Leading large-x logarithms of the quark-gluon contributions to inclusive Higgs-boson and lepton-pair production

We present all-order expressions for the leading double-logarithmic threshold contributions to the quark-gluon coefficient functions for inclusive Higgs-boson production in the heavy top-quark limit and for Drell-Yan lepton-pair production. These results have been derived using the structure of the unfactorized cross sections in dimensional regularization and the large-x resummation of the gluon-quark and quark-gluon splitting functions. The resummed coefficient functions, which are identical up to colour factor replacements, are similar to their counterparts in deep-inelastic scattering but slightly more complicated.Comment: 8 pages, LaTeX, 1 figure (.eps). DESY address until 31 August 201

On the next-to-next-to-leading order QCD corrections to heavy-quark production in deep-inelastic scattering

The contribution of quarks with masses m >> Lambda_QCD is the only part of the structure functions in deep-inelastic scattering (DIS) which is not yet known at the next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) of perturbative QCD. We present improved partial NNLO results for the most important structure function F_2(x,Q^2) near the partonic threshold, in the high-energy (small-x) limit and at high scales Q^2 >> m^2; and employ these results to construct approximations for the gluon and quark coefficient functions which cover the full kinematic plane. The approximation uncertainties are carefully investigated, and found to be large only at very small values, x smaller about 10^-3, of the Bjorken variable.Comment: 62 pages, LaTeX, 13 figures. Erratum for eq.(B.7

Thermo-rheological analysis of WMA-additive modified binders

Thermo-rheological characteristics of unmodified and modified bitumen have significant impacts on the mechanical response of asphalt. This study investigates the impacts of an organic and a chemical Warm Mix Asphalt additive on bitumen thermo-rheological and mechanical characteristics. Modified binders with different concentrations of each additive were studied and analysed comparatively to a 40/60 penetration grade bitumen. Frequency sweep tests were performed at different ageing levels to characterise the Linear Viscoelastic properties. The multiple stress creep and recovery, linear amplitude sweep (LAS) and low temperature creep stiffness tests, together with the Glover–Rowe (G–R) fatigue parameter (determined from fitting of the 2S2P1D model to the complex shear modulus and phase angle master curves) were used to analyse the performance of the binders at critical operating temperatures. The results demonstrated the necessity to analyse the behavior of the studied binders beyond the limits of linear viscoelasticity to better characterise these types of bitumen. The results also indicated that both additives retarded bitumen ageing with the organic additive increasing bitumen elastic response while the chemical additive increased its viscous response. The results also showed an excellent correlation between the G–R parameter and LAS results which suggests the ability to use this parameter in characterising fatigue performance of the studied binders. This also suggests that bitumen fatigue life may be improving over time due to the increased elastic behahviour during ageing so long as a certain critical level of ageing is not reached

Low Power Front End for the Optical Module of a Neutrino Underwater Telescope

A proposal for a new system to capture signals in the Optical Module (OM) of an underwater neutrino telescope is described. It concentrates on the problem of power consumption and time precision. In particular, a solution for the interface between the photomultiplier (PMT) and the front-end electronics is presented

Reclaimed asphalt test specimen preparation assisted by image analysis

This paper presents a laboratory investigation aimed at establishing a protocol for the production of homogeneous asphalt mixtures test specimens, incorporating reclaimed asphalt by using a gyratory compactor with coring and trimming works. Stone mastic asphalt specimens were compacted at the previously identified target densities with the final aim of obtaining specimens with a fixed and homogeneous air void distribution. A microstructural study was conducted to characterize the homogeneity in the air void distribution using X-ray computed tomography (CT) combined with image analysis techniques. The study concluded that the gyratory compactor is suitable for producing homogeneous test specimens for the specified mixtures and a set of detailed procedures has been proposed for the production of the compacted specimens and to perform the microstructural study

Proposal, development and test of an analog front-end electronic board for Nemo telescope

The NEMO collaboration is involved in the R&D of the main technologies for the project of a km3 scale underwater neutrino telescope. The proposed detector is made up of thousands of Optical Modules (hereafter OM), spread over the entire volume for Cˇ erenkov light detection. Each OMis equipped with a photo multiplier tube (PMT) and an electronic circuit for data acquisition and transmission (DAQ-Board). This work points out the possible benefits of a hybrid solution based on an analog ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) employed for the analog signal acquisition and an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), a digital programmable IC (Integrated Circuit) which performs the data acquisition and the data transmission

Evaluation of Load transfer in rigid pavements by Rolling wheel deflectometer and Falling weight deflectometer

Rigid pavements have widespread use, e.g, in motorways and airports, due to their excellent properties such as high bearing capacity and long lifetime. However, when rigid pavements fail it is often due to bad load transfer efficiency (LTE) at its joints. Traditional methods of measuring LTE can be time consuming. Here, we study the possibility of measuring LTE using a moving load with the aim of achieving higher productivity. An experiment simulating Rolling Weight Deflectometer (RWD) measurements on a joint was carried out to gain understanding and confidence that can guide the analysis of real RWD data. Continuous data from measurements across a joint allows for determination of not only the LTE but also additional parameters characterizing the pavement and the joint. A semi-analytical model was implemented for simulating the pavement response next to a joint and used for interpretation and verification of the experimental data. The results show promise for the use of moving loads for rapid evaluation of joints

Pentagon functions for massless planar scattering amplitudes

Loop amplitudes for massless five particle scattering processes contain Feynman integrals depending on the external momentum invariants: pentagon functions. We perform a detailed study of the analyticity properties and cut structure of these functions up to two loops in the planar case, where we classify and identify the minimal set of basis functions. They are computed from the canonical form of their differential equations and expressed in terms of generalized polylogarithms, or alternatively as one-dimensional integrals. We present analytical expressions and numerical evaluation routines for these pentagon functions, in all kinematical configurations relevant to five-particle scattering processes

Laboratory mix design of asphalt mixture containing reclaimed material

This paper presents a study on the production of asphalt test specimens in the laboratory containing reclaimed asphalt. The mixtures considered were stone mastic asphalt concrete mixtures containing up to 30% of reclaimed asphalt. Specimens were compacted to the reference density obtained from the Marshall mix design. Gyration compaction method was used for preparing specimens for the experimental programme, while coring and cutting methods and X-ray computed tomography (CT) were used to investigate the change in properties within the specimens and to validate the selected methodology.The study concluded that gyratory compaction is suitable to produce homogeneous test specimens also for mixtures containing high amount of reclaimed asphalt. Nevertheless, preliminary trials for each material are mandatory, as well as final coring and trimming of the specimens due to side effects