Heavy Quark Symmetry Predictions for Weakly Bound B-Meson Molecules

Recently the Belle collaboration discovered two resonances, Zb(10610) and Zb(10650), that lie very close to the B\bar{B}^* and B^*\bar{B}^* thresholds, respectively. It is natural to suppose that these are molecular states of bottom and anti-bottom mesons. Under this assumption, we introduce an effective field theory for the Zb(10610) and Zb(10650), as well as similar unobserved states that are expected on the basis of heavy quark spin symmetry. The molecules are assumed to arise from short-range interactions that respect heavy quark spin symmetry. We use the theory to calculate line shapes in the vicinity of B^{(*)}\bar{B}^{(*)} thresholds as well as two-body decay rates of the new bottom meson bound states. We derive new heavy quark spin symmetry predictions for the parameters appearing in the line shapes as well as the total and partial widths of the states.Comment: 17 pages, 2 figure

George Berkeley\u27s idealism: an examination of the idealist metaphysics and its connection to philosophy of mind

The prominent 18th century empirical philosopher George Berkeley espoused a philosophy known as “idealism.” This thesis aims to show that George Berkeley’s idealism is a formidable player in philosophy of mind. The present research unfolds his arguments for idealism as they appear in A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge, turning at several points to The Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous for clarification. This research further explores the fundamentals of idealism in light of philosophy of mind, highlighting idealism’s intrinsic connection to this discipline. While this work is far from exhaustive, it provides the reader with essential information on Berkeley’s idealism and proves its worth as a philosophy in today’s world

THE PERSONAL AND SOCIAL CONTEXT OF JUSTINIANIC RELIGIOUS POLICY PRIOR TO THE THREE CHAPTERS CONTROVERSY

The emperor Justinian\u27s religious policy has sometimes been characterized as haphazard or incoherent. This dissertation examines religious policy in the Roman Empire from the accession of the emperor Justin to the inception of the Three Chapters controversy in the mid 540\u27s AD. It considers the resolution of the Acacian Schism, Justinian\u27s apparent ambivalence with regard to the Theopaschite formula, the attempt to court the anti-Chalcedonians in Constantinople in the period leading up to the Council of 536, and the relationship between the genesis of the Three Chapters and Second Origenist controversies. Even during these seemingly disparate episodes, this dissertation argues that it is possible to account for the apparent incoherence of this period. To do so, we create an account which includes and appreciates the embeddedness of imperial policy within a social context with two key features. First, we must bear in mind the shifting interests and information available to the individual agents through and over whom the emperor hoped to project influence. Second, we must identify the shifting and hardening symbolic and social boundaries established through the interactions of these same, competing agents. These form the basis for in- and out-group categorization. The individual interests of individual people—whether Justinian, Vitalian, Dioscorus, Leontius, Eusebius, Theodore Askidas, or Pelagius—within complex networks must always be accounted for to give a complete picture. When this social context is accounted for, Justinian\u27s approach appears as that of a rational actor, having incomplete information, with consistent policy goals, working within inconsistent constraints to achieve those goals

Measuring monopole and dipole polarizability of acoustic meta-atoms

We present a method to extract monopole and dipole polarizability from experimental measurements of two-dimensional acoustic meta-atoms. In contrast to extraction from numerical results, this enables all second-order effects and uncertainties in material properties to be accounted for. We apply the technique to 3D-printed labyrinthine meta-atoms of a variety of geometries. We show that the polarizability of structures with shorter acoustic path length agrees well with numerical results. However, those with longer path lengths suffer strong additional damping, which we attribute to the strong viscous and thermal losses in narrow channels

The Aesthetics of Impersonation and Depersonalization: Samuel Beckett and Philip Roth

This essay begins by considering an obvious point of difference between the work of Samuel Beckett and Philip Roth. In view of its tendency to present anonymous voices and body parts, Beckett’s writing is frequently seen to explore the erosion of personhood. Roth’s concern with the secret lives of his characters, by contrast, means that he is often considered to be more concerned with impersonation than depersonalization. While accepting the general validity of this view, the essay complicates it. Through readings of works such as The Breast, Sabbath’s Theater, The Humbling, Molloy, and Not I, it argues that a close comparison of the two writers can reveal the central role that depersonalization plays in Roth’s writing and also the stubbornness of personhood in Beckett’s

Gertrude Stein, Samuel Beckett and the Aesthetics of Inattention

Drawing on the ideas of Jonathan Crary, this article positions Gertrude Stein and Beckett as part of a wider investigation of inattention in twentieth-century culture. Considering first the psychological experiments of Stein, and then Beckett’s theatre of the 1970s, the article argues for the importance to literary modernism of language that is not perceived, or only dimly perceived, and exists on the fringes and peripheries of a perceptual field

Perception, Attention, Imagery: Samuel Beckett and the Psychological Experiment

Samuel Beckett is often thought of as an experimental writer but little critical attention has been paid to the question of what the term ‘experimental’ means when applied to Beckett’s work (and arguably literature in general). One might suggest that to call Beckett an experimental writer is to identify him as a member of the avant-garde, placing his writing in opposition to more commercially-orientated, ‘mainstream’ works of literature. Alternatively, the term might be taken to highlight Beckett’s formal innovations – his capacity to change conceptions of what literature is and does. This study, though, will specify another way in which we might understand Beckett’s writing to be experimental. Drawing on Beckett’s engagement with experimental and therapeutic psychology, the study suggests that Beckett’s works might be seen as experiments in a more scientific sense. Through readings of his later works for page, stage and screen, the chapters of this study suggest that Beckett’s writing can contribute to our knowledge of psychological concepts such as perception, attention and mental imagery. Beckett’s works, I argue, might be defined as experimental insofar as they position and stimulate human bodies in ways that allow us to better understand our complex, but partial, experiences of the world

Degradation by Free Chlorine of Aromatic Polyamide Active Layers of Thin-Film Composite Membranes

Polyamide-based thin-film composite membranes are the current technology of choice to meet the growing demand for drinking water desalination applications. One significant drawback to the use of this class of membranes is the high sensitivity of their polyamide active layer to oxidation by free chlorine. The current understanding of the mechanisms of chlorine uptake and eventual polymer degradation that lead to membrane failure has been gained mostly through the quantitative study of the effects of chlorination on molecular model polyamide compounds and membrane surfaces (top~5nm) with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), as well as through qualitative analyses of chlorinated membrane samples with attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transformed infrared (ATR-FTIR)spectroscopy. The physico-chemical changes induced by chlorination within the bulk of the active layer, however, have not been characterized by means other than ATR-FTIR, and therefore it has not been confirmed in the literature that the physico-chemical changes observed at the membrane surface are representative of the volume-averaged changes in the active layer, and that the mechanisms that have been proposed as leading to membrane failure based on studies with model compounds are consistent with observations for the bulk region of the active layer. Accordingly, we exposed a polyamide thin-film composite membrane to free chlorine at a range of concentrations, exposure times and pH values and quantified in situ the volume-averaged kinetics of chlorine uptake and resulting de-polymerization of the polyamide active layer. We performed volume-averaged measurements for the membrane active layer using Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) as an analytical technique. Our results indicate that the trends observed for the kinetics of chlorine uptake into the bulk region of the active layer are mostly consistent with the corresponding trends reported in the literature for chlorine uptake into the active layer surface. Our results also show that consistent with mechanisms proposed in the literature based on studies with model compounds, chlorine uptake into the bulk region of the active layer can be explained by chlorination of the amidic nitrogen by hypochlorous acid at all pH conditions and ring chlorination. Analysis of chlorine uptake results at acidic conditions indicates that ring chlorination occurs by Orton rearrangement, not direct ring chlorination. We also provide the first measurements of the kinetics of chain scissioning in the active layer as a result of exposure to free chlorine. Our results indicate that de-polymerization of the active layer occurs when the membrane is exposed to alkaline conditions following or during chlorination of the amidic nitrogen. Chain scission of the amide linkage also occurs via a hydrolysis mechanism as is dependent on both exposure to hypochlorous acid and hydroxyl ion. By contrast, ring chlorination does not result in polyamide de-polymerization. KeyWords: reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, polyamide, free chlorine, chain scissioning, ion probing, RBS, charge density, amide N-Cl, ring chlorination.Master of Science in Environmental Engineerin