Tunable solid-state laser technology for applications to scientific and technological experiments from space

Current plans for the Earth Observing System (EOS) include development of a lidar facility to conduct scientific experiments from a polar orbiting platforms. A recommended set of experiments were scoped, which includes techniques of atmospheric backscatter (Lidar), Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL), altimetry, and retroranging. Preliminary assessments of the resources (power, weight, volume) required by the Eos Lidar Facility were conducted. A research program in tunable solid state laser technology was developed, which includes laser materials development, modeling and experiments on the physics of solid state laser materials, and development of solid state laser transmitters with a strong focus on Eos scientific investigations. Some of the system studies that were conducted which highlight the payoff of solid state laser technology for the Eos scientific investigations will be discussed. Additionally, a summary of some promising research results which have recently emerged from the research program will be presented

Tax reform: is the time right for a new approach?

Taxation

LOGSIM programmer's manual

A programmer's manual is reported for a Logic Simulator (LOGSIM) computer program that is a large capacity event simulator with the capability to accurately simulate the effects of certain unknown states, rise and fall times, and floating nodes in large scale metal oxide semiconductor logic circuits. A detailed description of the software with flow charts is included within the report

LOGSIM user's manual

The user's manual for the LOGSIM Program is presented. All program options are explained and a detailed definition of the format of each input card is given. LOGSIM Program operations, and the preparation of LOGSIM input data are discused along with data card formats, postprocessor data cards, and output interpretation

A Bosonic Analog of a Topological Dirac Semi-Metal: Effective Theory, Neighboring Phases, and Wire Construction

We construct a bosonic analog of a two-dimensional topological Dirac Semi-Metal (DSM). The low-energy description of the most basic 2D DSM model consists of two Dirac cones at positions $\pm\mathbf{k}_0$ in momentum space. The local stability of the Dirac cones is guaranteed by a composite symmetry $Z_2^{\mathcal{TI}}$, where $\mathcal{T}$ is time-reversal and $\mathcal{I}$ is inversion. This model also exhibits interesting time-reversal and inversion symmetry breaking electromagnetic responses. In this work we construct a bosonic version by replacing each Dirac cone with a copy of the $O(4)$ Nonlinear Sigma Model (NLSM) with topological theta term and theta angle $\theta=\pm \pi$. One copy of this NLSM also describes the gapless surface termination of the 3D Bosonic Topological Insulator (BTI). We compute the time-reversal and inversion symmetry breaking electromagnetic responses for our model and show that they are twice the value one gets in the DSM case matching what one might expect from, for example, a bosonic Chern insulator. We also investigate the stability of the BSM model and find that the composite $Z_2^{\mathcal{TI}}$ symmetry again plays an important role. Along the way we clarify many aspects of the surface theory of the BTI including the electromagnetic response, the charges and statistics of vortex excitations, and the stability to symmetry-allowed perturbations. We briefly comment on the relation between the various descriptions of the $O(4)$ NLSM with $\theta=\pi$ used in this paper (a dual vortex description and a description in terms of four massless fermions) and the recently proposed dual description of the BTI surface in terms of $2+1$ dimensional Quantum Electrodynamics with two flavors of fermion ($N=2$ QED$_3$). In a set of four Appendixes we review some of the tools used in the paper, and also derive some of the more technical results.Comment: 33 pages, 4 appendixes, v2: small corrections and added references, v3: new section added (Sec. VI) and additional references. To appear in PR

EVIDENCE OF COMMUNAL OVIPOSITION AND NEST ABANDONMENT IN THE NORTHERN TWO-LINED SALAMANDER (EURYCEA BISLINEATA, (GREEN, 1818)) IN NORTHEASTERN CONNECTICUT

Most plethodontid salamanders oviposit their eggs in an individual nest and attend the clutch until hatching. Here, we describe aspects of the reproduction of Eurycea bislineata (Northern Two-lined Salamander) from three field sites in northeastern Connecticut that contrast with the typical plethodontid reproductive behavior. Rocks used as oviposition sites contained up to 296 eggs, with an average of more than 100. These numbers exceed the maximum ovarian egg counts for this species, indicating that communal oviposition is common. The lack of correlation between rock size and number of eggs, as well as the lack of discrete clutches when eggs are laid in large clusters, suggests that communal oviposition may be caused by something other than nest site limitation. Additionally, the rate of maternal attendance at nests was low. Thus, communal oviposition with high rates of nest abandonment is the dominant reproductive strategy in E. bislineata at these sites

La personne, le nom et l'identité : questions, concepts et illustrations dans Austerlitz de W.G. Sebald

Nous verrons que la distinction "nom commun / nom propre" est assise sur de mauvais critères, à savoir ceux de "signification" et de "détermination", et qu\u27elle est infondée —, nous consacrons tout d\u27abord notre attention sur le vocable même de "personne". Nous remonterons le fil diachronique de sa genèse. C\u27est d\u27une création conceptuelle en effet, de l\u27"invention" d\u27une notion, qu\u27atteste ce mot de "personne" avec lequel une seconde inscription du particulier de l\u27homme se dit dans la langue. Nous verrons que la genèse de ce mot de "personne" s\u27opère elle aussi — comme le passage du neutre "ça" au particulier de l\u27âme dans le poème de Tardieu — dans un mouvement descendant, qui va du monde divin d\u27en-haut à celui, sublunaire, d\u27en bas. Le mot a en effet d\u27abord servi à répondre à une question fondamentale que l\u27interprétation théologique des textes des Écritures posait : Qui parle ici