Polarized Light from the Transportation of a Matter-Antimatter Beam in a Plasma

A relativistic electron-positron beam propagating through a magnetized electron-ion plasma is shown to generate both circularly and linearly polarized synchrotron radiation. The degrees of circular and linear polarizations depend both on the density ratio of pair beam to background plasma and initial magnetization, and a maximum degree of circular polarization $\langle P_\textrm{circ}\rangle \approx 18\%$ is found to occur for a tenuous pair beam. We demonstrate that the generation of circularly polarized radiation is intrinsically linked to asymmetric energy dissipation of the pair beam during the filamentation instability dynamics in the electron-ion plasma. These results can help in understanding the recent observations of circularly polarized radiation from gamma-ray-bursts

Stress Corrosion Cracking of Stainless Steel Super Heater Tubes in 200 MW Boiler

A few cases of super heater tube failures by corrosion were noticed in a boiler of 210 MW units of NTPC stations. The failure investigation was carried out at the Research and Development centre of NTPC. The failed tubes were examined by using Optical, scanning Electron Microscope and conventional methods. The material of the tube was stabilised grade austenitic stainless steel. The micro-scopic examination indicated the presence of a large number of transgranular cracks with branches. The surface analysis by EDAX revealed the presence of chloride in the corrosion products. The reason of failure has been attributed to chloride induced stress corrosion cracking. Chloride ions had generated supposedly due to leaching of residual contaminants carried over from manufacturing stage. It was suggested to check the cracks already gene-rated by NDT methods and wash the tube panels which were already installed. After implementation of the recomm-endations, no such case of tube failure was reported. The present paper describes the investigations carried out and the remedial measures to prevent chloride induced stress corrosion cracking in supper heater tubes

Fermi-surface induced modulation in an optimally doped YBCO superconductor

We have observed a Fermi-surface (FS) induced lattice modulation in a YBCO superconductor with a wavevector along CuO chains, {\it i.e.} ${\bf q}_1$=(0,$\delta$,0). The value of $\delta\sim0.21$ is twice the Fermi wavevector ($2{\bf k}_F$) along {\bf b*} connecting nearly nested FS `ridges'. The ${\bf q}_1$ modulation exists only within O-vacancy-ordered islands (characterized by ${\bf q}_0$=$(\frac14,0,0))$ and persists well above and below $T_c$. Our results are consistent with the presence of a FS-induced charge-density wave

Influence of different land-surface processes on Indian summer monsoon circulation

The impact of different land-surface parameterisation schemes for the simulation of monsoon circulation during a normal monsoon year over India has been analysed. For this purpose, three land-surface parameterisation schemes, the NoaH, the Multi-layer soil model and the Pleim-Xiu were tested using the latest version of the regional model (MM5) of the Pennsylvania State University (PSU)/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) over the Indian summer monsoon region. With respect to different land-surface parameterisation schemes, latent and sensible heat fluxes and rainfall were estimated over the Indian region. The sensitivity of some monsoon features, such as Somali jet, tropical easterly jet and mean sea level pressure, is discussed. Although some features of the Indian summer monsoon, such as wind and mean sea level pressure, were fairly well-simulated by all three schemes, many differences were seen in the simulation of the typical characteristics of the Indian summer monsoon. It was noticed from the results that the features of the Indian summer monsoon, such as strength of the low-level westerly jet, the cross-equatorial flow and the tropical easterly jet were better simulated by NoaH compared with verification analysis than other land-surface schemes. It was also observed that the distribution of precipitation over India during the peak period of monsoon (July) was better represented with the use of the NoaH scheme than by other schemes

Three path interference using nuclear magnetic resonance: a test of the consistency of Born's rule

The Born rule is at the foundation of quantum mechanics and transforms our classical way of understanding probabilities by predicting that interference occurs between pairs of independent paths of a single object. One consequence of the Born rule is that three way (or three paths) quantum interference does not exist. In order to test the consistency of the Born rule, we examine detection probabilities in three path intereference using an ensemble of spin-1/2 quantum registers in liquid state nuclear magnetic resonance (LSNMR). As a measure of the consistency, we evaluate the ratio of three way interference to two way interference. Our experiment bounded the ratio to the order of $10^{-3} \pm 10^{-3}$, and hence it is consistent with Born's rule.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures; Improved presentation of figures 1 and 4, changes made in section 2 to better describe the experiment, minor changes throughout, and added several reference

Procedures for the Estimation of Pavement and Bridge Preservation Costs for Fiscal Planning and Programming

Facility preservation generally refers to the set of activities that are carried out to keep a facility in usable condition until the next reconstruction activity. For fiscal planning and programming, it is necessary to know the expected costs of preservation projects and how long they would last. Such information, coupled with minimum standards and facility inventory data enable estimation of overall monetary needs for bridge and pavement preservation, and would assist INDOT in undertaking appropriate programming and attendant financial planning over the long term. However, detailed engineering analyses are not possible every year because of the time and effort involved, therefore simple procedures to help estimate annual pavement and bridge preservation needs are useful for long-term fiscal planning. The study methodology consisted of first undertaking a full analysis based on engineering principles and detailed work in order to determine pavement and bridge needs for a period of time. Then simple procedures to estimate yearly pavement and bridge preservation costs were developed and the results were compared to the detailed engineering needs. Deterioration and cost models to establish engineering needs were developed using an array of statistical techniques including analysis of variance and regression analysis. Using the deterioration models, system inventory and minimum standards, the level of physical needs was determined for the entire pavement and bridge network over the analysis period. Finally, using the identified physical needs and developed cost models, the monetary needs were estimated. An age-based approach (that considers fixed time intervals instead of deterioration trends and minimum standards) was used for the bridge preservation needs. Based on the historical expenditure records and the amount of work performed in the past, simple regression models were developed to estimate future annual pavement and bridge preservation needs. The results obtained proved to be consistent with the engineering analysis

Stability of Slopes - A Case History

A Lecture cum-cinema hall was constructed on a terrace developed at the top of a hillock at a site located in the north-eastern part of India. At the time of development of the site, excavated soil was dumped on the slopes and retaining walls were constructed to retain the earth. After the first monsoon, the retaining walls gave way. Further distress in the vicinity of the building was noticed in the subsequent three years. The paper describes the details of the above failure, the investigations carried out and the remedial measures suggested

Coupling of proteins to liposomes and their role in understanding delayed type of hypersensitivity in human and mice

Liposome-coupled lepromin was found to elicit a 3-week skin reaction in leprosy patients similar to that elicited by whole Mycobacterium leprae. The present study suggests that the presentation of antigens in a specific orientation is necessary for evoking delayed type hypersensitivity response in humans

Nonlinear Pseudo-Supersymmetry in the Framework of N-fold Supersymmetry

We recall the importance of recognizing the different mathematical nature of various concepts relating to PT-symmetric quantum theories. After clarifying the relation between supersymmetry and pseudo-supersymmetry, we prove generically that nonlinear pseudo-supersymmetry, recently proposed by Sinha and Roy, is just a special case of N-fold supersymmetry. In particular, we show that all the models constructed by these authors have type A 2-fold supersymmetry. Furthermore, we prove that an arbitrary one-body quantum Hamiltonian which admits two (local) solutions in closed form belongs to type A 2-fold supersymmetry, irrespective of whether or not it is Hermitian, PT-symmetric, pseudo-Hermitian, and so on.Comment: 10 pages, no figures; typos correcte