76,827 research outputs found
Search for very high energy gamma-rays from WIMP annihilations near the Sun with the Milagro Detector
The neutralino, the lightest stable supersymmetric particle, is a strong
theoretical candidate for the missing astronomical ``dark matter''. A profusion
of such neutralinos can accumulate near the Sun when they lose energy upon
scattering and are gravitationally captured. Pair-annihilations of those
neutralinos may produce very high energy (VHE, above ) gamma-rays.
Milagro is an air shower array which uses the water Cherenkov technique to
detect extensive air showers and is capable of observing VHE gamma-rays from
the direction of the Sun with an angular resolution of . Analysis
of Milagro data with an exposure to the Sun of 1165 hours presents the first
attempt to detect TeV gamma-rays produced by annihilating neutralinos captured
by the Solar system and shows no statistically significant signal. Resulting
limits that can be set on gamma-ray flux due to near-Solar neutralino
annihilations and on neutralino cross-section are presented
Correcting the World's Greatest Market Failure: Climate Change and the Multilateral Development Banks
Outlines efforts by multilaterals to link economic development and environmental policies. Discusses the need for more progress in realizing low carbon development in the developing world, the political and financial challenges, and recommendations
Image Reconstruction with a LaBr3-based Rotational Modulator
A rotational modulator (RM) gamma-ray imager is capable of obtaining
significantly better angular resolution than the fundamental geometric
resolution defined by the ratio of detector diameter to mask-detector
separation. An RM imager consisting of a single grid of absorbing slats
rotating ahead of an array of a small number of position-insensitive detectors
has the advantage of fewer detector elements (i.e., detector plane pixels) than
required by a coded aperture imaging system with comparable angular resolution.
The RM therefore offers the possibility of a major reduction in instrument
complexity, cost, and power. A novel image reconstruction technique makes it
possible to deconvolve the raw images, remove sidelobes, reduce the effects of
noise, and provide resolving power a factor of 6 - 8 times better than the
geometric resolution. A 19-channel prototype RM developed in our laboratory at
Louisiana State University features 13.8 deg full-angle field of view, 1.9 deg
geometric angular resolution, and the capability of resolving sources to within
35' separation. We describe the technique, demonstrate the measured performance
of the prototype instrument, and describe the prospects for applying the
technique to either a high-sensitivity standoff gamma-ray imaging detector or a
satellite- or balloon-borne gamma-ray astronomy telescope.Comment: submitted to Nuclear Instrument & Methods, special edition: SORMA
2010 on June 16, 201
Milagrito: a TeV air-shower array
Milagrito, a large, covered water-Cherenkov detector, was the world's first
air-shower-particle detector sensitive to cosmic gamma rays below 1 TeV. It
served as a prototype for the Milagro detector and operated from February 1997
to May 1998. This paper gives a description of Milagrito, a summary of the
operating experience, and early results that demonstrate the capabilities of
this technique.Comment: 38 pages including 24 figure
Geometric reconstruction methods for electron tomography
Electron tomography is becoming an increasingly important tool in materials
science for studying the three-dimensional morphologies and chemical
compositions of nanostructures. The image quality obtained by many current
algorithms is seriously affected by the problems of missing wedge artefacts and
nonlinear projection intensities due to diffraction effects. The former refers
to the fact that data cannot be acquired over the full tilt range;
the latter implies that for some orientations, crystalline structures can show
strong contrast changes. To overcome these problems we introduce and discuss
several algorithms from the mathematical fields of geometric and discrete
tomography. The algorithms incorporate geometric prior knowledge (mainly
convexity and homogeneity), which also in principle considerably reduces the
number of tilt angles required. Results are discussed for the reconstruction of
an InAs nanowire
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