Dielectric constant and loss tangent of Eccofoam PT, at 2.3 GHz, for various packing densities

Dielectric constant and loss tangent of epoxy foam for various packing densities in antenna syste

Development of advanced Czochralski growth process to produce low cost 150 kg silicon ingots from a single crucible for technology readiness

Six growth runs used the Kayex-Hameo Automatic Games Logic (AGILE) computer based system for growth from larger melts in the Mod CG2000. The implementation of the melt pyrometer sensor allowed for dip temperature monitoring and usage by the operator/AGILE system. Use of AGILE during recharge operations was successfully evaluated. The tendency of crystals to lose cylindrical shape (spiraling) continued to be a problem. The hygrometer was added to the Furnace Gas Analysis System and used on several growth runs. The gas chromatograph, including the integrator, was also used for more accurate carbon monoxide concentration measurements. Efforts continued for completing the automation of the total Gas Analysis System. An economic analysis, based on revised achievable straight growth rate, is presented

Argon resonance line lamp for vacuum ultraviolet photochemistry

The use of rare gas resonance line lamps as sources of monochromatic radiation for photochemical studies is well known.(1-5) Argon is ideally suited for photoionization studies of the simpler hydrocarbons which have ionization potentials below 11.6 eV. It has resonance lines at 1048 Å (11.83 eV) and 1067 Å (11.62 eV), with no other emission lines between 1050 and 2000 Å when pressures less than 1 Torr are used

Switching to the rubber hand

Inducing the rubber hand illusion (RHI) requires that participants look at an imitation hand while it is stroked in synchrony with their occluded biological hand. Previous explanations of the RHI have emphasized multisensory integration, and excluded higher cognitive functions. We investigated the relationship between the RHI and higher cognitive functions by experimentally testing task switch (as measured by switch cost) and mind wandering (as measured by SART score); we also included a questionnaire for attentional control that comprises two subscales, attention-shift and attention-focus. To assess experience of RHI, the Botvinick and Cohen (1998) questionnaire was used and illusion onset time was recorded. Our results indicate that rapidity of onset reliably indicates illusion strength. Regression analysis revealed that participants evincing less switch cost and higher attention-shift scores had faster RHI onset times, and that those with higher attention-shift scores experienced the RHI more vividly. These results suggest that the multi-sensory hypothesis is not sufficient to explain the illusion: higher cognitive functions should be taken into account when explaining variation in the experience of ownership for the rubber hand

Lepton Flavor Violation in B Decays?

The LHCb Collaboration's measurement of R_K = B(B+ -> K+ mu+ mu-)/B(B+ -> K+ e+e-) lies 2.6 sigma below the Standard Model prediction. Several groups suggest this deficit to result from new lepton non-universal interactions of muons. But non-universal leptonic interactions imply lepton flavor violation in B decays at rates much larger than are expected in the Standard Model. A simple model shows that these rates could lie just below current limits. An interesting consequence of our model, that B(B_s -> mu+ mu-)_{exp}/B(B_s -> mu+ mu-)_{SM} = R_K = 0.75, is compatible with recent measurements of these rates. We stress the importance of searches for lepton flavor violations, especially for B -> K mu e, K mu tau and B_s -> mu e, mu tau.Comment: 8 pages. Discussion of P'5 added; some discussion sharpened; discussion of decays with tau's modified; references adde

Semimetallic features in quantum transport through a gate-defined point contact in bilayer graphene

We demonstrate that, at the onset of conduction, an electrostatically defined quantum wire in bilayer graphene (BLG) with an interlayer asymmetry gap may act as a 1D semimetal, due to the multiple minivalley dispersion of its lowest subband. Formation of a non-monotonic subband coincides with a near-degeneracy between the bottom edges of the lowest two subbands in the wire spectrum, suggesting an $8e^2/h$ step at the conduction threshold, and the semimetallic behaviour of the lowest subband in the wire would be manifest as resonance transmission peaks on an $8e^2/h$ conductance plateau.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures (including appendices