Pairing collectivity in medium-mass neutron-rich nuclei near drip-line

We look for collective excitations originating from the strong surface pairing in unstable nuclei near the neutron drip-line. The soft dipole excitation is such a pairing mode as it exhibits a character of core-vs-dineutron motion. Possibility of the hydrodynamic phonon mode (the Anderson-Bogoliubov mode) is also discussed.Comment: 9 pages, a talk presented at Collective Motion in Nuclei under Extreme Conditions (COMEX2), June 20-23, 2006, St. Goar, German

Analysis of mechanism of sand deposition inside a fishing port using BG model

A large amount of sand deposited in the wave-shelter zone of Ohtsu fishing port located in northern Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, resulting in a difficulty in navigation at the pot entrance. The BG model (a three-dimensional model for predicting beach changes based on Bagnold's concept) ws used to solve this problem. Measures against sand deposition inside the port were investigated and the most appropriate measure found for preventing sand deposition was the extension of a jetty by 100 m at the tip of the west breakwater. The applicability of the BG model to such prediction was confirmed

Topographic changes on Ajigura beach triggered by elongation of offshore breakwater

On Ajigaura Beach in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, severe beach erosion has occurred. Despite beach nourishment as a measure against beach erosion, wave run-up damage occurred in the south part of the beach where the foreshore was narrowed. The topographic changes of the beach were investigated on the basis of past aerial photographs and bathymetric survey data, and a numerical simulation using the BG model (a three-dimensional model for predicting beach changes based on Bagnold???s concept) was carried out. The measured and calculated results were in good agreement. It was concluded that the beach changes at Ajigaura Beach were triggered by northward longshore sand transport, which was induced by the wave-sheltering effect of the offshore breakwater

Di-neutron correlation and soft dipole excitation in medium mass neutron-rich nuclei near drip-line

The neutron pairing correlation and the soft dipole excitation in medium-mass nuclei near drip-line are investigated from a viewpoint of the di-neutron correlation. Numerical analyses by means of the coordinate-space HFB and the continuum QRPA methods are performed for even-even $^{18-24}$O, $^{50-58}$Ca and $^{80-86}$Ni. A clear signature of the di-neutron correlation is found in the HFB ground state; two neutrons are correlated at short relative distances \lesim 2 fm with large probability $\sim 50$. The soft dipole excitation is influenced strongly by the neutron pairing correlation, and it accompanies a large transition density for pair motion of neutrons. This behavior originates from a coherent superposition of two-quasiparticle configurations $[l\times (l+1)]_{L=1}$ consisting of continuum states with high orbital angular momenta $l$ reaching an order of $l\sim 10$. It raises a picture that the soft dipole excitation under the influence of neutron pairing is characterized by motion of di-neutron in the nuclear exterior against the remaining $A-2$ subsystem. Sensitivity to the density dependence of effective pair force is discussed.Comment: 35 pages, 22 figure

Selection of silk-binding peptides by phage display

Peptides that bind to silkworm-derived silk fibroin fiber were selected from a phage-displayed random peptide library. The selected silk-binding peptides contained a consensus sequence QSWS which is important for silk-binding as confirmed by binding assays using phage and synthetic peptides. With further optimization, we anticipate that the silk-binding peptides will be useful for functionalization of silk for biomaterial applications

Characterizing Vickrey allocation rule by anonymity

We consider the problem of allocating finitely many units of an indivisible good among a group of agents when each agent receives at most one unit of the good and pays a non-negative price. For example, imagine that a government allocates a fixed number of licenses to private firms, or that it distributes equally divided lands to households. Anonymity in welfare is a condition of impartiality in the sense that it requires allocation rules to treat agents equally in welfare terms from the viewpoint of agents who are ignorant of their own valuations or identities. We show that the Vickrey allocation rule is the unique allocation rule satisfying strategy-proofness, anonymity in welfare, and individual rationality