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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

In-House Polymerase Chain Reaction For Affordable And Sustainable Chlamydia Trachomatis Detection In Trinidad And Tobago, Joanne Rampersad, Xiaohui Wang, Helen Gayadeen, Samuel Ramsewak, David Ammons Nov 2007

In-House Polymerase Chain Reaction For Affordable And Sustainable Chlamydia Trachomatis Detection In Trinidad And Tobago, Joanne Rampersad, Xiaohui Wang, Helen Gayadeen, Samuel Ramsewak, David Ammons

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objectives: To provide a preliminary assessment of in-house polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as an alternative to the more costly commercial test for detection of asymptomatic infection by Chlamydia trachomatis and to provide much needed demographic data on infection indicators within the Trinidad and Tobago public health care system.

Methods: An inexpensive in-house nested-PCR with an Internal Amplification Control was used to detect C. trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in urine samples collected from 273 apparently healthy, pregnant women from March-September 2004 in Trinidad, West Indies. Demographic information on participants was collected and subjected to statistical analyses.

Results: C. trachomatis was detected …


An Overview Of The Genus Nardostachys, Asima Chatterjee, Utpal Dutta, Debasish Bandyopadhyay, Anupam Nayak, Bidyut Basak, Avijit Banerji, Julie Banerji Nov 2007

An Overview Of The Genus Nardostachys, Asima Chatterjee, Utpal Dutta, Debasish Bandyopadhyay, Anupam Nayak, Bidyut Basak, Avijit Banerji, Julie Banerji

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Nardostachys jatamansi, a medicinally important herb of Nepalese origin, has been used for centuries in the Ayurvedic and Unani systems of medicine. In combination with Marsilea minuta it is being used as an antistress and anticonvulsant drug and also finds use in the treatment of epilepsy. Recently, it has been reported that N. jatamansi, which plays an important role in protecting from cerebral ischemia and liver damage, is also used for the treatment of osteoporosis and hypercalcemia. The other member of the genus Nardostachys, N. chinensis, possesses antifungal and antimalarial properties. It is also used in the treatment of skin …


Upper Limit Map Of A Background Of Gravitational Waves, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, Mario C. Diaz, R. Grosso, Soumya Mohanty, Soma Mukherjee, Cristina V. Torres Oct 2007

Upper Limit Map Of A Background Of Gravitational Waves, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, Mario C. Diaz, R. Grosso, Soumya Mohanty, Soma Mukherjee, Cristina V. Torres

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

We searched for an anisotropic background of gravitational waves using data from the LIGO S4 science run and a method that is optimized for point sources. This is appropriate if, for example, the gravitational wave background is dominated by a small number of distinct astrophysical sources. No signal was seen. Upper limit maps were produced assuming two different power laws for the source strain power spectrum. For an f−3 power law and using the 50 Hz to 1.8 kHz band the upper limits on the source strain power spectrum vary between 1.2×10−48  Hz−1 (100  Hz/f)3 and 1.2×10−47  Hz−1 (100  Hz/f)3, …


Searches For Periodic Gravitational Waves From Unknown Isolated Sources And Scorpius X-1: Results From The Second Ligo Science Run, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, Mario C. Diaz, R. Grosso, Wm. R. Johnston, Soumya Mohanty, Soma Mukherjee, Cristina V. Torres Oct 2007

Searches For Periodic Gravitational Waves From Unknown Isolated Sources And Scorpius X-1: Results From The Second Ligo Science Run, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, Mario C. Diaz, R. Grosso, Wm. R. Johnston, Soumya Mohanty, Soma Mukherjee, Cristina V. Torres

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

We carry out two searches for periodic gravitational waves using the most sensitive few hours of data from the second LIGO science run. Both searches exploit fully coherent matched filtering and cover wide areas of parameter space, an innovation over previous analyses which requires considerable algorithm development and computational power. The first search is targeted at isolated, previously unknown neutron stars, covers the entire sky in the frequency band 160–728.8 Hz, and assumes a frequency derivative of less than 4×10−10  Hz/s. The second search targets the accreting neutron star in the low-mass x-ray binary Scorpius X-1 and covers the frequency …


Fundamental Emission Via Wave Advection From A Collapsing Wave Packet In Electromagnetic Strong Plasma Turbulence, Fredrick A. Jenet, A. Melatos, P. A. Robinson Oct 2007

Fundamental Emission Via Wave Advection From A Collapsing Wave Packet In Electromagnetic Strong Plasma Turbulence, Fredrick A. Jenet, A. Melatos, P. A. Robinson

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Zakharov simulations of nonlinear wave collapse in continuously driven two-dimensional, electromagnetic strong plasma turbulence with electron thermal speeds v⩾0.01c show that for v≲0.1c, dipole radiation occurs near the plasma frequency, mainly near arrest, but for v≳0.1c, a new mechanism applies in which energy oscillates between trapped Langmuir and transverse modes until collapse is arrested, after which trapped transverse waves are advected into incoherent interpacket turbulence by an expanding annular density well, where they detrap. The multipole structure, Poynting flux, source current, and radiation angular momentum are computed.


Stellar Population Models And Individual Element Abundances. I. Sensitivity Of Stellar Evolution Models, Aaron Dotter, Brian Chaboyer, Jason W. Ferguson, Hyun Chul Lee, Guy Worthey, Darko Jevremović, E. Baron Sep 2007

Stellar Population Models And Individual Element Abundances. I. Sensitivity Of Stellar Evolution Models, Aaron Dotter, Brian Chaboyer, Jason W. Ferguson, Hyun Chul Lee, Guy Worthey, Darko Jevremović, E. Baron

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Integrated light from distant galaxies is often compared to stellar population models via the equivalent widths of spectral features-spectral indices-whose strengths rely on the abundances of one or more elements. Such comparisons hinge not only on the overall metal abundance, but also on relative abundances. Studies have examined the influence of individual elements on synthetic spectra but little has been done to address similar issues in the stellar evolution models that underlie most stellar population models. Stellar evolution models will primarily be influenced by changes in opacities. In order to explore this issue in detail, 12 sets of stellar evolution …


Search For Gravitational Wave Radiation Associated With The Pulsating Tail Of The Sgr 1806−20 Hyperflare Of 27 December 2004 Using Ligo, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, Mario C. Diaz, R. Grosso, Soumya Mohanty, Soma Mukherjee, Cristina V. Torres Sep 2007

Search For Gravitational Wave Radiation Associated With The Pulsating Tail Of The Sgr 1806−20 Hyperflare Of 27 December 2004 Using Ligo, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, Mario C. Diaz, R. Grosso, Soumya Mohanty, Soma Mukherjee, Cristina V. Torres

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

We have searched for gravitational waves (GWs) associated with the SGR 1806−20 hyperflare of 27 December 2004. This event, originating from a Galactic neutron star, displayed exceptional energetics. Recent investigations of the x-ray light curve’s pulsating tail revealed the presence of quasiperiodic oscillations (QPOs) in the 30–2000 Hz frequency range, most of which coincides with the bandwidth of the LIGO detectors. These QPOs, with well-characterized frequencies, can plausibly be attributed to seismic modes of the neutron star which could emit GWs. Our search targeted potential quasimonochromatic GWs lasting for tens of seconds and emitted at the QPO frequencies. We have …


Is The Subdominant Part Of The Energy Spectrum Due To Downscale Energy Cascade Hidden In Quasi-Geostrophic Turbulence?, Eleftherios Gkioulekas, Ka Kit Tung Sep 2007

Is The Subdominant Part Of The Energy Spectrum Due To Downscale Energy Cascade Hidden In Quasi-Geostrophic Turbulence?, Eleftherios Gkioulekas, Ka Kit Tung

School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

In systems governing two-dimensional turbulence, surface quasi-geostrophic turbulence, (more generally $\alpha$-turbulence), two-layer quasi-geostrophic turbulence, etc., there often exist two conservative quadratic quantities, one "energy''-like and one "enstrophy''-like. In a finite inertial range there are in general two spectral fluxes, one associated with each conserved quantity. We derive here an inequality comparing the relative magnitudes of the "energy'' and "enstrophy'' fluxes for finite or infinitesimal dissipations, and for hyper or hypo viscosities. When this inequality is satisfied, as is the case of 2D turbulence,where the energy flux contribution to the energy spectrum is small, the subdominant part will be effectively hidden. …


New Integrable Hierarchy, Its Parametric Solutions, Cuspons, One-Peak Solitons, And M/W-Shape Peak Solitons, Zhijun Qiao Aug 2007

New Integrable Hierarchy, Its Parametric Solutions, Cuspons, One-Peak Solitons, And M/W-Shape Peak Solitons, Zhijun Qiao

School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this paper, we propose a new completely integrable hierarchy. Particularly in the hierarchy we draw two new soliton equations: 1 mt= 1 2 1/m2xxx− 1 2 1/m2 x; 2 mt+mx u2−ux 2+2m2ux=0, m=u−uxx. The first one is the second positive member in the hierarchy while the second one is the second negative member in the hierarchy. Both equations can be derived from the two-dimensional Euler equation by using the approximation procedure. All equations in the hierarchy are proven to have bi-Hamiltonian operators and Lax pairs through solving a crucial matrix equation. Moreover, we develop parametric solutions of the entire …


Autoreducibility, Mitoticity, And Immunity, Christian Glaßer, Mitsunori Ogihara, A. Pavan, Alan L. Selman, Liyu Zhang Aug 2007

Autoreducibility, Mitoticity, And Immunity, Christian Glaßer, Mitsunori Ogihara, A. Pavan, Alan L. Selman, Liyu Zhang

Computer Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

We show the following results regarding complete sets. • NP-complete sets and PSPACE-complete sets are polynomial-time many–one autoreducible.

• Complete sets of any level of PH, MODPH, or the Boolean hierarchy over NP are polynomial-time many–one autoreducible.

• EXP-complete sets are polynomial-time many–one mitotic.

• If there is a tally language in NP ∩ coNP − P , then, for every ϵ > 0 , NP-complete sets are not 2 n ( 1 + ϵ ) -immune.

These results solve several of the open questions raised by Buhrman and Torenvliet in their 1994 survey paper on the structure of complete sets.


Upper Limits On Gravitational Wave Emission From 78 Radio Pulsars, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, Mario C. Diaz, Soumya Mohanty, Soma Mukherjee, Cristina V. Torres Aug 2007

Upper Limits On Gravitational Wave Emission From 78 Radio Pulsars, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, Mario C. Diaz, Soumya Mohanty, Soma Mukherjee, Cristina V. Torres

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

We present upper limits on the gravitational wave emission from 78 radio pulsars based on data from the third and fourth science runs of the LIGO and GEO 600 gravitational wave detectors. The data from both runs have been combined coherently to maximize sensitivity. For the first time, pulsars within binary (or multiple) systems have been included in the search by taking into account the signal modulation due to their orbits. Our upper limits are therefore the first measured for 56 of these pulsars. For the remaining 22, our results improve on previous upper limits by up to a factor …


On The Age And Metallicity Estimation Of Spiral Galaxies Using Optical And Near-Infrared Photometry, Hyun Chul Lee, Guy Worthey, Scott C. Trager, S. M. Faber Jul 2007

On The Age And Metallicity Estimation Of Spiral Galaxies Using Optical And Near-Infrared Photometry, Hyun Chul Lee, Guy Worthey, Scott C. Trager, S. M. Faber

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

In integrated light, some color-color diagrams that use optical and near-infrared photometry show surprisingly orthogonal grids as age and metallicity are varied, and they are coming into common usage for estimating the average age and metallicity of spiral galaxies. In this paper we reconstruct these composite grids using simple stellar population models from several different groups convolved with some plausible functional forms of star formation histories at fixed metallicity. We find that the youngest populations present (t < 2 Gyr) dominate the light, and because of their presence the age-metallicity degeneracy can be partially broken with broadband colors, unlike older populations. The scatter among simple stellar population models by different authors is, however, large at ages t < 2 Gyr. The dominant uncertainties in stellar population models arise from convective core overshoot assumptions and the treatment of the thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch phase and helium abundance may play a significant role at higher metallicities. Real spiral galaxies are unlikely to have smooth, exponential star formation histories, and burstiness will cause a partial reversion to the single-burst case, which has even larger model-to-model scatter. Finally, it is emphasized that the current composite stellar population models need some implementation of chemical enrichment histories for the proper analysis of the observational data. © 2007. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.


Dispersion Measure Variations And Their Effect On Precision Pulsar Timing, X. P. You, G. Hobbs, W. A. Coles, R. N. Manchester, R. Edwards, M. Bailes, J. Sarkissian, J. P.W. Verbiest, W. Van Straten, A. Hotan, S. Ord, F. Jenet, N. D.R. Bhat, A. Teoh Jun 2007

Dispersion Measure Variations And Their Effect On Precision Pulsar Timing, X. P. You, G. Hobbs, W. A. Coles, R. N. Manchester, R. Edwards, M. Bailes, J. Sarkissian, J. P.W. Verbiest, W. Van Straten, A. Hotan, S. Ord, F. Jenet, N. D.R. Bhat, A. Teoh

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

We present an analysis of the variations seen in the dispersion measures (DMs) of 20-ms pulsars observed as part of the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array project. We carry out a statistically rigorous structure function analysis for each pulsar and show that the variations seen for most pulsars are consistent with those expected for an interstellar medium characterized by a Kolmogorov turbulence spectrum. The structure functions for PSRs J1045-4509 and J1909-3744 provide the first clear evidence for a large inner scale, possibly due to ion-neutral damping. We also show the effect of the solar wind on the DMs and show that …


Searching For A Stochastic Background Of Gravitational Waves With The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, B. Abbott, R. Abbott, R. Adhikari, J. Agresti, P. Ajith, B. Allen, R. Amin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, M. Araya, H. Armandula, M. Ashley, S. Aston, C. Aulbert, S. Babak, S. Ballmer, B. C. Barish, C. Barker, D. Barker, B. Barr, P. Barriga, M. A. Barton, K. Bayer, K. Belczynski, J. Betzwieser, P. Beyersdorf, B. Bhawal, I. A. Bilenko, G. Billingsley, E. Black Apr 2007

Searching For A Stochastic Background Of Gravitational Waves With The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, B. Abbott, R. Abbott, R. Adhikari, J. Agresti, P. Ajith, B. Allen, R. Amin, S. B. Anderson, W. G. Anderson, M. Araya, H. Armandula, M. Ashley, S. Aston, C. Aulbert, S. Babak, S. Ballmer, B. C. Barish, C. Barker, D. Barker, B. Barr, P. Barriga, M. A. Barton, K. Bayer, K. Belczynski, J. Betzwieser, P. Beyersdorf, B. Bhawal, I. A. Bilenko, G. Billingsley, E. Black

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) has performed the fourth science run, S4, with significantly improved interferometer sensitivities with respect to previous runs. Using data acquired during this science run, we place a limit on the amplitude of a stochastic background of gravitational waves. For a frequency independent spectrum, the new Bayesian 90% upper limit is ΩGW × [H0/(12 km s-1 Mpc-1)]2 < 6.5 × 10-5. This is currently the most sensitive result in the frequency range 51-150 Hz, with a factor of 13 improvement over the previous LIGO result. We discuss the complementarity of the new result with other constraints on a stochastic background of gravitational waves, and we investigate implications of the new result for different models of this background. © 2007. The American Astronumical Society. All rights reserved.


Large Merger Recoils And Spin Flips From Generic Black Hole Binaries, Manuela Campanelli, Carlos O. Lousto, Y. Zlochower, David Merritt Mar 2007

Large Merger Recoils And Spin Flips From Generic Black Hole Binaries, Manuela Campanelli, Carlos O. Lousto, Y. Zlochower, David Merritt

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

We report the first results from the evolution of generic black hole binaries, i.e., binaries containing unequal-mass black holes with misaligned spins. Our configuration, which has a mass ratio of 2 : 1, consists of an initially nonspinning hole orbiting a larger, rapidly spinning hole (specific spin a/m = 0.885), with the spin direction oriented -45° with respect to the orbital plane. We track the inspiral and merger for ~2 orbits and find that the remnant receives a substantial kick of 454 km s-1, more than twice as large as the maximum kick from nonspinning binaries. The remnant …


On The Elimination Of The Sweeping Interactions From Theories Of Hydrodynamic Turbulence, Eleftherios Gkioulekas Feb 2007

On The Elimination Of The Sweeping Interactions From Theories Of Hydrodynamic Turbulence, Eleftherios Gkioulekas

School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this paper, we revisit the claim that the Eulerian and quasi-Lagrangian same time correlation tensors are equal. This statement allows us to transform the results of an MSR quasi-Lagrangian statistical theory of hydrodynamic turbulence back to the Eulerian representation. We define a hierarchy of homogeneity symmetries between incremental homogeneity and global homogeneity. It is shown that both the elimination of the sweeping interactions and the derivation of the 4/5-law require a homogeneity assumption stronger than incremental homogeneity but weaker than global homogeneity. The quasi-Lagrangian transformation, on the other hand, requires an even stronger homogeneity assumption which is many-time rather …


N-(4-Methylphenyl) Benzenepropanamide - The First Isolated Amide From The Genus Paederia, Debasish Bandyopadhyay, Anupam Nayak, Bidyut Basak, Avijit Banerji, Julie Banerji, Asima Chatterjee, Thierry Prang, Alain Neuman Jan 2007

N-(4-Methylphenyl) Benzenepropanamide - The First Isolated Amide From The Genus Paederia, Debasish Bandyopadhyay, Anupam Nayak, Bidyut Basak, Avijit Banerji, Julie Banerji, Asima Chatterjee, Thierry Prang, Alain Neuman

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Investigation of the stem of Paederia foetida (Rubiaceae) resulted in the isolation and characterization of N-(4-methylphenyl)-benzopropanamide, which was hitherto unknown as a natural product This is the first report of an amide for the genus Paederia.


Searches For Periodic Gravitational Waves From Unknown Isolated Sources And Scorpius X-1: Results From The Second Ligo Science Run, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, Mario C. Diaz, R. Grosso, Wm. R. Johnston, Soumya Mohanty, Soma Mukherjee, Cristina V. Torres Jan 2007

Searches For Periodic Gravitational Waves From Unknown Isolated Sources And Scorpius X-1: Results From The Second Ligo Science Run, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, Mario C. Diaz, R. Grosso, Wm. R. Johnston, Soumya Mohanty, Soma Mukherjee, Cristina V. Torres

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

We carry out two searches for periodic gravitational waves using the most sensitive few hours of data from the second LIGO science run. Both searches exploit fully coherent matched filtering and cover wide areas of parameter space, an innovation over previous analyses which requires considerable algorithm development and computational power. The first search is targeted at isolated, previously unknown neutron stars, covers the entire sky in the frequency band 160–728.8 Hz, and assumes a frequency derivative of less than 4×10−10  Hz/s. The second search targets the accreting neutron star in the low-mass x-ray binary Scorpius X-1 and covers the frequency …


Electromagnetic Strong Plasma Turbulence, A. Melatos, F. A. Jenet, P. A. Robinson Jan 2007

Electromagnetic Strong Plasma Turbulence, A. Melatos, F. A. Jenet, P. A. Robinson

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

The first large-scale simulations of continuously driven, two-dimensional electromagnetic strong plasma turbulence are performed, for electron thermal speeds 0.01c⩽v⩽0.57c, by integrating the Zakharov equations for coupled Langmuir and transverse (T) waves near the plasma frequency. Turbulence scalings and wave number spectra are calculated, a transition is found from a mix of trapped and free T eigenstates for v⩾0.1c to just free eigenstates for v⩽0.1c, and wave energy densities are observed to undergo slow quasiperiodic oscillations.


Single Dna Conformations And Biological Function, Ralf Metzler, Tobias Ambjoernsson, Andreas Hanke, Yongli Zhang, Stephen Levene Jan 2007

Single Dna Conformations And Biological Function, Ralf Metzler, Tobias Ambjoernsson, Andreas Hanke, Yongli Zhang, Stephen Levene

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

From a nanoscience perspective, cellular processes and their reduced in vitro imitations provide extraordinary examples for highly robust few or single molecule reaction pathways. A prime example are biochemical reactions involving DNA molecules, and the coupling of these reactions to the physical conformations of DNA. In this review, we summarise recent results on the following phenomena: We investigate the biophysical properties of DNA-looping and the equilibrium configurations of DNA-knots, whose relevance to biological processes are increasingly appreciated. We discuss how random DNA-looping may be related to the efficiency of the target search process of proteins for their specific binding site …


Spin Flips And Precession In Black-Hole-Binary Mergers, Manuela Campanelli, Carlos O. Lousto, Z. Zlochower, Badri Krishnan, David Merritt Jan 2007

Spin Flips And Precession In Black-Hole-Binary Mergers, Manuela Campanelli, Carlos O. Lousto, Z. Zlochower, Badri Krishnan, David Merritt

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

We use the “moving puncture” approach to perform fully nonlinear evolutions of spinning quasicircular black-hole binaries with individual spins unaligned with the orbital angular momentum. We evolve configurations with the individual spins (parallel and equal in magnitude) pointing in the orbital plane and 45° above the orbital plane. We introduce a technique to measure the spin direction and track the precession of the spin during the merger, as well as measure the spin flip in the remnant horizon. The former configuration completes 1.75 orbits before merging, with the spin precessing by 98° and the final remnant horizon spin flipped by …


Trampling, Peeling And Nibbling Mussels: An Experimental Assessment Of Mechanical And Predatory Damage To Shells Of Mytilus Trossulus (Mollusca: Mytilidae), Carlos E. Cintra-Buenrostro Jan 2007

Trampling, Peeling And Nibbling Mussels: An Experimental Assessment Of Mechanical And Predatory Damage To Shells Of Mytilus Trossulus (Mollusca: Mytilidae), Carlos E. Cintra-Buenrostro

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Shell damage, if properly recognized, can provide information about biotic interactions between molluscs and their predators. However, it can be difficult to distinguish predatory damage from mechanical breakage, thus making interpretation of damaged modern and fossil shells problematic. To establish a clear-cut distinction between antemortem predatory crab damage and ante- and postmortem mechanical damage in Mytilus trossulus shells, a combined field and experimental approach was used. Mussels were exposed to predation by crabs, tumbled-live, tumbled-dead, and trampled. After 100 h of tumbling, live-collected mussel shells were abraded and disarticulated but not otherwise damaged. Eight percent of the dead-collected shells were …


First Cross-Correlation Analysis Of Interferometric And Resonant-Bar Gravitational-Wave Data For Stochastic Backgrounds, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, Mario C. Diaz, R. Grosso, Soumya Mohanty, Soma Mukherjee, Cristina V. Torres Jan 2007

First Cross-Correlation Analysis Of Interferometric And Resonant-Bar Gravitational-Wave Data For Stochastic Backgrounds, B. P. Abbott, R. Abbott, Mario C. Diaz, R. Grosso, Soumya Mohanty, Soma Mukherjee, Cristina V. Torres

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Data from the LIGO Livingston interferometer and the ALLEGRO resonant-bar detector, taken during LIGO’s fourth science run, were examined for cross correlations indicative of a stochastic gravitational-wave background in the frequency range 850–950 Hz, with most of the sensitivity arising between 905 and 925 Hz. ALLEGRO was operated in three different orientations during the experiment to modulate the relative sign of gravitational-wave and environmental correlations. No statistically significant correlations were seen in any of the orientations, and the results were used to set a Bayesian 90% confidence level upper limit of Ωgw(f)≤1.02, which corresponds to a gravitational-wave strain at 915 …


Solving Ramanujan's Differential Equations For Eisenstein Series Via A First Order Riccati Equation, James M. Hill, Bruce C. Berndt, Timothy Huber Jan 2007

Solving Ramanujan's Differential Equations For Eisenstein Series Via A First Order Riccati Equation, James M. Hill, Bruce C. Berndt, Timothy Huber

School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this paper we prove that Ramanujan's differential equations for the Eisenstein series P, Q, and R are invariant under a simple one-parameter stretching group of transformations. Using this, we show that the three differential equations may be reduced to a first order Riccati differential equation, the solution of which may be represented in terms of hypergeometric functions. The resulting formulas allow for the derivation of parametric representations of P, Q, and R, analogous to representations in Ramanujan's second notebook. In contrast, in the classical approach, one first needs to derive the fundamental formula connecting theta functions with elliptic integrals. …


Upper Bounds On The Low-Frequency Stochastic Gravitational Wave Background From Pulsar Timing Observations: Current Limits And Future Prospects, F. A. Jenet, G. B. Hobbs, W. Van Straten, R. N. Manchester, M. Bailes, J. P.W. Verbiest, R. T. Edwards, A. W. Hotan, J. M. Sarkissian, S. M. Ord Dec 2006

Upper Bounds On The Low-Frequency Stochastic Gravitational Wave Background From Pulsar Timing Observations: Current Limits And Future Prospects, F. A. Jenet, G. B. Hobbs, W. Van Straten, R. N. Manchester, M. Bailes, J. P.W. Verbiest, R. T. Edwards, A. W. Hotan, J. M. Sarkissian, S. M. Ord

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Using a statistically rigorous analysis method, we place limits on the existence of an isotropic stochastic gravitational wave background using pulsar timing observations. We consider backgrounds whose characteristic strain spectra may be described as a power-law dependence with frequency. Such backgrounds include an astrophysical background produced by coalescing supermassive black-hole binary systems and cosmological backgrounds due to relic gravitational waves and cosmic strings. Using the best available data, we obtain an upper limit on the energy density per unit logarithmic frequency interval of ΩgSMBH[1/(8 yr)}h2 ≤ 1.9 × 10-8 for an astrophysical background that is 5 times more stringent than …


On The Use Of Modis Evi To Assess Gross Primary Productivity Of North American Ecosystems, Daniel A. Sims, Abdullah Rahman, Vicente D. Cordova, Bassil Z. El-Masri, Dennis D. Baldocchi, Lawrence B. Flanagan, Allen H. Goldstein, David Y. Hollinger, Laurent Misson, Russell K. Monson, Walter C. Oechel, Hans P. Schmid, Steven C. Wofsy, Liukang Xu Dec 2006

On The Use Of Modis Evi To Assess Gross Primary Productivity Of North American Ecosystems, Daniel A. Sims, Abdullah Rahman, Vicente D. Cordova, Bassil Z. El-Masri, Dennis D. Baldocchi, Lawrence B. Flanagan, Allen H. Goldstein, David Y. Hollinger, Laurent Misson, Russell K. Monson, Walter C. Oechel, Hans P. Schmid, Steven C. Wofsy, Liukang Xu

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

[1] Carbon flux models based on light use efficiency (LUE), such as the MOD17 algorithm, have proved difficult to parameterize because of uncertainties in the LUE term, which is usually estimated from meteorological variables available only at large spatial scales. In search of simpler models based entirely on remote‐sensing data, we examined direct relationships between the enhanced vegetation index (EVI) and gross primary productivity (GPP) measured at nine eddy covariance flux tower sites across North America. When data from the winter period of inactive photosynthesis were excluded, the overall relationship between EVI and tower GPP was better than that between …


Observation Of Fano Asymmetry In Raman Spectra Of Srtio3 And Cax Sr1-Xtio3 Perovskite Nanocubes, Sarbajit Banerjee, Dae In Kim, Richard D. Robinson, Irving P. Herman, Yuanbing Mao, Stanislaus S. Wong Dec 2006

Observation Of Fano Asymmetry In Raman Spectra Of Srtio3 And Cax Sr1-Xtio3 Perovskite Nanocubes, Sarbajit Banerjee, Dae In Kim, Richard D. Robinson, Irving P. Herman, Yuanbing Mao, Stanislaus S. Wong

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Bulk SrTi O3 is cubic and not expected to exhibit any first-order Raman scattering. However, nanocubes of SrTi O3 with an edge length of 80±10 nm show strong first-order Raman scattering originating from the breaking of symmetry caused by frozen surface dipoles (local tetragonality) and the presence of nanoscopic polar domains (arising from incorporated impurities). Rapid polarization fluctuations within these nanoscopic ferroelectric regions interfere with a polar phonon, resulting in a Fano-like asymmetric line shape in these SrTi O3 nanocubes, as well as in Ca0.3 Sr0.7 Ti O3 nanocubes.


A New Integrable Equation With Cuspons And W/M-Shape-Peaks Solitons, Zhijun Qiao Nov 2006

A New Integrable Equation With Cuspons And W/M-Shape-Peaks Solitons, Zhijun Qiao

School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this paper, we propose a new completely integrable wave equation: mt+mx u2 −ux 2 +2m2ux=0, m=u−uxx. The equation is derived from the two dimensional Euler equation and is proven to have Lax pair and bi-Hamiltonian structures. This equation possesses new cusp solitons—cuspons, instead of regular peakons ce− −ct with speed c. Through investigating the equation, we develop a new kind of soliton solutions—“W/M”-shape-peaks solitons. There exist no smooth solitons for this integrable water wave equation.


Recent Developments In Understanding Two-Dimensional Turbulence And The Nastrom-Gage Spectrum, Eleftherios Gkioulekas, Ka Kit Tung Nov 2006

Recent Developments In Understanding Two-Dimensional Turbulence And The Nastrom-Gage Spectrum, Eleftherios Gkioulekas, Ka Kit Tung

School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Two-dimensional turbulence appears to be a more formidable problem than three-dimensional turbulence despite the numerical advantage of working with one less dimension. In the present paper we review recent numerical investigations of the phenomenology of two-dimensional turbulence as well as recent theoretical breakthroughs by various leading researchers. We also review efforts to reconcile the observed energy spectrum of the atmosphere (the spectrum) with the predictions of two-dimensional turbulence and quasigeostrophic turbulence.


Category 5 Hurricane Evacuation Analysis Of The Rio Grande Valley Of Texas: Maximum Flow Problem, Bart Webb Nov 2006

Category 5 Hurricane Evacuation Analysis Of The Rio Grande Valley Of Texas: Maximum Flow Problem, Bart Webb

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The author evaluated the capability of evacuating the Rio Grande Valley of Texas (Hidalgo, Willacy, and Cameron Counties) in the event of a Category 5 hurricane.

This analysis determined the duration of an evacuation required for this region in the event of a Category 5 hurricane using the evacuation maps from the State of Texas, including areas where contraflow is proposed. The Ford and Fulkerson methodology was the basis of the Maximum Flow problem for the following Category 5 hurricane scenarios: 1) Evacuation constrained only by road capacity, 2) Evacuation constrained by a Department of Homeland Security checkpoint at Falfurrias, …