Cellular Models for River Networks

A cellular model introduced for the evolution of the fluvial landscape is revisited using extensive numerical and scaling analyses. The basic network shapes and their recurrence especially in the aggregation structure are then addressed. The roles of boundary and initial conditions are carefully analyzed as well as the key effect of quenched disorder embedded in random pinning of the landscape surface. It is found that the above features strongly affect the scaling behavior of key morphological quantities. In particular, we conclude that randomly pinned regions (whose structural disorder bears much physical meaning mimicking uneven landscape-forming rainfall events, geological diversity or heterogeneity in surficial properties like vegetation, soil cover or type) play a key role for the robust emergence of aggregation patterns bearing much resemblance to real river networks.Comment: 7 pages, revtex style, 14 figure

Three-Loop Radiative-Recoil Corrections to Hyperfine Splitting in Muonium

We calculate three-loop radiative-recoil corrections to hyperfine splitting in muonium generated by the diagrams with the first order electron and muon polarization loop insertions in graphs with two exchanged photons. These corrections are enhanced by the large logarithm of the electron-muon mass ratio. The leading logarithm squared contribution was obtained a long time ago. Here we calculate the single-logarithmic and nonlogarithmic contributions. We previously calculated the three-loop radiative-recoil corrections generated by two-loop polarization insertions in the exchanged photons. The current paper therefore concludes calculation of all three-loop radiative-recoil corrections to hyperfine splitting in muonium generated by diagrams with closed fermion loop insertions in the exchanged photons. The new results obtained here improve the theory of hyperfine splitting, and affect the value of the electron-muon mass ratio extracted from experimental data on the muonium hyperfine splitting.Comment: 27 pages, 6 figures, 7 table

Neutron background in large-scale xenon detectors for dark matter searches

Simulations of the neutron background for future large-scale particle dark matter detectors are presented. Neutrons were generated in rock and detector elements via spontaneous fission and (alpha,n) reactions, and by cosmic-ray muons. The simulation techniques and results are discussed in the context of the expected sensitivity of a generic liquid xenon dark matter detector. Methods of neutron background suppression are investigated. A sensitivity of $10^{-9}-10^{-10}$ pb to WIMP-nucleon interactions can be achieved by a tonne-scale detector.Comment: 35 pages, 13 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physic

Perception of Relative Depth Interval: Systematic Biases in Perceived Depth

Given an estimate of the binocular disparity between a pair of points and an estimate of the viewing distance, or knowledge of eye position, it should be possible to obtain an estimate of their depth separation. Here we show that, when points are arranged in different vertical geometric configurations across two intervals, many observers find this task difficult. Those who can do the task tend to perceive the depth interval in one configuration as very different from depth in the other configuration. We explore two plausible explanations for this effect. The first is the tilt of the empirical vertical horopter: Points perceived along an apparently vertical line correspond to a physical line of points tilted backwards in space. Second, the eyes can rotate in response to a particular stimulus. Without compensation for this rotation, biases in depth perception would result. We measured cyclovergence indirectly, using a standard psychophysical task, while observers viewed our depth configuration. Biases predicted from error due either to cyclovergence or to the tilted vertical horopter were not consistent with the depth configuration results. Our data suggest that, even for the simplest scenes, we do not have ready access to metric depth from binocular disparity.</jats:p

High-contrast imaging constraints on gas giant planet formation - The Herbig Ae/Be star opportunity

Planet formation studies are often focused on solar-type stars, implicitly considering our Sun as reference point. This approach overlooks, however, that Herbig Ae/Be stars are in some sense much better targets to study planet formation processes empirically, with their disks generally being larger, brighter and simply easier to observe across a large wavelength range. In addition, massive gas giant planets have been found on wide orbits around early type stars, triggering the question if these objects did indeed form there and, if so, by what process. In the following I briefly review what we currently know about the occurrence rate of planets around intermediate mass stars, before discussing recent results from Herbig Ae/Be stars in the context of planet formation. The main emphasis is put on spatially resolved polarized light images of potentially planet forming disks and how these images - in combination with other data - can be used to empirically constrain (parts of) the planet formation process. Of particular interest are two objects, HD100546 and HD169142, where, in addition to intriguing morphological structures in the disks, direct observational evidence for (very) young planets has been reported. I conclude with an outlook, what further progress we can expect in the very near future with the next generation of high-contrast imagers at 8-m class telescopes and their synergies with ALMA.Comment: Accepted by Astrophysics and Space Science as invited short review in special issue about Herbig Ae/Be stars; 12 pages incl. 5 figures, 2 tables and reference

Method to compute the stress-energy tensor for the massless spin 1/2 field in a general static spherically symmetric spacetime

A method for computing the stress-energy tensor for the quantized, massless, spin 1/2 field in a general static spherically symmetric spacetime is presented. The field can be in a zero temperature state or a non-zero temperature thermal state. An expression for the full renormalized stress-energy tensor is derived. It consists of a sum of two tensors both of which are conserved. One tensor is written in terms of the modes of the quantized field and has zero trace. In most cases it must be computed numerically. The other tensor does not explicitly depend on the modes and has a trace equal to the trace anomaly. It can be used as an analytic approximation for the stress-energy tensor and is equivalent to other approximations that have been made for the stress-energy tensor of the massless spin 1/2 field in static spherically symmetric spacetimes.Comment: 34 pages, no figure

A measurement of the tau mass and the first CPT test with tau leptons

We measure the mass of the tau lepton to be 1775.1+-1.6(stat)+-1.0(syst.) MeV using tau pairs from Z0 decays. To test CPT invariance we compare the masses of the positively and negatively charged tau leptons. The relative mass difference is found to be smaller than 3.0 10^-3 at the 90% confidence level.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, Submitted to Phys. Letts.

Measurement of the Michel Parameters in Leptonic Tau Decays

The Michel parameters of the leptonic tau decays are measured using the OPAL detector at LEP. The Michel parameters are extracted from the energy spectra of the charged decay leptons and from their energy-energy correlations. A new method involving a global likelihood fit of Monte Carlo generated events with complete detector simulation and background treatment has been applied to the data recorded at center-of-mass energies close to sqrt(s) = M(Z) corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 155 pb-1 during the years 1990 to 1995. If e-mu universality is assumed and inferring the tau polarization from neutral current data, the measured Michel parameters are extracted. Limits on non-standard coupling constants and on the masses of new gauge bosons are obtained. The results are in agreement with the V-A prediction of the Standard Model.Comment: 32 pages, LaTeX, 9 eps figures included, submitted to the European Physical Journal

A Measurement of the Product Branching Ratio f(b->Lambda_b).BR(Lambda_b->Lambda X) in Z0 Decays

The product branching ratio, f(b->Lambda_b).BR(Lambda_b->Lambda X), where Lambda_b denotes any weakly-decaying b-baryon, has been measured using the OPAL detector at LEP. Lambda_b are selected by the presence of energetic Lambda particles in bottom events tagged by the presence of displaced secondary vertices. A fit to the momenta of the Lambda particles separates signal from B meson and fragmentation backgrounds. The measured product branching ratio is f(b->Lambda_b).BR(Lambda_b->Lambda X) = (2.67+-0.38(stat)+0.67-0.60(sys))% Combined with a previous OPAL measurement, one obtains f(b->Lambda_b).BR(Lambda_b->Lambda X) = (3.50+-0.32(stat)+-0.35(sys))%.Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX, 3 eps figs included, submitted to the European Physical Journal