Observations of Large Scale Sidereal Anisotropy in 1 and 11 TeV cosmic rays from the MINOS experiment

The MINOS Near and Far Detectors are two large, functionally-identical, steel-scintillating sampling calorimeters located at depths of 220 mwe and 2100 mwe respectively. The detectors observe the muon component of hadronic showers produced from cosmic ray interactions with nuclei in the earth's atmosphere. From the arrival direction of these muons, the anisotropy in arrival direction of the cosmic ray primaries can be determined. The MINOS Near and Far Detector have observed anisotropy on the order of 0.1% at 1 and 11 TeV respectively. The amplitude and phase of the first harmonic at 1 TeV are 8.2$\pm$1.7(stat.)$\times 10^{-4}$ and (8.9$\pm$12.1(stat.))$^{\circ}$, and at 11 TeV are 3.8$\pm$0.5(stat.)$\times 10^{-4}$ and (27.2$\pm$7.2(stat.))$^{\circ}$.Comment: 32nd International Cosmic Ray Conference, August 201

Search for the magnetic field of the O7.5 III star xi Persei

Cyclical wind variability is an ubiquitous but as yet unexplained feature among OB stars. The O7.5 III(n)((f)) star xi Persei is the brightest representative of this class on the Northern hemisphere. As its prominent cyclical wind properties vary on a rotational time scale (2 or 4 days) the star has been already for a long time a serious magnetic candidate. As the cause of this enigmatic behavior non-radial pulsations and/or a surface magnetic field are suggested. We present a preliminary report on our attempts to detect a magnetic field in this star with high-resolution measurements obtained with the spectropolarimeter Narval at TBL, France during 2 observing runs of 5 nights in 2006 and 5 nights in 2007. Only upper limits could be obtained, even with the longest possible exposure times. If the star hosts a magnetic field, its surface strength should be less than about 300 G. This would still be enough to disturb the stellar wind significantly. From our new data it seems that the amplitude of the known non-radial pulsations has changed within less than a year, which needs further investigation.Comment: 2 pages, 6 figures, contributed poster at IAU Symposium 259 "Cosmic Magnetic Fields: from Planets, to Stars and Galaxies", Tenerife, Spain, November 3-7, 200

Sub-Poissonian Shot Noise In A Diffusive Conductor

A review is given of the shot-noise properties of metallic, diffusive conductors. The shot noise is one third of the Poisson noise, due to the bimodal distribution of transmission eigenvalues. The same result can be obtained from a semiclassical calculation. Starting from Oseledec's theorem it is shown that the bimodal distribution is required by Ohm's law.Comment: 9 pages, LaTeX, including 2 figure

Doubled Shot Noise In Disordered Normal-Metal-Superconductor Junctions

The low-frequency shot-noise power of a normal-metal-superconductor junction is studied for arbitrary normal region. Through a scattering approach, a formula is derived which expresses the shot-noise power in terms of the transmission eigenvalues of the normal region. The noise power divided by the current is enhanced by a factor two with respect to its normal-state value, due to Cooper-pair transport in the superconductor. For a disordered normal region, it is still smaller than the Poisson noise, as a consequence of noiseless open scattering channels.Comment: 4 pages, RevTeX v3.0, including 1 figure, Submitted to Physical Review

Consistency of Kernel Estimators of Heteroscedastic and Autocorrelated Covariance Matrices

Conditions are derived for the consistency of kernel estimators of the covariance matrix of a sum of vectors of dependent heterogeneous random variables, which match those of the currently best-known conditions for the central limit theorem, as required for a unified theory of asymptotic inference. These include finite moments of order no more than 2 + for > 0, trending variances, and variables which are near-epoch dependent on a mixing process, but not necessarily mixing. The results are also proved for the case of sample-dependent bandwidths.kernel estimator;matrices

Feed additives : annual report 2009 of the National Reference Laboratory

This report of the National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for feed additives describes the activties employed in 2010. The main tasks of the NRL are: giving assistance to the European Union Reference Laboratort (EU-RL) on their request and advice and support the competent authority, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation - Department of Food, Animal and Consumer (EL&I-VDC