Ecological criteria for evaluation candidate sites for marine reserves

Several schemes have been developed to help select the locations of marine reserves. All of them combine social, economic, and biological criteria, and few offer any guidance as to how to prioritize among the criteria identified. This can imply that the relative weights given to different criteria are unimportant. Where two sites are of equal value ecologically, then socioeconomic criteria should dominate the choice of which should be protected. However, in many cases, socioeconomic criteria are given equal or greater weight than ecological considerations in the choice of sites. This can lead to selection of reserves with little biological value that fail to meet many of the desired objectives. To avoid such a possibility, we develop a series of criteria that allow preliminary evaluation of candidate sites according to their relative biological values in advance of the application of socioeconomic criteria. We include criteria that, while not strictly biological, have a strong influence on the species present or ecological processes. Our scheme enables sites to be assessed according to their biodiversity, the processes which underpin that diversity, and the processes that support fisheries and provide a spectrum of other services important to people. Criteria that capture biodiversity values include biogeographic representation, habitat representation and heterogeneity, and presence of species or populations of special interest (e.g., threatened species). Criteria that capture sustainability of biodiversity and fishery values include the size of reserves necessary to protect viable habitats, presence of exploitable species, vulnerable life stages, connectivity among reserves, links among ecosystems, and provision of ecosystem services to people. Criteria measuring human and natural threats enable candidate sites to be eliminated from consideration if risks are too great, but also help prioritize among sites where threats can be mitigated by protection. While our criteria can be applied to the design of reserve networks, they also enable choice of single reserves to be made in the context of the attributes of existing protected areas. The overall goal of our scheme is to promote the development of reserve networks that will maintain biodiversity and ecosystem functioning at large scales. The values of ecosystem goods and services for people ultimately depend on meeting this objective

CuSiO_3 : a quasi - one - dimensional S=1/2 antiferromagnetic chain system

CuSiO_3, isotypic to the spin - Peierls compound CuGeO_3, was discovered recently as a metastable decomposition product of the silicate mineral dioptase, Cu_6Si_6O_{18}\cdot6H_2O. We investigated the physical properties of CuSiO_3 using susceptibility, magnetization and specific heat measurements on powder samples. The magnetic susceptibility \chi(T) is reproduced very well above T = 8 K by theoretical calculations for an S=1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg linear chain without frustration (\alpha = 0) and a nearest - neighbor exchange coupling constant of J/k_{B} = 21 K, much weaker than in CuGeO_3. Below 8 K the susceptibility exhibits a substantial drop. This feature is identified as a second - order phase transition at T_{0} = 7.9 K by specific heat measurements. The influence of magnetic fields on T_{0} is weak, and ac - magnetization measurements give strong evidence for a spin - flop - phase at \mu_0H_{SF} ~ 3 T. The origin of the magnetic phase transition at T_{0} = 7.9 K is discussed in the context of long - range antiferromagnetic order (AF) versus spin - Peierls(SP)order. Susceptibility and specific heat results support the AF ordered ground state. Additional temperature dependent ^{63,65}Cu nuclear quadrupole resonance experiments have been carried out to probe the Cu^{2+} electronic state and the spin dynamics in CuSiO_3

Transitions from small to large Fermi momenta in a one-dimensional Kondo lattice model

We study a one-dimensional system that consists of an electron gas coupled to a spin-1/2 chain by Kondo interaction away from half-filling. We show that zero-temperature transitions between phases with "small" and "large" Fermi momenta can be continuous. Such a continuous but Fermi-momentum-changing transition arises in the presence of spin anisotropy, from a Luttinger liquid with a small Fermi momentum to a Kondo-dimer phase with a large Fermi momentum. We have also added a frustrating next-nearest-neighbor interaction in the spin chain to show the possibility of a similar Fermi-momentum-changing transition, between the Kondo phase and a spin-Peierls phase, in the spin isotropic case. This transition, however, appears to involve a region in which the two phases coexist.Comment: The updated version clarifies the definitions of small and large Fermi momenta, the role of anisotropy, and how Kondo interaction affects Luttinger liquid phase. 12 pages, 5 figure

Spin-Peierls and Antiferromagnetic Phases in Cu{1-x}Zn{x}GeO{3}: A Neutron Scattering Study

Comprehensive neutron scattering studies were carried out on a series of high-quality single crystals of Cu_{1-x}Zn_xGeO_3. The Zn concentration, x, was determined for each sample using Electron Probe Micro-Analysis. The measured Zn concentrations were found to be 40-80% lower than the nominal values. Nevertheless the measured concentrations cover a wide range which enables a systematic study of the effects due to Zn-doping. We have confirmed the coexistence of spin-Peierls (SP) and antiferromagnetic (AF) orderings at low temperatures and the measured phase diagram is presented. Most surprisingly, long-range AF ordering occurs even in the lowest available Zn concentration, x=0.42%, which places important constraints on theoretical models of the AF-SP coexistence. Magnetic excitations are also examined in detail. The AF excitations are sharp at low energies and show no considerable broadening as x increases indicating that the AF ordering remains long ranged for x up to 4.7%. On the other hand, the SP phase exhibits increasing disorder as x increases, as shown from the broadening of the SP excitations as well as the dimer reflection peaks.Comment: 17 preprint style pages, 9 postscript files included. Submitted to Phys. Rev. B. Also available from http://insti.physics.sunysb.edu/~mmartin/pubs.htm

The microscopic spin-phonon coupling constants in CuGeO_3

Using RPA results, mean field theory, and refined data for the polarization vectors we determine the coupling constants of the four Peierls-active phonon modes to the spin chains of CuGeO_3. We then derive the values of the coupling of the spin system to the linear ionic displacements, the bond lengths and the angles between bonds. Our values are consistent with microscopic theories and various experimental results. We discuss the applicability of static approaches to the spin-phonon coupling. The c-axis anomaly of the thermal expansion is explained. We give the values of the coupling constants in an effective one-dimensional Hamiltonian.Comment: 11 pages, two figures, 13 tables, PRB 59 (in press

A Study of the S=1/2 Alternating Chain using Multiprecision Methods

In this paper we present results for the ground state and low-lying excitations of the $S=1/2$ alternating Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chain. Our more conventional techniques include perturbation theory about the dimer limit and numerical diagonalization of systems of up to 28 spins. A novel application of multiple precision numerical diagonalization allows us to determine analytical perturbation series to high order; the results found using this approach include ninth-order perturbation series for the ground state energy and one magnon gap, which were previously known only to third order. We also give the fifth-order dispersion relation and third-order exclusive neutron scattering structure factor for one-magnon modes and numerical and analytical binding energies of S=0 and S=1 two-magnon bound states.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures. for submission to Phys.Rev.B. PICT files of figs available at http://csep2.phy.ornl.gov/theory_group/people/barnes/barnes.htm

Search for a W' boson decaying to a bottom quark and a top quark in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

Results are presented from a search for a W' boson using a dataset corresponding to 5.0 inverse femtobarns of integrated luminosity collected during 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV. The W' boson is modeled as a heavy W boson, but different scenarios for the couplings to fermions are considered, involving both left-handed and right-handed chiral projections of the fermions, as well as an arbitrary mixture of the two. The search is performed in the decay channel W' to t b, leading to a final state signature with a single lepton (e, mu), missing transverse energy, and jets, at least one of which is tagged as a b-jet. A W' boson that couples to fermions with the same coupling constant as the W, but to the right-handed rather than left-handed chiral projections, is excluded for masses below 1.85 TeV at the 95% confidence level. For the first time using LHC data, constraints on the W' gauge coupling for a set of left- and right-handed coupling combinations have been placed. These results represent a significant improvement over previously published limits.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters B. Replaced with version publishe

Search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV

A search for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons is described. The analysis is performed using a dataset recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC from pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, which corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 inverse femtobarns. Limits are set on the cross section of the standard model Higgs boson decaying to two photons. The expected exclusion limit at 95% confidence level is between 1.4 and 2.4 times the standard model cross section in the mass range between 110 and 150 GeV. The analysis of the data excludes, at 95% confidence level, the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in the mass range 128 to 132 GeV. The largest excess of events above the expected standard model background is observed for a Higgs boson mass hypothesis of 124 GeV with a local significance of 3.1 sigma. The global significance of observing an excess with a local significance greater than 3.1 sigma anywhere in the search range 110-150 GeV is estimated to be 1.8 sigma. More data are required to ascertain the origin of this excess.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters

Search for new physics in events with opposite-sign leptons, jets, and missing transverse energy in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search is presented for physics beyond the standard model (BSM) in final states with a pair of opposite-sign isolated leptons accompanied by jets and missing transverse energy. The search uses LHC data recorded at a center-of-mass energy sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the CMS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 5 inverse femtobarns. Two complementary search strategies are employed. The first probes models with a specific dilepton production mechanism that leads to a characteristic kinematic edge in the dilepton mass distribution. The second strategy probes models of dilepton production with heavy, colored objects that decay to final states including invisible particles, leading to very large hadronic activity and missing transverse energy. No evidence for an event yield in excess of the standard model expectations is found. Upper limits on the BSM contributions to the signal regions are deduced from the results, which are used to exclude a region of the parameter space of the constrained minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model. Additional information related to detector efficiencies and response is provided to allow testing specific models of BSM physics not considered in this paper.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO