Parity-violating electron deuteron scattering and the proton's neutral weak axial vector form factor

We report on a new measurement of the parity-violating asymmetry in quasielastic electron scattering from the deuteron at backward angles at Q2=0.038 (GeV/c)2. This quantity provides a determination of the neutral weak axial vector form factor of the nucleon, which can potentially receive large electroweak corrections. The measured asymmetry A=-3.51+/-0.57 (stat)+/-0.58 (syst) ppm is consistent with theoretical predictions. We also report on updated results of the previous experiment at Q2=0.091 (GeV/c)2, which are also consistent with theoretical predictions.     

First-principles electronic structure calculations with molecular dynamics made easy

The technique of quantum molecular dynamics is reviewed, and a simplified approach based on a first-principles tight-binding implementation of local density theory is discussed. Several illustrations and applications of the theory are presented. Applying it to amorphous materials, we have developed a procedure for producing amorphous Si networks with small defect concentrations. Benchmark checks are made for atomic geometries at Si(111)-(2×1) and Si(001)-(2×1), p(2×2), and c(4×2) reconstructed surfaces. A simulation of a Scanning Tunneling Microscope tip interacting with a reconstructed surface is performed, and it is shown how the tip can alter the reconstruction of the surface. Simulation of a kinked Si(001) surface step and comparison to an unkinked step are also presented.     

Fabrication of quantum dots on the InSb (110) surface

Using a scanning tunneling microscope, quantum dots with diameters of order 25 Å have been fabricated on the cleaved InSb (110) surface in UHV. Both In and Sb atoms were clearly resolved on the cleaved surface.     

Myopia,amnesia, and consistent intertemporal choice

Social scientists often explain observed streams of behavior as the outcome of constrained choice at successive dates, with actors choosing among planned sequences of actions extending into the future. This paper presents four axioms for consistent intertemporal choice in such models. Within this framework, myopia and amnesia are defined to be choice processes in which future feasible actions and past decisions, respectively, play no role in current choice. Each of these modeling strategies is argued to have some plausibility on the basis of bounded rationality considerations. It is shown that an anticipatory process reduces to a behaviorally equivalent myopic process if and only if binary choices are lexically organized. Amnesia, or the absence of endogenous preference formation, is characterized by the condition that binary choices be ‘ahistorical’. The paper closes with some remarks on the methodological role of the consistency axioms, and the problems posed by inconsistent choice processes.     

Parity violation in elastic electron-proton scattering and the Proton's strange magnetic form factor

We report a new measurement of the parity-violating asymmetry in elastic electron scattering from the proton at backward scattering angles. This asymmetry is sensitive to the strange magnetic form factor of the proton as well as electroweak axial radiative corrections. The new measurement of A = -4.92+/-0.61+/-0.73 ppm provides a significant constraint on these quantities. The implications for the strange magnetic form factor are discussed in the context of theoretical estimates for the axial corrections.