3,436 research outputs found
Entropy considerations in constraining the mSUGRA parameter space
We explore the use of two criteria to constraint the allowed parameter space
in mSUGRA models. Both criteria are based in the calculation of the present
density of neutralinos as dark matter in the Universe. The first one is the
usual ``abundance'' criterion which is used to calculate the relic density
after the ``freeze-out'' era. To compute the relic density we used the
numerical public code micrOMEGAs. The second criterion applies the
microcanonical definition of entropy to a weakly interacting and
self-gravitating gas evaluating then the change in the entropy per particle of
this gas between the ``freeze-out'' era and present day virialized structures.
An ``entropy-consistency'' criterion emerges by comparing theoretical and
empirical estimates of this entropy. The main objective of our work is to
determine for which regions of the parameter space in the mSUGRA model are both
criteria consistent with the 2 bounds according to WMAP for the relic
density: . As a first result, we found that for
, sgn, small values of tan are not favored; only for
tan are both criteria significantly consistent.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure. To appear in the Proceedings of X Mexican Workshop
on Particles and Fields, Morelia Michoac\'an, M\'exico, November 7-12, 200
Criticality and phase separation in a two-dimensional binary colloidal fluid induced by the solvent critical behavior
We present an experimental and theoretical study of the phase behavior of a
binary mixture of colloids with opposite adsorption preferences in a critical
solvent. As a result of the attractive and repulsive critical Casimir forces,
the critical fluctuations of the solvent lead to a further critical point in
the colloidal system, i.e. to a critical colloidal-liquid--colloidal-liquid
demixing phase transition which is controlled by the solvent temperature. Our
experimental findings are in good agreement with calculations based on a simple
approximation for the free energy of the system.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, to be published in Europhysics Letter
Thermal effects on the absorption of ultra-high energy neutrinos by the cosmic neutrino background
We use the formalism of finite-temperature field theory to study the
interactions of ultra-high energy (UHE) cosmic neutrinos with the background of
relic neutrinos and to derive general expressions for the UHE neutrino
transmission probability. This approach allows us to take into account the
thermal effects introduced by the momentum distribution of the relic neutrinos.
We compare our results with the approximate expressions existing in the
literature and discuss the influence of thermal effects on the absorption dips
in the context of favoured neutrino mass schemes, as well as in the case of
clustered relic neutrinos.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures. Prepared for the Proceedings of the 9th
International Conference on Topics in Astroparticle and Underground Physics
(TAUP 2005), Zaragoza (Spain), September 10-14, 200
Tunability of Critical Casimir Interactions by Boundary Conditions
We experimentally demonstrate that critical Casimir forces in colloidal
systems can be continuously tuned by the choice of boundary conditions. The
interaction potential of a colloidal particle in a mixture of water and
2,6-lutidine has been measured above a substrate with a gradient in its
preferential adsorption properties for the mixture's components. We find that
the interaction potentials at constant temperature but different positions
relative to the gradient continuously change from attraction to repulsion. This
demonstrates that critical Casimir forces respond not only to minute
temperature changes but also to small changes in the surface properties.Comment: 4 figures;
http://www.iop.org/EJ/article/0295-5075/88/2/26001/epl_88_2_26001.htm
The Offline Software Framework of the Pierre Auger Observatory
The Pierre Auger Observatory is designed to unveil the nature and the origins
of the highest energy cosmic rays. The large and geographically dispersed
collaboration of physicists and the wide-ranging collection of simulation and
reconstruction tasks pose some special challenges for the offline analysis
software. We have designed and implemented a general purpose framework which
allows collaborators to contribute algorithms and sequencing instructions to
build up the variety of applications they require. The framework includes
machinery to manage these user codes, to organize the abundance of
user-contributed configuration files, to facilitate multi-format file handling,
and to provide access to event and time-dependent detector information which
can reside in various data sources. A number of utilities are also provided,
including a novel geometry package which allows manipulation of abstract
geometrical objects independent of coordinate system choice. The framework is
implemented in C++, and takes advantage of object oriented design and common
open source tools, while keeping the user side simple enough for C++ novices to
learn in a reasonable time. The distribution system incorporates unit and
acceptance testing in order to support rapid development of both the core
framework and contributed user code.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, presented at IEEE NSS/MIC, 23-29 October 2005,
Puerto Ric
Shadowing of Ultrahigh Energy Neutrinos
The rise with energy of the neutrino--nucleon cross section implies that at
energies above few TeV the Earth is becoming opaque to cosmic neutrinos. The
neutrinos interact with the nucleons through the weak charged current,
resulting into absorption, and the weak neutral current, which provides a
redistribution of the neutrino energy. We Mellin transform the neutrino
transport equation and find its exact solution in the moment space. A simple
analytical formula is provided, which describes accurately the neutrino
spectrum, after the neutrinos have traversed the Earth. The effect of the weak
neutral current is most prominent for an initial flat neutrino spectrum and we
find that at low energies (around 1 TeV) the neutrino intensity is even
enhanced.Comment: gziped, tar file of LaTeX paper plus 2 postscript figures, 13 page
Critical Casimir effect in classical binary liquid mixtures
If a fluctuating medium is confined, the ensuing perturbation of its
fluctuation spectrum generates Casimir-like effective forces acting on its
confining surfaces. Near a continuous phase transition of such a medium the
corresponding order parameter fluctuations occur on all length scales and
therefore close to the critical point this effect acquires a universal
character, i.e., to a large extent it is independent of the microscopic details
of the actual system. Accordingly it can be calculated theoretically by
studying suitable representative model systems.
We report on the direct measurement of critical Casimir forces by total
internal reflection microscopy (TIRM), with femto-Newton resolution. The
corresponding potentials are determined for individual colloidal particles
floating above a substrate under the action of the critical thermal noise in
the solvent medium, constituted by a binary liquid mixture of water and
2,6-lutidine near its lower consolute point. Depending on the relative
adsorption preferences of the colloid and substrate surfaces with respect to
the two components of the binary liquid mixture, we observe that, upon
approaching the critical point of the solvent, attractive or repulsive forces
emerge and supersede those prevailing away from it. Based on the knowledge of
the critical Casimir forces acting in film geometries within the Ising
universality class and with equal or opposing boundary conditions, we provide
the corresponding theoretical predictions for the sphere-planar wall geometry
of the experiment. The experimental data for the effective potential can be
interpreted consistently in terms of these predictions and a remarkable
quantitative agreement is observed.Comment: 30 pages, 17 figure
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