Towards a more complete description of nucleon distortion in lepton-induced single-pion production at low-Q2Q^2

Theoretical predictions for lepton-induced single-pion production (SPP) on $^{12}$C are revisited in order to assess the effect of different treatments of the current operator. On one hand we have the asymptotic approximation, which consists in replacing the particle four-vectors that enter in the operator by their asymptotic values, i.e., their values out of the nucleus. On the other hand we have the full calculation, which is a more accurate approach to the problem. We also compare with results in which the final nucleon is described by a relativistic plane wave, to rate the effect of the nucleon distortion. The study is performed for several lepton kinematics, reproducing inclusive and semi-inclusive cross sections belonging to the low-$Q^2$ region (between 0.05 and 1 GeV$^2$), which is of special interest in charged-current (CC) neutrino-nucleus 1$\pi$ production. Inclusive electron results are compared with experimental data. We find non-trivial corrections comparable in size with the effect of the nucleon distortion, namely, corrections up to 6\%, either increasing or diminishing the asymptotic prediction, and a shift of the distributions towards higher energy transfer. For the semi-inclusive cross sections, we observe the correction to be prominent mainly at low values of the outgoing nucleon kinetic energy. Finally, for CC neutrino-induced 1$\pi^+$ production, we find a reduction at low-$Q^2$ with respect to both the plane-wave approach and the asymptotic case

Non-standard connections in classical mechanics

In the jet-bundle description of first-order classical field theories there are some elements, such as the lagrangian energy and the construction of the hamiltonian formalism, which require the prior choice of a connection. Bearing these facts in mind, we analyze the situation in the jet-bundle description of time-dependent classical mechanics. So we prove that this connection-dependence also occurs in this case, although it is usually hidden by the use of the ``natural'' connection given by the trivial bundle structure of the phase spaces in consideration. However, we also prove that this dependence is dynamically irrelevant, except where the dynamical variation of the energy is concerned. In addition, the relationship between first integrals and connections is shown for a large enough class of lagrangians.Comment: 17 pages, Latex fil

Ab initio evaluation of the charge-ordering in α′NaV2O5\alpha^\prime NaV_2O_5

We report {\it ab initio} calculations of the charge ordering in $\alpha^\prime NaV_2O_5$ using large configurations interaction methods on embedded fragments. Our major result is that the $2p_y$ electrons of the bridging oxygen of the rungs present a very strong magnetic character and should thus be explicitly considered in any relevant effective model. The most striking consequence of this result is that the spin and charge ordering differ substantially, as differ the experimental results depending on whether they are sensitive to the spin or charge density.Comment: 4 page

Unbounded violation of tripartite Bell inequalities

We prove that there are tripartite quantum states (constructed from random unitaries) that can lead to arbitrarily large violations of Bell inequalities for dichotomic observables. As a consequence these states can withstand an arbitrary amount of white noise before they admit a description within a local hidden variable model. This is in sharp contrast with the bipartite case, where all violations are bounded by Grothendieck's constant. We will discuss the possibility of determining the Hilbert space dimension from the obtained violation and comment on implications for communication complexity theory. Moreover, we show that the violation obtained from generalized GHZ states is always bounded so that, in contrast to many other contexts, GHZ states do in this case not lead to extremal quantum correlations. The results are based on tools from the theories of operator spaces and tensor norms which we exploit to prove the existence of bounded but not completely bounded trilinear forms from commutative C*-algebras.Comment: Substantial changes in the presentation to make the paper more accessible for a non-specialized reade

Label swapper device for spectral amplitude coded optical packet networks monolithically integrated on InP

This paper was published in OPTICS EXPRESS and is made available as an electronic reprint with the permission of OSA. The paper can be found at the following URL on the OSA website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OE.19.013540. Systematic or multiple reproduction or distribution to multiple locations via electronic or other means is prohibited and is subject to penalties under lawIn this paper the design, fabrication and experimental characterization of an spectral amplitude coded (SAC) optical label swapper monolithically integrated on Indium Phosphide (InP) is presented. The device has a footprint of 4.8x1.5 mm 2 and is able to perform label swapping operations required in SAC at a speed of 155 Mbps. The device was manufactured in InP using a multiple purpose generic integration scheme. Compared to previous SAC label swapper demonstrations, using discrete component assembly, this label swapper chip operates two order of magnitudes faster. © 2011 Optical Society of America.The activities have been carried out in the framework of the Joint Research Activity (JRA) 'Active-phased Arrayed Devices' (WP 44) of the European Commission FP6 Network of Excellence ePIXnet (European Network of Excellence on Photonic Integrated Components and Circuits), Project Reference: 004525, http://www.epixnet.org/. This work has been partially funded through the Spanish Plan Nacional de I+D+i 2008-2011 project TEC2008-06145/TEC. It has also been partially supported by the Canadian Institute for Photonic Innovations. Devices are presently being fabricated through the InP Photonic Integration Platform JePPIX (coordinator D J Robbins), at the COBRA fab, http://www.jeppix.eu/Muñoz Muñoz, P.; Garcia-Olcina, R.; Habib, C.; Chen, LR.; Leijtens, XJM.; De Vries, T.; Robbins, D.... (2011). Label swapper device for spectral amplitude coded optical packet networks monolithically integrated on InP. Optics Express. 19(14):13540-13550. https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.19.013540S13540135501914Yoo, S. J. B. (2006). Optical Packet and Burst Switching Technologies for the Future Photonic Internet. Journal of Lightwave Technology, 24(12), 4468-4492. doi:10.1109/jlt.2006.886060Blumenthal, D. J., Olsson, B.-E., Rossi, G., Dimmick, T. E., Rau, L., Masanovic, M., … Barton, J. (2000). All-optical label swapping networks and technologies. Journal of Lightwave Technology, 18(12), 2058-2075. doi:10.1109/50.908817Srivatsa, A., d. Waardt, H., Hill, M. T., Khoe, G. D., & Dorren, H. J. S. (2001). All-optical serial header processing based on two-pulse correlation. Electronics Letters, 37(4), 234. doi:10.1049/el:20010178Gordon, R. E., & Chen, L. R. (2006). Demonstration of all-photonic spectral label-switching for optical MPLS networks. IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, 18(4), 586-588. doi:10.1109/lpt.2006.870188Habib, C., Baby, V., Chen, L. R., Delisle-Simard, A., & LaRochelle, S. (2008). All-Optical Swapping of Spectral Amplitude Code Labels Using Nonlinear Media and Semiconductor Fiber Ring Lasers. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, 14(3), 879-888. doi:10.1109/jstqe.2008.918047Cole, C., Huebner, B., & Johnson, J. (2009). Photonic integration for high-volume, low-cost applications. IEEE Communications Magazine, 47(3), S16-S22. doi:10.1109/mcom.2009.4804385Calabretta, N., Jung, H.-D., Llorente, J. H., Tangdiongga, E., Koonen, T. A. M. J., & Dorren, H. J. S. (2009). All-Optical Label Swapping of Scalable In-Band Address Labels and 160-Gb/s Data Packets. Journal of Lightwave Technology, 27(3), 214-223. doi:10.1109/jlt.2008.2009319Smit, M. K., & Van Dam, C. (1996). PHASAR-based WDM-devices: Principles, design and applications. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, 2(2), 236-250. doi:10.1109/2944.577370Eisenstein, G. (1989). Semiconductor optical amplifiers. IEEE Circuits and Devices Magazine, 5(4), 25-30. doi:10.1109/101.29899Munoz, P., Pastor, D., & Capmany, J. (2002). Modeling and design of arrayed waveguide gratings. Journal of Lightwave Technology, 20(4), 661-674. doi:10.1109/50.996587Soldano, L. B., & Pennings, E. C. M. (1995). Optical multi-mode interference devices based on self-imaging: principles and applications. Journal of Lightwave Technology, 13(4), 615-627. doi:10.1109/50.372474Zilkie, A. J., Meier, J., Mojahedi, M., Poole, P. J., Barrios, P., Poitras, D., … Aitchison, J. S. (2007). Carrier Dynamics of Quantum-Dot, Quantum-Dash, and Quantum-Well Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers Operating at 1.55 $\mu{\hbox {m}}$. IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics, 43(11), 982-991. doi:10.1109/jqe.2007.90447

Total quality management practices, competitive strategies and financial performance: the case of the Palestinian industrial SMEs

"This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Total Quality Management and Business Excellence on 19 Aug 2013, available online: http://wwww.tandfonline.com/10.1080/14783363.2013.824714."The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between Total Quality Management (TQM) practices, competitive strategies - cost leadership and differentiation- and firm performance in the Palestinian economy. Within this study total quality management has been conceptualized as soft and hard practices, in congruence with the literature. An empirical analysis based upon an extensive validation process was applied to refine TQM, competitive strategies and financial performance scales. Data were collected through surveying 202 in Palestinian industrial small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Structural Equation Modeling was carried out to test the anticipated relationships. Results derived from this study show that TQM practices have indirect, positive and significant relationship with financial performance through competitive strategies. In addition, a direct, positive and significant relationship between competitive strategies and financial performance was observed. Results derived from this study might help managers to implement TQM practices in order to effectively allocate resources and improve financial performance

Observation of the Crab Nebula with the HAWC Gamma-Ray Observatory

The Crab Nebula is the brightest TeV gamma-ray source in the sky and has been used for the past 25 years as a reference source in TeV astronomy, for calibration and verification of new TeV instruments. The High Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory (HAWC), completed in early 2015, has been used to observe the Crab Nebula at high significance across nearly the full spectrum of energies to which HAWC is sensitive. HAWC is unique for its wide field-of-view, nearly 2 sr at any instant, and its high-energy reach, up to 100 TeV. HAWC's sensitivity improves with the gamma-ray energy. Above $\sim$1 TeV the sensitivity is driven by the best background rejection and angular resolution ever achieved for a wide-field ground array. We present a time-integrated analysis of the Crab using 507 live days of HAWC data from 2014 November to 2016 June. The spectrum of the Crab is fit to a function of the form $\phi(E) = \phi_0 (E/E_{0})^{-\alpha -\beta\cdot{\rm{ln}}(E/E_{0})}$. The data is well-fit with values of $\alpha=2.63\pm0.03$, $\beta=0.15\pm0.03$, and log$_{10}(\phi_0~{\rm{cm}^2}~{\rm{s}}~{\rm{TeV}})=-12.60\pm0.02$ when $E_{0}$ is fixed at 7 TeV and the fit applies between 1 and 37 TeV. Study of the systematic errors in this HAWC measurement is discussed and estimated to be $\pm$50\% in the photon flux between 1 and 37 TeV. Confirmation of the Crab flux serves to establish the HAWC instrument's sensitivity for surveys of the sky. The HAWC survey will exceed sensitivity of current-generation observatories and open a new view of 2/3 of the sky above 10 TeV.Comment: Submitted 2017/01/06 to the Astrophysical Journa

Critical review of technologies for the on-site treatment of hospital wastewater: From conventional to combined advanced processes

This review aims to assess different technologies for the on-site treatment of hospital wastewater (HWW) to remove pharmaceutical compounds (PhCs) as sustances of emerging concern at a bench, pilot, and full scales from 2014 to 2020. Moreover, a rough characterisation of hospital effluents is presented. The main detected PhCs are antibiotics and psychiatric drugs, with concentrations up to 1.1 mg/L. On the one hand, regarding the presented technologies, membrane bioreactors (MBRs) are a good alternative for treating HWW with PhCs removal values higher than 80% in removing analgesics, anti-inflammatories, cardiovascular drugs, and some antibiotics. Moreover, this system has been scaled up to the pilot plant scale. However, some target compounds are still present in the treated effluent, such as psychiatric and contrast media drugs and recalcitrant antibiotics (erythromycin and sulfamethoxazole). On the other hand, ozonation effectively removes antibiotics found in the HWW (>93%), and some studies are carried out at the pilot plant scale. Even though, some families, such as the X-ray contrast media, are recalcitrant to ozone. Other advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), such as Fenton-like or UV treatments, seem very effective for removing pharmaceuticals, Antibiotic Resistance Bacteria (ARBs) and Antibiotic Resistance Genes (ARGs). However, they are not implanted at pilot plant or full scale as they usually consider extra reactants such as ozone, iron, or UV-light, making the scale-up of the processes a challenging task to treat high-loading wastewater. Thus, several examples of biological wastewater treatment methods combined with AOPs have been proposed as the better strategy to treat HWW with high removal of PhCs (generally over 98%) and ARGs/ARBs (below the detection limit) and lower spending on reactants. However, it still requires further development and optimisation of the integrated processes.Comunidad de Madri

Ionoluminescent response of several phosphor screens to keV ions of different masses

We have characterized the ionoluminescent response of several phosphor powder materials when irradiated with ions of different masses H+ ,He+ ,Ar+ accelerated to keV energies. In particular, we have determined the absolute luminosity in terms of the number of photons per incident ion emitted by luminescent screens of Y2O2S:Tb P45, Y3Al5O12 :Ce P46, Y2SiO5 :Ce P47, Y2O3 :Eu P56, and SrGa2S4 :Eu TG-green. Their ionoluminescence has been studied as a function of ion beam energy and current and ion fluency. The energy trend and mass dependence of selected experimental results are compared relative to stopping and range of ions in matter SRIM code predictions.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia FTN2003-090