Model of the W3(OH) environment based on data for both maser and 'quasi-thermal' methanol lines

In studies of the environment of massive young stellar objects, recent progress in both observations and theory allows a unified treatment of data for maser and 'quasi-thermal' lines. Interferometric maser images provide information on the distribution and kinematics of masing gas on small spatial scales. Observations of multiple masing transitions provide constraints on the physical parameters. Interferometric data on 'quasi-thermal' molecular lines permits an investigation of the overall distribution and kinematics of the molecular gas in the vicinity of young stellar objects, including those which are deeply embedded. Using multiple transitions of different molecules, one can obtain good constraints on the physical and chemical parameters. Combining these data enables the construction of unified models, which take into account spatial scales differing by orders of magnitude. Here we present such a combined analysis of the environment around the ultracompact HII region in W3(OH). This includes the structure of the methanol masing region, physical structure of the near vicinity of W3(OH), detection of new masers in the large-scale shock front and embedded sources in the vicinity of the TW young stellar object.Comment: To appear in the Proceedings of the 2004 European Workshop: "Dense Molecular Gas around Protostars and in Galactic Nuclei", Eds. Y.Hagiwara, W.A.Baan, H.J. van Langevelde, 2004, a special issue of ApSS, Kluwe

A Model for Phase Transition based on Statistical Disassembly of Nuclei at Intermediate Energies

Consider a model of particles (nucleons) which has a two-body interaction which leads to bound composites with saturation properties. These properties are : all composites have the same density and the ground state energies of composites with k nucleons are given by -kW+\sigma k^{2/3} where W and \sigma are positive constants. W represents a volume term and \sigma a surface tension term. These values are taken from nuclear physics. We show that in the large N limit where N is the number of particles such an assembly in a large enclosure at finite temperature shows properties of liquid-gas phase transition. We do not use the two-body interaction but the gross properties of the composites only. We show that (a) the p-\rho isotherms show a region where pressure does not change as $\rho$ changes just as in Maxwell construction of a Van der Waals gas, (b) in this region the chemical potential does not change and (c) the model obeys the celebrated Clausius-Clapeyron relations. A scaling law for the yields of composites emerges. For a finite number of particles N (upto some thousands) the problem can be easily solved on a computer. This allows us to study finite particle number effects which modify phase transition effects. The model is calculationally simple. Monte-Carlo simulations are not needed.Comment: RevTex file, 21 pages, 5 figure

Virtual Meson Cloud of the Nucleon and Intrinsic Strangeness and Charm

We have applied the Meson Cloud Model (MCM) to calculate the charm and strange antiquark distribution in the nucleon. The resulting distribution, in the case of charm, is very similar to the intrinsic charm momentum distribution in the nucleon. This seems to corroborate the hypothesis that the intrinsic charm is in the cloud and, at the same time, explains why other calculations with the MCM involving strange quark distributions fail in reproducing the low x region data. From the intrinsic strange distribution in the nucleon we have extracted the strangeness radius of the nucleon, which is in agreement with other meson cloud calculations.Comment: 9 pages RevTex, 4 figure

The silicon stable isotope distribution along the GEOVIDE section (GEOTRACES GA-01) of the North Atlantic Ocean

The stable isotope composition of dissolved silicon in seawater (δ30SiDSi) was examined at 10 stations along the GEOVIDE section (GEOTRACES GA-01), spanning the North Atlantic Ocean (40–60∘ N) and Labrador Sea. Variations in δ30SiDSi below 500 m were closely tied to the distribution of water masses. Higher δ30SiDSi values are associated with intermediate and deep water masses of northern Atlantic or Arctic Ocean origin, whilst lower δ30SiDSi values are associated with DSi-rich waters sourced ultimately from the Southern Ocean. Correspondingly, the lowest δ30SiDSi values were observed in the deep and abyssal eastern North Atlantic, where dense southern-sourced waters dominate. The extent to which the spreading of water masses influences the δ30SiDSi distribution is marked clearly by Labrador Sea Water (LSW), whose high δ30SiDSi signature is visible not only within its region of formation within the Labrador and Irminger seas, but also throughout the mid-depth western and eastern North Atlantic Ocean. Both δ30SiDSi and hydrographic parameters document the circulation of LSW into the eastern North Atlantic, where it overlies southern-sourced Lower Deep Water. The GEOVIDE δ30SiDSi distribution thus provides a clear view of the direct interaction between subpolar/polar water masses of northern and southern origin, and allow examination of the extent to which these far-field signals influence the local δ30SiDSi distribution

Pion parton distribution functions from lattice QCD

We report on recent results for the pion matrix element of the twist-2 operator corresponding to the average momentum of non-singlet quark densities. For the first time finite volume effects of this matrix element are investigated and come out to be surprisingly large. We use standard Wilson and non-perturbatively improved clover actions in order to control better the extrapolation to the continuum limit. Moreover, we compute, fully non-perturbatively, the renormalization group invariant matrix element, which allows a comparison with experimental results in a broad range of energy scales. Finally, we discuss the remaining uncertainties, the extrapolation to the chiral limit and the quenched approximation.Comment: Lattice2003(matrix), 3 pages, 4 figure

Meso- and Bathypelagic Fish Interactions with Seamounts and Mid-Ocean Ridges

The World Ocean\u27s midwaters contain the vast majority of Earth\u27s vertebrates in the form of mesoand bathypelagic (\u27deep-pelagic,\u27 in the combined sense) fishes. Understanding the ecology and variability of deep-pelagic ecosystems has increased substantially in the past few decades due to advances in sampling/observation technology. Researchers have discovered that the deep sea hosts a complex assemblage of organisms adapted to a “harsh” environment by terrestrial standards (i.e., dark, cold, high pressure). We have learned that despite the lack of physical barriers, the deep-sea realm is not a homogeneous ecosystem, but is spatially and temporally variable on multiple scales. While there is a well-documented reduction of biomass as a function of depth (and thus distance from the sun, ergo primary production) in the open ocean, recent surveys have shown that pelagic fish abundance and biomass can \u27peak\u27 deep in the water column in association with abrupt topographic features such as seamounts and mid-ocean ridges. We review the current knowledge on deep-pelagic fish interactions with these features, as well as effects of these interactions on ecosystem functioning. We highlight the recent discoveries from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (via the Census of Marine Life field project MAR-ECO) that were presented at the international symposium “Into the Unknown, Researching Mysterious Deep-Sea Animals,” hosted by the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, Okinawa, Japan, Feb 2007

Search for direct production of charginos, neutralinos and sleptons in final states with two leptons and missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √s = 8TeV with the ATLAS detector

Searches for the electroweak production of charginos, neutralinos and sleptons in final states characterized by the presence of two leptons (electrons and muons) and missing transverse momentum are performed using 20.3 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data at s√ = 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. No significant excess beyond Standard Model expectations is observed. Limits are set on the masses of the lightest chargino, next-to-lightest neutralino and sleptons for different lightest-neutralino mass hypotheses in simplified models. Results are also interpreted in various scenarios of the phenomenological Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model

Review of the Laguerre-Gauss mode technology research program at Birmingham

Gravitational wave detectors from the advanced generation onwards are expected to be limited in sensitivity by thermal noise of the optics, making the reduction of this noise a key factor in the success of such detectors. A proposed method for reducing the impact of this noise is to use higher-order Laguerre-Gauss (LG) modes for the readout beam, as opposed to the currently used fundamental mode. We present here a synopsis of the research program undertaken by the University of Birmingham into the suitability of LG mode technology for future gravitational wave detectors. This will cover our previous and current work on this topic, from initial simulations and table-top LG mode experiments up to implementation in a prototype scale suspended cavity and high-power laser bench