V_{us} from hyperon semileptonic decays

A model-independent determination of the CKM matrix element V_{us} from five measured strangeness-changing hyperon semileptonic decays is performed. Flavor SU(3) symmetry breaking effects in the leading vector and axial-vector form factors are analyzed in the framework of the 1/N_c expansion of QCD. A fit to experimental data allows one to extract the value V_{us}=0.2199\pm 0.0026, which is comparable to the one from K_{e3} decays. This reconciliation is achieved through second-order symmetry breaking effects of a few percent in the form factors f_1, which increase their magnitudes over their SU(3) predictions.Comment: 23 pages, Revtex4, 12 tables, no figure

Law, Liberty and the Rule of Law (in a Constitutional Democracy)

In the hunt for a better--and more substantial--awareness of the “law,” The author intends to analyze the different notions related to the “rule of law” and to criticize the conceptions that equate it either to the sum of “law” and “rule” or to the formal assertion that “law rules,” regardless of its relationship to certain principles, including both “negative” and “positive” liberties. Instead, he pretends to scrutinize the principles of the “rule of law,” in general, and in a “constitutional democracy,” in particular, to conclude that the tendency to reduce the “democratic principle” to the “majority rule” (or “majority principle”), i.e. to whatever pleases the majority, as part of the “positive liberty,” is contrary both to the “negative liberty” and to the “rule of law” itself

The Changing Role of Global Financial Brands in the Underwriting of Foreign Government Debt (1815-2010)

This paper covers the long-term evolution of the primary market for foreign government debt. We discuss the role of financial intermediaries as underwriters and distributors of securities, providers of information, and lending of last resort services since the early 19th century, and the evolution of this role. We underscore the role of the prestige of global financial brands in sustaining early foreign debt markets and its weakening in the modern era.Sovereign debt, primary bond market, reputation, underwriting, certification, information asymmetries, investment banking, credit rating agencies, IMF

Is Macroporosity Controlled by Complexed Clay and Soil Organic Carbon?

Multi-scale evidence of rapid, climate-induced soil structural changes occurring at yearly to decadal timescales is mounting. As a result, it has become increasingly important to identify the properties and mechanisms controlling the development and maintenance of soil structure and associated macroporosity. This is especially relevant since macroporosity has disproportionate effects on saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) which strongly influences water storage and flux, thus, affecting the water cycle. In this study, we use decision trees and piecewise linear regression to assess the influence of soil and climate properties on effective porosity (EP; a proxy of macroporosity) in both surface and subsurface horizons under varying land-use and management practices. Data from 1,491 pedons (3,679 horizons) spanning five ecoregions representing bioclimate (e.g., potential vegetation) across the conterminous US demonstrate that, at a continental scale, EP in surface (A) and subsurface (B) horizons is strongly dependent on the complexed fraction of the total mass of soil organic carbon (SOC) and clay; a combined fraction that we refer to as complexed organic carbon and clay (COCC). EP showed a slight positive response to COCC in A horizons but increased steeply with increasing COCC in B horizons. This is because the smaller values of COCC in B horizons reflect a larger pool of clay that has a greater potential to accommodate and complex additions of SOC promoting stronger organo-mineral bonds and the concomitant development and maintenance of soil structure in these horizons. In contrast, larger values of COCC in A horizons reflect conditions where all or most of the clay fraction is effectively complexed with SOC resulting in a larger pool of non-complexed soil organic matter with varying contrasting effects on macroporosity that ultimately mute the response of EP to increases in COCC. In surface horizons, indirect factors such as mean annual precipitation and land use were important predictors of EP, whereas COCC was more influential in controlling EP within the subsoil. The EP-COCC relationship also holds within ecoregions but its effect is mitigated by soil and climate interactions suggesting that the effect of climate on this relationship is indirect and complex. Plowed surface horizons and horizons underlying plowed layers showed greater homogenization (due to disturbance effects reducing heterogeneity in the soil) as well as a reduction in the magnitude and rate of change of EP as a function of COCC compared to undisturbed horizons. Our findings suggest that the complexed fraction of clay and SOC is important for controlling macroporosity and Ksat at ecoregion scales and that the EP-COCC relationship may be an important framework for understanding and predicting future land use- and climate-induced changes in soil hydraulic properties

Deadlock detection of Java Bytecode

This paper presents a technique for deadlock detection of Java programs. The technique uses typing rules for extracting infinite-state abstract models of the dependencies among the components of the Java intermediate language -- the Java bytecode. Models are subsequently analysed by means of an extension of a solver that we have defined for detecting deadlocks in process calculi. Our technique is complemented by a prototype verifier that also covers most of the Java features.Comment: Pre-proceedings paper presented at the 27th International Symposium on Logic-Based Program Synthesis and Transformation (LOPSTR 2017), Namur, Belgium, 10-12 October 2017 (arXiv:1708.07854

Low Gain Avalanche Detectors (LGAD) for particle physics and synchrotron applications

A new avalanche silicon detector concept is introduced with a low gain in the region of ten, known as a Low Gain Avalanche Detector, LGAD. The detector's characteristics are simulated via a full process simulation to obtain the required doping profiles which demonstrate the desired operational characteristics of high breakdown voltage (500 V) and a gain of 10 at 200 V reverse bias for X-ray detection. The first low gain avalanche detectors fabricated by Micron Semiconductor Ltd are presented. The doping profiles of the multiplication junctions were measured with SIMS and reproduced by simulating the full fabrication process which enabled further development of the manufacturing process. The detectors are 300 μm thick p-type silicon with a resistivity of 8.5 kΩcm, which fully depletes at 116 V. The current characteristics are presented and demonstrate breakdown voltages in excess of 500 V and a current density of 40 to 100 nAcm−2 before breakdown measured at 20oC. The gain of the LGAD has been measured with a red laser (660 nm) and shown to be between 9 and 12 for an external bias voltage range from 150 V to 300 V