320 research outputs found
The Spatial Properties of L- and M-Cone Inputs to Electroretinograms That Reflect Different Types of Post-Receptoral Processing
yesWe studied the spatial arrangement of L- and M-cone driven electroretinograms (ERGs) reflecting
the activity of magno- and parvocellular pathways. L- and M-cone isolating sine
wave stimuli were created with a four primary LED stimulator using triple silent substitution
paradigms. Temporal frequencies were 8 and 12 Hz, to reflect cone opponent activity, and
30, 36 and 48 Hz to reflect luminance activity. The responses were measured for full-field
stimuli and for different circular and annular stimuli. The ERG data confirm the presence of
two different mechanisms at intermediate and high temporal frequencies. The responses
measured at high temporal frequencies strongly depended upon spatial stimulus configuration.
In the full-field conditions, the L-cone driven responses were substantially larger than
the full-field M-cone driven responses and also than the L-cone driven responses with
smaller stimuli. The M-cone driven responses at full-field and with 70° diameter stimuli displayed
similar amplitudes. The L- and M-cone driven responses measured at 8 and 12 Hz
were of similar amplitude and approximately in counter-phase. The amplitudes were constant
for most stimulus configurations. The results indicate that, when the ERG reflects luminance
activity, it is positively correlated with stimulus size. Beyond 35° retinal eccentricity,
the retina mainly contains L-cones. Small stimuli are sufficient to obtain maximal ERGs at
low temporal frequencies where the ERGs are also sensitive to cone-opponent processin
Variability in ecosystem service measurement: A pollination service case study
Research quantifying ecosystem services (ES) - collectively, the benefits that society obtains from ecosystems - is rapidly increasing. Despite the seemingly straightforward definition, a wide variety of methods are used to measure ES. This methodological variability has largely been ignored, and standard protocols to select measures that capture ES provision have yet to be established. Furthermore, most published papers do not include explicit definitions of individual ES. We surveyed the literature on pollination ES to assess the range of measurement approaches, focusing on three essential steps: (1) definition of the ES, (2) identification of components contributing to ES delivery, and (3) selection of metrics to represent these components. We found considerable variation in how pollination as an ES - a relatively well-defined service - is measured. We discuss potential causes of this variability and provide suggestions to address this issue. Consistency in ES measurement, or a clear explanation of selected definitions and metrics, is critical to facilitate comparisons among studies and inform ecosystem management
Proximity effect at superconducting Sn-Bi2Se3 interface
We have investigated the conductance spectra of Sn-Bi2Se3 interface junctions
down to 250 mK and in different magnetic fields. A number of conductance
anomalies were observed below the superconducting transition temperature of Sn,
including a small gap different from that of Sn, and a zero-bias conductance
peak growing up at lower temperatures. We discussed the possible origins of the
smaller gap and the zero-bias conductance peak. These phenomena support that a
proximity-effect-induced chiral superconducting phase is formed at the
interface between the superconducting Sn and the strong spin-orbit coupling
material Bi2Se3.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure
Heavy Quarks and Heavy Quarkonia as Tests of Thermalization
We present here a brief summary of new results on heavy quarks and heavy
quarkonia from the PHENIX experiment as presented at the "Quark Gluon Plasma
Thermalization" Workshop in Vienna, Austria in August 2005, directly following
the International Quark Matter Conference in Hungary.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, Quark Gluon Plasma Thermalization Workshop
(Vienna August 2005) Proceeding
Centrality Dependence of the High p_T Charged Hadron Suppression in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 130 GeV
PHENIX has measured the centrality dependence of charged hadron p_T spectra
from central Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=130 GeV. The truncated mean p_T
decreases with centrality for p_T > 2 GeV/c, indicating an apparent reduction
of the contribution from hard scattering to high p_T hadron production. For
central collisions the yield at high p_T is shown to be suppressed compared to
binary nucleon-nucleon collision scaling of p+p data. This suppression is
monotonically increasing with centrality, but most of the change occurs below
30% centrality, i.e. for collisions with less than about 140 participating
nucleons. The observed p_T and centrality dependence is consistent with the
particle production predicted by models including hard scattering and
subsequent energy loss of the scattered partons in the dense matter created in
the collisions.Comment: 7 pages text, LaTeX, 6 figures, 2 tables, 307 authors, resubmitted to
Phys. Lett. B. Revised to address referee concerns. Plain text data tables
for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications
are publicly available at
http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/phenix/WWW/run/phenix/papers.htm
Single Electrons from Heavy Flavor Decays in p+p Collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV
The invariant differential cross section for inclusive electron production in
p+p collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV has been measured by the PHENIX experiment
at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider over the transverse momentum range $0.4
<= p_T <= 5.0 GeV/c at midrapidity (eta <= 0.35). The contribution to the
inclusive electron spectrum from semileptonic decays of hadrons carrying heavy
flavor, i.e. charm quarks or, at high p_T, bottom quarks, is determined via
three independent methods. The resulting electron spectrum from heavy flavor
decays is compared to recent leading and next-to-leading order perturbative QCD
calculations. The total cross section of charm quark-antiquark pair production
is determined as sigma_(c c^bar) = 0.92 +/- 0.15 (stat.) +- 0.54 (sys.) mb.Comment: 329 authors, 6 pages text, 3 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett.
Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and
previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at
http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm
Nuclear Modification of Electron Spectra and Implications for Heavy Quark Energy Loss in Au+Au Collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV
The PHENIX experiment has measured mid-rapidity transverse momentum spectra
(0.4 < p_T < 5.0 GeV/c) of electrons as a function of centrality in Au+Au
collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV. Contributions from photon conversions and
from light hadron decays, mainly Dalitz decays of pi^0 and eta mesons, were
removed. The resulting non-photonic electron spectra are primarily due to the
semi-leptonic decays of hadrons carrying heavy quarks. Nuclear modification
factors were determined by comparison to non-photonic electrons in p+p
collisions. A significant suppression of electrons at high p_T is observed in
central Au+Au collisions, indicating substantial energy loss of heavy quarks.Comment: 330 authors, 6 pages text, 3 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett.
Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and
previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at
http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm
The PHENIX Experiment at RHIC
The physics emphases of the PHENIX collaboration and the design and current
status of the PHENIX detector are discussed. The plan of the collaboration for
making the most effective use of the available luminosity in the first years of
RHIC operation is also presented.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure. Further details of the PHENIX physics program
available at http://www.rhic.bnl.gov/phenix
Dilepton mass spectra in p+p collisions at sqrt(s)= 200 GeV and the contribution from open charm
The PHENIX experiement has measured the electron-positron pair mass spectrum
from 0 to 8 GeV/c^2 in p+p collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV. The contributions
from light meson decays to e^+e^- pairs have been determined based on
measurements of hadron production cross sections by PHENIX. They account for
nearly all e^+e^- pairs in the mass region below 1 GeV/c^2. The e^+e^- pair
yield remaining after subtracting these contributions is dominated by
semileptonic decays of charmed hadrons correlated through flavor conservation.
Using the spectral shape predicted by PYTHIA, we estimate the charm production
cross section to be 544 +/- 39(stat) +/- 142(syst) +/- 200(model) \mu b, which
is consistent with QCD calculations and measurements of single leptons by
PHENIX.Comment: 375 authors from 57 institutions, 18 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables.
Submitted to Physics Letters B. v2 fixes technical errors in matching authors
to institutions. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for
this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at
http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm
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