Post‐financial meltdown: What do the services industries need from us now?

In 2008 the global economy was rocked by a crisis that began on Wall Street, but quickly spread to Main Street U.S.A., and then to side streets around the world. Statisticians working in the service sector are not immune, with many concerned about losing their jobs. Given this dramatic course of events, how should statisticians respond? What, if anything, can we do to help our struggling organizations survive this recession, in order to prosper in the future? This expository article describes some approaches that we feel can help service industries deal with aftereffects of the financial meltdown. Based on an understanding of current needs of the service industries, we emphasize three approaches in particular: a greater emphasis on statistical engineering relative to statistical science, ‘embedding’ statistical methods and principles into key business processes, and the reinvigoration of Lean Six Sigma to drive immediate, tangible business results. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of Fock term,tensor coupling and baryon structure variation on a neutron star

The equation of state for neutron matter is calculated within relativistic Hartree–Fock approximation. The tensor couplings of vector mesons to baryons are included, and the change of baryon internal structure in matter is also considered using the quark–meson coupling model. We obtain the maximum neutron-star mass of ∼2.0M_⊙$\sim 2.0M_{\odot }$, which is consistent with the recently observed, precise mass, 1.97±0.04M_⊙$1.97\pm 0.04M_{\odot }$. The Fock contribution is very important and, in particular, the inclusion of tensor coupling is vital to obtain such large mass. The baryon structure variation in matter also enhances the mass of a neutron star.     

Chiral symmetry restoration and properties of Goldstone bosons at finite temperature

We study chiral symmetry restoration by analyzing thermal properties of QCD's(pseudo-) Goldstone bosons, especially the pion. The meson properties are obtained from the spectral densities of mesonic imaginary-time correlation functions. To obtain the correlation functions, we solve the Dyson-Schwinger equations and the inhomogeneous Bethe-Salpeter equations in the leading symmetry-preserving rainbow-ladder approximation. In chiral limit, the pion and its partner sigma degenerate at the critical temperature \begin{document}$T_{\rm c}$\end{document}. At \begin{document}$T \gtrsim T_{\rm c}$\end{document}, it was found that the pion rapidly dissociates, which signals deconfinement phase transition. Beyond the chiral limit, the pion dissociation temperature can be used to define the pseudo-critical temperature of the chiral phase crossover, which is consistent with that obtained by the maximum point of chiral susceptibility. A parallel analysis for kaon and pseudoscalar \begin{document}$ s\bar{s} $\end{document} suggests that heavy mesons may survive above \begin{document}$T_{\rm c}$\end{document}.     

Cover Feature: Rare Spin Avoided σ-σ Diradical Planar Tetracoordinate Boron Cluster: A Proto-Star for Planar Pentacoordination (ChemPhysChem 18/2023)

We report a global planar star-like cluster B₃Li₃ featuring three planar tetracoordinate boron centres with a rare spin avoided σ-σ diradical character. The cluster was found to be stable towards dissociation into different fragments. The spin density was found to be localized solely on the three boron atoms in the molecular plane. This spin avoided σ-σ diradical character leads to the extension of the coordination number to yield a neutral B₃Li₃H₃ and a cationic B₃Li₃H₃⁺ cluster with three planar pentacoordinate boron centres in their global minimum structures. The planar geometry of the aninonic B₃Li₃H₃⁻ cluster is slightly higher in energy. The planar global clusters were found to maintain planarity in their ligand protected benzene bound complexes, B₃Li₃(Bz)₃, B₃Li₃H₃(Bz)₃ and B₃Li₃H₃(Bz)₃⁺ with high ligand dissociation energies offering candidature for experimental detection.