Competing source and loss mechanisms due to wave-particle interactions in Earth’s outer radiation belt during the 30 September to 3 October 2012 geomagnetic storm

Abstract Drastic variations of Earth’s outer radiation belt electrons ultimately result from various competing source, loss, and transport processes, to which wave-particle interactions are critically important. Using 15 spacecraft including NASA’s Van Allen Probes, THEMIS, and SAMPEX missions and NOAA’s GOES and POES constellations, we investigated the evolution of the outer belt during the strong geomagnetic storm of 30 September to 3 October 2012. This storm’s main phase dropout exhibited enhanced losses to the atmosphere at L*\u3c 4, where the phase space density (PSD) of multi-MeV electrons dropped by over an order of magnitude in1 MeV electrons and energetic protons, SAMPEX \u3e1 MeV electrons, and ground observations of band-limited Pc1-2 wave activity, we show that this sudden loss was consistent with pitch angle scattering by electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves in the dusk magnetic local time sector at 3\u3c L*\u3c 4. At 4\u3c L*\u3c 5, local acceleration was also active during the main and early recovery phases, when growing peaks in electron PSD were observed by both Van Allen Probes and THEMIS. This acceleration corresponded to the period when IMF Bz was southward, the AE index was \u3e300 nT, and energetic electron injections and whistler-mode chorus waves were observed throughout the inner magnetosphere for \u3e12 h. After this period, Bz turned northward, and injections, chorus activity, and enhancements in PSD ceased. Overall, the outer belt was depleted by this storm. From the unprecedented level of observations available, we show direct evidence of the competitive nature of different wave-particle interactions controlling relativistic electron fluxes in the outer radiation belt

Skyrmion Hall Effect Revealed by Direct Time-Resolved X-Ray Microscopy

Magnetic skyrmions are highly promising candidates for future spintronic applications such as skyrmion racetrack memories and logic devices. They exhibit exotic and complex dynamics governed by topology and are less influenced by defects, such as edge roughness, than conventionally used domain walls. In particular, their finite topological charge leads to a predicted "skyrmion Hall effect", in which current-driven skyrmions acquire a transverse velocity component analogous to charged particles in the conventional Hall effect. Here, we present nanoscale pump-probe imaging that for the first time reveals the real-time dynamics of skyrmions driven by current-induced spin orbit torque (SOT). We find that skyrmions move at a well-defined angle {\Theta}_{SH} that can exceed 30{\deg} with respect to the current flow, but in contrast to theoretical expectations, {\Theta}_{SH} increases linearly with velocity up to at least 100 m/s. We explain our observation based on internal mode excitations in combination with a field-like SOT, showing that one must go beyond the usual rigid skyrmion description to unravel the dynamics.Comment: pdf document arxiv_v1.1. 24 pages (incl. 9 figures and supplementary information

Ernst Freund as Precursor of the Rational Study of Corporate Law

Gindis, David, Ernst Freund as Precursor of the Rational Study of Corporate Law (October 27, 2017). Journal of Institutional Economics, Forthcoming. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2905547, doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2905547The rise of large business corporations in the late 19th century compelled many American observers to admit that the nature of the corporation had yet to be understood. Published in this context, Ernst Freund's little-known The Legal Nature of Corporations (1897) was an original attempt to come to terms with a new legal and economic reality. But it can also be described, to paraphrase Oliver Wendell Holmes, as the earliest example of the rational study of corporate law. The paper shows that Freund had the intuitions of an institutional economist, and engaged in what today would be called comparative institutional analysis. Remarkably, his argument that the corporate form secures property against insider defection and against outsiders anticipated recent work on entity shielding and capital lock-in, and can be read as an early contribution to what today would be called the theory of the firm.Peer reviewe

The BRAIN Initiative: developing technology to catalyse neuroscience discovery

The evolution of the field of neuroscience has been propelled by the advent of novel technological capabilities, and the pace at which these capabilities are being developed has accelerated dramatically in the past decade. Capitalizing on this momentum, the United States launched the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative to develop and apply new tools and technologies for revolutionizing our understanding of the brain. In this article, we review the scientific vision for this initiative set forth by the National Institutes of Health and discuss its implications for the future of neuroscience research. Particular emphasis is given to its potential impact on the mapping and study of neural circuits, and how this knowledge will transform our understanding of the complexity of the human brain and its diverse array of behaviours, perceptions, thoughts and emotions

Highly efficient separation of actinides from lanthanides by a phenanthroline-derived bis-triazine ligand

The synthesis, lanthanide complexation, and solvent ex- traction of actinide(III) and lanthanide(III) radiotracers from nitric acid solutions by a phenanthroline-derived quadridentate bis-triazine ligand are described. The ligand separates Am(III) and Cm(III) from the lanthanides with remarkably high efficiency, high selectivity, and fast extraction kinetics compared to its 2,2'-bipyridine counterpart. Structures of the 1:2 bis-complexes of the ligand with Eu(III) and Yb(III) were elucidated by X-ray crystallography and force field calculations, respec-tively. The Eu(III) bis-complex is the first 1:2 bis-complex of a quadridentate bis-triazine ligand to be characterized by crystallography. The faster rates of extraction were verified by kinetics measurements using the rotating membrane cell technique in several diluents. The improved kinetics of metal ion extraction are related to the higher surface activity of the ligand at the phase interface. The improvement in the ligand's properties on replacing the bipyridine unit with a phenanthroline unit far exceeds what was anticipated based on ligand design alone

Taking the Measure of the Universe: Precision Astrometry with SIM PlanetQuest

Precision astrometry at microarcsecond accuracy has application to a wide range of astrophysical problems. This paper is a study of the science questions that can be addressed using an instrument that delivers parallaxes at about 4 microarcsec on targets as faint as V = 20, differential accuracy of 0.6 microarcsec on bright targets, and with flexible scheduling. The science topics are drawn primarily from the Team Key Projects, selected in 2000, for the Space Interferometry Mission PlanetQuest (SIM PlanetQuest). We use the capabilities of this mission to illustrate the importance of the next level of astrometric precision in modern astrophysics. SIM PlanetQuest is currently in the detailed design phase, having completed all of the enabling technologies needed for the flight instrument in 2005. It will be the first space-based long baseline Michelson interferometer designed for precision astrometry. SIM will contribute strongly to many astronomical fields including stellar and galactic astrophysics, planetary systems around nearby stars, and the study of quasar and AGN nuclei. SIM will search for planets with masses as small as an Earth orbiting in the `habitable zone' around the nearest stars using differential astrometry, and could discover many dozen if Earth-like planets are common. It will be the most capable instrument for detecting planets around young stars, thereby providing insights into how planetary systems are born and how they evolve with time. SIM will observe significant numbers of very high- and low-mass stars, providing stellar masses to 1%, the accuracy needed to challenge physical models. Using precision proper motion measurements, SIM will probe the galactic mass distribution and the formation and evolution of the Galactic halo. (abridged)Comment: 54 pages, 28 figures, uses emulateapj. Submitted to PAS

The reductive activation of CO2 across a Ti═Ti double bond: synthetic, structural, and mechanistic studies

[Image: see text] The reactivity of the bis(pentalene)dititanium double-sandwich compound Ti(2)Pn(†)(2) (1) (Pn(†) = 1,4-{Si(i)Pr(3)}(2)C(8)H(4)) with CO(2) is investigated in detail using spectroscopic, X-ray crystallographic, and computational studies. When the CO(2) reaction is performed at −78 °C, the 1:1 adduct 4 is formed, and low-temperature spectroscopic measurements are consistent with a CO(2) molecule bound symmetrically to the two Ti centers in a μ:η(2),η(2) binding mode, a structure also indicated by theory. Upon warming to room temperature the coordinated CO(2) is quantitatively reduced over a period of minutes to give the bis(oxo)-bridged dimer 2 and the dicarbonyl complex 3. In situ NMR studies indicated that this decomposition proceeds in a stepwise process via monooxo (5) and monocarbonyl (7) double-sandwich complexes, which have been independently synthesized and structurally characterized. 5 is thermally unstable with respect to a μ-O dimer in which the Ti–Ti bond has been cleaved and one pentalene ligand binds in an η(8) fashion to each of the formally Ti(III) centers. The molecular structure of 7 shows a “side-on” bound carbonyl ligand. Bonding of the double-sandwich species Ti(2)Pn(2) (Pn = C(8)H(6)) to other fragments has been investigated by density functional theory calculations and fragment analysis, providing insight into the CO(2) reaction pathway consistent with the experimentally observed intermediates. A key step in the proposed mechanism is disproportionation of a mono(oxo) di-Ti(III) species to yield di-Ti(II) and di-Ti(IV) products. 1 forms a structurally characterized, thermally stable CS(2) adduct 8 that shows symmetrical binding to the Ti(2) unit and supports the formulation of 4. The reaction of 1 with COS forms a thermally unstable complex 9 that undergoes scission to give mono(μ-S) mono(CO) species 10. Ph(3)PS is an effective sulfur transfer agent for 1, enabling the synthesis of mono(μ-S) complex 11 with a double-sandwich structure and bis(μ-S) dimer 12 in which the Ti–Ti bond has been cleaved

Vector Continued Fractions using a Generalised Inverse

A real vector space combined with an inverse for vectors is sufficient to define a vector continued fraction whose parameters consist of vector shifts and changes of scale. The choice of sign for different components of the vector inverse permits construction of vector analogues of the Jacobi continued fraction. These vector Jacobi fractions are related to vector and scalar-valued polynomial functions of the vectors, which satisfy recurrence relations similar to those of orthogonal polynomials. The vector Jacobi fraction has strong convergence properties which are demonstrated analytically, and illustrated numerically.Comment: Published form - minor change