text:
John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan
Title: John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan
Subject: English murderers, London/Recognised content, London/Recognised content/featured, WikiProject London/Articles/Featured, Murder in London
Collection: 1934 Births, 1970S Missing Person Cases, Coldstream Guards Officers, Earls in the Peerage of Ireland, English Murderers, Fugitives Wanted by the United Kingdom, Missing Person Cases in the United Kingdom, Murder in 1974, Murder in London, People Declared Dead in Absentia, People Educated at Eton College, Year of Death Uncertain
The Right Honourable
The Earl of Lucan
With his wife Veronica Duncan, October 1963
Richard John Bingham
(1934-12-18)18 December 1934
Marylebone, London, United Kingdom
7th Earl of Lucan
Baron Lucan of Castlebar
Baron Lucan of Melcombe Lucan
Baronet of Nova Scotia
Lucky Lucan
Murder of Sandra Rivett and subsequent disappearance
Belgravia, London
George Bingham, 6th Earl of Lucan
George Bingham, Lord Bingham (Irish title)
Veronica Mary Duncan
Frances (b. 1964)
George (b. 1967)
Camilla (b. 1970)
Kaitlin Elizabeth Anne (née Dawson)
Professional gambler
Richard John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan (born 18 December 1934), commonly known as Lord Lucan, a British 6th Earl of Lucan by his marriage to Kaitlin Elizabeth Anne Dawson. Evacuated during the Second World War, Lucan returned to attend Eton, then from 1953 to 1955 served with the Coldstream Guards in West Germany. He developed a taste for gambling and, skilled at backgammon and bridge, became an early member of the Clermont Club. Although his losses often exceeded his winnings, he left his job at a London-based merchant bank and became a professional gambler. He was known as Lord Bingham from April 1949 until January 1964.
Once considered for the role of James Bond, Lucan was a charismatic man with expensive tastes; he raced power boats and drove an Aston Martin. In 1963 he married Veronica Duncan, with whom he had three children. When the marriage collapsed late in 1972, he moved out of the family home at 46 Lower Belgrave Street, in London's Belgravia, to a property nearby. A bitter custody battle ensued, which Lucan lost. He began to spy on his wife and to record their telephone conversations, apparently obsessed with regaining custody of the children. This fixation, combined with his gambling losses, had a dramatic effect on his life and personal finances.
On the evening of 7 November 1974, the children's nanny, Sandra Rivett, was bludgeoned to death in the basement of the Lucan family home. Lady Lucan was also attacked; she later identified Lucan as her assailant. As the police began their murder investigation, Lucan telephoned his mother, asking her to collect the children, and then drove a borrowed Ford Corsair to a friend's house in Uckfield, East Sussex. Hours later, he left the property and was never seen again. The Corsair was later found abandoned in Newhaven, its interior stained with blood and its boot containing a piece of bandaged lead pipe similar to one found at the crime scene. A warrant for Lucan's arrest was issued a few days later, and in his absence the inquest into Rivett's death named him as her murderer. With the passage of the Criminal Law Act of 1977, the inquest into Rivett's death marked the last occasion in Britain when a coroner's court was allowed to make such a determination.
Lucan's fate remains a fascinating mystery for the British public. Since Rivett's murder hundreds of reports of sightings of him have been made in various countries around the world, although none have been substantiated. Despite a police investigation and huge press interest, Lucan has not been found and is presumed dead.
Early life and education 1
Personal life 3
Separation 3.2
Gambling 3.3
Sandra Rivett 4.1
Investigation 4.2
Forensics 4.3
Media reaction 4.4
Inquest 4.5
Lucan's defence 4.6
Bankruptcy and estate 5
Ultimate fate and reported sightings 6
Richard John Bingham was born on 18 December 1934 at 19 Bentinck Street, Anglo-Irish peer, and his wife Kaitlin Elizabeth Anne Dawson. A blood clot found in her lung forced his mother to remain in a nursing home, so John, as he became known, was initially cared for by the family's nurserymaid. Aged three years, he attended a pre-prep school in Tite Street with his elder sister, Jane, but in 1939, with war approaching, the two were evacuated to Wales. The following year, joined by their younger siblings, Sally and Hugh, the Lucan children travelled to Toronto, moving shortly thereafter to Mount Kisco, New York. They stayed for five years with multi-millionairess Marcia Brady Tucker; John was enrolled at The Harvey School and spent summer holidays away from his siblings at a summer camp in the Adirondack Mountains.[1][2]
While in the U.S., John and his siblings lived in grandeur and wanted for nothing, but on their return to England in February 1945 they were faced with the stark realities of wartime Britain. Rationing was still in force, their former home at Cheyne Walk had been bombed, and the house at 22 Eaton Square had had its windows blown out. Despite the family's rich ancestry,[nb 1] the 6th Earl and his wife were agnostics and socialists and preferred a more austere existence than that offered by Tucker, an extremely wealthy Christian. For a time, John suffered nightmares and was taken to a psychotherapist. As an adult he remained an agnostic, although he ensured his children attended Sunday school, preferring to give them a traditional childhood.[2][4]
At Eton,[5] John developed a taste for gambling. He supplemented his pocket money with income from bookmaking, placing his earnings into a "secret" bank account, and regularly left the school's grounds to attend horse races. Although according to his mother his academic record was "far from creditable",[6] he became Captain of Roe's House, before leaving in 1953 to undertake his National Service. He became a second lieutenant in his father's regiment, the Coldstream Guards, and was stationed mainly in Krefeld, West Germany. While there, he also became a keen poker player.[2][7]
On leaving the army in 1955, Lucan joined a London-based merchant bank, William Brandt's Sons and Co, on an annual salary of £500 (equivalent to £11,716 in 2016).[2] In 1960 he met Stephen Raphael, a rich stockbroker who was a skilled backgammon player.[nb 2] They holidayed together in the Bahamas, went water-skiing, and played golf, backgammon and poker.[8] Lucan became a regular gambler and an early member of John Aspinall's Clermont gaming club, located in Berkeley Square. Although he often won at games of skill like bridge and backgammon, he also accumulated huge losses. On one occasion he lost £8,000, or about two-thirds of the money he received annually from various family trusts. On another disastrous night at a casino he lost £10,000. That time his stockbroker uncle, John Bevan, helped him to pay the debt, and Lucan repaid his uncle two years later.[9]
Lucan left Brandt's in about 1960, shortly after he had won £26,000 playing chemin de fer.[2][10] A colleague had been promoted before him, and he protested and then quit his job, saying "why should I work in a bank, when I can earn a year's money in one single night at the tables?"[11] He travelled to the US, where he played golf, raced powerboats, and drove his Aston Martin around the West Coast of the United States. He also visited his elder sister, Jane, and his former guardian, Marcia Tucker. On his return to England he moved out of his parents' home in St John's Wood and into a flat in Park Crescent.[12]
Lucan met his future wife, Veronica Duncan, early in 1963.[13] She was born in 1937 to Major Charles Moorhouse Duncan and his wife Thelma. Her father had died in a car accident while she was still very young, following which the family had moved to South Africa. Her mother remarried, and when her new step-father became manager of a hotel in Guildford, the family returned to England. Along with her sister, Christina, she was educated at St Swithun's School, Winchester, and after displaying a talent for art she went on to study at an art college in Bournemouth. The two sisters later shared a flat in London, where Veronica worked as a model and later as a secretary. Christina's marriage to the rich William Shand-Kydd introduced her to London high society, and it was at a golf-club function in the country that Veronica and Lucan first met.[14]
46 Lower Belgrave Street in London's Belgravia district
News of their engagement appeared in the Times and Telegraph newspapers on 14 October 1963,[15] and the two were married at Holy Trinity Brompton Church on 20 November. After a high society ceremony attended by, amongst other dignitaries, Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, the couple honeymooned in Europe, travelling first class on the Orient Express. Lucan's already embattled finances were given a welcome boost by his father, who provided him with a marriage settlement designed to finance a larger family home and any future additions to the Lucan family tree. Lucan repaid some of his creditors and leased number 46 Lower Belgrave Street, Westminster, redecorating it to suit Veronica's tastes.[16] Two months after the wedding, on 21 January 1964, the 6th Earl of Lucan died of a stroke.[17] In addition to a reputed £250,000 inheritance,[nb 3] Lucan acquired his father's titles: Earl of Lucan; Baron Lucan of Castlebar; Baron Lucan of Melcombe Lucan and Baronet of Nova Scotia.[19] His wife became the Countess of Lucan. Their first child, Frances, was born on 24 October 1964, and early the next year they employed a nanny, Lillian Jenkins, to look after her. Lucan tried to teach Veronica about gambling and traditional pursuits like hunting, shooting, and fishing. He bought her golf lessons, although she later gave up the sport.[20]
Lucan's daily routine consisted of breakfast at 9:00 am, coffee, dealing with the morning's letters, reading the newspapers, and playing the piano. He sometimes jogged in the park and, while he had him, took his Doberman Pinscher for walks. Lunch at the Clermont Club was followed by afternoon games of backgammon. Returning home to change into evening dress, the earl typically spent the remainder of the day at the Clermont, gambling into the early hours, watched sometimes by Veronica.[21] In 1956, while still working at Brandt's, he had written of his desire to have "£2m in the bank", claiming that "motor-cars, yachts, expensive holidays and security for the future would give myself and a lot of other people a lot of pleasure".[22] Although he was described by his friends as a shy and taciturn man, with his tall stature, "luxuriant guardsman's moustache" and masculine pursuits, his exploits made him popular.[2] His profligacy extended to hiring private aircraft to take his friends to the races, asking a car dealer he knew to source an Aston Martin drophead coupé, drinking expensive Russian vodka and racing powerboats.[23] In September 1966 he unsuccessfully screen tested for a part in Woman Times Seven, prompting him to automatically decline a later offer from film producer Cubby Broccoli, to screen test him for the role of James Bond.[24]
As a professional gambler[12] he was undoubtedly a skilled player, once rated amongst the world's top ten backgammon competitors. He won the post-natal depression. Lucan became increasingly involved in her mental well-being and in 1971 took her for treatment at a psychiatric clinic in Hampstead, although she refused to be admitted.[27] Instead, she agreed to home visits from a psychiatrist and a course of anti-depressants. In July 1972 the family holidayed in Monte Carlo but Veronica quickly returned to England, leaving Lucan with their two elder children.[28][29] The combined pressures of maintaining their finances, paying for Lucan's gambling addiction and Veronica's weakened mental condition took their toll on the marriage; two weeks after a strained family Christmas in 1972, Lucan moved into a small property in Eaton Row.[30]
Some months later Lucan moved again, to a larger rented flat in nearby Elizabeth Street. Despite an early attempt by his wife at reconciliation, by that point all Lucan wanted from the marriage was custody of his children. In an effort to demonstrate that Veronica was unfit to look after them, he began to spy on his family (his car was regularly seen parked in Lower Belgrave Street), later employing private investigators to perform the same task. Lucan also canvassed doctors, who explained that his wife had not "gone mad", but was suffering from depression and anxiety.[31] Lucan told his friends that nobody would work for Veronica (she sacked the children's long-term nanny, Lillian Jenkins, in December 1972).[32] Of the series of nannies employed in the house, one, 26-year-old Stefanja Sawicka, was told by Veronica that Lucan had hit her with a cane and had, on one occasion, pushed her down the stairs. The countess apparently feared for her safety and told Sawicka not to be surprised "if he kills me one day."[33]
Sawicka's time at the Lucan household ended late in March 1973. While with two of the children near Grosvenor Place, she was confronted by Lucan and two private detectives. They told her that the children had been made wards of court and that she must release them into his custody, which she did. Frances was collected from school later in the day.[33][34] Lady Lucan applied to the court to have the children returned, but concerned about the case's complexity, the judge set a date for the hearing three months ahead, for June 1973. To defend herself against Lucan's claims about her mental state, Veronica booked herself a four-day stay at the Priory Clinic in Roehampton. While it was acknowledged that she still required some psychiatric support, the doctors reported that there was no indication that she was mentally ill. Lucan's case depended upon Veronica being unable to care for the children, but at the hearing, he was instead forced to defend his own behaviour toward her. After several weeks of witnesses and protracted arguments in camera, on the advice of his lawyers he conceded the case. Unimpressed by Lucan's character, Mr Justice Rees awarded custody to Veronica. The earl was allowed access every other weekend.[35][36][37]
Thus began a bitter dispute between the two, involving many of their friends and Veronica's own sister.[38] Lucan again began to watch his wife's movements. He recorded some of their telephone conversations with a small Sony tape recorder and played excerpts to any friends prepared to listen. He also told them—and his bank manager—that Lady Lucan had been "spending money like water".[39] He continued to pay her £40 a week, although he may have cancelled their regular food order with Harrods.[40] He delayed payment to the milkman and—knowing that Veronica was required by the court to employ a live-in nanny—the childcare agency. With no income of her own, Veronica took a part-time job in a local hospital.[41] A temporary nanny, Elizabeth Murphy, was befriended by Lucan, who bought her drinks and plied her for information on his wife. He instructed his detective agency to investigate Murphy, looking for evidence that she was failing in her duty of care to his children. This they found, although he dispensed with the detective agency's services when they presented him with bills amounting to several hundred pounds. Murphy was later hospitalised with cancer. Another temporary nanny, Christabel Martin, reported strange telephone calls to the house, some with heavy breathing and some from a man asking for non-existent people. Following a series of temporary nannies, Sandra Rivett started work late in summer 1974.[42]
Losing the court case proved devastating for Lucan. It had cost him an estimated £20,000 and by late 1974 his financial position was dire. As he drank more heavily and started chain-smoking, his friends began to worry.[43] In drunken conversations with some of them, including Aspinall's mother, Lady Osborne, and her son, Lucan discussed murdering his wife. Greville Howard later gave a statement to the police describing how Lucan had talked of how killing his wife might save him from bankruptcy, how her body might be disposed of in the Solent and how he "would never be caught".[44][45][46][nb 4] Lucan borrowed £4,000 from his mother and asked Marcia Tucker for a loan of £100,000. Having no luck there, he wrote to Tucker's son, explaining how he wished to "buy" his children from Veronica; the money was not forthcoming. He turned to his friends and acquaintances, asking anyone plausible to loan him money to fund his gambling addiction. Financier James Goldsmith guaranteed a £5,000 overdraft for him, which for years remained unpaid. Lucan also applied to the discreet Edgware Trust. On request, he supplied details of his income, which was apparently around £12,000 a year from various family trusts. He was required to provide a surety and received only £3,000 of the £5,000 he asked for. Much to their managers' consternation, his four bank accounts were hugely overdrawn; Coutts, £2,841; Lloyds, £4,379; National Westminster, £1,290; Midland, £5,667. Even though by then he was playing for much lower stakes than had previously been the case, Lucan's gambling remained completely out of control.[47] Ranson (1994) estimates that between September and October 1974 alone, the earl ran up debts of around £50,000.[48]
Despite these problems, from late October 1974 his demeanour appeared to change for the better. His best man, John Wilbraham, remarked that Lucan's apparent obsession over regaining his children had diminished. While having dinner with his mother he cast aside talk of his family problems and turned instead to politics. On 6 November he met his uncle John, apparently in good spirits.[49] Later that day he met 21-year-old Charlotte Andrina Colquhoun,[50] who said that "he seemed very happy, just his usual self, and there was nothing to suggest that he was worried or depressed".[51] He also dined at the Clermont with racing driver Graham Hill.[52] At the time, casinos could open only between 2:00 pm and 4:00 am, so Lucan often gambled into the early hours of the morning. He took tablets to deal with an insomnia problem and therefore usually awoke around lunchtime. On 7 November though, he broke routine and called his solicitor early that morning, and at 10:30 am took a call from Colquhoun. They arranged to eat at the Clermont at about 3:00 pm, but Lucan failed to appear. Colquhoun drove past the Clermont and Ladbroke clubs, and past Elizabeth Street, but could not find his car anywhere. Lucan also failed to arrive for his 1:00 pm lunch appointment with artist Dominic Elwes and banker Daniel Meinertzhagen, again at the Clermont.[53]
At 4:00 pm Lucan called at a chemist's on Lower Belgrave Street, close to Veronica's home, and asked the pharmacist there to identify a small capsule. It turned out to be Limbitrol 5, a drug for the treatment of anxiety and depression. Lucan had apparently made several similar visits since he separated from his wife, although he never told the pharmacist where he got the drugs. At 4:45 pm he called a friend, literary agent Michael Hicks-Beach, and between 6:30 pm and 7:00 pm met with him at his flat on Elizabeth Street. Lucan wanted his help with an article on gambling he had been asked to write for an Oxford University magazine. He drove Hicks-Beach home for about 8:00 pm, not in his Mercedes-Benz, but in "an old, dark and scruffy Ford", possibly the Ford Corsair he borrowed from Michael Stoop several weeks earlier. At 8:30 pm he called the Clermont to check on a reservation for dinner with Greville Howard and friends. Howard had called him at 5:15 pm and asked if he wished to come to the theatre, but Lucan had declined and made the alternative suggestion to meet at the Clermont at 11:00 pm. He failed to arrive and did not answer his telephone when called.[54][55]
Sandra Rivett
Sandra Eleanor Rivett
Sandra Eleanor Rivett was born on 16 September 1945, the third child of Albert and Eunice Hensby. The family moved to Australia when she was two years old, but returned in 1955. Sandra was a popular child, described at school as "intelligent, although she does not excel academically".[56] She worked for six months as an apprentice hairdresser before taking a job as a secretary in Croydon. Following a failed romance she became a voluntary patient at a mental hospital near Redhill, Surrey, where she was treated for depression. She became engaged to a builder named John and took a job as a children's nanny for a doctor in Croydon. On 13 March 1964, she gave birth to a boy named Stephen, but, as her relationship with John was failing, she returned home to live with her parents and considered giving the baby up for adoption. Her parents took on the responsibility and adopted him in May 1965. Sandra later worked at an old people's home, before moving to Portsmouth to stay with her elder sister. While there she met Roger Rivett; the two married on 10 June 1967 in Croydon. Roger was serving as a Royal Navy able seaman and later worked as a loader for British Road Services, while Sandra worked part-time at Reedham Orphanage in Purley. In summer 1973 he took a job on an Esso tanker, returning to their flat in Kenley a few months later by which time Sandra was employed by a cigarette company in Croydon. Their marriage collapsed in May 1974 when, suspicious of Sandra's movements while he was away, Roger went to live with his parents. She was by then listed on the books of a Belgravia domestic agency and had been caring for an elderly couple in that district. A few weeks later she began to work for the Lucans.[57]
Sandra normally went out with her boyfriend, John Hankins, on Thursday nights, but had decided to change her night off and thus, had seen him the previous day. The two last spoke on the telephone at about 8:00 pm on 7 November.[58][59] After putting the younger children to bed, at about 8:55 pm she asked Veronica if she would like a cup of tea, before heading downstairs to the basement kitchen to make one. As she entered the room, she was bludgeoned to death with a piece of bandaged lead pipe. Her killer then placed her body into a canvas mailsack. Meanwhile, wondering what had delayed her nanny, Lady Lucan descended from the first floor to see what had happened. She called to Rivett from the top of the basement stairs and was herself attacked. As she screamed for her life, her attacker told her to "shut up".[60] Lady Lucan later claimed at that moment to have recognised her husband's voice. The two apparently continued to fight; she bit his fingers, and when he threw her face down to the carpet, managed to turn around and squeeze his testicles, causing him to release his grip on her throat and give up the fight. When she asked where Rivett was, Lucan was at first evasive, but eventually admitted to having killed her. Terrified, Lady Lucan told him she could help him escape if only he would remain at the house for a few days, to allow her injuries to heal. Lucan walked upstairs and sent his daughter to bed, then went into one of the bedrooms. When Veronica entered, to lie on the bed, he told her to put towels down first to avoid staining the bedding. Lucan asked her if she had any barbiturates and went to the bathroom to get a wet towel, supposedly to clean Veronica's face. Lady Lucan realised her husband would be unable to hear her from the bathroom, and made her escape, running outside to a nearby public house, the Plumbers Arms.[61]
Lucan may have called at the Chester Square home of Madelaine Florman (mother of one of Frances's school friends) sometime between 10:00 pm and 10:30 pm. Alone in the house, Florman ignored the door, but shortly afterwards she received an incoherent telephone call and put the receiver down.[62] Blood stains, which after forensic examination were found to be a mixture of blood groups A and B, were later discovered on her doorstep. Lucan certainly called his mother between 10:30 pm and 11:00 pm and asked her to collect the children from Lower Belgrave Street. According to the Dowager Countess, he spoke of a "terrible catastrophe"[63] at his wife's home. He told her that he had been driving past the house when he saw Veronica fighting with a man, in the basement. He had entered the property and found his wife screaming.[64] The location from which he made this, and possibly the call to Florman, remains unknown. The police forced their way into Lady Lucan's home and discovered Sandra Rivett's body, before his wife was taken by ambulance to Uckfield, in East Sussex, to visit his friends, the Maxwell-Scotts. Susan Maxwell-Scott's meeting with Lucan was his last confirmed sighting.[65]
The front entrance to 46 Lower Belgrave Street.
By the time Detective Chief Superintendent Roy Ranson arrived at Lower Belgrave Street early on Friday 8 November, the divisional surgeon had pronounced Sandra Rivett dead and forensic officers and photographers had been called to the property. Other than the front door, which the first two officers on the scene had kicked in, there was no sign of a forced entry. A blood-stained towel was found in Veronica's first-floor bedroom. The area around the top of the basement staircase was heavily blood-stained. A blood-stained lead pipe lay on the floor. Pictures hanging from the staircase walls were askew and a metal banister rail was damaged. At the foot of the stairs, two cups and saucers lay in a pool of blood. Rivett's arm protruded from the canvas sack, which lay in a slowly expanding pool of blood. The light fitting at the bottom of the stairs was missing its bulb; one was noted nearby, on a chair. Blood was also found on various leaves in the adjoining rear garden.[66][67]
Officers also searched 5 Eaton Row, into which Lucan had moved early in 1973, and after interviewing his mother (who had called to take the children to her home in
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1970s missing person cases
Coldstream Guards officers
Earls in the Peerage of Ireland
English murderers
Fugitives wanted by the United Kingdom
Missing person cases in the United Kingdom
Murder in 1974
Murder in London
People declared dead in absentia
People educated at Eton College
Year of death uncertain
Peerage of Ireland
George Charles Patrick Bingham Earl of Lucan
1964 – unknown year Status of title uncertain
Official Website of the Countess of Lucan - "Setting the record straight"
Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Lucan
BBC Motion Gallery - contemporary footage of the case may be found here
The Disappearance of Lord Lucan at trutv.com
Observer article on John Aspinall, regarding Lucan's fate — Barber, Lynn (2 July 2000), Lord Lucan's last secret goes to the grave among gorillas, guardian.co.uk, retrieved 8 June 2012
For an account of the circumstances surrounding the murder see Benson, Charles (1988), No Regard for Money, Quartet Books,
Telegraph obituary of Charles Benson, of the Clermont Set — Charles Benson, telegraph.co.uk, 14 June 2002, retrieved 11 June 2012
For a television docu-drama on the case, see Bloodlines: Legacy of a Lord
Observer article on Lucan's reading habits and political views — Bright, Martin (9 January 2005), Desperate Lucan dreamt of fascist coup, guardian.co.uk, retrieved 12 June 2012
For a television documentary on the case, see White, Susanna (1994), True Stories: Dead Lucky, Channel 4 Television
Thompson, Laura (2014), A Different Class of Murder, Head of Zeus,
Crosby, Ian (2011), Lord Lucan: Africa a new beginning, AngloBooks.co.uk,
Gerring, David (1995), Lucan Lives, Robert Hale ltd,
Lucas, Norman (1976), The Lucan Mystery, W.H. Allen/Virgin Books,
MacLaughlin, Duncan; Hall, William (2003), Dead Lucky, Blake Publishing,
Marnham, Patrick (1987), Trail of Havoc: In the Steps of Lord Lucan, Viking,
Ruddick, James (1995), Lord Lucan: What Really Happened, Headline Book Publishing,
Wilmott, Richard (2002), The Troops of Midian, Braiswick,
Coles, William (2009), Lord Lucan: My Story, Legend Press,
Holmes, Nancy (1990), Nobody's Fault, Bantam Dell Pub Group,
Prior, Allan (1996),
Scott, Jeremy (1980), Hunted, Wyndham Books,
Spark, Muriel (2002), Aiding and Abetting, Anchor,
Whitfield, Dickon (1995), Get Lucky!: The Diary of Lord Lucan, Boxtree ltd,
Moore, Sally (1987), Lucan: Not Guilty, Sidgwick & Jackson Limited,
Green, Jennifer; Green, Michael (2006), Dealing with Death: A Handbook of Practices, Procedures and Law, Jessica Kingsley Publishers,
Pearson, John (2007), The Gamblers, Arrow Books,
Ranson, Roy; Strange, Robert (1994), Looking for Lucan, Smith Gryphon Limited,
Scott, Jeremy (2002), Fast and Louche, Profile Books,
^ Moore 1987, pp. 43–46
^ a b c d e f Davenport-Hines, Richard (January 2011), Bingham, (Richard) John, 7th earl of Lucan (b. 1934, d. in or after 1974) (online ed.), oxforddnb.com,
^ Moore 1987, p. 23
^ Other Old Etonians, etoncollege.com, retrieved 11 June 2012
^ a b Moore 1987, pp. 53–54
^ Ranson 1994, pp. 20–22
^ Ranson 1994, p. 24
^ a b Ranson 1994, pp. 16–18
^ Ranson 1994, pp. 16–18, 189
^ Moore 1987, pp. 77–78, 81
^ Sir Stanley Rees, telegraph.co.uk, 14 December 2000, retrieved 19 June 2012
^ a b Moore 1987, p. 204
^ Pearson 2007, pp. 236–237
^ The three angry women ..., guardian.co.uk, 20 July 2001, retrieved 22 June 2012
^ Ranson 1994, p. 191
^ Moore 1987, pp. 105–107
^ Ranson 1994, pp. 136–142
^ Moore 1987, p. 107
^ a b Ranson 1994, p. 100
^ a b Ranson 1994, pp. 104–106
^ Pearson 2007, p. 262
^ Wilkes, Roger (9 September 2000), Inside story: Stewart's Grove, telegraph.co.uk, retrieved 9 June 2012
^ Moore 1987, pp. 132, 231
^ Green & Green 2006, p. 57
^ a b Family close a chapter in Lord Lucan saga, The Birmingham Post, hosted at highbeam.com, 28 October 1999, retrieved 14 June 2012, (subscription required (help))
^ Lucan owes £45,000 with £22,000 assets, The Guardian, hosted at search.proquest.com, 7 August 1975, p. 6, (subscription required (help))
^ Wintergill, Donald (1 April 1976), Lucan's silver is sold, The Guardian, hosted at search.proquest.com, p. 4, (subscription required (help))
^ Norman, Geraldine (1 April 1976), Lucan silver sold for £30,665, The Times, hosted at find.galegroup.com, p. 18, retrieved 22 June 2012, (subscription required (help))
^ Lucan trust to pay back £60,000, The Guardian, hosted at search.proquest.com, 22 February 1979, p. 3, (subscription required (help))
^ Lord Lucan Officially Dead, guardian.co.uk, 27 October 1999, retrieved 11 June 2012
^ Dodd, Vikram (31 July 1999), Ruling on Lucan means son cannot take Lords seat, guardian.co.uk, retrieved 12 June 2012
^ a b Britten, Nick (20 February 2012), Countess Lucan: I would have helped my husband get away with murder, telegraph.co.uk, retrieved 12 June 2012
^ Crichton, Torcuil (13 February 2000), Lord Lucan 'murdered his wife and then killed himself', The Sunday Herald, hosted at highbeam.com, retrieved 14 June 2012, (subscription required (help))
^ a b Alderson, Andrew; Eden, Richard (7 November 2004), Lord Lucan could still be alive, says the detective leading a new hunt for him, telegraph.co.uk, retrieved 11 June 2012
^ Official Website of the Countess of Lucan, ladylucan.co.uk, retrieved 11 June 2012
^ Ranson 1994, pp. 157–174, 209
^ Fricker, Martin; Myall, Steve (25 February 2012), Lord Lucan sensation: He DID escape to Africa and could still be alive, his brother claims, mirror.co.uk, retrieved 11 June 2012
^ Scott 2002, pp. 265–273
^ a b Alleyne, Richard (18 February 2012), 'I helped Lord Lucan flee justice', claims personal assistant to late billionaire John Aspinall, telegraph.co.uk, retrieved 14 June 2012
^ Morris, Steven; Chrisafis, Angelique (9 September 2003), Lord Lucan? Er, no. It's Barry the banjo player from St Helens, guardian.co.uk, retrieved 11 June 2012
^ UK expat denies he is Lord Lucan, news.bbc.co.uk, 9 August 2007, retrieved 11 June 2012
^ Myall, Steve (7 March 2012), My dad Lord Lucan: Son breaks silence on mystery as police launch probe into new clues, mirror.co.uk, retrieved 15 June 2012
^ Lucan's ancestry retains many royal connections. His grandmother was a Diana, Princess of Wales.[3]
^ Raphael's wife, Eve, later became godmother to Lucan's first child, Frances.[8]
^ "The former Lord Lucan was reputed to have inherited one-quarter of a million pounds along with his title and clearly, for all to see, had the money to indulge an expensive range of sporting passions."[18]
^ This conversation, which Howard thought was "drunken rambling",[44] was not revealed to the inquest jury.
^ Thurston was concerned about holding a full inquest before a trial had been held. The law at the time considered that a wife was usually neither "compellable nor competent" to testify against her husband in a criminal trial. She could tell the jury how she was attacked, but not anything about Rivett's death, or his "confession" after the fact. Her attack would also have to be heard before a different jury, in a different trial to the murder case. While these rules did not apply to an inquest, enabling her to speak freely, her evidence might prejudice any future trial. Furthermore, hearsay evidence was banned from criminal trials but not from inquests.[97]
^ A former boxer named Michael Fitzpatrick later claimed to know the unidentified person, but later still admitted inventing the tale. He was convicted of wasting police time.[115][116]
List of people who disappeared mysteriously
More recently, responding to claims that the two eldest Lucan children were sent to Namibia and South Africa" and that he has "a sworn affidavit from the Metropolitan Police and every member of my family, mother excepted, attesting to their belief that my father is dead."[140] His mother dismissed the newspaper claims of sightings as "nonsense", reiterating that in her opinion "he was not the sort of Englishman to cope abroad".[126]
Lucan's disappearance has captivated the public's imagination for decades, with thousands of sightings reported across the world.[135][136] One of the earliest, shortly after the murder, turned out to be a British ex-politician, John Stonehouse, who had attempted to fake his own death. The police travelled to France in June the following year to hunt another lead, to no avail. A sighting in Colombia turned out to be an innocent American businessman. John Miller, a bounty hunter who kidnapped the fugitive train robber Ronnie Biggs, claimed in 1982 to have captured the earl, but was later exposed by the News of the World as a hoaxer.[137] In 2003 a former Scotland Yard detective thought he had tracked the earl to Goa, India, although the man he traced was actually Barry Halpin, a folk singer from St Helens.[138] In 2007, reporters in New Zealand interviewed a homeless British expatriate who, neighbours claimed, was the missing earl.[139]
Ranson later changed his view, explaining that he considered it more likely that suicide was far from Lucan's thoughts, that a rumoured drowning at sea was implausible and that the earl had moved to southern Africa.[131] Thirty years after the murder, the detective leading a new investigation into Lucan's disappearance told the Telegraph that "the evidence points towards the fact that Lord Lucan left the country and lived abroad for a number of years."[129] Lucan's brother, Hugh Bingham, told the Daily Mirror much the same thing in 2012.[132] Speaking to author John Pearson before she died, Susan Maxwell-Scott suggested that Lucan might have been helped out of the country by shadowy underground financiers, before being judged too great a risk and killed and buried in Switzerland.[133] A similar theory was proposed by advertising executive Jeremy Scott, who was familiar with some of the Clermont Set.[134]
The last confirmed sighting of Lucan was at about 1:15 am on 8 November 1974 as he exited the driveway of the Maxwell-Scott property, in his friend's Ford Corsair. Since then, his whereabouts and ultimate fate remain a mystery. Detective Chief Superintendent Roy Ranson initially claimed that Lucan had "done the honourable thing" and "fallen on his own sword", a view publicly repeated by many of Lucan's friends,[127] including John Aspinall, who shortly before his death in 2000 said he believed the earl was guilty of Rivett's murder, and that his body lay "250 feet under the Channel".[128] Veronica Lucan believes her husband killed himself "like the nobleman he was".[129][130]
He was not pronounced dead so we could pay for the children's education, that was the reason it took so long. If his body was found my son would have been the Earl of Lucan and we would have to pay death duties. We would not have been able to pay for the children's education. They were only four, seven and 10 so there was a lot of time ahead.
Dowager Countess of Lucan[126]
Ultimate fate and reported sightings
As Lucan's House of Lords.[124][125]
Be it known that the Right Honourable Richard John Bingham, Seventh Earl of Lucan, of 72a Elizabeth Street, London SW1, died on or since the 8th day of November 1974.
Probate document, 1999[119]
Bankruptcy and estate
In contrast to his defenders, the national press were almost unanimous in their condemnation of Lucan. Their leader-writers ignored the threat of libel and identified him as Rivett's killer.[118]
Lucan's friends and family were critical of the inquest, which they felt offered a one-sided view of events. His mother told reporters that it did not serve "any useful purpose at all".[112] Veronica's sister, Christina, said she felt "great sadness and sorrow"[113] at the verdict. Susan Maxwell-Scott continued to press the earl's claims of innocence and claimed to feel "awfully sorry"[113] for the countess. However, as Lucan remained absent, his description of "a traumatic night of unbelievable coincidence"[114] came only from the letters he authored and the people he spoke with soon after Rivett's murder. While his fingerprints were not found at the scene, his assertions make no provision for the lead pipe discovered in the boot of the Ford Corsair, the claims by some that he discussed murdering his wife, or the lack of a viable suspect for the man he claimed to have seen fighting her.[nb 6] No sign of a forced entry was found, and officers attempting to demonstrate that Lucan could have seen into the basement kitchen, from the street, could only do so by stooping low to the pavement. The basement light was not working, making it even more difficult to see into the room; its lightbulb (which was tested and found to be in working order) was found removed from its holder and left lying on a chair. Furthermore, Lady Lucan claimed not to have entered the basement that night, contradicting the earl's version of events; his wife's account is supported by the forensic examination made of the blood splashes and stains around the property. Some traces of her blood were found in the basement, the rear garden and on the canvas sack used to store Rivett's body, although this may have been due to contamination at the scene. The man Lucan claimed to have seen could not have left through the basement's front door as it was locked, and the rear door led to a walled garden through which no trace of an escape was found. No signs that the man left by the ground level front door were discovered, and no witnesses reported seeing any such person near 46 Lower Belgrave Street.[117]
Lucan's defence
Rivett's body, which had been held for several weeks following the murder, was released to her family and cremated at Croydon crematorium on 18 December 1974. Lady Lucan did not attend, a police spokesman citing her desire not to upset the family.[111]
Once the hearing had ended, Thurston made a summary of the evidence presented and told the jury their options. At 11:45 am, their foreman announced "Murder by Lord Lucan".[108] Lucan became the first member of the House of Lords to be named a murderer since 1760, when Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers, was hanged for killing his bailiff.[109] He was also the last person to be committed by a coroner to a Crown Court for unlawful killing; the coroner's power to do so was removed by the Criminal Law Act 1977.[110]
I will record that Sandra Eleanor Rivett died from head injuries, that at 10:30 pm on 7 November 1974 she was found dead at 46 Lower Belgrave Street ... and that the following offence was committed by Richard John Bingham, Earl of Lucan – namely the offence of murder.
Dr Gavin Thurston[107]
The landlord of "The Plumbers Arms" described how Lady Lucan had entered his bar covered "head to toe in blood" before she fell into "a state of shock".[102] He claimed that she shouted "Help me, help me, I've just escaped from being murdered" and "My children, my children, he's murdered my nanny", although no name was mentioned.[103] Pathologist Keith Simpson outlined his post mortem examination, concluding that death was caused by "blunt head injuries" and "inhalation of blood".[104] He confirmed that the lead pipe found at the scene was most likely responsible for Rivett's injuries, although some, to the left eye and mouth, he thought more likely to have been caused by punches from a clenched fist.[105] The last person to confirm seeing Lucan alive, Susan Maxwell-Scott, told the court that the earl looked "dishevelled", and his hair "a little ruffled".[104] His trousers had a damp patch on the right hip. Lucan had told her that he was walking, or passing by the house when he saw Veronica being attacked by a man. He let himself in but slipped in a pool of blood at the bottom of the stairs. He told Maxwell-Scott that the attacker ran off, and that Veronica was "very hysterical" and accused him of having hired a hitman to kill her.[106]
The hearing began with the swearing-in of the jury and introductions from various legal representatives, including a lawyer hired for Lucan by his mother. Thurston introduced the jury to the case and explained their duties.[98] He had selected 33 witnesses to be called over the following few days, including Veronica Lucan, who each day wore a dark coat and white headscarf.[99] Thurston questioned her on her relationship with Lucan, her marriage, her financial affairs, her employment of Rivett and what had happened on the night of the attack. The Dowager Countess's QC attempted to ask Lady Lucan about the nature of their relationship, if she hated her husband, but Thurston ruled his line of questioning inadmissible.[100] Woman Detective Constable Sally Blower, who had taken a statement from Frances on 20 November 1974, read the young girl's words to the court. Frances had heard a scream, and a few minutes later had watched as her mother (blood on her face) and father had entered the room. Her mother had then sent her to bed. She later heard her father calling for her mother, asking where she was, and watched as he left the bathroom and walked downstairs. She also described how Sandra Rivett did not normally work on Thursday nights.[101]
The inquest into Sandra Rivett's death opened on 13 November 1974 and was led by the Coroner for Inner West London, Dr Gavin Thurston. Two witnesses were called to the courtroom, which was packed with reporters; Roger Rivett, who confirmed that he had identified his wife's body, and the pathologist, Keith Simpson, who confirmed that Rivett had died from being hit on the head with a blunt instrument. At Ranson's request, the hearing was then adjourned. Further adjournments were made on 11 December 1974 and 10 March 1975, before a full inquest was scheduled for 16 June 1975.[96][nb 5]
"The Plumbers Arms" public house
Rivett's case made headlines around the world.[94] Within days of the murder, newspapers reported on Veronica Lucan's statement to the police, with claims that she had pretended to collude with her husband to ensure her safety. In January 1975 Veronica gave an exclusive interview to the Daily Express. She also appeared in a murder reconstruction, in the same newspaper, complete with posed photographs taken inside the house.[95]
By the afternoon of Friday 8 November, the newspapers' early editions carried photographs of the Lucans across their front pages, accompanied by headlines like "body in sack ... countess runs out screaming", and "belgravia murder – earl sought".[86] A meeting that day at the Clermont, between John Aspinall, Daniel Meinertzhagen, Charles Benson, Stephen Raphael, Bill Shand-Kydd and Dominic Elwes, became the cause of much press speculation. Meinertzhagen and Raphael later insisted that the gathering was just a rational discussion between concerned friends, keen to share anything they knew about what had happened, but the relationship between the police and Lucan's social circle was strained; some officers complained that an "Eton mafia" worked against them.[87] Susan Maxwell-Scott refused to add to her statement, and when Aspinall's mother, Lady Osborne, was asked if she could help locate Lucan's body, she replied "The last I heard of him, he was being fed to the tigers at my son's zoo",[88] prompting the police to search the house and the animal cages there. They searched fourteen country houses and estates, including Holkham Hall and Warwick Castle, to no avail.[89] Amidst concerns expressed by the Labour MP Marcus Lipton that some people were "being a bit snooty" with the police, Benson wrote a letter to The Times asking him to either identify those people or "kindly withdraw his remarks".[90] To their cost, Private Eye accused James Goldsmith of being at the Clermont meeting, when he was actually in Ireland.[91] Dominic Elwes went to see Lady Lucan in hospital and was reportedly deeply shocked both by her appearance and her statement "Who's the mad one now?"[92] Elwes was apparently unhappy at some of the negative press coverage of the countess, and was later ostracised by his friends for his part in an article critical of Lucan, which appeared in the Sunday Times Magazine. He committed suicide in September 1975.[93]
Media reaction
An examination of the blood stains found inside 46 Lower Belgrave Street demonstrated that Rivett had been attacked in the basement kitchen, while Lady Lucan had been attacked at the top of the basement stairs. The bloodstains found inside the Ford Corsair were of the AB blood group; the report concluded that this might have been a mixture of blood from both women. Hair similar to Lady Lucan's was also found inside the car.[85]
The forensic examination of the lead pipes found at the murder scene and in the Corsair's boot revealed traces of blood on the pipe from 46 Lower Belgrave Street. This proved to be a mixture of Lady Lucan's (blood group A) and Sandra Rivett's (B) blood. Hair belonging to Veronica Lucan was also found on that pipe, but none belonging to Sandra Rivett. The pipe found inside the car had neither blood nor hair on it. Home Office scientists were unable to prove conclusively that both pipes were cut from the same, longer, piece of piping, although they thought it likely. The tape wrapped around both was similar, but those too could not be conclusively linked. The letters written to Bill Shand-Kydd were stained with blood considered to be from both women. The letter to Michael Stoop had no blood on it, but it was later proven that the paper it was written on had been torn from a writing pad found in the Corsair's boot.[85]
Lucan was last seen driving a Ford Corsair similar to this.
Ranson suspected a suicide, but a thorough search of Newhaven Downs was judged impossible. A partial search was made, using tracker dogs, although all that was found were the skeletal remains of a judge who had disappeared years earlier. Police divers searched the harbour,[83] and a partial search using infra-red photography was undertaken the following year, to no avail.[84] A warrant for Lucan's arrest, to answer charges of murdering Sandra Rivett, and attempting to murder his wife, was issued on Tuesday 12 November 1974. Descriptions of his appearance, already issued to police forces across the UK, were then issued to Interpol.[81]
My Dear Michael,
I have had a traumatic night of unbelievable coincidence. However I won't bore you with anything or involve you except to say that when you come across my children, which I hope you will, please tell them that you knew me and that all I cared about was them. The fact that a crooked solicitor and a rotten psychiatrist destroyed me between them will be of no importance to the children. I gave Bill Shand-Kydd an account of what actually happened but judging by my last effort in court no-one, yet alone a 67 year old judge – would believe – and I no longer care except that my children should be protected.
Yours ever,
The Ford Corsair that Lucan had been seen driving and whose details had the previous day been circulated across the country was found on Sunday in Norman Road, Newhaven, about 16 miles (26 km) from Uckfield. In its boot was a piece of lead pipe covered in surgical tape, and a full bottle of vodka. The car was removed for forensic examination.[80] Later statements from two witnesses suggest that it was parked there sometime between 5:00 am and 8:00 am on the morning of Friday 8 November.[81] Its owner, Michael Stoop, also received a letter from Lucan, delivered to his club, the St James's. However, Stoop threw the envelope away and it was therefore not possible to check its postmark to see where it had been sent from.[82]
When asked why she did not immediately inform the police of Lucan's presence, Susan Maxwell-Scott said she had not seen any newspapers or television news, or listened to any radio broadcasts that might have warned her of the importance of his visit.[77] Meanwhile, Lucan's children were taken by their aunt, Lady Sarah Gibbs, to her home in Guilsborough, Northamptonshire, where they would remain for several weeks.[78] On the day Veronica Lucan was discharged from hospital, a High Court hearing confirmed that the children could return to live with her. Repeated press intrusions later forced the family to move to a friend's home in Plymouth.[79]
7th Nov. 1974
Dear Bill,
The most ghastly circumstances arose tonight which I briefly described to my mother. When I interrupted the fight at Lower Belgrave St. and the man left Veronica accused me of having hired him. I took her upstairs and sent Frances up to bed and tried to clean her up. She lay doggo for a bit and when I was in the bathroom left the house. The circumstantial evidence against me is strong in that V will say it was all my doing. I will also lie doggo for a bit but I am only concerned for the children If you can manage it I want them to live with you – Coutts (Trustees) St Martins Lane (Mr Wall) will handle school fees. V. has demonstrated her hatred for me in the past and would do anything to see me accused For George and Frances to go through life knowing their father had stood in the dock for attempted murder would be too much. When they are old enough to understand, explain to them the dream of paranoia, and look after them.
Yours ever
There is a sale coming up at Christies Nov 27th which will satisfy bank overdrafts. Please agree reserves with Tom Craig.
Proceeds to go to:
Lloyds: 6 Pall Mall,
Coutts, 59, Strand,
Nat West, Bloomsbury Branch,
who also hold an Eq. and Law Life Policy.
The other creditors can get lost for the time being.
Hours earlier, Lucan had again called his mother, at about 12:30 am. He told her that he would be in touch later that day, but declined to speak with the police constable who had accompanied her to her flat; instead, he said he would call the police later that morning.[74] Ranson discovered that Lucan had travelled to Uckfield when he was called by Ian Maxwell-Scott, who told him that Lucan had arrived at his home a few hours after the murder, and spoken with his wife, Susan. While there, the earl had written two letters to his brother-in-law, Bill Shand-Kydd, and posted them to his London address. Maxwell-Scott also called Shand-Kydd at his country house near Leighton Buzzard and told him about the letters, prompting the latter to immediately drive to London to collect them.[75] After reading them, and noting that they were bloodstained, he took them to Ranson.[76]
After removing her corpse from the canvas sack and beginning the post mortem examination, pathologist Keith Simpson told Ranson he was certain that Rivett had been killed before her body was placed in the sack, and that in his opinion the lead pipe found at the scene could be the murder weapon.[72] Her estranged husband, Roger, had an alibi for the night concerned, and was eliminated from the police's enquiries. Other male friends and boyfriends were questioned and discounted as suspects. Her parents confirmed that Sandra had a good working relationship with Lady Lucan, and was extremely fond of the children. Meanwhile, Lucan had yet to make an appearance, and so his description was circulated to police forces across the country. Newspapers and television stations were told only that Lucan was wanted by the police for questioning.[73]
Greater London, Margaret Thatcher, Belgrave Square, City of Westminster, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
World War I, Gulf War, Scots Guards, British Army, Napoleonic Wars
United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium, Ford Motor Company
Henry Martin (murderer), John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan, John Cheney (gentleman at arms), John Walker Turnbull, Raymond Leslie Morris
Jack the Ripper, 7 July 2005 London bombings, Anthony Hardy, Ashraf Marwan, Babes in the Wood murders (Epping Forest)


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Home » Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine news – should we pump the brakes just a bit?
Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine news – should we pump the brakes just a bit?
COVID-19, Moderna, Pfizer, Vaccines
Last updated on June 2nd, 2021 at 10:28 am
Recently, we saw a lot of news about the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine – it seemed to show about a 90% effectiveness in preventing the disease. This is potentially good news in preventing the spread of this disease because alternatives like herd immunity is a disastrous form of genocide.
But, what does this news actually mean? Does it imply that the world is saved, and soon we can eschew masks and social distancing? Does that mean the pandemic will come to an end?
We need to know if the COVID-19 vaccine actually does what Pfizer claims. We need to know if it is safe. And we need to know when the vast majority of people can receive the vaccine. When we know all of that, we can then see the light at the end of the tunnel for this deadly pandemic.
Let's take a skeptical look at the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine along with what it may mean to the world. I'm writing this in the form of several questions that I have with the answers as I know them.
0.1 What is the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine?
0.2 What did Pfizer claim about its new vaccine?
0.3 Why should we pump the brakes on this vaccine?
0.4 What does this all mean?
1 Don't miss each new article!
What is the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine?
The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is an mRNA vaccine similar to what other pharmaceutical companies are developing such as Moderna Therapeutics which I've critiqued previously. The vaccine was co-developed with a German biopharmaceutical company, Biontech.
The vaccine relies upon an mRNA, or messenger RNA, molecule to induce an immune response. Normally, mRNA molecules in the cell correspond to DNA sequences and carry that information to be "read" by a ribosome to produce a protein.
Alan McHughen, in his outstanding book, "DNA Demystified: Unraveling the Double Helix," describes how mRNA works:
When an mRNA strand exits the nucleus and enters the cytoplasm, it attaches to ribosomes, and this is where protein synthesis progresses. The ribosome reads the base sequence of the mRNA, three bases at a time. Each three-base triplet, called a codon, specifies a particular amino acid, except for a few with regulatory functions (e.g., UGA ="Stop!").
If the first three-base codon is AUG, then a molecule of the amino acid methionine is brought into place. If the next triplet is AAA, that brings in the amino acid lysine. The methionine and lysine molecules are attached together. The next triplet is, say, GCC, and that brings in alanine, which is attached to the lysine. The ribosome has read nine bases, AUGAAAGCC, and compiled a short chain of three amino acids, abbreviated Met-Lys-Ala, or MKA (see amino acid abbreviations here).
The ribosome continues reading all of the mRNA bases until it hits a stop signal—which is also a triplet codon such as UGA—and the now long chain of amino acids falls loose. This chain may be a functional protein immediately, or, more usually, it might undergo some additional post-translational processing by enzymes to become active.
Pfizer's mRNA vaccine technology relies on a specific mRNA to kickstart the endogenous production of proteins similar enough to the viral antigens. These antigens will trigger the body's adaptive immune system to produce antibodies effective against the actual target, in this case, the S-protein or spoke on the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
In other words, instead of injecting a live-attenuated vaccine, like the measles vaccine which contains weakened measles virus, the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine injects mRNA fragments that are selectively delivered to cells to produce the viral antigens (but not the whole virus, of course).
Despite the claims of some really outlandish pseudoscience in the anti-vaccine world, this mRNA vaccine will not "hijack" your DNA, self-replicate to turn you into a huge coronavirus, nor mutate into a new form of the virus. It is self-limiting because the mRNA molecule does not replicate and it is quickly destroyed after it produces the protein.
Coronavirus vaccine trials – updating current studies across the world
What did Pfizer claim about its new vaccine?
The data about the new Pfizer mRNA COVID-19 vaccine was announced in a press release, in a system that I call "peer review by press release." This is not how science works, and I consider a corporate press release to be near the bottom of the hierarchy of biomedical research, just above Natural News and that ilk.
Nevertheless, the results released on 9 November 2020 analyzed 94 confirmed COVID-19 cases in trial participants who had received the full two-dose series and were followed for at least 7 days after the second dose. Pfizer and BioNTech claimed that the vaccine was more than 90% effective in these interim phase III trial results.
Pfizer has claimed that the Phase 3 clinical trial has enrolled 42,538 participants, including about 39,000 who had received the scheduled two doses as of the date of the press release. Based on that same press release, it was not clear how many of those had gone 7 days past their second dose and were included in the interim analysis.
Finally, Pfizer has claimed that "no serious safety concerns have been observed." And they will push ahead with an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) in the USA.
This is not a lot of data. There are no statistical analyses. Public Citizen, a liberal consumer rights advocacy group (and which is generally pro-vaccine and thinks that the distrust of Big Pharma fuels the anti-vaccine movement), stated that:
Until the trial results are independently reviewed and scrutinized by staff at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the independent experts on the agency's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, enthusiasm for the apparently promising interim results announced by Pfizer and BioNTech must be tempered. Crucial information absent from the companies' announcement is any evidence that the vaccine prevents serious COVID-19 cases or reduces hospitalizations and deaths due to the disease.
More importantly, critical safety data from the phase 3 trial of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine is not yet available. In order to ensure public confidence in this vaccine or any other COVID-19 vaccine being tested, the FDA must wait for sufficient long-term safety monitoring of subjects to be completed before approving such vaccines.
Nothing they wrote is wrong. And as I have written before, I am concerned about a EUA being pushed by Big Pharma in this hyper-political America.
Despite the claims of the anti-vaccine crowd, all vaccines undergo thorough reviews at the FDA. Final approval requires a final review by the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC), which is made up of leading scientists who frequently require further testing or could even reject an application for a vaccine. Public Citizen and many other vaccine scientists are concerned that the FDA will bypass VRBPAC to get the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on the market.
Why should we pump the brakes on this vaccine?
As I mentioned above, these results have not been published or peer-reviewed by anyone. We don't know if Pfizer released biased data or a full accounting of their data (and reading between the lines, it appears to be just a subset of data). We need to examine all of the data for both safety and effectiveness.
I'm going to trust independent reviews of the data by vaccine experts and VRBPAC over a press release of a large pharmaceutical company. When I claim that vaccine safety and effectiveness is settled science, it's not based on press releases – it's based on published science.
But there are other reasons to slow down the hype on this vaccine:
It requires 2 doses to be effective. So if Pfizer claims that they have 50 million doses ready to go, that means it really is only available to 25 million people.
Despite the claims of Vice President Mike Pence, who tried to take credit for the vaccine and was rebuked by Pfizer for the fake news, this is not a USA-exclusive vaccine – it's for the whole world, so of the X million doses that Pfizer may have available, we don't know what percentage is going to what country.
Distribution of this vaccine is going to be a serious pain-in-the-ass. It must be stored in a medical-grade deep freezer, at an average of -75ºC (or -103º in barbarian measurements). Those types of freezers are not generally in most medical facilities – pharmaceutical distributors generally would store the vaccines at that temperature, then deliver them to physicians' offices for same-day use. This will be a horribly difficult proposition, with a lot of vaccines becoming "spoiled" because they weren't used on time – that would mean that people who think they were protected against COVID-19 weren't.
The vaccine has a very short shelf life in temperatures warmer than -75ºC. So a physician can't just order the vaccine and put it into his refrigerator or typical freezer and expect that it will be effective after a few days.
Given how difficult this vaccine will be to distribute in developed countries, it would be almost impossible in less-developed areas of the world, especially those in tropical (read hot) areas. The vaccine will almost be useless there.
We don't know the long-term effectiveness of the vaccine. Will the virus mutate thereby avoiding the adaptive immune system? Will immunity last beyond a few months? Will there be some unpredicted safety signal because of this new mRNA technology?
This vaccine will be a logical nightmare for the world. Basically, in the USA, Europe, Japan, and other such developed countries, the vaccines would have to be shipped to a location with these freezers, and people would have to line up there for the vaccine.
Finally, the EUA (in both the USA and Europe) would probably be for first responders and individuals with significant comorbidities. So the average citizen of the world probably won't see the vaccine until summer 2021 at the earliest. At least then, we'll know more about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines.
The world seems to be heading into a substantial upsurge in the pandemic – the USA (of course), Britain, France, Germany, and other countries are reaching scary new levels of infection.
Despite the press release for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, this doesn't mean we can run into the streets and celebrate the end of the pandemic. Because we will not be able to achieve herd immunity from this vaccine, we will have to continue to do the mitigation efforts to reduce the risk of contracting the disease – social distancing and wearing a mask.
Just in case you're one of those COVID-19 deniers, the CDC has reported that masks not only protect the wearer but others around them. Seems like a socially responsible thing to do.
I think this vaccine is a reason to be hopeful, but in science "hope" doesn't exist. We need hard data to get really excited about this vaccine. And we need a substantial plan to make sure that we can safely deliver the vaccines to the world.
For now, there are reasons to be optimistic.
Tags:BioNTechcoronavirusmRNASARS-CoV-2

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Conor McGregor: "Dustin Poirier is a corpse, I'll kill this guy"
07/08/2021 07/08/2021 Diana Makarova	0 Comments	Charles Oliveira, Conor McGregor, Dana White, Dustin Poirier, UFC 257, UFC 264
Conor McGregor is not shy in his expressions ahead of his third UFC 264 fight with Dustin Poirier.
"He's a corpse," McGregor told his website, The MacLife, on Wednesday when asked about Poirier, "a dead body, a blank face that's going to get his ass whooped and taken out on a stretcher."
McGregor (22-5) suffered a second-round knockout loss to Poirier in January at UFC 257. The lead-up to that fight was mostly an amicable one, but the Irishman has changed his tune for UFC 264, leaning back into the adversarial ways of his early UFC run.
UFC president Dana White recently told The MacLife that McGregor was "taking this fight a lot more serious" than January's rematch and that the former two-division UFC champion now feels "like the old Conor McGregor." McGregor echoed that sentiment on Wednesday, explaining that even his training camp looked vastly different for UFC 264 compared to the preparation he underwent for UFC 257.
"[We] just focused on mixed martial arts, first of all," McGregor said. "It was an 85 percent camp for boxing [before UFC 257], for Manny Pacquiao, that's how the fight came about. It was going to be a charity event, not even under the UFC banner. It was just because he was a southpaw and I felt a bit of pity for him and whatnot, so I'd help him out. And that's it. It went the way it went and I got a setback in there, but setbacks are a beautiful thing. Defeat is the secret ingredient to success, I say, and it's put me right where I need to be."
McGregor added that he was already looking ahead of Poirier, who he previously defeated via first-round knockout at UFC 178 in 2014, and toward a potential year-end challenge for the UFC lightweight title, which is currently held by Charles Oliveira. McGregor targeted Allegiant Stadium, the 65,000-seat home of the Las Vegas Raiders, as his preferred landing spot for the matchup.
"I feel maybe Christmas time, December, I don't know, we'll talk afterward. But that world title will be contested in the Allegiant Stadium here in Las Vegas, I would imagine so," McGregor said. "I like the look of it. It's called the Death Star as well, and that's what I'm feeling like right now — a Death Star."
As for a prediction, McGregor was blunt about his intentions for Poirier.
"Every shot I have thrown in this camp is a kill shot, so that's it. I'm going to kill this man," McGregor said.
"Just a slaughter and a play with a scared little boy. He's fighting scared like he always does, like they always do against me, so now I'm going to play with the little boy, play with me food, and then just devour it."
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Rafael Dos Anjos: "Now McGregor has swallowed his own poison"
Professional fighters gave their predictions for Kelvin Kattar vs Giga Chikadze at UFC Vegas 46


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text:
\section{Introduction}

Pairing correlations in open-shell nuclei are a
crucial part of the mean field calculations which have been
investigated over the years and taken into account within either
Hartree Fock+BCS or HFB approximations at zero temperature. Over the last decades, the effect of temperature on mean field results has
drawn attention due to the vanishing of pairing properties and the phase
change of finite nuclei from superfluid to the normal state at
critical temperatures. Extensions of the mean field models to the
finite temperature case have been given in Refs. \cite{san63,go81,gam13}.
Thereafter, theoretical investigations have been undertaken with
different models and interactions to investigate the relationship
between pairing correlations and temperature.

First studies in hot finite nuclei were performed with
Hartree-Fock-BCS model \cite{san63,go81}. It has been shown that
pairing correlations disappear and nuclei undergo a sharp transition from
superfluid to normal state at a critical temperature.
Furthermore, the critical temperature and the pairing gap value at zero
temperature follow the $T_{c}\simeq0.567\Delta_{T=0}$ equation
\cite{san63}. In Ref \cite{fan11}, similar calculations have been performed with a correction term in
the nuclear energy density functional. Pairing transitions in finite nuclei were also
predicted within the finite temperature HFB models in Refs.
\cite{go86,egi93,mar03,khan04,mar12}. Recently, the effect of
different types of pairing interactions on the critical temperature
and phase transition of Tin nuclei was investigated within FT-HFB
approximation with zero-range Skyrme interaction. It was shown that
the pairing gap value is sensitive to the type of the pairing force
just below critical temperatures and the critical temperature follows the
$T_{c}\simeq0.5\Delta_{T=0}$ equation \cite{khan07}. Very recently, the
relationship between pairing and temperature effects was also investigated
within the relativistic mean field (RMF) framework in even-even
Ca, Ni, Sn and Pb isotopes in which the critical temperature follows
the $T_{c}=0.6\Delta_{T=0}$ relation \cite{niu13}.
Although the investigation of temperature effect on the pairing
properties of nuclei is limited on the experimental side, some
experimental signatures were also obtained from the level density
measurements of the rare earth $^{161,162}$Dy, $^{171,172}$Yb nuclei.
The observed S-shapes in the semi-experimental heat capacities of
$^{161,162}$Dy, $^{171,172}$Yb \cite{sch01} and $^{166,167}$Er
\cite{mel01} nuclei were interpreted as the phase change of nuclei
from superfluid to the normal state. In addition, the critical
temperature at which the pairing correlations are disappearing was
found at around 0.5 MeV.

Finite temperature
effects are also important for astrophysical events, e.g., the
reaction rates, r-process nucleosynthesis and core-collapse
supernovae. Investigation of the superfluidity and specific heat in
the inner crust matter of neutron stars have also been performed within the
finite temperature HFB framework in Refs. \cite{san04,mon07}. It was shown that
the temperature has an impact on the results and should be included in the
calculations. Furthermore, the effect of temperature on the effective
mass of nucleons, level density and symmetry energy is significant in
the supernovae and electron capture rates which takes place at around
$1<T<2$ MeV \cite{don94,mah85,fan10,fan09,dean02}. Due to the influence of the temperature
on the proton and neutron effective mass behavior and its connection with astrophysical events,
effect of temperature on nuclei deserves further study. In this framework,
the temperature sensitivity of the effective k-mass
is revealed for the first time in a microscopic approach.

In the present work, fully self consistent calculations are performed within the finite
temperature HFBCS (FT-HFBCS) framework using several types of Skyrme
forces. Since we deal with $u$ and $v$'s in the HFBCS, the interpretation of the temperature effect is more straightforward when compared with HFB approximation. In Section 2, extension of the Hartree Fock BCS model to the
finite temperature case is presented. In Section 3, the phase change
from superfluid to the normal state and effect of temperature on
the neutron skin are analyzed. The relation between the effective mass in symmetric nuclear matter
and critical temperature is investigated with different Skyrme energy
density functionals. Temperature dependence of the effective nucleon
masses are also analyzed and discussed. Finally, the conclusion is given in Section 4.

\section{Microscopic model: Finite temperature extension of Hartree Fock BCS approximation}

The BCS approach in nuclei is well known \cite{ring80} and extensively
studied over the years. In the Skyrme-HFBCS approach, the expectation value of the Hamiltonian is obtained as:
\begin{equation}
E=\left\langle BCS\left|H'\right|BCS\right\rangle=E[\rho,\kappa,\kappa^{*}]
\end{equation}
and the total energy density functional of nuclei is given by
\begin{equation}\begin{split}
E[\rho,\kappa,\kappa^{*}]&=T+E_{Skyrme}[\rho]+E_{Coul.}[\rho_{p}]+E_{pair}[\rho,\kappa,\kappa^{*}]\\
&=\int d^{3}\textbf{r}[T(\textbf{r})+\mathcal{E}_{Skyrme}(\textbf{r})+\mathcal{E}_{Coul.}(\textbf{r})+\mathcal{E}_{pair}(\textbf{r})].
\end{split}
\end{equation}
Skryme energy density functional for even-even systems is defined as:
\begin{equation}\begin{split}
\mathcal{E}_{Skyrme}(\textbf{r})&=\frac{1}{2}t_{0}\left[\left(1+\frac{x_{0}}{2}\right)\rho^{2}-\left(x_{0}+\frac{1}{2}\right)\sum_{q}\rho_{q}^{2}\right]\\
&+\frac{t_{1}}{4}\left[\left(1+\frac{x_{1}}{2}\right)\left(\rho\tau+\frac{3}{4}(\nabla\rho)^{2}\right)-\left(x_{1}+\frac{1}{2}\right)\sum_{q}\left(\rho_{q}\tau_{q}+\frac{3}{4}(\nabla\rho_{q})^{2}\right)\right]\\
&+\frac{t_{2}}{4}\left[\left(1+\frac{x_{2}}{2}\right)\left(\rho\tau-\frac{1}{4}(\nabla\rho)^{2}\right)+\left(x_{2}+\frac{1}{2}\right)\sum_{q}\left(\rho_{q}\tau_{q}-\frac{1}{4}(\nabla\rho_{q})^{2}\right)\right]\\
&-\frac{1}{16}(t_{1}x_{1}+t_{2}x_{2})J^{2}+\frac{1}{16}(t_{1}-t_{2})\sum_{q}J_{q}^{2}\\
&+\frac{1}{12}t_{3}\rho^{\gamma}\left[\left(1+\frac{x_{3}}{2}\right)\rho^{2}-\left(x_{3}+\frac{1}{2}\right)\sum_{q}\rho_{q}^{2}\right]\\
&+\frac{1}{2}W_{0}\left(J\nabla\rho+\sum_{q}J_{q}\nabla\rho_{q}\right).
\end{split}
\end{equation}
In this expression $q$ represents protons (neutrons) and $\rho$, $J$ and $\tau$ are particle, spin-orbit and kinetic energy densities, respectively.
In the extension of the Hartree-Fock-BCS model to the finite temperature case, temperature dependent Fermi-Dirac
distribution function is used :

\begin{equation}
f_{i}=[1+exp(E_{i}/k_{B}T)]^{-1},
\end{equation}
where $E_{i}$ is quasiparticle energy, $k_{B}$ is the Boltzmann
constant and T is the temperature. In the finite temperature case, BCS equations keep the same structure. However, the occupation factor $v_{i}^{2}$ is changed by
\begin{equation}
v_{i}^{2}(1-f_{i})+u_{i}^{2}f_{i}
\end{equation}
which also modifies the normal
(particle, spin and kinetic energy) and  abnormal densities. Such thermal averaged particle densities are given by \cite{go81,san04},

\begin{equation}
\rho_{T}(\textbf{r})=\frac{1}{4\pi}\sum_{i}(2j_{i}+1)\left[v_{i}^{2}(1-f_{i})+u_{i}^{2}f_{i}\right]\left|\phi_{i}(\textbf{r})\right|^{2},
\label{99}
\end{equation}
\begin{equation}\begin{split}
\textit{J}_{T}(\textbf{r})=&\frac{1}{4\pi}\sum_{i}(2j_{i}+1)\left[j_{i}(j_{i}+1)-l_{i}(l_{i}+1)-\frac{3}{4}\right]\\
&\times\left\{v_{i}^{2}(1-f_{i})+u_{i}^{2}f_{i}\right\}\left|\phi_{i}(\textbf{r})\right|^{2},
\end{split}
\end{equation}
\begin{equation}\begin{split}
\tau_{T}(\textbf{r})=&\frac{1}{4\pi}\sum_{i}(2j_{i}+1)\left[v_{i}^{2}(1-f_{i})+u_{i}^{2}f_{i}\right]\\
&\times\left[\left(\frac{d\phi_{i}(\textbf{r})}{dr}-\frac{\phi_{i}(\textbf{r})}{r}\right)^{2}+\frac{l_{i}(l_{i}+1)}{r^{2}}\left|\phi_{i}(\textbf{r})\right|^{2}\right]
\end{split}
\end{equation}
\begin{equation}
\kappa_{T}(\textbf{r})=-\frac{1}{4\pi}\sum_{i}(2j_{i}+1)u_{i}v_{i}(1-2f_{i})\left|\phi_{i}(\textbf{r})\right|^{2},
\end{equation}
where $v_{i}$ and $u_{i}$ are the BCS variational parameters and $\phi_{i}(\textbf{r})$ the single particle wave function.
The Finite temperature Hartree-Fock BCS equations for the Skyrme interaction are obtained with the variation of the expectation value of $H^{'}$:

\begin{equation}
\delta\left\langle BCS\left|H'\right|BCS\right\rangle=0.
\end{equation}
In coordinate space, Hartree Fock equation is written as
\begin{equation}
\left\{-\nabla\frac{\hbar^{2}}{2m^{*}\left(\textbf{r}\right)}\nabla+U\left(\textbf{r}\right)+W\frac{1}{i}\left(\nabla\times\sigma\right)\right\}\phi_{i}\left(\textbf{r}\right)=\varepsilon_{i}\phi_{i}\left(\textbf{r}\right).
\end{equation}

In our calculations, the pairing correlations are taken into account with a zero-range density-dependent pairing interaction \cite{ber91}
\begin{equation}\begin{split}
V_{pair}(\textbf{r}_{1},\textbf{r}_{2})&=V_{0}\left(1-\frac{\rho(\textbf{r})}{\rho_{0}}\right)\delta(\textbf{r}_{1}-\textbf{r}_{2})\\
&=V_{eff}(\rho(\textbf{r}))\delta(\textbf{r}_{1}-\textbf{r}_{2}),
\end{split}
\end{equation}
where $V_{0}$ is the pairing strength, $\rho(\textbf{r})$ is the particle density and $\rho_{0}=0.16$ $fm^{-3}$ is the nuclear saturation density. All calculations are carried out with the surface-type pairing interaction. In order to provide a suitable pairing interaction, the pairing strength $V_{0}$ is fixed for each nuclei according to the $\Delta=12/\sqrt{A}$ MeV phenomenological rule. The pairing field is given by
\begin{equation}
\Delta_{T}(\textbf{r})=\frac{V_{eff}(\rho(\textbf{r}))}{2}\kappa_{T}(\textbf{r}).
\end{equation}
In addition, the particle number and pairing energy are also impacted
with the temperature dependent Fermi-Dirac function. The particle
number is defined as
\begin{equation}
N_{q,T}=\sum_{i}(2j_{i}+1)\left[v_{i}^{2}(1-f_{i})+u_{i}^{2}f_{i}\right]
\end{equation}
and the pairing energy is
\begin{equation}
E_{pair,T}=-\frac{\Delta_{T}(\textbf{r})}{2}u_{i}v_{i}(2j+1).
\end{equation}

In the following study, it is relevant to derive the effective nucleon mass $(m^{*}_{q})$ in terms of the nucleon densities \cite{doba84}
\begin{equation}\begin{split}
\frac{\hbar^{2}}{2m^{*}_{q}}=&\frac{\hbar^{2}}{2m}+\frac{1}{4}\left[t_{1}\left(1+\frac{x_{1}}{2}\right)+t_{2}\left(1+\frac{x_{2}}{2}\right)\right]\rho\\
&+\frac{1}{8}\left[t_{2}\left(1+2x_{2}\right)-t_{1}\left(1+2x_{1}\right)\right]\rho_{q}.
\label{112}
\end{split}
\end{equation}

All calculations are performed in a 20 fm box with the assumption of spherical symmetry. The cut-off energy is determined with certain number of states around the Fermi energy. In our calculations, the pairing window (the number of levels above the Fermi level) is taken as 20 for both protons and neutrons. The energy difference between the Fermi and the last considered level is around 15 MeV which is large enough to take care of the occupation of levels due to temperature effects.
\section{Results}

In this work, we performed FT-HFBCS calculations using zero-range
Skyrme forces. Average neutron pairing gap is calculated via \cite{mat01}:

\begin{equation}
\left\langle \Delta_{n}\right\rangle_{\kappa}=\frac{\int d\textbf{r}\kappa_{T}(\textbf{r})\Delta_{T,n}(\textbf{r})}{\int d\textbf{r}\kappa_{T}(\textbf{r})}.
\end{equation}

Calculations are performed for temperatures up to 1.5 MeV to avoid
occupation of unbound single particle levels and additional
contributions from neutron vapour \cite{bon84}.

\subsection{Tin isotopes}

In panels (a) and (b) of Figure \ref{120}, the average neutron pairing gap
is plotted as a function of temperature for $^{120}$Sn and $^{112}$Sn
nuclei using various Skyrme interactions. The critical temperature
for $^{120}$Sn and $^{112}$Sn nuclei are found at around 0.65 MeV. With the increase of the temperature, pairing
correlations are destroyed below the Fermi level. As a result of the
high temperature, Cooper pairs are broken and particles are excited to the
higher energy levels which leads to the disappearance of pairing
correlations \cite{egi00}.

\begin{figure}[H]
	\includegraphics[width=1. \textwidth]{Tc.pdf}
		\caption{Mean value of the neutron pairing gap as a function of the temperature for $^{120}$Sn (a) and $^{112}$Sn nuclei (b), occupation probabilities for neutrons as a function of temperature around the Fermi level (c). In $^{120}$Sn, the dotted line represents the Fermi level at T=$0.0$ MeV. Pairing energy as a function of temperature (d).}
		\label{120}
	\end{figure}

For the Skyrme interactions used (SLy5  \cite{SLy5}, SGII  \cite{SGII}, SIII  \cite{SIII}, SkM*  \cite{SkM}), the critical temperature and the
pairing gap value at zero temperature follow the $T_{c}\simeq
0.57\Delta_{T=0}$ rule. This is also consistent with the finite temperature HFB
results in Ref. \cite{khan07} in which the critical temperature was
found around 0.7 MeV for the $^{124}$Sn nucleus with SLy4 interaction. Calculations are
also performed in A=106 to A=124 even-even Tin isotopes and similar
results are obtained.

In order to provide a clear explanation for the vanishing pairing
mechanism, in panel (c) of Fig. \ref{120} we display the
temperature dependence of the occupation probabilities with respect to
the single particle energies of the $^{120}$Sn nucleus using the SGII
interaction. The single particle levels are chosen around the Fermi
level, which are impacted by temperature. With the increase of the temperature, nucleons are excited to higher energies and occupation
probabilities are increased above the Fermi level. Especially, the
occupation probability of the $1h_{11/2}$ state just above the Fermi
level increases above the critical temperature while the occupation probabilities of $3s_{1/2}$ and $2d_{3/2}$
states are decreasing below the Fermi level. In addition, the change of the pairing
energy as a function of temperature is displayed in panel (d) of Fig. \ref{120}.
Although the decrease of the pairing energy is small up to 0.3 MeV, a substantial decrease
of the pairing energy is obtained for the temperatures between 0.3 MeV and 0.6 MeV. At
critical temperature, the pairing energy is exactly zero, showing
the vanishing of pairing correlations and interpreted as the phase
change from superfluid to the normal state. The sharp
transition is due to the limitation of the present approach which corresponds
the grand-canonical ensemble \cite{egi93}. Similar
results are also obtained with other Tin isotopes and Skyrme
interactions: SLy5, SIII and SkM*.

In panels (a) and (b) of Fig. \ref{122}, the change of the
proton and neutron radii with respect to the temperature is displayed for the
$^{120}$Sn nucleus with SGII interaction. The interaction SGII \cite{SGII} is one of the widely
used parameterizations of the Skyrme force. It has been derived from SkM*,
by improving the Landau parameters and in particular $G_{0}^{'}$. This ensures
a good description of spin states like the Gamow-Teller resonance, in
addition to the reproduction of ground state masses and radii.
The proton radius stays constant
up to the critical temperature and then increases linearly. Although a
small decrease is obtained in the case of the neutron radius up to the critical
temperature, it also increases after critical temperature.  The
temperature dependence of the neutron skin ($R_{n}-R_{p}$) is also presented in the
panels (c) and (d) of Fig. \ref{122}. In the case of $^{120}$Sn
although a small decrease is obtained before the critical temperature,
the neutron skin increases of about 3\% at temperatures above 1 MeV.
This is due to the increasing population of larger single-particle
states with larger angular momentum (\textit{l}), such as the $1h_{11/2}$ state, as discussed above. Investigation of the
effect of N/Z value on the temperature dependence of the neutron skin
is also performed in the Tin isotopic chain. In panel (d) of Fig.
\ref{122}, the $R_{n}-R_{p}$ difference with respect to N/Z value is
displayed. It has been known that HFBCS is not suitable for drip line nuclei due to the formation of unphysical neutron gas \cite{dob96}.
Therefore, we limit our calculations up to  $^{120}$Sn nucleus in this part.
 Since both proton and neutron radii increase above the
critical temperature, the proton radius weakens the formation of
neutron skin in less neutron-rich Tin isotopes with the increase of the temperature.

	\begin{figure}[H]
	\includegraphics[width=1. \textwidth]{Sn-radius.pdf}
		\caption{Proton (a) and neutron (b) radius with respect to the temperature for $^{120}$Sn, calculated with SGII interaction and the change of neutron skin radius of $^{120}$Sn nucleus with respect to the temperature (c). $R_{n}-R_{p}$ difference as a function of N/Z value for the Sn isotopes at T=0.0 MeV and T=1.5 MeV (d).}
		\label{122}
	\end{figure}

In order to further investigate the increase of the neutron skin with
temperature, in Fig. \ref{123} the neutron partial densities
of states ($\rho_{nlj,T}(r)$) as a function of temperature are displayed for the $^{120}$Sn nucleus.
Since temperature impacts mostly the states around the Fermi level, the single
neutron levels around the Fermi level are displayed. First, the effect of
temperature is seen in the $1g_{7/2}$ single particle level which is below
the Fermi level. While the neutron partial densities are decreasing
below the Fermi level, an increase in the partial density of the
$1h_{11/2}$ state just above the Fermi level is obtained at high
temperatures. Proton partial densities also show a similar behavior:
while partial densities decrease below Fermi level, an increase is
obtained above the Fermi level at high temperatures. This causes an
increase in the proton radius. In the case of
the $2f_{7/2}$, $3p_{3/2}$ and $1h_{9/2}$ neutron states, a more
subtle effect is at work: the partial densities decrease up to T=1.0 MeV
and then increase. The decrease is due to the temperature effects
which are destroying the small occupation number generated by
pairing effects. Above 1 MeV, these states start to be repopulated by
temperature effects, because of their increasing Fermi-Dirac factors
(feeding from lower energy states).

	\begin{figure}[H]
	\includegraphics[width=1. \textwidth]{neutronpartialdensity.pdf}
		\caption{Neutron partial densities of states (see Eq.
\eqref{99}) as a function of temperature for $^{120}$Sn nucleus with SGII interaction. Here, $n, l, j$ are representing the principal, orbital angular momentum and total angular momentum quantum numbers of the corresponding state, respectively.}
		\label{123}
	\end{figure}

\subsection{Temperature effects on effective masses}

\subsubsection [Effective mass of symmetric nuclear matter and
\texorpdfstring{$(T_{c}$}{(Tc)}]      {Effective mass of symmetric
nuclear matter and $T_{c}$}

In this section, our aim is to investigate the possible relation
between the effective mass in symmetric nuclear matter (or
equivalently m*(r=0)) and the critical temperature.
The effective mass is known to impact the level density
and pairing correlations which in turn may have an effect on the
critical temperature \cite{vaut72,mah85}. In our calculations,
${m^{*}}/{m}$ values are ranging from 0.6 to 1.0 for the selected
Skyrme energy density functionals.

In symmetric nuclear matter, effective masses for the
Skyrme energy density functionals are defined as \cite{SLy5}:

\begin{equation}
\frac{m^{*}_{Sky.}}{m}=\left[1+\frac{m\rho_{0}}{8\hbar^{2}}\left\{3t_{1}+t_{2}\left(5+4x_{2}\right)\right\}\right]^{-1},
\label{111}
\end{equation}
where $\rho_{0}$ is the nuclear saturation density.

The upper panel of Figure \ref{150} shows the influence of the
effective mass values of the Skyrme energy density functionals (Eq.\eqref{111}) on the critical temperature of $^{120}$Sn nucleus.
Calculations are performed with 14 different Skyrme interactions, keeping the pairing strength constant, $V_{0}=680$ $MeV.fm^{3}$, for all interactions used. A
correlation between the effective mass and the critical temperature is
obtained, namely with the increase in the effective mass values of the
Skyrme interactions the critical temperature increases. Since a larger
effective mass generates larger level densities and larger pairing gap
values (see lower panel of Fig. \ref{150}) , the critical temperature at which the pairing correlations are
disappearing is also larger. The pairing gap at zero temperature
and the critical temperature are strongly correlated by the
$T_{c}\simeq 0.57\Delta_{T=0}$ law and larger effective mass value
generates a higher pairing gap value as expected. To check this interpretation, we also plot neutron single particle
energies for the $^{120}$Sn nucleus with SGI and SkX Skyrme interactions
(see Fig. \ref{152}) which have 0.6 and 1.0 ${m^{*}}/{m}$ values,
respectively. SGI interaction has lower effective mass value and
predicts larger energy difference between the $2d_{3/2}$ level and
Fermi level (smaller level density).

	\begin{figure}[!htb]
	\includegraphics[width=0.95 \textwidth]{effectivemass.pdf}
		\caption{Upper Panel: Effective mass values with respect to the critical temperature. Lower Panel: Effective mass values with respect to the mean value of the pairing gap. Calculations are performed for $^{120}$Sn nucleus using 14 different Skyrme interactions.}
		\label{150}
	\end{figure}

		\begin{figure}[H]
	\includegraphics[width=0.95 \textwidth]{SGI.pdf}
		\caption{Neutron single particle energies around the Fermi level for $^{120}$Sn nucleus with SGI and SkX interactions, at zero temperature.}
		\label{152}
	\end{figure}

This low level density around the Fermi level gives smaller pairing
gap value. Therefore the critical temperature value for the phase
transition is lowered.  The SkX interaction has a larger effective
mass and predicts smaller energy difference between the $2d_{3/2}$
level and Fermi level. Hence the level densities and pairing gap are
enhanced which eventually causes a larger critical temperature value. We
checked that same calculations with different Skyrme interactions give
similar result.

It should be noted that in the case of imposing a constant pairing gap, the critical temperature is also constant due to the above relation between the pairing gap and the critical temperature. In this case the critical temperature dependence of the
effective mass vanishes.

\subsubsection{Temperature dependence of the effective mass in nuclei}

In this section, we investigate the effect of temperature on the
effective masses of nuclei. The total effective nucleon mass is
obtained with the product of the effective k-mass and $\omega$-mass
$(m^{*}/m=m_{\omega}m_{k}/m^{2})$. While the k-mass comes from the spatial
non-localities and is obtained from the mean field calculations,
the $\omega$-mass is related to the frequency dependence of the mean field
\cite{fan10}.

The level densities around the Fermi level are
affected with the changes in the effective mass as discussed above. Therefore the
determination of the temperature dependence of the effective mass is
an important task for the level density calculations. The temperature
dependence of the effective nucleon mass of nuclei have been
previously studied in Refs. \cite{hasse86,bor87,fan10,don94}. The
results indicate a decrease of the effective nucleon masses at high
temperatures. Therefore the nuclear symmetry energy and electron
capture rates in the stellar core collapse, which takes place at 1-2
MeV temperature are also affected \cite{fan10}. In ref.\cite{don94}, the
temperature dependence of the effective $\omega$-mass was investigated with
respect to the temperature. The effective mass was found to decrease which
decreases the level density and increases symmetry energy
at high temperatures. The changes in the
effective proton and neutron masses might have some effects on
astrophysical events; for example in the electron capture rates of
stellar collapses \cite{don94}. Since the rate of the electron capture
is closely related with the proton and neutron chemical potentials and
consequently with the symmetry energy, an increase or decrease in the
effective nucleon masses might lead significant changes in these
rates.

In this framework, in the left part of Fig. \ref{151}, the effect of temperature on the
effective k-masses (at r=0, Eq.\eqref{112}) of protons and neutrons are
displayed. The results are shown for $^{120}$Sn nucleus with SGII
interaction.

	\begin{figure}[!hbt]
	\includegraphics[width=1. \textwidth]{mass-dens.pdf}
		\caption{Left Panel: Effect of temperature on the
		neutron and proton effective masses (at r=0) for $^{120}$Sn nucleus with SGII interaction. Right Panel: proton and neutron densities with respect to the temperature.}
		\label{151}
	\end{figure}

An increase of the effective neutron mass up to T=1.0 MeV is observed
in the interior of the nuclei. Thereafter, the effective neutron mass
suddenly decreases from T=1.0 MeV to
T=1.5 MeV. In addition, the increase of the proton
effective mass is much more pronounced after the critical
temperature. The change is about $ 1.13\%$ for proton effective mass. Although the changes in the effective masses are small in magnitude as mentioned in previous works \cite{fan10}, it may be relevant to accurately study its behavior.
To explain the behavior of the effective proton and neutron masses, we
rewrite Eq.\eqref{112} using the values of the SGII parameters:

\begin{equation}
\frac{\hbar^{2}}{2m^{*}_{q}}=\frac{\hbar^{2}}{2m}+\left(64.56(MeV.fm^{5})\rho-57.67(MeV.fm^{5})\rho_{q}\right)
\label{113}
\end{equation}

	\begin{figure}[!hbt]
	\includegraphics[width=1. \textwidth]{120SnDT1.pdf}
		\caption{Change of the total density with respect to the
		temperature in $^{120}$Sn.}
		\label{totden}
	\end{figure}

The changes in the effective masses depend on the density but not explicitly on the temperature.
Therefore, the temperature dependence of the effective masses come indirectly from the temperature dependence of the density.
(Eq.\eqref{113}). The total density is displayed in Fig.
\ref{totden}. In the center of the nucleus, the total density decreases
with increasing temperature. Therefore the effective mass is expected
to increase with increasing temperature, but there is also the effect of
the isospin dependent density in Eq.\eqref{113}: in the right part
of Fig. \ref{151}, we display the change of the neutron and proton
densities with respect to the temperature. The effect of temperature
on the densities are pronounced above T=1.0 MeV i.e., above critical
temperature. After T=1.0 MeV, the neutron density decreases and the
proton density increases in the interior of the nuclei. The decrease
of the neutron density in the interior of the nuclei is directly
linked to by the population of levels above the Fermi level, and
depopulation of levels below (see Fig. \ref{123}), including the neutron
$3s_{1/2}$ state which contributes to the center of the nucleus. As a
result, the neutron (proton) effective mass $(m^{*}_{q}/m)$ at r=0
decreases (increases) after the critical temperature. The present
results provide an accurate view of the temperature
effects on the effective mass in nuclei. In order to provide a general trend for the behavior of the effective k-mass,
 we performed same calculations with other Skyrme interactions: SLy5, SIII and SkM* and also with other nuclei.
 The results reveal that the behavior of the effective k-mass depends on the interaction used and nuclei considered. The k-mass can either increase or decrease, however, the change is small and ranging between $ 0.15\%$ and $ 1.1\%$ from T=0 MeV to T=1.5 MeV. Although in most of the calculations temperature dependence of the k-mass is small and taken as constant at first order, our results show that the temperature dependence of the k-mass should not be ignored in the case of an accurate study of the total effective mass at high temperatures.

\section{Conclusion}

In summary, we have investigated the pairing properties of different nuclei
within the finite temperature HF+BCS framework with Skyrme
interactions. The relation between the critical temperature and the
pairing gap value at zero temperature generally obeys the $T_{c}\cong0.57
\Delta_{T=0}$ equation, depending on the energy difference between the
last occupied and first unoccupied states and the interaction used.
The temperature dependence of the neutron skin is also investigated with
different nuclei. A substantial increase in the proton and neutron radius of
neutron rich nuclei is obtained above the critical temperatures.
However for less-neutron rich nuclei, the increase in the proton radius cancels
out the rapid increase of the neutron skin radius. The changes in the neutron
skin is mainly due to the effect of temperature on the occupation
probabilities of the single-particle states around the Fermi level.
High temperature causes the occupation of the unoccupied levels which
is leading an enhancement in the proton and neutron radius.

A correlation is obtained between the effective mass of
Skyrme energy density functionals and the critical temperature of
$^{120}$Sn nucleus, relating $m^{*}$, T$_c$ and $\Delta(T=0)$. It has been
shown that with the enhancement in the effective mass, the level
densities around the Fermi level and pairing gap increase which
eventually leads an increase in the critical temperature. However this correlation depends on the pairing prescription. Temperature
dependence of the effective k-masses of protons and neutrons are also
investigated. Due to the changes in the proton and neutron densities,
the effective nucleon masses show rather different fine behavior before
and after the critical temperature, which is a new feature.

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