Improvement of the Staggered Fermion Operators

We present a complete and detailed derivation of the finite lattice spacing corrections to staggered fermion matrix elements. Expanding upon arguments of Sharpe, we explicitly implement the Symanzik improvement program demonstrating the absence of order $a$ terms in the Symanzik improved action. We propose a general program to improve fermion operators to remove $O(a)$ corrections from their matrix elements, and demonstrate this program for the examples of matrix elements of fermion bilinears and $B_K$. We find the former does have $O(a)$ corrections while the latter does not.Comment: 16 pages, latex, 1 figur

Does fishing have an impact on Maltese maerl grounds?

The sedimentary bottoms off the northeastern coast of the Maltese Islands are important inshore fishing grounds. Between depths of 45m and 80m, these bottoms are characterized by accumulations of unattached calcareous rhodophytes, forming maerl beds. The complex structure of these free-living thalli (rhodoliths) introduces heterogeneity to the otherwise homogenous sedimentary bottoms, thus increasing biotic diversity. Maerl deposits may take hundreds of years to accumulate and their development is strongly correlated with the current and sedimentary regimes and with bottom disturbance, making such beds susceptible to anthropogenic disruption. Two fishing techniques in particular used locally may have an impact on maerl bottoms: parit fishing (bottom-set gill-nets) and bottom trawling using an otter trawl. We investigated the effect of the former by experimental fishing on maerl, and that of the latter by studying rhodolith structure, sediment granulometry, and benthic biodiversity of a 20km2 maerl bed, part of which is regularly trawled. Parit fishing may remove the larger rhodoliths but its impact depends greatly on the strength of the bottom current. The trawled site had more abundant rhodoliths and coarser sediments than the non- trawled site, but a lower sediment organic content. Rhodolith morphology was also different at the two sites. Both sites had a high species richness but low abundance and biomass. Differences in species composition were also noted. These results are discussed in relation to the different environmental characteristics of the two sites, including the role of disturbance, but the relative importance of anthropic activities and natural perturbations is not yet clear.peer-reviewe

Testing game mechanics in games with a purpose for NLP applications

This paper describes a highly configurable game-with-a-purpose (GWAP) designed to explore the effects of different game mechanics on GWAP for NLP problems with a view to improving both quality of annotation and player uptake. The details of the game are discussed along with some of the questions the game hopes to answer

Energy Efficient Algorithms based on VM Consolidation for Cloud Computing: Comparisons and Evaluations

Cloud Computing paradigm has revolutionized IT industry and be able to offer computing as the fifth utility. With the pay-as-you-go model, cloud computing enables to offer the resources dynamically for customers anytime. Drawing the attention from both academia and industry, cloud computing is viewed as one of the backbones of the modern economy. However, the high energy consumption of cloud data centers contributes to high operational costs and carbon emission to the environment. Therefore, Green cloud computing is required to ensure energy efficiency and sustainability, which can be achieved via energy efficient techniques. One of the dominant approaches is to apply energy efficient algorithms to optimize resource usage and energy consumption. Currently, various virtual machine consolidation-based energy efficient algorithms have been proposed to reduce the energy of cloud computing environment. However, most of them are not compared comprehensively under the same scenario, and their performance is not evaluated with the same experimental settings. This makes users hard to select the appropriate algorithm for their objectives. To provide insights for existing energy efficient algorithms and help researchers to choose the most suitable algorithm, in this paper, we compare several state-of-the-art energy efficient algorithms in depth from multiple perspectives, including architecture, modelling and metrics. In addition, we also implement and evaluate these algorithms with the same experimental settings in CloudSim toolkit. The experimental results show the performance comparison of these algorithms with comprehensive results. Finally, detailed discussions of these algorithms are provided

Baryogenesis, Electric Dipole Moments and Dark Matter in the MSSM

We study the implications for electroweak baryogenesis (EWB) within the minimal supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) of present and future searches for the permanent electric dipole moment (EDM) of the electron, for neutralino dark matter, and for supersymmetric particles at high energy colliders. We show that there exist regions of the MSSM parameter space that are consistent with both present two-loop EDM limits and the relic density and that allow for successful EWB through resonant chargino and neutralino processes at the electroweak phase transition. We also show that under certain conditions the lightest neutralino may be simultaneously responsible for both the baryon asymmetry and relic density. We give present constraints on chargino/neutralino-induced EWB implied by the flux of energetic neutrinos from the Sun, the prospective constraints from future neutrino telescopes and ton-sized direct detection experiments, and the possible signatures at the Large Hadron Collider and International Linear Collider.Comment: 32 pages, 10 figures; version to appear on JHE

Metrics of games-with-a-purpose for NLP applications

A Game-With-A-Purpose (GWAP) ap- proach is a promising way to collect data on a large scale but its adoption for NLP annotation projects has been slow. In this paper, we propose evaluation metrics adapted from free-to-play (F2P) games to help understand what makes games suc- cessful for NLP applications

Model Independent Approach to Focus Point Supersymmetry: from Dark Matter to Collider Searches

The focus point region of supersymmetric models is compelling in that it simultaneously features low fine-tuning, provides a decoupling solution to the SUSY flavor and CP problems, suppresses proton decay rates and can accommodate the WMAP measured cold dark matter (DM) relic density through a mixed bino-higgsino dark matter particle. We present the focus point region in terms of a weak scale parameterization, which allows for a relatively model independent compilation of phenomenological constraints and prospects. We present direct and indirect neutralino dark matter detection rates for two different halo density profiles, and show that prospects for direct DM detection and indirect detection via neutrino telescopes such as IceCube and anti-deuteron searches by GAPS are especially promising. We also present LHC reach prospects via gluino and squark cascade decay searches, and also via clean trilepton signatures arising from chargino-neutralino production. Both methods provide a reach out to m_{\tg}\sim 1.7 TeV. At a TeV-scale linear e^+e^- collider (LC), the maximal reach is attained in the \tz_1\tz_2 or \tz_1\tz_3 channels. In the DM allowed region of parameter space, a \sqrt{s}=0.5 TeV LC has a reach which is comparable to that of the LHC. However, the reach of a 1 TeV LC extends out to m_{\tg}\sim 3.5 TeV.Comment: 34 pages plus 36 eps figure

Mark Carney and the gendered political economy of British central banking

In this article we explore Mark Carney’s place in the gendered political economy of British central banking. We document the gendered narratives surrounding Carney around the time of his appointment as Governor of the Bank of England, suggesting that they worked to naturalise certain gender constructions in finance. We show how Carney seemingly had the ability to successfully embody a combination of two ideal-types of masculinity: both ‘transnational business masculinity’ and ‘traditional bourgeois masculinity’. We argue this contributed to three depoliticising moves, each of which gain their strength in part from the naturalisation of masculinities in finance, while obfuscating important questions of gendered finance. To elucidate the latter, we highlight some of the gendered outcomes that are obscured by the furore surrounding Carney’s character, suggesting that the monetary and financial stability concerns of the Bank under his stewardship are likely to reproduce the uneven and exploitative relations of gendered finance