The production of a Higgs boson in association with a pair of e quarks will play a very important role at both hadron and lepton colliders. We review the status of theoretical predictions and their relevance to Higgs boson studies, with particular emphasis on the recently calculated NLO QCD corrections to the inclusive cross section for p{bar p}, pp {yields} t{bar t}h. We conclude by briefly discussing the case of exclusive b{bar b}h production and the potential of this process in revealing signals of new physics beyond the Standard Model.

Ni-(40,50)at%Al alloys with different C and S contents were oxidized at 1000-1150 C for various times in oxygen. Auger electron microscopy was used to study the interface chemistry after scale spallation in ultra high vacuum. The interfacial failure stresses were determined with a tensile pull tester and they were related to the interfacial pore density. Results show that sulfur did not segregate to the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Ni50Al interface even after extended oxidation times. Small amounts, however, segregated to the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Ni40Al interface. The difference in behavior may be related to the surface energy difference between Ni50Al and Ni40Al. On the interfacial void faces of Ni50Al, C first segregated, then it was replaced by S after longer oxidation times; the amount of segregants varied with different crystallographic orientation of the void face. On Ni40Al, S segregated much earlier on the void faces due to a faster diffusion rate in the Ni-rich NiAl. The apparent S diffusivity in Ni50Al and Ni40Al at 1000 C was determined to be 10{sup -9} and 6 x 10{sup -9} cm{sup 2}/s respectively. Excess sulfur in Ni40Al greatly increased the interfacial pore density. Preliminary results on interfacial failure stress showed that it decreased with increasing pore …

This article discusses research that has demonstrated the utility of a rigorously calibrated, molecular mechanics/semiempirical quantum mechanical protocol for developing stereoelectronic (Tolman) maps for phosphine ligands.