Taxonomic identification of Amazonian tree crowns from aerial photography

Question: To what extent can aerial photography be used for taxonomic identification of Amazonian tree crowns? Objective: To investigate whether a combination of dichotomous keys and a web-based interface is a suitable approach to identify tree crowns. Location: The fieldwork was conducted at Tiputini Biodiversity Station located in the Amazon, eastern Ecuador. Methods: High-resolution imagery was taken from an airplane flying at a low altitude (600 m) above the ground. Imagery of the observable upper layer of the tree crowns was used for the analysis. Dichotomous identification keys for different types of crowns were produced and tested. The identification keys were designed to be web-based interactive, using Google Earth as the main online platform. The taxa analysed were Iriartea, Astrocaryum, Inga, Parkia, Cecropia, Pourouma, Guarea, Otoba, Lauraceae and Pouteria. Results: This paper demonstrates that a combination of photo-imagery, dichotomous keys and a web-based interface can be useful for the taxonomic identification of Amazonian trees based on their crown characteristics. The keys tested with an overall identification accuracy of over 50% for five of the ten taxa with three of them showing accuracy greater than 70% (Iriartea, Astrocaryum and Cecropia). Conclusions: The application of dichotomous keys and a web-based interface provides a new methodological approach for taxonomic identification of various Amazonian tree crowns. Overall, the study showed that crowns with a medium-rough texture are less reliably identified than crowns with smoother or well-defined surfaces

OSETI with STACEE: A Search for Nanosecond Optical Transients from Nearby Stars

We have used the STACEE high-energy gamma-ray detector to look for fast blue-green laser pulses from the vicinity of 187 stars. The STACEE detector offers unprecedented light-collecting capability for the detection of nanosecond pulses from such lasers. We estimate STACEE's sensitivity to be approximately 10 photons per square meter at a wavelength of 420 nm. The stars have been chosen because their characteristics are such that they may harbor habitable planets and they are relatively close to Earth. Each star was observed for 10 minutes and we found no evidence for laser pulses in any of the data sets.Comment: 38 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in Astrobiolog

Very high energy observations of the BL Lac objects 3C 66A and OJ 287

Using the Solar Tower Atmospheric Cherenkov Effect Experiment (STACEE), we have observed the BL Lac objects 3C 66A and OJ 287. These are members of the class of low-frequency-peaked BL Lac objects (LBLs) and are two of the three LBLs predicted by Costamante and Ghisellini to be potential sources of very high energy (>100 GeV) gamma-ray emission. The third candidate, BL Lacertae, has recently been detected by the MAGIC collaboration. Our observations have not produced detections; we calculate a 99% CL upper limit of flux from 3C 66A of 0.15 Crab flux units and from OJ 287 our limit is 0.52 Crab. These limits assume a Crab-like energy spectrum with an effective energy threshold of 185 GeV.Comment: 24 pages, 15 figures, Accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physic

Experimental evidence for 56Ni-core breaking from the low-spin structure of the N=Z nucleus 58Cu

Low-spin states in the odd-odd N=Z nucleus 58Cu were investigated with the 58Ni(p,n gamma)58Cu fusion evaporation reaction at the FN-tandem accelerator in Cologne. Seventeen low spin states below 3.6 MeV and 17 new transitions were observed. Ten multipole mixing ratios and 17 gamma-branching ratios were determined for the first time. New detailed spectroscopic information on the 2+,2 state, the Isobaric Analogue State (IAS) of the 2+,1,T=1 state of 58Ni, makes 58Cu the heaviest odd-odd N=Z nucleus with known B(E2;2+,T=1 --> 0+,T=1) value. The 4^+ state at 2.751 MeV, observed here for the first time, is identified as the IAS of the 4+,1,T=1 state in 58Ni. The new data are compared to full pf-shell model calculations with the novel GXPF1 residual interaction and to calculations within a pf5/2 configurational space with a residual surface delta interaction. The role of the 56Ni core excitations for the low-spin structure in 58Cu is discussed.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

The Williams Scale of Attitude toward Paganism: development and application among British Pagans

This article builds on the tradition of attitudinal measures of religiosity established by Leslie Francis and colleagues with the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity (and reflected in the Sahin-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Islam, the Katz-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Judaism, and the Santosh-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Hinduism) by introducing a new measure to assess the attitudinal disposition of Pagans. A battery of items was completed by 75 members of a Pagan Summer Camp. These items were reduced to produce a 21-item scale that measured aspects of Paganism concerned with: the God/Goddess, worshipping, prayer, and coven. The scale recorded an alpha coefficient of 0.93. Construct validity of the Williams Scale of Attitude toward Paganism was demonstrated by the clear association with measures of participation in private rituals

General Requirements on Matter Power Spectrum Predictions for Cosmology with Weak Lensing Tomography

Forthcoming projects such as DES, LSST, WFIRST, and Euclid aim to measure weak lensing shear correlations with unprecedented precision, constraining the dark energy equation of state at the percent level. Reliance on photometrically-determined redshifts constitutes a major source of uncertainty for these surveys. Additionally, interpreting the weak lensing signal requires a detailed understanding of the nonlinear physics of gravitational collapse. We present a new analysis of the stringent calibration requirements for weak lensing analyses of future imaging surveys that addresses both photo-z uncertainty and errors in the calibration of the matter power spectrum. We find that when photo-z uncertainty is taken into account the requirements on the level of precision in the prediction for the matter power spectrum are more stringent than previously thought. Including degree-scale galaxy clustering statistics in a joint analysis with weak lensing not only strengthens the survey's constraining power by ~20%, but can also have a profound impact on the calibration demands, decreasing the degradation in dark energy constraints with matter power spectrum uncertainty by a factor of 2-5. Similarly, using galaxy clustering information significantly relaxes the demands on photo-z calibration. We compare these calibration requirements to the contemporary state-of-the-art in photometric redshift estimation and predictions of the power spectrum and suggest strategies to utilize forthcoming data optimally.Comment: 3 new figures; new section added on multipole-dependence of calibration requirements; references added; version accepted by JCA

Search for the standard model Higgs boson in tau final states

We present a search for the standard model Higgs boson using hadronically decaying tau leptons, in 1 inverse femtobarn of data collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron ppbar collider. We select two final states: tau plus missing transverse energy and b jets, and tau+ tau- plus jets. These final states are sensitive to a combination of associated W/Z boson plus Higgs boson, vector boson fusion and gluon-gluon fusion production processes. The observed ratio of the combined limit on the Higgs production cross section at the 95% C.L. to the standard model expectation is 29 for a Higgs boson mass of 115 GeV.Comment: publication versio

Search for W' bosons decaying to an electron and a neutrino with the D0 detector

This Letter describes the search for a new heavy charged gauge boson W' decaying into an electron and a neutrino. The data were collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron proton-antiproton Collider at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of about 1 inverse femtobarn. Lacking any significant excess in the data in comparison with known processes, an upper limit is set on the production cross section times branching fraction, and a W' boson with mass below 1.00 TeV can be excluded at the 95% C.L., assuming standard-model-like couplings to fermions. This result significantly improves upon previous limits, and is the most stringent to date.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Search for a scalar or vector particle decaying into Zgamma in ppbar collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV

We present a search for a narrow scalar or vector resonance decaying into Zgamma with a subsequent Z decay into a pair of electrons or muons. The data for this search were collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron ppbar collider at a center of mass energy sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV. Using 1.1 (1.0) fb-1 of data, we observe 49 (50) candidate events in the electron (muon) channel, in good agreement with the standard model prediction. From the combination of both channels, we derive 95% C.L. upper limits on the cross section times branching fraction (sigma x B) into Zgamma. These limits range from 0.19 (0.20) pb for a scalar (vector) resonance mass of 600 GeV/c^2 to 2.5 (3.1) pb for a mass of 140 GeV/c^2.Comment: Published by Phys. Lett.

Measurement of the ratios of the Z/G* + >= n jet production cross sections to the total inclusive Z/G* cross section in ppbar collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV

We present a study of events with Z bosons and jets produced at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider in ppbar collisions at a center of mass energy of 1.96 TeV. The data sample consists of nearly 14,000 Z/G* -> e+e- candidates corresponding to the integrated luminosity of 0.4 fb-1 collected using the D0 detector. Ratios of the Z/G* + >= n jet cross sections to the total inclusive Z/G* cross section have been measured for n = 1 to 4 jet events. Our measurements are found to be in good agreement with a next-to-leading order QCD calculation and with a tree-level QCD prediction with parton shower simulation and hadronization.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, slightly modified, submitted to Phys. Lett.