Photoproduction of K Sigma(1385) from the nucleon

The reactions of $K \Sigma(1385)$ photoproduction, i.e., $\gamma p \to K^+ \Sigma^0(1385)$ and $\gamma n \to K^+ \Sigma^-(1385)$, are investigated in the resonance energy region for studying the role of the nucleon and $\Delta$ resonances of masses around 2 GeV. The Lagrangians for describing the decays of these resonances into the $K \Sigma(1385)$ channel are constructed and the decay amplitudes are obtained, which allows us to determine the coupling constants using the predictions of quark models or the data listed by the Particle Data Group. The resulting cross sections are compared to the data from the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility and the SPring-8, which indicates nontrivial contributions from the two-star-rated resonances in the Particle Data Group as well as from some missing resonances predicted by a quark model.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, talk given at 12th International Conference on Meson-Nucleon Physics and the Structure of the Nucleon (MENU 2010), Williamsburg, Virginia, 31 May - 4 Jun 201

The evaluation of effectiveness of school-based small group mentoring system : Discovery Scholars Program at UT Austin

Previous studies have found that students’ college experiences differ vastly depending on their socioeconomic status (SES), not only in their academic achievement (Chen & Carroll, 2005; Harackiewicz et al., 2014), but also in the wholesome process of the college experience, including college preparation and socio-cultural practices while at college (Engle & Tinto, 2008; Merritt, 2008). The present study examines the effectiveness of a small-group mentoring program, Discovery Scholars Program, targeted for students identified as at-risk due to SES and lower entrance scores at the University of Texas at Austin. Through exploring the survey data collected as part of the program, the current study explored the following research questions: 1) Did the students engage in and benefit from DSP events and feel supported by the DSP groups? 2) Did the DSP program help students develop academic skills necessary for college life? 3) Did the DSP program help students feel more comfortable and confident as a part of the UT community? The results showed that, while more long-term goals of the program were difficult to measure, the program succeeded in helping students develop social support groups and academic skills that aided in their adjustment process to college.Educational Psycholog

On nonlinear Schr\"odinger equations with almost periodic initial data

We consider the Cauchy problem of nonlinear Schr\"odinger equations (NLS) with almost periodic functions as initial data. We first prove that, given a frequency set $\pmb{\omega} =\{\omega_j\}_{j = 1}^\infty$, NLS is local well-posed in the algebra $\mathcal{A}_{\pmb{\omega}}(\mathbb R)$ of almost periodic functions with absolutely convergent Fourier series. Then, we prove a finite time blowup result for NLS with a nonlinearity $|u|^p$, $p \in 2\mathbb{N}$. This elementary argument presents the first instance of finite time blowup solutions to NLS with generic almost periodic initial data.Comment: 18 pages. References updated. To appear in SIAM J. Math. Ana

Dynamics on geometrically finite hyperbolic manifolds with applications to Apollonian circle packings and beyond

We present recent results on counting and distribution of circles in a given circle packing invariant under a geometrically finite Kleinian group and discuss how the dynamics of flows on geometrically finite hyperbolic $3$ manifolds are related. Our results apply to Apollonian circle packings, Sierpinski curves, Schottky dances, etc.Comment: To appear in the Proceedings of ICM, 201