Bi-Large Neutrino Mixing See-Saw Mass Matrix with Texture Zeros and Leptogenesis

We study constraints on neutrino properties from texture zeros in bi-large mixing See-Saw mass matrix and also from leptogenesis. Texture zeros may occur in the light (class a)) or in the heavy (class b)) neutrino mass matrices. Each of these two classes has 5 different forms which can produce non-trivial three generation mixing with at least one texture zero. We find that two types of texture zero mass matrices in both class a) and class b) can be consistent with present data on neutrino masses, mixing and produce the observed baryon asymmetry of the universe. None of the neutrinos can have zero masses with the lightest of the light neutrinos having a mass larger than about 0.039 eV for class a) and 0.002 eV for class b). In these models although CKM CP violating phase vanishes, non-zero Majorana phases, however, can exist and play an important role in producing the observed baryon asymmetry in our universe through leptogenesis mechanism. The requirement of producing the observed baryon asymmetry can further distinguish different models and also restrict the See-Saw scale to be in the range $10^{12}\sim 10^{15}$ GeV.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures revised version, some references added, to be submitted to PR

Isotopic Composition of Carbon Dioxide Released from Confidence Hills Sediment as Measured by the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer

In October 2014, the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) "Curiosity" rover drilled into the sediment at the base of Mount Sharp in a location namsed Cionfidence Hills (CH). CH marked the fifth sample pocessed by the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite since Curiosity arrived in Gale Crater, with previous analyses performed at Rocknest (RN), John Klein (JK), Cumberland (CB), and Windjana (WJ). Evolved gas analysis (EGA) of all samples has indicated H2O as well as O-, C- and S-bearing phases in the samples, often at abundances that would be below the detection limit of the CheMin instrument. By examining the temperatures at which gases are evolved from samples, SAM EGA data can help provide clues to the mineralogy of volatile-bearing phases when their identities are unclear to CheMin. SAM may also detect gases evolved from amorphous material in solid samples, which is not suitable for analysis by CheMin. Finally, the isotopic composition of these gases may suggest possible formation scenarios and relationships between phases. We will discuss C isotope ratios of CO2 evolved from the CH sample as measured with SAM's quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS) and draw comparisons to samples previously analyzed by SAM

Changes in soil redox potential in response to flood irrigation with waste water in central Mexico

Irrigation with untreated sewage water adds fresh organic matter to the soil. When it is applied by flooding, as in the Mezquital Valley of Mexico, many of the pores in the soil become temporarily waterlogged and depleted of oxygen, and reduction generates nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4). We monitored the redox potential, Eh, in the soil at two sites in the Mezquital Valley to discover whether the short‐term gaseous emissions matched the changes in Eh. One site is irrigated periodically by flooding with waste water and has alfalfa, rye grass and maize grown in succession; the other site grows maize with water from summer rain only. Each electrode buried in the soil for the purpose produced sequences of measurements that were correlated in time. We modelled the correlation and took it into account to analyse the effects of the irrigation by residual maximum likelihood (reml). After each flooding, the redox potential under alfalfa and rye grass decreased by 150–200 mV from a norm of about 450 mV for 2 days, after which it returned to its norm. The short‐term response to flooding under maize was similar, but the redox potential did not recover completely; instead there was a decrease from one irrigation event to another, in particular as a result of heavy rain in September that saturated the soil. The soil under rain‐fed maize was slower to respond, partly, we believe, because infiltration into the less aggregated clay soil and drainage from it were also slow. Irrigation with untreated sewage water caused a sharp decrease in Eh lasting 1–2 days. It seems to have depleted the soil of oxygen, causing reduction in microhabitats rich in carbon and nitrogen and generation of N2O, which was captured in the closed chambers that we had installed.&nbsp