193 research outputs found
Testing the alkenone D/H ratio as a paleo indicator of sea surface salinity in a coastal ocean margin (Mozambique Channel)
Reconstructing past ocean salinity is important for assessing paleoceanographic change and therefore past climatic dynamics. Commonly, sea water salinity reconstruction is based on planktonic foraminifera oxygen isotope values combined with sea surface temperature reconstruction. However, the approach relies on multiple proxies, resulting in rather large uncertainty and, consequently, relatively low accuracy of salinity estimates. An alternative tool for past ocean salinity reconstruction is the hydrogen isotope composition of long chain (C37) alkenones (dDalkenone). Here, we have applied dDalkenone to a 39 ka sedimentary record from the Eastern South African continental shelf in the Mozambique Channel, close to the Zambezi River mouth. Despite changes in global seawater dD related to glacial – interglacial ice volume effects, no clear changes were observed in the dDalkenone record throughout the entire 39 ka. The BIT index record from the same core, which provides information on relative contributions of soil organic matter (OM) vs. marine input, indicates high soil OM input during the glacial and low input during the Holocene. This suggests a more pronounced freshwater influence at the core location during the glacial, resulting in alkenones depleted in D during that time, thereby explaining the lack of a clear glacial-interglacial alkenone dD shift. The correlation between the BIT index and dDalkenone during the glacial period suggests that increased continental runoff potentially changed the growth conditions of the alkenone-producing haptophytes, promoting coastal haptophyte species with generally more enriched dDalkenone values. We therefore suggest that the application of dDalkenone for reconstructing past salinity in coastal settings may be complicated by changes in the alkenone-producing haptophyte community
Embrittlement in CN3MN Grade Superaustenitic Stainless Steels
Superaustenitic stainless steels (SSS) are widely used in extreme environments such as off-shore oil wells, chemical and food processing equipment, and seawater systems due to their excellent corrosion resistance and superior toughness. The design of the corresponding heat treatment process is crucial to create better mechanical properties. In this respect, the short-term annealing behavior of CN3MN grade SSS was investigated by a combined study of Charpy impact tests, hardness measurements, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Specimens were heat treated at 1200 K (927 A degrees C) for up to 16 minutes annealing time and their impact strengths and hardnesses were tested. The impact toughness was found to decrease to less than the half of the initial values while hardness stayed the same. Detailed fracture surface analyses revealed a ductile to brittle failure transition for relatively short annealing times. Brittle fracture occurred in both intergranular and transgranular modes. SEM and TEM indicated precipitation of nano-sized intermetallics, accounting for the intergranular embrittlement, along the grain boundaries with respect to annealing time. The transgranular fracture originated from linear defects seen to exist within the grains. Close observation of such defects revealed stacking-fault type imperfections, which lead to step-like cracking observed in microlength scales
Search for and Using Genetic Programming Event Selection
We apply a genetic programming technique to search for the double Cabibbo
suppressed decays and .
We normalize these decays to their Cabibbo favored partners and find
\Lambda_c^+ \to p K^+ \pi^-\Lambda_c^+ \to p K^-
\pi^+ and D_s^+ \to K^+ K^+
\pi^-D_s^+ \to K^+ K^- \pi^+ where
the first errors are statistical and the second are systematic. Expressed as
90% confidence levels (CL), we find and respectively.
This is the first successful use of genetic programming in a high energy
physics data analysis.Comment: 10 page
Measurement of the D+ and Ds+ decays into K+K-K+
We present the first clear observation of the doubly Cabibbo suppressed decay
D+ --> K-K+K+ and the first observation of the singly Cabibbo suppressed decay
Ds+ --> K-K+K+. These signals have been obtained by analyzing the high
statistics sample of photoproduced charm particles of the FOCUS(E831)
experiment at Fermilab. We measure the following relative branching ratios:
Gamma(D+ --> K-K+K+)/Gamma(D+ --> K-pi+pi+) = (9.49 +/- 2.17(statistical) +/-
0.22(systematic))x10^-4 and Gamma(Ds+ --> K-K+K+)/Gamma(Ds+ --> K-K+pi+) =
(8.95 +/- 2.12(statistical) +2.24(syst.) -2.31(syst.))x10^-3.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure
A Non-parametric Approach to the D+ to K*0bar mu+ nu Form Factors
Using a large sample of D+ -> K- pi+ mu+ nu decays collected by the FOCUS
photoproduction experiment at Fermilab, we present the first measurements of
the helicity basis form factors free from the assumption of spectroscopic pole
dominance. We also present the first information on the form factor that
controls the s-wave interference discussed in a previous paper by the FOCUS
collaboration. We find reasonable agreement with the usual assumption of
spectroscopic pole dominance and measured form factor ratios.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, and 2 tables. We updated the previous version by
changing some words, removing one plot, and adding two tables. These changes
are mostly stylisti
Measurements of Branching Ratios
Using data collected by the fixed target Fermilab experiment FOCUS, we
measure the branching ratios of the Cabibbo favored decays , , and relative to to be
, , and ,
respectively. We report the first observation of the Cabibbo suppressed decay
and we measure the branching ratio relative to
to be . We also set 90%
confidence level upper limits for and relative to to
be 0.12 and 0.05, respectively. We find an indication of the decays and and set
90% confidence level upper limits for the branching ratios with respect to
to be 0.12 and 1.72, respectively. Finally, we
determine the 90% C.L. upper limit for the resonant contribution relative to to be 0.10.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure
Dalitz plot analysis of D_s+ and D+ decay to pi+pi-pi+ using the K-matrix formalism
FOCUS results from Dalitz plot analysis of D_s+ and D+ to pi+pi-pi+ are
presented. The K-matrix formalism is applied to charm decays for the first time
to fully exploit the already existing knowledge coming from the light-meson
spectroscopy experiments. In particular all the measured dynamics of the S-wave
pipi scattering, characterized by broad/overlapping resonances and large
non-resonant background, can be properly included. This paper studies the
extent to which the K-matrix approach is able to reproduce the observed Dalitz
plot and thus help us to understand the underlying dynamics. The results are
discussed, along with their possible implications on the controversial nature
of the sigma meson.Comment: To be submitted to Phys.Lett.B A misprint corrected in formula
Measurement of the branching ratio of the decay D^0 -> \pi^-\mu^+\nu relative to D^0 -> K^-\mu^+\nu
We present a new measurement of the branching ratio of the Cabibbo suppressed
decay D^0\to \pi^-\mu^+\nu relative to the Cabibbo favored decay D^0\to
K^-\mu^+\nu and an improved measurement of the ratio
|\frac{f_+^{\pi}(0)}{f_+^{K}(0)}|. Our results are 0.074 \pm 0.008 \pm 0.007
for the branching ratio and 0.85 \pm 0.04 \pm 0.04 \pm 0.01 for the form factor
ratio, respectively.Comment: 13pages, 3 figure
Study of Hadronic Five-Body Decays of Charmed Mesons
We study the decay of D+ and Ds+ mesons into charged five body final states,
and report the discovery of the decay mode D+ -> K+K-Pi+Pi+Pi-, as well as
measurements of the decay modes D+ -> K-Pi+Pi+Pi+Pi-, Ds+ -> K+K-Pi+Pi+Pi-, Ds+
-> PhiPi+Pi+Pi- and D+/Ds+ -> Pi+Pi+Pi+Pi-Pi-. An analysis of the resonant
substructure is also included, with evidence suggesting that both decays
proceed primarily through an a1 vector resonance.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure
New Measurements of the D+ to K* mu nu Form Factor Ratios
Using a large sample of D+ to K- pi+ mu+ nu decays collected by the FOCUS
photoproduction experiment at Fermilab, we present new measurements of two
semileptonic form factor ratios: rv and r2. We find rv = 1.504 \pm 0.057 \pm
0.039 and r2 = 0.875 \pm 0.049 \pm 0.064. Our form factor results include the
effects of the s-wave interference discussed in a previous paper.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure
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