Spin-1 duality in D dimensions

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Black string corrections in variable tension braneworld scenarios

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Photopyroelectric spectroscopy of polyaniline films

Photopyroelectric spectroscopy (PPES), in the 400 < lambda < 900 nm wavelength range, was used to study thermal properties of differently doped polyaniline (PAN) films. The photopyroelectric intensity signal V-n(lambda) and its phase F-n(lambda) were independently measured, as well as the intensity V-n(f) and the phase F-n(f) (f being the chopping frequency) for a given A of the saturation part of the PPES spectrum. Equations of both the intensity and the phase of the PPES signal, taking into account the thermal and the optical characteristics of the PAN films and the pyroelectric detector, were used to fit the experimental results. From the fittings we obtained, with great accuracy, the values of thermal conductivity k and thermal diffusivity coefficient a of PAN films of different doping degrees. It was observed that, in contrast with the strong doping-dependence of the electrical conductivity, the thermal parameters of PAN films remained practically unchanged under doping. This apparent discrepancy is explained by the granular metal model of doped PAN. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Relation among optical, thermal and thermo-optical properties and niobium concentration in tellurite glasses

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Inversion in the temperature coefficient of the optical path length close to the glass transition temperature in tellurite glasses

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Osmotic dehydration process for low temperature blanched pumpkin

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Rheological and thermophysical properties of blackberry juice

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Thermophysical Properties of Lemon Juice as Affected by Temperature and Water Content

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Kinetics of osmotic dehydration and air-drying of pumpkins (Cucurbita moschata)

Kinetics of osmotic dehydration (OD) and effects of sucrose impregnation on thermal air-drying of pumpkin slices were investigated. A simplified model based on the solution of Fick's Law was used to estimate effective diffusion coefficients during OD and air-drying. In order to take into account shrinkage, average and variable thicknesses were considered. Pumpkin slices were dehydrated in sucrose solutions (40%, 50% and 60%, w/w, 27 degrees C. The effective water diffusion coefficients were higher than the sucrose, and low diffusivity dependence with solution concentration was observed. Samples non-treated and pre-treated in 60% osmotic solutions during one hour were dried in a hot-air-dryer at 50 and 70 degrees C (2 m/s) until equilibrium was achieved. Pre-treatment enhanced mass transfer during air-drying. Great volume reduction was observed in pre and non-treated dried samples. Using variable thickness in the model diminished the relative deviations between predicted and experimental OD and drying data. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Relationship between global structural parameters and Enzyme Commission hierarchy: Implications for function prediction

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Teleparallel spin connection

A new expression for the spin connection of teleparallel gravity is proposed, given by minus the contorsion tensor plus a zero connection. The corresponding minimal coupling is covariant under local Lorentz transformation, and equivalent to the minimal coupling prescription of general relativity. With this coupling prescription, therefore, teleparallel gravity turns out to be fully equivalent to general relativity, even in the presence of spinor fields.

Cosmic microwave background and large-scale structure constraints on a simple quintessential inflation model

We derive constraints on a simple quintessential inflation model, based on a spontaneously broken Phi(4) theory, imposed by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe three-year data (WMAP3) and by galaxy clustering results from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We find that the scale of symmetry breaking must be larger than about 3 Planck masses in order for inflation to generate acceptable values of the scalar spectral index and of the tensor-to-scalar ratio. We also show that the resulting quintessence equation of state can evolve rapidly at recent times and hence can potentially be distinguished from a simple cosmological constant in this parameter regime.

Wakes in dilatonic current-carrying cosmic strings

In this work, we present the gravitational field generated by a cosmic string carrying a timelike current in the scalar-tensor gravities. The mechanism of formation and evolution of wakes is fully investigated in this framework. We show explicitly that the inclusion of electromagnetic properties for the string induces logarithmic divergences in the accretion problem.

Teleparallel origin of the Fierz picture for spin-2 particle

A new approach to the description of a spin-2 particle in flat and curved spacetime is developed on the basis of the teleparallel gravity theory. We show that such an approach is in fact a true and natural framework for the Fierz representation proposed recently by Novello and Neves. More specifically, we demonstrate how the teleparallel theory fixes uniquely the structure of the Fierz tensor, discover the transparent origin of the gauge symmetry of the spin-2 model, and derive the linearized Einstein operator from the fundamental identity of the teleparallel gravity. In order to cope with the consistency problem on the curved spacetime, similarly to the usual Riemannian approach, one needs to include the nonminimal (torsion dependent) coupling terms.

Electromagnetic energy-momentum and forces in matter

We discuss the electromagnetic energy-momentum distribution and the mechanical forces of the electromagnetic field in material media. There is a long-standing controversy on these notions. The Minkowski and the Abraham energy-momentum tensors are the most well-known ones. We propose a solution of this problem which appears to be natural and self-consistent from both a theoretical and an experimental point of view. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.