The problem of managing a strategic reserve

AbstractWe develop a method of managing strategic reserves, in this case, the U.S. Strategic Cobalt Reserve. A rationale for the stockpiling of cobalt is presented, followed by a method for bringing the stockpiled amount from any level to a desired goal, in this case an amount determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to last through three years of conventional warfare. The method involves solving a stochastic programming problem in order to balance the expected values of the social benefit and the social cost of building the stockpile—Social benefit is accrued by decreasing the impact and the probability of a war or a major supply disruption occuring before the stockpile goal is realized; social cost is determined from the additional amount U.S. cobalt consumers must pay due to the increase in world demand brought about by stockpiling. The management of the filled stockpile is then discussed, introducing the idea of using the stockpile to assure stability in the world price of cobalt and of defraying maintenance costs by market speculation. Least-squares fitting is used to determine whether prices are high or low and how much to sell or buy, respectively, to bring prices back into line. Then the conditions under which the stockpile should be drawn down are considered, with the proper rate and total amount of released stockpile material determined for two cases, that of a major supply disruption and that of actual warfare. Finally, generalization of the method to cover other strategic stockpiles is discussed

Dissipative Liouville Cosmology: A Case Study

We consider solutions of the cosmological equations pertaining to a dissipative, dilaton-driven off-equilibrium Liouville Cosmological model, which may describe the effective field theoretic limit of a non-critical string model of the Universe. The non-criticality may be the result of an early-era catastrophic cosmic event, such as a big-bang, brane-world collision etc. The evolution of the various cosmological parameters of the model are obtained, and the effects of the dilaton and off-shell Liouville terms, including briefly those on relic densities, which distinguish the model from conventional cosmologies, are emphasised.Comment: 19 pages latex, 11 eps figures incorporate

Microcraters in aluminum foils exposed by Stardust

We will present preliminary results on the nature and size frequency distribution of microcraters that formed in aluminum foils during the flyby of comet Wild 2 by the Stardust spacecraft

A dynamical chiral bag model

We study a dynamical chiral bag model, in which massless fermions are confined within an impenetrable but movable bag coupled to meson fields. The self-consistent motion of the bag is obtained by solving the equations of motion exactly assuming spherical symmetry. When the bag interacts with an external meson wave we find three different kinds of resonances: {\it fermionic}, {\it geometric}, and $\sigma$-resonances. We discuss the phenomenological implications of our results.Comment: Two columns, 11 pages, 9 figures. Submitted to Physical Review

Talk the talk, walk the walk: Defining Critical Race Theory in research

Over the last decade there has been a noticeable growth in published works citing Critical Race Theory (CRT). This has led to a growth in interest in the UK of practical research projects utilising CRT as their framework. It is clear that research on 'race' is an emerging topic of study. What is less visible is a debate on how CRT is positioned in relation to methodic practice, substantive theory and epistemological underpinnings. The efficacy of categories of data gathering tools, both traditional and non-traditional is a discussion point here to explore the complexities underpinning decisions to advocate a CRT framework. Notwithstanding intersectional issues, a CRT methodology is recognisable by how philosophical, political and ethical questions are established and maintained in relation to racialised problematics. This paper examines these tensions in establishing CRT methodologies and explores some of the essential criteria for researchers to consider in utilising a CRT framework. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

To wet or not to wet: that is the question

Wetting transitions have been predicted and observed to occur for various combinations of fluids and surfaces. This paper describes the origin of such transitions, for liquid films on solid surfaces, in terms of the gas-surface interaction potentials V(r), which depend on the specific adsorption system. The transitions of light inert gases and H2 molecules on alkali metal surfaces have been explored extensively and are relatively well understood in terms of the least attractive adsorption interactions in nature. Much less thoroughly investigated are wetting transitions of Hg, water, heavy inert gases and other molecular films. The basic idea is that nonwetting occurs, for energetic reasons, if the adsorption potential's well-depth D is smaller than, or comparable to, the well-depth of the adsorbate-adsorbate mutual interaction. At the wetting temperature, Tw, the transition to wetting occurs, for entropic reasons, when the liquid's surface tension is sufficiently small that the free energy cost in forming a thick film is sufficiently compensated by the fluid- surface interaction energy. Guidelines useful for exploring wetting transitions of other systems are analyzed, in terms of generic criteria involving the "simple model", which yields results in terms of gas-surface interaction parameters and thermodynamic properties of the bulk adsorbate.Comment: Article accepted for publication in J. Low Temp. Phy

Observation of exclusive DVCS in polarized electron beam asymmetry measurements

We report the first results of the beam spin asymmetry measured in the reaction e + p -> e + p + gamma at a beam energy of 4.25 GeV. A large asymmetry with a sin(phi) modulation is observed, as predicted for the interference term of Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering and the Bethe-Heitler process. The amplitude of this modulation is alpha = 0.202 +/- 0.028. In leading-order and leading-twist pQCD, the alpha is directly proportional to the imaginary part of the DVCS amplitude.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Toward an internally consistent astronomical distance scale

Accurate astronomical distance determination is crucial for all fields in astrophysics, from Galactic to cosmological scales. Despite, or perhaps because of, significant efforts to determine accurate distances, using a wide range of methods, tracers, and techniques, an internally consistent astronomical distance framework has not yet been established. We review current efforts to homogenize the Local Group's distance framework, with particular emphasis on the potential of RR Lyrae stars as distance indicators, and attempt to extend this in an internally consistent manner to cosmological distances. Calibration based on Type Ia supernovae and distance determinations based on gravitational lensing represent particularly promising approaches. We provide a positive outlook to improvements to the status quo expected from future surveys, missions, and facilities. Astronomical distance determination has clearly reached maturity and near-consistency.Comment: Review article, 59 pages (4 figures); Space Science Reviews, in press (chapter 8 of a special collection resulting from the May 2016 ISSI-BJ workshop on Astronomical Distance Determination in the Space Age