The linear polarization constant of R n

Summary He present work deals with estimations of the n-th linear polarization constant c(H)_n of an n-dimensional real Hilbert space H. We provide some new lower bounds on the value of sup_║y║=1 │1,y> ... n,y>│, where x₁, ... ,x_n are unit vectors in H. In particular, the results improve an earlier estimate of Marcus. However, the intriguing conjecture c(H) _n= n^n/2 remains open.     

Analytic solutions of the Schrödinger equation for the modified quartic oscillator

No analytic solutions of the Schrödinger equation are known for the quartic anharmonic oscillator. We show in this paper that there are closely related modified quartic oscillators with the potential depending on |x| for which analytic solutions for some states exist. These results can be extended to the higher order oscillators     

Quadratic Functionals with General Boundary Conditions

The purpose of this paper is to give the Reid ``Roundabout Theorem' for quadratic functionals with general boundary conditions. In particular, we describe the so-called coupled point and regularity condition introduced in [16] in terms of Riccati equation solutions. Accepted 27 February 1996     

Thermal diffusivity measurements in porous ceramics by photothermal methods

Received: 16 September 1996/Accepted: 6 January 1997     

Luttinger liquid with asymmetric dispersion

We present an extension of the Tomonaga-Luttinger model in which left and right-moving particles have different Fermi velocities. We derive expressions for one-particle Green's functions, momentum-distributions, density of states, charge compressibility and conductivity as functions of both the velocity difference ε and the strength of the interaction β. This allows us to identify a novel restricted region in the parameter space in which the system keeps the main features of a Luttinger liquid but with an unusual behavior of the density of states and the static charge compressibility κ. In particular κ diverges on the boundary of the restricted region, indicating the occurrence of a phase transition. Received 20 May 2002 / Received in final form 23 August 2002 Published online 19 November 2002     

Efficiency and effectiveness of Spanish football teams: a three-stage-DEA approach

In this paper, we apply a three-stage-DEA model to the Spanish Professional Football League, which means separating the teams’ economic behaviour into three components: operating efficiency—of the offence and defence—athletic or operating effectiveness, and social effectiveness. The results showed that the technical inefficiency of the defence is greater than that of the offence, both being caused by aspects linked to the poor management of players’ abilities and by the football team’s size. Teams showed a favourable evolution of their offensive and defensive efficiency during the 2004/2005 season and to a lesser extent in the season before. The point system assigned by the professional football league regulations evaluates the teams’ athletic effectiveness, but we detected that the teams with the most experience perform athletically in a more effective manner. Their social effectiveness is strongly related to the level of play in itself and to factors linked to their PFL ranking: participation in international competitions for important football teams; or the struggle of minor football teams to stay in the first division.     

Mineralogical analysis of auriferous ores from the El Diamante mine, Colombia

X-ray diffraction (XRD), Mössbauer spectrometry (MS), secondary ions mass spectroscopy (SIMS) and laser-ablation microprobe–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LAM–ICP–MS) were used to study mineral samples of Colombian auriferous ores collected from the “El Diamante” mine, located in the municipality of Guachavez-Nariño, in Colombia. The samples were prepared as polished thin sections and polished sections. From XRD data, quartz, sphalerite and pyrite were detected and their respective cell parameters were estimated. From MS analyses, pyrite, arsenopyrite and chalcopyrite were identified; their respective hyperfine parameters and respective texture were deduced. Multiple regions of approximately 200 × 200 μm in each sample were analyzed with SIMS; the occurrence of “invisible gold” associated mainly with pyrite and secondarily with arsenopyrite could thus be assigned. It was also found that pyrite is of the arsenious type. Spots from 30 to 40 μm in diameter were analyzed with LAM–ICP–MS for pyrite, arsenopyrite and sphalerite; Au is “homogeneously” distributed inside the structure of the arsenious pyrite and the arsenopyrite (not as inclusions); the chemical composition indicates similarities of this “invisible gold”, forming a solid solution with arsenious pyrite and arsenopyrite. One hundred nineteen and 62 ppm of ‘invisible gold’ was quantified in 21 spots analyzed on pyrite and in 14 spots on arsenopyrite, respectively.     

Quantification of trace elements in human serum fractions by liquid chromatography and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

On‐line coupling of LC and ICP‐MS has been used for fractionation and detection of species of Cu, Fe, I, Se and Zn in human serum. It has been shown that anion exchange chromatography provided better separation capability (both intra‐ and inter‐element) than size‐exclusion chromatography. The mobile phases for ion exchange chromatography consisted of Tris–HNO₃ buffer and ammonium salt (nitrate, acetate or formate). Formate was found to be the best mobile phase counter ion, enabling good chromatographic separation, and is acceptable for mass spectrometry too. The quantitative evaluation of element concentrations adhering to individual fractions was performed by the peak area normalization method. The repeatability of results ranged from 3 to 15% (depending on the element concentration level) and represented the main part of the result uncertainty. The accuracy of Cu and Zn fraction determinations was confirmed by comparison with the isotope dilution technique. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.