What’s Happening to Linux in Singapore?

This paper seeks to shed some light on the progress of Linux adoption in Singapore. The paper, based upon the opinions of industry experts and two case studies (the National Library Board of Singapore and Golden Village Multiplex Pte. Ltd), clarifies key Linuxadoption issues. It further discusses the pros and cons of Linux and the challenges facing this open source rival of Microsoft Windows. The paper concludes that while Linux is likely to co-exist with Windows, it is set to make some significant changes in future IT infrastructure

Experimental Evidence for a Spin-Polarized Ground State in the \nu=5/2 Fractional Quantum Hall Effect

We study the \nu=5/2 even-denominator fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE) over a wide range of magnetic (B) field in a heterojunction insulated gate field-effect transistor (HIGFET). The electron density can be tuned from n=0 to 7.6 \times 10^{11} cm^{-2} with a peak mobility \mu = 5.5 \times 10^6 cm^2/Vs. The \nu=5/2 state shows a strong minimum in diagonal resistance and a developing Hall plateau at magnetic fields as high as 12.6T. The strength of the energy gap varies smoothly with B-field. We interpret these observations as strong evidence for a spin-polarized ground state at \nu=5/2.Comment: new references adde

Masses of composite fermions carrying two and four flux quanta: Differences and similarities

This study provides a theoretical rationalization for the intriguing experimental observation regarding the equality of the normalized masses of composite fermions carrying two and four flux quanta, and also demonstrates that the mass of the latter type of composite fermion has a substantial filling factor dependence in the filling factor range $4/17 > \nu > 1/5$, in agreement with experiment, originating from the relatively strong inter-composite fermion interactions here.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Observation of Two New N* Peaks in J/psi -> ppi−nˉp pi^- \bar n and pˉπ+n\bar p\pi^+n Decays

The $\pi N$ system in decays of $J/\psi\to\bar NN\pi$ is limited to be isospin 1/2 by isospin conservation. This provides a big advantage in studying $N^*\to \pi N$ compared with $\pi N$ and $\gamma N$ experiments which mix isospin 1/2 and 3/2 for the $\pi N$ system. Using 58 million $J/\psi$ decays collected with the Beijing Electron Positron Collider, more than 100 thousand $J/\psi \to p \pi^- \bar n + c.c.$ events are obtained. Besides two well known $N^*$ peaks at 1500 MeV and 1670 MeV, there are two new, clear $N^*$ peaks in the $p\pi$ invariant mass spectrum around 1360 MeV and 2030 MeV. They are the first direct observation of the $N^*(1440)$ peak and a long-sought "missing" $N^*$ peak above 2 GeV in the $\pi N$ invariant mass spectrum. A simple Breit-Wigner fit gives the mass and width for the $N^*(1440)$ peak as $1358\pm 6 \pm 16$ MeV and $179\pm 26\pm 50$ MeV, and for the new $N^*$ peak above 2 GeV as $2068\pm 3^{+15}_{-40}$ MeV and $165\pm 14\pm 40$ MeV, respectively

Solidification of Al-Sn-Cu based immiscible alloys under intense shearing

The official published version of the Article can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2009 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society and ASM InternationalThe growing importance of Al-Sn based alloys as materials for engineering applications necessitates the development of uniform microstructures with improved performance. Guided by the recently thermodynamically assessed Al-Sn-Cu system, two model immiscible alloys, Al-45Sn-10Cu and Al-20Sn-10Cu, were selected to investigate the effects of intensive melt shearing provided by the novel melt conditioning by advanced shear technology (MCAST) unit on the uniform dispersion of the soft Sn phase in a hard Al matrix. Our experimental results have confirmed that intensive melt shearing is an effective way to achieve fine and uniform dispersion of the soft phase without macro-demixing, and that such dispersed microstructure can be further refined in alloys with precipitation of the primary Al phase prior to the demixing reaction. In addition, it was found that melt shearing at 200 rpm and 60 seconds will be adequate to produce fine and uniform dispersion of the Sn phase, and that higher shearing speed and prolonged shearing time can only achieve minor further refinement.This work is funded by the EPSRC and DT

Inverse flux quantum periodicity of magnetoresistance oscillations in two-dimensional short-period surface superlattices

Transport properties of the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) are considered in the presence of a perpendicular magnetic field $B$ and of a {\it weak} two-dimensional (2D) periodic potential modulation in the 2DEG plane. The symmetry of the latter is rectangular or hexagonal. The well-known solution of the corresponding tight-binding equation shows that each Landau level splits into several subbands when a rational number of flux quanta $h/e$ pierces the unit cell and that the corresponding gaps are exponentially small. Assuming the latter are closed due to disorder gives analytical wave functions and simplifies considerably the evaluation of the magnetoresistivity tensor $\rho_{\mu\nu}$. The relative phase of the oscillations in $\rho_{xx}$ and $\rho_{yy}$ depends on the modulation periods involved. For a 2D modulation with a {\bf short} period $\leq 100$ nm, in addition to the Weiss oscillations the collisional contribution to the conductivity and consequently the tensor $\rho_{\mu\nu}$ show {\it prominent peaks when one flux quantum $h/e$ passes through an integral number of unit cells} in good agreement with recent experiments. For periods $300- 400$ nm long used in early experiments, these peaks occur at fields 10-25 times smaller than those of the Weiss oscillations and are not resolved

Measurements of J/psi Decays into 2(pi+pi-)eta and 3(pi+pi-)eta

Based on a sample of 5.8X 10^7 J/psi events taken with the BESII detector, the branching fractions of J/psi--> 2(pi+pi-)eta and J/psi-->3(pi+pi-)eta are measured for the first time to be (2.26+-0.08+-0.27)X10^{-3} and (7.24+-0.96+-1.11)X10^{-4}, respectively.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure

Modelling of strain effects in manganite films

Thickness dependence and strain effects in films of $La_{1-x}A_xMnO_3$ perovskites are analyzed in the colossal magnetoresistance regime. The calculations are based on a generalization of a variational approach previously proposed for the study of manganite bulk. It is found that a reduction in the thickness of the film causes a decrease of critical temperature and magnetization, and an increase of resistivity at low temperatures. The strain is introduced through the modifications of in-plane and out-of-plane electron hopping amplitudes due to substrate-induced distortions of the film unit cell. The strain effects on the transition temperature and transport properties are in good agreement with experimental data only if the dependence of the hopping matrix elements on the $Mn-O-Mn$ bond angle is properly taken into account. Finally variations of the electron-phonon coupling linked to the presence of strain turn out important in influencing the balance of coexisting phases in the filmComment: 7 figures. To be published on Physical Review

Search for the Rare Decays J/Psi --> Ds- e+ nu_e, J/Psi --> D- e+ nu_e, and J/Psi --> D0bar e+ e-

We report on a search for the decays J/Psi --> Ds- e+ nu_e + c.c., J/Psi --> D- e+ nu_e + c.c., and J/Psi --> D0bar e+ e- + c.c. in a sample of 5.8 * 10^7 J/Psi events collected with the BESII detector at the BEPC. No excess of signal above background is observed, and 90% confidence level upper limits on the branching fractions are set: B(J/Psi --> Ds- e+ nu_e + c.c.)<4.8*10^-5, B(J/Psi --> D- e+ nu_e + c.c.) D0bar e+ e- + c.c.)<1.1*10^-5Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

BESII Detector Simulation

A Monte Carlo program based on Geant3 has been developed for BESII detector simulation. The organization of the program is outlined, and the digitization procedure for simulating the response of various sub-detectors is described. Comparisons with data show that the performance of the program is generally satisfactory.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures, uses elsart.cls, to be submitted to NIM