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To be or not to be an auctioneer: Some thoughts on the legal nature of online eBay auctions and the protection of consumers
This paper discusses the legal classification of online “eBay” auctions. The discussion has key implications on the scope of consumer protection law as sale by auctions are, for example, excluded from the scope of the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000. The paper uncovers that online “eBay” auctions cannot always be considered as traditional auctions and that eBay, as an intermediary, is not to be considered as an auctioneer. This creates difficulties associated with a distributive application of consumer protection laws such as the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000. Another set of difficulties is associated with a lenient legal regime applicable to the liability of eBay under the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 . The paper concludes that there is an urgent need to clarify the legal classification of online auctions and to rethink the liability of online auction sites to better protect consumers
Quartz Cherenkov Counters for Fast Timing: QUARTIC
We have developed particle detectors based on fused silica (quartz) Cherenkov
radiators read out with micro-channel plate photomultipliers (MCP-PMTs) or
silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) for high precision timing (Sigma(t) about
10-15 ps). One application is to measure the times of small angle protons from
exclusive reactions, e.g. p + p - p + H + p, at the Large Hadron Collider, LHC.
They may also be used to measure directional particle fluxes close to external
or stored beams. The detectors have small areas (square cm), but need to be
active very close (a few mm) to the intense LHC beam, and so must be radiation
hard and nearly edgeless. We present results of tests of detectors with quartz
bars inclined at the Cherenkov angle, and with bars in the form of an "L" (with
a 90 degree corner). We also describe a possible design for a fast timing
hodoscope with elements of a few square mm.Comment: 24 pages, 14 figure
Moment-Generating Algorithm for Response Time in Processor Sharing Queueing Systems
Response times are arguably the most representative and important metric for measuring the performance of modern computer systems. Further, service level agreements (SLAs), ranging from data centres to smartphone users, demand quick and, equally important, predictable response times. Hence, it is necessary to calculate moments, at least, and ideally response time distributions, which is not straightforward. A new moment-generating algorithm for calculating response times analytically is obtained, based on M/M/1 processor sharing (PS) queueing models. This algorithm is compared against existing work on response times in M/M/1-PS queues and extended to M/M/1 discriminatory PS queues. Two real-world case studies are evaluated
Expression of Interest: The Atmospheric Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment (ANNIE)
Neutron tagging in Gadolinium-doped water may play a significant role in
reducing backgrounds from atmospheric neutrinos in next generation proton-decay
searches using megaton-scale Water Cherenkov detectors. Similar techniques
might also be useful in the detection of supernova neutrinos. Accurate
determination of neutron tagging efficiencies will require a detailed
understanding of the number of neutrons produced by neutrino interactions in
water as a function of momentum transferred. We propose the Atmospheric
Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment (ANNIE), designed to measure the
neutron yield of atmospheric neutrino interactions in gadolinium-doped water.
An innovative aspect of the ANNIE design is the use of precision timing to
localize interaction vertices in the small fiducial volume of the detector. We
propose to achieve this by using early production of LAPPDs (Large Area
Picosecond Photodetectors). This experiment will be a first application of
these devices demonstrating their feasibility for Water Cherenkov neutrino
detectors.Comment: Submitted for the January 2014 Fermilab Physics Advisory Committee
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Expression of Interest: The Atmospheric Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment (ANNIE)
Submitted for the January 2014 Fermilab Physics Advisory Committee meetingSubmitted for the January 2014 Fermilab Physics Advisory Committee meetingSubmitted for the January 2014 Fermilab Physics Advisory Committee meetingSubmitted for the January 2014 Fermilab Physics Advisory Committee meetingNeutron tagging in Gadolinium-doped water may play a significant role in reducing backgrounds from atmospheric neutrinos in next generation proton-decay searches using megaton-scale Water Cherenkov detectors. Similar techniques might also be useful in the detection of supernova neutrinos. Accurate determination of neutron tagging efficiencies will require a detailed understanding of the number of neutrons produced by neutrino interactions in water as a function of momentum transferred. We propose the Atmospheric Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment (ANNIE), designed to measure the neutron yield of atmospheric neutrino interactions in gadolinium-doped water. An innovative aspect of the ANNIE design is the use of precision timing to localize interaction vertices in the small fiducial volume of the detector. We propose to achieve this by using early production of LAPPDs (Large Area Picosecond Photodetectors). This experiment will be a first application of these devices demonstrating their feasibility for Water Cherenkov neutrino detectors
Constraints on from Radiative Hyperon and Kaon Decays
The quark-level process has been used extensively to place
constraints on new interactions. These same interactions can be further
constrained from the enhancement they induce in the quark-level transition, to the extent that the short distance contributions can be
separated from the long distance contributions. We parameterize what is known
about the long distance amplitudes and subtract it from the data in radiative
hyperon and kaon decays to constrain new interactions.Comment: Latex 11 page
Observation of CP Violation in K(L)->pi+pi-e+e- Decays
We report the first observation of a manifestly CP violating effect in the
K(L)->pi+pi-e+e- decay mode. A large asymmetry was observed in the distribution
of these decays in the CP-odd and T-odd angle phi between the decay planes of
the e+e- and pi+pi- pairs in the K(L) center of mass system. After acceptance
corrections, the overall asymmetry is found to be 13.6+-2.5 (stat) +-1.2
(syst)%. This is the largest CP-violating effect yet observed integrating over
the entire phase space of a mode and the first such effect observed in an
angular variable.Comment: 4 pages 4 figures submitted to pr
A Search for WIMPs with the First Five-Tower Data from CDMS
We report first results from the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS II)
experiment running with its full complement of 30 cryogenic particle detectors
at the Soudan Underground Laboratory. This report is based on the analysis of
data acquired between October 2006 and July 2007 from 15 Ge detectors (3.75
kg), giving an effective exposure of 121.3 kg-d (averaged over recoil energies
10--100 keV, weighted for a weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) mass of
60 \gev). A blind analysis, incorporating improved techniques for event
reconstruction and data quality monitoring, resulted in zero observed events.
This analysis sets an upper limit on the WIMP-nucleon spin-independent cross
section of 6.6 cm (4.6 cm when combined
with previous CDMS Soudan data) at the 90% confidence level for a WIMP mass of
60 \gev. By providing the best sensitivity for dark matter WIMPs with masses
above 42 GeV/c, this work significantly restricts the parameter space for
some of the favored supersymmetric models.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted to PRL 28 March 200
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