Antisymmetric tensor contribution to the muon g-2

We investigate the Kalb-Ramond antisymmetric tensor field as solution to the muon $g-2$ problem. In particular we calculate the lowest-order Kalb-Ramond contribution to the muon anomalous magnetic moment and find that we can fit the new experimental value for the anomaly by adjusting the coupling without affecting the electron anomalous magnetic moment results.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figur

Tensor-Scalar Torsion

A theory of gravity with torsion is examined in which the torsion tensor is constructed from the exterior derivative of an antisymmetric rank two potential plus the dual of the gradient of a scalar field. Field equations for the theory are derived by demanding that the action be stationary under variations with respect to the metric, the antisymmetric potential, and the scalar field. A material action is introduced and the equations of motion are derived. The correct conservation law for rotational angular momentum plus spin is observed to hold in this theory.Comment: 10 pages, LaTeX, Mod. Phys. Lett. A accepte

Strings in gravity with torsion

A theory of gravitation in 4D is presented with strings used in the material action in $U_4$ spacetime. It is shown that the string naturally gives rise to torsion. It is also shown that the equation of motion a string follows from the Bianchi identity, gives the identical result as the Noether conservation laws, and follows a geodesic only in the lowest order approximation. In addition, the conservation laws show that strings naturally have spin, which arises not from their motion but from their one dimensional structure.Comment: 16 page

Ride quality systems for commuter aircraft

The state-of-the-art in Active Ride Augmentation, specifically in terms of its feasibility for commuter aircraft applications. A literature survey was done, and the principal results are presented here through discussion of different Ride Quality Augmentation System (RQAS) designs and advances in related technologies. Recommended follow-on research areas are discussed, and a preliminary RQAS configuration for detailed design and development is proposed

Covariance analysis of the airborne laser ranging system

The requirements and limitations of employing an airborne laser ranging system for detecting crustal shifts of the Earth within centimeters over a region of approximately 200 by 400 km are presented. The system consists of an aircraft which flies over a grid of ground deployed retroreflectors, making six passes over the grid at two different altitudes. The retroreflector baseline errors are assumed to result from measurement noise, a priori errors on the aircraft and retroreflector positions, tropospheric refraction, and sensor biases

Advocacy Journalism, the Politics of Humanitarian Intervention and the Syrian War

Since 2011, the international media have done much to highlight the suffering of civilians in the on-going war in Syria, through innovative forms of reporting such as VR journalism and news games. However, by the end of 2016, questions were being raised about a number of high-profile news stories, such as the use of chemical weapons, the role of the ‘White Helmets’ relief workers and the bombing of Aleppo and other cities. Amid the claims and counter- claims of propaganda and ‘fake news’, news audiences glimpsed shifting and clashing explanatory framings of the Syrian war. A conflict that had initially been understood against the background of the ‘Arab Spring’ began to be seen as complicated by sectarian religious tensions, the rise of Islamic State, opaque factional and regional alliances, and international tensions reminiscent of the Cold War. An imperative to establish a moral framework for the story seemed to preclude more complex and searching questions about the motivations and actions of local and international actors

Effects of a torsion field on Big Bang nucleosynthesis

In this paper it is investigated whether torsion, which arises naturally in most theories of quantum gravity, has observable implications for the Big Bang nucleosynthesis. Torsion can lead to spin flips amongst neutrinos thus turning them into sterile neutrinos. In the early Universe they can alter the helium abundance which is tightly constrained by observations. Here I calculate to what extent torsion of the string theory type leads to a disagreement with the Big Bang nucleosynthesis predictions.Comment: accepted by General Relativity and Gravitatio

Design of a digital ride quality augmentation system for commuter aircraft

Commuter aircraft typically have low wing loadings, and fly at low altitudes, and so they are susceptible to undesirable accelerations caused by random atmospheric turbulence. Larger commercial aircraft typically have higher wing loadings and fly at altitudes where the turbulence level is lower, and so they provide smoother rides. This project was initiated based on the goal of making the ride of the commuter aircraft as smooth as the ride experienced on the major commercial airliners. The objectives of this project were to design a digital, longitudinal mode ride quality augmentation system (RQAS) for a commuter aircraft, and to investigate the effect of selected parameters on those designs

Optimising the analysis of transcript data using high density oligonucleotide arrays and genomic DNA-based probe selection

Background: Affymetrix GeneChip arrays are widely used for transcriptomic studies in a diverse range of species. Each gene is represented on a GeneChip array by a probe-set, consisting of up to 16 probe-pairs. Signal intensities across probe-pairs within a probe-set vary in part due to different physical hybridisation characteristics of individual probes with their target labelled transcripts. We have previously developed a technique to study the transcriptomes of heterologous species based on hybridising genomic DNA (gDNA) to a GeneChip array designed for a different species, and subsequently using only those probes with good homology. Results: Here we have investigated the effects of hybridising homologous species gDNA to study the transcriptomes of species for which the arrays have been designed. Genomic DNA from Arabidopsis thaliana and rice (Oryza sativa) were hybridised to the Affymetrix Arabidopsis ATH1 and Rice Genome GeneChip arrays respectively. Probe selection based on gDNA hybridisation intensity increased the number of genes identified as significantly differentially expressed in two published studies of Arabidopsis development, and optimised the analysis of technical replicates obtained from pooled samples of RNA from rice. Conclusion: This mixed physical and bioinformatics approach can be used to optimise estimates of gene expression when using GeneChip arrays

Experimental and numerical study of error fields in the CNT stellarator

Sources of error fields were indirectly inferred in a stellarator by reconciling computed and numerical flux surfaces. Sources considered so far include the displacements and tilts (but not the deformations, yet) of the four circular coils featured in the simple CNT stellarator. The flux surfaces were measured by means of an electron beam and phosphor rod, and were computed by means of a Biot-Savart field-line tracing code. If the ideal coil locations and orientations are used in the computation, agreement with measurements is poor. Discrepancies are ascribed to errors in the positioning and orientation of the in-vessel interlocked coils. To that end, an iterative numerical method was developed. A Newton-Raphson algorithm searches for the coils' displacements and tilts that minimize the discrepancy between the measured and computed flux surfaces. This method was verified by misplacing and tilting the coils in a numerical model of CNT, calculating the flux surfaces that they generated, and testing the algorithm's ability to deduce the coils' displacements and tilts. Subsequently, the numerical method was applied to the experimental data, arriving at a set of coil displacements whose resulting field errors exhibited significantly improved quantitative and qualitative agreement with experimental results.Comment: Special Issue on the 20th International Stellarator-Heliotron Worksho