The Herschel Virgo Cluster Survey - I. Luminosity function

We describe the Herschel Virgo Cluster Survey (HeViCS) and the first data obtained as part of the science demonstration phase (SDP). The data cover a central 4×4 sq deg region of the cluster. We use SPIRE and PACS photometry data to produce 100, 160, 250, 350 and 500 μm luminosity functions (LFs) for optically bright galaxies that are selected at 500 μm and detected in all bands. We compare these LFs with those previously derived using IRAS, BLAST and Herschel-ATLAS data. The Virgo cluster LFs do not have the large numbers of faint galaxies or examples of very luminous galaxies seen previously in surveys covering less dense environments

New Cosmological Structures on Medium Angular Scales Detected with the Tenerife Experiments

We present observations at 10 and 15 GHz taken with the Tenerife experiments in a band of the sky at Dec.=+35 degrees. These experiments are sensitive to multipoles in the range l=10-30. The sensitivity per beam is 56 and 20 microK for the 10 and the 15 GHz data, respectively. After subtraction of the prediction of known radio-sources, the analysis of the data at 15 GHz at high Galactic latitude shows the presence of a signal with amplitude Delta Trms ~ 32 microK. In the case of a Harrison-Zeldovich spectrum for the primordial fluctuations, a likelihood analysis shows that this signal corresponds to a quadrupole amplitude Q_rms-ps=20.1+7.1-5.4 microK, in agreement with our previous results at Dec.+=40 degrees and with the results of the COBE DMR. There is clear evidence for the presence of individual features in the RA range 190 degrees to 250 degrees with a peak to peak amplitude of ~110 microK. A preliminary comparison between our results and COBE DMR predictions for the Tenerife experiments clearly indicates the presence of individual features common to both. The constancy in amplitude over such a large range in frequency (10-90 GHz) is strongly indicative of an intrinsic cosmological origin for these structures.Comment: ApJ Letters accepted, 13 pages Latex (uses AASTEX) and 4 encapsulated postscript figures

Shifts in hexapod diversification and what Haldane could have said

Data on species richness and taxon age are assembled for the extant hexapod orders (insects and their six-legged relatives). Coupled with estimates of phylogenetic relatedness, and simple statistical null models, these data are used to locate where, on the hexapod tree, significant changes in the rate of cladogenesis (speciation-minus-extinction rate) have occurred. Significant differences are found between many successive pairs of sister taxa near the base of the hexapod tree, all of which are attributable to a shift in diversification rate after the origin of the Neoptera (insects with wing flexion) and before the origin of the Holometabola (insects with complete metamorphosis). No other shifts are identifiable amongst supraordinal taxa. Whilst the Coleoptera have probably diversified faster than either of their putative sister lineages, they do not stand out relative to other closely related clades. These results suggest that any Creator had a fondness for a much more inclusive clade than the Coleoptera, definitely as large as the Eumetabola (Holometabola plus bugs and their relatives), and possibly as large as the entire Neoptera. Simultaneous, hence probable causative events are discussed, of which the origin of wing flexion has been the focus of much attention

UNICEF IWASH Project, Northern Region, Ghana : an adapted training manual for groundwater development

This report is an adapted training manual, with specific best practice recommendations for groundwater development practitioners working in the Northern Region, Ghana. It is designed to be used in conjunction with the existing comprehensive training manual ‘Developing Groundwater: a guide to rural water supply’ by MacDonald, Davies, Calow and Chilton (2005). The additional guidelines provided in this supplementary report are specific to the Northern Region of Ghana, and have been informed by a review of groundwater development in the region which BGS carried out on behalf of UNICEF in 2010-2011. The Northern Region is a difficult area in which to find and develop groundwater resources. For this reason, more resources – time and money – need to be focussed on careful borehole siting and development in order to maximise success. This includes detailed desk and field reconnaissance surveys; the effective use and interpretation of geophysical siting methods; collection of good quality data during drilling and test pumping; rigorous recording and management of data; and effective interpretation, sharing and use of hydrogeological information by all groundwater development practitioners. This report, and the associated manual ‘Developing Groundwater’, provide practical help for carrying out these activities effectively. The authors gratefully acknowledge those persons who contributed to the formation of these guidelines, who include: UNICEF Ghana – Othniel Habila, Kabuka Banda and David Ede Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), Ghana – John Aduakye Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) – Hydrogeological Assessment Project (HAP) – James Racicot All participants at the UNICEF/BGS workshop and training programme held in Tamale, Northern Region, from 7 to 18 February 2011

Quantum Determinism from Quantum General Covariance

The requirement of general covariance of quantum field theory (QFT) naturally leads to quantization based on the manifestly covariant De Donder-Weyl formalism. To recover the standard noncovariant formalism without violating covariance, fields need to depend on time in a specific deterministic manner. This deterministic evolution of quantum fields is recognized as a covariant version of the Bohmian hidden-variable interpretation of QFT.Comment: 6 pages, revised, new references, Honorable Mention of the Gravity Research Foundation 2006 Essay Competition, version to appear in Int. J. Mod. Phys.

Geometric phases in a scattering process

The study of geometric phase in quantum mechanics has so far be confined to discrete (or continuous) spectra and trace preserving evolutions. Consider only the transmission channel, a scattering process with internal degrees of freedom is neither a discrete spectrum problem nor a trace preserving process. We explore the geometric phase in a scattering process taking only the transmission process into account. We find that the geometric phase can be calculated by the some method as in an unitary evolution. The interference visibility depends on the transmission amplitude. The dependence of the geometric phase on the barrier strength and the spin-spin coupling constant is also presented and discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Aerosol studies in mid-latitude coastal environments in Australia

The results of the evaluation of several inversion procedures that were used to select one which provides the most accurate atmospheric extinction profiles for small aerosol extinction coefficients (that often predominate in the maritime airmass) are presented. Height profiles of atmospheric extinction calculated by a two component atmospheric solution to the LIDAR equation will be compared with corresponding in-situ extinction profiles based on the size distribution profiles obtained in Western Australia. Values of the aerosol backscatter to extinction ratio obtained from multi-angle LIDAR measurements will be used in this solution