Commissioning of the vacuum system of the KATRIN Main Spectrometer

The KATRIN experiment will probe the neutrino mass by measuring the beta-electron energy spectrum near the endpoint of tritium beta-decay. An integral energy analysis will be performed by an electro-static spectrometer (Main Spectrometer), an ultra-high vacuum vessel with a length of 23.2 m, a volume of 1240 m^3, and a complex inner electrode system with about 120000 individual parts. The strong magnetic field that guides the beta-electrons is provided by super-conducting solenoids at both ends of the spectrometer. Its influence on turbo-molecular pumps and vacuum gauges had to be considered. A system consisting of 6 turbo-molecular pumps and 3 km of non-evaporable getter strips has been deployed and was tested during the commissioning of the spectrometer. In this paper the configuration, the commissioning with bake-out at 300{\deg}C, and the performance of this system are presented in detail. The vacuum system has to maintain a pressure in the 10^{-11} mbar range. It is demonstrated that the performance of the system is already close to these stringent functional requirements for the KATRIN experiment, which will start at the end of 2016.Comment: submitted for publication in JINST, 39 pages, 15 figure

Colloquy

Webster\u27s Dictionary defines colloquy as mutual discourse. Readers are encouraged to submit additions, corrections, and comments about earlier articles appearing in Word Ways. Comments received at least one month prior to publication of an issue will appear in that issue

Lady Gaga as (dis)simulacrum of monstrosity

Lady Gaga’s celebrity DNA revolves around the notion of monstrosity, an extensively researched concept in postmodern cultural studies. The analysis that is offered in this paper is largely informed by Deleuze and Guattari’s notion of monstrosity, as well as by their approach to the study of sign-systems that was deployed in A Thousand Plateaus. By drawing on biographical and archival visual data, with a focus on the relatively underexplored live show, an elucidation is afforded of what is really monstrous about Lady Gaga. The main argument put forward is that monstrosity as sign seeks to appropriate the horizon of unlimited semiosis as radical alterity and openness to signifying possibilities. In this context it is held that Gaga effectively delimits her unique semioscape; however, any claims to monstrosity are undercut by the inherent limits of a representationalist approach in sufficiently engulfing this concept. Gaga is monstrous for her community insofar as she demands of her fans to project their semiosic horizon onto her as a simulacrum of infinite semiosis. However, this simulacrum may only be evinced in a feigned manner as a (dis)simulacrum. The analysis of imagery from seminal live shows during 2011–2012 shows that Gaga’s presumed monstrosity is more akin to hyperdifferentiation as simultaneous employment of heterogeneous and potentially dissonant inter pares cultural representations. The article concludes with a problematisation of audience effects in the light of Gaga’s adoption of a schematic and post-representationalist strategy in the event of her strategy’s emulation by competitive artists

Re-establishing the ‘outsiders’: English press coverage of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup

In 2015, the England Women’s national football team finished third at the Women’s World Cup in Canada. Alongside the establishment of the Women’s Super League in 2011, the success of the women’s team posed a striking contrast to the recent failures of the England men’s team and in doing so presented a timely opportunity to examine the negotiation of hegemonic discourses on gender, sport and football. Drawing upon an ‘established-outsider’ approach, this article examines how, in newspaper coverage of the England women’s team, gendered constructions revealed processes of alteration, assimilation and resistance. Rather than suggesting that ‘established’ discourses assume a normative connection between masculinity and football, the findings reveal how gendered ‘boundaries’ were both challenged and protected in newspaper coverage. Despite their success, the discursive positioning of the women’s team as ‘outsiders’, served to (re)establish men’s football as superior, culturally salient and ‘better’ than the women’s team/game. Accordingly, we contend that attempts to build and, in many instances, rediscover the history of women’s football, can be used to challenge established cultural representations that draw exclusively from the history of the men’s game. In such instances, the 2015 Women’s World Cup provides a historical moment from which the women’s game can be relocated in a context of popular culture

Multimodal characterization of the visual network in Huntington's disease gene carriers

Objective A sensorimotor network structural phenotype predicted motor task performance in a previous study in Huntington’s disease (HD) gene carriers. We investigated in the visual network whether structure – function – behaviour relationship patterns, and the effects of the HD mutation, extended beyond the sensorimotor network. Methods We used multimodal visual network MRI structural measures (cortical thickness and white matter connectivity), plus visual evoked potentials and task performance (Map Search; Symbol Digit Modalities Test) in healthy controls and HD gene carriers. Results Using principal component (PC) analysis, we identified a structure – function relationship common to both groups. PC scores differed between groups indicating white matter disorganization (higher RD, lower FA) and slower, and more disperse, VEP signal transmission (higher VEP P100 latency and lower VEP P100 amplitude) in HD than controls while task performance was similar. Conclusions HD may be associated with reduced white matter organization and efficient visual network function but normal task performance. Significance These findings indicate that structure – function relationships in the visual network, and the effects of the HD mutation, share some commonalities with those in the sensorimotor network. However, implications for task performance differ between the two networks suggesting the influence of network specific factors

Anisotropic strain and phonon deformation potentials in GaN

We report optical phonon frequency studies in anisotropically strained c-plane- and a-plane-oriented GaN films by generalized infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry and Raman scattering spectroscopy. The anisotropic strain in the films is obtained from high-resolution x-ray diffraction measurements. Experimental evidence for splitting of the GaN E1(TO), E1(LO), and E2 phonons under anisotropic strain in the basal plane is presented, and their phonon deformation potentials cE1(TO) , cE1(LO) , and cE2 are determined. A distinct correlation between anisotropic strain and the A1(TO) and E1(LO) frequencies of a-plane GaN films reveals theaA1TO, bA1TO, aE1LO, andbE1LO phonon deformation potentials. The aA1TO and bA1TOaA1TO and aE1LO phonon deformation potentials agree well with recently reported theoretical estimations [J.-M. Wagner and F. Bechstedt, Phys. Rev. B 66, 115202 (2002)], while bA1TO and bE1LO are found to be significantly larger than the theoretical values. A discussion of the observed differences is presented

Unraveling the microbiome of a thermophilic biogas plant by metagenome and metatranscriptome analysis complemented by characterization of bacterial and archaeal isolates

One of the most promising technologies to sustainably produce energy and to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from combustion of fossil energy carriers is the anaerobic digestion and biomethanation of organic raw material and waste towards biogas by highly diverse microbial consortia. In this context, the microbial systems ecology of thermophilic industrial-scale biogas plants is poorly understood