431 research outputs found
No self-similar aggregates with sedimentation
Two-dimensional cluster-cluster aggregation is studied when clusters move
both diffusively and sediment with a size dependent velocity. Sedimentation
breaks the rotational symmetry and the ensuing clusters are not self-similar
fractals: the mean cluster width perpendicular to the field direction grows
faster than the height. The mean width exhibits power-law scaling with respect
to the cluster size, ~ s^{l_x}, l_x = 0.61 +- 0.01, but the mean height
does not. The clusters tend to become elongated in the sedimentation direction
and the ratio of the single particle sedimentation velocity to single particle
diffusivity controls the degree of orientation. These results are obtained
using a simulation method, which becomes the more efficient the larger the
moving clusters are.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figure
Block-Diagonalization and f-electron Effects in Tight-Binding Theory
We extend a tight-binding total energy method to include f-electrons, and
apply it to the study of the structural and elastic properties of a range of
elements from Be to U. We find that the tight-binding parameters are as
accurate and transferable for f-electron systems as they are for d-electron
systems. In both cases we have found it essential to take great care in
constraining the fitting procedure by using a block-diagonalization procedure,
which we describe in detail.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
Ants are the major agents of food resource removal from tropical rainforest floors
1. Ants are diverse and abundant, especially in tropical ecosystems. They are often cited as the agents of key ecological processes, but their precise contributions compared with other organisms have rarely been quantified. Through the removal of food resources from the forest floor and subsequent transport to nests, ants play an important role in the redistribution of nutrients in rainforests. This is an essential ecosystem process and a key energetic link between higher trophic levels, decomposers and primary producers. 2. We used the removal of carbohydrate, protein and seed baits as a proxy to quantify the contribution that ants, other invertebrates and vertebrates make to the redistribution of nutrients around the forest floor, and determined to what extent there is functional redundancy across ants, other invertebrate and vertebrate groups. 3. Using a large‐scale, field‐based manipulation experiment, we suppressed ants from c . 1 ha plots in a lowland tropical rainforest in Sabah, Malaysia. Using a combination of treatment and control plots, and cages to exclude vertebrates, we made food resources available to: (i) the whole foraging community, (ii) only invertebrates and (iii) only non‐ant invertebrates. This allowed us to partition bait removal into that taken by vertebrates, non‐ant invertebrates and ants. Additionally, we examined how the non‐ant invertebrate community responded to ant exclusion. 4. When the whole foraging community had access to food resources, we found that ants were responsible for 52% of total bait removal whilst vertebrates and non‐ant invertebrates removed the remaining 48%. Where vertebrates were excluded, ants carried out 61% of invertebrate‐mediated bait removal, with all other invertebrates removing the remaining 39%. Vertebrates were responsible for just 24% of bait removal and invertebrates (including ants) collectively removed the remaining 76%. There was no compensation in bait removal rate when ants and vertebrates were excluded, indicating low functional redundancy between these groups. 5. This study is the first to quantify the contribution of ants to the removal of food resources from rainforest floors and thus nutrient redistribution. We demonstrate that ants are functionally unique in this role because no other organisms compensated to maintain bait removal rate in their absence. As such, we strengthen a growing body of evidence establishing ants as ecosystem engineers, and provide new insights into the role of ants in maintaining key ecosystem processes. In this way, we further our basic understanding of the functioning of tropical rainforest ecosystems
Hyperon weak radiative decays in chiral perturbation theory
We investigate the leading-order amplitudes for weak radiative decays of
hyperons in chiral perturbation theory. We consistently include contributions
from the next-to-leading order weak-interaction Lagrangian. It is shown that
due to these terms Hara's theorem is violated. The data for the decays of
charged hyperons can be easily accounted for. However, at this order in the
chiral expansion, the four amplitudes for the decays of neutral hyperons
satisfy relations which are in disagreement with the data. The asymmetry
parameters for all the decays can not be accounted for without higher-order
terms. We shortly comment on the effect of the 27-plet part of the weak
interaction.Comment: 8 pages of REVTeX and using macro-package "feynman.tex" (available at
http://xxx.lanl.gov/ftp/hep-ph/papers/macros) for the 2 figure
First observation and branching fraction and decay parameter measurements of the weak radiative decay Xi0 --> Lambda e+e-
The weak radiative decay Xi0 --> Lambda e+e- has been detected for the first
time. We find 412 candidates in the signal region, with an estimated background
of 15 +/- 5 events. We determine the branching fraction B(Xi0 --> Lambda e+e-)
= [7.6 +/- 0.4(stat) +/- 0.4(syst) +/- 0.2(norm)] x 10^{-6}, consistent with an
internal bremsstrahlung process, and the decay asymmetry parameter
alpha_{XiLambdaee} = -0.8 +/- 0.2, consistent with that of Xi0 --> Lambda
gamma. The charge conjugate reaction Xi0_bar --> Lambda_bar e+e- has also been
observed.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables; revised: 19 pages, 4 figures, 4
tables, after reviewers' comments: 1 figure removed, 1 figure corrected,
minor editorial changes; to be published in Phys. Lett.
Measurement of the Ds lifetime
We report precise measurement of the Ds meson lifetime. The data were taken
by the SELEX experiment (E781) spectrometer using 600 GeV/c Sigma-, pi- and p
beams. The measurement has been done using 918 reconstructed Ds. The lifetime
of the Ds is measured to be 472.5 +- 17.2 +- 6.6 fs, using K*(892)0K+- and phi
pi+- decay modes. The lifetime ratio of Ds to D0 is 1.145+-0.049.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures submitted to Phys. Lett.
Environmental occurrence, analysis, and toxicology of toxaphene compounds.
Toxaphene production, in quantities similar to those of polychlorinated biphenyls, has resulted in high toxaphene levels in fish from the Great Lakes and in Arctic marine mammals (up to 10 and 16 microg g-1 lipid). Because of the large variabiliity in total toxaphene data, few reliable conclusions can be drawn about trends or geographic differences in toxaphene concentrations. New developments in mass spectrometric detection using either negative chemical ionization or electron impact modes as well as in multidimensional gas chromatography recently have led researchers to suggest congener-specific approaches. Recently, several nomenclature systems have been developed for toxaphene compounds. Although all systems have specific advantages and limitations, it is suggested that an international body such as the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry make an attempt to obtain uniformity in the literature. Toxicologic information on individual chlorobornanes is scarce, but some reports have recently appeared. Neurotoxic effects of toxaphene exposure such as those on behavior and learning have been reported. Technical toxaphene and some individual congeners were found to be weakly estrogenic in in vitro test systems; no evidence for endocrine effects in vivo has been reported. In vitro studies show technical toxaphene and toxaphene congeners to be mutagenic. However, in vivo studies have not shown genotoxicity; therefore, a nongenotoxic mechanism is proposed. Nevertheless, toxaphene is believed to present a potential carcinogenic risk to humans. Until now, only Germany has established a legal tolerance level for toxaphene--0.1 mg kg-1 wet weight for fish
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