M-Theory on the Orbifold C^2/Z_N

We construct M-theory on the orbifold C^2/Z_N by coupling 11-dimensional supergravity to a seven-dimensional Yang-Mills theory located on the orbifold fixed plane. It is shown that the resulting action is supersymmetric to leading non-trivial order in the 11-dimensional Newton constant. This action provides the starting point for a reduction of M-theory on G_2 spaces with co-dimension four singularities.Comment: 33 pages, Late

Phosphorus and arsenic distributions in a seasonally-stratified, iron- and manganese-rich lake: microbiological and geochemical controls

Seasonal stratification in temperate lakes greater than a few metres deep provides conditions amenable to pronounced vertical zonation of redox chemistry. Such changes are particularly evident in eutrophic systems where high phytoplankton biomass often leads to seasonally-established anoxic hypolimnia and profound changes in geochemical conditions. In this study, we investigated the behaviour of trace elements in the water column of a seasonally-stratified, eutrophic lake. Two consecutive years of data from Lake Ngapouri, North Island, New Zealand, demonstrate the occurrence of highly correlated profiles of phosphorus (P), arsenic (As), iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn), all of which increased in concentration by 1-2 orders of magnitude within the anoxic hypolimnion. Stoichiometric and mass-balance considerations demonstrate that increases in alkalinity in hypolimnetic waters were consistent with observed changes in sulfate, Fe and Mn concentrations with depth, corresponding to dissimilatory reduction of sulfate, Fe(III) and Mn(IV) hydroxides. Thermodynamic constraints on Fe, Mn and Al solubility indicate that amorphous Fe(III), Mn(IV) hydroxides most probably controlled Fe and Mn in the surface mixed layer (~0 to 8 m) while Al(III) hydroxides were supersaturated throughout the entire system. Surface complexation modelling indicated that iron hydroxides (HFO) potentially dominated As speciation in the lake. It is likely that other colloidal phases such as allophanic clays also limited HPO42- activity, reducing competition for HAsO42- adsorption to iron hydroxides. This research highlights the coupling of P, As, Fe and Mn in Lake Ngapouri, and the apparent role of multiple colloidal phases in affecting P and As activity within overarching microbiological and geochemical processes

Halo-Independent Direct Detection Analyses Without Mass Assumptions

Results from direct detection experiments are typically interpreted by employing an assumption about the dark matter velocity distribution, with results presented in the $m_\chi-\sigma_n$ plane. Recently methods which are independent of the DM halo velocity distribution have been developed which present results in the $v_{min}-\tilde{g}$ plane, but these in turn require an assumption on the dark matter mass. Here we present an extension of these halo-independent methods for dark matter direct detection which does not require a fiducial choice of the dark matter mass. With a change of variables from $v_{min}$ to nuclear recoil momentum ($p_R$), the full halo-independent content of an experimental result for any dark matter mass can be condensed into a single plot as a function of a new halo integral variable, which we call $\tilde{h}(p_R)$. The entire family of conventional halo-independent $\tilde{g}(v_{min})$ plots for all DM masses are directly found from the single $\tilde{h}(p_R)$ plot through a simple rescaling of axes. By considering results in $\tilde{h}(p_R)$ space, one can determine if two experiments are inconsistent for all masses and all physically possible halos, or for what range of dark matter masses the results are inconsistent for all halos, without the necessity of multiple $\tilde{g}(v_{min})$ plots for different DM masses. We conduct a sample analysis comparing the CDMS II Si events to the null results from LUX, XENON10, and SuperCDMS using our method and discuss how the mass-independent limits can be strengthened by imposing the physically reasonable requirement of a finite halo escape velocity.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures. v2: footnote and references adde

THE ECONOMICS OF CLEANING WINTER WHEAT FOR EXPORT: AN EVALUATION OF PROPOSED FEDERAL "CLEAN GRAIN" STANDARDS

Buyer complaints about poor quality U.S. wheat have led to proposals to enforce minimum dockage standards for exports. An economic-engineering approach is used to evaluate costs and benefits of cleaning wheat in order to meet these standards for 13 possible cleaning configurations. These results are used in an optimization framework to estimate costs and benefits of cleaning all U.S. export wheat. The estimates indicate that cleaning U.S. export winter wheat to .35% dockage would cost an average of 1 cent/bu., requiring an initial capital investment of $28 million. Value of wheat lost in cleaning is a significant cost that previously has been overlooked.Agricultural and Food Policy,