The First Year IceCube-DeepCore Results

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory includes a tightly spaced inner array in the deepest ice, called DeepCore, which gives access to low-energy neutrinos with a sizable surrounding cosmic ray muon veto. Designed to be sensitive to neutrinos at energies as low as 10 GeV, DeepCore will be used to study diverse physics topics with neutrino signatures, such as dark matter annihilations and atmospheric neutrino oscillations. The first year of DeepCore physics data-taking has been completed, and the first observation of atmospheric neutrino-induced cascades with IceCube and DeepCore are presented.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, TAUP 2011 (Journal of Physics: Conference Series (JCPS)

Estimation of Maximum Advance in Kaka-Reza Water Conveyance Tunnel at 700 Meter Depth

The purpose of this research is the determination of maximum rate of advance in one stage of blasting in middle zone of Kaka-Reza water conveyance tunnel. In this zone of tunnel with average 700 meters of overburden, based on geological and geo-mechanical conditions, the supporting system will install immediately after excavation. The methodology of this research is combined of direct strain evaluation technique (DSET), numerical modeling (FLAC 2D) and convergence analysis. The research is done in three stages. At the first stage, the allowable strain in surrounding rock mass of tunnel is calculated based on DSET. At the second stage, allowable convergence is determined by using the value of allowable strain and numerical modeling (FLAC 2D) together. At the third stage of research, with using of convergence analysis and value of allowable convergence, the maximum rate of advance in one stage of blasting is determined and equal to one meter

The Performance of CRTNT Fluorescence Light Detector for Sub-EeV Cosmic Ray Observation

Cosmic Ray Tau Neutrino Telescopes (CRTNT) using for sub-EeV cosmic ray measurement is discussed. Performances of a stereoscope configuration with a tower of those telescopes plus two side-triggers are studied. This is done by using a detailed detector simulation driven by Corsika. Detector aperture as a function of shower energy above 10^17 eV is calculated. Event rate of about 20k per year for the second knee measurement is estimated. Event rate for cross calibration with detectors working on higher energy range is also estimated. Different configurations of the detectors are tried for optimization.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted to HEP & N

Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Rays and Neutrinos

The observation of neutrinos from cosmic accelerators will be revolutionary. High energy neutrinos are closely connected to ultrahigh energy cosmic rays and their sources. Cosmic ray sources are likely to produce neutrinos and the propagation of ultrahigh cosmic rays from distant sources can generate PeV to ZeV neutrinos. We briefly review recent progress on the observations of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays and their implications for the future detections of high energy neutrinos.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, Proceedings of NOW (Neutrino Oscillation Workshop) 2010, to appear in Nucl. Phys. B (Proc. Suppl.

Dethinning Extensive Air Shower Simulations

We describe a method for restoring information lost during statistical thinning in extensive air shower simulations. By converting weighted particles from thinned simulations to swarms of particles with similar characteristics, we obtain a result that is essentially identical to the thinned shower, and which is very similar to non-thinned simulations of showers. We call this method dethinning. Using non-thinned showers on a large scale is impossible because of unrealistic CPU time requirements, but with thinned showers that have been dethinned, it is possible to carry out large-scale simulation studies of the detector response for ultra-high energy cosmic ray surface arrays. The dethinning method is described in detail and comparisons are presented with parent thinned showers and with non-thinned showers

Modeling biochar-soil depth dependency on fecal coliform straining under subsurface drip irrigation

Funding Information: This work was supported by Shahrekord University, Iran. N. Sepehrnia is funded by a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship, United Kingdom under the grant agreement No. 101026287. We acknowledge University of Aberdeen, UK for supporting this project.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays: Anisotropies and Spectrum

The recent results of the Pierre Auger Observatory on the possible correlation of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays events and several nearby discrete sources could be the starting point of a new era with charged particles astronomy. In this paper we introduce a simple model to determine the effects of any local distribution of sources on the expected flux. We consider two populations of sources: faraway sources uniformly distributed and local point sources. We study the effects on the expected flux of the local distribution of sources, referring also to the set of astrophysical objects whose correlation with the Auger events is experimentally claimed.Comment: 17 pages, 13 eps figures, version accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physic

The Impact of Joinder and Severance on Federal Criminal Cases: An Empirical Study

Dave is in trouble. It was bad enough to be arrested for bank robbery; now he has learned that the prosecutor plans to join the current charge with three other, unrelated bank robberies and present all four counts in a single trial. To his priest and to his lawyer, Dave admits that he committed the first and the second robberies, but he did not commit the third or fourth. Dave is smart enough to realize, however, that once the jury starts hearing evidence of some of the crimes-all of which will sound quite similar-his ability to cast doubt on the remaining charges will be dimmed. And Dave\u27s lawyer is smart enough to know that once the charges are joined, the chances of splitting them apart are relatively small. It is widely assumed that criminal defendants who face multiple charges in a single trial have a harder time prevailing than those who face several trials of one count each. Conventional wisdom also has it that a defendant who is joined for trial with other suspects is in a worse position than one who stands trial alone. These assumptions have never been tested empirically; this Article tries to fill the gap. Looking at nearly 20,000 federal criminal trials over a five-year period, the Article asks if the traditional beliefs are true and, if so, tries to measure the impact on trial outcomes of joining counts and defendants. The effect of joinder on criminal cases is part of a larger debate about how best to manage a growing criminal docket while still providing individual justice. The battle lines are easy to describe: courts and prosecutors typically want joined proceedings, defendants usually don\u27t. Courts believe that consolidated proceedings play a vital role \u27 in the administration of justice; defendants believe that they are a source of great prejudice. The problem is that both sides are right. The details of joinder and severance law are dry, even boring, and perhaps as a result, the impact of consolidated trials has received little scholarly attention. But the consequences are widespread: more than half of all federal defendants are charged with multiple counts, roughly one-third are joined with other defendants, and an overlapping one-quarter face both-a single proceeding with multiple charges plus one or more co-defendants. If joinder makes a conviction significantly more likely, it should have a bearing on prosecutors\u27 charging decisions, judicial rulings on severance motions, and defense decisions on whether to plead or stand trial. More importantly, understanding the dimensions of any prejudice should tell us something important about the tradeoffs we make between fairness to the accused and efficiency in processing criminal cases. Part II provides some background and describes the risks created by joinder. Part III(A) sets forth some working hypotheses and then offers an original empirical case for the prejudicial impact of joinder on the defense. Part III(B) then tests the empirical case with statistical models, trying to control for various features besides joinder that might explain the differences in trial outcome. To preview the results: it turns out that there is a measurable and significant prejudicial effect from joining multiple counts in a single trial, but the impact of joining multiple defendants is far less clear. With the results of the empirical test in hand, Part 1V argues for a reconsideration of the competing interests and poses questions for future study