797 research outputs found
Physical growing media characteristics of Sphagnum biomass dominated by Sphagnum fuscum (Schimp.) Klinggr
The surface biomass of moss dominated by Sphagnum fuscum (Schimp.) Klinggr. (Rusty Bog-moss) was harvested from a sparsely drained raised bog. Physical properties of the Sphagnum moss were determined and compared with those of weakly and moderately decomposed peats. Water retention curves (WRC) and saturated hydraulic conductivities (K-s) are reported for samples of Sphagnum moss with natural structure, as well as for samples that were cut to selected fibre lengths or compacted to different bulk densities. The gravimetric water retention results indicate that, on a dry mass basis, Sphagnum moss can hold more water than both types of peat under equal matric potentials. On a volumetric basis, the water retention of Sphagnum moss can be linearly increased by compacting at a gravimetric water content of 2 (g water / g dry mass). The bimodal water retention curve of Sphagnum moss appears to be a consequence of the natural double porosity of the moss matrix. The 6-parameter form of the double-porosity van Genuchten equation is used to describe the volumetric water retention of the moss as its bulk density increases. Our results provide considerable insight into the physical growing media properties of Sphagnum moss biomass.Peer reviewe
Supergravity origin of the MSSM inflation
We consider the supergravity origin of the recently proposed MSSM
inflationary model, which relies on the existence of a saddle point along a
dimension six flat direction. We derive the conditions that the Kahler
potential has to satisfy for the saddle point to exist irrespective of the
hidden sector vevs. We show that these conditions are satisfied by a simple
class of Kahler potentials, which we find to have a similar form as in various
string theory compactifications. For these potentials, slow roll MSSM inflation
requires no fine tuning of the soft supersymmetry breaking parameters.Comment: v3: 10 pages, no figures; version accepted for publication. Typos
correcte
Dialogue based interfaces for universal access.
Conversation provides an excellent means of communication for almost all people. Consequently, a conversational interface is an excellent mechanism for allowing people to interact with systems. Conversational systems are an active research area, but a wide range of systems can be developed with current technology. More sophisticated interfaces can take considerable effort, but simple interfaces can be developed quite rapidly. This paper gives an introduction to the current state of the art of conversational systems and interfaces. It describes a methodology for developing conversational interfaces and gives an example of an interface for a state benefits web site. The paper discusses how this interface could improve access for a wide range of people, and how further development of this interface would allow a larger range of people to use the system and give them more functionality
Non-Gaussianity from Instant and Tachyonic Preheating
We study non-Gaussianity in two distinct models of preheating: instant and
tachyonic. In instant preheating non-Gaussianity is sourced by the local terms
generated through the coupled perturbations of the two scalar fields. We find
that the non-Gaussianity parameter is given by ,
where is a coupling constant, so that instant preheating is unlikely to be
constrained by WMAP or Planck. In the case of tachyonic preheating
non-Gaussianity arises solely from the instability of the tachyon matter and is
found to be large. We find that for single field inflation the present WMAP
data implies a bound on the scale of tachyonic
instability. We argue that the tachyonic preheating limits are useful also for
string-motivated inflationary models.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure, additional discussion, improved constraint on the
scale of tachyonic preheatin
Kahler potentials for the MSSM inflation and the spectral index
Recently it has been argued that some of the fine-tuning problems of the MSSM
inflation associated with the existence of a saddle point along a flat
direction may be solved naturally in a class of supergravity models. Here we
extend the analysis and show that the constraints on the Kahler potentials in
these models are considerably relaxed when the location of the saddle point is
treated as a free variable. We also examine the effect of supergravity
corrections on inflationary predictions and find that they can slightly alter
the value of the spectral index. As an example, for flat direction field values
we find while the
prediction of the MSSM inflation without any corrections is .Comment: 13 pages, one figure. Typos corrected and a reference adde
The beta-decay of 22Al
In an experiment performed at the LISE3 facility of GANIL, we studied the
decay of 22Al produced by the fragmentation of a 36Ar primary beam. A
beta-decay half-life of 91.1 +- 0.5 ms was measured. The beta-delayed one- and
two-proton emission as well as beta-alpha and beta-delayed gamma decays were
measured and allowed us to establish a partial decay scheme for this nucleus.
New levels were determined in the daughter nucleus 22Mg. The comparison with
model calculations strongly favours a spin-parity of 4+ for the ground state of
22Al
Identifying the curvaton within MSSM
We consider inflaton couplings to MSSM flat directions and the thermalization
of the inflaton decay products, taking into account gauge symmetry breaking due
to flat direction condensates. We then search for a suitable curvaton candidate
among the flat directions, requiring an early thermally induced start for the
flat direction oscillations to facilitate the necessary curvaton energy density
dominance. We demonstrate that the supersymmetry breaking -term is crucial
for achieving a successful curvaton scenario. Among the many possible
candidates, we identify the flat direction as a viable MSSM
curvaton.Comment: 9 pages. Discussion on the evaporation of condensate added, final
version published in JCA
Supersymmetric Thermalization and Quasi-Thermal Universe: Consequences for Gravitinos and Leptogenesis
Motivated by our earlier paper \cite{am}, we discuss how the infamous
gravitino problem has a natural built in solution within supersymmetry.
Supersymmetry allows a large number of flat directions made up of {\it gauge
invariant} combinations of squarks and sleptons. Out of many at least {\it one}
generically obtains a large vacuum expectation value during inflation. Gauge
bosons and Gauginos then obtain large masses by virtue of the Higgs mechanism.
This makes the rate of thermalization after the end of inflation very small and
as a result the Universe enters a {\it quasi-thermal phase} after the inflaton
has completely decayed. A full thermal equilibrium is generically established
much later on when the flat direction expectation value has substantially
decareased. This results in low reheat temperatures, i.e., , which are compatible with the stringent bounds arising from the
big bang nucleosynthesis. There are two very important implications: the
production of gravitinos and generation of a baryonic asymmetry via
leptogenesis during the quasi-thermal phase. In both the cases the abundances
depend not only on an effective temperature of the quasi-thermal phase (which
could be higher, i.e., ), but also on the state of equilibrium
in the reheat plasma. We show that there is no ``thermal gravitino problem'' at
all within supersymmetry and we stress on a need of a new paradigm based on a
``quasi-thermal leptogenesis'', because in the bulk of the parameter space the
{\it old} thermal leptogenesis cannot account for the observed baryon
asymmetry.Comment: 53 pages. Final version published in JCA
Baryogenesis with Superheavy Squarks
We consider a setup where R-parity is violated in the framework of split
supersymmetry. The out-of-equilibrium decays of heavy squarks successfully lead
to the generation of a baryon asymmetry. We restrict the R-parity violating
couplings to the baryon number violating subset to keep the neutralino
sufficiently stable to provide the dark matter. The observed baryon asymmetry
can be generated for squark masses larger than 10^11 GeV, while neutralino dark
matter induces a stronger bound of 10^13 GeV. Some mass splitting between left-
and right-handed squarks may be needed to satisfy also constraints from gluino
cosmology.Comment: 18 pages, LaTeX, 4 figure
Beta-decay branching ratios of 62Ga
Beta-decay branching ratios of 62Ga have been measured at the IGISOL facility
of the Accelerator Laboratory of the University of Jyvaskyla. 62Ga is one of
the heavier Tz = 0, 0+ -> 0+ beta-emitting nuclides used to determine the
vector coupling constant of the weak interaction and the Vud quark-mixing
matrix element. For part of the experimental studies presented here, the
JYFLTRAP facility has been employed to prepare isotopically pure beams of 62Ga.
The branching ratio obtained, BR= 99.893(24)%, for the super-allowed branch is
in agreement with previous measurements and allows to determine the ft value
and the universal Ft value for the super-allowed beta decay of 62Ga
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