Application of ERTS-1 Imagery to Flood Inundation Mapping

Application of ERTS-1 imagery to flood inundation mapping in East and West Nishnabotna basins of southwestern Iow

Photoluminescence and Terahertz Emission from Femtosecond Laser-Induced Plasma Channels

Luminescence as a mechanism for terahertz emission from femtosecond laser-induced plasmas is studied. By using a fully microscopic theory, Coulomb scattering between electrons and ions is shown to lead to luminescence even for a spatially homogeneous plasma. The spectral features introduced by the rod geometry of laser-induced plasma channels in air are discussed on the basis of a generalized mode-function analysis.Comment: 4 pages with 2 figures

Renormalized Wick expansion for a modified PQCD

The renormalization scheme for the Wick expansion of a modified version of the perturbative QCD introduced in previous works is discussed. Massless QCD is considered, by implementing the usual multiplicative scaling of the gluon and quark wave functions and vertices. However, also massive quark and gluon counter-terms are allowed in this mass less theory since the condensates are expected to generate masses. A natural set of expansion parameters of the physical quantities is introduced: the coupling itself and to masses $m_q$ and $m_g$ associated to quarks and gluons respectively. This procedure allows to implement a dimensional transmutation effect through these new mass scales. A general expression for the new generating functional in terms of the mass parameters $m_q$ and $m_g$ is obtained in terms of integrals over arbitrary but constant gluon or quark fields in each case. Further, the one loop potential, is evaluated in more detail in the case when only the quark condensate is retained. This lowest order result again indicates the dynamical generation of quark condensates in the vacuum.Comment: 13 pages, one figur

Treating treatment-resistant patients with panic disorder and agoraphobia: A randomized controlled switching trial

Background: Nonresponsiveness to therapy is generally acknowledged, but only a few studies have tested switching to psychotherapy. This study is one of the first to examine the malleability of treatment-resistant patients using acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial that included 43 patients diagnosed with primary panic disorder and/or agoraphobia (PD/A) with prior unsuccessful state-of-the-art treatment (mean number of previous sessions = 42.2). Patients were treated with an ACT manual administered by novice therapists and followed up for 6 months. They were randomized to immediate treatment (n = 33) or a 4-week waiting list (n = 10) with delayed treatment (n = 8). Treatment consisted of eight sessions, implemented twice weekly over 4 weeks. Primary outcomes were measured with the Panic and Agoraphobia Scale (PAS), the Clinical Global Impression (CGI), and the Mobility Inventory (MI). Results: At post-treatment, patients who received ACT reported significantly more improvements on the PAS and CGI (d = 0.72 and 0.89, respectively) than those who were on the waiting list, while improvement on the MI (d = 0.50) was nearly significant. Secondary outcomes were consistent with ACT theory. Follow-up assessments indicated a stable and continued improvement after treatment. The dropout rate was low (9%). Conclusions: Despite a clinically challenging sample and brief treatment administered by novice therapists, patients who received ACT reported significantly greater changes in functioning and symptomatology than those on the waiting list, with medium-to-large effect sizes that were maintained for at least 6 months. These proof-of-principle data suggest that ACT is a viable treatment option for treatment-resistant PD/A patients. Further work on switching to psychotherapy for nonresponders is clearly needed. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel

Vibration-enhanced quantum transport

In this paper, we study the role of collective vibrational motion in the phenomenon of electronic energy transfer (EET) along a chain of coupled electronic dipoles with varying excitation frequencies. Previous experimental work on EET in conjugated polymer samples has suggested that the common structural framework of the macromolecule introduces correlations in the energy gap fluctuations which cause coherent EET. Inspired by these results, we present a simple model in which a driven nanomechanical resonator mode modulates the excitation energy of coupled quantum dots and find that this can indeed lead to an enhancement in the transport of excitations across the quantum network. Disorder of the on-site energies is a key requirement for this to occur. We also show that in this solid state system phase information is partially retained in the transfer process, as experimentally demonstrated in conjugated polymer samples. Consequently, this mechanism of vibration enhanced quantum transport might find applications in quantum information transfer of qubit states or entanglement.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, new material, included references, final published versio

Seshat: The Global History Databank

The vast amount of knowledge about past human societies has not been systematically organized and, therefore, remains inaccessible for empirically testing theories about cultural evolution and historical dynamics. For example, what evolutionary mechanisms were involved in the transition from the small-scale, uncentralized societies, in which humans lived 10,000 years ago, to the large-scale societies with an extensive division of labor, great differentials in wealth and power, and elaborate governance structures of today? Why do modern states sometimes fail to meet the basic needs of their populations? Why do economies decline, or fail to grow? In this article, we describe the structure and uses of a massive databank of historical and archaeological information, Seshat: The Global History Databank. The data that we are currently entering in Seshat will allow us and others to test theories explaining how modern societies evolved from ancestral ones, and why modern societies vary so much in their capacity to satisfy their members’ basic human needsPeer reviewedFinal Published versio

Testing the dynamics of high energy scattering using vector meson production

I review work on diffractive vector meson production in photon-proton collisions at high energy and large momentum transfer, accompanied by proton dissociation and a large rapidity gap. This process provides a test of the high energy scattering dynamics, but is also sensitive to the details of the treatment of the vector meson vertex. The emphasis is on the description of the process by a solution of the non-forward BFKL equation, i.e. the equation describing the evolution of scattering amplitudes in the high-energy limit of QCD. The formation of the vector meson and the non-perturbative modeling needed is also briefly discussed.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures. Brief review to appear in Mod. Phys. Lett.

Recalculation of Proton Compton Scattering in Perturbative QCD

At very high energy and wide angles, Compton scattering on the proton (gamma p -> gamma p) is described by perturbative QCD. The perturbative QCD calculation has been performed several times previously, at leading twist and at leading order in alpha_s, with mutually inconsistent results, even when the same light-cone distribution amplitudes have been employed. We have recalculated the helicity amplitudes for this process, using contour deformations to evaluate the singular integrals over the light-cone momentum fractions. We do not obtain complete agreement with any previous result. Our results are closest to those of the most recent previous computation, differing significantly for just one of the three independent helicity amplitudes, and only for backward scattering angles. We present results for the unpolarized cross section, and for three different polarization asymmetries. We compare the perturbative QCD predictions for these observables with those of the handbag and diquark models. In order to reduce uncertainties associated with alpha_s and the three-quark wave function normalization, we have normalized the Compton cross section using the proton elastic form factor. The theoretical predictions for this ratio are about an order of magnitude below existing experimental data.Comment: Latex, 23 pages, 13 figures. Checked numerical integration one more way; added results for one more proton distribution amplitude; a few other minor changes. Version to appear in Phys. Rev.

Composition Dependence of the Structure and Electronic Properties of Liquid Ga-Se Alloys Studied by Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Ab initio molecular dynamics simulation is used to study the structure and electronic properties of the liquid Ga-Se system at the three compositions Ga$_2$Se, GaSe and Ga$_2$Se$_3$, and of the GaSe and Ga$_2$Se$_3$ crystals. The calculated equilibrium structure of GaSe crystal agrees well with available experimental data. The neutron-weighted liquid structure factors calculated from the simulations are in reasonable agreement with recent neutron diffraction measurements. Simulation results for the partial radial distribution functions show that the liquid structure is closely related to that of the crystals. A close similarity between solid and liquid is also found for the electronic density of states and charge density. The calculated electronic conductivity decreases strongly with increasing Se content, in accord with experimental measurements.Comment: REVTeX, 8 pages and 12 uuencoded PostScript figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. B. corresponding author: [email protected]