2,605 research outputs found
An optical readout for a fibre tracker
The performance of 16 and 64 channel photomultipliers coupled to
scintillating fibres has been tested. The devices are sensitive to single
photoelectrons, show little gain losses for magnetic fields up to 100 Gauss and
have moderate optical cross-talk. The maximum channel to channel gain
variations reach a factor two for the 16 channel version and a factor of four
for the 64 channel PM. The measurements and simulations indicate that the
photomultipliers are well suited for the light detection in fibre trackers.Comment: 11 pages, 9 picture
Holographic optical elements: Fabrication and testing
The basic properties and use of holographic optical elements were investigated to design and construct wide-angle, Fourier-transform holographic optical systems for use in a Bragg-effect optical memory. The performance characteristics are described along with the construction of the holographic system
On the stratigraphic integrity of leaf-wax biomarkers in loess paleosols
Paleoenvironmental and paleoclimate reconstructions based on molecular
proxies, such as those derived from leaf-wax biomarkers, in loess-paleosol
sequences represent a promising line of investigation in Quaternary research.
The main premise of such reconstructions is the synsedimentary deposition of
biomarkers and dust, which has become a debated subject in recent years. This
study uses two independent approaches to test the stratigraphic integrity of
leaf-wax biomarkers: (i) long-chain n-alkanes and fatty acids are
quantified in two sediment-depth profiles in glacial till on the Swiss
Plateau, consisting of a Holocene topsoil and the underlying B and C
horizons. Since glacial sediments are initially very poor in organic matter,
significant amounts of leaf-wax biomarkers in the B and C horizons of those
profiles would reflect postsedimentary root-derived or microbial
contributions. (ii) Compound-specific radiocarbon measurements are conducted
on n-alkanes and n-alkanoic (fatty) acids from several depth intervals in
the loess section "Crvenka", Serbia, and the results are compared to
independent estimates of sediment age.
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We find extremely low concentrations
of plant-wax n-alkanes and fatty acids in the B and C horizons below the
topsoils in the sediment profiles. Moreover, compound-specific radiocarbon
analysis yields plant-wax <sup>14</sup>C ages that agree well with published
luminescence ages and stratigraphy of the Serbian loess deposit. Both
approaches confirm that postsedimentary, root-derived or microbial
contributions are negligible in the two investigated systems. The good
agreement between the ages of odd and even homologues also indicates that
reworking and incorporation of fossil leaf waxes is not particularly relevant
either
Determination of ecologically relevant pools for soil organic matter stability in terra firme oxisols.
The study on soil pools identification which are sensitive to land-use changes in terra firme oxisols and yield easy to handle techniques for the evaluation of increasing te soil organic matter (SOM) porperties. For this purpose, it has studied the influence of ten different trees and annual crops on SOM properties on an oxisol near Manaus (Amazonas, Brasil). A combination of aggregate and density fractionation was found to be most suitable for physical SOM characterization. The particulate organic matter (POM, density less than 1.6g cm-3) varied by one order of magnitude between sites and could be used as a sensitive indicator of land-use changes. The obtained results are extremely important for the evaluation of the sustainability of the investigated lan-use systems and are the basis for soil ecological research on terra firme oxisols
Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy and Vortex Imaging in the Iron-Pnictide Superconductor BaFeCoAs
We present an atomic resolution scanning tunneling spectroscopy study of
superconducting BaFeCoAs single crystals in magnetic fields
up to . At zero field, a single gap with coherence peaks at
is observed in the density of states. At and , we image a disordered vortex lattice, consistent
with isotropic, single flux quantum vortices. Vortex locations are uncorrelated
with strong scattering surface impurities, demonstrating bulk pinning. The
vortex-induced sub-gap density of states fits an exponential decay from the
vortex center, from which we extract a coherence length , corresponding to an upper critical field .Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
New AGNs discovered by H.E.S.S
During the last year, six new Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) have been
discovered and studied by H.E.S.S. at Very High Energies (VHE). Some of these
recent discoveries have been made thanks to new enhanced analysis methods and
are presented at this conference for the first time. The three blazars 1ES
0414+009, SHBL J001355.9-185406 and 1RXS J101015.9-311909 have been targeted
for observation due to their high levels of radio and X-ray fluxes, while the
Fermi/LAT catalogue of bright sources triggered the observation of PKS 0447-439
and AP Librae. Additionally, the BL Lac 1ES 1312-423 was discovered in the
field-of-view (FoV) of Centaurus A thanks to the large exposure dedicated by
H.E.S.S. to this particularly interesting source. The newly-discovered sources
are presented here and in three companion presentations at this conference.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, proceeding from the 25th Texas Symposium on
Relativistic Astrophysics (Heidelberg, Germany, 2010
The spatial distribution of sedimentary compounds and their environmental implications in surface sediments of Lake Khar Nuur (Mongolian Altai)
Lake sediments are valuable natural archives to reconstruct paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental changes which consist of inorganic and organic sediment compounds of allochthonous origin from the catchment and of autochthonous production in the lake. However, for robust paleo-reconstructions it is important to develop a better understanding about sedimentation processes, the origin of inorganic and organic sediment compounds and their distribution within the lake. In this context, modern process studies provide important insights, although environmental and anthropological changes can affect the spatial distribution of sediment compounds through time. Therefore, in this study the spatial distribution of grain size and geochemical proxies in 52 surface sediment samples from Lake Khar Nuur, a small high-altitude lake in the Mongolian Altai with a small and anthropogenically used hydrological catchment, is investigated. The results show a distinct sediment focussing in the two deep basins of the lake, which therefore act as accumulation zones. In those accumulation zones, total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (N) and their isotopic composition (δ13CTOC, δ15N) as well as n-alkanes indicate that organic sediment compounds are a mixture of both allochthonous and autochthonous origin. While the recent catchment vegetation consists of grasses/herbs and the shrub Betula nana (L.) with distinct differences in their n-alkane homologue patterns, those differences are not reflected in the sediment surface samples which rather indicates that grass-derived n-alkanes become preferentially incorporated in the lake. Extensive anthropogenic activity such as grazing and housing in the southern part of the catchment causes soil erosion which is well reflected by high TOC, N and sulphur (S) contents and 15N depleted δ15N values at the central southern shore, i.e. increased allochthonous sediment input by anthropogenicallyinduced soil erosion. Overall, the surface sediments of Lake Khar Nuur origin from allochthonous and autochthonous sources and are focussed in the accumulation zones of the lake, while their distribution is both environmentally and anthropogenically driven
Single tree-effects on denitrification and soil microbial biomass in agroforestry systems and natural forests of the Amazon region.
The aim of the present study was to find the effect of tree species used in agroforestry system in Amazonian region and natural forests on the total biomass of heterotrophic microorganisms (BH), which is mainly responsible for CO2 emission, and on the biomass of denitrifiers (BD), which control N2O emission
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