Noncommutativity and Some of Its Present-Day Developments

This masters thesis explores some of the most recent developments in noncommutative quantum field theory. This old theme, first suggested by Heisenberg in the late 1940s, has had a renaissance during the last decade due to the firmly held belief that space-time becomes noncommutative at small distances and also due to the discovery that string theory in a background field gives rise to noncommutative field theory as an effective low energy limit. This has led to interesting attempts to create a noncommutative standard model, a noncommutative minimal supersymmetric standard model, noncommutative gravity theories etc. This thesis reviews themes and problems like those of UV/IR mixing, charge quantization, how to deal with the non-commutative symmetries, how to solve the Seiberg-Witten map, its connection to fluid mechanics and the problem of constructing general coordinate transformations to obtain a theory of noncommutative gravity. An emphasis has been put on presenting both the group theoretical results and the string theoretical ones, so that a comparison of the two can be made.

Noncommutative Quantum Field Theories and UV/IR Mixing

Our present-day understanding of fundamental constituents of matter and their interactions is based on the Standard Model of particle physics, which relies on quantum gauge field theories. On the other hand, the large scale dynamical behaviour of spacetime is understood via the general theory of relativity of Einstein. The merging of these two complementary aspects of nature, quantum and gravity, is one of the greatest goals of modern fundamental physics, the achievement of which would help us understand the short-distance structure of spacetime, thus shedding light on the events in the singular states of general relativity, such as black holes and the Big Bang, where our current models of nature break down. The formulation of quantum field theories in noncommutative spacetime is an attempt to realize the idea of nonlocality at short distances, which our present understanding of these different aspects of Nature suggests, and consequently to find testable hints of the underlying quantum behaviour of spacetime. The formulation of noncommutative theories encounters various unprecedented problems, which derive from their peculiar inherent nonlocality. Arguably the most serious of these is the so-called UV/IR mixing, which makes the derivation of observable predictions especially hard by causing new tedious divergencies, to which our previous well-developed renormalization methods for quantum field theories do not apply. In the thesis I review the basic mathematical concepts of noncommutative spacetime, different formulations of quantum field theories in the context, and the theoretical understanding of UV/IR mixing. In particular, I put forward new results to be published, which show that also the theory of quantum electrodynamics in noncommutative spacetime defined via Seiberg-Witten map suffers from UV/IR mixing. Finally, I review some of the most promising ways to overcome the problem. The final solution remains a challenge for the future.

The avocado problem solver field guide

This guide has been produced to assist Australian avocado growers and others involved in the avocado supply chain to identify the wide range of pests, diseases, nutrient deficiencies and toxicitites, and other disorders that may affect orchards and the quality of fruit reaching the consumer

Field inoculation with arbuscular-mycorrhizal fungi overcomes phosphorus and zinc deficiencies of linseed (Linum usitatissimum) in a vertisol subject to long-fallow disorder

Long-fallow disorder is expressed as exacerbated deficiencies of phosphorus (P) and/or zinc (Zn) in field crops growing after long periods of weed-free fallow. The hypothesis that arbuscular-mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) improve the P and Zn nutrition, and thereby biomass production and seed yield of linseed (Linum usitatissimum) was tested in a field experiment. A factorial combination of treatments consisting of +/- fumigation, +/- AMF inoculation with Glomus spp., +/- P and +/- Zn fertilisers was used on a long-fallowed vertisol. The use of such methods allowed an absolute comparison of plants growing with and without AMF in the field for the first time in a soil disposed to long-fallow disorder. Plant biomass, height, P and Zn concentrations and contents, boll number and final seed yield were (a) least in fumigated soil with negligible AMF colonisation of the roots, (b) low initially in long-fallow soil but increased with time as AMF colonisation of the roots developed, and (c) greatest in soil inoculated with AMF cultures. The results showed for the first time in the field that inflows of both P and Zn into linseed roots were highly dependent on %AMF-colonisation (R-2 = 0.95 for P and 0.85 for Zn, P < 0.001) in a soil disposed to long-fallow disorder. Relative field mycorrhizal dependencies without and with P+Zn fertiliser were 85 % and 86 % for biomass and 68 % and 52 % for seed yield respectively. This research showed in the field that AMF greatly improved the P and Zn nutrition, biomass production and seed yield of linseed growing in a soil disposed to long-fallow disorder. The level of mycorrhizal colonisation of plants suffering from long-fallow disorder can increase during the growing season resulting in improved plant growth and residual AMF inoculum in the soil, and thus it is important for growers to recognise the cause and not terminate a poor crop prematurely in order to sow another. Other positive management options to reduce long fallows and foster AMF include adoption of conservation tillage and opportunity cropping.

Entrance Gate to Old City of Jerusalem

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An improved real-time PCR assay for the detection of Old World screwworm flies

The Old World screwworm (OWS) fly, Chrysomya bezziana, is a serious pest of livestock, wildlife and humans in tropical Africa, parts of the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, south-east Asia and Papua New Guinea. Although to date Australia remains free of OWS flies, an incursion would have serious economic and animal welfare implications. For these reasons Australia has an OWS fly preparedness plan including OWS fly surveillance with fly traps. The recent development of an improved OWS fly trap and synthetic attractant and a specific and sensitive real-time PCR molecular assay for the detection of OWS flies in trap catches has improved Australia's OWS fly surveillance capabilities. Because all Australian trap samples gave negative results in the PCR assay, it was deemed necessary to include a positive control mechanism to ensure that fly DNA was being successfully extracted and amplified and to guard against false negative results. A new non-competitive internal amplification control (IAC) has been developed that can be used in conjunction with the OWS fly PCR assay in a multiplexed single-tube reaction. The multiplexed assay provides an indicator of the performance of DNA extraction and amplification without greatly increasing labour or reagent costs. The fly IAC targets a region of the ribosomal 16S mitochondrial DNA which is conserved across at least six genera of commonly trapped flies. Compared to the OWS fly assay alone, the multiplexed OWS fly and fly IAC assay displayed no loss in sensitivity or specificity for OWS fly detection. The multiplexed OWS fly and fly IAC assay provides greater confidence for trap catch samples returning negative OWS fly results. © 2014 International Atomic Energy Agency.

Cattle herd inspections and fly trapping for the detection of the Old World screw-worm fly (Chrysomya bezziana)

ObjectivesTo compare the sensitivity of inspections of cattle herds and adult fly trapping for detection of the Old World screw-worm fly (OWS). ProceduresThe incidence of myiases on animals and the number of OWS trapped with LuciTrap (R)/Bezzilure were measured concurrently on cattle farms on Sumba Island (Indonesia) and in peninsular Malaysia (two separate periods for the latter). The numbers of animal inspections and traps required to achieve OWS detection at the prevalent fly densities were calculated. ResultsOn Sumba Island, with low-density OWS populations, the sensitivity of herd inspections and of trapping for OWS detection was 0.30 and 0.85, respectively. For 95% confidence of detecting OWS, either 45 inspections of 74 animals or trapping with 5 sets of 4 LuciTraps for 14 days are required. In Malaysia, at higher OWS density, herd inspections of 600 animals (twice weekly, period 1) or 1600 animals (weekly, period 2) always detected myiases (sensitivity = 1), while trapping had sensitivities of 0.89 and 0.64 during periods 1 and 2, respectively. For OWS detection with 95% confidence, fewer than 600 and 1600 animals or 2 and 6 LuciTraps are required in periods 1 and 2, respectively. ConclusionsInspections of cattle herds and trapping with LuciTrap and Bezzilure can detect OWS populations. As a preliminary guide for OWS detection in Australia, the numbers of animals and traps derived from the Sumba Island trial should be used because the prevailing conditions better match those of northern Australia.

The use of plant activators in mango postharvest diseases management

Anthracnose and stem end rots are the main postharvest diseases affecting mangoes in Australia and limiting the shelf life of fruits whenever they are not controlled. The management of these diseases has often relied on the use of fungicide applications either as field spray treatments, postharvest dips or both. Because of concerns with continuous fungicide use, other options for the sustainable management of these diseases are needed. Field trials were conducted to assess the efficacy of three plant activators for the control of these diseases over a 2-year period on 20-year old ‘R2E2’ mango trees in north Queensland. The activators evaluated were: Bion, Kasil and Mangocote. The efficacy of these activators was compared with that of a standard industry field spray program using a combination of fungicides, as well as to un¬treated controls. Conditions favoured good development of the target diseases in both years to be able to differentiate treatment effects. Kasil as a drench was as effective as the standard fungicide program on the management of anthracnose and stem end rots. Bion as foliar sprays showed similar efficacy with its effectiveness comparable with the standard spray program. Both activators had significantly less disease incidences when compared with the untreated control. The third activator, Mangocote was not very effective in controlling the target diseases. Its effect was not significantly better than the untreated controls. The results from this 2-year study suggest that plant activators can play an effective role in mango postharvest disease management. Proper timing could reduce the number of fungicide sprays in an integrated disease management program enabling sustainable yields of quality fruits without the continuous concerns of health and environmental risks from continuous reliance on fungicide use.

spin Precession of a Charged Particle in a Magnetic Field Including the Effects of General Relativity

Abstract is not available.

Magnetic Field Due to the Self-Gravity-Induced Electric Polarization of a Rotating Massive Body

he notion of the gravity-induced electric field has been applied to an entire self-gravitating massive body. The resulting electric polarization of the otherwise neutral body, when taken in conjunction with the latter's rotation, is shown to generate an axial-magnetic field of the right type and order of magnitude for certain astrophysical objects. In the present treatment the electric polarization is calculated in the ion-continuum Thomas-Fermi approximation while the electrodynamics of the continuous medium is treated in the nonrelativistic approximation.

Superpropagator for a Nonpolynomial Field

By using a method originally due to Okubo we calculate the momentum-space superpropagator for a nonpolynomial field U(x)=1 / [1+fφ(x)] both for a massless and a massive neutral scalar φ(x) field. For the massless case we obtain a representation that resembles the weighted superposition of propagators for the exchange of a group of scalar fields φ(x) as is intuitively expected. The exact equivalence of this representation with the propagator function which has been obtained earlier through the use of the Fourier transform of a generalized function is established. For the massive case we determine the asymptotic form of the superpropagator.

Intra-band electron pairing in the presence of a radiation field

A semiconductor with almost overlapping conduction bands b and c is considered. It is found that an attractive interaction leading to superconductivity can be induced between electrons in the conduction band b by a strong radiation field of monochromatic photons whose energy differs slightly from the band gap Ebc. The mechanism is the exchange of a photon and a phonon between the interacting electrons and the interaction is found to be proportional to the photon density.

Influence of the electric field on the low-temperature thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate/polystyrene propellant

An electric field (100 V/cm at 230°C and 150°C) has been applied to ammonium perchlorate (AP)/polystyrene (PS) propellant mixtures in order to understand the low temperature decomposition behavior of the propellant. The charge-carrying species is anionic in nature at 230°C, which could be ClO4−, but is cationic at 150°C, which could be either NH4+ or H+. These results are parallel to that observed for pure ammonium perchlorate (AP) pellets [1]. The burning rate (Image ) of the propellant was found to follow the same trend as that for the thermal decomposition of the propellant on application of an electric field. At 150°C Image was higher at the −ve electrode than at the +ve electrode, but at 230°C just the opposite was observed. Kinetic studies have confirmed that the decomposition of the orthorhombic AP follows two mechanism corresponding to E = 30 kcal mol−1 (180–230°C) and E = 15 kcal mol−1 (150–180°C).

Asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation in the study of water-soluble macromolecules

Asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation (AsFlFFF) was constructed, and its applicability to industrial, biochemical, and pharmaceutical applications was studied. The effect of several parameters, such as pH, ionic strength, temperature and the reactants mixing ratios on the particle sizes, molar masses, and the formation of aggregates of macromolecules was determined by AsFlFFF. In the case of industrial application AsFlFFF proved to be a valuable tool in the characterization of the hydrodynamic particle sizes, molar masses and phase transition behavior of various poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) polymers as a function of viscosity and phase transition temperatures. The effect of sodium chloride salt and the molar ratio of cationic and anionic polyelectrolytes on the hydrodynamic particle sizes of poly (methacryloxyethyl trimethylammonium chloride) and poly (ethylene oxide)-block-poly (sodium methacrylate) and their complexes were studied. The particle sizes of PNIPAM polymers, and polyelectrolyte complexes measured by AsFlFFF were in agreement with those obtained by dynamic light scattering. The molar masses of PNIPAM polymers obtained by AsFlFFF and size exclusion chromatography agreed also well. In addition, AsFlFFF proved to be a practical technique in thermo responsive behavior studies of polymers at temperatures up to about 50 oC. The suitability of AsFlFFF for biological, biomedical, and pharmaceutical applications was proved, upon studying the lipid-protein/peptide interactions, and the stability of liposomes at different temperatures. AsFlFFF was applied to the studies on the hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions between cytochrome c (a basic peripheral protein) and anionic lipid, and oleic acid, and sodium dodecyl sulphate surfactant. A miniaturized AsFlFFF constructed in this study was exploited in the elucidation of the effect of copper (II), pH, ionic strength, and vortexing on the particle sizes of low-density lipoproteins.

Influence of Band Non-Parabolicity on Few Ballistic Properties of III-V Quantum Wire Field Effect Transistors Under Strong Inversion

A simplified yet analytical approach on few ballistic properties of III-V quantum wire transistor has been presented by considering the band non-parabolicity of the electrons in accordance with Kane's energy band model using the Bohr-Sommerfeld's technique. The confinement of the electrons in the vertical and lateral directions are modeled by an infinite triangular and square well potentials respectively, giving rise to a two dimensional electron confinement. It has been shown that the quantum gate capacitance, the drain currents and the channel conductance in such systems are oscillatory functions of the applied gate and drain voltages at the strong inversion regime. The formation of subbands due to the electrical and structural quantization leads to the discreetness in the characteristics of such 1D ballistic transistors. A comparison has also been sought out between the self-consistent solution of the Poisson's-Schrodinger's equations using numerical techniques and analytical results using Bohr-Sommerfeld's method. The results as derived in this paper for all the energy band models gets simplified to the well known results under certain limiting conditions which forms the mathematical compatibility of our generalized theoretical formalism.