text:
Half Article History Tree Map
Encyclopedia of Keywords > Time > Years > Year > Half Michael Charnine
MILLION DOLLARS
HALF KNOT
HALF TEASPOON
MOLNIYA ORBIT
HALF MILLION
HALF STAFF
HALF MILES
EXACTLY HALF
HALF WINDSOR KNOT
HALF MILLION PEOPLE
MILLION PEOPLE
HALF WAY
HALF YEARS
ROUGHLY HALF
APPROXIMATELY HALF
HALF CENTURY
This Review contains major "Half"- related terms, short phrases and links grouped together in the form of Encyclopedia article.
Half was through the competition and after the uneven bars, Yilin took over the lead with a total score of 31.900. (Web site)
Half are taking the drug tamoxifen and half are taking a placebo (dummy) tablet. (Web site)
Half was done by the regular scouts and the other half by the special scouts.
Half were given a fruit-flavored caffeinated tea mixture made up of the usual constituents of a cup of black tea. (Web site)
Half were given an herbal blend containing wormwood (500 mg three time daily), while the other half were given a placebo. (Web site)
More than half of men who are sexually active in the United States will have HPV at some time in their life.
Today Israel exports wine for a total value of 13.7 million dollars, half of which goes to the United States.
JERICHO: On a yearly basis, I'd say probably anywhere from half a million to million dollars depending. (Web site)
You know, half a million dollars a race, you start chopping that up, and that's a bunch of money that's going out the window.
We saw about a dozen races, watched Canada pick up a half dozen.
However it became the first of a half dozen or so Fletcher Henderson cds that I picked up because the music is just that fantastic. (Web site)
A half dozen other Chinese officials came in, including the Chinese Minister of Communications whom I had last seen on the Burma Road out of Chifon. (Web site)
For comparison, a similarly sized region centered on the Sun would contain about a half dozen stars.
They include no fewer than five Michelin-starred restaurants in Maastricht and another half dozen, which would have star status anywhere else. (Web site)
Des Dearlove appears to written this book after only having read a half dozen other books on Bill Gates and Microsoft. (Web site)
Longer than the age of the Earth or the Sun and about half the time since the Big Bang. (Web site)
This means that the northern half of Earth is tilted toward the Sun for half of the year and away from the Sun for the other half. (Web site)
The apparent angular size of the sun and the moon as viewed from Earth is about half a degree. (Web site)
The major axis is vertical, the semi-major axis is more than one half of the radius of the Earth,[ citation needed] and almost always less than the radius.
Half the maximum diameter, the distance from the center of the ellipse to one end, is called the semi-major axis. (Web site)
The semi-major axis of an ellipse is one half of the major axis running from the center, through a focus, and to the edge of the ellipse.
Then he would add a half knot that would make a square knot out of the last two half knots so that it wouldn't slip back. (Web site)
Home ARCHIVE CONSTRICTOR KNOT: Dscription ---- A clove hitch with a half knot under the cross-point. (Web site)
The second combination of half knot to half knot gives a granny knot, a knot not good for much at all. (Web site)
A half knot is half of a square knot.
More importantly, the experience of tying a reef knot teaches the fundamental process of tying a half knot or half hitch. (Web site)
You can tie a half knot from the left or from the right.
In a small pan, add half teaspoon of peanut oil, add the popu ingredients, sauté them until they start to splutter. (Web site)
One simple trick is taking a half teaspoon of organic apple cider vinegar in half a cup of water before meals. (Web site)
In the past 70 years, iodized salt has supplied all the iodine the body needs, amounting to about a half teaspoon of salt a day from all sources. (Web site)
Heat half teaspoon of oil in the same karahi and fry the next set of ingredients till the urad dal is pink and you can smell the roasting aromas.
Molniya orbit: A highly elliptic orbit with inclination of 63.4° and orbital period of half of a sidereal day (roughly 12 hours).
These are conceptually similar to Molniya orbit s which have the same inclination but half the period (about 12 hours). (Web site)
However, they add that median use, or half-life is the number of years that are needed to satisfy half of the requests.
Today, the Zoroastrian community in Iran is estimated by some to number some 22,000 - half the size of that in existence before the 1979 Islamic revolution. (Web site)
The total number of stars visible to the naked eye is about 6,000; only about half are visible at a given time of night from a given point on the Earth.
Chinese government announced in September 1997 that China will cut off its military personnel by half million before the end of this century.
It is estimated that 2 million Yao live in southern Africa; 1.5 million of these are in Malawi; another half million in Mozambique. (Web site)
The Lebanese emigration ministry estimates the number of emigrants at five million, more than three and a half million of which are Lebanese Christians. (Web site)
The flagpole on Parliament House is 81 metres (266 ft) tall and the flag measures 12.8 by 6.4 metres (42 by 21 ft), about the size of half a tennis court.
Even de Puniet was in on the action and although he tried all he knew to get on terms with Rossi, he would remain just over half a second behind at the flag.
When the flag is to be flown at half mast, it must first be raised to the top of the mast and then slowly lowered to half mast.
Half Staff - a style of flag display in which the flag is hoisted to half of the potential height of the availble flag pole. (Web site)
Half Staff or Half Mast – a style of flag display where the flag is flown at the width of the flag from the top. (Web site)
Cuong Nhu includes at higher levels the study of weapons, including the bo (long staff), tambo (half staff), tonfa, sai, and spear.
The eastern half of the province is a peninsula, situated between the Bohai on the north and the Yellow Sea on the east and south. (Web site)
It is formed by the eastern half of the large island of New Guinea together with a number of adjacent islands to the east and north. (Web site)
In the case of the Mid-Atlantic rift valley, one sheet flows east and the other west, each moving at about half an inch per year. (Web site)
At 1 and a half miles, Harecastle Tunnel on the Trent and Mersey is only half as long as Standedge. (Web site)
Shaped like a tadpole with its tail to the east, Corregidor measures three and one half miles in length and one and one half miles at its widest point. (Web site)
In 1134 the monks moved the priory to Norton, about three and a half miles away.
If the Sun is south of the equator, in the part of the sky you do not see, it NEVER RISES and you have the famous polar night, lasting nearly half a year. (Web site)
The province, part of the belt of violence in the south of Afghanistan, produces more than half the world's opium. (Web site)
Gandhara remained a part of the Mauryan Empire for close to a century and a half.
At night, however, the tagged squid spent at least half of their time in shallower waters above 600 feet and the remainder at 600 to 1,300 feet. (Web site)
About half of these constitute continuing activity that began the previous year, and the remainder are new eruptions. (Web site)
However, only half the music here is vocal, the remainder being instrumental works written by Vivaldi for use as part of church services. (Web site)
Stoner started the lap with three quarters of second advantage, but finished it nearly a second and a half a head. (Web site)
In the year to September 2005, three quarters of Mainland Portugal saw less than half the normal rainfall, and the remaining quarter less than 60%.
The train shuttles between Domodedovo and Pavelets station roughly every half an hour with the journey taking three quarters of an hour. (Web site)
Approximately half of the vent openings should be at or near the soffits, with the other half as close to the ridge as practical. (Web site)
Approximately half (103) of the patients received milk thistle silymarin (150 milligrams 3 times a day for 2 years). (Web site)
Located on the Mahakam river, the town occupies a space of about 167 square kilometres and has a population of approximately half a million people. (Web site)
Half a year later, the Earth has moved to the other side of its orbit around the Sun.
Only half the Earth is ever lit by the Sun at one time, which halves the total solar irradiance. (Web site)
The northern winter solstice occurs when the "top" half of Earth is tilted away from the sun at its most extreme angle of the year.
A half moon is when the moon is being lit from one side, making the reflection half the size and the light intensity much less.
First quarter (half moon in the evening sky) is on the 21st with the full moon falling on the 28th. (Web site)
After 1 week, it will resemble a half moon and after the approximately 14 days, it will resemble a full Moon.
Radius is equal to half the diameter. (Web site)
A kenning is also an old measure of volume in the Imperial system, equal to two pecks or half of one bushel. (Web site)
If your face is oval shaped, then the length will equal to one and a half times the width.
Glucose make up exactly half of the sugar in sucrose and nearly half of the sugar in high fructose corn syrup.
The peso was defined as being equal to exactly half the gold content of the U.S. dollar.
This is because, coincidentally, Mercury's rotation period is almost exactly half of its synodic period with respect to Earth. (Web site)
Out of a population of ten and a half million, only 35,000 people have any citizenship rights at all.
Congestive heart failure (CHF) is the most common heart condition in the elderly population, and every year nearly a half million new cases are diagnosed.
As of 2005, the population of the city proper is 742,951[1]; the population of the greater Amsterdam area is approximately one and a half million.
Nearly a quarter of the Batticaloa electoral district, which has a population of over half a million, is under Tiger control. (Web site)
A quarter of a million Palestinians live in the city compared to the Jewish population of around half a million. (Web site)
From 1961 to early 1967, Lorenzen won a quarter of the races he entered and placed in the top 10 half the time. (Web site)
The Half Windsor knot is a slightly smaller knot than the Windsor, and produces a clean, triangular shaped knot.
Despite its name, it is not half the size of the Windsor knot, and there is no evidence that it is derived from that knot.
Half Windsor knot looks as good as a Windsor knot but takes only half the efford to tie. (Web site)
To tie the Half Windsor Knot, select a tie of your choice and stand in front of a mirror. (Web site)
The four most common tie knots are the Half Windsor knot, the Windsor knot, the Four-in-Hand knot, and the Pratt knot. (Web site)
Some argue that over three and a half million people were forced to resettle during this period.
A Clann na Gael source estimated that there were over one and one half million people of Irish birth in America towards the end of the nineteenth century.
They number about a half million people and live in a 404-square mile homeland which they also refer to as Ogoni, or Ogoniland.
Of the one and a half million people in greater Dublin, about half are under 25.
For several centuries Antioch was a major city in the Roman Empire with a population of a half million people.
Each year, more than a million Americans have heart attacks, and about a half million people die from heart disease. (Web site)
Divided roughly in half between Indonesia (west) and Papua New Guinea (east), New Guinea is the second largest island in the world (after Greenland). (Web site)
The island is about half a mile from east to west, but of late has been enlarged by the drainage of the lake. (Web site)
Measuring about 80km from north to south, and 50km east to west, more than half of Mt. (Web site)
The goalie on my team quit half way though a season and we had to rotate through playing goal. (Web site)
You could also see the Crying Stone situated to the south of Kakamega town, half way on your way to shinyalu. (Web site)
There was a landing, about half way down in each of the Britannia shafts (North and South) from which it was possible to access Pengam pit bottom.
After about seven days, the observer can see half a full moon, commonly called a half moon.
Aristarchus claimed that at half moon (first or last quarter moon), the angle between sun and moon was 87°. (Web site)
His estimate was based on the angle between the half moon and the sun, which he estimated as 87°.
I saw "Half A Sixpence" about a week ago and I thought it was semi-enjoyable. (Web site)
HALF A SIXPENCE is actually a Teen musical but set in Victorian England.
By the way, the London cast recording of HALF A SIXPENCE and the soundtrack from the SIXPENCE movie are vastly inferior to the Broadway cast album.
To form the deck we will use, we start with five poker decks -- half of nine is four and a half, which rounds up to five.
One survey suggests more than half of all patients suffer for four or more years and visit three or more doctors before being diagnosed.
I said four not three and four whales is about half the average amount of whales they catch per day and they did that in a few hours. (Web site)
McCain was, in fact, a prisoner of war for around five and a half years, during which time he was tortured repeatedly.
February 14, 1995 Tupac is sentenced four and a half years in jail and serves time in Newyork's Rikers Island Penitentiary. (Web site)
A year later he joined the Sydney Symphony, under Sir Eugene Goossens, where he remained for three and a half years before leaving for England. (Web site)
At the this point the race was barely half distance with close to 30 laps still to go.
On lap 19 he pulled back nearly half a second, which would leave him close, but not close enough. (Web site)
They were ranked for close to half a century as the two best female tennis players of all time. (Web site)
Nearly a decade and a half after he first came to America from Australia, Keith Urban has arrived in a major way as a global musical force.
My lowest estimate is $100 billion per year by these two means by which we facilitated a trillion dollars in the decade, at least half to the United States. (Web site)
Chris Hakius and Al Cisneros - two-thirds of San Jose's legendary Sleep - are finally back from the dead after over half a decade. (Web site)
A more intuitive characteristic of exponential decay for many people is the time required for the decaying quantity to fall to one half of its initial value. (Web site)
This means that the time required to execute each phase of the transfer is simply half the orbital period of each transfer ellipse. (Web site)
Half-Time - The time required for a body tissue to absorb or release half of total gas required to reach equilibrium with the surrounding gas pressure.
Half-Life itself is a reference to the half life of a quantity, the amount of time required for the quantity to decay to half of its initial value.
The half life of a radioactive element is the time it takes for half of a sample of the element to break down. (Web site)
All the other isotopes have half lives of less than a day except Y-87 which has a half life of 79.8 hours.
Pakistani officials say the fighting in Bajur has displaced up to half a million people - roughly half the population of the region.
With close-up and Macro photography, that division is roughly half of the depth in front and half in back of the point of critical focus.
Roughly half of the men underwent medically supervised circumcision at the start of the trial, while the other half were circumcised two years later. (Web site)
The mean age of patients was 73 years, with approximately half from Europe and half from North and South America and Asia (Table 1). (Web site)
Approximately half the cases of thyroid disease involve hyperthyroidism and the other half involve hypothyroidism. (Web site)
Approximately half of the new rock was formed on one side of the ridge and half on the other. (Web site)
After a half century of study, Lowie wrote this book, praised by anthropologists as the synthesis of a lifetime's work. (Web site)
But the fact is, more than a half century after she captured the headlines as the "Red Spy Queen," Elizabeth Bentley remains a mystery.
For well over a half century, Andre Norton has been one of the most popular science fiction and fantasy authors in the world.
As a result of the half century of Japanese rule, many people over age 60 also can speak Japanese. (Web site)
His reign marked the beginning of a half century of civil war in the empire.
During the next half century the grand princes of Moscow steadily increase their territory, until they at last feel in a position to challenge the Mongols. (Web site)
One half of the cerebrum, the part of the brain that controls muscle functions and also controls speech, thought, emotions, reading, writing, and learning. (Web site)
The corpus callosum connects the two halves of the brain and delivers messages from one half of the brain to the other. (Web site)
F IG. 650– Exterior of brain of human embryo of four and a half weeks. (Web site)
Encyclopedia of Keywords > Time > Years > Year
Encyclopedia of Keywords > Time
Encyclopedia of Keywords > Society > Population
Age > People > Age > People
* Area * Back * Back Half * Body * Cases * Day * End * First * First Half * Half Day * Half Hour * Half Mile * Half Point * Half Race * Half Second * Half Time * Half Year * Hour * Last * Last Half * Live * Lower Half * Mile * Minutes * North * Patients * People * Point * Population * Race * Right Half * Season * Second * Second Half * Size * South * Three * Time * Way * Width * Year * Years
Books about "Half" in Amazon.com
Short phrases about "Half"
Originally created: April 04, 2011.
Links checked: April 12, 2013.


text:
Q: How to convert a byte array of size 64 to a list of double values in Arduino C++? void Manager::byteArrayToDoubleArray(byte ch[]) {
  int counter = 0;
  // temp array to break the byte array into size of 8 and read it
  byte temp[64];
  // double result values
  double res[8];
  int index = 0;
  int size = (sizeof(ch) / sizeof(*ch));
  for (int i = 0; i < size; i++) {
    counter++;
    temp[i] = ch[i];
    if (counter % 8 == 0) {
      res[index] = *reinterpret_cast<double * const>(temp);
      index++;
      counter = 0;
    }
  }
}

Here result would be a list of double values with count = 8.

A: Your problem is two things.  You have some typos and misunderstanding.  And the C++ standard is somewhat broken in this area.
I'll try to fix both.
First, a helper function called laundry_pods.  It takes raw memory and "launders" it into an array of a type of your choice, so long as you pick a pod type:
template<class T, std::size_t N>
T* laundry_pods( void* ptr ) {
  static_assert( std::is_pod<std::remove_cv_t<T>>{} );
  char optimized_away[sizeof(T)*N];
  std::memcpy( optimized_away, ptr , sizeof(T)*N );
  T* r = ::new( ptr ) T[N];
  assert( r == ptr );
  std::memcpy( r, optimized_away, sizeof(T)*N );
  return r;
}

now simply do
void Manager::byteArrayToDoubleArray(byte ch[]) {
  double* pdouble = laundry_pods<double, 8>(ch);
}

and pdouble is a pointer to memory of ch interpreted as an array of 8 doubles.  (It is not a copy of it, it interprets those bytes in-place).
While laundry_pods appears to copy the bytes around, both g++ and clang optimize it down into a binary noop.  The seeming copying of bytes around is a way to get around aliasing restrictions and object lifetime rules in the C++ standard.
It relies on arrays of pod not having extra bookkeeping overhead (which C++ implementations are free to do; none do that I know of.  That is what the non-static assert double-checks), but it returns a pointer to a real honest to goodness array of double.  If you want to avoid that assumption, you could instead create each doulbe as a separate object.  However, then they aren't an array, and pointer arithmetic over non-arrays is fraught as far as the standard is concerned.
The use of the term "launder" has to do with getting around aliasing and object lifetime requirements.  The function does nothing at runtime, but in the C++ abstract machine it takes the memory and converts it into binary identical memory that is now a bunch of doubles.

A: The trick of doing this kind of "conversion" is to always cast the double* to a char* (or unsigned char or std::byte). Never the other way round.
You should be able to do something like this:
void byteArrayToDoubleArray(byte* in, std::size_t n, double* out)
{
    for(auto out_bytes = (byte*) out; n--;)
        *out_bytes++ = *in++;
}

// ...

byte ch[64];

// .. fill ch with double data somehow

double res[8];

byteArrayToDoubleArray(ch, 64, res);

Assuming that type byte is an alias of char or unsigned char or std::byte.

A: I am not completly sure what you are trying to achieve here because of the code (sizeof(ch) / sizeof(*ch)) which does not make sense for an array of undefined size.
If you have a byte-Array (POD data type; something like a typedef char byte;) then this most simple solution would be a reinterpret_cast:
double *result = reinterpret_cast<double*>(ch);

This allows you to use result[0]..result[7] as long as ch[] is valid and contains at least 64 bytes. Be aware that this construct does not generate code. It tells the compiler that result[0] corresponds to ch[0..7] and so on. An access to result[] will result in an access to ch[].
But you have to know the number of elements in ch[] to calculate the number of valid double elements in result.
If you need a copy (because - for example - the ch[] is a temporary array) you could use
std::vector<double> result(reinterpret_cast<double*>(ch), reinterpret_cast<double*>(ch) + itemsInCh * sizeof(*ch) / sizeof(double));

So if ch[] is an array with 64 items and a byte is really an 8-bit value, then
std::vector<double> result(reinterpret_cast<double*>(ch), reinterpet_cast<double*>(ch) + 8);

will provide a std::vector containing 8 double values.
There is another possible method using a union:
union ByteToDouble
{
  byte b[64];
  double d[8];
} byteToDouble;

the 8 double values will occupie the same memory as the 64 byte values. So you can write the byte values to byteToDouble.b[] and read the resultingdouble values from byteToDouble.d[].

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
USS Manchester arrives at NH state pier ahead of commissioning
Littoral combat ship named after Queen City
Jennifer Crompton
WEBVTT MADE IT TO NEW HAMPSHIRE, READY TO BE OFFICIALLY COMMISSIONED. THE 420-FOOT, STATE-OF-THE-ART NAVAL COMBAT SHIP MAKING ITS WAY UP THE PISCATAQUA RIVER, T 14TH OF THE NAVY'S LITTORAL COMBAT SHIPS, DESIGNED TO WO CLOSE TO COASTLINES WITH MULTIPLE DEFENSE CAPABILITIES, INCLUDING SURFACE AND ANTI-SUBMARINE WARFARE. GOVERNOR CHRIS SUNUNU ON BOARD, ALONG WITH U.S. SENATOR JEANNE SHAHEEN. SHE IS THE OFFICIAL SPONSOR, THERE WHEN IT CAME OUT OF AN ALABAMA SHIPYARD IN 2016, CHRISTENED THE USS MANCHESTER. A POINT OF PRIDE FOR MANY. >> A BEAUTIFUL SHIP. MODERN. IT IS A GREAT FEELING TO KNOW IT IS OUR SHIP. REPORTER: PINKERTON GRAD LARYSSA NOYES OF DERRY SERVES AS A COMPUTER, NETWORKS, AND SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST ON ONE OF THE SHIP'S TWO ROTATING CREWS. >> I W LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE THE SHIP NAMED AFTER THE CITY IN MY HOME STATE. I'M HERE FOR THE COMMISSIONING. MY FAMILY WILL BE HERE. IT IS ALL LUCK. I CANNOT BE HAPPIER. REPORTER: EVEN FAMILIES OF CALIFORNIA CREW MEMBERS HERE FOR THE BIG OCCASION. >> I AM FROM SAN DIEGO. WE FLEW HERE FIVE HOURS. I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING HIM AGAIN. IT HAS BEEN A WHILE. >> IS AMAZING. I AM A NAVY VETERAN. REALLY SPECIAL. REPORTER: SHIP AND CREW WILL BE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE ALL THIS WEEK, WITH SEVERAL EVENTS PLANNED, INCLUDING IN MANCHESTER. ITS COMMISSIONING ON SATURDAY WILL MARK THE SHIP'S OFFICIAL ACCEPTANCE AS A UNIT OF THE NAVY'S OPERATING FORCES >> IT IS A BEAUTIFUL SHIP. I'M PROUD OF
The USS Manchester docked Monday at the state pier in Portsmouth for a week of events that will lead to its commissioning this weekend. The 420-foot, state-of-the-art naval combat ship made its way up the Piscataqua River on Monday afternoon. It's the 14th of the Navy's littoral combat ships, which are designed to work close to coastlines. It has multiple defense capabilities, including surface and anti-submarine warfare.>> Download the FREE WMUR appGov. Chris Sununu was on board, along with U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. She is the official sponsor and was there when the ship came out of an Alabama shipyard in 2016 and was christened the USS Manchester. "It's just a beautiful ship, so modern, and it's a great feeling to know it's our ship," said Joe DiStefano, of Hampton. Pinkerton Academy graduate Petty Officer Laryssa Noyes, of Derry, serves as a computer, networks and satellite communications specialist on one of the ship's two rotating crews. "I was just lucky enough to have this ship named after a city in my home state," Noyes said. "I'm here for the commissioning. My family's going to be here. It's just all luck, and I couldn't be happier." Families of crew members from as far away as California are in New Hampshire for the big occasion. "I am from San Diego," said Lorena Quiroc, whose husband is a member of the crew. "We flew here five hours. I am so looking forward to seeing him again. It's been a while." Several events are planned this week in New Hampshire, including in Manchester. The commissioning on Saturday will mark the ship's official acceptance as a unit of the Navy's operating forces. "It is a beautiful ship, and I'm proud of it, and I think it's going to do wonders," said Navy veteran James Tondreau, of Hooksett.
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. —
The USS Manchester docked Monday at the state pier in Portsmouth for a week of events that will lead to its commissioning this weekend.
The 420-foot, state-of-the-art naval combat ship made its way up the Piscataqua River on Monday afternoon. It's the 14th of the Navy's littoral combat ships, which are designed to work close to coastlines. It has multiple defense capabilities, including surface and anti-submarine warfare.
USS Manchester commissioned as U.S. Navy's newest combat ship
Commissioning date set for combat ship USS Manchester
>> Download the FREE WMUR app
Gov. Chris Sununu was on board, along with U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. She is the official sponsor and was there when the ship came out of an Alabama shipyard in 2016 and was christened the USS Manchester.
"It's just a beautiful ship, so modern, and it's a great feeling to know it's our ship," said Joe DiStefano, of Hampton.
Pinkerton Academy graduate Petty Officer Laryssa Noyes, of Derry, serves as a computer, networks and satellite communications specialist on one of the ship's two rotating crews.
"I was just lucky enough to have this ship named after a city in my home state," Noyes said. "I'm here for the commissioning. My family's going to be here. It's just all luck, and I couldn't be happier."
Families of crew members from as far away as California are in New Hampshire for the big occasion.
"I am from San Diego," said Lorena Quiroc, whose husband is a member of the crew. "We flew here five hours. I am so looking forward to seeing him again. It's been a while."
Several events are planned this week in New Hampshire, including in Manchester. The commissioning on Saturday will mark the ship's official acceptance as a unit of the Navy's operating forces.
"It is a beautiful ship, and I'm proud of it, and I think it's going to do wonders," said Navy veteran James Tondreau, of Hooksett.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
March 6, 2015 One Guys Opinion
The downward spiral has been precipitous for Neil Blomkamp, the South African filmmaker who began his feature career with the estimable "District 9," suffered a sophomore slump with the ambitious failure "Elysium," and now scrapes the bottom of the barrel with this dumb, ugly piece of sub-comic book sci-fi tripe cobbled together from scraps of other, better pictures. Change the second letter of its title and you'll have a pretty good description of "Chappie."
The picture is about artificial intelligence, but exhibits none of the natural sort. Stealing its premise from "Robocop," it's about a squadron of android police who have brought order to violence-prone Johannesburg in 2016 and big profits to Tetravaal, the weapons company run by Michelle Bradley (Sigourney Weaver) that manufactures them. The Scouts, as they're called, differ from the Robocops in that they have no human component, just electronic components.
That disturbs one of Tetravaal's engineers, Vincent Moore (Hugh Jackman), whose alternate system, the much larger Moose operated via a neural helmet by a real person, has been sidelined by the success of Scout. Still, the current level of achievement is not enough for Scout's creator Deon (Dev Patel), who wants to perfect his bot by making it capable of feeling, thinking and learning—something that Bradley dismisses as a project unsuitable for a weapons company. So Deon decides to proceed on his own, using a mangled Scout as his guinea pig. Unfortunately, his prototype, which comes to be called Chappie (voiced by Sharlto Copley), falls into the hands of a trio of criminals—Ninja and Yolandi (played by Watkin Tudor Jones—aka Ninja—and Yo-Landi Visser of the South African rap-rave group Die Antwoord) and their confederate Yankie (Joe Pablo Cantillo). They originally planned to kidnap Deon and force him to turn off all the Scouts, but with Chappie now in their control, they plan to turn the bot into a criminal, too. Meanwhile Moore is out to undermine the Scout program entirely so that his Moose can save the day.
Blomkamp wants his movie to be many things at once—a sweet fable about a metallic Pinocchio, a parable about what makes us human, a screed against corporate greed, and a straight-up action movie. It fails in every respect. As the story of a machine that wants to become a real boy, it has about as much charm as Roberto Benigni's "Pinocchio" did—none. Its supposedly human characters (even Deon, whom we're meant to sympathize with) are all such dreary or repulsive creatures that it would seem best if the entire species were replaced by robots. Its observations about weapons manufacturing are empty, given the fact that it so often turns into an orgy of mindless mayhem itself; yet even those segments are terribly done, so that it doesn't even succeed on that crummy level.
It's too bad that Chappie himself is such an unappealing bucket of bolts, irritatingly voiced by Copley, but still he seems a delightful fellow beside Ninja and Yolandi, who would be intolerable even if they were peripheral characters but are practically the stars of the movie, and played so horribly by the rappers that their gross amateurishness appears to have infected old pros Weaver and Jackman, who give what are certainly among the worst performances of their careers. That leaves Petal, who's not quite as over-the-top as he is in "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" (his second opening of the week), but not for lack of trying.
"Chappie" doesn't even look good. The robot design is adequate if uninspired (with Moose coming across as particularly generic), and the CGI placement of the title character within live-action footage is certainly expert. But the backgrounds are depressingly grubby. That's partially because Blomkamp, as usual, situates the tale in a dystopian future in which great hordes of people seem ready to go berserk at the drop of a hat, but that doesn't explain why even the headquarters of Transvaal and the interior of Deon's apartment (stocked with ultra-cute R2-D2-type help-bots) are so bland; Jules Cook's production design is simply unimaginative. Nor does Trent Opaloch's cinematography help: the washed-out, grime-filled images are just not very interesting to watch for two hours. And Hans Zimmer's score, especially in the climactic finale reel, is typically oppressive.
The denouement, incidentally, suggests that Blomkamp might have had in mind a franchise along the lines of a robot-based "Planet of the Apes." The negative response that "Chappie" is likely to receive should, thank heaven, toss that notion into the dustbin where it belongs.
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Let the festivities begin! The first week of December is behind us and if you are like most busy Moms, you probably have a few seasonal events booked on your calendar that will keep you both busy and hopefully oh so blessed. I love the themed aspect of holiday entertaining and am always on the lookout for the perfect item to bring with me. I love to find things that are unique , sometimes seasonal, and always just right for the occasion. That's why I wait until this week ~ I just have to be in the mood ~ and the deals only get better as we get closer to the big day.
1. Holiday Cookie Exchange ~ My top pick? Gramercy Ribbon Plate ~ I love this plate all year long ~ but especially at this time of year! Add a festive tartan ribbon and take this to your holiday cookie exchange ~ everyone will want to win your plate as much as your cookies. It makes a wonderful special days plate too ~ all with the change of a ribbon to signify the season or event.
2. Holiday Potluck ~ My top pick? Devonshire Lidded Trifle The traditional office party or women's group luncheon have changed. Today we often find ourselves bringing a dish and this trifle is perfect for the task. It has lid to make transporting easy and it begs for a layered display of holiday goodness. And to tell the truth, I'm all about bringing dessert!
3. Ornament Exchange ~ My top pick? Gail Pittman Dove Ornament I love the simplicity of this ornament! Its message of peace is universal and brings me hope that good things are on their way. Knowing that $2 of the purchase price is donated to Cut It Out makes it all the better.
What special holiday events will you be attending in the next few weeks? Are you ready?


Kaley, Baptist F 25 4-Mar-1912 Pittsburgh PA 69291673 Per ACWRD, 1865 substitute, 2-3-1865; findagrave info buried in Union Dale Cemetery.
Kauffman, Jonas B 32 June 2, 1864 Cold Harbor VA Not found Aug 31, 1861 recruit; Killed 2-2-64. In action at Cold Harbor, Va.
Kaughman, Sam'l D 20 Beaver Co., Pa. 26-Aug-1932 Mahaffey PA not found Per ACWRD, January 11,1865 Draftee--mustered out with regiment July 24, 1865.
Keifer, John D 21 Beaver Co., Pa. August 1862 Bull Run VA not found killed in action; conflicting information--ACWRD states he died a POW, date uknown..
Keith, Daniel B 24 dark 5' 7" grey lawyer Not found January 19, 1865 substitute--Deserted 4-2-65 near Petersburg, Va.
Kelly, James M. H 19 29-Jul-1910 not found Feb 8, 1865 substitute--mustered out with regiment July 24, 1865.
Kelly, John D 24 dark 5' 6" grey brown sailor Nova Scotia VA not found 1865 Substitute-deserted May 6, 1865.
Kelly, John I 34 August 1862 Bull Run VA not found need to confirm death date. May be John Kelly of Co. D that died at Bull Run.
Kelly, Martin C 20 dark 5' 6" blue grey dark laborer Phila. Pa. not found 1864 Recruit; no other information found per ACWRD.
Kelly, William D 20 dark 5' 7" black brown laborer Beaver Co. Darlington PA Huntington Co. 29-Nov-1900 Beaver Co. PA X 17008001 Birthlocation per ACWRD.
Kelso, Joseph G 19 Hall County, Grand Island NE July 13, 1843 16-Apr-1902 Grand Island NE 58099756 Shot in head; resulting deafness in left ear and partial deafness in right ear.
Kemble, Henry E. M 22 not found September 5, 1861 recruit; no other information found.
Kendall, John W. A 39 not found no other information available.
Kennary, John H not found Per ACWRD, March 19, 1864 recruit.
Kennedy, Jos. F. D 18 Beaver Co., Pa. not found Per ACWRD, 1861 volunteer, no further information available.
Kenney, William M 24 April 18, 1865 Petersburg VA 3270429 On 3/7/1865 he mustered into "M" Co. ;He died of wounds on 4/18/1865 at Petersburg, VA; He was listed as: Wounded 3/25/1865 Fort Stedman, VA; NOTE: findagrave.com info is possibly or even "likely" a different soldier (from NH and in a NC national cemetery) but coincidental that death date is the same and same name--and not a common name at that!
Kerr, Alexander R. E 18 Lawrence Co. New Castle PA Oct 14, 1846 4-Feb-1935 New Castle PA X not found chronic diarrhea contracted while in the service.; per ACWRD, buried in Oak Park Cemetery, New Castle, PA, Section P.
Kinney, John H 33 not found On 3/19/1864 he mustered into "H" Co.; He deserted on 11/29/1864.
Kinney, William G 25 not found On 1/30/1865 he mustered as a substitute into "G" Co. He deserted on 2/20/1865.
Kirker, Francis H. C 18 farmer Butler Co., PA June 25, 1843 1-Jul-1927 not found The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion. (1861–65.), Part 1, Volume 2 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1870), 358. Pension card states death July 1, 1927 in Pittsburgh, PA; ACWRD lists death as June 30, 1927; also as wounded at Bull Run in the face and left side--hospitalized 9-6-1862 at Georgetown College Hospital in DC and again 2-4-1863 in Philadelphia at Broad and Cherry Streets Hospital.
Kirker, Nesley C 18 light 5' 5 1/2" grey light farmer X Butler Co., Lancaster PA Perry Twp, Lawrence Co., PA Feb 14, 1847 13-Dec-1932 Zelienople PA X 16056246 X 1864 Recruit; no other information found per ACWRD.
Kirker, Silas W. C 18 Lawrence Co., Perry Twp. PA Lawrence Co., PA Sept 15, 1845 5-Apr-1927 Ellwood City PA 16056235 X 1864 Recruit; no other information found per ACWRD.
Kirling, Cyrus C. E 22 24-Aug-1907 not found 1865 Substitute--wounded at Fort Stedman, 3-25-1865 in left breast.
Kline, John C. E 29 3-Dec-1926 Benton PA X 8249953 1865 Substitute. Two middle names John L. C. Kline.
Klotzbaiker, John A 30 not found Exchanged Oct 12, 1862 (place not stated); promoted to Capt. June 30, 1862; information per ACWRD.
Knapp, Lorenzo K. C 18 not found January 30, 1865 Substitute; mustered out with regiment--July 24, 1865.
Koontz, John W. A 49 1881 not found promoted to Capt. Aug 29, 1862 per ACWRD.
Kreig, Charles H 19 not found On 3/9/1865 he mustered as a substitute into "H" Co.
Kress, Conrad H 33 not found On 2/27/1865 he mustered as a substitute into "H" Co.
Krouse, John F 37 fair 5' 4" blue light brower Germany Not Found Per ACWRD, 3-6-1865 substitute, deserted 6-19-1865.
Kusic, John I 35 not found March 26, 1862 recruit--no other information provided.
Kyser, Henry H. F 31 Not Found Per ACWRD, 1865 draftee.


text:
\section{Introduction}

An ideal system to study low-energy QCD under rather clean conditions is
provided by hadronic decays of the $\tau$ lepton
\cite{bnp92,bra89,bra88,np88,pich89}. Detailed investigations of the $\tau$
hadronic width as well as invariant mass distributions allow to determine a
plethora of QCD parameters, a most prominent example being the QCD coupling
$\alpha_s$. Furthermore, the experimental separation of the Cabibbo-allowed
decays and Cabibbo-suppressed modes into strange particles
\cite{dhz05,opal04,aleph99} opened a means to also determine the quark-mixing
matrix element $|V_{us}|$ \cite{gjpps07,gjpps04,gjpps03} as well as the mass
of the strange quark \cite{bck04,cdghpp01,dchpp01,km00,kkp00,pp99,ckp98,pp98},
additional fundamental parameters within the Standard Model, from the $\tau$
strange spectral function.

The dominant contribution to the Cabibbo-suppressed $\tau$ decay rate arises
from the decay $\tau\to\nu_\tau K\pi$. The corresponding distribution function
has been measured experimentally in the past by ALEPH \cite{aleph99} and OPAL
\cite{opal04}. More recently, high-statistics data for the
$\tau\to\nu_\tau K\pi$ spectrum became available from the Belle experiment
\cite{belle07}, and results for the total branching fraction are also available
from BaBar \cite{babar07,ban07}, with good prospects for results on the
spectrum from BaBar and BESIII in the near future.

These new results call for a refined theoretical understanding of the
$\tau\to\nu_\tau K\pi$ decay spectrum, and in ref.~\cite{jpp06} we have
provided a description based on the chiral theory with resonances (R$\chi$T)
\cite{egpr89,eglpr89}, under the additional inclusion of constraints from
dispersion relations. To start with, the general expression for the
differential decay distribution takes the form \cite{fm96}
\begin{equation}
\label{dGtau2kpi}
\frac{{\rm d}\Gamma_{K\pi}}{{\rm d}\sqrt{s}} \,=\, \frac{G_F^2|V_{us}|^2 M_\tau^3}
{32\pi^3s}\,S_{\rm EW}\biggl(1-\frac{s}{M_\tau^2}\biggr)^2\Biggl[ \biggl(1+2\,
\frac{s}{M_\tau^2}\biggr) q_{K\pi}^3\,|F_+^{K\pi}(s)|^2 +
\frac{3\Delta_{K\pi}^2}{4s}\,q_{K\pi}|F_0^{K\pi}(s)|^2 \Biggr] ,
\end{equation}
where we have assumed isospin invariance and have summed over the two possible
decays $\tau^-\to\nu_\tau\overline K^0\pi^-$ and $\tau^-\to\nu_\tau K^-\pi^0$,
with the individual decay channels contributing in the ratio
$2\hspace{-0.4mm}:\!1$ respectively.  In this expression, $S_{\rm EW}$ is an
electro-weak correction factor, $F_+^{K\pi}(s)$ and $F_0^{K\pi}(s)$ are the
vector and scalar $K\pi$ form factors respectively which will be explicated in
more detail in section~2. Furthermore, $\Delta_{K\pi}\equiv M_K^2-M_\pi^2$,
and $q_{K\pi}$ is the kaon momentum in the rest frame of the hadronic system,
\begin{equation}
q_{K\pi}(s) \,=\, \frac{1}{2\sqrt{s}}\sqrt{\Big(s-(M_K+M_\pi)^2\Big)
\Big(s-(M_K-M_\pi)^2\Big)}\cdot\theta\Big(s-(M_K+M_\pi)^2\Big) \,.
\end{equation}

By far the dominant contribution to the decay distribution originates from the
$K^*(892)$ meson. In the next section, we shall recall the effective description
of this contribution to the vector form factor $F_+^{K\pi}(s)$ in the framework
of R$\chi$T that was presented in ref.~\cite{jpp06}, quite analogous to a
similar description of the pion form factor given in
refs.~\cite{gp97,pp01,scp02}. A second vector resonance, namely the $K^*(1410)$
meson, can straightforwardly be included in the effective chiral description.
Finally, the scalar $K\pi$ form factor $F_0^{K\pi}(s)$ was calculated in the
same R$\chi$T plus dispersive constraint framework in a series of articles
\cite{jop00,jop01a,jop01b}, and the recent update of $F_0^{K\pi}(s)$
\cite{jop06} will be incorporated in our work as well.

Based on the theoretical expression \eqn{dGtau2kpi} for the spectrum and the
form factors discussed in section~2, in section~3, we shall perform fits of
our description to the Belle data \cite{belle07} for the decay
$\tau^-\to\nu_\tau K_S\pi^-$. From these fits it follows that both the scalar
contribution and the second vector resonance are required in order to obtain
a good description of the experimental spectrum. In addition, the fits allow
to determine the resonance parameters of the charged $K^*(892)$ and $K^*(1410)$
mesons. Finally, integrating the distribution function
${\rm d}\Gamma_{K\pi}/{\rm d}\sqrt{s}$, we are also in a position to present results
for the total $B[\tau^-\to\nu_\tau K_S\pi^-]$ branching fraction.

\section{The form factors}

A theoretical representation of the vector form factor $F_+^{K\pi}(s)$, which
is based on fundamental principles, has been developed in ref.~\cite{jpp06},
in complete analogy to the description of the pion form factor presented in
refs.~\cite{gp97,pp01,scp02}. This approach employed our present knowledge on
effective hadronic theories, short-distance QCD, the large-$N_C$ expansion as
well as analyticity and unitarity. For the pion form factor the resulting
expressions provide a very good description of the experimental data
\cite{gp97,pp01,scp02}.

Precisely following the approach of ref.~\cite{gp97}, in \cite{jpp06} we found
the following representation of the form factor $F_+^{K\pi}(s)$:
\begin{equation}
\label{FpEFT}
F_+^{K\pi}(s) \,=\, \frac{M_{K^*}^2 {\rm e}^{{\frac{3}{2}\mbox{\rm Re}\big[
\widetilde{H}_{K\pi}(s)+\widetilde{H}_{K\eta}(s)\big]}}}{M_{K^*}^2 -
s - iM_{K^*}\Gamma_{K^*}(s)} \;.
\end{equation}
The one-loop function $\widetilde{H}(s)$ is related to the corresponding
function $H(s)$ of \cite{gl85b} by $\widetilde{H}(s)\equiv H(s) -
2L_9^r\,s/(3F_0^2)\approx[s M^r(s)-L(s)]/(F_K F_\pi)$.\footnote{In our
expressions, we have decided to replace all factors of $1/F_0^2$ by
$1/(F_K F_\pi)$ since for the $K\pi$ system it is to be expected that
higher-order chiral corrections lead to the corresponding renormalisation
of the meson decay constant.} Explicit expressions for $M^r(s)$ and $L(s)$
can be found in ref.~\cite{gl85}.  The one-loop function $\widetilde{H}(s)$
depends on the chiral scale $\mu$, and in eq.~\eqn{FpEFT}, this scale should
be taken as $\mu=M_{K^*}$. In ref.  \cite{GomezDumm:2000fz}, the off-shell
width of a vector resonance was defined through the two-point vector current
correlator, performing a Dyson-Schwinger resummation within R$\chi$T
\cite{egpr89,eglpr89}.  Following this scheme the energy-dependent width
$\Gamma_{K^*}(s)$ is found to be
\begin{equation}
\label{GaKs}
\Gamma_{K^*}(s) \,=\, \frac{G_V^2 M_{K^*} s}{64\pi F_K^2 F_\pi^2} \Big[
\sigma_{K\pi}^3(s) + \sigma_{K\eta}^3(s) \Big] \,=\,
\Gamma_{K^*}\frac{s}{M_{K^*}^2}\,\frac{\left[\sigma_{K\pi}^3(s) +
\sigma_{K\eta}^3(s) \right]}{\left[\sigma_{K\pi}^3(M_{K^*}^2) +
\sigma_{K\eta}^3(M_{K^*}^2) \right]} \,,
\end{equation}
where $\Gamma_{K^*}\equiv \Gamma_{K^*}(M_{K^*}^2)$, and $G_V$ is the chiral
vector coupling which appears in the framework of the R$\chi$T \cite{egpr89}.
The phase space function $\sigma_{K\pi}(s)$ is given by
$\sigma_{K\pi}(s)=2q_{K\pi}(s)/\sqrt{s}$, and $\sigma_{K\eta}(s)$ follows
analogously with the replacement $M_\pi\to M_\eta$. Re-expanding eq.~\eqn{FpEFT}
in $s$ and comparing to the corresponding $\chi$PT expression \cite{gl85b}, in
the SU(3) symmetry limit one reproduces the short-distance constraint for the
vector coupling $G_V=F_0/\sqrt{2}$ \cite{eglpr89} which guarantees a vanishing
form factor at $s$ to infinity, as well as the lowest-resonance estimate.

Since the $\tau$ lepton can also decay hadronically into the second vector
resonance $K^{*'}\equiv K^*(1410)$, this particle has been included in our
parametrisation of the vector form factor $F_+^{K\pi}(s)$. A parametrisation
which is motivated by the R$\chi$T framework \cite{egpr89,eglpr89} can be
written as follows:
\begin{equation}
\label{FpKsKsp}
F_+^{K\pi}(s) \,=\, \Biggl[\, \frac{M_{K^*}^2+\gamma\,s}{M_{K^*}^2 - s -
iM_{K^*}\Gamma_{K^*}(s)} - \frac{\gamma\,s}{M_{K^{*'}}^2 - s -
iM_{K^{*'}}\Gamma_{K^{*'}}(s)} \,\Biggr] {\rm e}^{{\frac{3}{2}
\mbox{\rm Re}\big[\widetilde{H}_{K\pi}(s)+\widetilde{H}_{K\eta}(s)\big]}}  \,.
\end{equation}
This parametrisation incorporates all known constraints from $\chi$PT and
R$\chi$T. At low energies, it reproduces eq.~\eqn{FpEFT} up to corrections
proportional to $\gamma\,s\,(M_{K^*}-M_{K^{*'}})$. The relation of the
parameter $\gamma$ to the R$\chi$T couplings takes the form
$\gamma = F_V G_V/(F_K F_\pi) - 1$, when one assumes a vanishing form factor
at large $s$ in the $N_C$ to infinity limit. It is difficult, to a priori
asses a precise value for $\gamma$, but below we shall be able to fit it from
the comparison of our description with the Belle spectrum. The width of the
second resonance cannot be set unambiguously. Therefore, we have decided to
endow the $K^*(1410)$ contribution with a generic width as expected for a
vector resonance. Hence, $\Gamma_{K^{*'}}(s)$ will be taken to have the form
\begin{equation}
\Gamma_{K^{*'}}(s) \,=\, \Gamma_{K^{*'}}\,\frac{s}{M_{K^{*'}}^2}\,
\frac{\sigma_{K\pi}^3(s)}{\sigma_{K\pi}^3(M_{K^{*'}}^2)} \,.
\end{equation}

As a final ingredient for a prediction of the differential decay distribution
of the decay $\tau\to\nu_\tau K\pi$ according to eq.~\eqn{dGtau2kpi}, we
require the scalar form factor $F_0^{K\pi}(s)$. This form factor was calculated
in a series of articles \cite{jop00,jop01a,jop01b} in the framework of
R$\chi$T, again also employing constraints from dispersion theory as well as
the short-distance behaviour.\footnote{The original motivation for a precise
description of $F_0^{K\pi}(s)$ was the determination of the strange quark mass
$m_s$ from scalar sum rules, also performed in \cite{jop01b}.} Quite recently,
the determination of $F_0^{K\pi}(s)$ was updated in \cite{jop06} by employing
novel experimental constraints on the form factor at the Callan-Treiman point
$\Delta_{K\pi}$, and in our fits below, we shall also make use of this update.

A remaining question is which value to use for the form factors $F_+^{K\pi}(s)$
and $F_0^{K\pi}(s)$ at the origin. However, inspecting eq.~\eqn{dGtau2kpi}, one
realises that what is needed is not $F_+^{K\pi}(0)=F_0^{K\pi}(0)$ itself, but
only the product $|V_{us}| F_+^{K\pi}(0)$. Once this normalisation is fixed,
in the fits we only need to determine the shape of reduced form factors
$\widetilde F_+^{K\pi}(s)$ and $\widetilde F_0^{K\pi}(s)$ which are normalised to one at
the origin:
\begin{equation}
\widetilde F_+^{K\pi}(s) \,\equiv\, \frac{F_+^{K\pi}(s)}{F_+^{K\pi}(0)} \,, \qquad
\widetilde F_0^{K\pi}(s) \,\equiv\, \frac{F_0^{K\pi}(s)}{F_+^{K\pi}(0)} \,.
\end{equation}
This also entails, that after fixing the normalisation of the decay spectrum
by giving a value to $|V_{us}| F_+^{K\pi}(0)$, we are in a position to predict
the total branching fraction $B[\tau^-\to\nu_\tau K_S\pi^-]$ just from a fit
of the shape of the form factors, independent of normalisation issues.

The product $|V_{us}| F_+^{K\pi}(0)$ is determined most precisely from the
analysis of semi-leptonic kaon decays. The most recent average was presented
by the FLAVIAnet kaon working group, and reads \cite{FKWG08}
\begin{equation}
\label{VusF0}
|V_{us}| F_+^{K^0\pi^-}(0) \,=\, 0.21664 \pm 0.00048 \,.
\end{equation}
In what follows, we have renormalised our description for the form factors to
one and have assumed the result \eqn{VusF0} for the global normalisation.
Incidentally, the value in \eqn{VusF0} already corresponds to the $K^0\pi^-$
channel which was analysed by the Belle collaboration \cite{belle07}.
Therefore, possible isospin-breaking corrections to the normalisation are
already properly taken into account.

\section{Fits to the Belle \boldmath{$\tau\to\nu_\tau K\pi$} spectrum}

For our fits to the decay spectrum of the $\tau^-\to\nu_\tau K_S\pi^-$
transition as obtained by the Belle collaboration \cite{belle07}, we make
the following Ansatz:
\begin{equation}
\label{FitFun}
\frac{1}{2}\cdot \frac{2}{3}\cdot 0.0115\,[{\rm GeV/bin}]\,{\cal N}_T\cdot
\frac{1}{\Gamma_\tau \bar B_{K\pi}}\,\frac{{\rm d}\Gamma_{K\pi}}{{\rm d}\sqrt{s}} \,.
\end{equation}
The factors $1/2$ and $2/3$ come from the fact that the $K_S\pi^-$
channel has been analysed. Then, $11.5\,$MeV was the bin-width chosen by the
Belle collaboration, and ${\cal N}_T=53110$ the total number of observed
signal events. Finally, $\Gamma_\tau$ is the total decay width of the $\tau$
lepton and $\bar B_{K\pi}$ a remaining normalisation factor that will be
deduced from the fits. The normalisation of our Ansatz \eqn{FitFun} is
taken such that for a perfect agreement between data and fit function,
$\bar B_{K\pi}$ would correspond to the total branching fraction
$B_{K\pi}\equiv B[\tau^-\to\nu_\tau K_S\pi^-]$ which is obtained by integrating
the decay spectrum. Differences between $\bar B_{K\pi}$ and $B_{K\pi}$ point
to imperfections of the fit, and will constitute one source of systematic
uncertainties. As we shall see further below, for better fits also the
agreement between $\bar B_{K\pi}$ and $B_{K\pi}$ improves as expected.

Before entering the details of our fits, let us discuss the numerical values
of all input parameters. For the meson masses, we employ the physical masses
corresponding to the decay channel in question, namely $M_{K_S}=497.65\,$MeV,
$M_{\pi^-}=139.57\,$MeV and $M_\eta=547.51\,$MeV \cite{pdg06}. For the meson
decay constants, we use the findings of the recent review \cite{rs08}, in our
normalisation that is $F_\pi=92.3\,$MeV and $F_K/F_\pi=1.196$. For the
electro-weak correction factor, we have utilised the result for inclusive
hadronic $\tau$ decays, $S_{\rm EW}=1.0201$ \cite{gjpps04} (and references
therein). Even though the electro-weak correction factor for the exclusive
decay in question need not be the same as $S_{\rm EW}$, to the precision we
are working this choice is supposedly sufficient. Besides, we are not aware
of a published result for the correct factor in the case of the exclusive
decay studied here. All remaining input parameters which have not been
mentioned explicitly, are taken according to their PDG values \cite{pdg06}.

As an initial step, only the central $K^*$ resonance region is fitted, in order
to get an idea about the $K^*$ resonance parameters. For this fit, two forms
of the dominant vector form factor $F_+^{K\pi}(s)$ are used. On the one hand,
we employ our description \eqn{FpEFT} as discussed in the last section. On the
other hand, we also investigate a pure Breit-Wigner resonance shape as was used
in the experimental work of the Belle collaboration. This later allows a better
comparison to the findings of ref.~\cite{belle07}. The Breit-Wigner resonance
factor is defined by
\begin{equation}
\label{BWs}
BW_{K^*}(s) \,\equiv\, \frac{M_{K^*}^2}{M_{K^*}^2-s-i M_{K^*}
\Gamma_{K^*}(s)} \,,
\end{equation}
where the energy dependent width $\Gamma_{K^*}(s)$ takes the form
\begin{equation}
\label{Gas}
\Gamma_{K^*}(s) \,=\, \Gamma_{K^*}\,\frac{s}{M_{K^*}^2}\,
\frac{\sigma_{K\pi}^3(s)}{\sigma_{K\pi}^3(M_{K^*}^2)} \,.
\end{equation}
Thus, the $K^*$ width of \eqn{Gas} coincides with eq.~\eqn{GaKs} if the $K\eta$
contribution is neglected. Although our equations \eqn{BWs} and \eqn{Gas} are
written in a form different from the one employed in \cite{belle07}, the
expressions are in agreement. The Breit-Wigner version of the $K\pi$ vector
form factor $F_+^{K\pi}(s)$ then reads
\begin{equation}
F_+^{K\pi}(s) \,=\, F_+^{K\pi}(0)\,BW_{K^*}(s) \,.
\end{equation}
In practice, as discussed above, for our fits we only require the reduced form
factor $\widetilde F_+^{K\pi}(s)$ which in this case is equal to the Breit-Wigner
factor $BW_{K^*}(s)$.

For our first fit, we employ the Belle data \cite{belle07} in the range
$0.808\,$--$\,1.015\,$GeV (data points $16\,$--$\,34$), where the vector form
factor dominates and should provide a good description. The resulting fit
parameters are presented as the left-hand column in table~\ref{tab1} for the
Breit-Wigner fit, and the right hand column for the chiral fit. Graphically,
the corresponding fits are shown as the dotted and short-dashed lines in
figure~\ref{fig1} respectively, together with the experimental data points.
The fitted $K^*$ mass $M_{K^*}$ for the Breit-Wigner fit is close to the result
by the Belle collaboration \cite{belle07}, while the width $\Gamma_{K^*}$ is
found to be somewhat larger. Besides the normalisation factor $\bar B_{K\pi}$,
in table~\ref{tab1} we have also listed in brackets the result for the branching
fraction $B_{K\pi}$ that would be obtained when integrating the spectrum. The
$\chi^2/$n.d.f. for this fit is found to be of order 2. Nevertheless, later we
shall see that our final fit including all contributions will have a
$\chi^2/$n.d.f. of order 1. So this is nothing to worry about at this point.
From figure~\ref{fig1}, one observes that the fit provides a reasonable
description of the data in the fit region, but both, much below and much above
the resonance peak marked deviations are clearly visible, implying missing
contributions that will be discussed below.

\begin{table}[bht]
\renewcommand{\arraystretch}{1.1}
\begin{center}
\begin{tabular}{ccc}
\hline
 & BW form for $F_+^{K\pi}(s)$ & Chiral form for $F_+^{K\pi}(s)$ \\
\hline
$\bar B_{K\pi}\;(B_{K\pi})$ &
$0.3435 \pm 0.0042\,\%\;(0.3311\,\%)$ & $0.4658 \pm 0.0057\,\%\;(0.4541\,\%)$\\
$M_{K^*}$ & $895.59 \pm 0.18\;\mbox{\rm MeV}$ & $894.93 \pm 0.18\;\mbox{\rm MeV}$ \\
$\Gamma_{K^*}$ & $48.06 \pm 0.45\;\mbox{\rm MeV}$ & $47.47 \pm 0.44\;\mbox{\rm MeV}$ \\
\hline
$\chi^2/$n.d.f. & 30.3/16 & 30.8/16 \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{center}
\caption{Fit to the Belle $\tau\to\nu_\tau K\pi$ spectrum in the $K^*$
resonance region with a pure vector resonance shape.\label{tab1}}
\end{table}

\begin{figure}[thb]
\begin{center}
\includegraphics[angle=0, width=15cm]{fig1}
\end{center}
\caption{Fit result for the differential decay distribution of the decay
$\tau\to\nu_\tau K\pi$, when fitted with a pure $K^*$ vector resonance (dotted
and short-dashed curves) or with $K^*$ plus the central scalar form factor
$F_0^{K\pi}(s)$ as given in \cite{jop06} (long-dashed and solid curves).
\label{fig1}}
\end{figure}

Performing in an analogous fashion the fit to the Belle data with the R$\chi$T
form of $F_+^{K\pi}(s)$, the obtained fit parameters are listed in the
right-hand column in table~\ref{tab1}, and the fit curve is displayed as the
short-dashed line in figure~\ref{fig1}. The parameters obtained from both fits
differ to some extent, especially the normalisation $\bar B_{K\pi}$, due to the
different functional forms of the vector form factor. Still, we will postpone
a detailed discussion of our numerical results until presenting the complete
fit including all contributions below.\footnote{As the fit is practically
insensitive to the parameter $r$ in the Blatt-Weisskopf barrier factor
appearing in our previous parametrisation of the $K^*$ width \cite{jpp06}, we
have decided to set $r$ to zero, so that our fits are more directly comparable
to the fits performed by the Belle collaboration \cite{belle07}, who have not
applied such a factor. Employing the central result of our previous fit
$r = 3.5\;\mbox{\rm GeV}^{-1}$ \cite{jpp06} would give practically the same $\chi^2$,
but would result in a $K^*$ mass that is about $1.4\;\mbox{\rm MeV}$ lower and a $K^*$
width about $0.8\;\mbox{\rm MeV}$ lower. These conclusions are the same for both the
Breit-Wigner or chiral form of the vector form factor $F_+^{K\pi}(s)$. This
observation again indicates the fact that the precise functional form of the
vector form factor matters for the resulting values of $K^*$ mass $M_{K^*}$
and width $\Gamma_{K^*}$.} From figure~\ref{fig1}, we see that while both,
the chiral and the Breit-Wigner fits give a similar spectrum below the $K^*$
resonance peak, above the peak there are substantial differences. This will
play an important role below, when we shall aim at improving the fit by adding
a second vector resonance $K^{*'}$, because it will certainly influence its
fit parameters.

\begin{table}[htb]
\renewcommand{\arraystretch}{1.1}
\begin{center}
\begin{tabular}{ccc}
\hline
 & BW form for $F_+^{K\pi}(s)$ & Chiral form for $F_+^{K\pi}(s)$ \\
\hline
$\bar B_{K\pi}\;(B_{K\pi})$ &
$0.3575 \pm 0.0041\,\%\;(0.3518\,\%)$ & $ 0.4767 \pm 0.0056\,\%\;(0.4726\,\%)$\\
$M_{K^*}$ & $895.56 \pm 0.18\;\mbox{\rm MeV}$ & $894.92 \pm 0.18\;\mbox{\rm MeV}$ \\
$\Gamma_{K^*}$ & $47.05 \pm 0.42\;\mbox{\rm MeV}$ & $46.94 \pm 0.42\;\mbox{\rm MeV}$ \\
\hline
$\chi^2/$n.d.f. & 43.5/28 & 46.2/28 \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{center}
\caption{Fit to the Belle $\tau\to\nu_\tau K\pi$ spectrum in the $K^*$
resonance region with a vector resonance shape for $F_+^{K\pi}(s)$ and the
central scalar form factor $F_0^{K\pi}(s)$.\label{tab2}}
\end{table}

Thus far, we have completely omitted the contribution of the scalar $K\pi$
form factor $F_0^{K\pi}(s)$ to the differential $\tau\to\nu_\tau K\pi$ decay
spectrum. When adding the corresponding contribution with the central
parameters as presented in \cite{jop06}, it is found that the combined
theoretical spectrum gives a good description also in the region below the
$K^*$ resonance, with the exception of three data points in the range
$0.682\,$--$\,0.705\,$GeV (points $5,6,7$). Therefore, as our next fit, we fit
the entire low-energy region $0.636\,$--$\,1.015\,$GeV while keeping the
scalar form factor $F_0^{K\pi}(s)$ fixed but leaving out in the fit the
problematic data points $5,6$ and $7$.\footnote{These three data points look
as if there might be a bumpy structure, perhaps related to the $K_0^*(800)$.
However, as has been discussed in section~7 of \cite{jop00}, the $K_0^*(800)$
is in fact present in our chiral description of the scalar form factor. As it
is rather broad, we see no way how one could accommodate such a bump in the
low-energy region below the $K^*$ resonance.} The resulting fit parameters
in the case of the Breit-Wigner and chirally inspired vector form factor
$F_+^{K\pi}(s)$ are tabulated in table \ref{tab2}, and the corresponding fit
curves are plotted as the long-dashed and solid lines in figure~\ref{fig1}
respectively. From table~\ref{tab2} one observes that $M_{K^*}$ is almost
unchanged, the width $\Gamma_{K^*}$ is slightly decreased, and also the
$\chi^2/$n.d.f. is somewhat reduced, although it is still larger than roughly
$1.5$. Nevertheless, it is clear that the scalar contribution is required in
order to give a more satisfactory description of the region below the $K^*$
resonance.

\begin{table}[htb]
\renewcommand{\arraystretch}{1.1}
\begin{center}
\begin{tabular}{ccc}
\hline
 & BW form for $F_+^{K\pi}(s)$ & Chiral form for $F_+^{K\pi}(s)$ \\
\hline
$\bar B_{K\pi}\;(B_{K\pi})$ &
$0.423 \pm 0.012\,\%\;(0.421\,\%)$ & $0.430 \pm 0.011\,\%\;(0.427\,\%)$ \\
$M_{K^*}$ & $895.12 \pm 0.19\;\mbox{\rm MeV}$ & $895.28 \pm 0.20\;\mbox{\rm MeV}$ \\
$\Gamma_{K^*}$ & $46.79 \pm 0.41\;\mbox{\rm MeV}$ & $47.50 \pm 0.41\;\mbox{\rm MeV}$ \\
$M_{K^{*'}}$ & $1598 \pm 25\;\mbox{\rm MeV}$ & $1307 \pm 17\;\mbox{\rm MeV}$ \\
$\Gamma_{K^{*'}}$ & $224 \pm 47\;\mbox{\rm MeV}$ & $206 \pm 49\;\mbox{\rm MeV}$ \\
$\beta$, $\gamma$ & $-\,0.079 \pm 0.010$ & $-\,0.043 \pm 0.010$ \\
\hline
$\chi^2/$n.d.f. & 88.7/81 & 79.5/81 \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{center}
\caption{Full fit to the Belle $\tau\to\nu_\tau K\pi$ spectrum with the two
$K^*$ and $K^{*'}$ vector resonances in $F_+^{K\pi}(s)$ and the central scalar
form factor $F_0^{K\pi}(s)$.\label{tab3}}
\end{table}

\begin{figure}[thb]
\begin{center}
\includegraphics[angle=0, width=15cm]{fig2}
\end{center}
\caption{Main fit result to the Belle data \cite{belle07} for the differential
decay distribution of the decay $\tau^-\to\nu_\tau K_S\pi^-$. Our theoretical
description includes the Breit-Wigner (dashed line) or R$\chi$T (solid line)
vector form factors with two resonances, as well as the scalar form factor
according to ref.~\cite{jop06}. For R$\chi$T also the scalar (dotted line) and
$K^{*'}$ (dashed-dotted) contributions are displayed.\label{fig2}}
\end{figure}

As the last step, now we also improve upon the description of the region
above the $K^*$ resonance by including as a second vector resonance the
$K^{*'}$. In the case of the Breit-Wigner form factor, the inclusion of the
$K^{*'}$ resonance can be achieved by writing
\begin{equation}
\label{fp2bw}
F_+^{K\pi}(s) \,=\, \frac{F_+^{K\pi}(0)}{1+\beta}\,\Big[\, BW_{K^*}(s) +
\beta\,BW_{K^{*'}}(s) \,\Big] \,,
\end{equation}
whereas in the case of the chiral resonance description, the corresponding
expression for $F_+^{K\pi}(s)$ including the $K^{*'}$ is given above in
eq.~\eqn{FpKsKsp} and depends on the mixing parameter $\gamma$. Again, our
fits are displayed in a graphical form in figure~\ref{fig2}, where the solid
line corresponds to the R$\chi$T description, and the dashed line to the fit
with a vector form factor according to eq.~\eqn{fp2bw}. For R$\chi$T, in
addition we have separately displayed the contributions of the scalar form
factor (dotted line) and of the $K^{*'}$ resonance (dashed-dotted line). The
resulting fit parameters have been collected in table~\ref{tab3}. We observe
that the chirally inspired description of ref.~\cite{jpp06} provides the better
fit, and that as expected the $K^{*'}$ mass $M_{K^{*'}}$ turns out to be very
different, though the $\Gamma_{K^{*'}}$ widths (probably by chance) agree
rather well. The mixing parameters $\beta$ and $\gamma$ also differ, but due
to the different functional forms of our two descriptions for the vector form
factor $F_+^{K\pi}(s)$, anyway they cannot be compared.

Up to now, in our fits we have only employed the central prediction for the
scalar form factor $F_0^{K\pi}(s)$. Thus the question arises what happens if
we modify $F_0^{K\pi}(s)$. As the normalisation of the form factors can be
fixed by experiment, we only require the shape of $F_0^{K\pi}(s)$ and for this,
in our dispersive approach \cite{jop06,jop01a,jop01b}, the dominant input
parameter is the value of the ratio $F_0^{K\pi}(\Delta_{K\pi})/F_0^{K\pi}(0)$
at the Callan-Treiman point $\Delta_{K\pi}\equiv M_K^2-M_\pi^2$, which has been
discussed in detail in \cite{jop06}. We can then introduce a fit parameter
$\alpha$ which describes the change of shape of $F_0^{K\pi}(s)$ when
$F_0^{K\pi}(\Delta_{K\pi})/F_0^{K\pi}(0)$ is modified. Let $\alpha=0$
correspond to our central result of \cite{jop06}, $\alpha=1$ to the scalar
form factor which arises when $F_0^{K\pi}(\Delta_{K\pi})/F_0^{K\pi}(0)$ is
larger by $1\sigma$, and $\alpha=-1$ when
$F_0^{K\pi}(\Delta_{K\pi})/F_0^{K\pi}(0)$ is smaller by $1\sigma$. Adding
$\alpha$ to our fit parameters, for the chirally inspired $F_+^{K\pi}(s)$
we obtain $\alpha = 4.4 \pm 1.9$, and for the pure Breit-Wigner form
$\alpha = 6.3 \pm 2.7$, with only a slight change of the other parameters
and a small improvement in the $\chi^2/$n.d.f. From this we conclude that
the fit prefers a slightly larger $F_0^{K\pi}(s)$, but the sensitivity to
$\alpha$ is not very strong. Furthermore, the largest changes when leaving
$\alpha$ free are in the parameters of the $K^{*'}$, which entails that the
found values for $\alpha$ are driven by the energy region above the $K^*$
resonance, where the theoretical description is less well founded. If the
same exercise is repeated with the fits which only include the low-energy
and $K^*$ resonance region (fits of table~\ref{tab2}), then we obtain
$\alpha = 4.7 \pm 7.9$ in the case of the R$\chi$T description. Hence, with
the present precision of the data and in particular the open question about
the three data points in the low-energy region, we are not able to further
constrain the contribution of the scalar form factor $F_0^{K\pi}(s)$.

Let us now come to a detailed discussion of our central fit results of
table~\ref{tab3}. The $\chi^2/$n.d.f. of both the chiral and the Breit-Wigner
fits is of the order of one, but nevertheless the chiral fit provides the
better description of the experimental data. For the complete fit including
two vector resonances and the scalar contribution, within the fit uncertainties
the normalisation $\bar B_{K\pi}$ and the branching fraction $B_{K\pi}$ are in
very good agreement. In addition, as can be observed from table~\ref{tab3},
also the branching fractions extracted from the two versions of parametrising
$F_+^{K\pi}(s)$ display perfect consistency, once all contributions have been
included in the fit. The remaining small difference can be traced back to
the exponential factor in the numerator of the R$\chi$T expression \eqn{FpEFT}.
Since our chiral model for $F_+^{K\pi}(s)$ is theoretically better motivated
and furthermore provides the better fit quality, as our central result for
the branching fraction, we quote:
\begin{equation}
\label{BKpi}
B[\tau^-\to\nu_\tau K_S\pi^-] \,=\, 0.427 \pm 0.011 \pm 0.021 \,\%
\,=\, 0.427 \pm 0.024 \,\% \,.
\end{equation}
The first quoted error corresponds to the statistical fit uncertainty. To be
conservative, in the second error we made an attempt to estimate systematic
uncertainties. To this end, we have performed analogous fits, where the
chiral factors $1/F_0^2$ are taken to be $1/F_\pi^2$, which should give an
idea of the importance of higher-order chiral corrections. (See footnote~1.)
Then the branching fraction for the full R$\chi$T fit turns out to be
$B_{K\pi}=0.448\,\%$, and we take the difference of this result to our main
value as an additional systematic uncertainty. When comparing to previous
determinations, within the uncertainties our result \eqn{BKpi} is in agreement
with the findings of the Belle collaboration
$B[\tau^-\to\nu_\tau K_S\pi^-] = 0.404\,\pm\,0.013 \,\%$ \cite{belle07},
which are just based on a pure counting of events, as well as the Particle
Data Group average for the related branching fraction
$B[\tau^-\to\nu_\tau \bar K^0\pi^-] = 0.90\,\pm\,0.04 \,\%$ \cite{pdg06}.
When assuming isospin invariance, the above results can also be compared with
the BaBar measurement
$B[\tau^-\to\nu_\tau K^-\pi^0] = 0.416\,\pm\,0.018 \,\%$ \cite{babar07},
showing very good overall consistency.

As far as the parameters of the charged $K^*$ resonance are concerned, within
the uncertainties our value $M_{K^*}=895.3\pm0.2$ is in very good agreement
with the Belle result \cite{belle07}. However, it is about $3.5\,$MeV larger
than the current PDG average \cite{pdg06}.\footnote{Funnily enough, it is in
much better agreement with the PDG average for the {\em neutral} $K^*$ mass.
For more details, the reader is referred to the related discussion of the $K^*$
mass in ref.~\cite{belle07}.} On the other hand, our finding for the width
$\Gamma_{K^*}=47.5\pm0.4\,$MeV is significantly lower than the PDG average,
but still roughly $1\,$MeV larger than the Belle result. The corresponding
value of the chiral coupling $G_V$ which appears in eq.~\eqn{GaKs} is found
to be $G_V=72.0\pm0.6\,$MeV. For the second vector resonance, the $K^*(1410)$,
the obtained mass from our central chiral fit is about $100\,$MeV lower than
the PDG average \cite{pdg06}, while for the width, we find reasonable agreement
to the PDG value. However, for the Breit-Wigner fit $M_{K^{*'}}$ was found
to turn out much larger, which implies that the mass of the $K^*(1410)$
strongly depends on our parametrisation of the form factors and its
determination is therefore not very reliable. As a general remark, we like to
emphasise that one should not compare or average determinations done with
different functional parametrisations.

\section{Conclusions}

Let us briefly summarise our findings before drawing further conclusions.
From a description of the $K\pi$ vector and scalar form factors $F_+^{K\pi}(s)$
and $F_0^{K\pi}(s)$ in the framework R$\chi$T, additionally imposing constraints
from dispersion relations as well as short distance QCD, we were able to obtain
a good fit to the recent Belle data \cite{belle07} for the spectrum of the decay
$\tau^-\to\nu_\tau K_S\pi^-$. From our fit we could extract the corresponding
branching fraction and the parameters of the $K^*$ resonance
\begin{equation}
B[\tau^-\to\nu_\tau K_S\pi^-] \,=\, 0.427 \pm 0.024 \,\% \,,
\end{equation}
\begin{equation}
M_{K^*} \,=\, 895.3 \pm 0.2 \;\mbox{\rm MeV} \,, \quad
\Gamma_{K^*} \,=\, 47.5 \pm 0.4 \;\mbox{\rm MeV} \,,
\end{equation}
where the quoted errors for $M_{K^*}$ and $\Gamma_{K^*}$ only include the
statistical fit uncertainties. Besides, we observe a substantial model
dependence of these parameters. (See footnote~3.) This model dependence is
even more pronounced for the second included resonance, the $K^*(1410)$, and
therefore we are unable to make a reliable prediction for $M_{K^{*'}}$ and
$\Gamma_{K^{*'}}$.

As far as the scalar form factor $F_0^{K\pi}(s)$ is concerned, below the
$K^*$ resonance it is obvious that this contribution is required in order to
provide a satisfactory description of the data. (With the exception of three
data points which appear to form a small bump.) Trying to also fit the scalar
part, it is seen that the data prefer a slightly larger contribution, but on
the basis of the present data this is statistically not significant. Above
the $K^*$, we have the well established $K_0^*(1430)$ resonance, but here it
interferes with higher vector resonances. Due to these correlations and the
strong model dependence of the higher vector resonances, it will be difficult
to disentangle scalar and vector contributions without a dedicated analysis
of angular correlations \cite{km92,fm96}.

An independent investigation of the Belle $\tau^-\to\nu_\tau K_S\pi^-$ decay
spectrum on the basis of Mushkelishvili-Omn\'es integral equations, also
incorporating chiral constraints at low energies as well as QCD short-distance
constraints at high energies was recently published in ref.~\cite{mou07}.
A visual inspection of the corresponding fit results presented in figure~5 of
\cite{mou07} suggests that the quality of the fit is not as good as in our case,
though no further details, e.g.~a~$\chi^2$, were provided in \cite{mou07}.
Still, it would be interesting to see, if somehow the approaches used in
ref.~\cite{mou07} and in our work could be merged, to be able to impose as
many theoretical constraints as possible on the employed form factors.

Already in ref.~\cite{jpp06}, from our description of the vector form factor
$F_+^{K\pi}(s)$, we deduced slope and curvature of the form factor close to
$s=0$, which are important parameters in the determination of $|V_{us}|$ from
$K_{l3}$ decays. Let us define a general expansion of the reduced form factor
$\widetilde F_+^{K\pi}(s)$ as:
\begin{equation}
\widetilde F_+^{K\pi}(s) \,\equiv\, 1 + \lambda_+^{'}\frac{s}{M_{\pi^-}^2} +
\frac{1}{2}\, \lambda_+^{''}\frac{s^2}{M_{\pi^-}^4} +
\frac{1}{6}\,\lambda_+^{'''} \frac{s^3}{M_{\pi^-}^6} + \ldots \,,
\end{equation}
where $\lambda_+^{'}$, $\lambda_+^{''}$ and $\lambda_+^{'''}$ are the slope,
curvature and cubic expansion parameter respectively. On the basis of our fit
results of table~\ref{tab3}, we are now in a position to update these
quantities, also estimating the corresponding uncertainties, which yields:
\begin{equation}
\label{lambdap}
\lambda_+^{'}   \,=\, (25.20 \pm 0.33)\cdot 10^{-3} \,, \;\;
\lambda_+^{''}  \,=\, (12.85 \pm 0.31)\cdot 10^{-4} \,, \;\;
\lambda_+^{'''} \,=\,  (9.56 \pm 0.28)\cdot 10^{-5} \,.
\end{equation}
In an attempt to estimate systematic uncertainties from higher orders in the
chiral expansion, like in the last section we have again also investigated
the case $F_K=F_\pi$, which contributes the largest part of the error quoted
in \eqn{lambdap}. The next important source of uncertainty stems from the
mixing parameter of the $K^{*'}$ resonance $\gamma$, for which we have used
the fit result of table~\ref{tab3}. Besides, the vector masses $M_{K^*}$ and
$M_{K^{*'}}$ have been varied by $1\,$MeV and $100\,$MeV respectively, but
these modifications only have a small impact on the uncertainties for the
expansion parameters of $\widetilde F_+^{K\pi}(s)$. Comparing to the most recent
determination of $\lambda_+^{'}$ and $\lambda_+^{''}$ from an average of
current experimental results for $K_{l3}$ decays \cite{FKWG08} (where also
detailed references to the individual experiments can be found), we observe
that both determinations are in very good agreement, though for the time
being our theoretical extraction is more precise.

To conclude, our R$\chi$T description of the $K\pi$ vector and scalar form
factors provides a good representation of the experimental data of the Belle
collaboration for the spectrum of the decay $\tau^-\to\nu_\tau K_S\pi^-$
\cite{belle07}, thereby allowing to deduce many parameters of this approach.
The used method can also be applied to $\tau$ decay channels which involve
three final state hadrons, and this has already been performed successfully
for the decays $\tau\to\nu_\tau\pi\pi\pi$ \cite{gpp03} as well as
$\tau\to\nu_\tau K K\pi$ \cite{por07}. In the near future, we plan to return
to the still missing decay mode $\tau\to\nu_\tau K\pi\pi$, which is the most
interesting one in view of getting a better handle on the hadronic $\tau$
decay rate into strange final states.

\vskip 1cm \noindent
{\Large\bf Acknowledgements}

\noindent
We are most grateful to the Belle collaboration, in particular S.~Eidelman,
D.~Epifanov and B.~Shwartz, for providing their data and for useful discussions.
This work has been supported in part by EU Contract No. MRTN-CT-2006-035482
(FLAVIAnet) (MJ, AP, JP), by CICYT-FEDER-FPA2005-02211 (MJ), by MEC (Spain)
grant No. FPA2007-60323 (AP, JP) and by Spanish Consolider-Ingenio 2010
Programme CPAN (CSD2007-00042).

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
Texas Democrats line up to compete in vulnerable congressional race
Madlin Mekelburg
AUSTIN — Voters in the expansive congressional district that stretches from San Antonio to the Eastern edge of El Paso reelected Republican U.S. Rep. Will Hurd two years ago, despite supporting Democrat Hillary Clinton's presidential bid.
Now, a crowded Democratic field for the 23rd Congressional District is looking to capitalize on the district's history of political seesawing, dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump and recent victories in Republican controlled districts in Alabama and Virginia.
Their goal: to turn the district blue for the first time since Hurd's victory in 2014 and to shift the balance in the U.S. Congress.
"If we are successful at winning this seat, I think the House is going to flip," said Jay Hulings, a former federal prosecutor from San Antonio and one of the financial frontrunners in the race. "I think it is one of those pivotal seats."
"There's a lot of pressure here," Hulings said.
The district, which stretches nearly 600 miles and includes large swaths of the U.S.-Mexico border, draws national attention each election cycle because it is one of the most competitive in the country.
The seat has switched party hands five times since it was drawn, with the successful candidate often wresting power by a narrow margin — as was the case when Hurd unseated U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego in 2014.
"If Democrats have any hope whatsoever of capturing the majority of the U.S. House, they have to win in CD 23," said Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University. "That's one of their lowest hanging fruit."
A crowded field
During the 2016 election, voter turnout in the district was twice that of 2014, when Hurd first won the seat. There were 228,965 votes cast in the district in 2016 and 115,429 in 2014.
Hurd beat Gallego in 2016 by 3,000 votes, even as his district favored Clinton over President Donald Trump by about 4 percent of the vote, winning 115,133 votes to Trump's 107,058.
Candidates in the Democratic primary believe this year will be different, but Jones said it may be more difficult to unseat Hurd than his opponents think.
More:Democrats launch ad campaign targeting US Rep. Will Hurd
If a "garden variety" Republican held the seat, Jones said the quality of the Democratic candidates and the dynamics of the district would make the seat an all but certain victory for Democrats. But Jones said voters gravitate towards Hurd because they see him as his own person, someone who votes with his party when he agrees but against it when he doesn't.
"Coming into the 2018 electoral cycle it was seen throughout the country as the Republican Party's most vulnerable seat in the Lone Star State," Jones said. "The only reason why it hasn't ranked higher for Democrats is the fact that Will Hurd is such a dynamic and well-liked candidate."
Hulings is one of five candidates in the running for the March 6 Primary. He joins Gina Ortiz Jones, a former Air Force intelligence officer, Judy Canales, who was appointed to serve in the U.S. Department of Agriculture by former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, Rick Treviño, a former high school teacher, and Uvalde resident Angela "Angie" Villescaz. Early voting for the March 6 primary starts on Feb. 20.
"I'm a first generation American. I am a woman of color. I am LGBT. You're damn right I know exactly what's at stake if we don't get this right," said Ortiz Jones, an Air Force veteran who is one of nearly 50 women seeking election to Congress in Texas this year.
"I, like a lot of people, are done assuming that somebody is going to do for me that which I can do for myself," she said. "That's the story of this race. That's the story of Texas."
More:Texas poised to end dry spell of electing new women to Congress in 2018
The winner of the primary race will likely face off with Hurd in the general election. Hurd, who raised $905,896 between January and September of last year, faces Alma Arredondo-Lynch in the Republican Primary. Arredondo-Lynch has raised $3,600.
Arredondo-Lynch did not return a request for comment.
Hurd, a former CIA officer, is the first black Republican elected to Congress from Texas. He serves as chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's Information Technology Subcommittee and vice chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security.
A vocal critic of Trump's pitch for a border wall, Hurd is considered one of the more moderate Republicans in the Texas delegation and he frequently touts his bipartisan efforts.
More:Hurd touts using technology to create 'smart wall' to secure border
Hurd said the national attention from Democrats hasn't changed the way he campaigns or governs.
"Here's the secret to our success," he said. "My month this month looks no different than the months 10 months ago and it's going to be no different from October, November of 2018. We show leadership up here in D.C., translate it to the district and (are) the gold standard when it comes to constituent relations."
More:U.S. Rep. Will Hurd speaks at Fabens High School
Big district, varying views
Congressional District 23 had a population of 772,944 people as of 2016, and about 68 percent of the population is Hispanic or Latino, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Roughly 4 percent of the population is unemployed and 18 percent doesn't have health insurance.
The entire district is more than 58,000 square miles and includes Big Bend National Park.
"It's 29 counties, two time zones," Hurd said. "It takes ten hours to drive across it, but I like to drive."
Canales, who worked as an intern for the 23rd Congressional District office while she was a student at the University of Texas at Austin, said ensuring that communities throughout the area feel represented is vital.
"We're a district that gets forgotten all the way around because you've got San Antonio and El Paso, and we're not the predominate district of either city," she said. "That's part of what I'm doing, generating that interest and that recognition that our local communities are important."
For Hulings — a longtime friend and ally of U.S. Rep. Joaquín Castro and his brother Julian Castro, the former housing and urban development secretary and mayor of San Antonio — the district represents winnable territory for a Democrat.
"It's a big stretch of West Texas. This is not an urban, Democratic-leaning seat," Hulings said. "This is a seat where you've got to be able to compete in Alpine and Fort Stockton and El Paso, in addition to the San Antonio suburbs."
Hulings, the son of two undercover CIA officers, has worked on Capitol Hill as counsel for the House Intelligence Committee under former U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes from El Paso and as legislative director to former U.S. Rep. Jane Harman, a Democrat from California.
As a former federal prosecutor in Del Rio and San Antonio, Hulings said he enjoyed his work but was often frustrated by the limits of the law and the resulting "tragedies," particularly when it comes to immigration policy.
"I always thought that if you want to make real change and do public service when it counts, at some point you have to be changing the law," he said. "I feel like we're on a knife's edge right now and the country is in a very delicate and dangerous position. I decided I couldn't just sit on the sidelines, that I could win this race, that it's important and that now is the time to get in the arena."
Hulings and Ortiz Jones are considered front-runners for the Democratic nomination. Both far outraised their opponents in 2017.
Hulings raised $200,207 since the time he entered the race in August through the end of September, according to the latest data available from the Federal Election Commission. Ortiz Jones raised $103,920 between July and September.
Treviño's campaign raised $1,552 between July and September and Canales raised $125 during the same period. Villescaz did not report any fundraising.
"Today, my prediction would be the most likely scenario right now is we're going to have a runoff and it will be Hulings and (Ortiz Jones)," said Jones, the political science professor at Rice University. "I wouldn't want to count out Treviño today, although I think he has an uphill battle to get into that runoff."
Treviño came in third place in a race for an open city council seat in San Antonio in 2016 and was a delegate for Bernie Sanders during the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
While he agrees with his Democratic opponents that Hurd isn't the right man for the job of representing District 23, Treviño said he doesn't think Hulings, Ortiz Jones or Canales have what it takes either.
"Those types of profiles and backgrounds are already found in D.C. and those type of people have created the country we live in now," he said. "I'm not here to make friends with the political class or the Democratic class, because they really haven't been our friends either."
As for Hulings, Jones said his backing from the Castro brothers — "who are considered the brightest rising stars in the Democratic Party" — pushes the race further into the national spotlight.
When they encouraged Hulings to run, Jones said the Castros may have seen the race as a "cake walk," but his chances of winning have been lowered by the performance thus far of Ortiz Jones, who Jones said is "one of the real surprises of this primary season."
More:Castro out of Democratic Senate bid with O'Rourke
While she is lagging behind Hulings in fundraising, she has picked up key endorsements from Emily's List, the Victory Fund and former state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio.
Ortiz Jones worked as director for investment in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative when Trump was elected.
"I was working for this administration, but on election night I knew my time in public service would be different," she said.
"The same old, same old in this district in these times is not going to win," she said. "We're being tested and I've decided to answer the test by standing up to serve."
Madlin Mekelburg is a reporter with the USA Today Network Austin Bureau; she may be reached at 512-479-6606; mmekelburg@elpasotimes.com; @madlinbmek on Twitter.
Republican ticket
U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, 40, studied computer science at Texas A&M University. He spent almost a decade working as an undercover officer in the CIA before joining the private sector and working with a cybersecurity company. He was elected to Congress in 2014. He has two siblings, a brother and a sister. He lives in Helotes.
Alma Arredondo-Lynch graduated from Pan American University and the Dental School at UT Health Science Center at Houston. Arredondo-Lynch has a private dental practice in Uvalde and is a former biology, chemistry and physical science teacher. Her late husband Ernest Lynch was an Army veteran. She lives in Uvalde.
Democratic ticket
Jay Hulings, 42, studied economics at Virginia Tech University and went to law school at Harvard University. He is a former federal prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice. He previously served as legislative director to former U.S. Rep. Jane Harman of California. Hulings lives in San Antonio with his wife Elysia Petru Hulings, the former Miss San Antonio, and his one-year-old son.
Gina Ortiz Jones, 36, attended Boston University on an Air Force ROTC scholarship where she received a master's degree in economics. She served in the U.S. Air Force as an intelligence officer in Iraq before landing at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. If elected, she would be the first openly LGBT person elected to Congress from Texas. Her mother lives in San Antonio and her sister serves in the Navy and is stationed in Virginia. Ortiz Jones lives in San Antonio and her partner is a photographer, who travels the country for her work.
Judy Canales, 55, attended the University of Texas at Austin. While she was a student, she completed an internship for the 23rd Congressional District office. She was appointed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture by former President Bill Clinton and was named Texas State Executive Director for the department by former President Barack Obama. Canales lives in Eagle Pass with her husband Juan Antonio Tovar Jr, a teacher.
Rick Treviño, 33, attended the University of Texas at San Antonio and has a master's degree in educational leadership from Trinity University. He taught geography and history at Sam Houston High School in San Antonio before running for Congress. He was a Bernie Sanders delegate to the 2016 National Democratic Convention. He was born in Laredo and lives in San Antonio.
*Angela "Angie" Villescaz could not be reached for comment.
Where are the candidates they from?


Graphic Tees with different famous bands/singers or slogans are popping up everywhere these days from the bodies of A-list celebrities to just regular people with something to say. It makes a total fashion sense to wear this tee nowadays which has really become a classic. The one thing that is clear now is that these shirts are back in fashion!
Lately, I've been wearing different graphic tees and I think it gives a sense of style to a perfect casual look. One of my favorite staples are very comfortable and versatile, a must to go outfit. On a typical day, we usually grab this kind of shirt. Who can relate? I love the iconic designs like different famous singers/artists. If graphic tees are not your style, focus on the pieces you style with it. Since the weather here in Manila has been up and down it's always nice to bring a denim jacket which also adds style to your outfit. Incorporating graphic tees into your everyday wardrobe has an endless flow of inspiration for wearing this trend. Check out my photos below to give you some idea.


23.45° Axial Inclination - that's the reason for the season. The earth's axis is tilted 23.45° from the plane on which it orbits. This tilt is for the most part constant as it orbits the sun. That gives us four seasons as each hemisphere alternates between being angled towards or away from the sun.
Jesus is the reason for Christianity, but winter solstice celebrations are ubiquitous across nearly all cultures and religions.
I don't know why I feel the need to point this out, but I suspect it has something to do with the apparent increasingly outspoken Christian voice here in the Southeastern United States. "Remember the reason for the season!" they keep telling me. So, okay. I did.
This month's issue of Make Magazine (12) had a short article titled "Shoot the Stars: Astrophotography with your digital SLR." I have always had an interest in astronomy, but I hadn't really considered just pointing my existing DSLR setup at the night sky without a telescope, tracking system, &etc.
But, as it turns out, a good CCD imager like the one in my Canon Digital Rebel XT is all you really need to start taking some neat pictures of the night sky! As a test I took the following images from the alley behind my house in downtown Atlanta, under a severe amount of light pollution.
I've just scratched the surface of astrophotography once before with my father's Celestron scope and an Orion digital imager, and learned then that having good post-processing software is half the battle. After doing some searching, I decided to give the freeware DeepSkyStacker a spin.
My first target was the Pleiades (M45), as they're relatively easy to spot in the night sky and rose early. I equipped my Canon with my Sigma 70-300mm f/5.6 zoom lens and set it up on the tripod. I took a series of exposures in increasing increments of time until the stars were noticeably blurry when zoomed in, and then backed off one. The following is a composite of about 35 exposures at 4 seconds each. Focal length: 165mm.
Next, I got ambitious. I knew the Andromeda Galaxy was directly overhead, about half-way between Cassiopeia and the half-moon. I scanned the sky visually for a few minutes, but the light pollution was such that there weren't really even any stars visible in the general vicinity of the great galaxy. On a lark, I pulled the focal length all the way back to 70mm and pointed the camera straight up. I took a 30 second exposure, and then zoomed in and panned around the thumbnail on the camera display. There it was, a cotton-like disc on the left-center region. So, I panned left and repeated until the galaxy was essentially centered.
I'm sufficiently impressed. Next I'm going to have to take the camera out to a dark sky somewhere and do some "real" exposures to see what I come up with!


Who wants an unexpected and unpleasant surprise on a biking, hiking or walking tour? I've signed up on numerous active adventures, some solo, others with a friend, and sometimes with a group and a guide. But, on any of these, untoward things can occur, including finding out that the roads are in poor conditions, the bikes don't have low enough gears, the terrain is more mountainous than you imagined, wildlife roams free on the roads, the list can go on. A romantic hiking tour in Italy may leave little time for stress-free romps through wildflower-laden meadows or espresso breaks with the locals because of the hair-raising and heart-pounding treks up precipitous paths in the Dolomite Mountains. How do you assure that the tour you signed up with is what suits your needs and interests? Check out this article I wrote for Berkeley Wellness so that you're not unpleasantly surprised on your next adventure.


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