LOFAR observations of 4C+19.44. On the discovery of low frequency spectral curvature in relativistic jet knots

We present the first LOFAR observations of the radio jet in the quasar 4C+19.44 (a.k.a. PKS 1354+19) obtained with the long baselines. The achieved resolution is very well matched to that of archival Jansky Very Large Array (JVLA) observations at higher radio frequencies as well as the archival X-ray images obtained with {\it Chandra}. We found that, for several knots along the jet, the radio flux densities measured at hundreds of MHz lie well below the values estimated by extrapolating the GHz spectra. This clearly indicates the presence of spectral curvature. Radio spectral curvature has been already observed in different source classes and/or extended radio structures and it has been often interpreted as due to intrinsic processes, as a curved particle energy distribution, rather than absorption mechanisms ({ Razin-Tsytovich} effect, free-free or synchrotron self absorption to name a few). Here we discuss our results according to the scenario where particles undergo stochastic acceleration mechanisms also in quasar jet knots.Comment: 13 pages, 4 tables, 4 figures, pre-proof version, published on the Astrophysical Journal (Harris, et al. 2019 ApJ, 873, 21

Fine structure splittings of excited P and D states in charmonium

It is shown that the fine structure splittings of the $2 ^3P_J$ and $3 ^3P_J$ excited states in charmonium are as large as those of the $1^3P_J$ state if the same $\alpha_s(\mu)\approx 0.36$ is used. The predicted mass $M(2 ^3P_0)=3.84$ GeV appears to be 120 MeV lower that the center of gravity of the $2 ^3P_J$ multiplet and lies below the $D\bar D^*$ threshold. Our value of $M(2 ^3P_0)$ is approximately 80 MeV lower than that from the paper by Godfrey and Isgur while the differences in the other masses are \la 20 MeV. Relativistic kinematics plays an important role in our analysis.Comment: 12 page

Historical Criminology and the Explanatory Power of the Past

To what extent can the past ‘explain’ the present? This deceptively simple question lies at the heart of historical criminology (research which incorporates historical primary sources while addressing present-day debates and practices in the criminal justice field). This article seeks first to categorise the ways in which criminologists have used historical data thus far, arguing that it is most commonly deployed to ‘problematize’ the contemporary rather than to ‘explain’ it. The article then interrogates the reticence of criminologists to attribute explicative power in relation to the present to historical data. Finally, it proposes the adoption of long time-frame historical research methods, outlining three advantages which would accrue from this: the identification and analysis of historical continuities; a more nuanced, shared understanding of micro/macro change over time in relation to criminal justice; and a method for identifying and analysing instances of historical recurrence, particularly in perceptions and discourses around crime and justice

Coulomb plus power-law potentials in quantum mechanics

We study the discrete spectrum of the Hamiltonian H = -Delta + V(r) for the Coulomb plus power-law potential V(r)=-1/r+ beta sgn(q)r^q, where beta > 0, q > -2 and q \ne 0. We show by envelope theory that the discrete eigenvalues E_{n\ell} of H may be approximated by the semiclassical expression E_{n\ell}(q) \approx min_{r>0}\{1/r^2-1/(mu r)+ sgn(q) beta(nu r)^q}. Values of mu and nu are prescribed which yield upper and lower bounds. Accurate upper bounds are also obtained by use of a trial function of the form, psi(r)= r^{\ell+1}e^{-(xr)^{q}}. We give detailed results for V(r) = -1/r + beta r^q, q = 0.5, 1, 2 for n=1, \ell=0,1,2, along with comparison eigenvalues found by direct numerical methods.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure

New Findings at Andrahomana Cave, Southeastern Madagascar

A remote eolianite cave and sinkhole complex on the southeast coast of Madagascar has played a major role in the history of paleontology in Madagascar. Andrahomana Cave has yielded a rich fossil record of the extinct megafauna. Expeditions in 2000 and 2003 produced a wealth of new material and provided the first systematic information concerning the genesis, stratigraphy, and taphonomy of the site. Recovered bones of one of the most poorly understood extinct large lemurs, Hadropithecus stenognathus, include many skeletal elements previously unknown. Radiocarbon dates show that the site has sampled this disappeared fauna in the midto- late Holocene, but that bone-bearing layers are stratigraphically mixed, probably owing to the effects of reworking of the sediments by extreme marine events. The diverse biota recovered contains elements of both eastern rain forest and southwestern arid bushland, reflecting the cave’s position in the zone of transition between wet and dry biomes. Bones of two unusual small mammals add to the previously long faunal list for the site: 1) the first fossil evidence for Macrotarsomys petteri, a large-bodied endemic nesomyid rodent previously known only from a single modern specimen; and 2) the type specimen and additional material of a newly described extinct shrew-tenrec (Microgale macpheei). Evidence for prehistoric and colonial-era humans includes artifacts, hearth deposits, and remains of human domesticates and other introduced species. Although previously protected by its extreme isolation, the unique site is vulnerable to exploitation. An incipient tourist industry is likely to bring more people to the cave, and there is currently no form of protection afforded to the site

A unified meson-baryon potential

We study the spectra of mesons and baryons, composed of light quarks, in the framework of a semirelativistic potential model including instanton induced forces. We show how a simple modification of the instanton interaction in the baryon sector allows a good description of the meson and the baryon spectra using an interaction characterized by a unique set of parameters.Comment: 7 figure

Masses and Internal Structure of Mesons in the String Quark Model

The relativistic quantum string quark model, proposed earlier, is applied to all mesons, from pion to $\Upsilon$, lying on the leading Regge trajectories (i.e., to the lowest radial excitations in terms of the potential quark models). The model describes the meson mass spectrum, and comparison with measured meson masses allows one to determine the parameters of the model: current quark masses, universal string tension, and phenomenological constants describing nonstring short-range interaction. The meson Regge trajectories are in general nonlinear; practically linear are only trajectories for light-quark mesons with non-zero lowest spins. The model predicts masses of many new higher-spin mesons. A new $K^*(1^-)$ meson is predicted with mass 1910 Mev. In some cases the masses of new low-spin mesons are predicted by extrapolation of the phenomenological short-range parameters in the quark masses. In this way the model predicts the mass of $\eta_b(1S)(0^{-+})$ to be $9500\pm 30$ MeV, and the mass of $B_c(0^-)$ to be $6400\pm 30$ MeV (the potential model predictions are 100 Mev lower). The relativistic wave functions of the composite mesons allow one to calculate the energy and spin structure of mesons. The average quark-spin projections in polarized $\rho$-meson are twice as small as the nonrelativistic quark model predictions. The spin structure of $K^*$ reveals an 80% violation of the flavour SU(3). These results may be relevant to understanding the ``spin crises'' for nucleons.Comment: 30 pages, REVTEX, 6 table

Exploitation of the Escherichia coli lac operon promoter for controlled recombinant protein production

The Escherichia coli lac operon promoter is widely used as a tool to control recombinant protein production in bacteria. Here we give a brief review of how it functions, how it is regulated, and how, based on this knowledge, a suite of lac promoter derivatives has been developed to give controlled expression that is suitable for diverse biotechnology applications

Quantum-Chromodynamic Potential Model for Light-Heavy Quarkonia and the Heavy Quark Effective Theory

We have investigated the spectra of light-heavy quarkonia with the use of a quantum-chromodynamic potential model which is similar to that used earlier for the heavy quarkonia. An essential feature of our treatment is the inclusion of the one-loop radiative corrections to the quark-antiquark potential, which contribute significantly to the spin-splittings among the quarkonium energy levels. Unlike $c\bar{c}$ and $b\bar{b}$, the potential for a light-heavy system has a complicated dependence on the light and heavy quark masses $m$ and $M$, and it contains a spin-orbit mixing term. We have obtained excellent results for the observed energy levels of $D^0$, $D_s$, $B^0$, and $B_s$, and we are able to provide predicted results for many unobserved energy levels. Our potential parameters for different quarkonia satisfy the constraints of quantum chromodynamics. We have also used our investigation to test the accuracy of the heavy quark effective theory. We find that the heavy quark expansion yields generally good results for the $B^0$ and $B_s$ energy levels provided that $M^{-1}$ and $M^{-1}\ln M$ corrections are taken into account in the quark-antiquark interactions. It does not, however, provide equally good results for the energy levels of $D^0$ and $D_s$, which indicates that the effective theory can be applied more accurately to the $b$ quark than the $c$ quark.Comment: 17 pages of LaTeX. To appear in Physical Review D. Complete PostScript file is available via WWW at http://gluon.physics.wayne.edu/wsuhep/jim/heavy.p