Nanoscale Processing by Adaptive Laser Pulses

We theoretically demonstrate that atomically-precise ``nanoscale processing" can be reproducibly performed by adaptive laser pulses. We present the new approach on the controlled welding of crossed carbon nanotubes, giving various metastable junctions of interest. Adaptive laser pulses could be also used in preparation of other hybrid nanostructures.Comment: 4 pages, 4 Postscript figure

Freedom in Nature

The paper starts with the proposal that the cause of the apparent insolubility of the free-will problem are several popular but strongly metaphysical notions and hypotheses. To reduce the metaphysics, some ideas are borrowed from physics. A concept of event causality is discussed. The importance of Hume's Principle of Causality is stressed and his Principle of Causation is weakened. The key concept of the paper, the so-called relative freedom, is also suggested by physics. It is a kind of freedom that can be observed everywhere in nature. Turning to biology, incomplete knowledge is defined for all organisms. They cope with the problem by Popper's trial and error processes. One source of their success is the relative freedom of choice from the basic option ranges: mutations, motions and neural connections. Finally, the conjecture is adopted that communicability can be used as a criterion of consciousness and free will is defined as a conscious version of relative freedom. The resulting notion is logically self-consistent and it describes an observable phenomenon that agrees with our experience.Comment: Changes: Improved formulation, three references added; 22 pages, no figure. Comments are welcom

Moral courage in the workplace: moving to and from the desire and decision to act

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72135/1/j.1467-8608.2007.00484.x.pd

Properties of the Top Quark

The top quark was discoverd at the CDF and D0 experiments in 1995. As the partner of the bottom quark its properties within the Standard Model are fully defined. Only the mass is a free parameter. The measurement of the top quark mass and the verification of the expected properties have been an important topic of experimental top quark physics since. In this review the recent results on top quark properties obtained by the Tevatron experiments CDF and D0 are summarised. At the advent of the LHC special emphasis is given to the basic measurement methods and the dominating systematic uncertainties.Comment: Habilitation thesis, revised and updated for publication in EPJ

Collider aspects of flavour physics at high Q

This review presents flavour related issues in the production and decays of heavy states at LHC, both from the experimental side and from the theoretical side. We review top quark physics and discuss flavour aspects of several extensions of the Standard Model, such as supersymmetry, little Higgs model or models with extra dimensions. This includes discovery aspects as well as measurement of several properties of these heavy states. We also present public available computational tools related to this topic.Comment: Report of Working Group 1 of the CERN Workshop ``Flavour in the era of the LHC'', Geneva, Switzerland, November 2005 -- March 200

Performance measurements of monocrystalline silicon PV modules in South-eastern Italy

The study is focused on the monitoring of the performances of a photovoltaic system, influenced of climatic characteristics of a particular geographical area, in which the PV system is installed. This paper presents the results obtained by monitoring, from March to October 2012, a 960 kWp photovoltaic system installed on the parking lots in the campus of the University of Salento, Italy and divided in two subfields with different tilt angle (3–15°) and different nominal powers (353.3 kWp and 606.6 kWp). The values of energy and power generated, final yield, reference yield, photovoltaic system efficiency, performance ratio and cell temperature losses are analyzed and linked to the climatic characteristics of the site, such as insolation (for the two distinct subfield), ambient temperature and wind speed. This study is part of the European Project “Buildings Energy Advanced Management System, BEAMS”, and its aim is to develop an advanced, integrated management system for buildings and special infrastructures of public use. This work offers a tool to estimate the performances of plants to be installed in sites with climatic characteristics similar to South-eastern Italy, and it is also useful as comparison to investigate the productivity of plants placed in different areas