New analyticity constraints on the high energy behavior of hadron-hadron cross sections

We here comment on a series of recent papers by Igi and Ishida[K. Igi and M. Ishida, Phys. Lett B 622, 286 (2005)] and Block and Halzen[M. M. Block and F. Halzen, Phys. Rev D 72, 036006 (2005)] that fit high energy $pp$ and $\bar pp$ cross section and $\rho$-value data, where $\rho$ is the ratio of the real to the imaginary portion of the forward scattering amplitude. These authors used Finite Energy Sum Rules and analyticity consistency conditions, respectively, to constrain the asymptotic behavior of hadron cross sections by anchoring their high energy asymptotic amplitudes--even under crossing--to low energy experimental data. Using analyticity, we here show that i) the two apparently very different approaches are in fact equivalent, ii) that these analyticity constraints can be extended to give new constraints, and iii) that these constraints can be extended to crossing odd amplitudes. We also apply these extensions to photoproduction. A new interpretation of duality is given.Comment: 9 pages, 1 postscript figure; redone for clarity, removal of typos, changing reference; figure replace

What Is Wrong with the No-Report Paradigm and How to Fix It

Is consciousness based in prefrontal circuits involved in cognitive processes like thought, reasoning, and memory or, alternatively, is it based in sensory areas in the back of the neocortex? The no-report paradigm has been crucial to this debate because it aims to separate the neural basis of the cognitive processes underlying post-perceptual decision and report from the neural basis of conscious perception itself. However, the no-report paradigm is problematic because, even in the absence of report, subjects might engage in post-perceptual cognitive processing. Therefore, to isolate the neural basis of consciousness, a no-cognition paradigm is needed. Here, I describe a no-cognition approach to binocular rivalry and outline how this approach can help resolve debates about the neural basis of consciousness

Decoupling the coupled DGLAP evolution equations: an analytic solution to pQCD

Using Laplace transform techniques, along with newly-developed accurate numerical inverse Laplace transform algorithms, we decouple the solutions for the singlet structure function $F_s(x,Q^2)$ and $G(x,Q^2)$ of the two leading-order coupled singlet DGLAP equations, allowing us to write fully decoupled solutions: F_s(x,Q^2)={\cal F}_s(F_{s0}(x), G_0(x)), G(x,Q^2)={\cal G}(F_{s0}(x), G_0(x)). Here ${\cal F}_s$ and $\cal G$ are known functions---found using the DGLAP splitting functions---of the functions $F_{s0}(x) \equiv F_s(x,Q_0^2)$ and $G_{0}(x) \equiv G(x,Q_0^2)$, the chosen starting functions at the virtuality $Q_0^2$. As a proof of method, we compare our numerical results from the above equations with the published MSTW LO gluon and singlet $F_s$ distributions, starting from their initial values at $Q_0^2=1 GeV^2$. Our method completely decouples the two LO distributions, at the same time guaranteeing that both distributions satisfy the singlet coupled DGLAP equations. It furnishes us with a new tool for readily obtaining the effects of the starting functions (independently) on the gluon and singlet structure functions, as functions of both $Q^2$ and $Q_0^2$. In addition, it can also be used for non-singlet distributions, thus allowing one to solve analytically for individual quark and gluon distributions values at a given $x$ and $Q^2$, with typical numerical accuracies of about 1 part in $10^5$, rather than having to evolve numerically coupled integral-differential equations on a two-dimensional grid in $x, Q^2$, as is currently done.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figure

Soft and Hard Strategies: The Role of Business in the Crafting of International Commercial Law

Part I returns to the classic definition of hard international law initially put forward by Kenneth Abbott and Duncan Snidal and related IR scholars and analyzes existing commercial law treaties in light of this definition. It concludes that virtually none of these commercial law treaties constitute “hard” international law because nearly all commercial law treaties rely on national courts for enforcement. But Abbott and Snidal’s focus on the extent to which international law is legalized—and especially the extent to which it is enforced by international actors—may matter less with commercial than other more public international lawmaking. This is because the mostly private law governing commercial transactions conceives of obligation and enforcement in ways distinct from its public law counterparts. Part II explains the distinction between private and public laws that govern purely domestic commerce. Many commercial transactions are not governed by regulatory legislation imposing “top down” obligations enforced by the state but rather contractual obligations that are self-regulating and mostly self-enforcing. In the absence of mandatory commercial regulation, businesses assert their interests domestically through privately organized contracts and litigation brought to enforce these contracts as well as through political pressure for reform of judicial administration. Where regulation does exist or has been proposed, businesses may also look to influence this regulation by lobbying legislators and executives. Part III considers the implications of commercial lawmaking for international settings and, in particular, state and non-state (that is, business) interests in the production of international versions of such laws. State sovereignty interests vary depending on the type of international commercial law reform proposed, whether regulatory or otherwise; business’ autonomy interests also vary along this axis. These interests may diverge, although the interests of states and businesses are also interconnected and subject to change based on assertions of influence. Soft law may aid in bridging these differences in various ways—through its gap-filling, advocacy, and socializing functions. Businesses are uniquely capable of fulfilling these functions through soft international law, capabilities that Part III explores both with reference to the detail of various international commercial laws and with regard to broader theoretical concerns

Acoustic emission analysis as a non-destructive test procedure for fiber compound structures

The concept of acoustic emission analysis is explained in scientific terms. The detection of acoustic events, their localization, damage discrimination, and event summation curves are discussed. A block diagram of the concept of damage-free testing of fiber-reinforced synthetic materials is depicted. Prospects for application of the concept are assessed