The Lockheed OSO-8 program. Analysis of data from the mapping X-ray heliometer experiment

The final report describes the extent of the analysis effort, and other activities associated with the preservation and documentation of the data set are described. The main scientific results, which are related to the behavior of individual solar activity regions in the energy band 1.5 - 15 keV, are summarized, and a complete bibliography of publications and presentations is given. Copies of key articles are also provided

A Combination Theorem for Metric Bundles

We define metric bundles/metric graph bundles which provide a purely topological/coarse-geometric generalization of the notion of trees of metric spaces a la Bestvina-Feighn in the special case that the inclusions of the edge spaces into the vertex spaces are uniform coarsely surjective quasi-isometries. We prove the existence of quasi-isometric sections in this generality. Then we prove a combination theorem for metric (graph) bundles (including exact sequences of groups) that establishes sufficient conditions, particularly flaring, under which the metric bundles are hyperbolic. We use this to give examples of surface bundles over hyperbolic disks, whose universal cover is Gromov-hyperbolic. We also show that in typical situations, flaring is also a necessary condition.Comment: v3: Major revision: 56 pages 5 figures. Many details added. Characterization of convex cocompact subgroups of mapping class groups of surfaces with punctures in terms of relative hyperbolicity given v4: Final version incorporating referee comments: 63 pages 5 figures. To appear in Geom. Funct. Ana

Relative Hyperbolicity, Trees of Spaces and Cannon-Thurston Maps

We prove the existence of continuous boundary extensions (Cannon-Thurston maps) for the inclusion of a vertex space into a tree of (strongly) relatively hyperbolic spaces satisfying the qi-embedded condition. This implies the same result for inclusion of vertex (or edge) subgroups in finite graphs of (strongly) relatively hyperbolic groups. This generalises a result of Bowditch for punctured surfaces in 3 manifolds and a result of Mitra for trees of hyperbolic metric spaces.Comment: 27pgs No figs, v3: final version, incorporating referee's comments, to appear in Geometriae Dedicat

Elevated atmospheric sulfur levels off the Peruvian coast

Elevated levels of non‐sea‐salt sulfate and SO2 in samples collected off the west coast of South America indicate that there is a major source of atmospheric sulfur in the region of southern Peru and northern Chile. During a 1983 cruise, observed concentrations of non‐sea‐salt sulfur, SO2, selenium, arsenic, and antimony were comparable to levels reported for moderately polluted urban air. In contrast, methanesulfonic acid levels were typical of coastal marine air. Clearly, the elevated atmospheric sulfur levels in this region cannot be ascribed to oceanic organosulfur emissions. The major inputs are tentatively attributed to the smelting of sulfide ores which is a major industry in this region. The transport of smelter derived aerosols to this region may have a number of consequences for the atmospheric and oceanic chemistry of the Peruvian upwelling area

Electronic spectroscopy of trans-azomethane by electron impact

The electron impact excitation of trans-azomethane (i.e., trans-dimethyl diazine CH3–N–N–CH3) has been studied by both trapped electron (TE) and differential electron scattering (DES) techniques. The nature of the excited state in each of several transitions has been identified by the energy and angular dependences of the excitation cross section. Two previously unreported singlet-->triplet transitions are observed with maxima at 2.75 and 4.84 eV. Theoretical calculations on the parent compound, trans-diimide (H–N=N–H), suggest that these are the χ 1Ag-->1 3Bg (produced by excitation of an electron from an n + molecular orbital to a pi* molecular orbital) and the χ 1Ag-->1 3Bu (pi-->pi*) transitions, respectively. The χ 1Ag-->1 1Bg (n + -->pi*) transition is observed with a peak at 3.50 eV in the DES studies. A strong peak at 6.01 eV in the TE spectra appears as a weak shoulder in the DES studies and is interpreted as either a symmetry-forbidden or Rydberg-like singlet-->singlet transition. Allowed singlet-->singlet features overlap each other in the transition energy range from 6 to 10 eV. Peaks are seen in the DES spectra at 6.71, 7.8, and 9.5 eV and in the TE spectrum at 8.0 eV. Several significant differences between the TE and the DES spectra are analyzed on the basis of the different nature of the two experiments

Twisted topological structures related to M-branes

Studying the M-branes leads us naturally to new structures that we call Membrane-, Membrane^c-, String^K(Z,3)- and Fivebrane^K(Z,4)-structures, which we show can also have twisted counterparts. We study some of their basic properties, highlight analogies with structures associated with lower levels of the Whitehead tower of the orthogonal group, and demonstrate the relations to M-branes.Comment: 17 pages, title changed on referee's request, minor changes to improve presentation, typos correcte

Acute stress impairs sensorimotor gating via the neurosteroid allopregnanolone in the prefrontal cortex

Ample evidence indicates that environmental stress impairs information processing, yet the underlying mechanisms remain partially elusive. We showed that, in several rodent models of psychopathology, the neurosteroid allopregnanolone (AP) reduces the prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle, a well-validated index of sensorimotor gating. Since this GABAA receptor activator is synthesized in response to acute stress, we hypothesized its participation in stress-induced PPI deficits. Systemic AP administration reduced PPI in C57BL/6J mice and Long-Evans, but not Sprague-Dawley rats. These effects were reversed by isoallopregnanolone (isoAP), an endogenous AP antagonist, and the GABAA receptor antagonist bicuculline and mimicked by AP infusions in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Building on these findings, we tested AP's implication in the PPI deficits produced by several complementary regimens of acute and short-term stress (footshock, restraint, predator exposure, and sleep deprivation). PPI was reduced by acute footshock, sleep deprivation as well as the combination of restraint and predator exposure in a time- and intensity-dependent fashion. Acute stress increased AP concentrations in the mPFC, and its detrimental effects on PPI were countered by systemic and intra-mPFC administration of isoAP. These results collectively indicate that acute stress impairs PPI by increasing AP content in the mPFC. The confirmation of these mechanisms across distinct animal models and several acute stressors strongly supports the translational value of these findings and warrants future research on the role of AP in information processing

On finite Thurston type orderings of braid groups

We prove that for any finite Thurston-type ordering $<_{T}$ on the braid group\ $B_{n}$, the restriction to the positive braid monoid $(B_{n}^{+},<_{T})$ is a\ well-ordered set of order type $\omega^{\omega^{n-2}}$. The proof uses a combi\ natorial description of the ordering $<_{T}$. Our combinatorial description is \ based on a new normal form for positive braids which we call the \C-normal fo\ rm. It can be seen as a generalization of Burckel's normal form and Dehornoy's \ $\Phi$-normal form (alternating normal form).Comment: 25 pages, 2 figures; proof of Theorem 1 is correcte

On the Whitehead spectrum of the circle

The seminal work of Waldhausen, Farrell and Jones, Igusa, and Weiss and Williams shows that the homotopy groups in low degrees of the space of homeomorphisms of a closed Riemannian manifold of negative sectional curvature can be expressed as a functor of the fundamental group of the manifold. To determine this functor, however, it remains to determine the homotopy groups of the topological Whitehead spectrum of the circle. The cyclotomic trace of B okstedt, Hsiang, and Madsen and a theorem of Dundas, in turn, lead to an expression for these homotopy groups in terms of the equivariant homotopy groups of the homotopy fiber of the map from the topological Hochschild T-spectrum of the sphere spectrum to that of the ring of integers induced by the Hurewicz map. We evaluate the latter homotopy groups, and hence, the homotopy groups of the topological Whitehead spectrum of the circle in low degrees. The result extends earlier work by Anderson and Hsiang and by Igusa and complements recent work by Grunewald, Klein, and Macko.Comment: 52 page