transition concentration, where the location of isotropic-nematic phase transition lines is determined independently. Strong shear-thinning behaviour is observed due to critical slowing down of orientational diffusion as a result of the vicinity of the isotropic- nematic spinodal. This severe shear-thinning behaviour is shown to result in gradient shear banding. Time-resolved Small angle neutron scattering experiments are used to obtain insight in the microscopic phenomena that underly the observed rheological response. An equation of motion for the order-parameter tensor and an expression of the stress tensor in terms of the order-parameter tensor are used to interpret the experimental data, both in the linear and non-linear regime. Scaling of the dynamic behaviour of the orientational order parameter and the stress is found when critical slowing down due to the vicinity of the isotropic-nematic spinodal is accounted for.
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arxiv:0808.4054
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Dust plays an essential role in the unification theory of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). This review summarizes our current understanding of the extinction and infrared emission properties of the circumnuclear dust in AGNs as well as the inferred dust composition and size distribution.
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arxiv:0808.4117
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Multiband superconductivity, involving resonant pair scattering between different bands, has emerged as a possible explanation of some of the main characteristics of the recently discovered iron pnictides. A key feature of such interband pairing mechanism is that it can generate or enhance superconducting pairing irrespective of whether it is attractive or repulsive. The latter case typically leads to the superconducting gap switching its sign among different sections of the Fermi surface. In iron pnictides, the natural scenario is that the gap changes sign between the hole and the electron Fermi surfaces. However, the macroscopic symmetry of such an extended s'-wave state still belongs to the general s-wave category, raising the question of how to distinguish it from an ordinary s-wave. In such a quest, it is essential to use experimental techniques that have a momentum space resolution and can probe momenta of order M, the wavevector that separates the hole and the electron Fermi surfaces in the Brillouin zone. Here we study experimental signatures in the spin fluctuation dynamics of the fully-gapped s- and s'-wave superconducting states, as well as those of the nodal d- and p-wave. The coupling between spin fluctuations of the incipient nearly-nested spin density-wave (SDW) and the Bogoliubov-deGennes quasiparticles of the superconducting state leads to the Landau-type damping of the former. The intrinsic structure of the superconducting gap leaves a distinctive signature in the form of this damping, allowing it to be used to diagnose the nature of iron-based superconductivity in neutron scattering and other experiments sensitive to spin fluctuations in momentum space. We also discuss the coexistence between superconductivity and SDW order.
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arxiv:0809.0014
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We propose a unified framework for deriving and studying soft-in-soft-out (SISO) detection in interference channels using the concept of variational inference. The proposed framework may be used in multiple-access interference (MAI), inter-symbol interference (ISI), and multiple-input multiple-outpu (MIMO) channels. Without loss of generality, we will focus our attention on turbo multiuser detection, to facilitate a more concrete discussion. It is shown that, with some loss of optimality, variational inference avoids the exponential complexity of a posteriori probability (APP) detection by optimizing a closely-related, but much more manageable, objective function called variational free energy. In addition to its systematic appeal, there are several other advantages to this viewpoint. First of all, it provides unified and rigorous justifications for numerous detectors that were proposed on radically different grounds, and facilitates convenient joint detection and decoding (utilizing the turbo principle) when error-control codes are incorporated. Secondly, efficient joint parameter estimation and data detection is possible via the variational expectation maximization (EM) algorithm, such that the detrimental effect of inaccurate channel knowledge at the receiver may be dealt with systematically. We are also able to extend BPSK-based SISO detection schemes to arbitrary square QAM constellations in a rigorous manner using a variational argument.
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arxiv:0809.0032
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In this paper, we present a theoretical description to the quantum coherence and decoherence phenomena of energy transfer in photosynthesis observed in a recent experiment [see Science 316, 1462 (2007)]. As a successive two-color laser pulses with selected frequencies cast on a sample of the photosynthetic purple bacterium Rb. sphaeroides two resonant excitations of electrons in chromophores can be generated. However, this effective two-level subsystem will interact with its protein environment and decoherence is inevitable. We describe this subsystem coupled with its environment as a dynamical spin-boson model. The non-Markovian decoherence dynamics is described using a quasi-adiabatic propagator path integral (QUAPI) approach. With the photon-induced effective time-dependent level splitting energy and level flip coupling coefficient between the two excited states and the environment-induced non-Markovian decoherence dynamics, our theoretical result is in good agreement with the experimental data.
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arxiv:0809.0039
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We systematically study Raman spectroscopy of cleaved Na$_x$CoO$_2$ single crystals with 0.37 $\leq$ x $\leq$ 0.80. The Raman shift of A$_{1g}$ mode is found to be linearly dependent on Na content, while the Raman shift of E$_{1g}$ mode has an abnormal shift to high frequency around x = 0.5. The abnormal shift is ascribed to the occurrence of Na rearrangement in O1 structure. Temperature dependent Raman spectrum for x = 0.56 sample shows that Na rearrangement transition from O1 structure to H1 structure occurs around 240 K. Electronic transport and susceptibility for the sample with $x=0.56$ show a response to the Na rearrangement transition from O1 to H1 structure, and that different Na ordering pattern causes distinct physical properties. These results give a direct evidence to proved Na ordering effect on physical properties of Co-O plane.
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arxiv:0809.0096
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Along the lines of the nonlinear response theory developed by Ruelle, in a previous paper we have proved under rather general conditions that Kramers-Kronig dispersion relations and sum rules apply for a class of susceptibilities describing at any order of perturbation the response of Axiom A non equilibrium steady state systems to weak monochromatic forcings. We present here the first evidence of the validity of these integral relations for the linear and the second harmonic response for the perturbed Lorenz 63 system, by showing that numerical simulations agree up to high degree of accuracy with the theoretical predictions. Some new theoretical results, showing how to obtain recursively harmonic generation susceptibilities for general observables, are also presented. Our findings confirm the conceptual validity of the nonlinear response theory, suggest that the theory can be extended for more general non equilibrium steady state systems, and shed new light on the applicability of very general tools, based only upon the principle of causality, for diagnosing the behavior of perturbed chaotic systems and reconstructing their output signals, in situations where the fluctuation-dissipation relation is not of great help.
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arxiv:0809.0101
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Recognizing analogies, synonyms, antonyms, and associations appear to be four distinct tasks, requiring distinct NLP algorithms. In the past, the four tasks have been treated independently, using a wide variety of algorithms. These four semantic classes, however, are a tiny sample of the full range of semantic phenomena, and we cannot afford to create ad hoc algorithms for each semantic phenomenon; we need to seek a unified approach. We propose to subsume a broad range of phenomena under analogies. To limit the scope of this paper, we restrict our attention to the subsumption of synonyms, antonyms, and associations. We introduce a supervised corpus-based machine learning algorithm for classifying analogous word pairs, and we show that it can solve multiple-choice SAT analogy questions, TOEFL synonym questions, ESL synonym-antonym questions, and similar-associated-both questions from cognitive psychology.
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arxiv:0809.0124
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We show that the threshold of complete synchronization in a lattice of coupled non-smooth chaotic maps is determined by linear stability along the directions transversal to the synchronization subspace. As a result, the numerically determined synchronization threshold agree with the analytical results previously obtained [C. Anteneodo et al., Phys. Rev. E 68, 045202(R) (2003)] for this class of systems. We present both careful numerical experiments and a rigorous mathematical explanation confirming this fact, allowing for a generalization involving hyperbolic coupled map lattices.
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arxiv:0809.0294
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[ABRIDGED] We study supermassive black hole binary mergers driven by angular momentum loss to small-scale gas discs. Such binaries form after major galaxy mergers, but their fate is unclear since hardening through stellar scattering becomes very inefficient at sub-parsec distances. Gas discs may dominate binary dynamics on these scales, and promote mergers. Using numerical simulations, we investigate the evolution of the orbits of binaries embedded within geometrically thin gas discs. Our simulations directly resolve angular momentum transport within the disc, which at the radii of interest is likely dominated by disc self-gravity. We show that the binary decays at a rate which is in good agreement with analytical estimates, while the eccentricity grows. Saturation of eccentricity growth is not observed up to values e > 0.35. Accretion onto the black holes is variable, and is roughly modulated by the binary orbital frequency. Scaling our results, we analytically estimate the maximum rate of binary decay that is possible without fragmentation occuring within the surrounding gas disc, and compare that rate to an estimate of the stellar dynamical hardening rate. For binary masses in the range 10^5 < M/Msun < 10^8 we find that decay due to gas discs may dominate for separations below a ~ 0.01--0.1 pc, where the disc is optically thick. The minimum merger time scale is shorter than the Hubble time for M < 10^7 Msun. This implies that gas discs could commonly attend relatively low mass black hole mergers, and that a significant population of binaries might exist at separations of a few hundredths of a pc, where the combined decay rate is slowest. For more massive binaries, we suggest that scattering of stars formed within a fragmenting gas disc could act as a significant additional sink of binary angular momentum.
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arxiv:0809.0311
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We write the optimal pure-state decomposition of any two-mode Gaussian state and show that its entanglement of formation coincides with the Gaussian one. This enables us to develop an insightful approach of evaluating the exact entanglement of formation. Its additivity is finally proven.
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arxiv:0809.0321
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Arguably the most influential force in human history is the formation of social coalitions and alliances (i.e., long-lasting coalitions) and their impact on individual power. In most great ape species, coalitions occur at individual and group levels and among both kin and non-kin. Nonetheless, ape societies remain essentially hierarchical, and coalitions rarely weaken social inequality. In contrast, human hunter-gatherers show a remarkable tendency to egalitarianism, and human coalitions and alliances occur not only among individuals and groups, but also among groups of groups. Here, we develop a stochastic model describing the emergence of networks of allies resulting from within-group competition for status or mates between individuals utilizing dyadic information. The model shows that alliances often emerge in a phase transition-like fashion if the group size, awareness, aggressiveness, and persuasiveness of individuals are large and the decay rate of individual affinities is small. With cultural inheritance of social networks, a single leveling alliance including all group members can emerge in several generations. Our results suggest that a rapid transition from a hierarchical society of great apes to an egalitarian society of hunter-gatherers (often referred to as "egalitarian revolution") could indeed follow an increase in human cognitive abilities. The establishment of stable group-wide egalitarian alliances creates conditions promoting the origin of cultural norms favoring the group interests over those of individuals.
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arxiv:0809.0332
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We consider the easy-plane anisotropic spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain in combined uniform longitudinal and transverse staggered magnetic fields. The low-energy limit of his model is described by the sine-Gordon quantum field theory. Using methods of integrable quantum field theory we determine the various components of the dynamical structure factor. To do so, we derive explicit expressions for all matrix elements of the low-energy projections of the spin operators involving at most two particles. We discuss applications of our results to experiments on one-dimensional quantum magnets.
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arxiv:0809.0398
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The purpose of this note is to give a direct proof of the fact that if one applies Colmez' functor to a two dimensional irreducible F_p^bar-representation of Gal(Q_p^bar/Q_p), one gets the restriction to the Borel subgroup of GL_2(Q_p) of a supersingular representation.
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arxiv:0809.0402
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We compute the scattering amplitude in Wilson Chiral Perturbation Theory for two flavors. The lattice spacing effects due to the explicit chiral symmetry breaking are kept through O(a^2), and we consider the regime where the quark mass m is of order a^2 Lambda_^3. Analytic expressions for the scattering lengths in different isospin channels are given. As a result of the O(a^2) terms the scattering lengths do not vanish in the chiral limit. Moreover, additional chiral logarithms proportional to a^2 ln M_pi^2 are present in the one-loop results. These contributions can obscure the continuum chiral logarithms and the determination of low-energy constants from numerical lattice simulations.
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arxiv:0809.0412
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We study synchronization in the context of network traffic on a $2-d$ communication network with local clustering and geographic separations. The network consists of nodes and randomly distributed hubs where the top five hubs ranked according to their coefficient of betweenness centrality (CBC) are connected by random assortative and gradient mechanisms. For multiple message traffic, messages can trap at the high CBC hubs, and congestion can build up on the network with long queues at the congested hubs. The queue lengths are seen to synchronize in the congested phase. Both complete and phase synchronization is seen, between pairs of hubs. In the decongested phase, the pairs start clearing, and synchronization is lost. A cascading master-slave relation is seen between the hubs, with the slower hubs (which are slow to decongest) driving the faster ones. These are usually the hubs of high CBC. Similar results are seen for traffic of constant density. Total synchronization between the hubs of high CBC is also seen in the congested regime. Similar behavior is seen for traffic on a network constructed using the Waxman random topology generator. We also demonstrate the existence of phase synchronization in real Internet traffic data.
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arxiv:0809.0417
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The NA60 experiment measured dimuon production in In-In collisions at 158 AGeV. This paper presents a high statistics measurement of $\phi\to\mu\mu$ with the specific objective to provide insight on the $\phi$ puzzle, i.e. the difference in the inverse $T$ slopes and absolute yields measured by NA49 and NA50 in the kaon and lepton channel, respectively. Transverse momentum distributions were studied as a function of centrality. The slope parameter $T$ shows a rapid increase with centrality, followed by a saturation. Variations of $T$ with the fit range of the order of 15 MeV were observed, possibly as a consequence of radial flow. The $\phi$ meson yield normalized to the number of participants increases with centrality and is consistently higher than the yield measured by the NA49 experiment at any centrality.
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arxiv:0809.0420
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This contribution presents a derivation of the steady-state distribution of velocities and distances of driven particles on a onedimensional periodic ring. We will compare two different situations: (i) symmetrical interaction forces fulfilling Newton's law of "actio = reactio" and (ii) asymmetric, forwardly directed interactions as, for example in vehicular traffic. Surprisingly, the steady-state velocity and distance distributions for asymmetric interactions and driving terms agree with the equilibrium distributions of classical many-particle systems with symmetrical interactions, if the system is large enough. This analytical result is confirmed by computer simulations and establishes the possibility of approximating the steady state statistics in driven many-particle systems by Hamiltonian systems. Our finding is also useful to understand the various departure time distributions of queueing systems as a possible effect of interactions among the elements in the respective queue [D. Helbing et al., Physica A 363, 62 (2006)].
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arxiv:0809.0426
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Three experiments, among the LHC project, are getting ready to explore the b quark flavour sector. While ATLAS and CMS are general purpose experiments, where the study of B mesons is going to proceed in parallel with the Higgs boson and supersymmetry searches, the LHCb experiment is devoted to B physics studies. The key parameters entering the physics analyses and the performances achieved in all the three experiments are presented. Given the large B physics program foreseen in the LHC experiments, the studies reported in this paper have been selected as those with higher likelihood to provide solid and interesting new results on Standard Model validation and New Physics processes search with early data.
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arxiv:0809.0450
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We report a serendipitous detection of rapid, large amplitude flux density variations in the highly core-dominated, flat-spectrum radio quasar 1156+295 during an observing session at the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). The source was observed as a part of the MOJAVE survey programme with the VLBA at 15 GHz on February 5, 2007. Large amplitude variability in the correlated flux density, unexplainable in terms of the source structure, was first discovered while processing the data, and later confirmed by calibrating the antenna gains using 24 other sources observed in the experiment. The source shows variations in the correlated flux density as high as 40% on a timescale of only 2.7 hours. This places 1156+295 between the classical IDV sources and the so-called intra-hour variables. The observed variability timescale and the modulation index of 13% are consistent with interstellar scintillation by a nearby, highly turbulent scattering screen. The large modulation index at 15 GHz implies a scattering measure that is atypically high for a high galactic latitude source such as 1156+295.
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arxiv:0809.0451
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We present high-quality J, H and K photometry of four Small Magellanic Cloud stellar clusters with intermediate ages in the 1-7 Gyr range (namely NGC 339, 361, 416 and 419) . We obtained deep Color-Magnitude Diagrams to study the evolved sequences and providing a detailed census of the Red Giant Branch (RGB), Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) and Carbon star populations in each cluster and their contribution to the total cluster light. We find that in the 5-7 Gyr old clusters AGB stars account for ~6 % of the total light in K-band, Carbon stars are lacking and RGB stars account for ~45 % of the total bolometric luminosity. These empirical findings are in good agreement with the theoretical predictions. Finally, we derived photometric metallicities computed by using the properties of the RGB and finding an iron content of [Fe/H]=-1.18, -1.08, -0.99 and -0.96 dex for NGC 339, 361, 416 and 419 respectively.
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arxiv:0809.0495
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We investigate the properties of BaNi$_2$As$_2$ using first principles calculations. The band structure has a similar shape to that of the BaFe$_2$As$_2$, and in particular shows a pseudogap between a manifold of six heavy $d$ electron bands and four lighter $d$ bands, i.e. at an electron count of six $d$ electrons per Ni. However, unlike BaFe$_2$As$_2$, where the Fermi energy occurs at the bottom of the pseudogap, the two additional electrons per Ni in the Ni compound place the Fermi energy in the upper manifold. Thus BaNi$_2$As$_2$ has large Fermi surfaces very distinct from BaFe$_2$As$_2$. Results for the phonon spectrum and electron-phonon coupling are consistent with a classification of this material as a conventional phonon mediated superconductor although spin fluctuations and nearness to magnetism may be anticipated based on the value of $N(E_F)$.
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arxiv:0809.0499
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We describe possible scenarios of quark deconfinement in compact stars and we analyze their astrophysical implications. The quark deconfinement process can proceed rapidly, as a strong deflagration, releasing a huge amount of energy in a short time and generating an extra neutrino burst. If energy is transferred efficiently to the surface, like e.g. in the presence of convective instabilities, this burst could contribute to revitalize a partially failed SN explosion. We discuss how the neutrino observations from SN1987A would fit in this scenario. Finally, we focus on the fate of massive and rapidly rotating progenitors, discussing possible time separations between the moment of the core collapse and the moment of quark deconfinement. This mechanism can be at the basis of the interpretation of gamma ray bursts in which lines associated with heavy elements are present in the spectrum.
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arxiv:0809.0518
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It has been known for a long time that the adsorption and condensation of gas cause elastic deformation of the porous matrix. The reversible formation of an adsorbed film, which precedes capillary condensation, results in an extension of the porous material while, in the hysteresis region, the negative liquid pressures under the concave menisci contract the porous matrix. The elastic deformation exhibits an hysteresis loop in the same pressure region as the adsorption phenomenon. These deformations have been neglected in practically all the theoretical treatments of adsorption. We develop a thermodynamic approach which includes the elastic energy of the solid. This approach is generic to all porous materials. Thermodynamics of adsorption is directly connected to the elastic properties of the porous solid. We find that the variation of the surface free energy related to the elastic deformation is an important component of the total free energy. It is shown that the condensation branch represents the more stable states and that an energy barrier exists to evaporation which depends essentially on the elastic deformation. The pores interact through the deformation of the walls. Based on this interaction mechanism and on the shape of the scanning curves which are common to materials with interconnected pores such as porous glass or noninterconnected pores such as p+-type porous silicon and SBA-15, we propose a scenario for the filling and emptying of these porous materials.
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arxiv:0809.0525
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The ground state of a spin 1/2 nearest neighbor quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the pyrochlore lattice is investigated using a large $N$ SU(N) fermionic mean field theory. We find several mean field states, of which the state of lowest energy upon Gutzwiller projection, is a parity and time reversal breaking chiral phase with a unit monopole flux exiting each tetrahedron. This "monopole flux" state has a Fermi surface consisting of 4 lines intersecting at a point. At mean field the low-energy excitations about the Fermi surface are gapless spinons. An analysis using the projective symmetry group of this state suggests that the state is stable to small fluctuations which neither induce a gap, nor alter the unusual Fermi surface.
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arxiv:0809.0528
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We consider power control in cognitive radio networks where secondary users identify and exploit instantaneous and local spectrum opportunities without causing unacceptable interference to primary users. We qualitatively characterize the impact of the transmission power of secondary users on the occurrence of spectrum opportunities and the reliability of opportunity detection. Based on a Poisson model of the primary network, we quantify these impacts by showing that (i) the probability of spectrum opportunity decreases exponentially with respect to the transmission power of secondary users, where the exponential decay constant is given by the traffic load of primary users; (ii) reliable opportunity detection is achieved in the two extreme regimes in terms of the ratio between the transmission power of secondary users and that of primary users. Such analytical characterizations allow us to study power control for optimal transport throughput under constraints on the interference to primary users. Furthermore, we reveal the difference between detecting primary signals and detecting spectrum opportunities, and demonstrate the complex relationship between physical layer spectrum sensing and MAC layer throughput. The dependency of this PHY-MAC interaction on the application type and the use of handshake signaling such as RTS/CTS is illustrated.
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arxiv:0809.0533
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We consider an anisotropic brane-world model with Bianchi type I and V geometry, without mirror symmetry or any form of junction conditions. The generalized Chaplygin gas, which interpolates between a high density relativistic era and a non-relativistic matter phase, is a popular candidate for the present accelerated expansion of the universe. Considering the generalized Chaplygin gas as a geometrical dark energy, we obtain the general solutions in an exact parametric form for both Bianchi type I and V space-times. Finally, we study the behavior of the observationally important parameters such as the shear, anisotropic and deceleration parameter in this model.
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arxiv:0809.0546
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We present results on the modelling of the ejection of a superluminal component in the jet of 3C111. We propose that the component is generated by an injection of dense material followed by a decrease in the injection rate of bulk particles in the jet. Our model is supported by 1D relativistic hydrodynamics and emission simulations, and is capable of reproducing the brightness evolution of two features, as revealed by 15 GHz VLBA observations. We show that other scenarios, such as an increase of the Lorentz factor in the material of the perturbation, fails to reproduce the observed evolution of this flare.
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arxiv:0809.0558
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We report on optical measurements of the 1D Heisenberg antiferromagnet KCuF3. The crystal-field excitations of the Cu2+ ions have been observed and their temperature dependence can be understood in terms of magnetic and exchange-induced dipole mechanisms and vibronic interactions. Above T_N we observe a new temperature scale T_S characterized by the emergence of narrow absorption features that correlate with changes of the orbital ordering as observed by Paolasini et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 106403 (2002)]. The appearance of these optical transitions provides evidence for a symmetry change above the Neel temperature that affects the orbital ordering and paves the way for the antiferromagnetic ordering.
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arxiv:0809.0666
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In this note, we address the theoretical properties of $\Delta_p$, a class of compressed sensing decoders that rely on $\ell^p$ minimization with 0<p<1 to recover estimates of sparse and compressible signals from incomplete and inaccurate measurements. In particular, we extend the results of Candes, Romberg and Tao, and Wojtaszczyk regarding the decoder $\Delta_1$, based on $\ell^1$ minimization, to $\Delta_p$ with 0<p<1. Our results are two-fold. First, we show that under certain sufficient conditions that are weaker than the analogous sufficient conditions for $\Delta_1$ the decoders $\Delta_p$ are robust to noise and stable in the sense that they are (2,p) instance optimal for a large class of encoders. Second, we extend the results of Wojtaszczyk to show that, like $\Delta_1$, the decoders $\Delta_p$ are (2,2) instance optimal in probability provided the measurement matrix is drawn from an appropriate distribution.
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arxiv:0809.0745
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We provide an in depth analysis of the theory proposed by Holzmann, Chevallier and Krauth (HCK) [Europhys. Lett., {\bf 82}, 30001 (2008)] for predicting the temperature at which the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition to a superfluid state occurs in the harmonically trapped quasi-two-dimensional (2D) Bose gas. Their theory is based on a meanfield model of the system density and we show that the HCK predictions change appreciably when an improved meanfield theory and identification of the transition point is used. In this analysis we develop a consistent theory that provides a lower bound for the BKT transition temperature in the trapped quasi-2D Bose gas.
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arxiv:0809.0747
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The article proposes a heuristic approximation approach to the bin packing problem under multiple objectives. In addition to the traditional objective of minimizing the number of bins, the heterogeneousness of the elements in each bin is minimized, leading to a biobjective formulation of the problem with a tradeoff between the number of bins and their heterogeneousness. An extension of the Best-Fit approximation algorithm is presented to solve the problem. Experimental investigations have been carried out on benchmark instances of different size, ranging from 100 to 1000 items. Encouraging results have been obtained, showing the applicability of the heuristic approach to the described problem.
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arxiv:0809.0755
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The equations for the electromagnetic field in an anisotropic media are written in a form containing only the transverse field components relative to a half plane boundary. The operator corresponding to this formulation is the electromagnetic system's matrix. A constructive proof of the existence of directional wave-field decomposition with respect to the normal of the boundary is presented. In the process of defining the wave-field decomposition (wave-splitting), the resolvent set of the time-Laplace representation of the system's matrix is analyzed. This set is shown to contain a strip around the imaginary axis. We construct a splitting matrix as a Dunford-Taylor type integral over the resolvent of the unbounded operator defined by the electromagnetic system's matrix. The splitting matrix commutes with the system's matrix and the decomposition is obtained via a generalized eigenvalue-eigenvector procedure. The decomposition is expressed in terms of components of the splitting matrix. The constructive solution to the question on the existence of a decomposition also generates an impedance mapping solution to an algebraic Riccati operator equation. This solution is the electromagnetic generalization in an anisotropic media of a Dirichlet-to-Neumann map.
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arxiv:0809.0789
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In this paper, we use characteristic classes of the canonical vector bundles and the Poincar\' {e} dualality to study the structure of the real homology and cohomology groups of oriented Grassmann manifold $G(k, n)$. Show that for $k=2$ or $n\leq 8$, the cohomology groups $H^*(G(k,n),{\bf R})$ are generated by the first Pontrjagin class, the Euler classes of the canonical vector bundles. In these cases, the Poincar\' {e} dualality: $H^q(G(k,n),{\bf R}) \to H_{k(n-k)-q}(G(k,n),{\bf R})$ can be given explicitly.
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arxiv:0809.0808
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Feedback flashing ratchets are thermal rectifiers that use information on the state of the system to operate the switching on and off a periodic potential. We discuss different strategies for this operation with the aim of maximizing the net flux of particles in the collective version of a flashing ratchet consisting on N overdamped Brownian particles. We show the optimal protocols for the one-particle ratchet and for the collective ratchet with an infinite number of particles. Finally we comment on the unsolved problem of the optimal strategy for any other number of particles.
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arxiv:0809.0809
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In this paper we consider iterative methods for stochastic variational inequalities (s.v.i.) with monotone operators. Our basic assumption is that the operator possesses both smooth and nonsmooth components. Further, only noisy observations of the problem data are available. We develop a novel Stochastic Mirror-Prox (SMP) algorithm for solving s.v.i. and show that with the convenient stepsize strategy it attains the optimal rates of convergence with respect to the problem parameters. We apply the SMP algorithm to Stochastic composite minimization and describe particular applications to Stochastic Semidefinite Feasability problem and Eigenvalue minimization.
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arxiv:0809.0815
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Circumbinary disks are considered to exist in a wide variety of astrophysical objects, e.g., young binary stars, protoplanetary systems, and massive binary black hole systems in active galactic nuclei (AGNs). However, there is no definite evidence for the circumbinary disk except for some in a few young binary star systems. In this Letter, we study possible oscillation modes in circumbinary disks around eccentric and circular binaries. We find that progarde, nonaxisymmetric waves are induced in the inner part of the circumbinary disk by the tidal potential of the binary. Such waves would cause variabilities in emission line profiles from circumbinary disks. Because of prograde precession of the waves, the distance between each component of the binary and the inner edge of the circumbinary disk varies with the beat period between the precession period of the wave and the binary orbital period. As a result, light curves from the circumbinary disks are also expected to vary with the same period. The current study thus provides a new method to detect circumbinary disks in various astrophysical systems.
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arxiv:0809.0836
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The vacuum expectation values of the energy--momentum tensor and the fermionic condensate are analyzed for a massive spinor field obeying the MIT bag boundary condition on a cylindrical shell in the cosmic string spacetime. Both regions inside and outside the shell are considered. By applying to the corresponding mode-sums a variant of the generalized Abel--Plana formula, we explicitly extract the parts in the expectation values corresponding to the cosmic string geometry without boundaries. In this way the renormalization procedure is reduced to that for the boundary-free cosmic string spacetime. The parts induced by the cylindrical shell are presented in terms of integrals rapidly convergent for points away from the boundary. The behavior of the vacuum densities is investigated in various asymptotic regions of the parameters. In the limit of large values of the planar angle deficit, the boundary-induced expectation values are exponentially suppressed. As a special case, we discuss the fermionic vacuum densities for the cylindrical shell on the background of the Minkowski spacetime.
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arxiv:0809.0844
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The problem of a test body in the Schwarzschild geometry is investigated in a Keplerian limit. Beginning with the Schwarzschild metric, a solution to the limited case of approximately elliptical (Keplerian) motion is derived in terms of trigonometric functions. This solution is similar in form to that derived from Newtonian mechanics, and includes first-order corrections describing three effects due to general relativity: precession; reduced radial coordinate; and increased eccentricity. The quantitative prediction of increased eccentricity may provide an additional observational test of general relativity. By analogy with Keplerian orbits, approximate orbital energy parameters are defined in terms of a relativistic eccentricity, providing first-order corrections to Newtonian energies for elliptical orbits. The first-order relativistic equation of orbit is demonstrated to be a limiting case of a very accurate self-consistent solution. This self-consistent solution is supported by exact numerical solutions to the Schwarzschild geometry, displaying remarkable agreement. A more detailed energy parameterization is investigated using the relativistic eccentricity together with the apsides derived from the relativistic effective potential in support of the approximate energy parameters defined using only first-order corrections. The methods and approximations describing this Keplerian limit are applied to more general static spherically-symmetric geometries. Specifically, equations of orbit and energy parameters are also derived in this Keplerian limit for the Reissner-Nordstr\"{o}m and Schwarzschild-de Sitter metrics.
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arxiv:0809.0850
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Let M be a closed, oriented, n-dimensional manifold. In this paper we give a Morse theoretic description of the string topology operations introduced by Chas and Sullivan, and extended by the first author, Jones, Godin, and others. We do this by studying maps from surfaces with cylindrical ends to M, such that on the cylinders, they satisfy the gradient flow equation of a Morse function on the loop space, LM. We then give Morse theoretic descriptions of related constructions, such as the Thom and Euler classes of a vector bundle, as well as the shriek, or unkehr homomorphism.
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arxiv:0809.0868
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We present a novel technique to overcome the limitations of the applicability of Principal Component Analysis to typical real-life data sets, especially astronomical spectra. Our new approach addresses the issues of outliers, missing information, large number of dimensions and the vast amount of data by combining elements of robust statistics and recursive algorithms that provide improved eigensystem estimates step-by-step. We develop a generic mechanism for deriving reliable eigenspectra without manual data censoring, while utilising all the information contained in the observations. We demonstrate the power of the methodology on the attractive collection of the VIMOS VLT Deep Survey spectra that manifest most of the challenges today, and highlight the improvements over previous workarounds, as well as the scalability of our approach to collections with sizes of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and beyond.
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arxiv:0809.0881
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We address theoretically adiabatic regime of charge transport for a model of two tunnel-coupled quantum dots connected in series. The energy levels of the two dots are harmonically modulated by an external potential with a constant phase shift between the two. Motivated by recent experiments with surface-acoustic-wave excitation, we consider two situations: (a) pure pumping in the absence of external voltage (also at finite temperature), and (b) adiabatic modulation of the current driven by large external bias. In both cases we derive results consistent with published experimental data. For the case (b) we explicitly derive the adiabatic limit of Tien-Gordon formula for photon-assisted tunneling and compare it to the outcome of simple conductance modulation. A tutorial for adiabatic pumping current calculations with the Green function formalism is included.
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arxiv:0809.0900
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Highly supercritical accretion discs are probable sources of dense optically thick axisymmetric winds. We introduce a new approach based on diffusion approximation radiative transfer in a funnel geometry and obtain an analytical solution for the energy density distribution inside the wind assuming that all the mass, momentum and energy are injected well inside the spherization radius. This allows to derive the spectrum of emergent emission for various inclination angles. We show that self-irradiation effects play an important role altering the temperature of the outcoming radiation by about 20% and the apparent X-ray luminosity by a factor of 2-3. The model has been successfully applied to two ULXs. The basic properties of the high ionization HII-regions found around some ULXs are also easily reproduced in our assumptions.
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arxiv:0809.0917
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The majority of mass in the universe has not been observed optically and is termed dark matter. The supersymmetric neutralino provides an interesting dark matter candidate, which may self-annihilate in our galaxy, producing particles visible in the cosmic ray spectrum. During a ten day space shuttle flight, the AMS-01 detector recorded over 100 million cosmic ray events. This analysis searches for the products of neutralino annihilation in the AMS-01 Z=-1 spectrum, and uses the results to place limits on which supersymmetric and dark matter halo distribution models are compatible.
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arxiv:0809.0935
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We discuss cosmological consequences of the existence of physics beyond the standard model that exhibits Banks-Zaks and unparticle behavior in the UV and IR respectively. We first derive the equation of state for unparticles and use it to obtain the temperature dependence of the corresponding energy and entropy densities. We then formulate the Boltzmann and Kubo equations for both the unparticles and the Banks-Zaks particles, and use these results to determine the equilibrium conditions between the standard model and the new physics. We conclude by obtaining the constraints on the effective number of degrees of freedom of unparticles imposed by Big-Bang nucleosynthesis.
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arxiv:0809.0977
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Let $T$ be the extinction moment of a critical branching process $Z=(Z_{n},n\geq 0) $ in a random environment specified by iid probability generating functions. We study the asymptotic behavior of the probability of extinction of the process $Z$ at moment $n\to \infty$, and show that if the logarithm of the (random) expectation of the offspring number belongs to the domain of attraction of a non-gaussian stable law then the extinction occurs owing to very unfavorable environment forcing the process, having at moment $T-1$ exponentially large population, to die out. We also give an interpretation of the obtained results in terms of random walks in random environment.
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arxiv:0809.0986
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When a gas of electrons is confined to two dimensions, application of a strong magnetic field may lead to startling phenomena such as emergence of electron pairing. According to a theory this manifests itself as appearance of the fractional quantum Hall effect with a quantized conductivity at an unusual half-integer nu=5/2 Landau level filling. Here we show that similar electron pairing may occur in quantum dots where the gas of electrons is trapped by external electric potentials into small quantum Hall droplets. However, we also find theoretical and experimental evidence that, depending on the shape of the external potential, the paired electron state can break down, which leads to a fragmentation of charge and spin densities into incompressible domains. The fragmentation of the quantum Hall states could be an issue in the proposed experiments that aim to probe for non-abelian quasi-particle characteristics of the nu=5/2 quantum Hall state.
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arxiv:0809.1020
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The effective extinction law for supernovae surrounded by circumstellar dust is examined by Monte-Carlo simulations. Grains with light scattering properties as for interstellar dust in the Milky-Way (MW) or the Large Magellanic Clouds (LMC), but surrounding the explosion site would cause a semi-diffusive propagation of light up to the edge of the dust shell. Multiple scattering of photons predominantly attenuates photons with shorter wavelengths, thus steepening the effective extinction law as compared to the case of single scattering in the interstellar medium. Our simulations yield typical values for the total to selective extinction ratio $R_V\sim 1.5-2.5$, as seen in recent studies of Type Ia supernova colors, with further stiffening differential extinction toward the near-UV.
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arxiv:0809.1094
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Using samples of (5.93 +/- 0.10) x 10^6 Upsilon(3S) decays and (9.11 +/- 0.14) x 10^6 Upsilon(2S) decays collected with the CLEO detector, we report improved measurements of the branching fractions for the following five transitions: B(Upsilon(3S)-->Upsilon(1S) pi^+ pi^-) = (4.46 +/- 0.01 +/- 0.13)%, B(Upsilon(2S)-->Upsilon(1S) pi^+ pi^-) = (18.02 +/- 0.02 +/- 0.61)%, B(Upsilon(3S)-->Upsilon(1S) pi^0 pi^0) = (2.24 +/- 0.09 +/- 0.11)%, B(Upsilon(2S)-->Upsilon(1S) pi^0 pi^0) = (8.43 +/- 0.16 +/- 0.42)% and B(Upsilon(3S)-->Upsilon(2S) pi^0 pi^0) = (1.82 +/- 0.09 +/- 0.12)%. In each case the first uncertainty reported is statistical, while the second is systematic.
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arxiv:0809.1110
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We consider the optimal mass transportation problem in $\RR^d$ with measurably parameterized marginals, for general cost functions and under conditions ensuring the existence of a unique optimal transport map. We prove a joint measurability result for this map, with respect to the space variable and to the parameter. The proof needs to establish the measurability of some set-valued mappings, related to the support of the optimal transference plans, which we use to perform a suitable discrete approximation procedure. A motivation is the construction of a strong coupling between orthogonal martingale measures. By this we mean that, given a martingale measure, we construct in the same probability space a second one with specified covariance measure. This is done by pushing forward one martingale measure through a predictable version of the optimal transport map between the covariance measures. This coupling allows us to obtain quantitative estimates in terms of the Wasserstein distance between those covariance measures.
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arxiv:0809.1111
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In this article, we consider `$N$'spherical caps of area $4\pi p$ were uniformly distributed over the surface of a unit sphere. We study the random intersection graph $G_N$ constructed by these caps. We prove that for $p = \frac{c}{N^{\al}},\:c >0$ and $\al >2,$ the number of edges in graph $G_N$ follow the Poisson distribution. Also we derive the strong law results for the number of isolated vertices in $G_N$: for $p = \frac{c}{N^{\al}},\:c >0$ for $\al < 1,$ there is no isolated vertex in $G_N$ almost surely i.e., there are atleast $N/2$ edges in $G_N$ and for $\al >3,$ every vertex in $G_N$ is isolated i.e., there is no edge in edge set $\cE_N.$
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arxiv:0809.1143
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This work is devoted to study new bialgebra structures related to 2-associative algebras. A 2-associative algebra is a vector space equipped with two associative multiplications. We discuss the notions of 2-associative bialgebras, 2-bialgebras and 2-2-bialgebras. The first structure was revealed by J.-L. Loday and M. Ronco in an analogue of a Cartier-Milnor-Moore theorem, the second was suggested by Loday and the third is a variation of the second one. The main results of this paper are the construction of 2-associative bialgebras, 2-bialgebras and 2-2-bialgebras starting from an associative algebra and the classification of these structures in low dimensions.
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arxiv:0809.1144
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We study the transport properties of disordered electron systems that contain perfectly conducting channels. Two quantum network models that belong to different universality classes, unitary and symplectic, are simulated numerically. The perfectly conducting channel in the unitary class can be realized in zigzag graphene nano-ribbons and that in the symplectic class is known to appear in metallic carbon nanotubes. The existence of a perfectly conducting channel leads to novel conductance distribution functions and a shortening of the conductance decay length.
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arxiv:0809.1146
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Let $\Op_t(a)$, for $t\in \mathbf R$, be the pseudo-differential operator $$ f(x) \mapsto (2\pi)^{-n}\iint a((1-t)x+ty,\xi)f(y)e^{i\scal {x-y}\xi} dyd\xi $$ and let $\mathscr I_p$ be the set of Schatten-von Neumann operators of order $p\in [1,\infty ]$ on $L^2$. We are especially concerned with the Weyl case (i.{}e. when $t=1/2$). We prove that if $m$ and $g$ are appropriate metrics and weight functions respectively, $h_g$ is the Planck's function, $h_g^{k/2}m\in L^p$ for some $k\ge 0$ and $a\in S(m,g)$, then $\Op_t(a)\in \mathscr I_p$, iff $a\in L^p$. Consequently, if $0\le \delta <\rho \le 1$ and $a\in S^r_{\rho ,\delta}$, then $\Op_t(a)$ is bounded on $L^2$, iff $a\in L^\infty$.
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arxiv:0809.1207
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We use one-loop $\SU(2)_L\times \SU(2)_R$ chiral perturbation theory ($\SU(2)$ ChPT) to study the behaviour of the form-factors for semileptonic $K\to\pi$ decays with the pion mass at $q^2=0$ and at $q^2_{\textrm{max}}=(m_K-m_\pi)^2$, where $q$ is the momentum transfer. At $q^2=0$, the final-state pion has an energy of approximately $m_K/2$ (for $m_K\gg m_\pi$) and so is not soft, nevertheless it is possible to compute the chiral logarithms, i.e. the corrections of $O(m_\pi^2\log(m_\pi^2))$. We envisage that our results at $q^2=0$ will be useful in extrapolating lattice QCD results to physical masses. A consequence of the Callan-Treiman relation is that in the $\SU(2)$ chiral limit ($m_u=m_d=0$), the scalar form factor $f^0$ at $\qsqmax$ is equal to $f^{(K)}/f$, the ratio of the kaon and pion leptonic decay constants in the chiral limit. Lattice results for the scalar form factor at $\qsqmax$ are obtained with excellent precision, but at the masses at which the simulations are performed the results are about 25% below $f^{(K)}/f$ and are increasing only very slowly. We investigate the chiral behaviour of $f^0(\qsqmax)$ and find large corrections which provide a semi-quantitative explanation of the difference between the lattice results and $f^{(K)}/f$. We stress the generality of the relation $f^0_{P\to\pi}(\qsqmax)=f^{(P)}/f$ in the $\SU(2)$ chiral limit, where $P=K,D$ or $B$ and briefly comment on the potential value of using this theorem in obtaining physical results from lattice simulations.
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arxiv:0809.1229
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We consider a three dimensional system consisting of a large number of small spherical particles, which move due to gravity or with laminar shear and which merge when they cross. A size ratio criterion may be applied to restrict merging to similar sized particles (locality of interactions) or particles dissimilar in size (nonlocality). We perform direct numerical simulations (DNS) of this particle system and study the resulting mass spectra. In mean field approximation, these systems can be described by the Smoluchowski coagulation equation (SCE). DNS of the particle system with locality enforced show the scaling solutions or Kolmogorov-Zakharov spectra for the SCE, signifying a constant mass flux. DNS without a size ratio criterion show -4/3 scaling for large particles in a system with gravity, signifying a constant flux in number of particles, which we also find analytically by assuming nonlocality of interactions in the SCE. For laminar shear, this nonlocality is only marginal, and our DNS show that a correction to the scaling solution is required.
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arxiv:0809.1246
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We study the impact of relativistic gravitational deflection of light on the accuracy of future Space Interferometry Mission (SIM). We estimate the deflection angles caused by the monopole, quadrupole and octupole components of gravitational fields for a number of celestial bodies in the solar system. We observe that, in many cases, the magnitude of the corresponding effects is significantly larger than the 1 uas accuracy expected from SIM. This fact argues for the development of a relativistic observational model for the mission that would account for the influence of both static and time-varying effects of gravity on light propagation. Results presented here are different from the ones obtained elsewhere by the fact that we specifically account for the differential nature of the future SIM astrometric measurements. We also obtain an estimate for the accuracy of possible determination of the Eddington's parameter \gamma via SIM global astrometric campaign; we conclude that accuracy of ~7 x 10^{-6} is achievable via measurements of deflection of light by solar gravity.
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arxiv:0809.1250
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The high-resolution setup of the AAOmega spectrograph on the Anglo-Australian Telescope makes it a beautiful radial velocity machine, with which one can measure velocities of up to 350-360 stars per exposure to +/-1--2 km/s in a 2-degree field of view. Here we present three case studies of star cluster kinematics, each based on data obtained on three nights in February 2008. The specific aims included: (i) cluster membership determination for NGC 2451A and B, two nearby open clusters in the same line-of-sight; (ii) a study of possible membership of the planetary nebula NGC 2438 in the open cluster M46; and (iii) the radial velocity dispersion of M4 and NGC 6144, a pair of two globular clusters near Antares. The results which came out of only three nights of AAT time illustrate very nicely the potential of the instrument and, for example, how quickly one can resolve decades of contradiction in less than two hours of net observing time.
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arxiv:0809.1269
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We explore particle accelerator electrodynamics in the magnetosphere of a rapidly rotating neutron star (NS). We address the importance of a self-consistent treatment of pair production, solving the Poisson equation describing the acceleration electric field, the Boltzmann equations for produced electrons and positrons, and the radiative transfer equation simultaneously. It is demonstrated that the accelerator solution is obtained if we only specify the NS spin period, magnetic dipole moment, magnetic inclination angle with respect to the rotation axis, and the NS surface temperature, and that the solution corresponds to a quantitative extension of previous outer-gap models. We apply the scheme to the Crab pulsar and show that the predicted pulse profiles and phase-resolved spectrum are roughly consistent with observations. Applying the same scheme to the slot-gap model, we show that this alternative model predicts too small photon flux to reproduce observations, because the gap trans-field thickness is significantly restricted by its pair-free condition.
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arxiv:0809.1283
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We consider the distributed source coding problem in which correlated data picked up by scattered sensors has to be encoded separately and transmitted to a common receiver, subject to a rate-distortion constraint. Although near-tooptimal solutions based on Turbo and LDPC codes exist for this problem, in most cases the proposed techniques do not scale to networks of hundreds of sensors. We present a scalable solution based on the following key elements: (a) distortion-optimized index assignments for low-complexity distributed quantization, (b) source-optimized hierarchical clustering based on the Kullback-Leibler distance and (c) sum-product decoding on specific factor graphs exploiting the correlation of the data.
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arxiv:0809.1330
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A semicoherent system can be described by its structure function or, equivalently, by a lattice polynomial function expressing the system lifetime in terms of the component lifetimes. In this paper we point out the parallelism between the two descriptions and use the natural connection of lattice polynomial functions and relevant random events to collect exact formulas for the system reliability. We also discuss the equivalence between calculating the reliability of semicoherent systems and calculating the distribution function of a lattice polynomial function of random variables.
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arxiv:0809.1332
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