Non Abelian Sugawara Construction and the q-deformed N=2 Superconformal Algebra

The construction of a q-deformed N=2 superconformal algebra is proposed in terms of level 1 currents of ${\cal{U}}_{q} ({\widehat{su}}(2))$ quantum affine Lie algebra and a single real Fermi field. In particular, it suggests the expression for the q-deformed Energy-Momentum tensor in the Sugawara form. Its constituents generate two isomorphic quadratic algebraic structures. The generalization to ${\cal{U}}_{q} ({\widehat{su}}(N+1))$ is also proposed.Comment: AMSLATEX, 21page

Density Functional Theory and Molecular Dynamics Studies on Energetics and Kinetics for Electro-Active Polymers: PVDF and P(VDF-TrFE)

We use first principles methods to study static and dynamical mechanical properties of the ferroelectric polymer Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and its copolymer with trifluoro ethylene (TrFE). We use density functional theory [within the generalized gradient approximation (DFT-GGA)] to calculate structures and energetics for various crystalline phases for PVDF and P(VDF-TrFE). We find that the lowest energy phase for PVDF is a non-polar crystal with a combination of trans (T) and gauche (G) bonds; in the case of the copolymer the role of the extra (bulkier) F atoms is to stabilize T bonds. This leads to the higher crystallinity and piezoelectricity observed experimentally. Using the MSXX first principles-based force field (FF) with molecular dynamics (MD), we find that the energy barrier necessary to nucleate a kink (gauche pairs separated by trans bonds) in an all-T crystal is much lower (14.9 kcal/mol) in P(VDF-TrFE) copolymer than in PVDF (24.8 kcal/mol). This correlates with the observation that the polar phase of the copolymer exhibits a solid-solid a transition to a non-polar phase under heating while PVDF directly melts. We also studied the mobility of an interface between a polar and non-polar phases under uniaxial stress; we find a lower threshold stress and a higher mobility in the copolymer as compared with PVDF. Finally, considering plastic deformation under applied shear, we find that the chains for P(VDF-TrFE) have a very low resistance to sliding, particularly along the chain direction. The atomistic characterization of these "unit mechanisms" provides essential input to mesoscopic or macroscopic models of electro-active polymers.Comment: 15 pages 9 figures Electro-active polyme

The Robert H. Goddard Papers

Dr. Robert H. Goddard was a member of the Clark Physics Department for 29 years. Foremost American pioneer of rocket research, he laid the technical and theoretical foundations for many of the developments in long-range rockets, missiles, satellites and space flight, which collectively put us into the Space Age. The collection includes correspondence, diaries, journals, patent applications and awards, reports, and photographs. The collection also includes original paintings by Dr. Goddard

The Effects of an Attribution-Based Parenting Program on Perceptions of Parenting Behavior

Attribution theory has become increasingly prominent in social psychology in the last few decades. Insights from attribution theory were used to guide the development of a parenting program. The program was delivered to a group of mothers and fathers of middle-school children in a 5-week parenting program. Parents who volunteered for the program were randomly assigned to treatment and control (delayed treatment) conditions. The program emphasized the dangers of biases in perception and encouraged empathic communication. Parents were encouraged to discuss their own parenting dilemmas in the class. Handouts and reminders were used to help parents understand and remember the pOints of the sessions. Both the parents and their middle-school children gave reports on parent behavior before the program began and after its conclusion. While there were no differences between treated and untreated parents on most child-report measures, children consistently rated parents in the experimental group more favorably than those in the control group when asked to indicate changes in the parents\u27 behavior. Apparently the parenting program made some improvements in parents\u27 nurturing behaviors as perceived by themselves and their middle-school children. It was concluded that the insights of attribution theory can help parents improve their nurturing behavior. Difficult methodological issues about measuring changes in behavior remain unresolved. The implications of this project for practice include the recommendation that parenting programs account for cognitive as well as behavioral processes. Applications for parenting programs and the methodology of their evaluation are discussed

Time Domain Studies of X-ray Shot Noise in Cygnus X-1

We investigate the variability of Cygnus X-1 in the context of shot moise models, and employ a peak detection algorithm to select individual shots. For a long observation of the low, hard state, the distribution of time intervals between shots is found to be consistent with a purely random process, contrary to previous claims in the literature. The detected shots are fit to several model templates and found to have a broad range of shapes. The fitted shots have a distribution of timescales from below 10 milliseconds to above 1 second. The coherence of the cross spectrum of light curves of these data in different energy bands is also studied. The observed high coherence implies that the transfer function between low and high energy variability is uniform. The uniformity of the tranfer function implies that the observed distribution of shot widths cannot have been acquired through Compton scattering. Our results in combination with other results in the literature suggest that shot luminosities are correlated with one another. We discuss how our experimental methodology relates to non-linear models of variability.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal on July 16, 200