Force correlations and arches formation in granular assemblies

In the context of a simple microscopic schematic scalar model we study the effects of spatial correlations in force transmission in granular assemblies. We show that the parameters of the normalized weights distribution function, $P(v)\sim v^{\alpha}\exp(-v/\phi)$, strongly depend on the spatial extensions, $\xi_V$, of such correlations. We show, then, the connections between measurable macroscopic quantities and microscopic mechanisms enhancing correlations. In particular we evaluate how the exponential cut-off, $\phi(\xi_V)$, and the small forces power law exponent, $\alpha(\xi_V)$, depend on the correlation length, $\xi_V$. If correlations go to infinity, weights are power law distributed.Comment: 6 page

Comment on Path Integral Derivation of Schr\"odinger Equation in Spaces with Curvature and Torsion

We present a derivation of the Schr\"odinger equation for a path integral of a point particle in a space with curvature and torsion which is considerably shorter and more elegant than what is commonly found in the literature.Comment: LaTeX file in sr

The impact of Chinese import penetration on the South African manufacturing sector

This article uses a Chenery-type decomposition and econometric estimation to evaluate the impact of Chinese trade on production and employment in South African manufacturing from 1992 to 2010. The results suggest that increased import penetration from China caused South African manufacturing output to be 5 per cent lower in 2010 than it otherwise would have been. The estimated reduction of total employment in manufacturing as a result of trade with China is larger – in 2010 about 8 per cent – because the declines in output were concentrated on labour-intensive industries and because the increase in imports raised labour productivity within industries

Domain Wall Fermions with Exact Chiral Symmetry

We show how the standard domain wall action can be simply modified to allow arbitrarily exact chiral symmetry at finite fifth dimensional extent. We note that the method can be used for both quenched and dynamical calculations. We test the method using smooth and thermalized gauge field configurations. We also make comparisons of the performance (cost) of the domain wall operator for spectroscopy compared to other methods such as the overlap-Dirac operator and find both methods are comparable in cost.Comment: revtex, 37 pages, 11 color postscript figure

Another determination of the quark condensate from an overlap action

I use the technique of Hernandez, et al (hep-lat/0106011) to convert a recent calculation of the lattice-regulated quark condensate from an overlap action to a continuum-regulated number. I find Sigma(MSbar)(mu = 2 GeV) = (282(6) MeV)-cubed times (a-inverse/1766 MeV)-cubed from a calculation with the Wilson gauge action at beta=5.9.Comment: 3 pages, Revtex, 1 postscript figure. References added. COLO-HEP-47

An alternative to domain wall fermions

We define a sparse hermitian lattice Dirac matrix, $H$, coupling $2n+1$ Dirac fermions. When $2n$ fermions are integrated out the induced action for the last fermion is a rational approximation to the hermitian overlap Dirac operator. We provide rigorous bounds on the condition number of $H$ and compare them to bounds for the higher dimensional Dirac operator of domain wall fermions. Our main conclusion is that overlap fermions should be taken seriously as a practical alternative to domain wall fermions in the context of numerical QCD.Comment: Revtex Latex, 26 pages, 1 figure, a few minor change

Workplace stress among construction professionals in South Africa: The role of harassment and discrimination

The discrimination/harassment experiences of survey respondents in different construction professional groups in SouthAfrica is compared, and the relationship between harassment/discrimination and perceived work stress is examined

Carbon coating of the SPS dipole chambers

The Electron Multipacting (EM) phenomenon is a limiting factor for the achievement of high luminosity in accelerators for positively charged particles and for the performance of RF devices. At CERN, the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) must be upgraded in order to feed the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) with 25 ns bunch spaced beams. At such small bunch spacing, EM may limit the performance of the SPS and consequently that of the LHC. To mitigate this phenomenon CERN is developing a carbon thin film coating with low Secondary Electron Yield (SEY) to coat the internal walls of the SPS dipoles beam pipes. This paper presents the progresses in the coating technology, the performance of the carbon coatings and the strategy for a large scale production.Comment: 7 pages, contribution to the Joint INFN-CERN-EuCARD-AccNet Workshop on Electron-Cloud Effects: ECLOUD'12; 5-9 Jun 2012, La Biodola, Isola d'Elba, Italy; CERN Yellow Report CERN-2013-002, pp.141-14