Strong decay amplitudes using the Talmi-Moshinsky transformation and the suppressed production of the 1−+1^{-+} hybrid

The Talmi-Moshinsky transformation is applied to the strong decay and production of mesons. Amplitudes for conventional mesons are obtained in a simple way and are generalised to encompass the production and decay of hybrid states. The selection rule disfavouring hybrid decay into pairs of identical S-wave mesons has a natural explanation and a new class of selection rules is uncovered with implications for production of the exotic $1^{-+}$ hybrid in $e^+e^-$ experiments, charmonia decays and the lattice.Comment: 15 pages; some significant changes in revised version including additional phenomenolog

P-wave spin-spin splitting and meson loops

In quark potential models the hyperfine splitting of P-wave mesons is zero in the nonrelativistic limit, a prediction strikingly confirmed by experiment in both charmonia and bottomonia. The result, however, ignores the coupling of bare quarkonia to meson-meson pairs. This coupling causes mass shifts among the states and so could potentially spoil the quark model prediction. This turns out not to be the case: in a variety of models the hyperfine splitting remains small despite large mass shifts. This is shown to be a generic feature of models in which the coupling involves the creation of a light quark pair with spin-one and the quark spin wavefunctions are conserved. This talk reports on the results of Phys. Rev. D84, 034021 (2011).Comment: 4 pages, typo corrected. Contribution to the Proceedings of the XIV International Conference on Hadron Spectroscopy (Hadron 2011), 13-17 June 2011, Munich, German

Electro-optical Sensors Research Study and Astronomical Observations Semiannual Progress Report, 15 Jun. - 15 Dec. 1965

Astronomical observations of short period cluster variables, image orthicon tube performance stability research, and development of strong field magnetically focused image tube

Is there space on the podium for us all?

People with intellectual disabilities (ID) have cognitive deficits which impact on their daily lives, requiring them to receive additional support. Having ID also means that an individual’s ability to compete in sports at an elite level is impaired resulting in potential eligibility to the Paralympics, rather than the Olympics, in a class called “Intellectual Impairment”. First entering into the Paralympic in 1992, athletes with ID competed separately, but by Atlanta, 1996 the events were integrated and 54 ID athletes competed alongside everybody else. This rose to 244 ID athletes in Sydney, 2000. However, in a disastrous episode at this event the ID Spanish basketball team, cheated and fielded athletes who did not have ID. There was an investigation and it was found that there was purposeful misrepresentation, but also that the systems in place to check eligibility were not strong enough to prevent such occurrences. The whole impairment group of ID was then suspended from competing in the Paralympics and for the next twelve years elite athletes with ID lost out on Paralympic opportunities

The participation of people with intellectual disability in Parasports

Engagement in sport is a very important way of developing and maintaining healthy lives. This is even more the case for people with intellectual disabilities. This paper describes how intellectual disabilities impact on both the physical and psychosocial welfare of the affected individuals and their families, and how this might be ameliorated by involvement in sport. It also describes the main three organisations involved in delivering sport for this population, the Special Olympics, VIRTUS (previously known as INAS) and the Paralympics, their functions and their relationships. A short history and description is provided about how eligibility and classification has evolved and is currently managed in these organisations. Having set out the increased need in terms of potential poor physical health, social exclusion and psychological vulnerabilities, the paper reviews some of the proven positive impacts sport can bring to these individuals and their families. These include improved fitness, reducing secondary health risks such as obesity and heart disease; improved friendship networks and social inclusion; improved psychological factors such as self-esteem and subjective well-being. The impact on families is also considered in terms of decreased isolation and a sense of community for family members. At the societal level, how large-scale sporting events such as the Paralympics, involving athletes with intellectual disabilities, might impact on the attitudes of the viewing public is described. Finally, the Tokyo Paralympics is considered in terms of its potential to change social attitude and promote social inclusion for this population

Developing the sports specific classification system for athletes with intellectual disabilities to compete in International Paralympic competition

In the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games it was found that some people competing in the intellectual disabilities class in basketball did not have intellectual disabilities. This was a major, purposeful, transgression of the rules and as a result people with intellectual disabilities were disallowed from competing in future Paralympic events. This paper will describe the research and procedures which have been put in place to provide the evidence to support the re-inclusion of athletes with intellectual disabilities back into the Paralympic Games. This will include a description of the processes in place to establish initial eligibility criteria that athletes meet the definition of having an intellectual disability and also the classification procedures that then establish that the disability has an impact upon the sport. Three sports have been agreed for re-inclusion in London 2012, table tennis, athletics and swimming and the research producing the classification system for each will be described

Eligibility and classification of elite athletes with intellectual disabilities for the Paralympics: the role of psychology

Objectives: The aim of this paper is to describe the research and the development of procedures which have been put in place since people were disqualified from competing in the Paralympics in Sydney, 2000. This involves two processes, ‘eligibility’ and ‘classification’, both of which require the application of psychological principles and cognitive assessment. These processes answer the following questions: How can we be sure the person has a learning disability (eligibility)? How does the disability impact upon the sport (classification)? Design: To answer the eligibility question a system of evidence submission and scrutiny involving a worldwide network of psychologists will be described. With regard to the classification question a large international research group was formed to develop a system based upon a model of sports intelligence and performance. This has involved the development of a generic, non-verbal cognitive test battery and sports specific assessments and observations. The model then uses a ‘bandwidth’ approach to agree if the athlete meets the classification criteria. Results: The International Paralympic Committee, on the basis of the research and procedures put in place have agreed that elite athletes with intellectual disabilities may compete in London 2012 in a limited number of events. Globally, over 2,500 athletes are now registered as ‘eligible’ and over 600 athletes with intellectual disabilities have now been tested on the cognitive assessment and a large data set on multiple occasions. Classification procedures have been accepted for the three London 2012 sports of Swimming, Table Tennis and Athletics. Conclusions: People with intellectual disabilities are now re-included in the largest global showcase of sporting ability. They will share the podium with all other people with disabilities at the peak of world performance. This work has been enabled in part through the application of psychological principles