Fluctuations and the QCD phase diagram

In this contribution the role of quantum fluctuations for the QCD phase diagram is discussed. This concerns in particular the importance of the matter back-reaction to the gluonic sector. The impact of these fluctuations on the location of the confinement/deconfinement and the chiral transition lines as well as their interrelation are investigated. Consequences of our findings for the size of a possible quarkyonic phase and location of a critical endpoint in the phase diagram are drawn.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Physics of Atomic Nucle

Demographic and Economic Characteristics of Immigrant and Native-Born Populations in Rural and Urban Places

In this brief authors Andrew Schaefer and Marybeth Mattingly use American Community Survey five-year estimates to document demographic and economic characteristics of the immigrant and native-born populations in the United States by metropolitan status. They focus on a wide range of demographic and economic indicators that relate to immigrants’ ability to assimilate and thrive in rural America. They report that compared to the native-born rural population, rural immigrants are more likely to be of working age (18–64), are more racially and ethnically diverse, are less educated, and are more likely to have children. Working rural immigrants are nearly twice as likely as rural native-born workers to be poor. Roughly 97.5 percent of rural immigrants who are citizens speak at least some English, compared to just 84.2 percent of rural immigrants who are not citizens. Citizens are also far less likely to be poor and are almost twice as likely to have a college degree. Their findings on the working poor suggest that economic stability is out of reach for many rural immigrants, particularly those without U.S. citizenship

Official Poverty Statistics Mask the Economic Vulnerability of Seniors A Comparison of Maine to the Nation An

In this brief, authors Andrew Schaefer and Beth Mattingly compare Maine, one of the oldest states in the nation, to the United States as a whole. Historically, both children and the elderly were regarded as vulnerable groups in need of support from government programs. Traditional poverty estimates suggest that at least since the late 1960s, senior poverty has been on the decline, whereas poverty among children has increased. Declines among seniors are largely attributable to the advent of programs such as Social Security. Similar to the nation, about half of Maine seniors (51.0 percent) would be poor without Social Security benefits. However, traditional poverty measurement masks the role rising medical costs play in pushing seniors into poverty. The newer Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), which accounts for these costs, reveals that more than one in ten Maine seniors over age 55 were living below the poverty line in 2009–2013. This is 2.3 percentage points higher than official estimates suggest. Without medical expenses, the SPM indicates that poverty among Maine seniors would be roughly cut in half, from 10.2 percent to 5.2 percent. A similar reduction is evident across the United States (from 14.2 percent to 9.0 percent), though this represents a smaller relative reduction in poverty (by just over one-third)

Thermodynamics of (2+1)-flavor QCD: Confronting Models with Lattice Studies

The Polyakov-quark-meson (PQM) model, which combines chiral as well as deconfinement aspects of strongly interacting matter is introduced for three light quark flavors. An analysis of the chiral and deconfinement phase transition of the model and its thermodynamics at finite temperatures is given. Three different forms of the effective Polyakov loop potential are considered. The findings of the (2+1)-flavor model investigations are confronted to corresponding recent QCD lattice simulations of the RBC-Bielefeld, HotQCD and Wuppertal-Budapest collaborations. The influence of the heavier quark masses, which are used in the lattice calculations, is taken into account. In the transition region the bulk thermodynamics of the PQM model agrees well with the lattice data.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables; minor changes, final version to appear in Phys. Rev.

Federal EITC Kept 2 Percent of the Population Out of Poverty Greatest Poverty Reductions in Texas, North Carolina, and Arizona

This brief documents the proportion of Americans who would have been poor absent the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), all else being equal, across 2010–2014. It consists of a pooled sample using the Current Population Survey (CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) between the years of 2011–2015. Authors Douglas Gagnon, Marybeth Mattingly, and Andrew Schaefer examine Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) rates as well as hypothetical increases in the rates of poverty in the absence of federal EITC benefits. They report that the proportion of people who are poor in the United States as measured by the SPM would increase by two percentage points without EITC dollars. In addition, children are especially at risk of becoming poor without EITC benefits, as 1 out of every 25 would become poor without the EITC. The authors also highlight variability across states, noting that the federal EITC led to the greatest poverty reductions in the states of Texas, North Carolina, and Arizona

Memory device for two-dimensional radiant energy array computers

A memory device for two dimensional radiant energy array computers was developed, in which the memory device stores digital information in an input array of radiant energy digital signals that are characterized by ordered rows and columns. The memory device contains a radiant energy logic storing device having a pair of input surface locations for receiving a pair of separate radiant energy digital signal arrays and an output surface location adapted to transmit a radiant energy digital signal array. A regenerative feedback device that couples one of the input surface locations to the output surface location in a manner for causing regenerative feedback is also include

State EITC Programs Provide Important Relief to Families in Need

In this brief, authors Douglas Gagnon, Marybeth Mattingly, and Andrew Schaefer discuss the estimated effects of state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) benefits on rates of poverty in 2010–2014 using the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement. They report that, on average, individuals in states with refundable state EITCs receive a 17.6 percent match of their federal EITC benefit, and the state supplement pulls an estimated 0.3 percent of these states’ combined populations out of poverty. Children receive the greatest benefit, as state EITCs reduce child poverty by 0.7 percentage point overall. Even those who remain poor after receiving state EITC benefits get a sizeable boost: on average these families receive $455, which amounts to 2.4 percent of their total family earnings. The authors also examined state EITC receipt by family characteristics, finding larger average benefits for metropolitan and non-white- and Hispanic-headed households. Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Nevada, and Texas would experience the greatest estimated reductions in child poverty rates if they were to adopt a state EITC

A Demographic and Economic Profile of Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin

In this brief, authors Andrew Schaefer, Marybeth Mattingly, and Douglas Gagnon present a demographic and economic profile of Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin, with a specific focus on families with children. Analyzing data from the American Community Survey and U.S. Decennial Census on family income and poverty, they compare—wherever possible—conditions in Duluth and Superior to those in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the nation as a whole. They report that, in both Duluth and Superior, poverty among families with children has increased substantially in the last 15 years; by 2010 and 2015, family poverty was higher in each city than across the nation or statewide. In St. Louis County, Minnesota—home of Duluth—low income families have experienced declines in their income over the past 40 years, while income has grown for more well-off families

Public knowledge about polar regions increases while concerns remain unchanged

The authors of this brief conduct the first comparative analysis of the polar questions that were part of the National Opinion Research Center\u27s 2006 and 2010 General Social Survey. Developed by scientists at the National Science Foundation\u27s Office of Polar Programs, these questions covered topics such as climate change, melting ice and rising sea levels, and species extinction. The authors report that the public\u27s knowledge about the north and south polar regions significantly improved between 2006 and 2010--before and after the International Polar Year. In addition, respondents who know more about science in general, and polar facts specifically, tend to be more concerned about polar changes. More knowledgeable respondents also tend to favor reserving the Antarctic for science, rather than opening it for commercial development

One million additional children in poverty since 2009: 2010 data reveal nearly one in four southern children now live in poverty

In this brief, the authors use the ACS data released on September 22 to focus on child poverty. The authors report that between 2009 and 2010 an additional one million children joined the ranks of those in poverty. This brings the total to an estimated 15.7 million poor children in 2010, an increase of 2.6 million since the Great Recession began in 2007