181 research outputs found
Marine ecosystem indicators are sensitive to ecosystem boundaries and spatial scale
Time series indicators are widely used in ecosystem-based management. A suite of indicators is typically calculated for a static region or multiple subregions and presented in an ecosystem assessment (EA). These are used to guide management decisions or determine environmental status. Yet, few studies have examined how the spatial scale of an EA influences indicator behavior. We explore this question using the Northwest Atlantic continental shelf ecosystem (USA). We systematically divided the ecosystem at six spatial scales (31 unique units), covering spatial extents from 250,000 km2 to 20,000 km2. The same 22 indicators were calculated for each unit, assessed for trends, and evaluated as 31 independent EAs. We found that the detected signals of indicator trends depended on the spatial scale at which the ecosystem was defined. A single EA for the whole region differed by 23% (in terms of the 22 indicator trend tests) relative to ones for spatially nested 120,000 km2 subunits, and by up to 36% for EAs at smaller scales. Indicator trend disagreement occurred because (most common) a localized trend was perceived as widespread, (common) a local trend was obscured by aggregating data over a large region, or (least common) a local trend switched direction when examined at a broader scale. Yet, there was variation among indicators in their scale sensitivity related to trophic level. Indicators of temperature, chlorophyll-a, and zooplankton were spatially coherent: trends portrayed were similar regardless of scale. Mid-trophic level indicators (fish and invertebrates) showed more spatial variation in trends. We also compared trend magnitude and indicator values to spatial extent and found relationships consistent with scaling theory. Indicators at broad scales produced subdued trends and values relative to indicators developed at smaller spatial scales, which often portrayed ‘hotspots’ of local abundance or strong trend. Our results imply that subsequent uses of indicators (e.g., determining environmental status, risk assessments, management decisions) are also sensitive to ecosystem delineation and scale. We suggest that indicators and EAs should be done at multiple spatial scales and complimented with spatially explicit analysis to reflect the hierarchical structure of ecosystems. One scale is not best, but rather we gain a new level of understanding at each scale examined that can contribute to management decisions in a multiscale governance framework characterized by goals and objectives with relevance at different scales
Search for T Violation in Charm Meson Decays
Using data from the FOCUS (E831) experiment, we have searched for T violation
in charm meson decays using the four-body decay channels , , and . The T violation asymmetry is obtained using triple-product
correlations and assuming the validity of the CPT theorem. We find the
asymmetry values to be
,
, and
.
Each measurement is consistent with no T violation. New measurements of the
CP asymmetries for some of these decay modes are also presented.Comment: 17 pages,6 figures,submitted to Phys.Lett.
Study of Cabibbo Suppressed Decays of the Ds Charmed-Strange Meson involving a KS
We study the decay of Ds meson into final states involving a Ks and report
the discovery of Cabibbo suppressed decay modes Ds -> Kspi-pi+pi+ (179 +/- 36
events) and Ds -> Kspi+ (113 +/-26 events). The branching ratios for the new
modes are Gamma(Ds -> Kspi-pi+pi+)/Gamma(Ds -> KsK-pi+pi+) = 0.18 +/- 0.04 +/-
0.05 and Gamma(Ds -> Kspi+)/Gamma(Ds -> KsK+) = 0.104 +/- 0.024 +/- 0.013.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure
Measurements of Branching Ratios
Using data collected by the fixed target Fermilab experiment FOCUS, we
measure the branching ratios of the Cabibbo favored decays , , and relative to to be
, , and ,
respectively. We report the first observation of the Cabibbo suppressed decay
and we measure the branching ratio relative to
to be . We also set 90%
confidence level upper limits for and relative to to
be 0.12 and 0.05, respectively. We find an indication of the decays and and set
90% confidence level upper limits for the branching ratios with respect to
to be 0.12 and 1.72, respectively. Finally, we
determine the 90% C.L. upper limit for the resonant contribution relative to to be 0.10.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure
Measurement of the Ratio of the Vector to Pseudoscalar Charm Semileptonic Decay Rate \Gamma(D+ > ANTI-K*0 mu+ nu)/\Gamma(D+ > ANTI-K0 mu+ nu)
Using a high statistics sample of photo-produced charm particles from the
FOCUS experiment at Fermilab, we report on the measurement of the ratio of
semileptonic rates \Gamma(D+ > ANTI-K pi mu+ nu)/\Gamma(D+ > ANTI-K0 mu+ nu)=
0.625 +/- 0.045 +/- 0.034. Allowing for the K pi S-wave interference measured
previously by FOCUS, we extract the vector to pseudoscalar ratio \Gamma(D+ >
ANTI-K*0 mu+ nu)/\Gamma(D+ > ANTI-K0 mu+ nu)= 0.594 +/- 0.043 +/- 0.033 and the
ratio \Gamma(D+ > ANTI-K0 mu+ nu)/\Gamma(D+ > K- pi+ pi+)= 1.019 +/- 0.076 +/-
0.065. Our results show a lower ratio for \Gamma(D > K* \ell nu})/\Gamma(D > K
\ell nu) than has been reported recently and indicate the current world average
branching fractions for the decays D+ >ANTI-K0(mu+, e+) nu are low. Using the
PDG world average for B(D+ > K- pi+ pi+) we extract B(D+ > ANIT-K0 mu+
nu)=(9.27 +/- 0.69 +/- 0.59 +/- 0.61)%.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figur
Study of Hadronic Five-Body Decays of Charmed Mesons Involving
We study the decay of and mesons into five-body final states
including a and report the discovery of the decay mode . The branching ratio for the new mode is
{} = 0.1020.029.
We also determine the branching ratio of {} =
0.0950.007 as well as an upper limit for {}
0.054 (90% CL). An analysis of the resonant substructure for is also performed
Measurement of the branching ratio of the decay D^0 -> \pi^-\mu^+\nu relative to D^0 -> K^-\mu^+\nu
We present a new measurement of the branching ratio of the Cabibbo suppressed
decay D^0\to \pi^-\mu^+\nu relative to the Cabibbo favored decay D^0\to
K^-\mu^+\nu and an improved measurement of the ratio
|\frac{f_+^{\pi}(0)}{f_+^{K}(0)}|. Our results are 0.074 \pm 0.008 \pm 0.007
for the branching ratio and 0.85 \pm 0.04 \pm 0.04 \pm 0.01 for the form factor
ratio, respectively.Comment: 13pages, 3 figure
A Non-parametric Approach to Measuring the \kpi{} Amplitudes in \dpkkpi{} Decay
Using a large sample of \dpkkpi{} decays collected by the FOCUS
photoproduction experiment at Fermilab, we present the first non-parametric
analysis of the \kpi{} amplitudes in \dpkkpi{} decay. The technique is similar
to the technique used for our non-parametric measurements of the \krzmndk{}
form factors. Although these results are in rough agreement with those of E687,
we observe a wider S-wave contribution for the \ksw{} contribution than the
standard, PDG \cite{pdg} Breit-Wigner parameterization. We have some weaker
evidence for the existence of a new, D-wave component at low values of the mass.Comment: 13 pages 3 figure
Measurements of Six-Body Hadronic Decays of the D^0 Charmed Meson
Using data collected by the FOCUS experiment at Fermilab, we report the
discovery of the decay modes D^0 --> K- pi+ pi+ pi+ pi- pi- and D^0 --> pi+ pi+
pi+ pi- pi- pi-. With a sample of 48 +/- 10 reconstructed D^0 --> K- pi+ pi+
pi+ pi- pi- decays and 149 +/- 17 reconstructed D^0 --> pi+ pi+ pi+ pi- pi- pi-
decays, we measure the following relative branching ratios:
The first errors are statistical and the second are systematic. The branching
fraction of the Cabibbo suppressed six-body decay mode is measured to be a
factor of two higher than the branching fraction of the Cabibbo favored
six-body decay mode.Comment: To be submitted to Phys. Lett.
Application of Genetic Programming to High Energy Physics Event Selection
We review genetic programming principles, their application to FOCUS data
samples, and use the method to study the doubly Cabibbo suppressed decay D+ ->
K+ pi+ pi- relative to its Cabibbo favored counterpart, D+ -> K- pi+ pi+. We
find that this technique is able to improve upon more traditional analysis
methods. To our knowledge, this is the first application of the genetic
programming technique to High Energy Physics data.Comment: 39 page
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