Lessons of Election 2000

Many people believe that Election 2000 proved only how divided the nation is over politics and policy. In contrast, this study draws six lessons from Election 2000. Congress should set up a commission to recommend changes in the electoral system; the states should have the choice of accepting the reforms and the obligation to pay for them. The Electoral College should be preserved. The framers designed the Electoral College to limit arbitrary power. Abolishing the Electoral College would weaken the states and damage federalism. The United States is a consitutional republic, not a regime based on "the will of the people." Several politicians have appealed to the will of the people in the Florida struggle. The will of the people is a concept alien to the American political tradition of limited constitutional government. Underlying public attitudes strongly supported limited government in Election 2000. Both the platforms of the candidates and public opinion polls indicate that the public's skepticism about government remains high. Campaign spending enhanced turnout and participation in Election 2000. Both the NAACP and unions spent lavishly on getting out the vote. If campaign spending is restricted, turnout will fall, contrary to the professed desire of advocates of capaign finance restrictions. Congress should not hold hearings about media mistakes. Any punishment for errors or bias by the networks on election night should be left to public opinion

Heavy MSSM Higgs production at the LHC and decays to WW,ZZ at higher orders

In this paper we discuss the production of a heavy scalar MSSM Higgs boson H and its subsequent decays into pairs of electroweak gauge bosons WW and ZZ. We perform a scan over the relevant MSSM parameters, using constraints from direct Higgs searches and several low-energy observables. We then compare the possible size of the pp -> H -> WW,ZZ cross sections with corresponding Standard Model cross sections. We also include the full MSSM vertex corrections to the H -> WW,ZZ decay and combine them with the Higgs propagator corrections, paying special attention to the IR-divergent contributions. We find that the vertex corrections can be as large as -30% in MSSM parameter space regions which are currently probed by Higgs searches at the LHC. Once the sensitivity of these searches reaches two percent of the SM signal strength the vertex corrections can be numerically as important as the leading order and Higgs self-energy corrections and have to be considered when setting limits on MSSM parameters

VLA observations of 6-cm excited OH

The VLA was used to determine precise positions for 4765-MHz OH maser emission sources toward star-forming regions which had been observed about seven months earlier with the Effelsberg 100-meter telescope. The observations were successful for K3-50, DR21EX, W75N, and W49A. No line was detected toward S255: this line had decreased to less than 5 per cent of the flux density observed only seven months earlier. The time-variability of the observed features during the past 30 years is summarised. In addition, to compare with the Effelsberg observations, the 4750-MHz and 4660-MHz lines were observed in W49A. These lines were found to originate primarily from an extended region which is distinguished as an exceptional collection of compact continuum components as well as by being the dynamical centre of the very powerful H_2 O outflow.Comment: 11 pages, will require MN style file to process. MNRAS, accepted Oct 15, 200

Observations of formaldehyde and search for cyanoacetylene in Comet Brorsen-Metcalf (1989o)

The Very Large Array (VLA) was used in September 1989 to search Comet P/Brorsen-Metcalf (1989o) for the 1 sub 11-1 sub 10 transition of formaldehyde (H2CO) at 4,829.659 MHz and for the J equals 1-0, F equals 2-1 rotational transition of cyanoacetylene (HC3N) at 9098.3321 MHz. A new technique was used in reducing the data. Data blocks which were either 3x3 pixels, 5x5 pixels, or 9x9 pixels were examined for a signal from H2CO. Using this approach, different pixel clusters within the field of view can be sampled to optimize the coupling of the synthesized beam to the gas distribution. HC3N is of immediate interest as a cometary molecule because it may be a reservoir of carbon and a source of cometary CN. Our search for HC3N emission at 3.3 cm wavelength demonstrated that for this molecule the VLA can be expected to reach significant levels of sensitivity in many comets

Radar interferometric studies of comets

Our objectives are to use radio interferometry to study composition, velocity distribution, maser excitation, and plasma interactions of cometary gas. Two new cometary chemistry programs were started with radio interferometers: (1) the VLA used to search for HC3N emission from Comet Brorsen-Metcalf at 3.3 cm wavelength; and (2) the BIMA millimeter array used to observe Comet Austin in HCN

Interferometric molecular line observations of W51

Observations are presented of the H II region complex in W51 made with a mm interferometer. W51 is a region of massive star formation approx. 7 kpc distant from the sun. This region has been well studied in both the IR and submillimeter, the radio, as well as the maser transitions. These previous observations have revealed three regions of interest: (1) W51MAIN, a know of bright maser emission near two compact H II regions W51e1 and W51e2 (W51MAIN is also the peak of the 400 micron emission indicating that the bulk of the mass is centered there; (2) W51IRS1 is a long curving structure seen at 20 micron and at 2 and 6 cm but not at 400 micron; (3) W51IRS2 (also known as W51NORTH) is another compact H II region slightly offset from an 8 and a 20 micron peak and a collection of masers. Some conclusions are as follows: (1) SO and H(13)CN emission are similar and coincide with outflow activity; (2) HCO+ spectra show evidence for overall collapse of the W51 cloud toward W51MAIN; (3) A previously undetected continuum peak, W51DUST, coincides with the molecular peak H(13)CN-4; and (4) Dust emission at 3.4 mm reveals that about half of the 400 micron emission comes from the ultracompact H II region e2, and the rest from W51e1 and W51DUST