176 research outputs found
Resistivity monitoring for leakage and internal erosion detection at Hallby embankment dam
Internal erosion is one of the major reasons for embankment dam failures. Despite this, the knowledge of the temporal development of internal erosion in full scale structures is limited. Detection of internal erosion is complicated using conventional methods, and new or improved methods are appreciated. Hallby was the first Swedish embankment to get a permanently installed monitoring system intended for resistivity measurements. Daily measurements started to take place already in late 1996, which make these long term monitoring data unique. This paper includes examples of long term time series from Hallby along with some evaluation and interpretation techniques used when analysing such monitoring data. Time-lapse inversion was used to focus the variation over time and suppress artefacts due to the resistivity structure. Seasonal resistivity variations inside the dam are obvious. Increasing long term resistivity has been noticed in a particular zone in the left embankment. This zone also exhibits larger seasonal variations relative to other parts of the dam, and the variations are increasing. The observations may relate to an ongoing internal erosion process in the dam. The long term change may be indicative of a change in material properties, and the large and increasing variations may reflect higher and increasing seepage levels. In the years 2004 to 2006 the dam was upgraded and the resistivity system reinstalled. The results indicate that resistivity monitoring may have a chance of detecting development of internal erosion at an early stage. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V
Asymptotic safety and Kaluza-Klein gravitons at the LHC
We study Drell-Yan production at the LHC in low-scale quantum gravity models
with extra dimensions. Asymptotic safety implies that the ultra-violet behavior
of gravity is dictated by a fixed point. We show how the energy dependence of
Newton's coupling regularizes the gravitational amplitude using a
renormalization group improvement. We study LHC predictions and find that
Kaluza-Klein graviton signals are well above Standard Model backgrounds. This
leaves a significant sensitivity to the energy scale Lambda_T where the
gravitational couplings cross over from classical to fixed point scaling.Comment: 25 pages, 14 figure
Central Exclusive Scalar Luminosities from the Linked Dipole Chain Model gluon densities
We investigate the implication of uncertainties in the unintegrated gluon
distribution for the predictions for central exclusive production of scalars at
hadron colliders. We use parameterizations of the kT-unintegrated gluon density
obtained from the Linked Dipole Chain model, applying different options for the
treatment of non-leading terms. We find that the luminosity function for
central exclusive production is very sensitive to details of the transverse
momentum distribution of the gluon which, contrary to the kT-integrated
distribution, is not very well constrained experimentally
Jet Shapes and Jet Algorithms in SCET
Jet shapes are weighted sums over the four-momenta of the constituents of a
jet and reveal details of its internal structure, potentially allowing
discrimination of its partonic origin. In this work we make predictions for
quark and gluon jet shape distributions in N-jet final states in e+e-
collisions, defined with a cone or recombination algorithm, where we measure
some jet shape observable on a subset of these jets. Using the framework of
Soft-Collinear Effective Theory, we prove a factorization theorem for jet shape
distributions and demonstrate the consistent renormalization-group running of
the functions in the factorization theorem for any number of measured and
unmeasured jets, any number of quark and gluon jets, and any angular size R of
the jets, as long as R is much smaller than the angular separation between
jets. We calculate the jet and soft functions for angularity jet shapes \tau_a
to one-loop order (O(alpha_s)) and resum a subset of the large logarithms of
\tau_a needed for next-to-leading logarithmic (NLL) accuracy for both cone and
kT-type jets. We compare our predictions for the resummed \tau_a distribution
of a quark or a gluon jet produced in a 3-jet final state in e+e- annihilation
to the output of a Monte Carlo event generator and find that the dependence on
a and R is very similar.Comment: 62 pages plus 21 pages of Appendices, 13 figures, uses JHEP3.cls. v2:
corrections to finite parts of NLO jet functions, minor changes to plots,
clarified discussion of power corrections. v3: Journal version. Introductory
sections significantly reorganized for clarity, classification of logarithmic
accuracy clarified, results for non-Mercedes-Benz configurations adde
Mini Black Holes in the first year of the LHC
The experimental signatures of TeV-mass black hole (BH) formation in heavy
ion collisions at the LHC is examined. We find that the black hole production
results in a complete disappearance of all very high ({} GeV)
back-to-back correlated di-jets of total mass {}TeV. We show
that the subsequent Hawking-decay produces multiple hard mono-jets and discuss
their detection. We study the possibility of cold black hole remnant (BHR)
formation of mass and the experimental distinguishability of
scenarios with BHRs and those with complete black hole decay. Due to the rather
moderate luminosity in the first year of LHC running the least chance for the
observation of BHs or BHRs at this early stage will be by ionizing tracks in
the ALICE TPC. Finally we point out that stable BHRs would be interesting
candidates for energy production by conversion of mass to Hawking radiation.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure
On the renormalization of multiparton webs
We consider the recently developed diagrammatic approach to soft-gluon
exponentiation in multiparton scattering amplitudes, where the exponent is
written as a sum of webs - closed sets of diagrams whose colour and kinematic
parts are entangled via mixing matrices. A complementary approach to
exponentiation is based on the multiplicative renormalizability of intersecting
Wilson lines, and their subsequent finite anomalous dimension. Relating this
framework to that of webs, we derive renormalization constraints expressing all
multiple poles of any given web in terms of lower-order webs. We examine these
constraints explicitly up to four loops, and find that they are realised
through the action of the web mixing matrices in conjunction with the fact that
multiple pole terms in each diagram reduce to sums of products of lower-loop
integrals. Relevant singularities of multi-eikonal amplitudes up to three loops
are calculated in dimensional regularization using an exponential infrared
regulator. Finally, we formulate a new conjecture for web mixing matrices,
involving a weighted sum over column entries. Our results form an important
step in understanding non-Abelian exponentiation in multiparton amplitudes, and
pave the way for higher-loop computations of the soft anomalous dimension.Comment: 60 pages, 15 figure
Factorization constraints for soft anomalous dimensions in QCD scattering amplitudes
We study the factorization of soft and collinear singularities in
dimensionally-regularized fixed-angle scattering amplitudes in massless gauge
theories. Our factorization is based on replacing the hard massless partons by
light-like Wilson lines, and defining gauge-invariant jet and soft functions in
dimensional regularization. In this scheme the factorized amplitude admits a
powerful symmetry: it is invariant under rescaling of individual Wilson-line
velocities. This symmetry is broken by cusp singularities in both the soft and
the eikonal jet functions. We show that the cancellation of these cusp
anomalies in any multi-leg amplitude imposes all-order constraints on the
kinematic dependence of the corresponding soft anomalous dimension, relating it
to the cusp anomalous dimension. For amplitudes with two or three hard partons
the solution is unique: the constraints fully determine the kinematic
dependence of the soft function. For amplitudes with four or more hard partons
we present a minimal solution where the soft anomalous dimension is a sum over
colour dipoles, multiplied by the cusp anomalous dimension. In this case
additional contributions to the soft anomalous dimension at three loops or
beyond are not excluded, but they are constrained to be functions of conformal
cross ratios of kinematic variables.Comment: v1: 35 pages, v2: minor changes - some clarifying remarks and
references added. Journal version (to appear in JHEP
Self-expanding metal stents in malignant colonic obstruction: experiences from Sweden
<p/> <p>Background</p> <p>Acute surgery in the management of malignant colonic obstruction is associated with high morbidity and mortality. The use of self-expanding metal stents (SEMS) is an alternative method of decompressing colonic obstruction. SEMS may allow time to optimize the patient and to perform preoperative staging, converting acute surgery into elective. SEMS is also proposed as palliative treatment in patients with contraindications to open surgery. Aim: To review our experience of SEMS focusing on clinical outcome and complications. The method used was a review of 75 consecutive trials at SEMS on 71 patients based on stent-protocols and patient charts.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>SEMS was used for palliation in 64 (85%) cases and as a bridge to surgery in 11 (15%) cases. The majority of obstructions, 53 (71%) cases, were located in the recto-sigmoid. Technical success was achieved in 65 (87%) cases and clinical decompression was achieved in 60 (80%) cases. Reasons for technical failure were inability to cannulate the stricture in 5 (7%) cases and suboptimal SEMS placement in 3 (4%) cases. Complications included 4 (5%) procedure-related bowel perforations of which 2 (3%) patients died in junction to post operative complications. Three cases of bleeding after SEMS occurred, none of which needed invasive treatment. Five of the SEMS occluded. Two cases of stent erosion were diagnosed at the time of surgery. Average survival after palliative SEMS treatment was 6 months.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results correspond well to previously published data and we conclude that SEMS is a relatively safe and effective method of treating malignant colonic obstruction although the risk of SEMS-related perforations has to be taken into account.</p
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