The North Wyke Farm Platform: Design, Establishment and Development

The North Wyke Farm Platform (NWFP) was established in 2010 to study and improve grassland livestock production at the farm-scale. The NWFP uses a combination of environmental sensors, routine field and lab-based measurements, and detailed management records to monitor livestock and crop production, emissions to water, emissions to air, soil health, and biodiversity. The rich NWFP datasets help researchers to evaluate the effectiveness of different grassland (and arable) farming systems, which in turn, contributes to the development of sustainable, resilient and net zero land management strategies. This document serves as a user guide to the open datasets. It describes the site characteristics and gives details of the phases involved in the design, establishment, and ongoing development changes to the NWFP. This document is associated with other dedicated user guides that detail the collection, and quality control processing of all the datasets produced on the NWFP

Measurement of Linear Stark Interference in 199Hg

We present measurements of Stark interference in the 6$^1S_0$ $\rightarrow$ 6$^3P_1$ transition in $^{199}$Hg, a process whereby a static electric field $E$ mixes magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole couplings into an electric dipole transition, leading to $E$-linear energy shifts similar to those produced by a permanent atomic electric dipole moment (EDM). The measured interference amplitude, $a_{SI}$ = $(a_{M1} + a_{E2})$ = (5.8 $\pm$ 1.5)$\times 10^{-9}$ (kV/cm)$^{-1}$, agrees with relativistic, many-body predictions and confirms that earlier central-field estimates are a factor of 10 too large. More importantly, this study validates the capability of the $^{199}$Hg EDM search apparatus to resolve non-trivial, controlled, and sub-nHz Larmor frequency shifts with EDM-like characteristics.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, 1 table; revised in response to reviewer comment

The nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond re-visited

Symmetry considerations are used in presenting a model of the electronic structure and the associated dynamics of the nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond. The model accounts for the occurrence of optically induced spin polarization, for the change of emission level with spin polarization and for new measurements of transient emission. The rate constants given are in variance to those reported previously.Comment: 12 pages 10 figure

Linkage mapping reveals sex-dimorphic map distances in a passerine bird

Linkage maps are lacking for many highly influential model organisms in evolutionary research, including all passerine birds. Consequently, their full potential as research models is severely hampered. Here, we provide a partial linkage map and give novel estimates of sex-specific recombination rates in a passerine bird, the great reed warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus). Linkage analysis of genotypic data at 51 autosomal microsatellites and seven markers on the Z-chromosome (one of the sex chromosomes) from an extended pedigree resulted in 12 linkage groups with 2–8 loci. A striking feature of the map was the pronounced sex-dimorphism: males had a substantially lower recombination rate than females, which resulted in a suppressed autosomal map in males (sum of linkage groups: 110.2cM) compared to females (237.2cM; female/male map ratio: 2.15). The sex-specific recombination rates will facilitate the building of a denser linkage map and cast light on hypotheses about sex-specific recombination rates

Improved limit on the permanent electric dipole moment of 199Hg

We report the results of a new experimental search for a permanent electric dipole moment of 199Hg utilizing a stack of four vapor cells. We find d(199Hg) = (0.49 \pm 1.29_stat \pm 0.76_syst) x 10^{-29} e cm, and interpret this as a new upper bound, |d(199Hg)| < 3.1 x 10^{-29} e cm (95% C.L.). This result improves our previous 199Hg limit by a factor of 7, and can be used to set new constraints on CP violation in physics beyond the standard model.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. additional reference, minor edits in response to reviewer comment

Spatial variability of precipitation regimes over Turkey

Turkish annual precipitation regimes are analysed to provide large-scale perspective and redefine precipitation regions. Monthly total precipitation data are employed for 107 stations (1963–2002). Precipitation regime shape (seasonality) and magnitude (size) are classified using a novel multivariate methodology. Six shape and five magnitude classes are identified, which exhibit clear spatial structure. A composite (shape and magnitude) regime classification reveals dominant controls on spatial variability of precipitation. Intra-annual timing and magnitude of precipitation is highly variable due to seasonal shifts in Polar and Subtropical zones and physiographic factors. Nonetheless, the classification methodology is shown to be a powerful tool that identifies physically-interpretable precipitation regions: (1) coastal regimes for Marmara, coastal Aegean, Mediterranean and Black Sea; (2) transitional regimes in continental Aegean and Southeast Anatolia; and (3) inland regimes across central and Eastern Anatolia. This research has practical implications for understanding water resources, which are under ever growing pressure in Turkey

Spectroscopy of a Cooper-Pair box in the Autler-Townes configuration

A theoretical spectroscopic analysis of a microwave driven superconducting charge qubit (Cooper-pair box coupled) to an RLC oscillator model is performed. By treating the oscillator as a probe through the backreaction effect of the qubit on the oscillator circuit, we extract frequency splitting features analogous to the Autler-Townes effect from quantum optics, thereby extending the analogies between superconducting and quantum optical phenomenology. These features are found in a frequency band that avoids the need for high frequency measurement systems and therefore may be of use in qubit characterization and coupling schemes. In addition we find this frequency band can be adjusted to suit an experimental frequency regime by changing the oscillator frequency.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures. v2: Revised version after referee comments. Accepted for publication by Physical Review

Tackling unintended consequences of grazing livestock farming: Multi-scale assessment of co-benefits and trade-offs for water pollution mitigation scenarios

A farm-to-landscape scale modelling framework combining regulating services and life cycle assessment mid-point impacts for air and water was used to explore the co-benefits and trade-offs of alternative management futures for grazing livestock farms. Two intervention scenarios were compared: one using on-farm interventions typically recommended following visual farm audits (visually-based) and the other using mechanistical understanding of nutrient and sediment losses to water (mechanistically-based). At farm scale, reductions in business-as-usual emissions to water of total phosphorus (TP) and sediment, using both the visually-based and mechanistically-based scenarios, were 20% and >35% for sediment. Key co-benefits at farm scale included reductions in nitrous oxide emissions and improvements in physical soil quality, whereas an increase in ammonia emissions was the principal trade-off. At landscape scale, simulated reductions in business-as-usual losses were <3% for both pollutants for both scenarios. The visually-based and mechanistically-based scenarios narrowed the gaps between current and modern background sediment loads by 6% and 11%, respectively. The latter scenario also improved the reduction of GWP100 relative to business-as-usual by 4%, in comparison to 1% for the former. However, with the predicted increase of ammonia emissions, both eutrophication potential and acidification potential increased (e.g., by 7% and 14% for the mechanistically-based scenario). The discrepancy of on-farm intervention efficacy across spatial scales generated by non-agricultural water pollutant sources is a key challenge for addressing water quality problems at landscape scale

The correction-to-scaling exponent in dilute systems

The leading correction-to-scaling exponent $\omega$ for the three-dimensional dilute Ising model is calculated in the framework of the field theoretic renormalization group approach. Both in the minimal subtraction scheme as well as in the massive field theory (resummed four loop expansion) excellent agreement with recent Monte Carlo calculations [Ballesteros H G, et al Phys. Rev. B 58, 2740 (1998)] is achieved. The expression of $\omega$ as series in a $\sqrt{\epsilon}$-expansion up to ${\cal O}(\epsilon^2)$ does not allow a reliable estimate for $d=3$.Comment: 4 pages, latex, 1 eps-figure include