Crystallographic studies of two polymorphs of hydrodicarbonylbis (triphenyphosphine) iridium (I) and of two nitrido-bridged transition metal complexes

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Right-handed Dirac Neutrinos in νe−\nu e^{-} Scattering and Azimuthal Asymmetry in Recoil Electron Event Rates

In this paper a scenario with the participation of the exotic scalar S, tensor T and pseudoscalar couplings of the right-handed neutrinos in addition to the standard vector V, axial A couplings of the left-handed neutrinos in the low-energy $(\nu_{\mu}e^{-})$ and $(\nu_{e}e^{-})$ scattering processes is considered. Neutrinos are assumed to be massive Dirac fermions and to be polarized. Both reactions are studied at the level of the four-fermion point interaction. The main goal is to show that the physical consequence of the presence of the right-handed neutrinos is an appearance of the azimuthal asymmetry in the angular distribution of the recoil electrons caused by the non-vanishing interference terms between the standard and exotic couplings, proportional to the transverse neutrino polarization vector. The upper limits on the expected effect of this asymmetry for the low-energy neutrinos $(E_{\nu} < 1 MeV)$ are found. We also show that if the neutrino helicity rotation $(\nu_{eL} \to \nu_{eR})$ in the solar magnetic field takes place, the similar effect of the azimuthal asymmetry of the recoil electrons scattered by the solar neutrinos should be observed. This effect would also come from the interference terms between the standard $(V, A)_{L}$ and exotic $(S, T, P)_{R}$ couplings. New-type neutrino detectors with good angular resolution could search for the azimuthal asymmetry in event number.Comment: EPJ C style, 14 pages, 5 eps figures; to appear in Eur. Phys. J

Predictability lost: the German political scene after the elections. OSW Commentary NUMBER 254 | 22.11.2017

Both in Germany and abroad, the commentary on the recent elections in Germany has been dominated by the analysis of the results scored by the anti-immigrant and anti-Islam Alternative for Germany (AfD), particularly in the eastern and southern parts of the country. The party had been almost certain to make it to the Bundestag long before the 24 September elections: the result it has just scored was only slightly better than what the pre-election polls suggested. The results scored by the two mass parties, the CDU/CSU and the SPD, were much worse than the poll predictions. It is these parties’ results that offer an insight into the evolution of German voters’ political identities. Moreover, they are of key importance when assessing and predicting the upcoming events on the German political scene. In the short term, it is unlikely that the old parties will break up or that new ones will emerge. However, it is likely that the traditional mass parties will continue to lose their electoral base. Parties with a distinct ideology such as the AfD, which is likely to be an uncompromising opposition party, may continue to gain ground. Due to the AfD’s presence in the Bundestag, the language of public debate in Germany is likely to become increasingly aggressive, and the narratives of the AfD and the remaining parties are diverging to an ever greater extent

The polarized electron target as a new solar-neutrino detector

In this paper, we analyze the scattering of solar neutrinos on the polarized electron target, and predict how the effect of parity violation in weak interactions may help to distinguish neutrino signal from detector background. We indicate that the knowledge of the Sun motion across the sky is sufficient to predict the day/night asymmetry in the $(\nu_ee^-)$ scattering on the polarized electron target. To make this detection feasible, the polarized electron target for solar neutrinos needs to be build from magnetic materials, e.g. from ferromagnetic iron foils, paramagnetic scintillator crystals or scintillating ferrofluids.Comment: 3 pages, 2 eps figures, revte

AfD – the alternative for whom? OSW COMMENTARY NUMBER 231 | 10.02.2017

When in 2013 a group of professors of economics founded Alternative for Germany (Alternative für Deutschland – AfD) it seemed that the name of the new grouping was exaggerated. Taking into account its slogans and its leaders, the AfD could at that time be an alternative for disenchanted voters of the CDU/CSU and the FDP alone. The party’s ‘founding fathers’, among whom there was a large group of former CDU members, did not conceal the fact that their ambitions were not particularly far-reaching. Their basic goal was to influence the CDU so that it would return to its former conservative values

Germany’s ‘refugee’ problem. The most important test for Chancellor Merkel and the grand coalition. OSW COMMENTARY NUMBER 182/11.09.2015 2015-09-11

The rapid increase in the number of immigrants from outside of the EU coming to Germany has become the paramount political issue. According to new estimates, the number of individuals expected arrive in Germany in 2015 and apply for asylum there is 800,000, which is nearly twice as many as estimated in earlier forecasts. Various administrative, financial and social problems related to the influx of migrants are becoming increasingly apparent. The problem of ‘refugees’ (in public debate, the terms ‘immigrants’, ‘refugees’, ‘illegal immigrants’, ‘economic immigrants’ have not been clearly defined and have often been used interchangeably) has been culminating for over a year. Despite this, it was being disregarded by Angela Merkel’s government which was preoccupied with debates on how to rescue Greece. It was only daily reports of cases of refugee centres being set on fire that convinced Chancellor Merkel to speak and to make immigration problem a priority issue (Chefsache). Neither the ruling coalition nor the opposition parties have a consistent idea of how Germany should react to the growing number of refugees. In this matter, divisions run across parties. Various solutions have been proposed, from liberalisation of laws on the right to stay in Germany to combating illegal immigration more effectively, which would be possible if asylum granting procedures were accelerated. The proposed solutions have not been properly thought through, instead they are reactive measures inspired by the results of opinion polls. This is why their assumptions are often contradictory. The situation is similar regarding the actions proposed by Chancellor Merkel which involve faster procedures to expel individuals with no right to stay in Germany and a plan to convince other EU states to accept ‘refugees’. None of these ideas is new – they were already present in the German internal debate

Elections to the Bundestag: make or break for the liberal party. OSW Commentary NUMBER 248 | 23.06.2017

Many commentators viewed the FDP’s defeat in the 2013 Bundestag elections, when the party failed to cross the 5% electoral threshold, as the end of the German liberal party. This view was further confirmed by another local election which the FDP lost, and by the dwindling number of party members. The FDP became a symbol of the maladies affecting German political life, and of politicians’ faults: clientelism, opportunism, a lack of direction and greed. The party had been present in the Bundestag for 64 subsequent years, and had been a member of government coalitions for 45 years. It also served as the power base for two presidents of Germany, as well as for Hans-Dietrich Genscher, for many years Germany’s foreign minister. However, during a period of just four years (2009–2013), when it co-ruled the country alongside the CDU/CSU, the FDP became unelectable