Southwestern Extension of the Pondera Field

Oil was discovered in the Pondera field in June 1927 following work done by E.B. Emrick. The initial discovery well, located in section 17, T. 27 N., R. 4 W., was not a commercial oil producer. Its initial production being 3 barrels of oil and 3,500,000 cubic feet of gas per day. Rapid expansion followed until 1929, when the field reached its peak of production

Spacelike hypersurfaces of constant higher order mean curvature in generalized Robertson-Walker spacetimes

In this paper we analyze the problem of uniqueness for spacelike hypersurfaces with constant higher order mean curvature in generalized Robertson-Walker spacetimes. We consider first the case of compact spacelike hypersurfaces, completing some previous results given in [2]. We next extend these results to the complete noncompact case. In that case, our approach is based on the use of a generalized version of the Omori-Yau maximum principle for trace type differential operators, recently given in [3].Comment: To appear in Mathematical Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Societ

Integral Formula for the Characteristic Cauchy Problem on a curved Background

We give a local integral formula, valid on general curved space-times, for the characteristic Cauchy problem for the Dirac equation with arbitrary spin using the method developed by Friedlander in his book "the wave equation on a curved spacetime" (1975). The results obtained by Penrose in the flat case in "Null hypersurface initial data for classical fields of arbitrary spin for general relativity" (Gen. Rel. Grav 1980) are recovered directly. It is expected that this method can be used to obtain sharp estimates for the characteristic Cauchy problem for the Dirac equation.Comment: 42 page

Reconstructing sparticle mass spectra using hadronic decays

Most sparticle decay cascades envisaged at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) involve hadronic decays of intermediate particles. We use state-of-the art techniques based on the K⊥ jet algorithm to reconstruct the resulting hadronic final states for simulated LHC events in a number of benchmark supersymmetric scenarios. In particular, we show that a general method of selecting preferentially boosted massive particles such as W±, Z0 or Higgs bosons decaying to jets, using sub-jets found by the K⊥ algorithm, suppresses QCD backgrounds and thereby enhances the observability of signals that would otherwise be indistinct. Consequently, measurements of the supersymmetric mass spectrum at the per-cent level can be obtained from cascades including the hadronic decays of such massive intermediate bosons

Toward Best Management Practices for Ecological Corridors

This article summarizes the best available information about managing ecological corridor systems. The aim with is to provide managers with a convenient guidance document and tool to assist in applying scientific management principles to management of corridors. It does not cover issues related to corridor design or political buy in, but focuses on how a corridor should be managed once it has been established

Vertical Binocular Disparity is Encoded Implicitly within a Model Neuronal Population Tuned to Horizontal Disparity and Orientation

Primary visual cortex is often viewed as a “cyclopean retina”, performing the initial encoding of binocular disparities between left and right images. Because the eyes are set apart horizontally in the head, binocular disparities are predominantly horizontal. Yet, especially in the visual periphery, a range of non-zero vertical disparities do occur and can influence perception. It has therefore been assumed that primary visual cortex must contain neurons tuned to a range of vertical disparities. Here, I show that this is not necessarily the case. Many disparity-selective neurons are most sensitive to changes in disparity orthogonal to their preferred orientation. That is, the disparity tuning surfaces, mapping their response to different two-dimensional (2D) disparities, are elongated along the cell's preferred orientation. Because of this, even if a neuron's optimal 2D disparity has zero vertical component, the neuron will still respond best to a non-zero vertical disparity when probed with a sub-optimal horizontal disparity. This property can be used to decode 2D disparity, even allowing for realistic levels of neuronal noise. Even if all V1 neurons at a particular retinotopic location are tuned to the expected vertical disparity there (for example, zero at the fovea), the brain could still decode the magnitude and sign of departures from that expected value. This provides an intriguing counter-example to the common wisdom that, in order for a neuronal population to encode a quantity, its members must be tuned to a range of values of that quantity. It demonstrates that populations of disparity-selective neurons encode much richer information than previously appreciated. It suggests a possible strategy for the brain to extract rarely-occurring stimulus values, while concentrating neuronal resources on the most commonly-occurring situations

Perceived Surface Slant Is Systematically Biased in the Actively-Generated Optic Flow

Humans make systematic errors in the 3D interpretation of the optic flow in both passive and active vision. These systematic distortions can be predicted by a biologically-inspired model which disregards self-motion information resulting from head movements (Caudek, Fantoni, & Domini 2011). Here, we tested two predictions of this model: (1) A plane that is stationary in an earth-fixed reference frame will be perceived as changing its slant if the movement of the observer's head causes a variation of the optic flow; (2) a surface that rotates in an earth-fixed reference frame will be perceived to be stationary, if the surface rotation is appropriately yoked to the head movement so as to generate a variation of the surface slant but not of the optic flow. Both predictions were corroborated by two experiments in which observers judged the perceived slant of a random-dot planar surface during egomotion. We found qualitatively similar biases for monocular and binocular viewing of the simulated surfaces, although, in principle, the simultaneous presence of disparity and motion cues allows for a veridical recovery of surface slant