Critical revision of some Myxomycetes deposited in the Buenos Aires HerbariaBAFC, BA and the Tucuman Herbarium LIL. IV

Fifty-seven collections preserved in herbaria BAFC, BA; LIL and Ah representing 26 different species of Myxomycetes are included in this paper. Five species, Comatricha ellae, Didymium megalosporum, Lycogala exiguum, Physarum flavicomum and P. stellatum, are new records from Argentina. Microphotograhs using both optical (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) are included. these photographs illustrate the most representative characteristics of those species which are rare or not mentioned in Argentina before this work.Cincuenta y siete colecciones conservadas en los herbarios BAFC, BA LIL y AH se incluyen en este trabajo que representan 26 especies diferentes de Myxomycetes. Cinco especies, Comatricha ellae, Didymium megalosporum, Lycogala exiguum, Physarum flavicomum y P. stellatum, son nuevas citas para Argentina. Microfotografias de microscopía óptica y microscopía electrónica de barrido son incluidas. Estas fotografías ilustran las características más representativas de las especies que son raras o no citadas en Argentina

Nucleation of Al3Zr and Al3Sc in aluminum alloys: from kinetic Monte Carlo simulations to classical theory

Zr and Sc precipitate in aluminum alloys to form the compounds Al3Zr and Al3Sc which for low supersaturations of the solid solution have the L12 structure. The aim of the present study is to model at an atomic scale this kinetics of precipitation and to build a mesoscopic model based on classical nucleation theory so as to extend the field of supersaturations and annealing times that can be simulated. We use some ab-initio calculations and experimental data to fit an Ising model describing thermodynamics of the Al-Zr and Al-Sc systems. Kinetic behavior is described by means of an atom-vacancy exchange mechanism. This allows us to simulate with a kinetic Monte Carlo algorithm kinetics of precipitation of Al3Zr and Al3Sc. These kinetics are then used to test the classical nucleation theory. In this purpose, we deduce from our atomic model an isotropic interface free energy which is consistent with the one deduced from experimental kinetics and a nucleation free energy. We test di erent mean-field approximations (Bragg-Williams approximation as well as Cluster Variation Method) for these parameters. The classical nucleation theory is coherent with the kinetic Monte Carlo simulations only when CVM is used: it manages to reproduce the cluster size distribution in the metastable solid solution and its evolution as well as the steady-state nucleation rate. We also find that the capillary approximation used in the classical nucleation theory works surprisingly well when compared to a direct calculation of the free energy of formation for small L12 clusters.Comment: submitted to Physical Review B (2004

The ANTARES Optical Beacon System

ANTARES is a neutrino telescope being deployed in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of a three dimensional array of photomultiplier tubes that can detect the Cherenkov light induced by charged particles produced in the interactions of neutrinos with the surrounding medium. High angular resolution can be achieved, in particular when a muon is produced, provided that the Cherenkov photons are detected with sufficient timing precision. Considerations of the intrinsic time uncertainties stemming from the transit time spread in the photomultiplier tubes and the mechanism of transmission of light in sea water lead to the conclusion that a relative time accuracy of the order of 0.5 ns is desirable. Accordingly, different time calibration systems have been developed for the ANTARES telescope. In this article, a system based on Optical Beacons, a set of external and well-controlled pulsed light sources located throughout the detector, is described. This calibration system takes into account the optical properties of sea water, which is used as the detection volume of the ANTARES telescope. The design, tests, construction and first results of the two types of beacons, LED and laser-based, are presented.Comment: 21 pages, 18 figures, submitted to Nucl. Instr. and Meth. Phys. Res.

Search for the glueball candidates f0(1500) and fJ(1710) in gamma gamma collisions

Data taken with the ALEPH detector at LEP1 have been used to search for gamma gamma production of the glueball candidates f0(1500) and fJ(1710) via their decay to pi+pi-. No signal is observed and upper limits to the product of gamma gamma width and pi+pi- branching ratio of the f0(1500) and the fJ(1710) have been measured to be Gamma_(gamma gamma -> f0(1500)). BR(f0(1500)->pi+pi-) < 0.31 keV and Gamma_(gamma gamma -> fJ(1710)). BR(fJ(1710)->pi+pi-) < 0.55 keV at 95% confidence level.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Search for supersymmetry with a dominant R-parity violating LQDbar couplings in e+e- collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 130GeV to 172 GeV

A search for pair-production of supersymmetric particles under the assumption that R-parity is violated via a dominant LQDbar coupling has been performed using the data collected by ALEPH at centre-of-mass energies of 130-172 GeV. The observed candidate events in the data are in agreement with the Standard Model expectation. This result is translated into lower limits on the masses of charginos, neutralinos, sleptons, sneutrinos and squarks. For instance, for m_0=500 GeV/c^2 and tan(beta)=sqrt(2) charginos with masses smaller than 81 GeV/c^2 and neutralinos with masses smaller than 29 GeV/c^2 are excluded at the 95% confidence level for any generation structure of the LQDbar coupling.Comment: 32 pages, 30 figure

First results of the Instrumentation Line for the deep-sea ANTARES neutrino telescope

In 2005, the ANTARES Collaboration deployed and operated at a depth of 2500 m a so-called Mini Instrumentation Line equipped with Optical Modules (MILOM) at the ANTARES site. The various data acquired during the continuous operation from April to December 2005 of the MILOM confirm the satisfactory performance of the Optical Modules, their front-end electronics and readout system. as well as the calibration devices of the detector. The in situ measurement of the Optical Module time response yields a resolution better than 0.5 ns. The performance of the acoustic positioning system, which enables the spatial reconstruction of the ANTARES detector with a precision of about 10 cm, is verified. These results demonstrate that with the full ANTARES neutrino telescope the design angular resolution of better than 0.3 degrees can be realistically achieved

Study of large hemispherical photomultiplier tubes for the ANTARES neutrino telescope

The ANTARES neutrino telescope, to be immersed depth in the Mediterranean Sea, will consist of a 3 dimensional matrix of 900 large area photomultiplier tubes housed in pressure resistant glass spheres. The selection of the optimal photomultiplier was a critical step for the project and required an intensive phase of tests and developments carried out in close collaboration with the main manufacturers worldwide. This paper provides an overview of the tests performed by the collaboration and describes in detail the features of the PMT chosen for ANTARES

The data acquisition system for the ANTARES neutrino telescope

The ANTARES neutrino telescope is being constructed in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of a large three-dimensional array of photo-multiplier tubes. The data acquisition system of the detector takes care of the digitisation of the photo-multiplier tube signals, data transport, data filtering, and data storage. The detector is operated using a control program interfaced with all elements. The design and the implementation of the data acquisition system are described.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Nucl. Instrum. Meth.

Tendências temporais de índices de vegetação nos campos do Pampa do Brasil e do Uruguai

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a redução do vigor vegetativo da cobertura vegetal do Pampa do Brasil e do Uruguai, por meio da identificação de tendências negativas em séries temporais de imagens. Utilizaram-se séries temporais de imagens de NDVI/EVI do sensor Modis, de 2000 a 2011; imagens de índices de umidade do solo do "climate forecast system reanalysis"; e dados de precipitação pluvial de estações meteorológicas. O estudo quantificou tendências lineares e não lineares nas séries de NDVI e EVI, em áreas de campos. Na tendência monotônica de Mann-Kendall, a 5% de probabilidade, 81,9% da área total estudada foi significativa com o NDVI, e 74,8%, com o EVI; no entanto, o EVI apresentou contraste superior na estimativa dos parâmetros. Os resultados mostraram maior sinal negativo a oeste, com valores médios de R²>0,15, r<-0,3 e τ <-0,15 na tendência dos índices de vegetação, e tendência decrescente para NDVI, EVI e precipitação pluvial, com menores valores médios de umidade do solo. A tendência negativa dos índices de vegetação, relacionada à combinação da ocorrência de deficit hídrico em solos rasos com o sobrepastoreio, indica alterações no padrão de cobertura vegetal do Pampa, com redução do vigor vegetativo