Model-independent measurement of the top quark polarisation

We introduce a new asymmetry in the decay t -> W b -> l nu b, which is shown to be directly proportional to the polarisation of the top quark along a chosen axis, times a sum of W helicity fractions. The latter have already been precisely measured at the Tevatron and the Large Hadron Collider. Therefore, this new asymmetry can be used to obtain a model-independent measurement of the polarisation of top quarks produced in any process at hadron or lepton colliders.Comment: LaTeX 12 pages. Discussion expanded with a new plot, references added. Final version to appear in PL

Impurity-induced transition and impurity-enhanced thermopower in the thermoelectric oxide NaCo_{2-x}Cu_x$O_4

Various physical quantities are measured and analysed for the Cu-substituted thermoelectric oxide NaCo_{2-x}Cu_xO_4. As was previously known, the substituted Cu enhances the thermoelectric power, while it does not increase the resistivity significantly. The susceptibility and the electron specific-heat are substantially decreased with increasing x, which implies that the substituted Cu decreases the effective-mass enhancement. Through a quantitative comparison with the heavy fermion compounds and the valence fluctuation systems, we have found that the Cu substitution effectively increases the coupling between the conduction electron and the magnetic fluctuation. The Cu substitution induces a phase transition at 22 K that is very similar to a spin-density-wave transition.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

STRAIN DIFFERENCES IN THE EXPRESSION OF THE EPA-1-RESTRICTING ELEMENT

Epa-1-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) lyse epidermal cells (EC) of different Epa-1 + H-2 k strains, such as AKR, CBA, C58, and RF, at different levels. We used an H-2K k -specific monoclonal antibody (mAb) to test the hypothesis that this phenomenon is due to differences in the H-2-restricting element. Initially, we established the specificity of this mAb for the Epa-1-restricting element by demonstrating its capacity to inhibit the lysis of CBA EC by Epa-1-specific CTL. We then used it as the probe in a cellular radioimmunoassay to quantify the expression of the restricting element by EC of different H-2 k strains. We found that C58 and RF EC bound significantly less of the mAb than did CBA EC. Although AKR also bound less of the mAb than did CBA EC, the difference was not statistically significant. To examine the generality of this phenomenon, we quantified the expression of K k antigens on spleen cells (SC) of the same four strains. We found that RF SC, but not AKR or C58 SC, bound significantly less of the K k mAb than did CBA SC. Thus, the differential CTL lysis of Epa-1 + EC of different strains probably reflects differences in expression of the H-2-restricting element rather than of the nominal antigen.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75485/1/j.1744-313X.1987.tb00375.x.pd

Mean flow and spiral defect chaos in Rayleigh-Benard convection

We describe a numerical procedure to construct a modified velocity field that does not have any mean flow. Using this procedure, we present two results. Firstly, we show that, in the absence of mean flow, spiral defect chaos collapses to a stationary pattern comprising textures of stripes with angular bends. The quenched patterns are characterized by mean wavenumbers that approach those uniquely selected by focus-type singularities, which, in the absence of mean flow, lie at the zig-zag instability boundary. The quenched patterns also have larger correlation lengths and are comprised of rolls with less curvature. Secondly, we describe how mean flow can contribute to the commonly observed phenomenon of rolls terminating perpendicularly into lateral walls. We show that, in the absence of mean flow, rolls begin to terminate into lateral walls at an oblique angle. This obliqueness increases with Rayleigh number.Comment: 14 pages, 19 figure

Magnetoelectric ordering of BiFeO3 from the perspective of crystal chemistry

In this paper we examine the role of crystal chemistry factors in creating conditions for formation of magnetoelectric ordering in BiFeO3. It is generally accepted that the main reason of the ferroelectric distortion in BiFeO3 is concerned with a stereochemical activity of the Bi lone pair. However, the lone pair is stereochemically active in the paraelectric orthorhombic beta-phase as well. We demonstrate that a crucial role in emerging of phase transitions of the metal-insulator, paraelectric-ferroelectric and magnetic disorder-order types belongs to the change of the degree of the lone pair stereochemical activity - its consecutive increase with the temperature decrease. Using the structural data, we calculated the sign and strength of magnetic couplings in BiFeO3 in the range from 945 C down to 25 C and found the couplings, which undergo the antiferromagnetic-ferromagnetic transition with the temperature decrease and give rise to the antiferromagnetic ordering and its delay in regard to temperature, as compared to the ferroelectric ordering. We discuss the reasons of emerging of the spatially modulated spin structure and its suppression by doping with La3+.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures, 3 table

Observation of a Coherence Length Effect in Exclusive Rho^0 Electroproduction

Exclusive incoherent electroproduction of the rho^0(770) meson from 1H, 2H, 3He, and 14N targets has been studied by the HERMES experiment at squared four-momentum transfer Q**2>0.4 GeV**2 and positron energy loss nu from 9 to 20 GeV. The ratio of the 14N to 1H cross sections per nucleon, known as the nuclear transparency, was found to decrease with increasing coherence length of quark-antiquark fluctuations of the virtual photon. The data provide clear evidence of the interaction of the quark- antiquark fluctuations with the nuclear medium.Comment: RevTeX, 5 pages, 3 figure

Flavor Decomposition of the Polarized Quark Distributions in the Nucleon from Inclusive and Semi-inclusive Deep-inelastic Scattering

Spin asymmetries of semi-inclusive cross sections for the production of positively and negatively charged hadrons have been measured in deep-inelastic scattering of polarized positrons on polarized hydrogen and 3He targets, in the kinematic range 0.023<x<0.6 and 1 GeV^2<Q^2<10 GeV^2. Polarized quark distributions are extracted as a function of x for up $(u+u_bar) and down (d+d_bar) flavors. The up quark polarization is positive and the down quark polarization is negative in the measured range. The polarization of the sea is compatible with zero. The first moments of the polarized quark distributions are presented. The isospin non-singlet combination Delta_q_3 is consistent with the prediction based on the Bjorken sum rule. The moments of the polarized quark distributions are compared to predictions based on SU(3)_f flavor symmetry and to a prediction from lattice QCD.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures (eps format), 10 tables in Latex New version contains tables of asymmetries and correlation matri

Using Stars, Not Just ‘Reading’ Them:The roles and functions of film stars in mother-daughter relations

This article explores the various and important ways in which film stars can function within mother-daughter relations over the life-cycle of their relationship. Drawing on detailed qualitative material from an interdisciplinary audience study of mothers’ and daughters’ shared relations to film stars, it demonstrates how a significant shift can be identified with regard to the kinds of roles that stars play in dyadic relations as a daughter experiences various developmental and transitional phases to adulthood. Necessitating an alternative approach to those previously employed within Star and Celebrity Studies, the article takes a significant new perspective on the study of audiences for stars from the work of art anthropologist Alfred Gell (1998) and proposes a move away from semiotic, ‘textualist’ readings of stars towards an ‘action’-centred exploration of the ways in which films stars are used and function in social interactions over the life-cycle of personal relationships