Probing Hadronic Structure with The Decay Δ→Nl+l−\Delta\rightarrow Nl^+l^-

We compute the branching ratio for $\Delta\rightarrow Ne^+e^-$ and $\Delta\rightarrow N\mu^+\mu^-$ in chiral perturbation theory and find that both decays should be observable at CEBAF. With sufficiently low thresholds on the $e^+e^-$ invariant mass a branching ratio of $\sim 10^{-5}$ may be observed for $\Delta\rightarrow Ne^+e^-$. For the $\Delta\rightarrow N\mu^+\mu^-$ decay mode we predict a branching ratio of $3\times 10^{-7}$. The dependence of the M1 and E2 amplitudes on the momentum transfer will provide a useful test of chiral perturbation theory which predicts $\sim 20\%$ variation over the allowed kinematic range.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, UCSD/PTH 93-06, QUSTH-93-02, Duke-TH-93-4

A note on log-convexity of q-Catalan numbers

The q-Catalan numbers studied by Carlitz and Riordan are polynomials in q with nonnegative coefficients. They evaluate, at q=1, to the Catalan numbers: 1, 1, 2, 5, 14,..., a log-convex sequence. We use a combinatorial interpretation of these polynomials to prove a q-log-convexity result. The sequence of q-Catalan numbers is not q-log-convex in the narrow sense used by other authors, so our work suggests a more flexible definition of q-log convex be adopted

Tidal influence on self-potential measurements

DJM was supported by NERC CASE studentship NE/I018417/1. The authors would also like to thank Southern Water for access to the borehole at Saltdean. Atkins Global and Southern Water are thanked for funding installation of the equipment and for additional funding under the NERC studentship. The laboratory components of this work were carried out in the TOTAL Reservoir Physics Laboratory at Imperial College London and their support is gratefully acknowledged. Jackson acknowledges partial support from TOTAL under the TOTAL Chairs programme. The data supporting the conclusions of this work are available through the corresponding author.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Development of polyisocyanurate pour foam formulation for space shuttle external tank thermal protection system

Four commercially available polyisocyanurate polyurethane spray-foam insulation formulations are used to coat the external tank of the space shuttle. There are several problems associated with these formulations. For example, some do not perform well as pourable closeout/repair systems. Some do not perform well at cryogenic temperatures (poor adhesion to aluminum at liquid nitrogen temperatures). Their thermal stability at elevated temperatures is not adequate. A major defect in all the systems is the lack of detailed chemical information. The formulations are simply supplied to NASA and Martin Marietta, the primary contractor, as components; Part A (isocyanate) and Part B (poly(s) and additives). Because of the lack of chemical information the performance behavior data for the current system, NASA sought the development of a non-proprietary room temperature curable foam insulation. Requirements for the developed system were that it should exhibit equal or better thermal stability both at elevated and cryogenic temperatures with better adhesion to aluminum as compared to the current system. Several formulations were developed that met these requirements, i.e., thermal stability, good pourability, and good bonding to aluminum

Effects of 3-d and 4-d-transition metal substitutional impurities on the electronic properties of CrO2

We present first-principles based density functional theory calculations of the electronic and magnetic structure of CrO2 with 3d (Ti through Cu) and 4d (Zr through Ag) substitutional impurities. We find that the half-metallicity of CrO2 remains intact for all of the calculated substitutions. We also observe two periodic trends as a function of the number of valence electrons: if the substituted atom has six or fewer valence electrons (Ti-Cr or Zr-Mo), the number of down spin electrons associated with the impurity ion is zero, resulting in ferromagnetic (FM) alignment of the impurity magnetic moment with the magnetization of the CrO2 host. For substituent atoms with eight to ten (Fe-Ni or Ru-Pd with the exception of Ni), the number of down spin electrons contributed by the impurity ion remains fixed at three as the number contributed to the majority increases from one to three resulting in antiferromagnetic (AFM) alignment between impurity moment and host magnetization. The origin of this variation is the grouping of the impurity states into 3 states with approximate "t2g" symmetry and 2 states with approximate "eg" symmetry. Ni is an exception to the rule because a Jahn-Teller-like distortion causes a splitting of the Ni eg states. For Mn and Tc, which have 8 valence electrons, the zero down spin and 3 down spin configurations are very close in energy. For Cu and Ag atoms, which have 11 valence electrons, the energy is minimized when the substituent ion contributes 5 Abstract down-spin electrons. We find that the interatomic exchange interactions are reduced for all substitutions except for the case of Fe for which a modest enhancement is calculated for interactions along certain crystallographic directions.Comment: 26 pages, 10 figures, 2 table