Universal geometrical scaling of the elliptic flow

The presence of scaling variables in experimental observables provide very valuable indications of the dynamics underlying a given physical process. In the last years, the search for geometric scaling, that is the presence of a scaling variable which encodes all geometrical information of the collision as well as other external quantities as the total energy, has been very active. This is motivated, in part, for being one of the genuine predictions of the Color Glass Condensate formalism for saturation of partonic densities. Here we extend these previous findings to the case of experimental data on elliptic flow. We find an excellent scaling for all centralities and energies, from RHIC to LHC, with a simple generalization of the scaling previously found for other observables and systems. Interestingly the case of the photons, difficult to reconcile in most formalisms, nicely fit the scaling curve. We discuss the possible interpretations of this finding in terms of initial or final state effects.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Phys Rev

Limiting fragmentation in heavy-ion collisions and percolation of strings

The observed limiting fragmentation of charged particle distributions in heavy ion collisions is difficult to explain as it does not apply to the proton spectrum itself. On the other hand, string percolation provides a mechanism to regenerate fast particles, eventually compensating the rapidity shift (energy loss) of the nucleons. However a delicate energy-momentum compensation is required, and in our framework we see no reason for limiting fragmentation to be exact. A prediction, based on percolation arguments, is given for the charged particle density in the full rapidity interval at LHC energy $(\sqrt s =5500 GeV)$.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures (2 eps files), late

On Hierarchy and Equivalence of Relativistic Equations for Massive Fields

A non-canonical correspondence of the complete sets of solutions to the Dirac and Klein-Gordon free equations in Minkowski space-time is established. This allows for a novel viewpoint on the relationship of relativistic equations for different spins and on the origin of spinor transformations. In particular, starting from a solution to the Dirac equation, one obtains a chain of other solutions to both Dirac and Klein-Gordon equations. A comparison with the massless case is performed, and examples of non-trivial singular solutions are presented. A generalization to Riemannian space-time and inclusion of interactions are briefly discussed.Comment: 7 pages, twocolumn. Problem of construction the hierarchy of solutions in the massive case reformulate

Infanticide in Chimpanzees: Taphonomic Case Studies from Gombe

Objectives We present a study of skeletal damage to four chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) infanticide victims from Gombe National Park, Tanzania. Skeletal analysis may provide insight into the adaptive significance of infanticide by examining whether nutritional benefits sufficiently explain infanticidal behavior. The nutritional hypothesis would be supported if bone survivorship rates and skeletal damage patterns are comparable to those of monkey prey. If not, other explanations, such as the resource competition hypothesis, should be considered. Methods Taphonomic assessment of two chimpanzee infants included description of breakage and surface modification, data on MNE, %MNE, and bone survivorship. Two additional infants were assessed qualitatively. The data were compared to published information on monkey prey. We also undertook a review of published infanticide cases. Results The cases were intercommunity infanticides (one male and three female infants) committed by males. Attackers partially consumed two of the victims. Damage to all four infants included puncture marks and compression fractures to the cranium, crenulated breaks to long bones, and incipient fractures on ribs. Compared to monkey prey, the chimpanzee infants had an abundance of vertebrae and hand/foot bones. Conclusions The cases described here suggest that chimpanzees may not always completely consume infanticide victims, while reports on chimpanzee predation indicated that complete consumption of monkey prey usually occurred. Infanticidal chimpanzees undoubtedly gain nutritional benefits when they consume dead infants, but this benefit may not sufficiently explain infanticide in this species. Continued study of infanticidal and hunting behavior, including skeletal analysis, is likely to be of interest

Nuclear like effects in proton-proton collisions at high energy

We show that several effects considered nuclear effects are not nuclear in the sense that they do not only occur in nucleus-nucleus and hadron-nucleus collisions but, as well, they are present in hadron-hadron (proton-proton) collisions. The matter creation mechanism in hh, hA and AA collisions is always the same. The pT suppression of particles produced in large multiplicity events compared to low multiplicity events, the elliptic flow and the Cronin effect are predicted to occur in pp collisions at LHC energies as a consequence of the obtained high density partonic medium

Percolation Effects in Very High Energy Cosmic Rays

Most QCD models of high energy collisions predict that the inelasticity $K$ is an increasing function of the energy. We argue that, due to percolation of strings, this behaviour will change and, at $\sqrt{s} \simeq 10^4$ GeV, the inelasticity will start to decrease with the energy. This has straightforward consequences in high energy cosmic ray physics: 1) the relative depth of the shower maximum $\bar{X}$ grows faster with energy above the knee; 2) the energy measurements of ground array experiments at GZK energies could be overestimated.Comment: Correction of equation (19) and figures 3 and 4. 4 pages, 4 figure

Efeito de diferentes períodos de alagamento no desenvolvimento de Brachiaria brizantha cv. marandu.

O objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar a resposta da Brachiaria brizantha cv Marandu a diferentes períodos de alagamento O experimento foi conduzido em casa-de-vegetação nas dependências da Embrapa Pecuária Sudeste, São Carlos, com delineamento de blocos completos ao acaso, em esquema fatorial 5x2, e quatro repetições. Os tratamentos foram constituídos por 5 períodos de alagamento: zero, cinco, dez, quinze e vinte dias de alagamento, e 2 épocas de coleta: a primeira foi realizada ao final do Período de alagamento e a segunda após 15 dias de rebrota. No experimento conduzido não houve efeito significativo do alagamento sobre a taxa de alongamento foliar (P>0,05), sendo seu resultado inverso ao esperado. Observouse que a percentagem de raízes foi maior para as plantas que não sofreram alagamento e menor nas plantas que permaneceram por 20 dias com lâmina d?água. Concluiu-se que períodos de 20 dias de alagamento restringem o desenvolvimento do sistema radicular da espécie de Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu