Formation of Rapakivi Textures in Granite of the Deer Isle Pluton, Maine

Ovoid K-feldspar mantled by Na-feldspar is called rapakivi. Rapakivi may form either by (1) decompression during ascent of felsic magma through the crust to a shallow magma chamber or by (2) mixing of mafic- and felsic-magma within a magma chamber. We suggest feldspars compositions may be used to distinguish between these two models. Rapakivi formed during decompression should have similar compositions. Conversely, if rapakivi have variable compositions this suggests variable interaction with compositionally unique magma at different times during crystallization. Cores and mantles of rapakivi feldspars from the Deer Isle Pluton, Maine will be drilled out and analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry and Optical Emission Spectrometry to determine subtle differences (ppm) in trace and Rare Earth Element abundances. These data will be used to resolve between the two models of formation

Testing Bell's Inequality with Cosmic Photons: Closing the Setting-Independence Loophole

We propose a practical scheme to use photons from causally disconnected cosmic sources to set the detectors in an experimental test of Bell's inequality. In current experiments, with settings determined by quantum random number generators, only a small amount of correlation between detector settings and local hidden variables, established less than a millisecond before each experiment, would suffice to mimic the predictions of quantum mechanics. By setting the detectors using pairs of quasars or patches of the cosmic microwave background, observed violations of Bell's inequality would require any such coordination to have existed for billions of years --- an improvement of 20 orders of magnitude.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Minor edits to closely match journal version to be published in Physical Review Letter

Economic Globalization and the Welfare State in Affluent Democracies, 1975-1998

Prior scholarship is sharply divided on how or if globalization influences welfare states. Globalization's effects may be positive causing expansion, negative triggering crisis and reduction, curvilinear contributing to convergence, or insignificant. We bring new evidence to bear on this crucial debate with a pooled time series analysis of two measures of the welfare state and 16 indicators of economic globalization for 17 affluent democracies from 1975 to 1998. The analysis suggests that: (1) state-of-the-art welfare state models warrant revision in the globalization era; (2) most indicators of economic globalization do not have significant effects; (3) the few significant globalization effects are in different directions and often inconsistent with extant theories; (4) the globalization effects are far smaller than the effects of domestic political and economic factors; and (5) these effects are not systematically different for liberal vs. nonliberal welfare state regimes, European vs. non-European countries, or with four alternative dependent variables. Increased globalization and a modest convergence of the welfare state have occurred, but globalization does not unambiguously cause welfare state expansion, crisis and reduction or convergence. -- Bisherige Befunde der sozialwissenschaftlichen Forschung zum kausalen Verhältnis von 'Globalisierung' und Wohlfahrtsstaat sind nicht eindeutig. Danach kann Globalisierung positive Effekte haben und zu einem Ausbau an Wohlfahrtsstaatlichkeit führen, eine Krise des Wohlfahrtsstaates oder Leistungsreduktionen herbeiführen, kurvilineare Wirkungen aufweisen und zu Konvergenz beitragen, als auch vollkommen insignifikant sein. Unsere gepoolte Zeitreihenanalyse von Wohlfahrtsstaatlichkeit und 'Globalisierung' in 17 reichen Demokratien (1975-1998) hat folgende Befunde zu Tage gefördert: (1) im Zeitalter der Globalisierung erscheinen bestehende Wohlfahrtsstaatsmodelle revisionsbedürftig; (2) die Mehrzahl der ökonomischen Globalisierungsindikatoren weist keine signifikanten Effekte auf; (3) die wenigen signifikanten Effekte zeigen in unterschiedliche Richtungen und stimmen häufig nicht mit bestehenden theoretischen Annahmen überein; (4) die Globalisierungseffekte sind deutlich kleiner als die Effekte binnenpolitischer Variablen und ökonomischer Faktoren; (5) diese Effekte unterscheiden sich in 'liberalen' und 'nicht-liberalen' Wohlfahrtsregimen bzw. europäischen und nicht-europäischen Ländern nicht systematisch von einander. Im Analysezeitraum können wir sowohl einen Anstieg der verschiedenen Globalisierungsindikatoren sowie eine moderate Konvergenz der verschiedenen Wohlfahrtsstaaten konstatieren. Jedoch kann der Prozess der 'Globalisierung' nicht eindeutig als kausale Ursache für die unterschiedlichen Entwicklungsrichtungen in den verschiedenen Wohlfahrtsstaaten identifiziert werden.

Astronomical random numbers for quantum foundations experiments

Photons from distant astronomical sources can be used as a classical source of randomness to improve fundamental tests of quantum nonlocality, wave-particle duality, and local realism through Bell's inequality and delayed-choice quantum eraser tests inspired by Wheeler's cosmic-scale Mach-Zehnder interferometer gedankenexperiment. Such sources of random numbers may also be useful for information-theoretic applications such as key distribution for quantum cryptography. Building on the design of an "astronomical random-number generator" developed for the recent "cosmic Bell" experiment [Handsteiner et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 060401 (2017)], in this paper we report on the design and characterization of a device that, with 20-nanosecond latency, outputs a bit based on whether the wavelength of an incoming photon is greater than or less than 700 nm. Using the one-meter telescope at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Table Mountain Observatory, we generated random bits from astronomical photons in both color channels from 50 stars of varying color and magnitude, and from 12 quasars with redshifts up to $z = 3.9$. With stars, we achieved bit rates of $\sim 1 \times 10^6$ Hz / m$^2$, limited by saturation for our single-photon detectors, and with quasars of magnitudes between 12.9 and 16, we achieved rates between $\sim 10^2$ and $2 \times 10^3$ Hz /m$^2$. For bright quasars, the resulting bitstreams exhibit sufficiently low amounts of statistical predictability as quantified by the mutual information. In addition, a sufficiently high fraction of bits generated are of true astronomical origin in order to address both the locality and freedom-of-choice loopholes when used to set the measurement settings in a test of the Bell-CHSH inequality.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures. References added and minor edits to match published versio

Economic Globalization and the Welfare State in Affluent Democracies, 1975-1998

Prior scholarship is sharply divided on how or if globalization influences welfare states. Globalization's effects may be positive causing expansion, negative triggering crisis and reduction, curvilinear contributing to convergence, or insignificant. We bring new evidence to bear on this crucial debate with a pooled time series analysis of two measures of the welfare state and 16 indicators of economic globalization for 17 affluent democracies from 1975 to 1998. The analysis suggests that: (1) state-of-the-art welfare state models warrant revision in the globalization era; (2) most indicators of economic globalization do not have significant effects; (3) the few significant globalization effects are in different directions and often inconsistent with extant theories; (4) the globalization effects are far smaller than the effects of domestic political and economic factors; and (5) these effects are not systematically different for liberal vs. nonliberal welfare state regimes, European vs. non-European countries, or with four alternative dependent variables. Increased globalization and a modest convergence of the welfare state have occurred, but globalization does not unambiguously cause welfare state expansion, crisis and reduction or convergence.Bisherige Befunde der sozialwissenschaftlichen Forschung zum kausalen Verhältnis von 'Globalisierung' und Wohlfahrtsstaat sind nicht eindeutig. Danach kann Globalisierung positive Effekte haben und zu einem Ausbau an Wohlfahrtsstaatlichkeit führen, eine Krise des Wohlfahrtsstaates oder Leistungsreduktionen herbeiführen, kurvilineare Wirkungen aufweisen und zu Konvergenz beitragen, als auch vollkommen insignifikant sein. Unsere gepoolte Zeitreihenanalyse von Wohlfahrtsstaatlichkeit und 'Globalisierung' in 17 reichen Demokratien (1975-1998) hat folgende Befunde zu Tage gefördert: (1) im Zeitalter der Globalisierung erscheinen bestehende Wohlfahrtsstaatsmodelle revisionsbedürftig; (2) die Mehrzahl der ökonomischen Globalisierungsindikatoren weist keine signifikanten Effekte auf; (3) die wenigen signifikanten Effekte zeigen in unterschiedliche Richtungen und stimmen häufig nicht mit bestehenden theoretischen Annahmen überein; (4) die Globalisierungseffekte sind deutlich kleiner als die Effekte binnenpolitischer Variablen und ökonomischer Faktoren; (5) diese Effekte unterscheiden sich in 'liberalen' und 'nicht-liberalen' Wohlfahrtsregimen bzw. europäischen und nicht-europäischen Ländern nicht systematisch von einander. Im Analysezeitraum können wir sowohl einen Anstieg der verschiedenen Globalisierungsindikatoren sowie eine moderate Konvergenz der verschiedenen Wohlfahrtsstaaten konstatieren. Jedoch kann der Prozess der 'Globalisierung' nicht eindeutig als kausale Ursache für die unterschiedlichen Entwicklungsrichtungen in den verschiedenen Wohlfahrtsstaaten identifiziert werden

Economic globalization and the welfare state in affluent democracies, 1975-1998

"Bisherige Befunde der sozialwissenschaftlichen Forschung zum kausalen Verhältnis von 'Globalisierung' und Wohlfahrtsstaat sind nicht eindeutig. Danach kann Globalisierung positive Effekte haben und zu einem Ausbau an Wohlfahrtsstaatlichkeit führen, eine Krise des Wohlfahrtsstaates oder Leistungsreduktionen herbeiführen, kurvilineare Wirkungen aufweisen und zu Konvergenz beitragen, als auch vollkommen insignifikant sein. Unsere gepoolte Zeitreihenanalyse von Wohlfahrtsstaatlichkeit und 'Globalisierung' in 17 reichen Demokratien (1975-1998) hat folgende Befunde zu Tage gefördert: (1) im Zeitalter der Globalisierung erscheinen bestehende Wohlfahrtsstaatsmodelle revisionsbedürftig; (2) die Mehrzahl der ökonomischen Globalisierungsindikatoren weist keine signifikanten Effekte auf; (3) die wenigen signifikanten Effekte zeigen in unterschiedliche Richtungen und stimmen häufig nicht mit bestehenden theoretischen Annahmen überein; (4) die Globalisierungseffekte sind deutlich kleiner als die Effekte binnenpolitischer Variablen und ökonomischer Faktoren; (5) diese Effekte unterscheiden sich in 'liberalen' und 'nicht-liberalen' Wohlfahrtsregimen bzw. europäischen und nicht-europäischen Ländern nicht systematisch von einander. Im Analysezeitraum können wir sowohl einen Anstieg der verschiedenen Globalisierungsindikatoren sowie eine moderate Konvergenz der verschiedenen Wohlfahrtsstaaten konstatieren. Jedoch kann der Prozess der 'Globalisierung' nicht eindeutig als kausale Ursache für die unterschiedlichen Entwicklungsrichtungen in den verschiedenen Wohlfahrtsstaaten identifiziert werden." (Autorenreferat)"Prior scholarship is sharply divided on how or if globalization influences welfare states. Globalization's effects may be positive causing expansion, negative triggering crisis and reduction, curvilinear contributing to convergence, or insignificant. We bring new evidence to bear on this crucial debate with a pooled time series analysis of two measures of the welfare state and 16 indicators of economic globalization for 17 affluent democracies from 1975 to 1998. The analysis suggests that: (1) state-of-the-art welfare state models warrant revision in the globalization era; (2) most indicators of economic globalization do not have significant effects; (3) the few significant globalization effects are in different directions and often inconsistent with extant theories; (4) the globalization effects are far smaller than the effects of domestic political and economic factors; and (5) these effects are not systematically different for liberal vs. nonliberal welfare state regimes, European vs. non-European countries, or with four alternative dependent variables. Increased globalization and a modest convergence of the welfare state have occurred, but globalization does not unambiguously cause welfare state expansion, crisis and reduction or convergence." (author's abstract

Deux: Autonomic Testing System for Operating System Upgrades

Operating system upgrades and patches sometimes break applications that worked fine on the older version. We present an autonomic approach to testing of OS updates while minimizing downtime, usable without local regression suites or IT expertise. Deux utilizes a dual-layer virtual machine architecture, with lightweight application process checkpoint and resume across OS versions, enabling simultaneous execution of the same applications on both OS versions in different VMs. Inputs provided by ordinary users to the production old version are also fed to the new version. The old OS acts as a pseudo-oracle for the update, and application state is automatically re-cloned to continue testing after any output discrepancies (intercepted at system call level) - all transparently to users. If all differences are deemed inconsequential, then the VM roles are switched with the application state already in place. Our empirical evaluation with both LAMP and standalone applications demonstrates Deux's efficiency and effectiveness

Using GIS to Create Hazard Maps and Assess Evacuation Routes around “The Gate to Hell”; Masaya Volcano, Nicaragua

Volcán Masaya in Nicaragua is made of a series of calderas and craters that lies 7 km from the city of Masaya with a population of over 100,000. Masaya is part of the Central American Volcanic Arc (CAVA) which contains hundreds of volcanoes. While many of the volcanoes of the arc produce small, quiescent eruptions, some are capable of large explosive events. The recent cycle of volcanism at Masaya began 7000 years ago. Initial eruptions were primarily lava, small ash flows, ashfalls, and degassing events which eventually gave way to climactic Vulcanian eruptions. The hazards presented from this system affect not only larger cities, but many underdeveloped communities surrounding Volcán Masaya. These communities require a simple map and action plan to use during an evacuation. While government-issued routes are in place, there are no known secondary options. The communities surrounding Masaya lack the education they need for having such a fierce geologic feature right in their backyard to base their own opinions on when and if to evacuate the area on their own accord. We visited the study area to gather data for the creation of an evacuation route and hazard map to help prepare the surrounding communities. By consolidating our research and field data, the maps we created give the communities surrounding Masaya more insight as to the behavior of the eruptions. This research gives the local population options for evacuation and more knowledge about their environment

Improving audio-visual temporal perception through training enhances beta-band activity

Multisensory integration strongly depends on the temporal proximity between two inputs. In the audio-visual domain, stimulus pairs with delays up to a few hundred milliseconds can be perceived as simultaneous and integrated into a unified percept. Previous research has shown that the size of this temporal window of integration can be narrowed by feedback-guided training on an audio-visual simultaneity judgment task. Yet, it has remained uncertain how the neural network that processes audio-visual asynchronies is affected by the training. In the present study, participants were trained on a 2-interval forced choice audio-visual simultaneity judgment task. We recorded their neural activity with magnetoencephalography in response to three different stimulus onset asynchronies (0 ms, each participant’s individual binding window, 300 ms) before, and one day following training. The Individual Window stimulus onset asynchrony condition was derived by assessing each participant’s point of subjective simultaneity. Training improved performance in both asynchronous stimulus onset conditions (300 ms, Individual Window). Furthermore, beta-band amplitude (12–30 Hz) increased from pre-compared to post-training sessions. This increase moved across central, parietal, and temporal sensors during the time window of 80–410 ms post-stimulus onset. Considering the putative role of beta oscillations in carrying feedback from higher to lower cortical areas, these findings suggest that enhanced top-down modulation of sensory processing is responsible for the improved temporal acuity after training. As beta oscillations can be assumed to also preferentially support neural communication over longer conduction delays, the widespread topography of our effect could indicate that training modulates not only processing within primary sensory cortex, but rather the communication within a large-scale network