Design and validation of a single sphere multi-detector neutron spectrometer based on LiF: Mg,Cu,P thermoluminescent dosemeters

This communication describes a new neutron spectrometer consisting of pairs of ⁷Li and ⁶Li based thermoluminescent dosemeters (MCP-6, MCP-7) located at selected positions within a single moderating polyethylene sphere. The spatial arrangement of the dosemeters has been designed using the MCNPX Monte Carlo code to calculate the response matrix in order to obtain a nearly isotropic response for neutrons in the energy range up to 20 MeV. A partial validation of the calculated response matrix has been performed with the calibrated ²⁴¹Am–Be neutron source at the INFN–LNF Laboratory, using the shadow cone technique.     

Some properties and applications of cumulative Kullback–Leibler information

The cumulative Kullback–Leibler information has been proposed recently as a suitable extension of Kullback–Leibler information to the cumulative distribution function. In this paper, we obtain various results on such a measure, with reference to its relation with other information measures and notions of reliability theory. We also provide some lower and upper bounds. A dynamic version of the cumulative Kullback–Leibler information is then proposed for past lifetimes. Furthermore, we investigate its monotonicity property, which is related to some new concepts of relative aging. Moreover, we propose an application to the failure of nanocomponents. Finally, in order to provide an application in image analysis, we introduce the empirical cumulative Kullback–Leibler information and prove an asymptotic result. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Observation of B(s)(0) → D(s)(*)+ D(s)(*)- using e+ e- collisions and a determination of the B(s)-B(s) width difference ΔΓ(s)

We have made the first observation of B(s)(0)→D(s)(*)+ D(s)(*)- decays using 23.6 fb(-1) of data recorded by the Belle experiment running on the Υ(5S) resonance. The branching fractions are measured to be B(B(s)(0)→D(s)+ D(s)-)=(1.03(-0.32-0.25)(+0.39+0.26))%, B(B(s)(0)→D(s)(*±) D(s)(?))=(2.75(-0.71)(+0.83)±0.69)%, and B(B(s)(0)→D(s)*+ D(s)*-)=(3.08(-1.04-0.86)(+1.22+0.85))%; the sum is B[B(s)(0)→D(s)(*)+ D(s)(*)-]=(6.85(-1.30-1.80)(+1.53+1.79))%. Assuming B(s)(0)→D(s)(*)+ D(s)(*)- saturates decays to CP-even final states, the branching fraction determines the ratio ΔΓ(s)/cosφ, where ΔΓ(s) is the difference in widths between the two B(s)-B(s) mass eigenstates, and φ is a CP-violating weak phase. Taking CP violation to be negligibly small, we obtain ΔΓ(s)/Γ(s)=0.147(-0.030)(+0.036)(stat)(-0.041)(+0.042)(syst), where Γ(s) is the mean decay width.     

The a.c. susceptibility third harmonic component of NdO1−0.14F0.14FeAs: A flux dynamic magnetic analysis

In this contribution we present the analysis of the third harmonic susceptibility data of the new superconductor NdFeAs_1−0.14F_0.14. ‘Cole-Cole’ polar plots respect to the magnetic frequency of the exciting field are presented and discussed. Data show that NdFeAs_1−0.14F_0.14 exhibit a ‘bulk pinning’ with a 3D flux dynamic character. A comparison of the responses of high T_c materials and an evaluation of theoretical critical states is also presented.     

Semiprimality and Nilpotency of Nonassociative Rings Satisfying x(yz) = y(zx)

In this article we study nonassociative rings satisfying the polynomial identity x(yz) = y(zx), which we call “cyclic rings.” We prove that every semiprime cyclic ring is associative and commutative and that every cyclic right-nilring is solvable. Moreover, we find sufficient conditions for the nilpotency of cyclic right-nilrings and apply these results to obtain sufficient conditions for the nilpotency of cyclic right-nilalgebras.     

Conorm and Essential Conorm in C*-Algebras

Let A be a unital C^*-algebra with non-zero socle (soc(A)). We introduce the essential conorm of an element a in A (denoted by γ _e (a)), as the conorm of the element π(a), where π denotes the canonical projection of A onto . It is established that for every von Neumann regular element , γ _e (a) = max . We characterize the continuity points of the conorm and essential conorm for extremally rich C^*-algebras. Some formulae for the distance from zero to the generalized spectrum and Atkinson spectrum are also obtained. Authors partially supported by I+D MEC projects no. MTM2005-02541 and MTM2007-65959, and Junta de Andalucía grants FQM0199 and FQM1215.     

Generating orthogonal matrix polynomials satisfying second order differential equations from a trio of triangular matrices

The method developed in [A.J. Durán, F.A. Grünbaum, Orthogonal matrix polynomials satisfying second order differential equations, Int. Math. Res. Not. 10 (2004) 461–484] led us to consider matrix polynomials that are orthogonal with respect to weight matrices W(t) of the form , , and (1−t)^α(1+t)^βT(t)T^*(t), with T satisfying T^′=(2Bt+A)T, T(0)=I, T^′=(A+B/t)T, T(1)=I, and T^′(t)=(−A/(1−t)+B/(1+t))T, T(0)=I, respectively. Here A and B are in general two non-commuting matrices. We are interested in sequences of orthogonal polynomials (P_n)_n which also satisfy a second order differential equation with differential coefficients that are matrix polynomials F₂, F₁ and F₀ (independent of n) of degrees not bigger than 2, 1 and 0 respectively. To proceed further and find situations where these second order differential equations hold, we only dealt with the case when one of the matrices A or B vanishes.The purpose of this paper is to show a method which allows us to deal with the case when A, B and F₀ are simultaneously triangularizable (but without making any commutativity assumption).     

On depth measures and dual statistics. A methodology for dealing with general data

A general depth measure, based on the use of one-dimensional linear continuous projections, is proposed. The applicability of this idea in different statistical setups (including inference in functional data analysis, image analysis and classification) is discussed. A special emphasis is made on the possible usefulness of this method in some statistical problems where the data are elements of a Banach space.The asymptotic properties of the empirical approximation of the proposed depth measure are investigated. In particular, its asymptotic distribution is obtained through U-statistics techniques. The practical aspects of these ideas are discussed through a small simulation study and a real-data example.