Hybrid Hadronization

We discuss Hybrid Hadronization, a hadronization model which interpolates between string fragmentation in dilute parton systems and quark recombination in dense parton systems. We lay out the basic principles, discuss some details of the implementation, and show some prelimiary results. Hybrid Hadronization is realized as a software package which works with PYTHIA 8 and will be released publicly in the near future.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures; Contribution to Hard Probes 201

AMSNEXRAD Automated Detection of Meteorite Strewnfields in Doppler Weather Radar

For several years meteorite recovery in the United States has been greatly enhanced by using Doppler weather radar images to determine possible fall zones for meteorites produced by witnessed fireballs. While most fireball events leave no record on the Doppler radar, some large fireballs do. Based on the successful recovery of 10 meteorite falls 'under the radar', and the discovery of radar on more than 10 historic falls, it is believed that meteoritic dust and or actual meteorites falling to the ground have been recorded on Doppler weather radar

Чернобыль и Фукусима. Анализ крупнейших радиационных аварий

Около 8000 километров и четверть века разделяют катастрофы на АЭС в Чернобыле и Фукусиме. В данной статье проведена сравнительная оценка показателей ущерба, допустимые содержания радиоактивных веществ в продуктах питания от Чернобыльской аварии и аварии «Фукусима-1».About 8000 kilometers and a quarter of a century are divided by the catastrophe at the nuclear power plants in Chernobyl and Fukushima. In this article, a comparative assessment of the damage indicators, the permissible content of radioactive substances in food products from the Chernobyl accident and the accident of "Fukushima-1.

Maximum Sample Temperature for Mars Sample Return: A Historical Perspective

Since the first Mars Sample Return (MSR) report published by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in 1974 [1], a series of panels, reports, and white papers have recognized the importance of sample temperature and offered an informed sample maximum temperature (henceforth SMT) limit for returning martian samples to Earth. The Mars Sample Handling and Requirements Panel (MSHARP, 1999) stated that "[t]he main issue in sample preservation is temperature" [2]. More recently, the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG)'s "Science Priorities for Mars Sample Return" report (2008), declared that "[s]ignificant loss, particularly to biological studies, occurs if samples reach +50C for three hours", whereby "scientific objectives related to life goals could be seriously compromised" [3]. By contrast, the Mars 2020 mission has adopted a SMT of +60C as spelled out in Beaty et al., 2016 [4]. Samples will be collected and then deposited on the surface in sealed tubes for possible retrieval and return to Earth. Beaty et al. [4] calculates that the samples will experience maximum temperatures of ~+30 to +60C, depending on latitude. At present, there is no mission requirement for the measurement/data logging of sample temperature during this period. We will explore the history of martian SMTs, as they have been recorded since 1974 [1], effectively representing input across multiple generations of Mars scientists. Ten separate publications present SMTs for MSR samples [1-10]. One report [10] is for a mission concept specifically designed to exclude life detection investigations, and recommended an SMT of 50C. Another did not specify a temperature, recommending "Mars ambient temperature" [5]. Of the remaining eight, SMTs are given as: -30C [1], -20C [3], 60C [4], -73 to 41C depending on sample type [6], -40C [7], -43 to 13C depending on type [2,8], and -33C [9]. If we restrict the temperatures to samples highlighted in the Mars 2020 mission goals, i.e. organics-bearing and sedimentary rocks, then the average SMT is -28+/-39C (n=8). Applying a Dixon's Q Test at P=0.05 (two-tailed), the 60C SMT [4] fails with Q=0.602 versus Qcrit=0.526. Excluding the outlier produces an average SMT of -40+/-17C (n=7). Therefore, the average SMT expressed by the Mars science community over the past 44 years (two generations) is a sample temperature no greater than -40C. The difference in chemical reaction rates between this average SMT and Beaty et al [4] can be estimated using the Arrhenius equation. Assuming a generic chemical reaction with an activation energy of 50 kJ/mol and a pre-exponential factor invariant with temperature, this reaction will proceed 2300x faster at 60C than at -40C. To illustrate the effects of the increased reaction rate, consider 10 ppb of alanine in a Mars 2020 cache, and assume that it becomes unmeasurable if it degrades to 1 ppb, as per the Mars 2020 Organic Contamination Panel contamination limits [11]. If we illustrate the effect with an arbitrary degradation rate such that the alanine will become undetectable in ten years at -40C, then the same 10 ppb alanine degrades beyond detectability in only 38 days at 60C. Further research is required to quantify expected analyte losses in the cached samples due to thermal processing

The Validity of VO2max Testing Modalities in Running, Cycling and Swimming Populations

While it is generally accepted that the treadmill and cycle ergometer are valid modalities of testing maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) in athletes, the reasoning behind this assumption is largely unknown. Numerous studies have shown significant differences in VO2max between various athletic populations due to the demands of their sport and training habits. As a result of these variances, the question has been raised as to how valid testing results are for different modalities in various athletic populations. Therefore, the purpose of the research project will be to determine the validity of two VO2max testing modalities (treadmill and cycle ergometer) in swimming, running, and cycling populations. The main question this project aims to answer is which modality will provide a better measure of VO2max for swimmers based on the differences between a whole body workout (treadmill) and a region specific workout (cycling). Fifteen healthy, untrained, college-aged participants with experience in running, cycling or swimming took part in the study. Participants were randomized and completed two VO2max tests (treadmill and cycle ergometer) on separate occasions. Results from individual participants testing will be analyzed to determine differences between modalities. Participants will be grouped by history of running, cycling or swimming and then results will be analyzed to determine significant differences between groups. Results from testing are forthcoming

Do employment subsidies reduce early apprenticeship dropout?

We evaluate the effect of the Apprenticeship Bonus, an employment subsidy programme, on early dropout of apprenticeship. Eligibility to the programme is restricted to school leavers who have actively searched for apprenticeship training to start immediately after leaving school, but were unsuccessful in finding a position. Our analysis is based on rich survey data that has been collected specifically for this study. Using this data, we describe the characteristics of school leavers who have searched for apprenticeship positions unsuccessfully directly leaving school and analyse the effect of the subsidy on the risk of apprenticeship dropout. Even though the subsidy provides strong incentives to prevent dropout, we do not find significant effects of the programme. Our finding suggests that financial incentives are not effective in increasing the probability to finish vocational in-firm training successfully

Relating different approaches to nuclear broadening

Transverse momentum broadening of fast partons propagating through a large nucleus is proportional to the average color field strength in the nucleus. In this work, the corresponding coefficient is determined in three different frameworks, namely in the color dipole approach, in the approach of Baier et al. and in the higher twist factorization formalism. This result enables one to use a parametrization of the dipole cross section to estimate the values of the gluon transport coefficient and of the higher twist matrix element, which is relevant for nuclear broadening. A considerable energy dependence of these quantities is found. In addition, numerical calculations are compared to data for nuclear broadening of Drell-Yan dileptons, J/psi and Upsilon mesons. The scale dependence of the strong coupling constant leads to measurable differences between the higher twist approach and the other two formalisms.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures; v2: some changes in presentation, reference added, accepted for publication in PL

Long-Term Effectiveness of Radar Speed Display Signs in a University Environment

Vehicular speeds are of particular interest in areas with a high number of pedestrians due to the fact that 14-percent of all fatal crashes involve pedestrians. This study investigated the effect of a radar speed display sign placed for an extended period of time, at a location frequented by law enforcement on a road segment entering a university campus with a high number of pedestrians and vehicle speed violations. The statistical analysis included a comparison between AM peak, PM peak, and midday speeds collected one year apart. The data suggested that radar speed display signs can remain effective over a long period of time; causing drivers to decelerate when warned of a speeding violation. While other studies have examined long-term impacts of similar technologies, none have included a road entering a University campus. Thus, these findings support that other similar locations entering university campuses could see long-term benefits to stationary radar speed display signs

Searching for Organics Preserved in 4.5 Billion Year Old Salt

Our understanding of early solar system fluids took a dramatic turn a decade ago with the discovery of fluid inclusion-bearing halite (NaCl) crystals in the matrix of two freshly fallen brecciated H chondrite falls, Monahans and Zag. Both meteorites are regolith breccias, and contain xenolithic halite (and minor admixed sylvite -- KCl, crystals in their regolith lithologies. The halites are purple to dark blue, due to the presence of color centers (electrons in anion vacancies) which slowly accumulated as 40K (in sylvite) decayed over billions of years. The halites were dated by K-Ar, Rb-Sr and I-Xe systematics to be 4.5 billion years old. The "blue" halites were a fantastic discovery for the following reasons: (1) Halite+sylvite can be dated (K is in sylvite and will substitute for Na in halite, Rb substitutes in halite for Na, and I substitutes for Cl). (2) The blue color is lost if the halite dissolves on Earth and reprecipitates (because the newly-formed halite has no color centers), so the color serves as a "freshness" or pristinity indicator. (3) Halite frequently contains aqueous fluid inclusions. (4) Halite contains no structural oxygen, carbon or hydrogen, making them ideal materials to measure these isotopic systems in any fluid inclusions. (5) It is possible to directly measure fluid inclusion formation temperatures, and thus directly measure the temperature of the mineralizing aqueous fluid. In addition to these two ordinary chondrites halite grains have been reliably reported in several ureilites, an additional ordinary chondrite (Jilin), and in the carbonaceous chondrite (Murchison), although these reports were unfortunately not taken seriously. We have lately found additional fluid inclusions in carbonates in several additional carbonaceous chondrites. Meteoritic aqueous fluid inclusions are apparently relatively widespread in meteorites, though very small and thus difficult to analyze

Precision Measurement of the Neutron Lifetime

The neutron lifetime plays a critical role in Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) calculations, and measurements of the neutron lifetime can also be used to probe the unitarity of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa quark weak mixing matrix. Most experiments that measure the neutron lifetime fall into two classes: "bottle" and "beam" experiments. A bottle experiment stores neutrons in a bottle and counts the number of neutrons that do not decay. A beam experiment counts the decay products of a beam of neutrons that passes through an electrostatic trap. An unresolved ≈ 4σ difference remains between the current global averages of measurements of the neutron lifetime using the bottle method and measurements using the beam method. This difference is the dominant uncertainty in BBN calculations of the helium mass fraction in the early universe. The UCNτ experiment is a bottle experiment which uses a magneto-gravitational trap to store ultra-cold neutrons (UCN) without any physical interactions between the UCN and the walls of the trap. The UCN that do not decay are counted with an in situ detector that is lowered into the trap. These two features stand in contrast to most past bottle experiments, which had to make significant corrections to the extracted lifetime to account for losses of neutrons due to material interactions with walls and losses while removing the neutrons from the bottle in order to be counted. This thesis will present an analysis of the 2017-2018 UCNτ data set that extracted a value for the neutron lifetime of 877.79 ± 0.27 (stat.) +0.19-0.12 (sys.) s. This measurement has an uncertainty of roughly half of the current global average for the neutron lifetime.</p