The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR for 0νββ: Current Status and Future Plans

The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR will search for neutrinoless-double-beta decay (0νββ) in 76Ge, while establishing the feasibility of a future tonne-scale germanium-based 0νββ experiment, and performing searches for new physics beyond the Standard Model. The experiment, currently under construction at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, SD, will consist of a pair of modular high-purity germanium detector arrays housed inside of a compact copper, lead, and polyethylene shield. Through a combination of strict materials qualifications and assay, low-background design, and powerful background rejection techniques, the Demonstrator aims to achieve a background rate in the 0νββ region of interest (ROI) of no more than 3 counts in the 0νββ-decay ROI per tonne of target isotope per year (cnts/(ROI-t-y)). The current status of the Demonstrator is discussed, as are plans for its completion

A Dark Matter Search with MALBEK

The Majorana Demonstrator is an array of natural and enriched high purity germanium detectors that will search for the neutrinoless double-beta decay of 76Ge and perform a search for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) with masses below 10 GeV. As part of the Majorana research and development efforts, we have deployed a modified, low-background broad energy germanium detector at the Kimballton Underground Research Facility. With its sub-keV energy threshold, this detector is sensitive to potential non-Standard Model physics, including interactions with WIMPs. We discuss the backgrounds present in the WIMP region of interest and explore the impact of slow surface event contamination when searching for a WIMP signal

Search for Neutrinoless Double- β Decay in Ge 76 with the Majorana Demonstrator

The Majorana Collaboration is operating an array of high purity Ge detectors to search for neutrinoless double-β decay in Ge76. The Majorana Demonstrator comprises 44.1 kg of Ge detectors (29.7 kg enriched in Ge76) split between two modules contained in a low background shield at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota. Here we present results from data taken during construction, commissioning, and the start of full operations. We achieve unprecedented energy resolution of 2.5 keV FWHM at Qββ and a very low background with no observed candidate events in 9.95 kg yr of enriched Ge exposure, resulting in a lower limit on the half-life of 1.9×1025 yr (90% C.L.). This result constrains the effective Majorana neutrino mass to below 240-520 meV, depending on the matrix elements used. In our experimental configuration with the lowest background, the background is 4.0-2.5+3.1 counts/(FWHM t yr)

Ecology of a population of <i>Lissocrangon stylirostris</i> (Caridea: Crangonidae), with notes on the occurrence and biology of its parasite, <i>Argeia pugettensis</i> (Isopoda: Bopyridae)

The smooth bay shrimp, Lissocrangon stylirostris, was sampled using a beach seine a hyperbenthic sledge in the summer of 2006 at a dissipative sandy beach in southern Oregon. We investigated possible variations in the population structure due to environmental variables, preferred prey, sexual system employed, impacts due to parasitism by the bopyrid isopod Argeia pugettensis, and possible predators. The population was 63% female, and females were generally larger than males. The density of L. stylirostris varied significantly with the time of day. A cohort of small shrimp was observed from July to September while large adult shrimps were rare during the same months. The net effect was that shrimp densities were stable over the summer. The shrimps fed mostly at night on the mysid Archaeomysis grebnitzkii. The differences in female to male ratio, the larger size of females relatives to males, and the relatively little overlap in size frequency distribution between males and females could be because this species exhibits a type of protandry. Both male and female shrimps supported an equal, high prevalence of, level of infestation by A. pugettensis (62%). The parasitized shrimps were larger in size than normal shrimps but had lower weight per length ratio. Very few brooding shrimps were parasitized (0.2%), and a higher percentage of parasitized shrimps had empty stomachs and significantly lower stomach contents. We hypothesize that the parasite is affecting the shrimp by producing variation in its normal size and weight, sterilizing females, and reducing its ability to capture food. Finally, individuals of English sole and Pacific staghorn sculpin individuals preyed on the shrimps

Reproductive success is driven by local site fidelity despite stronger specialisation by individuals for large‐scale habitat preference

There is widespread evidence that within populations, specialists and generalists can coexist and this is particularly prevalent in marine ecosystems, where foraging specialisations are evident. While individuals may limit niche overlap by consistently foraging in specific areas, site fidelity may also emerge as an artefact of habitat choice, but both drivers and fitness consequences of site fidelity are poorly understood. Here, we examine an individual metric of site and habitat fidelity, using tracking data collected over 11 years for black‐browed albatrosses (Thalassarche melanophris). Fidelity was calculated as the similarity between pairs of foraging zones, quantifying measures for within and between years. Foraging areas were identified using area‐restricted search, defined as periods during which birds decrease speed and increase turning. Our results demonstrate that birds were considerably more specialised in the habitat in which they forage than the exact location they use within years, and there was a similar pattern between years. However, despite this, it was site fidelity that explained reproductive success. Within a single year, females which were more faithful to a specific location had higher reproductive success than non‐specialists, and between years there was a tendency for both sexes. Our results suggest that black‐browed albatrosses are highly faithful in their foraging habitat but it is rather site fidelity that is more clearly associated with reproductive success

A study of the evolution of the representational capabilities of process modeling grammars

A plethora of process modeling techniques has been proposed over the years. One way of evaluating and comparing the scope and completeness of techniques is by way of representational analysis. The purpose of this paper is to examine how process modeling techniques have developed over the last four decades. The basis of the comparison is the Bunge-Wand-Weber representation model, a benchmark used for the analysis of grammars that purport to model the real world and the interactions within it. This paper presents a comparison of representational analyses of several popular process modeling techniques and has two main outcomes. First, it provides insights, within the boundaries of a representational analysis, into the extent to which process modeling techniques have developed over time. Second, the findings also indicate areas in which the underlying theory seems to be over-engineered or lacking in specialization

Transport of larvae and detritus across the surf zone of a steep reflective pocket beach

Larvae of many intertidal species develop offshore and must cross the surf zone to complete their onshore migration to adult habitats. Depending on hydrodynamics, the surf zone may limit this migration, especially on reflective rocky shores. As a logistically tractable analog of a rocky shore environment, we carried out a comprehensive biological and physical study of the hydrodynamics of a steep reflective sandy beach. Holoplankton and precompetent larval invertebrates were much less abundant within the surf zone than offshore, and their concentrations inside and outside the surf zone were not significantly correlated, suggesting that they were not entering the surf zone. Persistent offshore flow throughout the water column at the outer edge of the surf zone may prevent these organisms from entering the surf zone. In contrast, the concentrations of detritus and a competent larval invertebrate (i.e. cyprids), while also not significantly correlated with concentrations offshore, were frequently more concentrated in the surf zone than offshore. Within the surf zone, the concentration of detritus was significantly correlated with concentrations of competent larval invertebrates (barnacles, gastropods, polychaetes, and bopyrid amphipod) and organisms that may be associated with detritus (amphipods and harpacticoid copepods). These concentrations were significantly negatively correlated with average daily wave height. We hypothesize that detritus and larvae enter the surf zone near the bottom during calm wave conditions by a process of near-bottom streaming. Near-bottom streaming is associated with all surf zones and may be a general mechanism for onshore transport of larvae close to the coast.Hydraulic EngineeringCivil Engineering and Geoscience