An eighth-century inscribed cross-slab in Dull, Perthshire

The discovery of a cross-inscribed slab with an inscription is described. Because of its importance it was decided to invite specialist comment on this piece of sculpture and to publish it in advance of the full report on the excavations. The form of the monument, its inscription and archaeological context are considered. The text appears to consist of a Gaelic personal name. The script is a form of geometrical lettering which can be dated to the opening quarter of the eighth century. The form of the cross has Columban associations which sit well with place-name and other evidence which points to Dull having been a monastery founded from Iona by c. AD 700

Towards standardisation of the longline CPUE series from the lobster fisheries around Inaccessible, Nightingale and Gough islands

Two CPUE indicies exist for the tristan lobster (Jasus tristani ) fisheries surrounding Inaccessible, Nightingale and Gough islands. Here the nominal indicies are presented, alongside descriptions of how they will be standardised to ensure they each provide a more accurate index of population density

Standardisation of the commercial CPUE series for abalone in Zones E and G from 1980 to 2007 using a mixed effects model

The commercial CPUE series is considered during modeling of resource dynamics as an index of population abundance. However, a number of factors other than abundance may influence recorded values. Standardisation is able to take into account some of these effects, thereby producing a more reliable index

Imaging the phase of an evolving Bose-Einstein condensate wavefunction

We demonstrate a spatially resolved autocorrelation measurement with a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) and measure the evolution of the spatial profile of its quantum mechanical phase. Upon release of the BEC from the magnetic trap, its phase develops a form that we measure to be quadratic in the spatial coordinate. Our experiments also reveal the effects of the repulsive interaction between two overlapping BEC wavepackets and we measure the small momentum they impart to each other

Collective excitations of Bose-Einstein condensed gases at finite temperatures

We have applied the Popov version of the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (HFB) approximation to calculate the finite-temperature excitation spectrum of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of $^{87}$Rb atoms. For lower values of the temperature, we find excellent agreement with recently-published experimental data for the JILA TOP trap. In contrast to recent comparison of the results of HFB--Popov theory with experimental condensate fractions and specific heats, there is disagreement of the theoretical and recent experimental results near the BEC phase transition temperature.Comment: 4 pages, Latex, with 4 figures. More info at http://amo.phy.gasou.edu/bec.htm

Development of a boundary setting algorithm based on migration rates estimated using BayesAss and its preliminary application to TOSSM datasets

A Boundary Setting Algorithm (BSA) is developed that utilises migration rates estimated by the program BayesAss. It is subjected to preliminary testing through application of the BSA to a subset of TOSSM datasets from Archetypes I and II. Two Fully Internally Mixed Areas (FIMAs) are considered, connected by varying rates of migration. The objective of the BSA, implemented through the run.tossm control program, is to decide whether to manage FIMAs as one or two units. Performance is assessed using the depletion and catch statistics produced by run.tossm. Although BayesAss has the potential to provide information relevant to management, performance of the BSA was found to be poor, apparently due to inconsistent and unreliable estimation of the migration rate

Consequence of superfluidity on the expansion of a rotating Bose-Einstein condensate

We study the time evolution of a rotating condensate, that expands after being suddenly released from the confining trap, by solving the hydrodynamic equations of irrotational superfluids. For slow initial rotation speeds, $\Omega_{0}$, we find that the condensate's angular velocity increases rapidly to a maximum value and this is accompanied by a minimum in the deformation of the condensate in the rotating plane. During the expansion the sample makes a global rotation of approximately $\pi/2$, where the exact value depends on $\Omega_{0}$. This minimum deformation can serve as an easily detectable signature of superfluidity in a Bose--Einstein condensate.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to PR

Calotes versicolor (Squamata: Agamidae)—A New Invasive Squamate for Borneo

Calotes versicolor, hitherto known from the Asian mainland, from eastern Iran, across the Indian Subcontinent, to Indo-China and Indo-Malaya, with several naturalized populations in both the New and Old Worlds, is here reported for the first time from Borneo (from Brunei Darussalam, in the northwestern part of the island). The ecological consequences of invasion of this agamid lizard, reported from studies elsewhere, include competition with other saurian species, and predation on local invertebrates and small vertebrates, with undesirable effects in terms of conservation of the local biota