1,498 research outputs found
Fat residue and use-wear found on Acheulian biface and scraper associated with butchered elephant remains at the site of Revadim, Israel
The archaeological record indicates that elephants must have played a significant role in early human diet and culture during Palaeolithic times in the Old World. However, the nature of interactions between early humans and elephants is still under discussion. Elephant remains are found in Palaeolithic sites, both open-air and cave sites, in Europe, Asia, the Levant, and Africa. In some cases elephant and mammoth remains indicate evidence for butchering and marrow extraction performed by humans. Revadim Quarry (Israel) is a Late Acheulian site where elephant remains were found in association with characteristic Lower Palaeolithic flint tools. In this paper we present results regarding the use of Palaeolithic tools in processing animal carcasses and rare identification of fat residue preserved on Lower Palaeolithic tools. Our results shed new light on the use of Palaeolithic stone tools and provide, for the first time, direct evidence (residue) of animal exploitation through the use of an Acheulian biface and a scraper. The association of an elephant rib bearing cut marks with these tools may reinforce the view suggesting the use of Palaeolithic stone tools in the consumption of large game
Inflation Targeting and the Anchoring of Inflation Expectations in The Western Hemisphere
We investigate the extent to which long-run inflation expectations are well anchored in three western hemisphere countries—Canada, Chile, and the United States—using a high-frequency event-study analysis. Specifically, we use daily data on far-ahead forward inflation compensation—the difference between forward rates on nominal and inflation-indexed bonds—as an indicator of financial market perceptions of inflation risk and the expected level of inflation at long horizons. For the United States, we find that far-ahead forward inflation compensation reacts significantly to macroeconomic data releases, suggesting that long-run inflation expectations are not completely anchored. In contrast, the Canadian inflation compensation data do not exhibit significant sensitivity to either Canadian or U.S. macroeconomic news, consistent with the view that inflation targeting in Canada has been successful in anchoring long-run inflation expectations. Finally, while the requisite data for Chile is only available for a limited sample period (2002-2005), our results are consistent with the hypothesis that inflation targeting in Chile has also succeeded in anchoring long-run inflation expectations.
Transillumination imaging through scattering media by use of photorefractive polymers
We demonstrate the use of a near-infrared-sensitive photorefractive polymer with high efficiency for imaging through scattering media, using an all-optical holographic time gate. Imaging through nine scattering mean free paths is performed at 800 nm with a mode-locked continuous-wave Ti:sapphire laser
Magnetism in one-dimensional quantum dot arrays
We employ the density functional Kohn-Sham method in the local spin-density
approximation to study the electronic structure and magnetism of quasi
one-dimensional periodic arrays of few-electron quantum dots. At small values
of the lattice constant, the single dots overlap, forming a non-magnetic
quantum wire with nearly homogenous density. As the confinement perpendicular
to the wire is increased, i.e. as the wire is squeezed to become more
one-dimensional, it undergoes a spin-Peierls transition. Magnetism sets in as
the quantum dots are placed further apart. It is determined by the electronic
shell filling of the individual quantum dots. At larger values of the lattice
constant, the band structure for odd numbers of electrons per dot indicates
that the array could support spin-polarized transport and therefore act as a
spin filter.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure
Fracturing highly disordered materials
We investigate the role of disorder on the fracturing process of
heterogeneous materials by means of a two-dimensional fuse network model. Our
results in the extreme disorder limit reveal that the backbone of the fracture
at collapse, namely the subset of the largest fracture that effectively halts
the global current, has a fractal dimension of . This exponent
value is compatible with the universality class of several other physical
models, including optimal paths under strong disorder, disordered polymers,
watersheds and optimal path cracks on uncorrelated substrates, hulls of
explosive percolation clusters, and strands of invasion percolation fronts.
Moreover, we find that the fractal dimension of the largest fracture under
extreme disorder, , is outside the statistical error bar of
standard percolation. This discrepancy is due to the appearance of trapped
regions or cavities of all sizes that remain intact till the entire collapse of
the fuse network, but are always accessible in the case of standard
percolation. Finally, we quantify the role of disorder on the structure of the
largest cluster, as well as on the backbone of the fracture, in terms of a
distinctive transition from weak to strong disorder characterized by a new
crossover exponent.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
INFLATION TARGETING AND THE ANCHORING OF INFLATION EXPECTATIONS IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE
We investigate the extent to which long-run inflation expectations are well anchored in Canada, Chile, and the United States, using a high-frequency event-study analysis. Specifically, we use daily data on far-ahead forward inflation compensation as an indicator of financial market perceptions of inflation risk and the expected level of inflation at long horizons. For the U.S., we find that far-ahead forward inflation compensation reacts significantly to macroeconomic data releases, implying that long-run inflation expectations are not completely anchored. In contrast, the Canadian inflation compensation data does not exhibit significant sensitivity to either Canadian or U.S. macroeconomic news, confirming that inflation targeting in Canada has succeeded in anchoring long-run inflation expectations. Finally, while the requisite data for Chile is available only for a limited sample period (2002-05), our results are consistent with the hypothesis that inflation targeting in Chile has also succeeded in anchoring long-run inflation expectations.
d0 Perovskite-Semiconductor Electronic Structure
We address the low-energy effective Hamiltonian of electron doped d0
perovskite semiconductors in cubic and tetragonal phases using the k*p method.
The Hamiltonian depends on the spin-orbit interaction strength, on the
temperature-dependent tetragonal distortion, and on a set of effective-mass
parameters whose number is determined by the symmetry of the crystal. We
explain how these parameters can be extracted from angle resolved
photo-emission, Raman spectroscopy, and magneto-transport measurements and
estimate their values in SrTiO3
Asymptotic statistics of the n-sided planar Poisson-Voronoi cell. I. Exact results
We achieve a detailed understanding of the -sided planar Poisson-Voronoi
cell in the limit of large . Let be the probability for a cell to
have sides. We construct the asymptotic expansion of up to
terms that vanish as . We obtain the statistics of the lengths of
the perimeter segments and of the angles between adjoining segments: to leading
order as , and after appropriate scaling, these become independent
random variables whose laws we determine; and to next order in they have
nontrivial long range correlations whose expressions we provide. The -sided
cell tends towards a circle of radius (n/4\pi\lambda)^{\half}, where
is the cell density; hence Lewis' law for the average area of
the -sided cell behaves as with . For
the cell perimeter, expressed as a function of the polar
angle , satisfies , where is known Gaussian
noise; we deduce from it the probability law for the perimeter's long
wavelength deviations from circularity. Many other quantities related to the
asymptotic cell shape become accessible to calculation.Comment: 54 pages, 3 figure
- …