Vertical Profiles of Bromoform in Snow, Sea Ice, and Seawater in the Canadian Arctic

Bromoform (CHBr3) was measured in vertical profiles from the snow surface through the snowpack, sea ice, and water column to the seafloor at Resolute Bay, Canada, in the sprig of 1992. Elevated concentrations of bromoform were observed in both the ice (32-266 ng L-1 by liquid water volume) and seawater (~ 20 ng L-1 ) at the ice-water interface, associated with bromoform emission from ice microalgae. A surprising finding was a second horizon of high bromoform concentrations (336-367 ng L-1) in sea ice at the snow-ice interface. Chlorophyll and salinity were also elevated in this upper ice layer, although chlorophyll was much lower than in the basal ice microalgal layer. We speculate that this upper bromoformenriched layer may have originated from scavenging of the surface water layer by frazil ice during initial ice formation in the preceding autumn. Equally unexpected was the occurrence of yet higher bromoform concentrations in snowpack immediately overlying the sea ice (492-1260 ng L-1), declining in concentration (by about a factor of 2 or more) toward the snow surface. Snow of very recent origin, however, contained as little as 2 orders of magnitude less bromoform than the older snowpack. Possible origins for elevated bromoform in the snowpack include diffusion out of the bromoform-enriched upper ice layer and gradual concentration of bromoform out of the atmosphere by adsorption on to ice crystals. These are considered in turn. In one scenario, photolysis of bromoform from snow is considered, which might help account for atmospheric bromine-ozone chemistry. The possible contributions from snow, sea ice, and seawater to atmospheric bromoform levels during both the winter and spring are also considered, and it is concluded that surface seawater presents the most significant reservoir for atmospheric bromofor

The networked seceder model: Group formation in social and economic systems

The seceder model illustrates how the desire to be different than the average can lead to formation of groups in a population. We turn the original, agent based, seceder model into a model of network evolution. We find that the structural characteristics our model closely matches empirical social networks. Statistics for the dynamics of group formation are also given. Extensions of the model to networks of companies are also discussed

On the accretion mode of the intermediate polar V1025 Centauri

The long white-dwarf spin periods in the magnetic cataclysmic variables EX Hya and V1025 Cen imply that if the systems possess accretion discs then they cannot be in equilibrium. It has been suggested that instead they are discless accretors in which the spin-up torques resulting from accretion are balanced by the ejection of part of the accretion flow back towards the secondary. We present phase-resolved spectroscopy of V1025 Cen aimed at deducing the nature of the accretion flow, and compare this with simulations of a discless accretor. We find that both the conventional disc-fed model and the discless-accretor model have strengths and weaknesses, and that further work is needed before we can decide which applies to V1025 Cen.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, To appear in MNRAS, includes low-res figures to reduce siz

Correlated variability of Mkn 421 at X-ray and TeV wavelengths on timescales of hours

Mkn 421 was observed for about two days with BeppoSAX, prior to and partly overlapping the start of a 1 week continuous exposure with ASCA in April 1998, as part of a world-wide multiwavelength campaign. A pronounced, well defined, flare observed in X-rays was also observed simultaneously at TeV energies by the Whipple Observatory's 10 m gamma-ray telescope. These data provide the first evidence that the X-ray and TeV intensities are well correlated on time-scales of hours.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, presented at the VERITAS Workshop on the TeV Astrophysics of Extragalactic Object

Energy Scaling of Minimum-Bias Tunes

We propose that the flexibility offered by modern event-generator tuning tools allows for more than just obtaining "best fits" to a collection of data. In particular, we argue that the universality of the underlying physics model can be tested by performing several, mutually independent, optimizations of the generator parameters in different physical regions. For regions in which these optimizations return similar and self-consistent parameter values, the model can be considered universal. Deviations from this behavior can be associated with a breakdown of the modeling, with the nature of the deviations giving clues as to the nature of the breakdown. We apply this procedure to study the energy scaling of a class of minimum-bias models based on multiple parton interactions (MPI) and pT-ordered showers, implemented in the Pythia 6.4 generator. We find that a parameter controlling the strength of color reconnections in the final state is the most important source of non-universality in this model.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures, 4 table

Spin Discrimination in Three-Body Decays

The identification of the correct model for physics beyond the Standard Model requires the determination of the spin of new particles. We investigate to which extent the spin of a new particle $X$ can be identified in scenarios where it decays dominantly in three-body decays $X\to f\bar{f} Y$. Here we assume that $Y$ is a candidate for dark matter and escapes direct detection at a high energy collider such as the LHC. We show that in the case that all intermediate particles are heavy, one can get information on the spins of $X$ and $Y$ at the LHC by exploiting the invariant mass distribution of the two standard model fermions. We develop a model-independent strategy to determine the spins without prior knowledge of the unknown couplings and test it in a series of Monte Carlo studies.Comment: 31+1 pages, 4 figures, 8 tables, JHEP.cls include

Reexamining evidence-based practice in community corrections: beyond 'a confined view' of what works

This article aims to reexamine the development and scope of evidence-based practice (EBP) in community corrections by exploring three sets of issues. Firstly, we examine the relationships between the contested purposes of community supervision and their relationships to questions of evidence. Secondly, we explore the range of forms of evidence that might inform the pursuit of one purpose of supervision—the rehabilitation of offenders—making the case for a fuller engagement with “desistance” research in supporting this process. Thirdly, we examine who can and should be involved in conversations about EBP, arguing that both ex/offenders’ and practitioners’ voices need to be respected and heard in this debate

Axial cyclic loading of piles in low to medium density chalk

Comprehensive field investigations into the axial cyclic loading behaviour of open-steel pipe piles driven and aged in low-to-medium density chalk identify the conditions under which behaviour is stable, unstable or metastable. Post-cycling monotonic tests confirmed that stable cycling enhanced pile capacity marginally, while unstable cases suffered potentially large losses of shaft capacity. Metastable conditions led to intermediate outcomes. The patterns by which axial deflections grew under cyclic loading varied systematically with the normalised loading parameters and could be captured by simple fitting expressions. Cyclic stiffnesses also varied with loading conditions, with the highest operational shear stiffnesses falling far below the in-situ seismic test values. The monotonic and cyclic axial responses of the test piles were controlled by the behaviour of, and conditions within, the reconsolidated, de-structured, chalk putty annuli formed around pile shafts during driving. Fibre-optic strain gauges identified progressive failure from the pile tip upwards. Large factors of safety were required for piles to survive repetitive loading under high-level, two-way, conditions involving low mean loads, while low amplitude one-way cycling had little impact. A simple ‘global’ prediction procedure employing interface shear and cyclic triaxial tests is shown to provide broadly representative predictions for field behaviour

The Flux Variability of Markarian 501 in Very High Energy Gamma Rays

The BL Lacertae object Markarian 501 was identified as a source of gamma-ray emission at the Whipple Observatory in March 1995. Here we present a flux variability analysis on several times-scales of the 233 hour data set accumulated over 213 nights (from March 1995 to July 1998) with the Whipple Observatory 10 m atmospheric Cherenkov imaging telescope. In 1995, with the exception of a single night, the flux from Markarian 501 was constant on daily and monthly time-scales and had an average flux of only 10% that of the Crab Nebula, making it the weakest VHE source detected to date. In 1996, the average flux was approximately twice the 1995 flux and showed significant month-to-month variability. No significant day-scale variations were detected. The average gamma-ray flux above ~350 GeV in the 1997 observing season rose to 1.4 times that of the Crab Nebula -- 14 times the 1995 discovery level -- allowing a search for variability on time-scales shorter than one day. Significant hour-scale variability was present in the 1997 data, with the shortest, observed on MJD 50607, having a doubling time of ~2 hours. In 1998 the average emission level decreased considerably from that of 1997 (to ~20% of the Crab Nebula flux) but two significant flaring events were observed. Thus, the emission from Markarian 501 shows large amplitude and rapid flux variability at very high energies as does Markarian 421. It also shows large mean flux level variations on year-to-year time-scales, behaviour which has not been seen from Markarian 421 so far.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figures, to appear in ApJ, June 20, 1999, Vol. 518 #

Observations of TeV gamma rays from Markarian 501 at large zenith angles

TeV gamma rays from the blazar Markarian 501 have been detected with the University of Durham Mark 6 atmospheric Cerenkov telescope using the imaging technique at large zenith angles. Observations were made at zenith angles in the range 70 - 73 deg during 1997 July and August when Markarian 501 was undergoing a prolonged and strong flare.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in J. Phys. G.: Nucl. Part. Phy