Is There a Significant Difference Between the Results of the Coulomb Dissociation of 8B and the Direct Capture 7Be(p,g)8B Reaction?

Recent claims of the Seattle group of evidence of "slope difference between CD [Coulomb Dissociation] and direct [capture] results" are based on wrong and selective data. When the RIKEN2 data are included correctly, and previously published Direct Capture (DC) data are also included, we observe only a 1.9 sigma difference in the extracted so called "scale independent slope (b)", considerably smaller than claimed by the Seattle group. The very parameterization used by the Seattle group to extract the so called b-slope parameter has no physical foundation. Considering the physical slope (S' = dS/dE), we observe a 1.0 sigma agreement between slopes (S') measured in CD and DC, refuting the need for new theoretical investigation. The claim that S17(0) values extracted from CD data are approximately 10% lower than DC results, is based on misunderstanding of the CD method. Considering all of the published CD S17(0) results, with adding back an unconfirmed E2 correction of the MSU data, yields very consistent S17(0) results that agree with recent DC measurements of the Seattle and Weizmann groups. The recent correction of the b-slope parameter (0.25 1/MeV) suggested by Esbensen, Bertsch and Snover was applied to the wrong b-slope parameter calculated by the Seattle group. When considering the correct slope of the RIKEN2 data, this correction in fact leads to a very small b-slope parameter (0.14 1/MeV), less than half the central value observed for DC data, refuting the need to correct the RIKEN2 data. In particular it confirms that the E2 contribution in the RIKEN2 data is negligible. The dispersion of measured S17(0) is mostly due to disagreement among individual DC experiments and not due to either experimental or theoretical aspects of CD.Comment: Reference 12 amended with an important communication from Dr. Bertsc

New broad 8Be nuclear resonances

Energies, total and partial widths, and reduced width amplitudes of 8Be resonances up to an excitation energy of 26 MeV are extracted from a coupled channel analysis of experimental data. The presence of an extremely broad J^pi = 2^+ ``intruder'' resonance is confirmed, while a new 1^+ and very broad 4^+ resonance are discovered. A previously known 22 MeV 2^+ resonance is likely resolved into two resonances. The experimental J^pi T = 3^(+)? resonance at 22 MeV is determined to be 3^-0, and the experimental 1^-? (at 19 MeV) and 4^-? resonances to be isospin 0.Comment: 16 pages, LaTe

Studies in matter antimatter separation and in the origin of lunar magnetism

Antimatter experiments of the University of Santa Clara are investigated. Topics reported include: (1) planetary geology, (2) lunar Apollo magnetometer experiments, and (3) Roche limit of a solid body

Roles of Fiscal Policy in New Zealand

Economic growth is one of the objectives of the current government. Fiscal policy, encompassing government expenditure and taxation decisions, can significantly impact on economic growth. This paper proposes a framework which views fiscal policy through three lenses and applies this approach to consider how fiscal policy affects economic growth. The three lenses are: fiscal sustainability, fiscal structure and fiscal stabilisation. The paper reviews international literature pertaining to these three lenses and discusses the extent to which these lenses are incorporated into New Zealand’s current fiscal framework. Contemporary New Zealand fiscal challenges are discussed and, in light of these challenges, the paper concludes with consideration of areas to investigate which may yield improvements to the New Zealand fiscal framework.Fiscal policy, sustainability, stability, structure, taxation, government spending, economic growth

The 8^8B Neutrino Spectrum

Knowledge of the energy spectrum of $^8$B neutrinos is an important ingredient for interpreting experiments that detect energetic neutrinos from the Sun. The neutrino spectrum deviates from the allowed approximation because of the broad alpha-unstable $^8$Be final state and recoil order corrections to the beta decay. We have measured the total energy of the alpha particles emitted following the beta decay of $^8$B. The measured spectrum is inconsistent with some previous measurements, in particular with a recent experiment of comparable precision. The beta decay strength function for the transition from $^8$B to the accessible excitation energies in $^8$Be is fit to the alpha energy spectrum using the R-matrix approach. Both the positron and neutrino energy spectra, corrected for recoil order effects, are constructed from the strength function. The positron spectrum is in good agreement with a previous direct measurement. The neutrino spectrum disagrees with previous experiments, particularly for neutrino energies above 12 MeV.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures, 4 tables, submitted to Phys. Rev. C, typos correcte

Studies in matter antimatter separation and in the origin of lunar magnetism

A progress report, covering lunar and planetary research is introduced. Data cover lunar ionospheric models, lunar and planetary geology, and lunar magnetism. Wind tunnel simulations of Mars aeolian problems and a comparative study of basaltic analogs of Lunar and Martial volcanic features was discussed

The effective inflationary potential of constant-torsion emergent gravity

Constant-torsion emergent gravity (CTEG) has a Lagrangian quadratic in curvature and torsion, but without any Einstein--Hilbert term. CTEG is motivated by a unitary, power-counting renormalisable particle spectrum. The timelike axial torsion adopts a vacuum expectation value, and the Friedmann cosmology emerges dynamically on this torsion condensate. We show that this mechanism -- and the whole background cosmology of CTEG -- may be understood through the effective potential of a canonical single scalar field model. The effective potential allows for hilltop inflation in the early Universe. In the late Universe, the Hubble friction overdamps the final quadratic approach to the effective minimum at the condensate, where the value of the potential becomes the cosmological constant. We do not consider particle production through spin-torsion coupling, or running of Lagrangian parameters. The model must be completed if reheating and a separation of inflationary and dark energy scales are to be understood. It is suggested that the divergence of the potential at large values of the scalar is inconsistent with the linearised propagator analysis of CTEG around zero-torsion Minkowski spacetime. This background may therefore be a strongly coupled surface in CTEG.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figure

The Presence and Absence of Animal Sacrifice in Jesus Films

This article illuminates an overlooked polemic embedded in many Jesus films. Filmmakers show little comprehension of the architecture of the Jerusalem temple. When the temple does appear, animal sacrifice is either eradicated entirely or grossly misrepresented. Since contemporary audiences are increasingly unfamiliar with animal sacrifice and butchery in general, ancient Jewish rituals can be interpreted as unscrupulous and barbaric. Also, the temple and priesthood are often expressly depicted as greedy and corrupt. A related motif anachronistically attributes the Christian rejection of animal sacrifice to Jesus himself. Some of these mischaracterizations arise from gaps, ambiguities, and ideologies within the written Gospels. Nevertheless, filmmakers and moviegoers should be critical of the ways Jesus films become sites of religious competition by intentionally or unintentionally promoting Christian supersessionism

Does gravity cause load-bearing bridges in colloidal and granular systems?

We study structures which can bear loads, "bridges", in particulate packings. To investigate the relationship between bridges and gravity, we experimentally determine bridge statistics in colloidal packings. We vary the effective magnitude and direction of gravity, volume fraction, and interactions, and find that the bridge size distributions depend only on the mean number of neighbors. We identify a universal distribution, in agreement with simulation results for granulars, suggesting that applied loads merely exploit preexisting bridges, which are inherent in dense packings