Rock magnetic and geochemical evidence for authigenic magnetite formation via iron reduction in coal-bearing sediments offshore Shimokita Peninsula, Japan (IODP Site C0020)

Sediments recovered at Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Site C0020, in a fore‐arc basin offshore Shimokita Peninsula, Japan, include numerous coal beds (0.3–7 m thick) that are associated with a transition from a terrestrial to marine depositional environment. Within the primary coal‐bearing unit (∼2 km depth below seafloor) there are sharp increases in magnetic susceptibility in close proximity to the coal beds, superimposed on a background of consistently low magnetic susceptibility throughout the remainder of the recovered stratigraphic sequence. We investigate the source of the magnetic susceptibility variability and characterize the dominant magnetic assemblage throughout the entire cored record, using isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM), thermal demagnetization, anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM), iron speciation, and iron isotopes. Magnetic mineral assemblages in all samples are dominated by very low‐coercivity minerals with unblocking temperatures between 350 and 580°C that are interpreted to be magnetite. Samples with lower unblocking temperatures (300–400°C), higher ARM, higher‐frequency dependence, and isotopically heavy δ56Fe across a range of lithologies in the coal‐bearing unit (between 1925 and 1995 mbsf) indicate the presence of fine‐grained authigenic magnetite. We suggest that iron‐reducing bacteria facilitated the production of fine‐grained magnetite within the coal‐bearing unit during burial and interaction with pore waters. The coal/peat acted as a source of electron donors during burial, mediated by humic acids, to supply iron‐reducing bacteria in the surrounding siliciclastic sediments. These results indicate that coal‐bearing sediments may play an important role in iron cycling in subsiding peat environments and if buried deeply through time, within the subsequent deep biosphere

Is the transmission of crude oil prices to gasoline prices asymmetric?

This paper provides evidence based on French macroeconomic data, that shocks on the cost of oil inputs are transmitted asymmetrically to the prices of fuel. We use an error correction model to estimate the dynamics of the transmission of the cost of crude oil expressed in French currency, to the production and before taxes retail prices of several kinds of fuel. We simulate the responses of the production and retail prices to positive as well as negative shocks affecting the cost of crude oil for three kinds of fuel: premium, diesel oil and domestic fuel oil. We also test for the presence of asymmetries in the transmission of crude oil to retail prices for two kinds of unleaded premium. The results for all five products robustly point to the existence of an asymmetry in the overall transmission of positive and negative cost shocks to prices, in the sense that crude oil cost increases are added to retail fuel prices faster than decreases are substracted. In the case of diesel oil, the asymmetry turns out to be significant at the production as well as the distribution stages. For domestic fuel oil, however, only firststage (production) asymmetries are significant, whereas for premium only secondstage (distribution) asymmetries may be robustly pointed out. Finally, measured asymmetry lengths range from one month to one quarter.prices, oil, asymmetry, error correction models, bootstrap

Simulation of the d.c. critical current in superconducting sintered ceramics

The new superconducting high-Tc sintered ceramics can be described in some case as a lattice of interconnected rods, in other cases as a more or less random packing of parallelepiped crystallites ; their size is about a few microns. The d.c. critical current at zero voltage of such a material is not related to the critical current of the bulk material, but to its granular structure. Indeed, the critical current between two adjacent cells is governed by the critical current of the weak link between them ; this link behaves within some limits as a Josephson junction, the critical current of which is known. For our present problem, the system can be modeled as a lattice of Josephson junctions. We present here results for the d.c. critical current at zero voltage of lattices of identical Josephson junctions in two dimensions. The influence of the finiteness of size of the sample is examined. The relationship with normal conductivity simulations and percolation is discussed

Prompt Alpha Decay of a Well-deformed Band in 58Ni

Two excited well-deformed bands have been observed in the semi-magic nucleus Ni-58. One of the bands was observed to partially decay by emission of a prompt discrete alpha particle that feeds the 2949 keV 6(+) spherical yrast state in the daughter nucleus Fe-54. This constitutes the first observation of prompt alpha emission from states lying in the deformed secondary minimum of the nuclear potential. gamma -ray linking transitions via several parallel paths establish the spin. parity, and excitation energy of this deformed band in Ni-58

Prompt Alpha Decay of a Well-deformed Band in 58Ni

Two excited well-deformed bands have been observed in the semi-magic nucleus Ni-58. One of the bands was observed to partially decay by emission of a prompt discrete alpha particle that feeds the 2949 keV 6(+) spherical yrast state in the daughter nucleus Fe-54. This constitutes the first observation of prompt alpha emission from states lying in the deformed secondary minimum of the nuclear potential. gamma -ray linking transitions via several parallel paths establish the spin. parity, and excitation energy of this deformed band in Ni-58

Signature inversion in axially deformed 160,162^{160,162}Tm

The microscopic analysis of experimental data in $^{160,162}$Tm is presented within the two-quasiparticle-phonon model. The model includes the interaction between odd quasiparticles and their coupling with core vibrations. The coupling explains naturally the attenuation of the Coriolis interaction in rotating odd-odd nuclei. It is shown that the competition between the Coriolis and neutron-proton interactions is responsible for the signature inversion phenomenon.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, corrected some typo

Random manifolds in non-linear resistor networks: Applications to varistors and superconductors

We show that current localization in polycrystalline varistors occurs on paths which are, usually, in the universality class of the directed polymer in a random medium. We also show that in ceramic superconductors, voltage localizes on a surface which maps to an Ising domain wall. The emergence of these manifolds is explained and their structure is illustrated using direct solution of non-linear resistor networks

Tracking Intruder States

The deformation-driving effects of intruder states are studied by analysis of various types of data on rotational bands in rare-earth deformed nuclei. The sensitivity of four measurables (bandhead energy, B(E2) value, neutron i[sub 13/2] crossing frequency, and signature splitting) to increase deformation in an intruder band is shown. The analysis of signature splitting systematics is extended to know superdeformed bands

Progress Report on Nuclear Spectroscopic Studies

The experimental program in nuclear physics at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is led by Professors Carrol Bingham, Lee Riedinger, and Soren Sorenseni who respectively lead the studies of the exotic decay modes of nuclei far from stability, the program of high-spin research, and our effort in relativistic heavy-ion physics. Over the years, this broad program of research has been successful partially because of the shared University resources applied to this group effort. The proximity of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory has allowed us to build extremely strong programs of joint research, and in addition to play an important leadership role in the Joint Institute for Heavy Ion Research (JIHIR). Our experimental program is also very closely linked with those at other national laboratories: Argonne (collaborations involving the Fragment Mass Analyzer (FMA) and {gamma}-ray arrays), Brookhaven (the RHIC and Phenix projects), and Berkeley (GAMMASPHERE). We have worked closely with a variety of university groups in the last three years, especially those in the UNISOR and now UNIRIB collaborations. And, in all aspects of our program, we have maintained close collaborations with theorists, both to inspire the most exciting experiments to perform and to extract the pertinent physics from the results. The specific areas discussed in this report are: properties of high-spin states; study of low-energy levels of nuclei far from stability; and high energy heavy-ion physics