La hojarasca y su descomposición en bosques de castaño de monte alto en el Norte de Portugal

This research aimed to: estimate the inputs of litterfall; model the decomposition process and assess the rates of litter decay and turnover; study the litter decomposition process and dynamics of nutrients in old chestnut high forests. This study aimed to fill a gap in the knowledge of chestnut decomposition process as this type of ecosystems have never been modeled and studied from this point of view in Portugal. The study sites are located in the mountains of Marão, Padrela and Bornes in a west-to-east transect, across northern Portugal, from a more-Atlantic-to-lessmaritime influence. This research was developed on old chestnut high forests for quality timber production submitted to a silviculture management close-to-nature. We collected litterfall using littertraps and studied decomposition of leaf and bur litter by the nylon net bag technique. Simple and double exponential models were used to describe the decomposition of chestnut litterfall incubated in situ during 559 days. The results of the decomposition are discussed in relation to the initial litter quality (C, N, P, K, Ca, Mg) and the decomposition rates. Annually, the mature chestnut high-forest stands (density 360-1,260 tree ha–1, age 55-73 years old) restore 4.9 Mg DM ha–1 of litter and 2.6 Mg ha–1 yr–1 of carbon to the soil. The two-component litter decay model proved to be more biologically realistic, providing a decay rate for the fast initial stage (46-58 yr–1for the leaves and 38-42 yr–1for the burs) and a decay rate related to the recalcitrant pool (0.45-0.60 yr–1for the leaves and 0.22-0.36 yr–1for the burs). This study pointed to some decay patterns and release of bioelements by the litterfall which can be useful for calibrating existing models and indicators of sustainability to improve both silvicultural and environmental approaches for the management of chestnut forests.Esta investigación tuvo como objetivo calcular los aportes de hojarasca; modelar el proceso de descomposición y evaluar las tasas de descomposición de la hojarasca y el turnover; estudiar el proceso de descomposición de la hojarasca y la dinámica de nutrientes en bosques de castaños de monte alto. Asimismo, se quiso llenar un vacío en el conocimiento del proceso de descomposición del castaño ya que este tipo de ecosistemas no han sido modelados y estudiados desde este punto de vista en Portugal. El estudio se realizó en las montañas de Marão, Padrela y Bornes situados en un transepto que va de oeste a este, en el norte de Portugal, de mayor a menor influencia Atlántica. La investigación se desarrolló en bosques de castaños antiguos dedicados a la producción de madera de calidad sometida a una gestión silvícola cercana a la naturaleza. Se emplearon colectores de hojarasca y se estudió la descomposición de hojarasca y erizos mediante el empleo de bolsas de red de nylon. Para describir la descomposición de hojarasca del castaño mediante la incubación in situ durante 559 días se utilizaron modelos exponenciales simple y doble. Los resultados de la descomposición se discuten en relación a la calidad de la hojarasca inicial (C, N, P, K, Ca, Mg) y las tasas de descomposición. Anualmente, las masas de castaño (densidad 360-1.260 árboles ha–1, edad 55-73 años) producen 4,9 Mg DM ha–1 de hojarasca al suelo y 2,6 Mg ha–1 año–1 de carbono. El modelo exponencial doble de descomposición de hojarasca demostró ser biológicamente más realista, con una tasa de descomposición para la fracción lábil (46-58 años–1 para las hojas y 38-42 años–1 para los erizos) y una tasa de descomposición para la fracción recalcitrante (0,45-0,60 años–1 para las hojas y 0,22-0,36 años–1 para los erizos). Los resultados obtenidos mostraron la existencia de patrones de descomposición y liberación de los bioelementos de la hojarasca que pueden ser útiles para la calibración de los modelos existentes y indicadores de sostenibilidad que permitan mejorar los enfoques silvícolas y medioambientales de cara a una gestión sostenible de los bosques de castaño

Towards a Linear-Scaling DFT Technique: The Density Matrix Approach

A recently proposed linear-scaling scheme for density-functional pseudopotential calculations is described in detail. The method is based on a formulation of density functional theory in which the ground state energy is determined by minimization with respect to the density matrix, subject to the condition that the eigenvalues of the latter lie in the range [0,1]. Linear-scaling behavior is achieved by requiring that the density matrix should vanish when the separation of its arguments exceeds a chosen cutoff. The limitation on the eigenvalue range is imposed by the method of Li, Nunes and Vanderbilt. The scheme is implemented by calculating all terms in the energy on a uniform real-space grid, and minimization is performed using the conjugate-gradient method. Tests on a 512-atom Si system show that the total energy converges rapidly as the range of the density matrix is increased. A discussion of the relation between the present method and other linear-scaling methods is given, and some problems that still require solution are indicated.Comment: REVTeX file, 27 pages with 4 uuencoded postscript figure

Basis Functions for Linear-Scaling First-Principles Calculations

In the framework of a recently reported linear-scaling method for density-functional-pseudopotential calculations, we investigate the use of localized basis functions for such work. We propose a basis set in which each local orbital is represented in terms of an array of `blip functions'' on the points of a grid. We analyze the relation between blip-function basis sets and the plane-wave basis used in standard pseudopotential methods, derive criteria for the approximate equivalence of the two, and describe practical tests of these criteria. Techniques are presented for using blip-function basis sets in linear-scaling calculations, and numerical tests of these techniques are reported for Si crystal using both local and non-local pseudopotentials. We find rapid convergence of the total energy to the values given by standard plane-wave calculations as the radius of the linear-scaling localized orbitals is increased.Comment: revtex file, with two encapsulated postscript figures, uses epsf.sty, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Measurement of the polarisation of W bosons produced with large transverse momentum in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS experiment

This paper describes an analysis of the angular distribution of W->enu and W->munu decays, using data from pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2010, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 35 pb^-1. Using the decay lepton transverse momentum and the missing transverse energy, the W decay angular distribution projected onto the transverse plane is obtained and analysed in terms of helicity fractions f0, fL and fR over two ranges of W transverse momentum (ptw): 35 < ptw < 50 GeV and ptw > 50 GeV. Good agreement is found with theoretical predictions. For ptw > 50 GeV, the values of f0 and fL-fR, averaged over charge and lepton flavour, are measured to be : f0 = 0.127 +/- 0.030 +/- 0.108 and fL-fR = 0.252 +/- 0.017 +/- 0.030, where the first uncertainties are statistical, and the second include all systematic effects.Comment: 19 pages plus author list (34 pages total), 9 figures, 11 tables, revised author list, matches European Journal of Physics C versio

Observation of a new chi_b state in radiative transitions to Upsilon(1S) and Upsilon(2S) at ATLAS

The chi_b(nP) quarkonium states are produced in proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV and recorded by the ATLAS detector. Using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.4 fb^-1, these states are reconstructed through their radiative decays to Upsilon(1S,2S) with Upsilon->mu+mu-. In addition to the mass peaks corresponding to the decay modes chi_b(1P,2P)->Upsilon(1S)gamma, a new structure centered at a mass of 10.530+/-0.005 (stat.)+/-0.009 (syst.) GeV is also observed, in both the Upsilon(1S)gamma and Upsilon(2S)gamma decay modes. This is interpreted as the chi_b(3P) system.Comment: 5 pages plus author list (18 pages total), 2 figures, 1 table, corrected author list, matches final version in Physical Review Letter

Search for displaced vertices arising from decays of new heavy particles in 7 TeV pp collisions at ATLAS

We present the results of a search for new, heavy particles that decay at a significant distance from their production point into a final state containing charged hadrons in association with a high-momentum muon. The search is conducted in a pp-collision data sample with a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV and an integrated luminosity of 33 pb^-1 collected in 2010 by the ATLAS detector operating at the Large Hadron Collider. Production of such particles is expected in various scenarios of physics beyond the standard model. We observe no signal and place limits on the production cross-section of supersymmetric particles in an R-parity-violating scenario as a function of the neutralino lifetime. Limits are presented for different squark and neutralino masses, enabling extension of the limits to a variety of other models.Comment: 8 pages plus author list (20 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version to appear in Physics Letters

Measurement of the inclusive isolated prompt photon cross-section in pp collisions at sqrt(s)= 7 TeV using 35 pb-1 of ATLAS data

A measurement of the differential cross-section for the inclusive production of isolated prompt photons in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy sqrt(s) = 7 TeV is presented. The measurement covers the pseudorapidity ranges |eta|<1.37 and 1.52<=|eta|<2.37 in the transverse energy range 45<=E_T<400GeV. The results are based on an integrated luminosity of 35 pb-1, collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The yields of the signal photons are measured using a data-driven technique, based on the observed distribution of the hadronic energy in a narrow cone around the photon candidate and the photon selection criteria. The results are compared with next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations and found to be in good agreement over four orders of magnitude in cross-section.Comment: 7 pages plus author list (18 pages total), 2 figures, 4 tables, final version published in Physics Letters

Search for direct production of charginos and neutralinos in events with three leptons and missing transverse momentum in √s = 7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three electrons or muons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is based on 4.7 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations in three signal regions that are either depleted or enriched in Z-boson decays. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set in R-parity conserving phenomenological minimal supersymmetric models and in simplified models, significantly extending previous results