2,376 research outputs found
Mapping a New Socio-Political Landscape: British Columbia, 1871-1874
Historians have generally believed that the provincial legislature in post-Confederation
British Columbia divided along âIsland vs. Mainlandâ lines prior to the
introduction of political parties. This myth is challenged in a study using political
voting records and the computer-based methods of legislative roll-call analysis. A
systematic re-examination of a traditional source, nineteenth-century newspapers,
further supports a new interpretation: that in the inaugural period of Confederation
an âIsland vs. Mainlandâ schism did not exist in the B.C. legislature, but a âRural
vs. Urbanâ split was evident. The underlying divisive issue was adoption of the
Canadian tariff.Les historiens ont cru en général que la législature provinciale de la Colombie-
Britannique post-Confédération était partagée par une ligne de démarcation entre
les reprĂ©sentants de lâĂźle de Vancouver et ceux de la terre ferme avant lâarrivĂ©e des
partis politiques. Ce mythe est contesté dans une étude fondée sur les documents
Ă©lectoraux politiques et les mĂ©thodes informatiques de lâanalyse du vote lĂ©gislatif
par appel nominal. Le rĂ©examin systĂ©matique dâune source traditionnelle, les
journaux du XIXe siÚcle, appuie également une nouvelle interprétation voulant
quâaucun schisme « Ăźle versus terre ferme » nâexistait Ă la lĂ©gislature britannocolombienne
durant la pĂ©riode inaugurale de la ConfĂ©dĂ©ration, mais quâon y
observait bel et bien une division « milieu rural versus milieu urbain ». La question
divisive sous-jacente Ă©tait lâadoption dâun tarif canadien
The polarization of the planet-hosting WASP-18 system
We report observations of the linear polarization of the WASP-18 system,
which harbors a very massive ( approx 10 M_J) planet orbiting very close to its
star with an orbital period of 0.94 days. We find the WASP-18 system is
polarized at about 200 parts-per-million (ppm), likely from the interstellar
medium predominantly, with no strong evidence for phase dependent modulation
from reflected light from the planet. We set an upper limit of 40 ppm (99%
confidence level) on the amplitude of a reflected polarized light planetary
signal. We compare the results with models for a number of processes that may
produce polarized light in a planetary system to determine if we can rule out
any phenomena with this limit. Models of reflected light from thick clouds can
approach or exceed this limit, but such clouds are unlikely at the high
temperature of the WASP-18b atmosphere. Additionally, we model the expected
polarization resulting from the transit of the planet across the star and find
this has an amplitude of about 1.6 ppm, which is well below our detection
limits. We also model the polarization due to the tidal distortion of the star
by the massive planet and find this is also too small to be measured currently.Comment: 23 pages, 10 Figures, 6 Tables, Accepted to A
Dark Energy and Modified Gravity
Despite two decades of tremendous experimental and theoretical progress, the
riddle of the accelerated expansion of the Universe remains to be solved. On
the experimental side, our understanding of the possibilities and limitations
of the major dark energy probes has evolved; here we summarize the major probes
and their crucial challenges. On the theoretical side, the taxonomy of
explanations for the accelerated expansion rate is better understood, providing
clear guidance to the relevant observables. We argue that: i) improving
statistical precision and systematic control by taking more data, supporting
research efforts to address crucial challenges for each probe, using
complementary methods, and relying on cross-correlations is well motivated; ii)
blinding of analyses is difficult but ever more important; iii) studies of dark
energy and modified gravity are related; and iv) it is crucial that R&D for a
vibrant dark energy program in the 2030s be started now by supporting studies
and technical R&D that will allow embryonic proposals to mature. Understanding
dark energy, arguably the biggest unsolved mystery in both fundamental particle
physics and cosmology, will remain one of the focal points of cosmology in the
forthcoming decade.Comment: 5 pages + references; science white paper submitted to the Astro2020
decadal surve
Operational approach to the Uhlmann holonomy
We suggest a physical interpretation of the Uhlmann amplitude of a density
operator. Given this interpretation we propose an operational approach to
obtain the Uhlmann condition for parallelity. This allows us to realize
parallel transport along a sequence of density operators by an iterative
preparation procedure. At the final step the resulting Uhlmann holonomy can be
determined via interferometric measurements.Comment: Added material, references, and journal reference
WHOI SDSL data-link projectâethernet telemetry through sea cables
Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2017. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology 34 (2017): 269-275, doi:10.1175/JTECH-D-11-00196.1.A data telemetry technique for communicating over standard oceanographic sea cables that achieves a nearly 100-fold increase in bandwidth as compared to traditional systems has been recently developed and successfully used at sea on board two Research Vessel (R/V) Atlantis cruises with an 8.5-km, 0.322-in.-diameter three-conductor sea cable. The system uses commercially available modules to provide Ethernet connectivity through existing sea cables, linking serial and video underwater instrumentation to the shipboard user. The new method applies Synchronous Digital Subscriber Line (SDSL) communications technology to undersea applications, greatly increasing the opportunities to use scientific instrumentation from existing ships and sea cables at minimal cost and without modification.This development program has been supported, in
part, through research grants from the National Science
Foundation (OCE 0447395), the National Aeronautics
and Space Administrationâs ASTEP program
(NNX09AB76G), and a WHOI Green and Hiam Innovative
Technology Award.2017-07-2
Grasping the Links in the Chain: Understanding the Unintended Consequences of International Counter-Narcotics Measures for the EU
No abstract available
- âŠ