Elastic scattering of intermediate-energy electrons from C_(60) molecules

Experimental and calculated differential cross sections for elastic scattering of electrons by C_(60) molecules at collision energies of 100 to 500 eV are reported. The elastic differential cross sections were measured in a standard crossed-beam apparatus, while the calculations were performed employing the Schwinger multichannel technique at the static-exchange level. Diffraction effects, some due to the overall spherical-cage structure and some to scattering by individual C atoms, are observed in both the measured and calculated cross sections

Comparing sediment equilibrium partitioning and passive sampling techniques to estimate benthic biota PCDD/F concentrations in Newark Bay, New Jersey (U.S.A.)

Sediment and polyethylene sampler-based estimates of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin/dibenzofuran (PCDD/F) concentrations in Newark Bay, New Jersey (USA) benthic biota were compared. Biota concentrations based on sediment were estimated using an organic carbon (OC)-water partitioning model and an OC and black carbon (BC)-water dual model. Biota concentrations based on polyethylene were estimated from samplers deployed in the Newark Bay water column and samplers immersed in a sediment/porewater slurry in the laboratory. Porewater samplers provided the best estimates of biota concentrations (within 3.1x), with best results achieved for deposit-feeders (within 1.6x). Polyethylene deployed in deep water also provided good estimates of biota concentrations (within 4x). By contrast, OC-water partitioning overestimated biota concentrations by up to 7x, while OC and BC combined underestimated biota concentrations by up to 13x. We recommend polyethylene for estimating concentrations of hydrophobic organic contaminants in field biota given its simplicity and relatively lower uncertainty compared to sediment equilibrium partitioning

Resolving Non-Determinism in Choreographies

Resolving non-deterministic choices of choreographies is a crucial task. We introduce a novel notion of realisability for choreographies –called whole-spectrum implementation– that rules out deterministic implementations of roles that, no matter which context they are placed in, will never follow one of the branches of a non-deterministic choice. We show that, under some conditions, it is decidable whether an implementation is whole-spectrum. As a case study, we analyse the POP protocol under the lens of whole-spectrum implementation

Christian University Teacher Education Graduates and Perceptions of Parent Collaboration: An Exploratory Study

Effective collaboration between families and schools is an important factor when developing high quality education programs. When schools and families work together, children, families, schools, and communities all benefit. Using an online survey of students who completed teacher certification programs at two Christian universities, this study seeks to understand the way that completers from two teacher preparation programs, both at Christian universities, interact with parents and encourage collaboration and involvement. The research findings and implications for future research are discussed

End-Cretaceous marine mass extinction not caused by productivity collapse

An asteroid impact at the end of the Cretaceous caused mass extinction, but extinction mechanisms are not well-understood. The collapse of sea surface to sea floor carbon isotope gradients has been interpreted as reflecting a global collapse of primary productivity (Strangelove Ocean) or export productivity (Living Ocean), which caused mass extinction higher in the marine food chain. Phytoplankton-dependent benthic foraminifera on the deep-sea floor, however, did not suffer significant extinction, suggesting that export productivity persisted at a level sufficient to support their populations. We compare benthic foraminiferal records with benthic and bulk stable carbon isotope records from the Pacific, Southeast Atlantic, and Southern Oceans. We conclude that end-Cretaceous decrease in export productivity was moderate, regional, and insufficient to explain marine mass extinction. A transient episode of surface ocean acidification may have been the main cause of extinction of calcifying plankton and ammonites, and recovery of productivity may have been as fast in the oceans as on land

Investigation of a direction sensitive sapphire detector stack at the 5 GeV electron beam at DESY-II

Extremely radiation hard sensors are needed in particle physics experiments to instrument the region near the beam pipe. Examples are beam halo and beam loss monitors at the Large Hadron Collider, FLASH or XFEL. Currently artificial diamond sensors are widely used. In this paper single crystal sapphire sensors are considered as a promising alternative. Industrially grown sapphire wafers are available in large sizes, are of low cost and, like diamond sensors, can be operated without cooling. Here we present results of an irradiation study done with sapphire sensors in a high intensity low energy electron beam. Then, a multichannel direction-sensitive sapphire detector stack is described. It comprises 8 sapphire plates of 1 cm^2 size and 525 micro m thickness, metallized on both sides, and apposed to form a stack. Each second metal layer is supplied with a bias voltage, and the layers in between are connected to charge-sensitive preamplifiers. The performance of the detector was studied in a 5 GeV electron beam. The charge collection efficiency measured as a function of the bias voltage rises with the voltage, reaching about 10 % at 950 V. The signal size obtained from electrons crossing the stack at this voltage is about 22000 e, where e is the unit charge. The signal size is measured as a function of the hit position, showing variations of up to 20 % in the direction perpendicular to the beam and to the electric field. The measurement of the signal size as a function of the coordinate parallel to the electric field confirms the prediction that mainly electrons contribute to the signal. Also evidence for the presence of a polarisation field was observed.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, 3 table

Exploratory topic modeling with distributional semantics

As we continue to collect and store textual data in a multitude of domains, we are regularly confronted with material whose largely unknown thematic structure we want to uncover. With unsupervised, exploratory analysis, no prior knowledge about the content is required and highly open-ended tasks can be supported. In the past few years, probabilistic topic modeling has emerged as a popular approach to this problem. Nevertheless, the representation of the latent topics as aggregations of semi-coherent terms limits their interpretability and level of detail. This paper presents an alternative approach to topic modeling that maps topics as a network for exploration, based on distributional semantics using learned word vectors. From the granular level of terms and their semantic similarity relations global topic structures emerge as clustered regions and gradients of concepts. Moreover, the paper discusses the visual interactive representation of the topic map, which plays an important role in supporting its exploration.Comment: Conference: The Fourteenth International Symposium on Intelligent Data Analysis (IDA 2015

Testing Higgs models via the H±W∓ZH^\pm W^\mp Z vertex by a recoil method at the International Linear Collider

In general, charged Higgs bosons $H^\pm$ appear in non-minimal Higgs models. The $H^\pm W^\mp Z$ vertex is known to be related to the violation of the global symmetry (custodial symmetry) in the Higgs sector. Its magnitude strongly depends on the structure of the exotic Higgs models which contain higher isospin $SU(2)_L$ representations such as triplet Higgs bosons. We study the possibility of measuring the $H^\pm W^\mp Z$ vertex via single charged Higgs boson production associated with the $W^\pm$ boson at the International Linear Collider (ILC) by using the recoil method. The feasibility of the signal $e^+e^-\to H^\pm W^\mp \to \ell \nu jj$ is analyzed assuming the polarized electron and positron beams and the expected detector performance for the resolution of the two-jet system at the ILC. The background events can be reduced to a considerable extent by imposing the kinematic cuts even if we take into account the initial state radiation. For a relatively light charged Higgs boson whose mass $m_{H^\pm}$ is in the region of 120-130 GeV $< m_{H^\pm} < m_W+m_Z$, the $H^\pm W^\mp Z$ vertex would be precisely testable especially when the decay of $H^\pm$ is lepton specific. The exoticness of the extended Higgs sector can be explored by using combined information for this vertex and the rho parameter.Comment: 22 pages, 23 figure

Contact freezing: a review of experimental studies

This manuscript compiles both theoretical and experimental information on contact freezing with the aim to better understand this potentially important but still not well quantified heterogeneous freezing mode. There is no complete theory that describes contact freezing and how the energy barrier has to be overcome to nucleate an ice crystal by contact freezing. Experiments on contact freezing conducted using the cold plate technique indicate that it can initiate ice formation at warmer temperatures than immersion freezing. Additionally, a qualitative difference in the freezing temperatures between contact and immersion freezing has been found using different instrumentation and different ice nuclei. There is a lack of data on collision rates in most of the reported data, which inhibits a quantitative calculation of the freezing efficiencies. Thus, new or modified instrumentation to study contact nucleation in the laboratory and in the field are needed to identify the conditions at which contact nucleation could occur in the atmosphere. Important questions concerning contact freezing and its potential role for ice cloud formation and climate are also summarized

AMOC Recovery in a Multicentennial Scenario Using a Coupled Atmosphere‐Ocean‐Ice Sheet Model

We simulate the two Coupled Model Intercomparison Project scenarios RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, to assess the effects of melt‐induced fresh water on the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). We use a newly developed climate model with high resolution at the coasts, resolving the complex ocean dynamics. Our results show an AMOC recovery in simulations run with and without an included ice sheet model. We find that the ice sheet adds a strong decadal variability on the freshwater release, resulting in intervals in which it reduces the surface runoff by high accumulation rates. This compensating effect is missing in climate models without dynamic ice sheets. Therefore, we argue to assess those freshwater hosing experiments critically, which aim to parameterize Greenland's freshwater release. We assume the increasing net evaporation over the Atlantic and the resulting increase in ocean salinity, to be the main driver of the AMOC recovery