Dynamical supersymmetric inflation

We propose a new class of inflationary models in which the scalar field potential governing inflation is generated by the same nonperturbative gauge dynamics that may lead to supersymmetry breaking. Such models satisfy constraints from cosmic microwave background measurements for natural values of the fundamental parameters in the theory. In addition, they have two particularly interesting characteristics: a “blue” spectrum of scalar perturbations, and an upper bound on the total amount of inflation possible.     

Contrasting interactions of sodium and potassium with H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O in haplogranitic liquids and glasses at 200 MPa from hydration–diffusion experiments

This study examines hydration–diffusion in the metaluminous haplogranite system at 200 MPa H₂O and 800–300°C. At 800°C hydration is accompanied by melting and uphill diffusion of sodium from anhydrous glass toward the region of hydration and melting, whereas potassium diffuses away from the hydration front and into anhydrous glass. Silicon and aluminum are simply diluted upon hydration. There is no change in molecular Al/(Na + K) throughout the entire hydration-diffusion aureole and, therefore, (1) there is no loss of alkalis to the vapor, and (2) K migrates to replace Na in order to maintain local charge balance required by ^IVAl. Alkali diffusion occurs over a viscosity contrast from 10^4.1 Pa s in hydrous liquid to 10^11.8–10^13.5 Pa s in anhydrous glass. From these results, we interpret that: (1) Na is structurally or energetically favored over K as a charge-balancing cation for ^IVAl in hydrous granitic liquids, whereas the opposite behavior has been observed for anhydrous melts, and (2) the diffusion of alkalis through silicate melts is largely independent of viscosity. Results from 600°C are similar to those at 800°C, but hydration at 300°C involves a loss of Na and concomitant increase in molar Al/(Na + K) in the hydration zone due to hydrogen-alkali exchange between fluid and glass. Hydration behavior at 400°C is transitional between those at 300°C and 600°C, suggesting that the change in hydration mechanism occurs near the glass transition.     

Experiments on the kinetics of partial melting of a leucogranite at 200 MPa H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O and 690–800°C: compositional variability of melts during the onset of H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O-saturated crustal anatexis

We have experimentally investigated the kinetics of melting of an aplitic leucogranite (quartz+sodic plagioclase of ≈Ab₉₀+K-feldspar+traces of biotite) at 690, 740, and 800°C, all at 200 MPa H₂O. Leucogranite cylinders, 3.5 mm in diameter and 7 mm in length, were run in the presence of excess H₂O using cold-seal pressure vessels for 11–2,925 h. At 690 and 740°C and any experimental time, and 800°C and short run times, silicate glass (melt at run conditions) occurs as interconnected films along most of the mineral boundaries and in fractures, with the predominant volume occurring along quartz/feldspars boundaries and quartz/plagioclase/K-feldspar triple junctions. Glass film thickness is roughly constant throughout a given experimental charge and increases with experimental temperature and run duration. The results indicate that H₂O-saturated partial melting of a quartzo-feldspathic protolith will produce an interconnected melt phase even at very low degrees (<5 vol%) of partial melting. Crystal grain boundaries are therefore completely occluded with melt films even at the lowest degrees of partial melting, resulting in a change in the mechanism of mass transport through the rock from advection of aqueous vapor to diffusion through silicate melt. At 690 and 740°C the compositions of glasses are homogeneous and (at both temperatures) close to, but not on, the H₂O-saturated 200 MPa haplogranite eutectic; glass compositions do not change with run duration. At 800°C glasses are heterogeneous and plot away from the minimum, although their molar ratios ASI (=mol Al₂O₃/CaO+Na₂O+K₂O) and Al/Na are constant throughout the entire charge at any experimental time. Glass compositions within individual 800°C experiments form linear trends in (wt%) normative quartz–albite–orthoclase space. The linear trends are oriented perpendicular to the 200 MPa H₂O haplogranite cotectic line, reflecting nearly constant albite/orthoclase ratio versus variable quartz/feldspar ratio, and have endpoints between the 800°C isotherms on the quartz and feldspar liquidus surfaces. With increasing experimental duration the trends migrate from the potassic side of the minimum toward the bulk rock composition located on the sodic side, due to more rapid (and complete) dissolution of K-feldspar relative to plagioclase. The results indicate that partial melting at or slightly above the solidus (690–740°C) is interface reaction-controlled, and produces disequilibrium melts of near-minimum composition that persist metastably for up to at least 3 months. Relict feldspars show no change in composition or texture, and equilibration between melt and feldspars might take from a few to tens of millions of years. Partial melting at temperatures well above the solidus (800°C) produces heterogeneous, disequilibrium liquids whose compositions are determined by the diffusive transport properties of the melt and local equilibrium with neighboring mineral phases. Feldspars recrystallize and change composition rapidly. Partial melting and equilibration between liquids and feldspars might take from a few to tens of years (H₂O-saturated conditions) at these temperatures well above the solidus.     

Long-term deforestation in NW Spain: linking the Holocene fire history to vegetation change and human activities

The Holocene fire regime is thought to have had a key role in deforestation and shrubland expansion in Galicia (NW Spain) but the contribution of past societies to vegetation burning remains poorly understood. This may be, in part, due to the fact that detailed fire records from areas in close proximity to archaeological sites are scarce. To fill this gap, we performed charcoal analysis in five colluvial soils from an archaeological area (Campo Lameiro) and compared the results to earlier studies from this area and palaeo-ecological literature from NW Spain. This analysis allowed for the reconstruction of the vegetation and fire dynamics in the area during the last ca 11 000 yrs. In the Early Holocene, Fabaceae and Betula sp. were dominant in the charcoal record. Quercus sp. started to replace these species around 10 000 cal BP, forming a deciduous forest that prevailed during the Holocene Thermal Maximum until ～5500 cal BP. Following that, several cycles of potentially fire-induced forest regression with subsequent incomplete recovery eventually led to the formation of an open landscape dominated by shrubs (Erica sp. and Fabaceae). Major episodes of forest regression were (1) ～5500–5000 cal BP, which marks the mid-Holocene cooling after the Holocene Thermal Maximum, but also the period during which agropastoral activities in NW Spain became widespread, and (2) ～2000–1500 cal BP, which corresponds roughly to the end of the Roman Warm Period and the transition from the Roman to the Germanic period. The low degree of chronological precision, which is inherent in fire history reconstructions from colluvial soils, made it impossible to distinguish climatic from human-induced fires. Nonetheless, the abundance of synanthropic pollen indicators (e.g. Plantago lanceolata and Urtica dioica) since at least ～6000 cal BP strongly suggests that humans used fire to generate and maintain pasture.     

Classical constructive methods in KAM theory

Two methods for constructing quasiperiodic solutions as expansion in a small parameter are discussed. The first one is the classical Lindstedt's method; the second one an algorithm based on Kolmogorov's paper (Kolmogorov, 1954). Besides a complete formulation of the algorithms, an overview of the main ideas leading to the proof of convergence of the expansions is given. Some comparison is also made, including in particular the analysis of the effectiveness of the algorithms.     

Corridor location: the multi-gateway shortest path model

The problem of corridor location can be found in a number of fields including power transmission, highways, and pipelines. It involves the placement of a corridor or rights-of-way that traverses a landscape starting at an origin and ending at a destination. Since most systems are subject to environmental review, it is important to generate competitive, but different alternatives. This paper addresses the problem of generating efficient, spatially different alternatives to the corridor location problem. We discuss the weaknesses in current models and propose a new approach which is designed to overcome many of these problems. We present an application of this model to a real landscape and compare the results to past work. Overall, the new model called the multi-gateway shortest path problem can generate a wide variety of efficient alignments, which eclipse what could be generated by past work.     

Using a regional numerical weather prediction model for GNSS positioning over Brazil

The global navigation satellite system (GNSS) can provide centimeter positioning accuracy at low costs. However, in order to obtain the desired high accuracy, it is necessary to use high-quality atmospheric models. We focus on the troposphere, which is an important topic of research in Brazil where the tropospheric characteristics are unique, both spatially and temporally. There are dry regions, which lie mainly in the central part of the country. However, the most interesting area for the investigation of tropospheric models is the wet region which is located in the Amazon forest. This region substantially affects the variability of humidity over other regions of Brazil. It provides a large quantity of water vapor through the humidity convergence zone, especially for the southeast region. The interconnection and large fluxes of water vapor can generate serious deficiencies in tropospheric modeling. The CPTEC/INPE (Center for Weather Forecasting and Climate Studies/Brazilian Institute for Space Research) has been providing since July 2012 a numerical weather prediction (NWP) model for South America, known as Eta. It has yield excellent results in weather prediction but has not been used in GNSS positioning. This NWP model was evaluated in precise point positioning (PPP) and network-based positioning. Concerning PPP, the best positioning results were obtained for the station SAGA, located in Amazon region. Using the NWP model, the 3D RMS are less than 10 cm for all 24 h of data, whereas the values reach approximately 60 cm for the Hopfield model. For network-based positioning, the best results were obtained mainly when the tropospheric characteristics are critical, in which case an improvement of up to 7.2 % was obtained in 3D RMS using NWP models.     

Elucidation of different forms of organic carbon in marine sediments from the Atlantic coast of Spain using thermal analysis coupled to isotope ratio and quadrupole mass spectrometry

Analysis of river, estuary and marine sediments from the Atlantic coast of Spain using thermogravimetry–differential scanning calorimetry–quadrupole mass spectrometry–isotope ratio mass spectrometry (TG–DSC–QMS–IRMS) was used to (a) distinguish bulk chemical hosts for C within a sediment and humic acid fraction, (b) track C pools with differing natural C isotope ratios and (c) observe variation with distance from the coast. This is the first application of such a novel method to the characterisation of organic matter from marine sediments and their corresponding humic acid fractions. Using thermal analysis, a labile, a recalcitrant and a refractory carbon pool can be distinguished. Extracted humic fractions are mainly of recalcitrant nature. The proportion of refractory carbon is greatest in marine sediments and humic acid fractions. Quadrupole mass spectrometry confirmed that the greatest proportion of m/z 44 (CO₂) and m/z 18 (H₂O) were detected at temperatures associated with recalcitrant carbon (510–540 °C). Isotope analysis detected progressive enrichment in δ¹³C for the sediment samples with an increase in marine influence. Isotopic heterogeneity in the refractory organic matter in marine sediments could be due to products of anthropogenic origin or natural combustion products. Isotope homogeneity of humic acids confirms the presence of terrigenous C in marine sediments, allowing the terrestrial input to be characterised.