Adaptations of the surfgrass phyllospadix to hard marine substrates: tests of anatomical differentiation and carbon isotope fractionation hypotheses

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1987The study examined adaptation in the seagrass genus Phyllospadix to rocky substrates, habitats not generally exploited by seagrasses. One hypothesis tested whether the genus exhibits anatomical features distinguishing it from other seagrasses. A corollary predicted that individual Phyllospadix species show additional specialization, based on observations that three species are distinctly zoned where they occur together. A second hypothesis tested a model of carbon assimilation that predicts that submerged aquatic plants growing on hard substrates, such as Phyllospadix species and most marine algae, experience less transport resistances to inorganic carbon uptake than rooted and rhizoidal plants. As a consequence, it was predicted that Phyllospadix species would show enzymatic discrimination against carbon-13 similar to marine algae and dissimilar to other seagrasses. Carbon isotopic variability in Phyllospadix serrulatus and Phyllospadix torreyi was compared with that of the algae Egregia menziesii and Halosaccion amerlcanum growing at the same location. Carbon isotopic variability in eelgrass. Zostera marina, was also examined to provide a basis of comparison to sediment rooted seagrasses. Comparison with Z. marina was useful in defining anatomical features in Phyllospadix that are adaptations to rocky littoral environments. These features include greater hypodermal fiber and roothair development, thickened rhizomes, and smaller lacunae. Comparison among Phyllospadix spp. for microhabitat adaptations was less fruitful. Phyllospadix spp. show carbon isotopic discriminatory patterns distinct from Z. marina and marine algae. Although marine algae and Phyllospadix spp. overlapped isotopically, only the seagrasses became isotopically lighter with increasing intertidal height, probably through atmospheric carbon dioxide incorporation. Carbon isotope ratios in submerged seagrasses did not appear to be affected by water motion, as predicted by boundary layer considerations. An observed correlation between leaf thickness and leaf isotopic ratios also indicated complications to simple models of carbon assimilation in submerged aquatic plants

The maximal tubes under the deformations of a class of 3-dimensional hyperbolic cone-manifolds

Recently, Hodgson and Kerckhoff found a small bound on Dehn surgered 3-manifolds from hyperbolic knots not admitting hyperbolic structures using deformations of hyperbolic cone-manifolds. They asked whether the area normalized meridian length squared of maximal tubular neighborhoods of the singular locus of the cone-manifold is decreasing and that summed with the cone angle squared is increasing as we deform the cone-angles. We confirm this near 0 cone-angles for an infinite family of hyperbolic cone-manifolds obtained by Dehn surgeries along the Whitehead link complements. The basic method is based on explicit holonomy computations using the A-polynomials and finding the maximal tubes. One of the key tool is the Taylor expression of a geometric component of the zero set of the A-polynomial in terms of the cone-angles. We also show a sequence of Taylor expressions for Dehn surgered manifolds converges to one for the limit hyperbolic manifold.Comment: 27 pages, 10 figure

Comment: Complex Federal Civil Litigation－Can Jury Trials Be Constitutionally Avoided?

The seventh amendment to the United States Constitution affords the right to a jury trial to parties to a common law action when the value in controversy exceeds twenty dollars. In a select group of extremely lengthy cases involving complex factual and legal issues, however, several United States appellate and district courts have refused to permit trial by jury. This comment reviews and evaluates different theories that may be applied to preclude the granting of a jury trial. In addition, guidelines are proposed that may be utilized by a federal district court judge in determining whether a case is so complex and lengthy that a request for a jury trial should be denied

Almost-zero-energy Eigenvalues of Some Broken Supersymmetric Systems

For a quantum mechanical system with broken supersymmetry, we present a simple method of determining the ground state when the corresponding energy eigenvalue is sufficiently small. A concise formula is derived for the approximate ground state energy in an associated, well-separated, asymmetric double-well-type potential. Our discussion is also relevant for the analysis of the fermion bound state in the kink-antikink scalar background.Comment: revised version, to be pubilshed in PR

Coulomb Explosion Dynamics of Chlorocarbonylsulfenyl Chloride

The Coulomb explosion dynamics following strong field ionization of chlorocarbonylsulfenyl chloride was studied using multimass coincidence detection and covariance imaging analysis, supported by density functional theory calculations. These results show evidence of multiple dissociation channels from various charge states. Double ionization to low-lying electronic states leads to a dominant C-S cleavage channel, while higher states can alternatively correlate to the loss of Cl+. Triple ionization leads to a double dissociation channel, the observation of which is confirmed via three-body covariance analysis, while further ionization leads primarily to atomic or diatomic fragments whose relative momenta depend strongly on the starting structure of the molecule

Optical investigations on Y2−xBixRu2O7Y_{2-x} Bi_x Ru_2 O_7: Electronic structure evolutions related to the metal-insulator transition

Optical conductivity spectra of cubic pyrochlore $Y_{2-x} Bi_x Ru_2 O_7$ (0.0$\leq${\it x}$\leq$2.0) compounds are investigated. As a metal-insulator transition (MIT) occurs around {\it x}$=$0.8, large spectral changes are observed. With increase of {\it x}, the correlation-induced peak between the lower and the upper Hubbard bands seems to be suppressed, and a strong mid-infrared feature is observed. In addition, the $p-d$ charge transfer peak shifts to the lower energies. The spectral changes cannot be explained by electronic structural evolutions in the simple bandwidth-controlled MIT picture, but are consistent with those in the filling-controlled MIT picture. In addition, they are also similar to the spectral changes of Y$_{2-x}$Ca$_{x}$Ru$_{2}$O$_{7}$ compounds, which is a typical filling-controlled system. This work suggests that, near the MIT, the Ru bands could be doped with the easily polarizable Bi cations.Comment: 5 figure

Non-locality and Medium Effects in the Exclusive Photoproduction of Eta Mesons on Nuclei

A relativistic model for the quasifree exclusive photoproduction of $\eta$ mesons on nuclei is extended to include both non-local and medium effects. The reaction is assumed to proceed via the dominant contribution of the S$_{11}$(1535) resonance. The complicated integrals resulting from the non-locality are simplified using a modified version of a method given by Cooper and Maxwell. The non-locality effects are found to affect the magnitude of the cross section. Some possibilities reflecting the effects of the medium on the propagation and properties of the intermediate S$_{11}$ resonance are studied. The effects of allowing the S$_{11}$ to interact with the medium via mean field scalar and vector potentials are considered. Both broadening of width and reduction in mass of the resonance lead to a suppression of the calculated cross sections.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figure

Irreversible reorganization in a supercooled liquid originates from localised soft modes

The transition of a fluid to a rigid glass upon cooling is a common route of transformation from liquid to solid that embodies the most poorly understood features of both phases1,2,3. From the liquid perspective, the puzzle is to understand stress relaxation in the disordered state. From the perspective of solids, the challenge is to extend our description of structure and its mechanical consequences to materials without long range order. Using computer simulations, we show that the localized low frequency normal modes of a configuration in a supercooled liquid are causally correlated to the irreversible structural reorganization of the particles within that configuration. We also demonstrate that the spatial distribution of these soft local modes can persist in spite of significant particle reorganization. The consequence of these two results is that it is now feasible to construct a theory of relaxation length scales in glass-forming liquids without recourse to dynamics and to explicitly relate molecular properties to their collective relaxation.Comment: Published online: 20 July 2008 | doi:10.1038/nphys1025 Available from http://www.nature.com/nphys/journal/v4/n9/abs/nphys1025.htm

Electron and orbital correlations in Ca_{2-x}Sr_{x}RuO_{4} probed by optical spectroscopy

The doping and temperature dependent optical conductivity spectra of the quasi-two-dimensional Ca_{2-x}Sr_xRuO_4 (0.0=<x=<2.0) system were investigated. In the Mott insulating state, two electron correlation-induced peaks were observed around 1.0 and 1.9 eV, which could be understood in terms of the 3-orbital Hubbard model. The low frequency peak showed a shift toward higher frequency as temperature was lowered, which indicated that electron-phonon interactions play an important role in the orbital arrangements. From the systematic analysis, it was suggested that the antiferro-orbital and the ferro-orbital ordering states could coexist.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure