1,708 research outputs found
The high-lying Li levels at excitation energy around 21 MeV
The H+He cluster structure in Li was investigated by the
H(,H He)n kinematically complete experiment at the incident
energy = 67.2 MeV. We have observed two resonances at =
21.30 and 21.90 MeV which are consistent with the He(H, )Li
analysis in the Ajzenberg-Selove compilation. Our data are compared with the
previous experimental data and the RGM and CSRGM calculations.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in J. Phys. Soc. Jp
Segmented scintillation detectors with silicon photomultiplier readout for measuring antiproton annihilations
The Atomic Spectroscopy and Collisions Using Slow Antiprotons (ASACUSA)
experiment at the Antiproton Decelerator (AD) facility of CERN constructed
segmented scintillators to detect and track the charged pions which emerge from
antiproton annihilations in a future superconducting radiofrequency Paul trap
for antiprotons. A system of 541 cast and extruded scintillator bars were
arranged in 11 detector modules which provided a spatial resolution of 17 mm.
Green wavelength-shifting fibers were embedded in the scintillators, and read
out by silicon photomultipliers which had a sensitive area of 1 x 1 mm^2. The
photoelectron yields of various scintillator configurations were measured using
a negative pion beam of momentum p ~ 1 GeV/c. Various fibers and silicon
photomultipliers, fiber end terminations, and couplings between the fibers and
scintillators were compared. The detectors were also tested using the
antiproton beam of the AD. Nonlinear effects due to the saturation of the
silicon photomultiplier were seen at high annihilation rates of the
antiprotons.Comment: Copyright 2014 American Institute of Physics. This article may be
downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of
the author and the American Institute of Physics. The following article
appeared in Review of Scientific Instruments, Vol.85, Issue 2, 2014 and may
be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.486364
A Bayesian palaeoenvironmental transfer function model for acidified lakes
A Bayesian approach to palaeoecological environmental reconstruction deriving from the unimodal responses generally exhibited by organisms to an environmental gradient is described. The approach uses Bayesian model selection to calculate a collection of probability-weighted, species-specific response curves (SRCs) for each taxon within a training set, with an explicit treatment for zero abundances. These SRCs are used to reconstruct the environmental variable from sub-fossilised assemblages. The approach enables a substantial increase in computational efficiency (several orders of magnitude) over existing Bayesian methodologies. The model is developed from the Surface Water Acidification Programme (SWAP) training set and is demonstrated to exhibit comparable predictive power to existing Weighted Averaging and Maximum Likelihood methodologies, though with improvements in bias; the additional explanatory power of the Bayesian approach lies in an explicit calculation of uncertainty for each individual reconstruction. The model is applied to reconstruct the Holocene acidification history of the Round Loch of Glenhead, including a reconstruction of recent recovery derived from sediment trap data.The Bayesian reconstructions display similar trends to conventional (Weighted Averaging Partial Least Squares) reconstructions but provide a better reconstruction of extreme pH and are more sensitive to small changes in diatom assemblages. The validity of the posteriors as an apparently meaningful representation of assemblage-specific uncertainty and the high computational efficiency of the approach open up the possibility of highly constrained multiproxy reconstructions
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Monitoring on the performance of temporary props using wireless strain sensing
Although temporary props have been extensively used in underground support systems, their actual performance is poorly understood, resulting in potentially conservative and over-engineered design. This paper presents the performance monitoring of 4 temporary props in an urban construction site using a newly developed wireless strain sensor node featuring a 24-bit ADC. For each prop, 6 strain gauges and 3 temperature sensors were directly attached onto the prop surface using super glue, and then connected to a wireless strain sensor node mounted in the middle span. Each sensor node transmitted both monitoring data and network diagnostic messages in near-real-Time over an IPv6-based (6LoWPAN) wireless mesh sensor network. The data were also stored locally at each node on a micro SD card. Extensive testing and calibration was undertaken in the laboratory to ensure that the system functioned as expected. The prop loads are presented without correction for temperature effects and compared with the design loads. The monitoring data reveal the development of loads in temporary props during excavation, the formation of the basement and the extraction of the props. The network performance characteristics in terms of message reception ratio and network topology evolution are also highlighted and discussed
Fluorescence Efficiency and Visible Re-emission Spectrum of Tetraphenyl Butadiene Films at Extreme Ultraviolet Wavelengths
A large number of current and future experiments in neutrino and dark matter
detection use the scintillation light from noble elements as a mechanism for
measuring energy deposition. The scintillation light from these elements is
produced in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) range, from 60 - 200 nm. Currently,
the most practical technique for observing light at these wavelengths is to
surround the scintillation volume with a thin film of Tetraphenyl Butadiene
(TPB) to act as a fluor. The TPB film absorbs EUV photons and reemits visible
photons, detectable with a variety of commercial photosensors. Here we present
a measurement of the re-emission spectrum of TPB films when illuminated with
128, 160, 175, and 250 nm light. We also measure the fluorescence efficiency as
a function of incident wavelength from 120 to 250 nm.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, Submitted to Nuclear Instruments and Methods in
Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and
Associated Equipmen
Optical nanofibers and spectroscopy
We review our recent progress in the production and characterization of
tapered optical fibers with a sub-wavelength diameter waist. Such fibers
exhibit a pronounced evanescent field and are therefore a useful tool for
highly sensitive evanescent wave spectroscopy of adsorbates on the fiber waist
or of the medium surrounding. We use a carefully designed flame pulling process
that allows us to realize preset fiber diameter profiles. In order to determine
the waist diameter and to verify the fiber profile, we employ scanning electron
microscope measurements and a novel accurate in situ optical method based on
harmonic generation. We use our fibers for linear and non-linear absorption and
fluorescence spectroscopy of surface-adsorbed organic molecules and investigate
their agglomeration dynamics. Furthermore, we apply our spectroscopic method to
quantum dots on the surface of the fiber waist and to caesium vapor surrounding
the fiber. Finally, towards dispersive measurements, we present our first
results on building and testing a single-fiber bi-modal interferometer.Comment: 13 pages, 18 figures. Accepted for publication in Applied Physics B.
Changes according to referee suggestions: changed title, clarification of
some points in the text, added references, replacement of Figure 13
Tax avoidance as an anti-austerity issue: the progress of a protest issue through the public sphere
Theorists of left and right agree that periods of crisis are fertile times at which to precipitate change. However, protesters on the periphery of the public sphere must overcome barriers, or what Habermas called âsluice gatesâ, if their discourse is to be publicly and politically influential. This study of newspaper discourse and activity in parliament and the public sphere over a six year period takes tax justice campaigning in the UK as a case study, and in particular protest group UK Uncutâs attempt to mobilize opposition to austerity by advocating a crackdown on tax avoidance as an alternative to cuts. It finds that whilst UK Uncut successfully amplified existing arguments previously raised by experts, trade unions and the left-leaning press, austerity barely figured in debate about tax avoidance once it was picked up by other actors in the public sphere on the other side of the 'sluice gates'. The reasons for this were structural and discursive, related to the role and interests of receptive actors at the institutional centre of the public sphere, and their ability, along with the conservative press, to transform the moral framing of tax avoidance from the injustice of making the poor pay for the financial crisis through cuts, into the 'unfairness' of middle class earners paying higher taxes than wealthier individuals and corporations. The latter reifies the 'hardworking taxpayer', and implies a more instrumental and clientalistic relationship to the state, and an essentially neoliberal sense of fairness. Where neoliberal ideology was challenged, it was in social conservative terms â nationalist opposition to globalisation, framing multinational corporations as a threat to the domestic high street â rather than protestersâ social democratic challenge to market power and social injustice. This indicates how a progressive message from the periphery can be co-opted into the currently resurgent right-wing populism
Spatial structure of the 8200 cal yr BP event in northern Europe
International audienceA synthesis of well-dated high-resolution pollen records suggests a spatial structure in the 8200 cal yr BP event in northern Europe. The temperate, thermophilous tree taxa, especially Corylus, Ulmus, and Alnus, decline abruptly between 8300 and 8000 cal yr BP at most sites located south of 61° N, whereas there is no clear change in pollen values at the sites located in the North-European tree-line region. Pollen-based quantitative temperature reconstructions and several other, independent palaeoclimate proxies, such as lacustrine oxygen-isotope records, reflect the same pattern, with no detectable cooling in the sub-arctic region. The observed patterns challenges the general view of the wide-spread occurrence of the 8200 cal yr BP event in the North Atlantic region. An alternative explanation is that the cooling during the 8200 cal yr BP event took place mostly during the winter and spring, and the ecosystems in the south responded sensitively to the cooling during the onset of the growing season. In contrast, in the sub-arctic area, where the vegetation was still dormant and lakes ice-covered, the cold event is not reflected in pollen-based or lake-sediment-based records
Preliminary archaeoentomological analyses of permafrost-preserved cultural layers from the pre-contact Yupâik Eskimo site of Nunalleq, Alaska : implications, potential and methodological considerations
Acknowledgements Site excavation and samples collection were conducted by archaeologists from the University of Aberdeen, with the help of archaeologists and student excavators from the University of Aberdeen University of Alaska Fairbanks and Bryn Mawr College, Kuskokwim Campus, College of Rural Alaska and residents of Quinhagak and Mekoryuk. This study is funded through AHRC grant to the project âUnderstanding Cultural Resilience and Climate Change on the Bering Sea through Yupâik Ecological Knowledge, Lifeways, Learning and Archaeologyâ to Rick Knecht, Kate Britton and Charlotta Hillderal (University of Aberdeen; AH/K006029/1). Thanks are due to Qanirtuuq Inc. and Quinhagak, Alaska for sampling permissions and to entomologists working at the CNC in Ottawa for allowing access to reference collections of beetles, lice and fleas. Yves Bousquet, Ales Smetana and Anthony E. Davies are specially acknowledged for their help with the identification of coleopteran specimens. Finally, we would also like to thank Scott Elias for useful comments on the original manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Analysis of a Large Sample of Neutrino-Induced Muons with the ArgoNeuT Detector
ArgoNeuT, or Argon Neutrino Test, is a 170 liter liquid argon time projection
chamber designed to collect neutrino interactions from the NuMI beam at Fermi
National Accelerator Laboratory. ArgoNeuT operated in the NuMI low-energy beam
line directly upstream of the MINOS Near Detector from September 2009 to
February 2010, during which thousands of neutrino and antineutrino events were
collected. The MINOS Near Detector was used to measure muons downstream of
ArgoNeuT. Though ArgoNeuT is primarily an R&D project, the data collected
provide a unique opportunity to measure neutrino cross sections in the 0.1-10
GeV energy range. Fully reconstructing the muon from these interactions is
imperative for these measurements. This paper focuses on the complete kinematic
reconstruction of neutrino-induced through-going muons tracks. Analysis of this
high statistics sample of minimum ionizing tracks demonstrates the reliability
of the geometric and calorimetric reconstruction in the ArgoNeuT detector
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