Study of non-equilibrium effects and thermal properties of heavy ion collisions using a covariant approach

Non-equilibrium effects are studied using a full Lorentz-invariant formalism. Our analysis shows that in reactions considered here, no global or local equilibrium is reached. The heavier masses are found to be equilibrated more than the lighter systems. The local temperature is extracted using hot Thomas Fermi formalism generalized for the case of two interpenetrating pieces of nuclear matter. The temperature is found to vary linearly with bombarding energy and impact parameter whereas it is nearly independent of the mass of the colliding nuclei. This indicates that the study of temperature with medium size nuclei is also reliable. The maximum temperatures obtained in our approach are in a nice agreement with earlier calculations of other approaches. A simple parametrization of maximal temperature as a function of the bombarding energy is also given.Comment: LaTex-file, 17 pages, 8 figures (available upon request), Journal of Physics G20 (1994) 181

Simulated Annealing Clusterization Algorithm for Studying the Multifragmentation

We present the details of the numerical realization of the recently advanced algorithm developed to identify the fragmentation in heavy ion reactions. This new algorithm is based on the Simulated Annealing method and is dubbed as Simulated Annealing Clusterization Algorithm [SACA]. We discuss the different parameters used in the Simulated Annealing method and present an economical set of the parameters which is based on the extensive analysis carried out for the central and peripheral collisions of Au-Au, Nb-Nb and Pb-Pb. These parameters are crucial for the success of the algorithm. Our set of optimized parameters gives the same results as the most conservative choice, but is very fast. We also discuss the nucleon and fragment exchange processes which are very important for the energy minimization and finally present the analysis of the reaction dynamics using the new algorithm. This algorithm is can be applied whenever one wants to identify which of a given number of constituents form bound objects.Comment: 36 pages, 15 figures, submitted to Journal of Computational Physic

Local Hidden Variable Theoretic Measure of Quantumness of Mutual Information

Entanglement, a manifestation of quantumness of correlations between the observables of the subsystems of a composite system, and the quantumness of their mutual information are widely studied characteristics of a system of spin-1/2 particles. The concept of quantumness of correlations between the observables of a system is based on incommensurability of the correlations with the predictions of some local hidden variable (LHV) theory. However, the concept of quantumness of mutual information does not invoke the LHV theory explicitly. In this paper, by invoking explicitly the local hidden variable theory, a measure of quantumness of mutual information, $Q_{LHV}$, for a system of two spin-1/2 particles is proposed. It is based on finding the difference between the quantum and classical mutual informations in which the classical mutual information corresponds to the joint probability of the eigenvalues of the spins each along a specified direction. The proposed measure circumvents the need of optimization when the Bloch vector of each spin is non-zero; the optimization is needed but can be performed analytically exactly when the Bloch vector of each spin vanishes and is simplified when the Bloch vector of only one of the spins is zero. In essence, the proposed measure is identical with the measurement induced disturbance when the Bloch vector of each of the spins is non-zero. However, whereas the measurement induced disturbance is non-unique when the Bloch vector of one or both the spins is zero, the proposed measure even then determines the quantumness of mutual information unambiguously. The $Q_{LHV}$ is identical with the symmetric discord if the Bloch vector of each spin vanishes. It is same as the quantum discord if the Bloch vector of only one spin is zero and if the state in question possesses certain additional properties.Comment: 12 page

A Matter of Voice: The Case for Abolishing the 30 percent Rule for Pension Fund Investments

Pension fund managers have devised ways to effectively skirt the rule that limits them to acquiring no more than 30 percent of the shares eligible to vote for the directors of a corporation. It’s time for regulators to enforce the rule or eliminate it entirely, thereby giving pension funds a voice commensurate with their equity stake.Canadian pension security, Canadian pension funds

Extent of sexual coercion among young female migrant carpet and garment factory workers in Nepal

This paper explores sexual coercion of young female migrant workers in the carpet and garment factories in the Kathmandu Valley. Information is drawn from 12 in-depth case histories and a sample survey of 550 respondents aged 14-19 years. The survey found that one in ten young women had ever experienced sexual harassment or coercion in their lifetime. Perpetrators included co-workers, boyfriends, employers and relatives. In-depth interviews revealed that the inability of young working women to communicate effectively with their peers and sex partners, lack of self esteem, job insecurity and other socio-economic problems made them vulnerable to these abuses. The results suggest the need for a range of factory-based interventions