Masses and Internal Structure of Mesons in the String Quark Model

The relativistic quantum string quark model, proposed earlier, is applied to all mesons, from pion to $\Upsilon$, lying on the leading Regge trajectories (i.e., to the lowest radial excitations in terms of the potential quark models). The model describes the meson mass spectrum, and comparison with measured meson masses allows one to determine the parameters of the model: current quark masses, universal string tension, and phenomenological constants describing nonstring short-range interaction. The meson Regge trajectories are in general nonlinear; practically linear are only trajectories for light-quark mesons with non-zero lowest spins. The model predicts masses of many new higher-spin mesons. A new $K^*(1^-)$ meson is predicted with mass 1910 Mev. In some cases the masses of new low-spin mesons are predicted by extrapolation of the phenomenological short-range parameters in the quark masses. In this way the model predicts the mass of $\eta_b(1S)(0^{-+})$ to be $9500\pm 30$ MeV, and the mass of $B_c(0^-)$ to be $6400\pm 30$ MeV (the potential model predictions are 100 Mev lower). The relativistic wave functions of the composite mesons allow one to calculate the energy and spin structure of mesons. The average quark-spin projections in polarized $\rho$-meson are twice as small as the nonrelativistic quark model predictions. The spin structure of $K^*$ reveals an 80% violation of the flavour SU(3). These results may be relevant to understanding the ``spin crises'' for nucleons.Comment: 30 pages, REVTEX, 6 table

Water Quality, nutrients and the European Union’s Water Framework Directive in a lowland agricultural region: Suffolk, south-east England.

The water quality of 13 rivers in the lowland, agricultural county of Suffolk is investigated using routine monitoring data for the period 1981 to 2006 collected by the Environment Agency of England and Wales (EA), and its predecessors, with particular emphasis on phosphorus (as total reactive phosphorus, TRP) and total (dissolved and particulate) oxidised nitrogen (TOxN – predominantly nitrate NO3). Major ion and flow data are used to outline fundamental hydrochemical characteristics related to the groundwater provenance of base-flow waters. Relative load contributions from point and diffuse sources are approximated using Load Apportionment Modelling for both TRP and TOxN where concurrent flow and concentration data are available. Analyses indicate a mixture of point and diffuse sources of TRP, with the former being dominant during low flow periods, while for TOxN diffuse sources dominate. Out of 59 sites considered, 53 (90%) were found to have annual average TRP concentrations greater than 0.05 mg P l-1, and 36 (61%) had average concentrations over 0.120 mg P l-1, the upper thresholds for ‘High’ and ‘Good’ ecological status, respectively. Correspondingly, for TOxN, most of the rivers are already within 70% of the 11.3 mg N l-1 threshold, with two rivers (Wang and Ore) being consistently greater than this. It is suggested that the major challenge is to characterise and control point-source TRP inputs which, being predominant during the late spring and summer low-flow period, coincide with the peak of primary biological production, thus presenting the major challenge to achieving ‘good’ ecological status under the Water Framework Directive. Results show that considerable effort is still required to ensure appropriate management and develop tools for decision-support

Geological notes and local details for 1:10 000 sheet TM 35 SE (Snape) : part of 1:50 000 sheets 190 (Eye) and 208 (Woodbridge)

This report describes the geology of the 1:10 000 sheet TM 35 NE which is included in the Eye (190) and Woodbridge (208) geological maps. The area was f i r s t surveyed by W Whitaker and W H Dalton as part of the Old Series One-Inch sheet 50 SE published in 1883. The primary six-inch survey of the Snape area was made by J A Zalasiewicz in 1982-3 under the direction of D r W A Read as Programme Manager. Uncoloured dyeline copies of the map can be obtained from the British Geological Survey, Keyworth. The sheet area lies some 10 Km north-east of Woodbridge, Suffolk. Most of the ground is broadly f l a t and lies a t c 20-25 m OD. It is underlain largely by Boulder Clay and given over to arable farming. Boulder Clay is absent from the south-east of the area, where a broad outcrop of Kesgrave Sands and Gravels largely coincides with coniferous forest. The south-eastwards flowing River Alde and its tributaries have incised wide valleys in the central and northern parts of the area. Kesgrave Sands and Gravels and the underlying Chillesford Sand crop out in the valley sides, together with irregular masses of Fluvio-Glacial Sand and Gravel and Boulder Clay. The wide f l a t valley floors are underlain by freshwater and estuarine alluvium, and are given over to arable farming with some pasture. The major settlement is Snape, where The Maltings is now a well-known concert hall. There are two smaller settlements, Tunstall and Blaxhall, and a number of scattered farmsteads

Measure concentration through non-Lipschitz observables and functional inequalities

Non-Gaussian concentration estimates are obtained for invariant probability measures of reversible Markov processes. We show that the functional inequalities approach combined with a suitable Lyapunov condition allows us to circumvent the classical Lipschitz assumption of the observables. Our method is general and covers diffusions as well as pure-jump Markov processes on unbounded spaces

Aggregation and Representation in the European Parliament Party Groups

While members of the European Parliament are elected in national constituencies, their votes are determined by the aggregation of MEPs in multinational party groups. The uncoordinated aggregation of national party programmes in multinational EP party groups challenges theories of representation based on national parties and parliaments. This article provides a theoretical means of understanding representation by linking the aggregation of dozens of national party programmes in different EP party groups to the aggregation of groups to produce the parliamentary majority needed to enact policies. Drawing on an original data source of national party programmes, the EU Profiler, the article shows that the EP majorities created by aggregating MEP votes in party groups are best explained by cartel theories. These give priority to strengthening the EP’s collective capacity to enact policies rather than voting in accord with the programmes they were nationally elected to represent

Pulling the Strings: Party Group Coordinators in the European Parliament

Since its post-Lisbon increase in (legislative and non-legislative) powers, the European Parliament (EP) is more relevant than ever in the geographically diversified multilevel system of the EU. Party group coordinators occupy a crucial position in collective decision-making within the EP. However, knowledge about these pivotal actors is absent. This raises the question as to who these party group coordinators are, what they do, and what indeed makes a good coordinator. A new data set shows that in 2012, more than one-fifth of coordinators of the three largest and most influential groups are German, with British and Spanish coordinators ranking a distant second before Romanians. Among coordinators from NMS, only one-eighth were newcomers