Are there monojets in high-energy proton-nucleus collisions?

We study high-energy proton-nucleus collisions within the Colour Glass Condensate framework, and compute the probabilities of having a definite number of scatterings in the nucleus with a momentum transfer larger than a given cut. Various properties of the distribution in the number of multiple scatterings are investigated, and we conclude that events with monojets are very unlikely, except for extreme values of the saturation scale Qs.Comment: 4 pages, 4 eps-figures. Talk given at Quark Matter 2006, Shanghai, 14-20 Nov. 200

the stability of plagioclase in the upper mantle subsolidus experiments on fertile and depleted lherzolite

Plagioclase peridotites are important markers of processes that characterize the petrological and tectonic evolution of the lithospheric mantle in extensional tectonic settings. Studies on equilibrated plagioclase peridotites have documented continuous chemical changes in mantle minerals in response to plagioclase crystallization, potentially tracing the re-equilibration of mantle peridotites up to very low pressure.This experimental study provides new constraints on the stability of plagioclase in mantle peridotites as a function of bulk composition, and the compositional and modal changes in minerals occurring within the plagioclase stability field as a function of P^T^bulk composition. Subsolidus experiments have been performed at pressures ranging from 0·25 to 1·0 GPa, and temperatures ranging from 900 to 12008C on fertile and depleted anhydrous lherzolites modelled in the system TiO2^Cr2O3^Na2O^CaO^FeO^ MgO^Al2O3^SiO2 (Ti,Cr-NCFMAS). In the fertile lherzolite (Na2O/CaO 1⁄4 0·08; XCr 1⁄4 0·07) a plagioclase-bearing assemblage is stable up to 0·7 GPa, 10008C and 0·8 GPa, 11008C, whereas in the depleted lherzolite (Na2O/CaO 1⁄4 0·09; XCr 1⁄4 0·10) the upper limit of plagioclase stability is shifted to lower pressure.The boundary between plagioclase lherzolite and spinel lherzolite has a positive slope in P^T space. In a complex chemical system, the plagioclase-out boundary is multivariant and sensitive to the XCr value [XCr 1⁄4 Cr/(Cr þAl)] of spinel.This latter is controlled by the reaction MgCr2O4 þ CaAl2Si2O8 1⁄4 MgCrAlSiO6 þ CaCrAlSiO6, which is a function of the Cr^Al partitioning between spinel and pyroxenes, and varies with the XCr value and chromite/ anorthite normative ratio of the bulk composition. Within the plagioclase stability field, the Al content of pyroxenes decreases, coupled with an increase in the anorthite content in plagioclase, and Ti and XCr in spinel with decreasing pressure; these chemical variations are combined with systematic changes in modal mineralogy governed by a continuous reaction involving both plagioclase and spinel. As a consequence, the composition of plagioclase varies significantly over a rather narrow pressure range and is similar at the same P^T conditions in the investigated bulk-rocks.This suggests the potential application of plagioclase composition as a geobarometer for plagioclase peridotites

Elliptic Flow Analysis at RHIC with the Lee-Yang Zeroes Method in a Relativistic Transport Approach

The Lee-Yang zeroes method is applied to study elliptic flow ($v_2$) in Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s}=200A$~GeV, with the UrQMD model. In this transport approach, the true event plane is known and both the nonflow effects and event-by-event $v_2$ fluctuations exist. Although the low resolutions prohibit the application of the method for most central and peripheral collisions, the integral and differential elliptic flow from the Lee-Yang zeroes method agrees with the exact $v_2$ values very well for semi-central collisions.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Origin of pyroxenites in the oceanic mantle and their implications on the reactive percolation of depleted melts

Pyroxenites are diffuse in fertile mantle peridotites and considered an important component in the mantle source of oceanic basalts. They are rarely documented in abyssal and ophiolitic peridotites representing residual mantle after melt generation, and few studies defining their origin are to date available. We present a field-based microstructural and geochemical investigation of the pyroxenite layers associated with depleted peridotites from the Mt. Maggiore ophiolitic body (Corsica, France). Field and petrographic evidence indicate that pyroxenite formation preceded the melt\u2013rock interaction history that affected this mantle sector during Jurassic exhumation, namely (1) spinel-facies reactive porous flow leading to partial dissolution of the pyroxenites, and (2) plagioclase-facies melt impregnation leading to [plagioclase + orthopyroxene] interstitial crystallization. Pyroxenes show major element compositions similar to abyssal pyroxenites from slow-spreading ridges, indicative of magmatic segregation at pressures higher than 7 kbar. Both the parental melts of pyroxenites and the melts involved in the subsequent percolation were characterized by Na2O-poor, LREE-depleted compositions, consistent with unaggregated melt increments. This implies that they represent the continuous evolution of similarly depleted melts leading to different processes (pyroxenite segregation and later melt\u2013rock interaction) during their upward migration. To support the genetic relation and the continuity between the formation of pyroxenites and the subsequent melt\u2013rock interaction history, we modeled all the documented processes in sequence, i.e.: (1) formation of single-melt increments after 6% mantle decompressional fractional melting; (2) high-pressure segregation of pyroxenites; (3) spinel-facies reactive porous flow, (4) plagioclase-facies melt impregnation. The early fractionation of pyroxenites leads to a decrease in pyroxene saturation that is necessary for the subsequent reactive porous flow process, without any significant change in the melt REE composition

Probe for the strong parity violation effects at RHIC with three particle correlations

In non-central relativistic heavy ion collisions, \P-odd domains, which might be created in the process of the collision, are predicted to lead to charge separation along the system orbital momentum \cite{Kharzeev:2004ey}. An observable, \P-even, but directly sensitive to the charge separation effect, has been proposed in \cite{Voloshin:2004vk} and is based on 3-particle mixed harmonics azimuthal correlations. We report the STAR measurements using this observable for Au+Au and Cu+Cu collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$=200 and 62 GeV. The results are reported as function of collision centrality, particle separation in rapidity, and particle transverse momentum. Effects that are not related to parity violation but might contribute to the signal are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, Quark Matter 2008 Poster proceeding

Neuroscience application for the analysis of cultural ecosystem services related to stress relief in forest

The paper presents an integrated methodology to assess psychological and physiological responses of people when exposed to forests, with the main objective of assessing the suitability of different stands for stress recovery on the basis of tree species and density. From the methodological viewpoint, the study applies both a Restoration Outcome Scale (ROS) questionnaire and a neuroscientific technique grounded on electro-encephalographic (EEG) measurement. Results show different outcomes for conifers and broadleaves as well as a statistical significance of density in the evaluation of an individual’s emotional state. A forest with a high density of conifers and low density of broadleaves seems to be the proper combination for stress recovery. The differences among psychological stated preferences and EEG trends highlights potential conflict among “needs” and “wants” of people in the topic of stress relief. Potential applications of the research for health care and territorial marketing operations are suggested

Ligurian pyroxenite-peridotite sequences (Italy) and the role of melt-rock reaction in creating enriched-MORB mantle sources

Deep melt intrusion and melt-peridotite interaction may introduce small-scale heterogeneity in the MORB mantle. These processes generate pyroxenite-bearing veined mantle that represent potential mantle sources of oceanic basalts. Natural proxies of such veined mantle are very rare and our understanding of mechanisms governing the chemical modification of mantle peridotite by MORB-type pyroxenite emplacement is very limited. We report the results of detailed spatially-controlled chemical profiles in pyroxenite-peridotite associations from the Northern Apennine ophiolitic mantle sequences (External Liguride Units, Italy), and investigate the extent and mechanism driving the local modification of peridotite by the interaction with pyroxenite-derived melt. Pyroxenites occur as cm-thick layers parallel to mantle tectonite foliation and show diffuse orthopyroxene-rich reaction rims along the pyroxenite-peridotite contact. Relative to distal unmodified peridotites, wall-rock peridotites show i) modal orthopyroxene enrichment at the expense of olivine, ii) higher Al, Ca, Si contents and slightly lower XMg, iii) Al-richer spinel and lower-XMg pyroxenes. Clinopyroxenes from wall-rock peridotites exhibit variable LREE-MREE fractionation, always resulting in SmN/NdN ratios lower than distal peridotites. From the contact with pyroxenite layers, peridotite clinopyroxenes record a REE compositional gradient up to about 15\u202fcm marked by an overall REE increase away from the pyroxenite. Beyond 15\u202fcm, and up to 23\u202fcm, the MREE and HREE content decreases while the LREEs remain at nearly constant abundances. This REE gradient is well reproduced by a two-step numerical simulation of reactive melt percolation assuming variable amounts of olivine assimilation and pyroxene crystallization. Percolative reactive flow at decreasing melt mass and rather high instantaneous melt/peridotite ratio (initial porosity of 30%), combined with high extents of fractional crystallization (i.e. relatively low Ma/Mc ratio), accounts for the overall REE enrichment in the first 15\u202fcm. Change of melt-rock reaction regime, mostly determined by the drastic decrease of porosity (\u3a6i\u202f=\u202f0.01) due to increasing crystallization rates, results in more efficient chemical buffering of the host peridotite on the HREE composition of the differentiated liquids through ion-exchange chromatographic-type processes, determining the observed increase of the LREE/HREE ratio. Emplacement of thin (cm-sized) pyroxenite veins by deep melt infiltration is able to metasomatize a much larger volume of the host peridotite. Hybrid mantle domains made by pyroxenite, metasomatized peridotite and unmodified peridotite potentially represent mantle sources of E-MORB. Results of this work stress the key role of melt-peridotite reactions in modifying the upwelling mantle prior to oceanic basalts production

Melt migration and melt-rock reaction in the Alpine-Apennine peridotites: Insights on mantle dynamics in extending lithosphere

The compositional variability of the lithospheric mantle at extensional settings is largely caused by the reactive percolation of uprising melts in the thermal boundary layer and in lithospheric environments. The Alpine-Apennine (A-A) ophiolites are predominantly constituted by mantle peridotites and are widely thought to represent analogs of the oceanic lithosphere formed at ocean/continent transition and slow- to ultraslow-spreading settings. Structural and geochemical studies on the A-A mantle peridotites have revealed that they preserve significant compositional and isotopic heterogeneity at variable scale, reflecting a long-lived multi-stage melt migration, intrusion and melt-rock interaction history, occurred at different lithospheric depths during progressive uplift. The A-A mantle peridotites thus constitute a unique window on mantle dynamics and lithosphere-asthenosphere interactions in very slow spreading environments. In this work, we review field, microstructural and chemical-isotopic evidence on the major stages of melt percolation and melt-rock interaction recorded by the A-A peridotites and discuss their consequences in creating chemical-isotopic heterogeneities at variable scales and enhancing weakening and deformation of the extending mantle. Focus will be on three most important stages: (i) old (pre-Jurassic) pyroxenite emplacement, and the significant isotopic modification induced in the host mantle by pyroxenite-derived melts, (ii) melt-peridotite interactions during Jurassic mantle exhumation, i.e. the open-system reactive porous flow at spinel facies depths causing bulk depletion (origin of reactive harzburgites and dunites), and the shallower melt impregnation which originated plagioclase-rich peridotites and an overall mantle refertilization. We infer that migrating melts largely originated as shallow, variably depleted, melt fractions, and acquired Si-rich composition by reactive dissolution of mantle pyroxenes during upward migration. Such melt-rock reaction processes share significant similarities with those documented in modern oceanic peridotites from slow- to ultraslow-spreading environments and track the progressive exhumation of large mantle sectors at shallow depths in oceanic settings where a thicker thermal boundary layer exists, as a consequence of slow-spreading rate

Oneiric stress and safety and security at work: the discovery of a new universal symbol

Cox and Griffiths define as psychosocial risks at work “those aspects of the planning, organization and management of work, which, along with their environmental and social contexts, may affect mental and physical health of the employees, directly or indirectly producing stress”. Therefore, a more effective approach to occupational safety and security should include integrated risk management through the identification of any work stress related problem. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the possible correlation of risk at work with the modification of sleep, and inside it, the specific function of dream activity