Factorization of completely bounded bilinear operators and injectivity

We characterize injectivity of von Neumann algebras in terms of factoring bilinear maps as products of linear maps.Comment: 32 pages. See also http://www.math.tamu.edu/~roger.smith/ preprints.htm

Strong singularity for subalgebras of finite factors

In this paper we develop the theory of strongly singular subalgebras of von Neumann algebras, begun in earlier work. We mainly examine the situation of type \tto factors arising from countable discrete groups. We give simple criteria for strong singularity, and use them to construct strongly singular subalgebras. We particularly focus on groups which act on geometric objects, where the underlying geometry leads to strong singularity

Sedimentology and taphonomy of Late Permian vertebrate fossil localities in southwestern Madagascar

This is the first report of a project that tests the accuracy of the currently accepted palaeoposition of southern Madagascar during the late Permian in juxtaposition to the coast of Tanzania. This is done by comparing the sediments and fossils that accumulated in a series of rift valleys, each around 25 km wide, that formed in this part of Gondwana at the beginning of pull-apart some 250 million years ago. The study reported here on the Madagascan side of the rift system will be followed by a similar study of the Tanzanian portion. Field data on the sedimentology and vertebrate taphonomy of three separate fossil localities in the Late Permian, Lower Sakamena Formation of southwestern Madagascar are used to reconstruct the subenvironments of the Sakamena axial rift valley lake. 1. Ranohira: dominated by microlaminated mudrocks with three horizons of fossil bearing micrite nodules. The fossils are mostly complete articulated skeletons of an ?aquatic procolophonid reptile, Barasaurus, which inhabited the offshore epilimnion of a deep, thermally-stratified closed lake. 2. Zavoloa River: alternating cross-bedded conglomeratic sandstone and laminated siltstone are interpreted as braided delta deposits entering the linear margin of the lake from the passive side of the half graben. These deposits contain some fully articulated skeletons and numerous winnowed bonebeds of a supposedly semi-aquatic reptile, Claudiosaurus, that may be related to sauropterygians. 3. Mount Eliva: is dominated by the younginiform reptile, Hovasaurus, which occurs as articulated skeletons inside micritic siltstone nodules in the mudrocks of a sub-lacustrine deltaic sequence. Pebble masses in the abdomen of Hovasaurus are interpreted as ballast to facilitate swimming. The taphonomic style and sedimentary environment of the host strata confirm this interpretation. Thermal shock from periodic overturn and poisoning from algal blooms are the most likely causes of mass mortality among the aquatic fauna. Hydrogen sulphide released from anaerobic bacterial decay of soft tissue and girdle cartilage formed reduction halos around the newly buried reptile carcasses. At least 3 “micritization episodes” led to the precipitation of calcium cabonate in the reduction halos forming nodules around the vertebrate fossils. They are interpreted as periods of extended lowstand when thermal stratification could not be maintained and oxygenated waters came into contact with previously anoxic sediments. If such lowstand events were climatically controlled, they may be useful timelines to accurately correlate strata within and between these ancient rift valley lakes in both Madagascar and Tanzania.THE COUNCIL’S RESEARCH COMMITTEE, UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND; NATIONAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION (NRF); The Open Research Programme of the Foundation for Research Developmen

Fluvial facies, vertebrate taphonomy and palaeosols of the Teekloof formation (Permian) near Beaufort West, Cape Province, South Africa

The main Karoo Basin of South Africa contains a relatively continuous sequence of continental deposits that accumulated over a 100 million year period from Permo-Carboniferous (280 Ma) to early Jurassic (180 Ma). In the southwestern region of the basin the Karoo succession is approximately 4 000 m thick, the upper half of which consists of vertebrate fossil-bearing fluvial rocks of the Beaufort Group. This study deals with Lower Beaufort (Adelaide Subgroup) strata belonging to the Teekloof Formation which are exposed in the cast-west trending erosional escarpment between the towns of Beaufort West and Fraserburg in the central Cape Province. The 450-mctre succession consists mainly of vertically accreted floodplain mudrocks with interbedded continuous sheets of fine-grained sandstone that bear evidence of having accumulated by lateral accretion on the inner banks of meandering channels. The mudrocks contain numerous fossilized skeletons of therapsid "mammal-like" reptiles as well as more primitive cotylosaurs and a few amphibians. Rarely, impressions of Glossopteris leaves and equisetalcan stems are found although root moulds are relatively abundant. Several types of calcareous nodules and sheets occur in the mudrocks and arc interpreted as evidence of calcic palaeosols that formed under semi-arid climatic conditions. This is an interdisciplinary study that integrates a conventional sedimentary facies analysis with investigations of the taphonomy of in situ therapsid fossils and the nature and distribution of palaeosols. Such an approach has not previously been applied to any of the Karoo strata. The results contain descriptive and quantitative information on sedimentary processes, palaeohydrology, absolute time represented in the stratigraphic record and the topography, soils and habitats of the ancient landscape. These are summarized into a palaeoenvironmental synthesis of the Teckloof Formation

Detection methods in superheated water chromatography

Because water at elevated temperatures can be used as a mobile phase for reversed-phase HPLC or as an extraction solvent, it has attracted considerable recent interest as a green mobile phase, avoiding the use of organic solvents in analytical chemistry. Because of the low vapour pressure of water, even at 200 °C, the instrumentation required is simple and standard HPLC systems can be readily adapted by the addition of a high temperature oven and the creation of a pressure restrictor. This can be as simple as a 2-3 m length of narrow bore PEEK tubing or a mechanical SFC type restrictor

Read noise for a 2.5μm cutoff Teledyne H2RG at 1-1000Hz frame rates

A camera operating a Teledyne H2RG in H and Ks bands is under construction at Caltech to serve as a near-infrared tip-tilt sensor for the Keck-1 Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics system. After imaging the full field for acquisition, small readout windows are placed around one or more natural guide stars anywhere in the AO corrected field of view. Windowed data may be streamed to RAM in the host for a limited time then written to disk as a single file, analogous to a “film strip”, or be transmitted indefinitely via a second fiber optic output to a dedicated computer providing real time control of the AO system. The various windows can be visited at differing cadences, depending on signal levels. We describe a readout algorithm that maximizes exposure duty cycle, minimizes latency, and achieves very low noise by resetting infrequently then synthesizing exposures from Sample Up The Ramp data. To illustrate which noise sources dominate under various conditions, noise measurements are presented as a function of synthesized frame rate and window sizes for a range of detector temperatures. The consequences of spatial variation in noise properties, and dependence on frame rate and temperature are discussed, together with probable causes of statistical outliers