Pseudorapidity dependence of anisotropic flows in relativistic heavy-ion collisions

The pseudorapidity dependence of anisotropic flows $v_{1}$, $v_{2}$, $v_{3}$ , and $v_{4}$ of charged hadrons in heavy-ion collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider is studied in a multi-phase transport model. We find that while the string melting scenario, in which hadrons that are expected to be formed from initial strings are converted to their valence quarks and antiquarks, can explain the measured $p_{T}$-dependence of $v_{2}$ and $v_{4}$ of charged hadrons at midrapidity with a parton scattering cross section of about 10 \textrm{mb}, the scenario without string melting reproduces better the recent data on $v_{1}$ and $v_{2}$ of charged hadrons at large pseudorapidity in Au + Au collisions at $\sqrt{s}=200$ AGeV . Our results thus suggest that a partonic matter is formed during early stage of relativistic heavy ion collisions only around midrapidity and that strings remain dominant at large rapidities. The $p_{T}$-dependence of $v_{1}$, $v_{2}$, $v_{3}$ and $v_{4}$ for charged hadrons at forward pseudorapidity is also predicted, and we find that while $v_{1}$ and $v_{2}$ are appreciable at large pseudorapidity the higher-order anisotropic flows $v_{3}$ and $v_{4}$ are essentially zero.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, revised version, to appear in PL

Discovery of Tantalum, Rhenium, Osmium, and Iridium Isotopes

Currently, thirty-eight tantalum, thirty-eight rhenium, thirty-nine osmium, and thirty-eight iridium, isotopes have been observed and the discovery of these isotopes is discussed here. For each isotope a brief synopsis of the first refereed publication, including the production and identification method, is presented.Comment: To be published in At. Data Nucl. Data Table

Search for gravitational waves associated with the InterPlanetary Network short gamma ray bursts

We outline the scientific motivation behind a search for gravitational waves associated with short gamma ray bursts detected by the InterPlanetary Network (IPN) during LIGO's fifth science run and Virgo's first science run. The IPN localisation of short gamma ray bursts is limited to extended error boxes of different shapes and sizes and a search on these error boxes poses a series of challenges for data analysis. We will discuss these challenges and outline the methods to optimise the search over these error boxes.Comment: Methods paper; Proceedings for Eduardo Amaldi 9 Conference on Gravitational Waves, July 2011, Cardiff, U

Swift follow-up observations of candidate gravitational-wave transient events

We present the first multi-wavelength follow-up observations of two candidate gravitational-wave (GW) transient events recorded by LIGO and Virgo in their 2009-2010 science run. The events were selected with low latency by the network of GW detectors and their candidate sky locations were observed by the Swift observatory. Image transient detection was used to analyze the collected electromagnetic data, which were found to be consistent with background. Off-line analysis of the GW data alone has also established that the selected GW events show no evidence of an astrophysical origin; one of them is consistent with background and the other one was a test, part of a "blind injection challenge". With this work we demonstrate the feasibility of rapid follow-ups of GW transients and establish the sensitivity improvement joint electromagnetic and GW observations could bring. This is a first step toward an electromagnetic follow-up program in the regime of routine detections with the advanced GW instruments expected within this decade. In that regime multi-wavelength observations will play a significant role in completing the astrophysical identification of GW sources. We present the methods and results from this first combined analysis and discuss its implications in terms of sensitivity for the present and future instruments.Comment: Submitted for publication 2012 May 25, accepted 2012 October 25, published 2012 November 21, in ApJS, 203, 28 ( http://stacks.iop.org/0067-0049/203/28 ); 14 pages, 3 figures, 6 tables; LIGO-P1100038; Science summary at http://www.ligo.org/science/Publication-S6LVSwift/index.php ; Public access area to figures, tables at https://dcc.ligo.org/cgi-bin/DocDB/ShowDocument?docid=p110003

A First Search for coincident Gravitational Waves and High Energy Neutrinos using LIGO, Virgo and ANTARES data from 2007

We present the results of the first search for gravitational wave bursts associated with high energy neutrinos. Together, these messengers could reveal new, hidden sources that are not observed by conventional photon astronomy, particularly at high energy. Our search uses neutrinos detected by the underwater neutrino telescope ANTARES in its 5 line configuration during the period January - September 2007, which coincided with the fifth and first science runs of LIGO and Virgo, respectively. The LIGO-Virgo data were analysed for candidate gravitational-wave signals coincident in time and direction with the neutrino events. No significant coincident events were observed. We place limits on the density of joint high energy neutrino - gravitational wave emission events in the local universe, and compare them with densities of merger and core-collapse events.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures, science summary page at http://www.ligo.org/science/Publication-S5LV_ANTARES/index.php. Public access area to figures, tables at https://dcc.ligo.org/cgi-bin/DocDB/ShowDocument?docid=p120000

Thoughts on Poverty from a South Asian Rubbish Dump:

Summaries The author reflects on the interlocking circuits of accumulation and consumption that characterise the management of household solid waste or garbage in two South Asian cities. She examines the multiple axes of inequality and interdependence that characterise the social relations of residential waste work. Interactions are explored among household members, and between them and paid waste workers such as domestic workers, sweepers and pickers. The article challenges gender stereotypes of women having a special affinity with the environment, at least in the context of the urban environment and solid waste management. It also rejects any essentialist linking of particular social groups to waste and dirty work, arguing that in the case of both gender and caste relations, association with waste is socially constructed. It is argued that women's responsibility for waste management in the household gender division of labour is mediated by both wealth and poverty. Equally, that particular groups of waste workers have occupational niches in different areas of waste work is mediated by gender and caste?like relations. A case is made for recognising the micro?politics of household and residential solid waste management in policy formulation and planning. The article proposes that this has implications both for effective waste management and for policies concerned to integrate anti?poverty strategies in efforts to improve the managment of urban services

How breakfast happens in the café

In this article I present an ethnographic study of `breakfast in the café', to begin to document the orderly properties of an emergent timespace. In so doing, the aim is to provide a description of the local production of timespace and a consideration of a change to the daily rhythm of city life. Harold Garfinkel and David Sudnow's study of a chemistry lecture is drawn upon as an exemplary study of the collective creation of an event. Attention is drawn to the centrality of sequentiality as part of the orderly properties of occasioned places. As part of examining the sequences I chart the ongoing emergence of features of breakfast time in the café such as `the first customer', `crowded' and `quiet'. In closing the article, I consider how changes in the rhythm of the city are made apprehensible to its residents

Studies in Dhāraṇī Literature II: Pragmatics of Dhāraṇīs

This article is one of a series that reassesses the dhāraṇī texts of Mahāyāna Buddhism. The article seeks to examine dhāraṇī texts by using the linguistic tools of pragmatics, especially historical pragmatics, to assist the understanding of their statements. Rather than the meaning of the term dhāraṇī as a subject term, the domain of truth-conditional semantics, this paper examines statements in texts labelled dhāraṇī. Pragmatics examines meaning in context, and the categories of speech acts developed by Searle has been especially helpful in mapping out differences within such texts and the formalization of statements across texts. The grammaticalization of specific speech elements, especially interjections, in the context of mantra-dhāraṇīs is also discussed