Observations of the relationship between sprite morphology and in-cloud lightning processes

[1] During a thunderstorm on 23 July 2003, 15 sprites were captured by a LLTV camera mounted at the observatory on Pic du Midi in the French Pyrénées. Simultaneous observations of cloud-to-ground (CG) and intracloud (IC) lightning activity from two independent lightning detection systems and a broadband ELF/VLF receiver allow a detailed study of the relationship between electrical activity in a thunderstorm and the sprites generated in the mesosphere above. Results suggest that positive CG and IC lightning differ for the two types of sprites most frequently observed, the carrot- and column-shaped sprites. Column sprites occur after a short delay (<30 ms) from the causative +CG and are associated with little VHF activity, suggesting no direct IC action on the charge transfer process. On the other hand, carrot sprites are delayed up to about 200 ms relative to their causative +CG stroke and are accompanied by a burst of VHF activity starting 25–75 ms before the CG stroke. While column sprites associate with short-lasting (less than 30 ms) ELF/VLF sferics, carrot sprites associate with bursts of sferics initiating at the time of the causative +CG discharge and persisting for 50 to 250 ms, indicating extensive in-cloud activity. One carrot event was found to be preceded by vigorous IC activity and a strong, long-lived cluster of ELF/VLF sferics but lacking a +CG. The observations of ELF/VLF sferic clusters associated with lightning and sprites form the basis for a discussion of the reliability of lightning detection systems based on VHF interferometry.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Irregular behaviour of class numbers and Euler-Kronecker constants of cyclotomic fields: the log log log devil at play

Kummer (1851) and, many years later, Ihara (2005) both posed conjectures on invariants related to the cyclotomic field $\mathbb Q(\zeta_q)$ with $q$ a prime. Kummer's conjecture concerns the asymptotic behaviour of the first factor of the class number of $\mathbb Q(\zeta_q)$ and Ihara's the positivity of the Euler-Kronecker constant of $\mathbb Q(\zeta_q)$ (the ratio of the constant and the residue of the Laurent series of the Dedekind zeta function $\zeta_{\mathbb Q(\zeta_q)}(s)$ at $s=1$). If certain standard conjectures in analytic number theory hold true, then one can show that both conjectures are true for a set of primes of natural density 1, but false in general. Responsible for this are irregularities in the distribution of the primes. With this survey we hope to convince the reader that the apparently dissimilar mathematical objects studied by Kummer and Ihara actually display a very similar behaviour.Comment: 20 pages, 1 figure, survey, to appear in `Irregularities in the Distribution of Prime Numbers - Research Inspired by Maier's Matrix Method', Eds. J. Pintz and M. Th. Rassia

Eisenstein Series of Weight One, q-Averages of the 0-Logarithm and Periods of Elliptic Curves

For any elliptic curve E over k ⊂ R with E(C) = C^×/q^Z, q = e^(2πiz),Im(z) >, we study the q-average D_(0,q), defined on E(C), of the function D_0(z) = Im(z/(1−z)). Let Ω+(E) denote the real period of E. We show that there is a rational function R ∈ Q(X_1(N)) such that for any non-cuspidal real point s ∈ X_1(N) (which defines an elliptic curve E(s) over R together with a point P(s) of order N), πD_(0,q)(P(s)) equals Ω+(E(s))R(s). In particular, if s is Q-rational point of X_1(N), a rare occurrence according to Mazur, R(s) is a rational number

Fibre bundle formulation of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics: I. Introduction. The evolution transport

We propose a new systematic fibre bundle formulation of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics. The new form of the theory is equivalent to the usual one but it is in harmony with the modern trends in theoretical physics and potentially admits new generalizations in different directions. In it a pure state of some quantum system is described by a state section (along paths) of a (Hilbert) fibre bundle. Its evolution is determined through the bundle (analogue of the) Schr\"odinger equation. Now the dynamical variables and the density operator are described via bundle morphisms (along paths). The mentioned quantities are connected by a number of relations derived in this work. The present first part of this investigation is devoted to the introduction of basic concepts on which the fibre bundle approach to quantum mechanics rests. We show that the evolution of pure quantum-mechanical states can be described as a suitable linear transport along paths, called evolution transport, of the state sections in the Hilbert fibre bundle of states of a considered quantum system.Comment: 26 standard (11pt, A4) LaTeX 2e pages. The packages AMS-LaTeX and amsfonts are required. Revised: new material, references, and comments are added. Minor style chages. Continuation of quan-ph/9803083. For continuation of the this series see http://www.inrne.bas.bg/mathmod/bozhome

Exo-C: a probe-scale space observatory for direct imaging and spectroscopy of extrasolar planetary systems

"Exo-C" is NASAs first community study of a modest aperture space telescope mission that is optimized for high contrast observations of exoplanetary systems. The mission will be capable of taking optical spectra of nearby exoplanets in reflected light, discovering previously undetected planets, and imaging structure in a large sample of circumstellar disks. It will obtain unique science results on planets down to super-Earth sizes and serve as a technology pathfinder toward an eventual flagship-class mission to find and characterize habitable Earth-like exoplanets. We present the mission/payload design and highlight steps to reduce mission cost/risk relative to previous mission concepts. Key elements are an unobscured telescope aperture, an internal coronagraph with deformable mirrors for precise wavefront control, and an orbit and observatory design chosen for high thermal stability. Exo-C has a similar telescope aperture, orbit, lifetime, and spacecraft bus requirements to the highly successful Kepler mission (which is our cost reference). Much of the needed technology development is being pursued under the WFIRST coronagraph study and would support a mission start in 2017, should NASA decide to proceed. This paper summarizes the study final report completed in March 2015.United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Astrophysics Divisio

Theory of Fermionic superfluid with SU(2)xSU(6) symmetry

We study theoretically interspecies Cooper pairing in a fermionic system with SU(2)xSU(6) sym- metry. We show that, with suitable unitary transformations, the order parameter for the ground state can be reduced to only two non-vanishing complex components. The ground state has a large degeneracy. We find that while some Goldstone modes have linear dispersions, others are quadratic at low frequencies. We compare our results with the case of SU(N).Comment: extended version; include comparison with SU(N

Exo-C: a probe-scale space observatory for direct imaging and spectroscopy of extrasolar planetary systems

"Exo-C" is NASAs first community study of a modest aperture space telescope mission that is optimized for high contrast observations of exoplanetary systems. The mission will be capable of taking optical spectra of nearby exoplanets in reflected light, discovering previously undetected planets, and imaging structure in a large sample of circumstellar disks. It will obtain unique science results on planets down to super-Earth sizes and serve as a technology pathfinder toward an eventual flagship-class mission to find and characterize habitable Earth-like exoplanets. We present the mission/payload design and highlight steps to reduce mission cost/risk relative to previous mission concepts. Key elements are an unobscured telescope aperture, an internal coronagraph with deformable mirrors for precise wavefront control, and an orbit and observatory design chosen for high thermal stability. Exo-C has a similar telescope aperture, orbit, lifetime, and spacecraft bus requirements to the highly successful Kepler mission (which is our cost reference). Much of the needed technology development is being pursued under the WFIRST coronagraph study and would support a mission start in 2017, should NASA decide to proceed. This paper summarizes the study final report completed in March 2015

Workplace-Related Interpersonal Group Psychotherapy to Improve Life at Work in Individuals With Major Depressive Disorders: A Randomized Interventional Pilot Study

Individuals suffering from major depressive disorder (MDD) often report workplace-related stress as the major cause of their disorder. Accordingly, workplace-related stress was established as a fifth psychosocial problem area of Interpersonal Psychotherapy (workplace-related Interpersonal Psychotherapy, W-IPT). The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of W-IPT on depressive symptoms and on workplace-related issues in individuals with MDD compared to a treatment-as-usual (TAU) condition.; A total of 27 individuals with MDD (mean age = 43 years, 48% males) were randomly assigned either to eight weekly group sessions of W-IPT or to the TAU condition. At baseline, 8 weeks later at the end of the intervention, and 20 weeks later at follow-up, the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression was conducted. In addition, the participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory, the Work Ability Index (WAI), the Return to Work Attitude (RTW-SE), and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI).; Symptoms of depression in experts' ratings as well as in self-rated ratings decreased over time, but more so in the W-IPT condition compared to the TAU condition [experts rating: large effect size (; d; = 1.25) and self-assessment: large effect sizes (; d; = 0.94)]. The subjective ability to work (WAI) [medium effect size (; d; = 0.68)], self-efficacy to returning to work RTW-SE [medium effect size (; d; = 0.57)], and subjective symptoms of insomnia (ISI) [large effect size (; d; = 1.15)] increased over time, but again more so in the W-IPT condition compared to the TAU condition. The effects of the intervention remained stable from the end of the intervention to follow-up.; The pattern of results of this pilot study suggests that a newly established fifth IPT focus on workplace-related stress appeared to be particularly efficient in individuals with MDD due to work-related stress in reducing depressive symptoms and reducing sleep complaints as well as in improving occupational outcomes

Sleep disturbances and psychological well-being among military medical doctors of the Swiss Armed Forces: study protocol, rationale and development of a cross-sectional and longitudinal interventional study.

BACKGROUND Compared to civilians and non-medical personnel, military medical doctors are at increased risk for sleep disturbances and impaired psychological well-being. Despite their responsibility and workload, no research has examined sleep disturbances and psychological well-being among the medical doctors (MDs) of the Swiss Armed Forces (SAF). Thus, the aims of the proposed study are (1) to conduct a cross-sectional study (labeled 'Survey-Study 1') of sleep disturbances and psychological well-being among MDs of the SAF; (2) to identify MDs who report sleep disturbances (insomnia severity index >8), along with low psychological well-being such as symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, but also emotion regulation, concentration, social life, strengths and difficulties, and mental toughness both in the private/professional and military context and (3) to offer those MDs with sleep disturbances an evidence-based and standardized online interventional group program of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (eCBTi) over a time lapse of 6 weeks (labeled 'Intervention-Study 2'). METHOD All MDs serving in the SAF (N = 480) will be contacted via the SAF-secured communication system to participate in a cross-sectional survey of sleep disturbances and psychological well-being ('Survey-Study 1'). Those who consent will be provided a link to a secure online survey that assesses sleep disturbances and psychological well-being (depression, anxiety, stress, coping), including current working conditions, job-related quality of life, mental toughness, social context, family/couple functioning, substance use, and physical activity patterns. Baseline data will be screened to identify those MDs who report sleep disturbances (insomnia severity index >8); they will be re-contacted, consented, and randomly assigned either to the eCBTi or the active control condition (ACC) ('Intervention-Study 2'). Individuals in the intervention condition will participate in an online standardized and evidence-based group intervention program of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (eCBTi; once the week for six consecutive weeks; 60-70 min duration/session). Participants in the ACC will participate in an online group counseling (once the week for six consecutive weeks; 60-70 min duration/session), though, the ACC is not intended as a bona fide psychotherapeutic intervention. At the beginning of the intervention (baseline), at week 3, and at week 6 (post-intervention) participants complete a series of self-rating questionnaires as for the Survey-Study 1, though with additional questionnaires covering sleep-related cognitions, experiential avoidance, and dimensions of self-awareness. EXPECTED OUTCOMES Survey-Study 1: We expect to describe the prevalence rates of, and the associations between sleep disturbances (insomnia (sleep quality); sleep onset latency (SOL); awakenings after sleep onset (WASO)) and psychological well-being among MDs of the SAF; we further expect to identify specific dimensions of psychological well-being, which might be rather associated or non-associated with sleep disturbances.Intervention-Study 2: We expect several significant condition-by-time-interactions. Such that participants in the eCBTi will report significantly greater improvement in sleep disturbances, symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress reduction both at work and at home (family related stress), and an improvement in the overall quality of life as compared to the ACC over the period of the study. CONCLUSION The study offers the opportunity to understand the prevalence of sleep disturbances, including factors of psychological well-being among MDs of the SAF. Further, based on the results of the Intervention-Study 2, and if supported, eCBTi may be a promising method to address sleep disturbances and psychological well-being among the specific context of MDs in the SAF