Large space telescope control moment gyro test program

The underlying theory and design of test instrumentation and computer techniques used to determine the power spectral density (PSD) of the third generation gyro are described in detail. Acceptance test results on the completed instrument are presented as well as composite PSD plots. The measured RMS noise over the frequency band 0.0025 - 10 Hz was 0.012 arc seconds. Results obtained at Martin Company indicate an RMS noise of 0.009 arc seconds (0.05 - 10 Hz). The results obtained showed the TGG performance was close to the proposed LST requirements but that additional development work would be needed to reduce the TGG noise to within more desirable limits

Negotiating over mobile phones: calling or being called can make the difference

Mobile phones pervade our everyday life like no other technology, but the effects they have on one-to-one conversations are still relatively unknown. This paper focuses on how mobile phones influence negotiations, i.e., on discussions where two parties try to reach an agreement starting from opposing preferences. The experiments involve 60 pairs of unacquainted individuals (120 subjects). They must make a “yes” or “no” decision on whether several objects increase the chances of survival in a polar environment or not. When the participants disagree about a given object (one says “yes” and the other says “no”), they must try to convince one another and reach a common decision. Since the subjects discuss via phone, one of them (selected randomly) calls while the other is called. The results show that the caller convinces the receiver in 70 % of the cases ( p value = 0.005 according to a two-tailed binomial test). Gender, age, personality and conflict handling style, measured during the experiment, fail in explaining such a persuasiveness difference. Calling or being called appears to be the most important factor behind the observed result

Detecting patterns of species diversification in the presence of both rate shifts and mass extinctions

Recent methodological advances are enabling better examination of speciation and extinction processes and patterns. A major open question is the origin of large discrepancies in species number between groups of the same age. Existing frameworks to model this diversity either focus on changes between lineages, neglecting global effects such as mass extinctions, or focus on changes over time which would affect all lineages. Yet it seems probable that both lineages differences and mass extinctions affect the same groups. Here we used simulations to test the performance of two widely used methods, under complex scenarios. We report good performances, although with a tendency to over-predict events when increasing the complexity of the scenario. Overall, we find that lineage shifts are better detected than mass extinctions. This work has significance for assessing the methods currently used for estimating changes in diversification using phylogenies and developing new tests.Comment: 34 pages, 11 figure

Intense high-quality medical proton beams via laser fields

During the past decade, the interaction of high-intensity lasers with solid targets has attracted much interest, regarding its potential in accelerating charged particles. In spite of tremendous progress in laser-plasma based acceleration, it is still not clear which particle beam quality will be accessible within the upcoming multi petawatt (1 PW = 10$^{15}$ W) laser generation. Here, we show with simulations based on the coupled relativistic equations of motion that protons stemming from laser-plasma processes can be efficiently post-accelerated using crossed laser beams focused to spot radii of a few laser wavelengths. We demonstrate that the crossed beams produce monoenergetic accelerated protons with kinetic energies $> 200$ MeV, small energy spreads ($\approx$ 1$$) and high densities as required for hadron cancer therapy. To our knowledge, this is the first scheme allowing for this important application based on an all-optical set-up.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

Transforming regional position of Central-Eastern Europe in the economic space of the European Union with special reference to Hungary

In post socialist countries that now form the eastern member states of the European Union there was a general vision of the society from the early nineties to catch up to the developed West. The dream of reaching the level of western European economic development and living standards was the main driver for economic transition and EU integration. In spite of modest convergence, however, the difference between the West and the East has remained dominant until today, ten years after the EU accession, while the core—periphery duality is also an important economic-geographic dimension in the European single market. The changing relative position of these regions in economic terms and the interrelation between the East and West of the EU is in the focus of this paper. It addresses some specifics of regional economic development of this area and particularly of Hungary at both macroregional and regional levels paying attention to the economic crisis which started in 2007. In most of the eastern bloc, economic transition and EU integration were associated with several challenges and followed by imbalanced regional development as a result of the dominant role of the foreign direct investments in regional development, which led to the territorial concentration and increase of regional inequalities among regions within these countries