Enlistment Response to Changes in Monetary Incentives: Improving the U. S. Army Enlistment Incentive Review and Allocation Process

This research proposes an analytical approach for assessing efficiency and effectiveness of the Army’s Enlistment Incentive Review and Allocation Process. In this research, the author applies multiple regression- techniques to observations of monthly enlistment contracts for the time period covering October 1987 through July 1993. Bonus contracts, ACF contracts and total contracts were regressed against level of enlistment bonus, availability of the Army College Fund, unemployment rate, and state of U.S. involvement in overseas conflict. The author then used the estimated regression relationships to estimate bonus amounts required to stimulate enlistment and compared performance of true incentive levels against predicted results of regression models. The author then presents insights on the benefits that can be gained by applying elementary analytic techniques to the intuitive allocation process currently practiced by the Army’s Enlistment Incentive Review Board

Anomalous double peak structure in Nb/Ni superconductor/ferromagnet tunneling DOS

We have experimentally investigated the density of states (DOS) in Nb/Ni (S/F) bilayers as a function of Ni thickness, $d_F$. Our thinnest samples show the usual DOS peak at $\pm\Delta_0$, whereas intermediate-thickness samples have an anomalous ``double-peak'' structure. For thicker samples ($d_F \geq 3.5$ nm), we see an ``inverted'' DOS which has previously only been reported in superconductor/weak-ferromagnet structures. We analyze the data using the self-consistent non-linear Usadel equation and find that we are able to quantitatively fit the features at $\pm\Delta_0$ if we include a large amount of spin-orbit scattering in the model. Interestingly, we are unable to reproduce the sub-gap structure through the addition of any parameter(s). Therefore, the observed anomalous sub-gap structure represents new physics beyond that contained in the present Usadel theory.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Proximity Effect in Nb/Au/CoFe Trilayers

We have investigated the superconducting critical temperatures of Nb/Au/CoFe trilayers as a function of Au and CoFe thicknesses. Without the CoFe layer the superconducting critical temperatures of Nb/Au bilayers as a function of Au thickness follow the well-known proximity effect between a superconductor and a normal metal. The superconducting critical temperatures of Nb/Au/CoFe trilayers as a function of Au thickness exhibit a rapid initial increase in the small Au thickness region and increase slowly to a limiting value above this region, accompanied by a small oscillation of Tc. On the other hand, the superconducting critical temperatures of Nb/Au/CoFe trilayers as a function of CoFe thickness show non-monotonic behavior with a shallow dip feature. We analyzed the Tc behavior in terms of Usadel formalism and found that most features are consistent with the theory, although the small oscillation of Tc as a function of the Au thickness cannot be accounted for. We have also found quantitative values for the two interfaces: Nb/Au and Au/CoFe.Comment: 25 pages, 6 figure

The Singlet Contribution to the Structure Function g1(x,Q2)g_1(x,Q^2) at Small xx

The resummation of $O(\alpha_s^{l+1} \ln^{2l} x)$ terms in the evolution equation of the singlet part of $g_1(x,Q^2)$ is carried out. The corresponding singlet evolution kernels are calculated explicitely. The leading small-$x$ contribution to the three-loop splitting function matrix is determined in the $\overline{\rm MS}$ scheme. Relations are derived for the case of ${\cal N} = 1$ supersymmetric Yang--Mills field theory. Numerical results are presented for the polarized singlet and gluon densities, and the structure functions $g_1^{\, p}(x,Q^2)$ and $g_1^{\, n}(x,Q^2)$. They are compared for different assumptions on the non--perturbative input distributions, and the stability of the results against presently unknown subleading contributions is investigated.Comment: 10 pages Latex, including two eps-figures, all compressed by uufil

Mining the ESO WFI and INT WFC archives for known Near Earth Asteroids. Mega-Precovery software

The ESO/MPG WFI and the INT WFC wide field archives comprising 330,000 images were mined to search for serendipitous encounters of known Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs) and Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs). A total of 152 asteroids (44 PHAs and 108 other NEAs) were identified using the PRECOVERY software, their astrometry being measured on 761 images and sent to the Minor Planet Centre. Both recoveries and precoveries were reported, including prolonged orbital arcs for 18 precovered objects and 10 recoveries. We analyze all new opposition data by comparing the orbits fitted before and after including our contributions. We conclude the paper presenting Mega-Precovery, a new online service focused on data mining of many instrument archives simultaneously for one or a few given asteroids. A total of 28 instrument archives have been made available for mining using this tool, adding together about 2.5 million images forming the Mega-Archive.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomische Nachrichten (Sep 2012

Sulfonylative Hiyama Cross-Coupling: Development and Mechanistic Insights

International audienceDue to distinctive structural and electronic features, sulfones have attracted a particular attention over the pa st few decades, ma king it a widespread functional group.[1] Present in many contemporary pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals, they are also used as essential intermediates in organic synthesis. Therefore, numérous methodologies have been developed for their preparation. [1] However, the most common methods suffer from significant limitations with harsh reaction conditions or regioselectivity issues. Recently, the insertion of a molecule of sulfur dioxide between two partners was investigated and reactions involving organomagnesium,[2a] organozind2b] and organoboron[2c] compounds were reported. Herein we report a direct single-step palladium-catalyzed synthesis of sulfones involving organosilanes, sulfur dioxide and organohalides. Different mechanistic pathways were envisaged and discussed both from an experimental and theoretical stand point

High carrier mobility in transparent Ba1-xLaxSnO3 crystals with a wide band gap

We discovered that perovskite (Ba,La)SnO3 can have excellent carrier mobility even though its band gap is large. The Hall mobility of Ba0.98La0.02SnO3 crystals with the n-type carrier concentration of \sim 8-10\times10 19 cm-3 is found to be \sim 103 cm2 V-1s-1 at room temperature, and the precise measurement of the band gap \Delta of a BaSnO3 crystal shows \Delta=4.05 eV, which is significantly larger than those of other transparent conductive oxides. The high mobility with a wide band gap indicates that (Ba,La)SnO3 is a promising candidate for transparent conductor applications and also epitaxial all-perovskite multilayer devices

X-ray diffraction measurements of the c-axis Debye-Waller factors of YBa2Cu3O7 and HgBa2CaCu2O6

We report the first application of x-rays to the measurement of the temperature dependent Bragg peak intensities to obtain Debye-Waller factors on high-temperature superconductors. Intensities of (0,0,l) peaks of YBa2Cu3O7 and HgBa2CaCu2O6 thin films are measured to obtain the c-axis Debye-Waller factors. While lattice constant and some Debye-Waller factor measurements on high Tc superconductors show anomalies at the transition temperature, our measurements by x-ray diffraction show a smooth transition of the c-axis Debye-Waller factors through T$_c$. This suggests that the dynamic displacements of the heavy elements along the c-axis direction in these compounds do not have anomalies at Tc. This method in combination with measurements by other techniques will give more details concerning dynamics of the lattice.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. To be published in Physical Review B (Brief Report

Photospheric activity, rotation, and star-planet interaction of the planet-hosting star CoRoT-6

The CoRoT satellite has recently discovered a hot Jupiter that transits across the disc of a F9V star called CoRoT-6 with a period of 8.886 days. We model the photospheric activity of the star and use the maps of the active regions to study stellar differential rotation and the star-planet interaction. We apply a maximum entropy spot model to fit the optical modulation as observed by CoRoT during a uninterrupted interval of about 140 days. Photospheric active regions are assumed to consist of spots and faculae in a fixed proportion with solar-like contrasts. Individual active regions have lifetimes up to 30-40 days. Most of them form and decay within five active longitudes whose different migration rates are attributed to the stellar differential rotation for which a lower limit of \Delta \Omega / \Omega = 0.12 \pm 0.02 is obtained. Several active regions show a maximum of activity at a longitude lagging the subplanetary point by about 200 degrees with the probability of a chance occurrence being smaller than 1 percent. Our spot modelling indicates that the photospheric activity of CoRoT-6 could be partially modulated by some kind of star-planet magnetic interaction, while an interaction related to tides is highly unlikely because of the weakness of the tidal force.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, accepted to Astronomy & Astrophysic