Dynamics of Coulomb fission

A general formalism is described for the treatment of Coulomb fission, within the framework of the semiquantal theory. We develop a model for the fission probabilities of levels excited in Coulomb excitation. This model contains penetration of the double-humped fission barrier, competition from gamma and neutron emission, and the spreading of the collective states into noncollective compound states. For 74184W + 92238U, the fission probability at θc.m.=180° is increased by a factor of 3.9, 3.3, and 2.0 at E/ECoul=0.77, 0.85, and 0.935, respectively, compared to the simplified sharp cutoff model used in earlier model calculations. The enhancement comes from barrier penetration. The damping of the fission probability due to spreading into noncollective compound states is small. Prompt Coulomb fission (near the distance of closest approach) is studied in a one-dimensional model. The results clearly imply that prompt fission is negligible. We have also studied the sudden approximation for collective rotational levels in connection with Coulomb fission. At high spins (I≈20), it leads to significant errors. Contrary to the basic assumption of the sudden approximation that the nuclear symmetry axis remains fixed during the collision, it is shown that Coulomb excitation results in a strong alignment of the nuclear symmetry axis perpendicular to the beam axis at small internuclear distances. NUCLEAR REACTIONS, FISSION Semiquantal theory of prompt and asymptotic Coulomb fission, study of double-humped barrier penetration, damping effects, neutron and γ emission. Calculated σ(Ep, θc.m.=180°)

Characteristics of Coulomb fission

Within an extended semiquantal theory we perform large-sized coupled-channel calculations involving 260 collective levels for Coulomb fission of 238U. Differential Coulomb fission cross sections are studied as a function of bombarding energy and impact parameter for several projectiles. In the Xe + U case, total cross sections are also given. We find a strong dependence on projectile charge number, PCF(180°)∼(Zp)6 in the region 50≤Zp≤92 for a fixed ratio E/ECoul, which might be helpful to separate Coulomb fission experimentally from sequential fission following transfer reactions. Since the cross sections are sensitive to the moment of inertia ⊖ at the saddle point, Coulomb fission can serve as a tool to investigate the dependence of ⊖ on elongation. The fragment angular distribution exhibits deviations from 1/sinθf which are pronounced at low incident energies. Our theory indicates that the recently measured Xe + U fission cross sections contain a major fraction of Coulomb-induced fission at E≤0.85 ECoul. NUCLEAR REACTIONS, FISSION Calculated Coulomb fission cross sections σ(Ep,θp) for 54Xe, 67Ho, 82Pb, 92U→92238U, fragment angular distribution, fission energy spectrum, mean spin value 〈Jf〉

Age and growth of spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) in the Gulf of Alaska: analysis of alternative growth models

Ten growth models were fitted to age and growth data for spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) in the Gulf of Alaska. Previous studies of spiny dogfish growth have all fitted the t0 formulation of the von Bertalanffy model without examination of alternative models. Among the alternatives, we present a new two-phase von Bertalanffy growth model formulation with a logistically scaled k parameter and which estimates L0. A total of 1602 dogfish were aged from opportunistic collections with longline, rod and reel, set net, and trawling gear in the eastern and central Gulf of Alaska between 2004 and 2007. Ages were estimated from the median band count of three independent readings of the second dorsal spine plus the estimated number of worn bands for worn spines. Owing to a lack of small dogfish in the samples, lengths at age of small individuals were back-calculated from a subsample of 153 dogfish with unworn spines. The von Bertalanffy, two-parameter von Bertalanffy, two-phase von Bertalanffy, Gompertz, two-parameter Gompertz, and logistic models were fitted to length-at-age data for each sex separately, both with and without back-calculated lengths at age. The two-phase von Bertalanffy growth model produced the statistically best fit for both sexes of Gulf of Alaska spiny dogfish, resulting in L∞ = 87.2 and 102.5 cm and k= 0.106 and 0.058 for males and females, respectively

Disaster Loses in the Developing World: Evidence from the August 1999 Earthquake in Turkey

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impacts of a natural disaster on a developing country’s economy. In that sense, we look at the impact of August 1999 earthquake in Turkey on two important macroeconomic indicators of the Turkish economy (Real Output and Employment) with recovery policies followed by the government and international donors. Our results indicate that the earthquake had a significant immediate negative impact on both output and employment growth in Turkey. While output growth reverted back to its predisaster pattern after the initial shock, employment growth did not recover. The earthquake had both a short run and long run influence on the Turkish economy. This study will develop understanding of the possible effects of future earthquakes. Also, it will help the Turkish Government evaluate already-applied mitigation measures (like Turkish Catastrophe Insurance Pool etc.) and guide the preparation for forthcoming disasters since scientists have reached a consensus that a major earthquake is expected in Istanbul.

Information Content in Data Sets for a Nucleated-Polymerization Model

We illustrate the use of tools (asymptotic theories of standard error quantification using appropriate statistical models, bootstrapping, model comparison techniques) in addition to sensitivity that may be employed to determine the information content in data sets. We do this in the context of recent models [23] for nucleated polymerization in proteins, about which very little is known regarding the underlying mechanisms; thus the methodology we develop here may be of great help to experimentalists

Measuring the Regional Economic Response to Hurricane Katrina

Naturkatastrophe; Sturm; Makroökonomischer Einfluss; USA

Polariton lasing in high-quality Selenide-based micropillars in the strong coupling regime

We have designed and fabricated all-epitaxial ZnSe-based optical micropillars exhibiting the strong coupling regime between the excitonic transition and the confined optical cavity modes. At cryogenic temperatures, under non-resonant pulsed optical excitation, we demonstrate single transverse mode polariton lasing operation in the micropillars. Owing to the high quality factors of these microstructures, the lasing threshold remains low even in micropillars of the smallest diameter. We show that this feature can be traced back to a sidewall roughness grain size below 3 nm, and to suppressed in-plane polariton escape.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure