User guide : Groundwater Vulnerability (Scotland) GIS dataset. Version 2

This report describes a revised version (Version 2) of the groundwater vulnerability (Scotland) digital dataset produced by the British Geological Survey (BGS). Version 1 of the dataset was produced in 2004 by the British Geological Survey (BGS) and the Macaulay Institute (now the James Hutton Institute) on behalf of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), funded by the Scotland and Northern Ireland Forum for Environmental Research (SNIFFER). Version 2 uses updated input data and a slightly modified methodology. The map shows the relative vulnerability of groundwater to contamination across Scotland. Groundwater vulnerability is the tendency and likelihood for general contaminants to move vertically through the unsaturated zone and reach the water table after introduction at the ground surface. On this map, groundwater vulnerability is described by one of five relative classes ranging from 1 (lowest vulnerability) to 5 (highest vulnerability). The groundwater vulnerability map is a screening tool that can be used to show the relative threat to groundwater quality from contamination across Scotland. It can provide guidance on the vulnerability of groundwater at a regional scale, highlighting areas at comparatively higher risk of groundwater contamination, and can help indicate the degree of specific site investigation required for a new development or activity. It is designed to be used at a scale of 1:100,000 and should be regarded as a tool to aid groundwater risk assessment rather than a complete solution

User guide : Aquifer Productivity (Scotland) GIS Datasets. Version 2

This report describes a revised version (Version 2) of the aquifer productivity (Scotland) datasets produced by the British Geological Survey (BGS). There are two maps: bedrock aquifer productivity and superficial deposits aquifer productivity. Version 1 of these datasets was produced in 2004. Version 2 uses updated geological linework and a slightly modified methodology. The aquifer productivity maps describe the potential of aquifers across Scotland to sustain various levels of borehole water supply, and the dominant groundwater flow types in each aquifer. The bedrock aquifer productivity map has five aquifer productivity classes (very high, high, moderate, low and very low); and three groundwater flow categories (significant intergranular flow; mixed fracture/intergranular flow; and fracture flow). The superficial deposits productivity map has four productivity classes (high; moderate to high; moderate; and a category to signify that a deposit is ‘not a significant aquifer’). All superficial deposits aquifers in Scotland are assumed to have primarily intergranular groundwater flow. The aquifer productivity maps are a tool to indicate the location and productivity of aquifers across Scotland. They have been used to help characterise groundwater bodies as required by the Water Framework Directive, and may have several other uses, including in policy analysis and development; to prioritise aquifer and site investigations; to inform planning decisions; and to improve awareness of groundwater in general. The complexity and heterogeneity of geological formations means that the maps are only a guide. They are designed to be used at a scale of 1:100,000, and not to assess aquifer conditions at a single point

Macdonald Polynomials from Sklyanin Algebras: A Conceptual Basis for the pp-Adics-Quantum Group Connection

We establish a previously conjectured connection between $p$-adics and quantum groups. We find in Sklyanin's two parameter elliptic quantum algebra and its generalizations, the conceptual basis for the Macdonald polynomials, which ``interpolate'' between the zonal spherical functions of related real and $p$\--adic symmetric spaces. The elliptic quantum algebras underlie the $Z_n$\--Baxter models. We show that in the n \air \infty limit, the Jost function for the scattering of {\em first} level excitations in the $Z_n$\--Baxter model coincides with the Harish\--Chandra\--like $c$\--function constructed from the Macdonald polynomials associated to the root system $A_1$. The partition function of the $Z_2$\--Baxter model itself is also expressed in terms of this Macdonald\--Harish\--Chandra\ $c$\--function, albeit in a less simple way. We relate the two parameters $q$ and $t$ of the Macdonald polynomials to the anisotropy and modular parameters of the Baxter model. In particular the $p$\--adic ``regimes'' in the Macdonald polynomials correspond to a discrete sequence of XXZ models. We also discuss the possibility of ``$q$\--deforming'' Euler products.Comment: 25 page

Observation of Scaling Violations in Scaled Momentum Distributions at HERA

Charged particle production has been measured in deep inelastic scattering (DIS) events over a large range of $x$ and $Q^2$ using the ZEUS detector. The evolution of the scaled momentum, $x_p$, with $Q^2,$ in the range 10 to 1280 $GeV^2$, has been investigated in the current fragmentation region of the Breit frame. The results show clear evidence, in a single experiment, for scaling violations in scaled momenta as a function of $Q^2$.Comment: 21 pages including 4 figures, to be published in Physics Letters B. Two references adde

Optical Properties of III-Mn-V Ferromagnetic Semiconductors

We review the first decade of extensive optical studies of ferromagnetic, III-Mn-V diluted magnetic semiconductors. Mn introduces holes and local moments to the III-V host, which can result in carrier mediated ferromagnetism in these disordered semiconductors. Spectroscopic experiments provide direct access to the strength and nature of the exchange between holes and local moments; the degree of itineracy of the carriers; and the evolution of the states at the Fermi energy with doping. Taken together, diversity of optical methods reveal that Mn is an unconventional dopant, in that the metal to insulator transition is governed by the strength of the hybridization between Mn and its p-nictogen neighbor. The interplay between the optical, electronic and magnetic properties of III-Mn-V magnetic semiconductors is of fundamental interest and may enable future spin-optoelectronic devices.Comment: Topical Revie

Fundamental studies of passivity and passivity breakdown

This report summarizes the findings of our fundamental research program on passivity and passivity breakdown. During the past three and one half years in this program (including the three year incrementally-funded grant prior to the present grant), we developed and experimentally tested various physical models for the growth and breakdown of passive films on metal surfaces. These models belong to a general class termed point defects models'' (PDMs), in which the growth and breakdown of passive films are described in terms of the movement of anion and cation vacancies

Early above- and below-ground responses of subboreal conifer seedlings to various levels of deciduous canopy removal

We examined the growth of understory conifers, following partial or complete deciduous canopy removal, in a field study established in two regions in Canada. In central British Columbia, we studied the responses of three species (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca (Beissn.) Franco, Picea glauca (Moench) Voss x Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm., and Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt.), and in northwestern Quebec, we studied one species (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.). Stem and root diameter and height growth were measured 5 years before and 3 years after harvesting. Both root and stem diameter growth increased sharply following release but seedlings showed greater root growth, suggesting that in the short term, improvement in soil resource capture and transport, and presumably stability, may be more important than an increase in stem diameter and height growth. Response was strongly size dependent, which appears to reflect greater demand for soil resources as well as higher light levels and greater tree vigour before release for taller individuals. Growth ratios could not explain the faster response generally attributed to true fir species or the unusual swift response of spruces. Good prerelease vigour of spruces, presumably favoured by deciduous canopies, could explain their rapid response to release

Search of the Orion spur for continuous gravitational waves using a loosely coherent algorithm on data from LIGO interferometers

We report results of a wideband search for periodic gravitational waves from isolated neutron stars within the Orion spur towards both the inner and outer regions of our Galaxy. As gravitational waves interact very weakly with matter, the search is unimpeded by dust and concentrations of stars. One search disk (A) is 6.87° in diameter and centered on 20h10m54.71s+33°33′25.29′′, and the other (B) is 7.45° in diameter and centered on 8h35m20.61s-46°49′25.151′′. We explored the frequency range of 50-1500 Hz and frequency derivative from 0 to -5×10-9 Hz/s. A multistage, loosely coherent search program allowed probing more deeply than before in these two regions, while increasing coherence length with every stage. Rigorous follow-up parameters have winnowed the initial coincidence set to only 70 candidates, to be examined manually. None of those 70 candidates proved to be consistent with an isolated gravitational-wave emitter, and 95% confidence level upper limits were placed on continuous-wave strain amplitudes. Near 169 Hz we achieve our lowest 95% C.L. upper limit on the worst-case linearly polarized strain amplitude h0 of 6.3×10-25, while at the high end of our frequency range we achieve a worst-case upper limit of 3.4×10-24 for all polarizations and sky locations. © 2016 American Physical Society