Parity-Violating Electron-Deuteron Scattering

The longitudinal asymmetry due to $Z^0$ exchange is calculated in quasi-elastic electron-deuteron scattering at momentum transfers $|Q^2| \simeq 0.1$ GeV$^2$ relevant for the SAMPLE experiment. The deuteron and $pn$ scattering-state wave functions are obtained from solutions of a Schr\"odinger equation with the Argonne $v_{18}$ potential. Electromagnetic and weak neutral one- and two-nucleon currents are included in the calculation. The two-nucleon currents of pion range are shown to be identical to those derived in Chiral Perturbation Theory. The results indicate that two-body contributions to the asymmetry are small ($\simeq$ 0.2%) around the quasi-elastic peak, but become relatively more significant ($\simeq$ 3%) in the high-energy wing of the quasi-elastic peak.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figure

Effective field theory and the quark model

We analyze the connections between the quark model (QM) and the description of hadrons in the low-momentum limit of heavy-baryon effective field theory in QCD. By using a three-flavor-index representation for the effective baryon fields, we show that the ``nonrelativistic'' constituent QM for baryon masses and moments is completely equivalent through O(m_s) to a parametrization of the relativistic field theory in a general spin--flavor basis. The flavor and spin variables can be identified with those of effective valence quarks. Conversely, the spin-flavor description clarifies the structure and dynamical interpretation of the chiral expansion in effective field theory, and provides a direct connection between the field theory and the semirelativistic models for hadrons used in successful dynamical calculations. This allows dynamical information to be incorporated directly into the chiral expansion. We find, for example, that the striking success of the additive QM for baryon magnetic moments is a consequence of the relative smallness of the non-additive spin-dependent corrections.Comment: 25 pages, revtex, no figure

CSP alpha reduces aggregates and rescues striatal dopamine release in alpha-synuclein transgenic mice

alpha-Synuclein aggregation at the synapse is an early event in Parkinson's disease and is associated with impaired striatal synaptic function and dopaminergic neuronal death. The cysteine string protein (CSP alpha) and alpha-synuclein have partially overlapping roles in maintaining synaptic function and mutations in each cause neurodegenerative diseases. CSP alpha is a member of the DNAJ/HSP40 family of co-chaperones and like alpha-synuclein, chaperones the SNARE complex assembly and controls neurotransmitter release. alpha-Synuclein can rescue neurodegeneration in CSP alpha KO mice. However, whether alpha-synuclein aggregation alters CSP alpha expression and function is unknown. Here we show that alpha-synuclein aggregation at the synapse is associated with a decrease in synaptic CSP alpha and a reduction in the complexes that CSP alpha forms with HSC70 and STG alpha. We further show that viral delivery of CSP alpha rescues in uitro the impaired vesicle recycling in PC12 cells with alpha-synuclein aggregates and in uiuo reduces synaptic alpha-synuclein aggregates increasing monomeric alpha-synuclein and restoring normal dopamine release in 1-120h alpha Syn mice. These novel findings reveal a mechanism by which alpha-synuclein aggregation alters CSP alpha at the synapse, and show that CSP alpha rescues alpha-synuclein aggregation-related phenotype in 1-120h alpha Syn mice similar to the effect of alpha-synuclein in CSP alpha KO mice. These results implicate CSP alpha as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of earlystage Parkinson's disease

The Spatial Distribution of Dust and Stellar Emission of the Magellanic Clouds

We study the emission by dust and stars in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, a pair of low-metallicity nearby galaxies, as traced by their spatially resolved spectral energy distributions (SEDs). This project combines Herschel Space Observatory PACS and SPIRE far-infrared photometry with other data at infrared and optical wavelengths. We build maps of dust and stellar luminosity and mass of both Magellanic Clouds, and analyze the spatial distribution of dust/stellar luminosity and mass ratios. These ratios vary considerably throughout the galaxies, generally between the range $0.01\leq L_{\rm dust}/L_\ast\leq 0.6$ and $10^{-4}\leq M_{\rm dust}/M_\ast\leq 4\times10^{-3}$. We observe that the dust/stellar ratios depend on the interstellar medium (ISM) environment, such as the distance from currently or previously star-forming regions, and on the intensity of the interstellar radiation field (ISRF). In addition, we construct star formation rate (SFR) maps, and find that the SFR is correlated with the dust/stellar luminosity and dust temperature in both galaxies, demonstrating the relation between star formation, dust emission and heating, though these correlations exhibit substantial scatter.Comment: 15 pages, 18 figures; ApJ, in press; version published in the journal will have higher-resolution figure

Frame Dependence of Spin-One Angular Conditions in Light Front Dynamics

We elaborate the frame dependence of the angular conditions for spin-1 form factors. An extra angular condition is found in addition to the usual angular condition relating the four helicity amplitudes. Investigating the frame-dependence of the angular conditions, we find that the extra angular condition is in general as complicated as the usual one, although it becomes very simple in the $q^+ = 0$ frame involving only two helicity amplitudes. It is confirmed that the angular conditions are identical in frames that are connected by kinematical transformations. The high $Q^2$ behaviors of the physical form factors and the limiting behaviors in special reference frames are also discussed.Comment: 29 pages RevTeX. submitted to Phys. Rev.

Parity-Violating Excitation of the \Delta(1232): Hadron Structure and New Physics

We consider prospects for studying the parity-violating (PV) electroweak excitation of the \Delta(1232) resonance with polarized electron scattering. Given present knowledge of Standard Model parameters, such PV experiments could allow a determination of the N -> \Delta electroweak helicity amplitudes. We discuss the experimental feasibility and theoretical interpretability of such a determination as well as the prospective implications for hadron structure theory. We also analyze the extent to which a PV N -> \Delta measurement could constrain various extensions of the Standard Model.Comment: 43 pages, RevTex, 8 PS figures, uses epsf.sty, rotate.sty, version to appear in Nucl. Phys. A, main points emphasized, some typos correcte

Mechanical land clearing to promote establishment of coastal sandplain grassland and shrubland communities

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2005. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Blackwell Publishing for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Restoration Ecology 14 (2006): 220-232, doi:10.1111/j.1526-100X.2006.00124.x.The decline in grasslands and other species-rich early-successional habitats on the coastal sandplains of the northeastern U.S. has spurred management to increase the area of these declining plant communities. We mechanically removed overstory oak and applied seed from a nearby sandplain grassland on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts to evaluate this technique for creating an open oak community able to support sandplain herbaceous species. We compared vegetation structure and composition before and after clearing in an area of total tree removal (clearcutting), an area where 85% of tree basal area was removed (savanna cutting) and in adjacent coastal oak forest. Plant responses to clearcutting and savanna cutting were similar. Sandplain herbs colonized at high frequencies after seeding and increasing herbaceous cover from <7% before clearing to 22-38% three growing seasons later. Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvania sedge) increased in cover ~ 6-fold, accounting for 84-90% of the increased herbaceous cover. Other native ruderals, and exotic herbs reached 6%, 2%, and 1%, cover respectively, after three years. Species richness across cleared treatments increased from 30 to 79 species. All forest species were retained. Forest shrubs and trees initially declined from their dominant cover, but rebounded after three years. Tree clearing plus seeding appeared to be a viable management practice for increasing cover of herbaceous sandplain species while causing minimal increases in exotic herbaceous cover. The long-term persistence of sandplain herbs may require periodic disturbances that limit woody regrowth.This work was funded by grants from the A. W. Mellon Foundation and the Massachusetts Environmental Trust to MBL and from the Kohlberg Foundation to TNC

A unified meson-baryon potential

We study the spectra of mesons and baryons, composed of light quarks, in the framework of a semirelativistic potential model including instanton induced forces. We show how a simple modification of the instanton interaction in the baryon sector allows a good description of the meson and the baryon spectra using an interaction characterized by a unique set of parameters.Comment: 7 figure

The pion photoproduction in the \Delta(1232) region

We investigate the pion photoproduction in the \Delta(1232) region in the framework of an effective Lagrangian including pions, nulceon and \Delta(1232). We work to third order in a small scale expansion with both $m_{\pi}$ and $M_{\Delta}-M_N$ treated as light scales. We note that in the $\Delta$ region, straightward power counting breaks as the amplitudes become very large, to deal with this problem, we suggest that the appropriate way to compare theoretical calculations with experimental data is via weighted integrals of the amplitudes through the $\Delta$ region.Comment: 34 pages and 5 figures,new counterterms arr adde