Search for jet extinction in the inclusive jet-pT spectrum from proton-proton collisions at s=8 TeV

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published articles title, journal citation, and DOI.The first search at the LHC for the extinction of QCD jet production is presented, using data collected with the CMS detector corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 10.7  fb−1 of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The extinction model studied in this analysis is motivated by the search for signatures of strong gravity at the TeV scale (terascale gravity) and assumes the existence of string couplings in the strong-coupling limit. In this limit, the string model predicts the suppression of all high-transverse-momentum standard model processes, including jet production, beyond a certain energy scale. To test this prediction, the measured transverse-momentum spectrum is compared to the theoretical prediction of the standard model. No significant deficit of events is found at high transverse momentum. A 95% confidence level lower limit of 3.3 TeV is set on the extinction mass scale

The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS). Science Case and Survey Design

The Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS) is a synoptic, all-sky radio sky survey with a unique combination of high angular resolution (≈2 5), sensitivity (a 1σ goal of 70 μJy/beam in the coadded data), full linear Stokes polarimetry, time domain coverage, and wide bandwidth (2–4 GHz). The first observations began in 2017 September, and observing for the survey will finish in 2024. VLASS will use approximately 5500 hr of time on the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) to cover the whole sky visible to the VLA (decl. > −40°), a total of 33 885 deg2. The data will be taken in three epochs to allow the discovery of variable and transient radio sources. The survey is designed to engage radio astronomy experts, multi-wavelength astronomers, and citizen scientists alike. By utilizing an “on the fly” interferometry mode, the observing overheads are much reduced compared to a conventional pointed survey. In this paper, we present the science case and observational strategy for the survey, and also results from early survey observations

Searches for electroweak neutralino and chargino production in channels with Higgs, Z, and W bosons in pp collisions at 8 TeV

Searches for supersymmetry (SUSY) are presented based on the electroweak pair production of neutralinos and charginos, leading to decay channels with Higgs, Z, and W bosons and undetected lightest SUSY particles (LSPs). The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of about 19.5 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV collected in 2012 with the CMS detector at the LHC. The main emphasis is neutralino pair production in which each neutralino decays either to a Higgs boson (h) and an LSP or to a Z boson and an LSP, leading to hh, hZ, and ZZ states with missing transverse energy (E-T(miss)). A second aspect is chargino-neutralino pair production, leading to hW states with E-T(miss). The decays of a Higgs boson to a bottom-quark pair, to a photon pair, and to final states with leptons are considered in conjunction with hadronic and leptonic decay modes of the Z and W bosons. No evidence is found for supersymmetric particles, and 95% confidence level upper limits are evaluated for the respective pair production cross sections and for neutralino and chargino mass values

Murder, Manslaughter, or Justified Retribution? Tom Williams, Mi’kmaw Law, and Colonial Justice on Prince Edward Island, 1839

In 1839, in the British North American colony of Prince Edward Island, Tom Williams, a Mi’kmaw man, was convicted of murdering another Mi’kmaw man, Joe Louis, and sentenced to hang. Williams, however, did not hang. This article suggests possible reasons the colonial government chose to commute Williams’s sentence, linking the case to the dispossession of the Mi’kmaq and their subsequent marginalization by settler society as well as the “land question” then dominating the Island. The case epitomizes the ascendancy of British colonial law and the concurrent weakening of Mi’kmaw law in the colony.En 1839, dans la colonie britannique nord-américaine de l’Île-du-Prince-Édouard, Tom Williams, un Mi’kmaq, fut reconnu coupable du meurtre d’un autre Mi’kmaq et condamné à la pendaison. Toutefois, Williams ne fut pas pendu. Cet article avance des raisons possibles pour lesquelles le gouvernement colonial décida de commuer la peine de Williams, en établissant un lien entre cette affaire et la dépossession des Mi’kmaq et leur marginalisation subséquente par la société coloniale, ainsi que la « question des terres » qui dominait alors la vie dans l’île. Cette affaire incarnait la prépondérance du droit colonial britannique et le déclin concomitante du droit mi’kmaq dans la colonie

Murder, Manslaughter, or Justified Retribution? Tom Williams, Mi’kmaw Law, and Colonial Justice on Prince Edward Island, 1839

In 1839, in the British North American colony of Prince Edward Island, Tom Williams, a Mi’kmaw man, was convicted of murdering another Mi’kmaw man, Joe Louis, and sentenced to hang. Williams, however, did not hang. This article suggests possible reasons the colonial government chose to commute Williams’s sentence, linking the case to the dispossession of the Mi’kmaq and their subsequent marginalization by settler society as well as the “land question” then dominating the Island. The case epitomizes the ascendancy of British colonial law and the concurrent weakening of Mi’kmaw law in the colony.En 1839, dans la colonie britannique nord-américaine de l’Île-du-Prince-Édouard, Tom Williams, un Mi’kmaq, fut reconnu coupable du meurtre d’un autre Mi’kmaq et condamné à la pendaison. Toutefois, Williams ne fut pas pendu. Cet article avance des raisons possibles pour lesquelles le gouvernement colonial décida de commuer la peine de Williams, en établissant un lien entre cette affaire et la dépossession des Mi’kmaq et leur marginalisation subséquente par la société coloniale, ainsi que la « question des terres » qui dominait alors la vie dans l’île. Cette affaire incarnait la prépondérance du droit colonial britannique et le déclin concomitante du droit mi’kmaq dans la colonie

Denitrification potential in subsoils: A mechanism to reduce nitrate leaching to groundwater

peer-reviewedUnderstanding subsurface denitrification potential will give greater insights into landscape nitrate (NO3−) delivery to groundwater and indirect nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions to the atmosphere. Potential denitrification rates and ratios of N2O/(N2O + N2) were investigated in intact soil cores collected from 0–0.10, 0.45–0.55 and 1.20–1.30 m depths representing A, B and C soil horizons, respectively from three randomly selected locations within a single intensively managed grazed grassland plot in south eastern Ireland. The soil was moderately well drained with textures ranging from loam to clay loam (gleysol) in the A to C horizon. An experiment was carried out by amending soils from each horizon with (i) 90 mg NO3−–N as KNO3, (ii) 90 mg NO3−–N + 150 mg glucose-C, (iii) 90 mg NO3−–N + 150 mg DOC (dissolved organic carbon, prepared using top soil of intensively managed grassland) kg−1 dry soil. An automated laboratory incubation system was used to measure simultaneously N2O and N2, at 15 ◦C, with the moisture content raised by 3% (by weight) above the moisture content at field capacity (FC), giving a water-filled pore space (WFPS) of 80, 85 and 88% in the A, B and C horizons, respectively. There was a significant effect (p < 0.01) of soil horizon and added carbon on cumulative N2O emissions. N2O emissions were higher from the A than the B and C horizons and were significantly lower from soils that received only nitrate than soils that received NO3 − + either of the C sources. The two C sources gave similar N2O emissions. The N2 fluxes differed significantly (p < 0.05) only between the A and C horizons. During a 17-day incubation, total denitrification losses of the added N decreased significantly (p < 0.01) with soil depth and were increased by the addition of either C source. The fraction of the added N lost from each horizon were A: 25, 61, 45%; B: 12, 29, 28.5% and C: 4, 20, 18% for nitrate, nitrate + glucose-C and nitrate + DOC, respectively. The ratios of N2O to N2O + N2 differed significantly (p < 0.05) only between soil horizons, being higher in the A (0.58–0.75) than in the deeper horizons (0.10–0.36 in B and 0.06–0.24 in C), clearly indicating the potential of subsoils for a more complete reduction of N2O to N2. Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that N2O flux increased with total organic C and total N but decreased with NO3 −–N which together explained 88% of the variance (p < 0.001). The N2 flux was best explained (R2 = 0.45, p < 0.01) by soluble organic nitrogen (SON) (positive) and with NO3−–N (negative). Stepwise multiple regression revealed a best fit for total denitrification rates which were positive for total C and negative for NO3 −–N with the determination coefficient of 0.76 (p < 0.001). The results suggest that without C addition, potential denitrification rate below the root zone was low. Therefore, the added C sources in subsoils can satisfactorily increase nitrate depletion via denitrification where the mole fraction of N2O would be further reduced to N2 during diffusional transport through the soil profile to the atmosphere and/or to groundwater. Subsoil denitrification can be accelerated either through introducing C directly into permeable reactive barriers and/or indirectly, by irrigating dirty water and manipulating agricultural plant composition and diversity.Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Ireland - Research Stimulus Fund Programme (Grant RSF 06 383)