The discovery of the Spite plateau in the abundances of 7Li for metal-poor stars led to the determination of an observationally deduced primordial lithium abundance. However, with the determination of the baryon density, Omega_B_h^2, from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) data, a discrepancy arose between observationally determined and theoretically determined abundances of 7Li. This is what has become known as the “lithium problem”. Of all the uncertain factors in determining a stellar Li abundance, the effective temperature is the most important. This thesis is concerned with determining an accurate effective temperature scale for metal-poor halo dwarfs, paying specific attention to eliminating any possible systematic errors. This is done by utilising the exponential term, Chi/T, of the Boltzmann equation. Two assumptions are adopted; firstly the simplifying assumptions of local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE), and secondly the more sophisticated techniques of non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE). The temperature scales are compared to others derived using different techniques; a photometric scale, where I find comparable Teff in LTE and hotter temperatures by an average of ~ 150 K in NLTE; a scale derived using Balmer lines, for which I have comparable values in LTE and hotter Teff values, by typically 110 K – 160 K, in NLTE; and finally a scale derived using an infrared flux method (IRFM). Here I find their Teff values are hotter by ~ 250 K for LTE and ~ 190 K in NLTE. Lithium abundances are then calculated for the program stars and a mean Li abundance is derived. I find values ranging from A(Li) = 2.10 dex – 2.16 dex with the LTE scales and A(Li) = 2.19 dex – 2.21 dex for the NLTE scales. These mean Li abundances are compared to other observationally deduced abundances, for which I find comparable results in LTE and higher values in NLTE, and to the WMAP + big bang nucleosynthesis calculated Li abundance. I find that my new values are still considerably lower than the WMAP value and are therefore unable to reconcile the lithium problem. Second to this primary investigation, I use Ti as an independent test of the derived Teff values and log g’s. I find that Ti is not a useful constraint on the temperatures or, therefore, on the lithium problem. I also assess the impact of the new Teff scales on the different models of Galactic chemical evolution (GCE), comparing newly calculated abundances with GCE determined abundances. It was found that trends exist in several of the elements; however, these were not statistically relevant. Also a larger degree of scatter was found in the abundances compared to the Arnone et al. (2005). This scatter was not to the degree found in the Argast et al. (2000). Reasons for the differences have been discussed.

This thesis charts the evolution of the credit default swaps (CDS) market from its inception to the present day. The first part focuses on the principles of CDS trading, the differences between CDS and insurance, the structure of the markets and variation in their volumes during the period, the influence of CDS on the credit crisis and the current state of the market. The second part looks at AIG and the relationship between CDS and the problems of AIG. The final part looks at the regulation and standardisation of the CDS market and trend in the changes to those regulations.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-23T14:20:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Judismar Tadeu Guaitolini Junior parte1.pdf: 1339957 bytes, checksum: c5da9a3037234d5d87242ca7050bbab6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-04-10 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The cosmic microwave background radiation is the oldest sign that we detect in the universe today, and it consists of an electromagnetic radiation with maximum intensity in the microwave range, with temperature of 2.725K, and which dates from a period when the first hydrogen atoms could form in a dense and hot universe. Together with the measures of the recession of galaxies and the abundance of light elements, the cosmic microwave background radiation and the information derived from it, form the pillars of modern cosmology, in agreement with the Big Bang model. In this work we review the anisotropies in temperature and polarization of the cosmic microwave background radiation, with emphasis on the cosmological parameters associated with these phenomena, we obtain the angular power spectrum associated with the temperature of this radiation in a detailed manner, and we seek to gradually build the ideas, with the purpose of making this work as accessible as possible for those who do a first reading of the subject / A radiação cósmica de fundo é o sinal mais antigo que detectamos hoje no universo, e consiste em uma radiação eletromagnética com intensidade máxima na faixa do microondas, com temperatura de 2,725K, e que remonta de um período em que os primeiros átomos de hidrogênio puderam se formar em um universo denso e quente. Juntamente com as medidas do afastamento das galáxias e da abundância dos elementos leves, a radiação cósmica de fundo e as informações obtidas a partir dela, formam os pilares da cosmologia moderna, corroborando o modelo do Big Bang. Nesse trabalho fazemos uma revisão sobre as anisotropias em temperatura e polarização da radiação cósmica de fundo, com ênfase nos parâmetros cosmológicos associados a esses fenômenos, obtemos o espectro de potência angular associado à temperatura dessa radiação de maneira detalhada, e procuramos construir as idéias de maneira gradativa, com o objetivo de tornar esse trabalho tão acessível quanto possível para aqueles que fazem uma primeira leitura do assunto

The structural and electronic properties of small tungsten nanoparticles Wn (n=2-16) were investigated by density functional theory (DFT) calculation. For the W10 nanoparticle, ten lowest-energy structures were first obtained by basin-hopping method (BH) and ten by big-bang method (BB) with the tight-binding many-body potential for bulk tungsten material. These fifty structures were further optimized by the DFT calculation in order to find the better parameters of tight-binding potential adquately for W nanoparticles. With these modified parameters of tight-binding potentials, several lowest-energy W nanoparticles of different sizes can be obtained by BH and BB methods and then further refined by DFT calculation. According to the values of binding energy and second-order energy difference, it reveals that the structure W12 has a relatively higher stability than those of other sizes. The vertical ionization potential (VIP), adiabatic electron affinity (AEA) and HOMO-LUMO Gap are also discussed for W nanoparticles of different sizes.

This thesis is devoted to the study of two important applications of gauge-gravity duality: the cosmological singularity problem and conformal fluid dynamics. Gauge-gravity duality is a concrete dual relationship between a gauge theory (such as electromagnetism, the theories of weak and strong interactions), and a theory of strings which contains gravity. The most concrete application of this duality is the AdS/CFT correspondence, where the theory containing gravity lives in the bulk of an asymptotically anti-de-Sitter space-time, while the dual gauge theory is a deformation of a conformal field theory which lives on the boundary of anti-de-Sitter space-time(AdS). Our first application of gauge-gravity duality is to the cosmological singularity problem in string gravity. A cosmological singularity is defined as a spacelike region of space-time which is highly curved so that Einstein’s gravity theory can be no longer applied. In our setup the bulk space-time has low curvature in the far past and the physics is well described by supergravity (which is an extension of standard Einstein gravity). The cosmological singularity is driven by a time dependent string coupling in the bulk theory. The rate of change of the coupling is slow, but the net change of the coupling can be large. The dual description of this is a time dependent coupling of the boundary gauge theory. The coupling has a profile which is a constant in the far past and future and attains a small but finite value at intermediate times. We construct the supergravity solution, with the initial condition that the bulk space-time is pure AdS in the far past and show that the solution remains smooth in a derivative expansion without formation of black holes. However when the intermediate value of the string coupling becomes weak enough, space-time becomes highly curved and the supergravity approximation breaks down, mimicking a spacelike singularity. The resulting dynamics is analyzed in the dual gauge theory with a time dependent coupling constant which varies slowly. We develop an appropriate adiabatic expansion in the gauge theory in terms of coherent states and show that the time evolution continues to be smooth. We cannot, however, arrive at a definitive conclusion about the fate of the system at very late times when the coupling has again risen and supergravity again applies. One possibility is that the energy which has been supplied to the universe is simply extracted out and the space-time goes back to its initial state. This could provide a model for a bouncing cosmology. A second possibility is that dissipation leads to a thermal state at late time. If this possibility holds, we show that such a thermal state will be described either by a gas of strings or by a small black hole, but not by a big black hole. This means that in either case, the future space-time is close to AdS. We then apply gauge-gravity duality to conformal fluid dynamics. The long wavelength behavior of any strongly coupled system with a finite mean free path is described by an appropriate fluid dynamics. The bulk dual of a fluid flow in the boundary theory is a black hole with a slowly varying horizon. In this work we consider certain fluid flows which become supersonic in some regions. It is well known that such flows present acoustic analogs of ergoregions and horizons, where acoustic waves cannot propagate in certain directions. Such acoustic horizons are expected to exhibit thermal radiation of acoustic waves with temperature essentially given by the gradient of the velocity at the acoustic horizon. We find acoustic analogs of black holes in charged conformal fluids and use gauge-gravity duality to construct dual gravity solutions. A certain class of gravitational quasinormal wave modes around these gravitational backgrounds perceives a horizon. Upon quantization, this implies that these gravitational modes should have a thermal spectrum. The final issue that we study is fluid-gravity duality at zero temperature. The usual way of constructing gravity duals of fluid flows is by means of a small derivative expansion, in which the derivatives are much smaller than the temperature of the background black hole. Recently, it has been reported that for charged fluids, this procedure breaks down in the zero temperature limit. More precisely, corrections to the small derivative expansion in the dual gravity of charged fluid at zero temperature have singularities at the black hole horizon. In this case, fluid-gravity duality is not understood precisely. We explore this problem for a zero temperature charged fluid driven by a low frequency, small amplitude and spatially homogeneous external force. In the gravity dual, this force corresponds to a time dependent boundary value of the dilaton field. We calculate the bulk solution for the dilaton and the leading backreaction using a modified low frequency expansion. The resulting solutions are regular everywhere, establishing fluid-gravity duality to this order.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T12:14:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Arquivototal.pdf: 804629 bytes, checksum: eeeea3eabb5bee372113ead03f439bb2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-08-08 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The last decades have been of major developments in cosmology since the advent of cosmological inflation as a solution to the problems of standard cosmological model. As one of the main paradigms of modern cosmology, to study the classical theory of inflation is the main objective of this work. Before, we present the main evidences of universal expansion and a review of general relativity and the standard cosmological model, known as the big bang theory. Then we analyze the problems of this model as motivation for the subsequent introduction of inflation. We model the theory of inflation in terms of a scalar field, finding its dynamical equations and formalize the slow-roll approximation, which allows to find analytical solutions to the equations of motion. We discuss some inflation potentials : chaotic, hybrid and natural potentials, relating some of them with Particle Physics. We conclude the work presenting a inflationary model whose solution its exact. / As últimas décadas têm sido de grandes desenvolvimentos na cosmologia desde o advento da inflação cosmológica como solução aos problemas do modelo cosmológico padrão. Sendo um dos principais paradigmas da cosmologia moderna, estudar os aspectos clássicos da teoria inflacionária é o principal objetivo deste trabalho. Antes apresentamos as principais evidências da expansão universal e uma revisão da relatividade geral e do modelo cosmológico padrão, conhecido como a teoria do big bang. Em seguida, analisamos os problemas deste modelo como motivação para a posterior introdução da inflação. Modelamos a teoria inflacionária em termos de um campo escalar, encontrando suas equações dinâmicas, e formalizamos a aproximação slow-roll, a qual permite encontrar soluções analíticas para as equações do movimento. Discutimos alguns potenciais inflacionários: potenciais caótico, híbrido e natural, relacionando alguns destes com a física de partículas. Concluímos o trabalho apresentandoum modelo inflacionário cuja solução é exata.

Population III (Pop III) stars are the first generation stars forming after the big bang from primordial gas. This dissertation is focused on the various processes that suppress and delay the formation of Pop III stars in the universe and their implications for the observations. We studied the impacts of the Lyman-Werner (LW) radiation that dissociates molecular hydrogen, baryon-dark matter streaming velocity introduced at recombination, ionizing radiation from nearby galaxies, and a model for the composition of dark matter known as the fuzzy dark matter on the formation of Pop III stars. Firstly, we take a closer look at the critical halo mass (Mcrit) that is the typical minimum dark matter halo mass needed to host cold dense gas to form the first stars using cosmological hydrodynamical simulations. LW radiation that dissociates molecular hydrogen and the baryon-dark matter streaming velocity both delay the formation of Pop III stars by increasing the critical halo mass. We describe our simulation suite with varying levels of LW radiation and streaming velocity to provide a fit for Mcrit as a function of LW radiation, streaming velocity, and redshift which can be used in semi-analytic models of early galaxy formation to make predictions for observations. Secondly, we explore a possible mechanism for the formation of large clusters of Pop III stars: a nearby ionizing source that ionizes a late forming halo, delaying its collapse until the halo is sufficiently large enough that the core can self-shield and suffer runaway collapse. We use numerical simulations to examine the fragmentation of the gas near the runaway collapse using the simple estimates and sink particles to show that the number of fragments is generally small, at most a handful, and that the mass accretion rate on the fragments is of order 10⁻³ Msun/yr. This rate is sufficiently high enough that the descent on the main sequence (and hence the suppression of accretion) is delayed until the stellar masses are of order 100-1000 Msun, but not high enough to produce direct collapse black holes of mass ~ 10⁵ Msun. The resulting clusters are larger than those produced in minihalos but are still likely to fall short of being easily detectable in James Webb Space Telescope blind fields. Finally, we investigate the formation of the first stars and galaxies in a fuzzy dark matter cosmology. Fuzzy dark matter, made up of ultra-light axions of mass ~ 10⁻²² eV, is a proposed alternative to the standard cold dark matter to solve its apparent small-scale problems. Its large de Broglie wavelength, of the order of kpc, results in the suppression of small-scale matter power, thus delaying the formation of the first stars and galaxies to lower redshift in much more massive halos. Therefore, first stars can be used to put very strong constraints on the mass of the fuzzy dark matter. We describe our cosmological simulations that accurately evolve the fuzzy dark matter distribution to study the formation of the first stars and galaxies.

Multicellular organisms need to control their size throughout development and adult life in the face of challenges such as rapid growth. Unraveling the mechanisms that regulate tissue growth in epithelial tissues, in order to generate organs of correct size and proportion, remains a crucial goal of developmental biology. A suitable epithelial tissue for studying tissue growth in Drosophila, is the proliferative monolayer epithelial sheet of imaginal wing discs, which gives rise to the adult wing. The Hippo signaling pathway regulates tissue growth in wing development. There are several observations that link tissue growth/Hippo signaling with cell polarity and the actin cytoskeletal organization. The aim of this thesis was the study of the interplay between cell polarity, cytoskeletal organization and tissue growth. To gain further insight into how apical polarity proteins regulate tissue growth, an enhancer/suppressor screen that was previously conducted in our lab by Linda Nemetschke, was used. The screen was based on the modification of a dominant smaller wing phenotype induced upon overexpression of CrbextraTM-GFP. One of the enhancers identified in this screen is a gene called big bang (bbg). The absence of bbg results in smaller wings with a slower cell cycle and increased apoptosis in wing discs. bbg encodes a protein expressed in the apical cortex in wing disc cells and is required for the proper localization of apical proteins, like Crb, in wing disc epithelia. Bbg is also in the same complex with Spaghetti Squash (Sqh) in the apical cortex of the wing disc epithelia. sqh encodes an actin-binding protein that has actin cross-linking and contractile properties. Bbg stabilizes Sqh in the apical compartment of the cell. It is reported that both Crb and Sqh regulate tissue growth through the Hippo signaling pathway. In conclusion, Bbg regulates wing tissue growth, acting as a scaffolding molecule, through the proper localization of apical components of the cells like Crb and the cytoskeletal component Sqh.

Within cosmology, there are two entirely independent pillars which can jointly drive this field towards precision: Astronomical observations of primordial element abundances and the detailed surveying of the cosmic microwave background. However, the comparatively large uncertainty stemming from the nuclear physics input is currently still hindering this effort, i.e. stemming from the 2H(p,γ)3He reaction. An accurate understanding of this reaction is required for precision data on primordial nucleosynthesis and an independent determination of the cosmological baryon density. Elsewhere, our Sun is an exceptional object to study stellar physics in general. While we are now able to measure solar neutrinos live on earth, there is a lack of knowledge regarding theoretical predictions of solar neutrino fluxes due to the limited precision (again) stemming from nuclear reactions, i.e. from the 3He(α,γ)7Be reaction. This thesis sheds light on these two nuclear reactions, which both limit our understanding of the universe. While the investigation of the 2H(p,γ)3He reaction will focus on the determination of its cross- section in the vicinity of the Gamow window for the Big Bang nucleosynthesis, the main aim for the 3He(α,γ)7Be reaction will be a measurement of its γ-ray angular distribution at astrophysically relevant energies. In addition, the installation of an ultra-low background counting setup will be reported which further enables the investigation of the physics of rare events. This is essential for modern nuclear astrophysics, but also relevant for double beta decay physics and the search for dark matter. The presented setup is now the most sensitive in Germany and among the most sensitive ones worldwide.

Zwischen 10 und 1000 s nach dem Urknall bildeten sich während der Big Bang Nukleosynthese (BBN) die ersten leichten Elemente aus Protonen und Neutronen. Die primordialen Häufigkeiten dieser Elemente hingen von denWirkungsquerschnitten der beteiligten Kernreaktionen ab. Vergleiche zwischen den Ergebnissen nuklearer Netzwerkrechnungen mit astronomischen Beobachtungen bieten eine einzigartige Möglichkeit, etwas über das Universum zu dieser Zeit zu erfahren. Da es für die p(n,g)d-Reaktion, die eine Schlüsselreaktion der BBN ist, kaum Messungen im relevanten Energiebereich gibt, beruht deren Reaktionsrate in Netzwerkrechnungen auf theoretischen Berechnungen. Darin fließen auch experimentelle Daten der Nukleon-Nukleon-Streuung, des Einfangquerschnitts für thermische Neutronen sowie (nach Anwendung des Prinzips des detaillierten Gleichgewichts) der d(g,n)p-Reaktion mit ein. Diese Reaktion, die Photodissoziation des Deuterons, ist bei BBN-Energien (Tcm = 20–200 keV) ebenfalls kaum vermessen. Die großen experimentelle Unsicherheiten machen Vergleiche mit den präzisen theoretischen Berechnungen schwierig. In den letzten Jahren wurde die d(g,n)p-Reaktion und insbesondere der M1-Anteil des Wirkungsquerschnitts mit quasi-monoenergetischen g-Strahlen aus Laser-Compton-Streuung oder durch Elektrodesintegration untersucht. Üblicherweise verwendete man für Messungen des d(g,n)p-Wirkungsquerschnitts entweder die auf wenige diskrete Energien beschränkte Strahlung des g-Zerfalls oder Bremsstrahlung, für die aber eine genaue Photonenflussbestimmung sowie der Nachweis von einem der Reaktionsprodukte und dessen Energie nötig ist. Da diese Energie im Bereich der BBN relativ gering ist, gab es bisher noch keine absoluten Messung des d(g,n)p-Wirkungsquerschnitts bei Tcm < 5 MeV mit Bremsstrahlung. Das Ziel dieser Dissertation ist eine solche Messung mit einer Unsicherheit von 5 % im für die BBN relevanten Energiebereich und darüber hinaus bis Tcm ~ 2,5 MeV unter Verwendung gepulster Bremsstrahlung an der Strahlungsquelle ELBE. Dieser supraleitende Elektronenbeschleuniger befindet sich am Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf und stellte einen Elektronenstrahl hoher Intensität bereit. Die kinetische Elektronenenergie von 5 MeV wurde mit einem Browne-Buechner-Spektrometer präzise gemessen. Die Energieverteilung der in einer Niob-Folie erzeugten Bremsstrahlungsphotonen wurde berechnet. Die Photonenflussbestimmung nutzte die Kernresonanzstreuung an 27Al, das sich mit deuteriertem Polyethylen in einem mehrschichtigen Target befand. Die 27Al-Abregungen wurden mit abgeschirmten, hochreinen Germanium-Detektoren nachgewiesen, deren Effektivität mit GEANT4 simuliert und durch Quellmessungen normiert wurde. Die Messung der Energie der Neutronen aus der d(g,n)p-Reaktion erfolgte mittels deren Flugzeit in Plastikszintillatoren, die an zwei Seiten von Photoelektronenvervielfachern mit hoher Verstärkung ausgelesen wurden. Die Nachweiseffektivität dieser Detektoren wurde in einem eigenen Experiment in den Referenz-Neutronenfeldern der PTB Braunschweig kalibriert. Die Nachweisschwelle lag bei etwa 10 keV kinetischer Neutronenenergie.Wegen der guten Zeitauflösung der Neutronendetektoren und des ELBE-Beschleunigers genügte eine Flugstrecke von nur 1 m. Die Energieauflösung betrug im d(g,n)p-Experiment 1–2 %. Leider gingen viele Neutronen bereits durch Streuung in dem großen Target verloren oder sie wurden erst durch Teile des kompakten Experimentaufbaus in die Detektoren gestreut. Beide Effekte wurden mit Hilfe von FLUKA simuliert um einen Korrekturfaktor zu bestimmen, der aber bei niedrigen Energien relativ groß war. Der d(g,n)p-Wirkungsquerschnitts wurde daher nur im Bereich 0.7 MeV < Tcm < 2.5 MeV bestimmt. Die Ergebnisse stimmen mit anderen Messungen, Daten-Evaluierungen sowie theoretischen Rechnungen überein. Die Gesamtunsicherheit beträgt circa 6.5 % und kommt zu fast gleichen Teilen von den statistischen und systematischen Unsicherheiten. Die statistische Unsicherheit könnte durch eine längere FLUKA Simulation noch von 3–5 % auf 1 % verringert werden. Die systematische Unsicherheit von 4.5 % ist vorrangig auf die Photonenflussbestimmung, die Neutronen-Nachweiseffektivität und die Target-Zusammensetzung zurückzuführen.