Methods of calculating ionization energies of multielectron (five or more) isoelectronic atomic ions

We have previously used simple empirical equations to reproduce the literature values of the ionization energies of isoelectronic sequences of up to four electrons which gave very good agreement. We reproduce here a kinetic energy expression with corrections for relativity and Lamb shift effects which give excellent agreement with the literature values. These equations become more complex as the number of electrons in the system increases. Alternative simple quadratic expressions for calculating ionization energies of multielectron ions are discussed. A set of coefficients when substituted into a simple expression produces very good agreement with the literature values. Our work shows that Slater's rules are not appropriate for predicting trends or screening constants. This work provides very strong evidence that ionization energies are not functions of complete squares, and when calculating ionization energies electron transition/relaxation has to be taken into account. We demonstrate clearly that for particular isoelectronic sequences, the ionizing electrons may occupy different orbitals and in such cases more than one set of constants are needed to calculate the ionization energies

Fermi-Bose mixture in mixed dimensions

One of the challenging goals in the studies of many-body physics with ultracold atoms is the creation of a topological $p_{x} + ip_{y}$ superfluid for identical fermions in two dimensions (2D). The expectations of reaching the critical temperature $T_c$ through p-wave Feshbach resonance in spin-polarized fermionic gases have soon faded away because on approaching the resonance, the system becomes unstable due to inelastic-collision processes. Here, we consider an alternative scenario in which a single-component degenerate gas of fermions in 2D is paired via phonon-mediated interactions provided by a 3D BEC background. Within the weak-coupling regime, we calculate the critical temperature $T_c$ for the fermionic pair formation, using Bethe-Salpeter formalism, and show that it is significantly boosted by higher-order diagramatic terms, such as phonon dressing and vertex corrections. We describe in detail an experimental scheme to implement our proposal, and show that the long-sought p-wave superfluid is at reach with state-of-the-art experiments.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables and supplementary materia

Chronic acceleration studies - Physiological responses to artificial alterations in weight Final technical report, 1962 - 1965

Physiological and pathological responses of organisms subjected to prolonged acceleration stres

Overview of a new slicing method: Fixed Abrasive Slicing Technique (FAST)

The fixed abrasive slicing technique (FAST) was developed to slice silicon ingots more effectively. It was demonstrated that 25 wafers/cm can be sliced from 10 cm diameter and 19 wafers/cm from 15 cm diameter ingots. This was achieved with a combination of machine development and wire-blade development programs. Correlation was established between cutting effectiveness and high surface speeds. A high speed slicer was designed and fabricated for FAST slicing. Wirepack life of slicing three 10 cm diameter ingots was established. Electroforming techniques were developed to control widths and prolong life of wire-blades. Economic analysis indicates that the projected add-on price of FAST slicing is compatible with the DOE price allocation to meet the 1986 cost goals

Effect of plyometric training on swimming block start performance in adolescents

This study aimed to identify the effect of plyometric training (PT), when added to habitual training (HT) regimes, on swim start performance. After the completion of a baseline competitive swim start, 22 adolescent swimmers were randomly assigned to either a PT (n = 11, age: 13.1 ± 1.4 yr, mass: 50.6 ± 12.3 kg, stature: 162.9 ± 11.9 cm) or an HT group (n = 11, age: 12.6 ± 1.9 yr, mass: 43.3 ± 11.6 kg, stature: 157.6 ± 11.9 cm). Over an 8-week preseason period, the HT group continued with their normal training program, whereas the PT group added 2 additional 1-hour plyometric-specific sessions, incorporating prescribed exercises relating to the swimming block start (SBS). After completion of the training intervention, post-training swim start performance was reassessed. For both baseline and post-trials, swim performance was recorded using videography (50Hz Canon MVX460) in the sagital plane of motion. Through the use of Silicon Coach Pro analysis package, data revealed significantly greater change between baseline and post-trials for PT when compared with the HT group for swim performance time to 5.5 m (−0.59 s vs. −0.21 s; p < 0.01) and velocity of take-off to contact (0.19 ms−1 vs. −0.07 ms−1; p < 0.01). Considering the practical importance of a successful swim start to overall performance outcome, the current study has found that inclusion of suitable and safely implemented PT to adolescent performers, in addition to HT routines, can have a positive impact on swim start performance

Wire blade development for Fixed Abrasive Slicing Technique (FAST) slicing

A low cost, effective slicing method is essential to make ingot technology viable for photovoltaics in terrestrial applications. The fixed abrasive slicing technique (FAST) combines the advantages of the three commercially developed techniques. In its development stage FAST demonstrated cutting effectiveness of 10 cm and 15 cm diameter workpieces. Wire blade development is still the critical element for commercialization of FAST technology. Both impregnated and electroplated wire blades have been developed; techniques have been developed to fix diamonds only in the cutting edge of the wire. Electroplated wires show the most near term promise and this approach is emphasized. With plated wires it has been possible to control the size and shape of the electroplating, it is expected that this feature reduces kerf and prolongs the life of the wirepack

<i>Aloe succotrina</i> (Asphodelaceae)

Aloe succotrina has a very long and complex taxonomic and nomenclatural history with wrong synonymy that is rivalled by few other aloes. This is mostly due to early authors wrongly assuming that this plant is from the Island of Socotra (Reynolds 1950). It has been in cultivation in Europe for over three hundred years, so consequently it is rather surprising that this iconic fynbos species has not featured in this journal until now

Prospect for relic neutrino searches

Unlike the relic photons, relic neutrinos have not so far been observed. The Cosmic Neutrino Background (C$\nu$B) is the oldest relic from the Big Bang, produced a few seconds after the Bang itself. Due to their impact in cosmology, relic neutrinos may be revealed indireclty in the near future through cosmological observations. In this talk we concentrate on other proposals, made in the last 30 years, to try to detect the C$\nu$B directly, either in laboratory searches (through tiny accelerations they produce on macroscopic targets) or through astrophysical observations (looking for absorption dips in the flux of Ultra-High Energy neutrinos, due to the annihilation of these neutrinos with relic neutrinos at the Z-resonance). We concentrate mainly on the first of these two possibilities.Comment: Talk given at the Nobel Symposium on Neutrino Physics, Enkoping, Sweden, Augus 19-24, 2004; 16 page

BaBar simulation production - A millennium of work in under a year

The BaBar experiment requires simulated events beyond the ability of a single computing site to provide. This paper describes the evolution of simulation and job management methods to meet the physics community requirements and how production became distributed to use resources beyond any one computing center. The evolution of BaBar simulation along with the development of the distribution of the computing effort is described. As the computing effort is distributed to more sites there is a need to simplify production so the effort does not multiply with number of production centers. Tools are created to be flexible in handling errors and failures that happen in the system and respond accordingly, this reduces failure rates and production effort. This paper will focus on one cycle of simulation production within BaBar as a description of a large scale computing effort which was fully performed, and provided new simulation data to the users on time

Survey of Human Mitochondrial Diseases Using New Genomic/Proteomic Tools

BACKGROUND. We have constructed Bayesian prior-based, amino-acid sequence profiles for the complete yeast mitochondrial proteome and used them to develop methods for identifying and characterizing the context of protein mutations that give rise to human mitochondrial diseases. (Bayesian priors are conditional probabilities that allow the estimation of the likelihood of an event - such as an amino-acid substitution - on the basis of prior occurrences of similar events.) Because these profiles can assemble sets of taxonomically very diverse homologs, they enable identification of the structurally and/or functionally most critical sites in the proteins on the basis of the degree of sequence conservation. These profiles can also find distant homologs with determined three-dimensional structures that aid in the interpretation of effects of missense mutations. RESULTS. This survey reports such an analysis for 15 missense mutations one insertion and three deletions involved in Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy, Leigh syndrome, mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy, Mohr-Tranebjaerg syndrome, iron-storage disorders related to Friedreich's ataxia, and hereditary spastic paraplegia. We present structural correlations for seven of the mutations. CONCLUSIONS. Of the 19 mutations analyzed, 14 involved changes in very highly conserved parts of the affected proteins. Five out of seven structural correlations provided reasonable explanations for the malfunctions. As additional genetic and structural data become available, this methodology can be extended. It has the potential for assisting in identifying new disease-related genes. Furthermore, profiles with structural homologs can generate mechanistic hypotheses concerning the underlying biochemical processes - and why they break down as a result of the mutations.United States Department of Energy (DE-FG02-98ER62558); National Science Foundation (DBI-9807993