8,351 research outputs found
Probing Exotic Physics With Cosmic Neutrinos
Traditionally, collider experiments have been the primary tool used in
searching for particle physics beyond the Standard Model. In this talk, I will
discuss alternative approaches for exploring exotic physics scenarios using
high energy and ultra-high energy cosmic neutrinos. Such neutrinos can be used
to study interactions at energies higher, and over baselines longer, than those
accessible to colliders. In this way, neutrino astronomy can provide a window
into fundamental physics which is highly complementary to collider techniques.
I will discuss the role of neutrino astronomy in fundamental physics,
considering the use of such techniques in studying several specific scenarios
including low scale gravity models, Standard Model electroweak instanton
induced interactions, decaying neutrinos and quantum decoherence.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures; For the proceedings of From Colliders To Cosmic
Rays, Prague, Czech Republic, September 7-13, 200
Kaluza-Klein Dark Matter and the Positron Excess
The excess of cosmic positrons observed by the HEAT experiment may be the
result of Kaluza-Klein dark matter annihilating in the galactic halo.
Kaluza-Klein dark matter annihilates dominantly into charged leptons that yield
a large number and hard spectrum of positrons per annihilation. Given a
Kaluza-Klein dark matter particle with a mass in the range of 300-400 GeV, no
exceptional substructure or clumping is needed in the local distribution of
dark matter to generate a positron flux that explains the HEAT observations.
This is in contrast to supersymmetric dark matter that requires unnaturally
large amounts of dark substructure to produce the observed positron excess.
Future astrophysical and collider tests are outlined that will confirm or rule
out this explanation of the HEAT data.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, REVTeX
The Interplay Between Collider Searches For Supersymmetric Higgs Bosons and Direct Dark Matter Experiments
In this article, we explore the interplay between searches for supersymmetric
particles and Higgs bosons at hadron colliders (the Tevatron and the LHC) and
direct dark matter searches (such as CDMS, ZEPLIN, XENON, EDELWEISS, CRESST,
WARP and others). We focus on collider searches for heavy MSSM Higgs bosons
(, , ) and how the prospects for these searches are impacted by
direct dark matter limits and vice versa. We find that the prospects of these
two experimental programs are highly interrelated. A positive detection of ,
or at the Tevatron would dramatically enhance the prospects for a
near future direct discovery of neutralino dark matter. Similarly, a positive
direct detection of neutralino dark matter would enhance the prospects of
discovering heavy MSSM Higgs bosons at the Tevatron or the LHC. Combining the
information obtained from both types of experimental searches will enable us to
learn more about the nature of supersymmetry.Comment: 22 pages, 28 figure
Payload/orbiter contamination control requirement study: Computer interface
A preliminary assessment of the computer interface requirements of the Spacelab configuration contamination computer model was conducted to determine the compatibility of the program, as presently formatted, with the computer facilities at MSFC. The necessary Spacelab model modifications are pointed out. The MSFC computer facilities and their future plans are described, and characteristics of the various computers as to availability and suitability for processing the contamination program are discussed. A listing of the CDC 6000 series and UNIVAC 1108 characteristics is presented so that programming requirements can be compared directly and differences noted
Inhomogeneity in the Supernova Remnant Distribution as the Origin of the PAMELA Anomaly
Recent measurements of the positron/electron ratio in the cosmic ray (CR)
flux exhibits an apparent anomaly, whereby this ratio increases between 10 and
100 GeV. We show that inhomogeneity of CR sources on a scale of order a kpc,
can naturally explain this anomaly. If the nearest major CR source is about a
kpc away, then low energy electrons ( GeV) can easily reach us. At
higher energies ( GeV), the source electrons cool via synchrotron
and inverse-Compton before reaching Earth. Pairs formed in the local vicinity
through the proton/ISM interactions can reach Earth also at high energies, thus
increasing the positron/electron ratio. A natural origin of source
inhomogeneity is the strong concentration of supernovae in the galactic spiral
arms. Assuming supernova remnants (SNRs) as the sole primary source of CRs, and
taking into account their concentration near the galactic spiral arms, we
consistently recover the observed positron fraction between 1 and 100 GeV.
ATIC's electron excess at GeV is explained, in this picture, as the
contribution of a few known nearby SNRs. The apparent coincident similarity
between the cooling time of electrons at 10 GeV (where the positron/electron
ratio upturn), Myr, and the CRs protons cosmogenic age at the same
energy is predicted by this model
Retrieval of atmospheric static stability from MST radar return signal power
International audienceAn empirical technique for retrieving profiles of the square of the Brunt-Väisälä frequency, ?B2, from MST radar return signal power is presented. The validity of the technique, which is applied over the altitude range 1.0-15.7km, is limited to those altitudes at which the humidity contributions to the mean vertical gradient of generalised potential refractive index, M, can be ignored. Although this is commonly assumed to be the case above the first few kilometres of the atmosphere, it is shown that humidity contributions can be significant right up to the tropopause level. In specific circumstances, however, the technique is valid over large sections of the troposphere. Comparisons of radar- and (balloon-borne) radiosonde-derived ?B2 profiles are typically quantitatively and qualitatively well matched. However, the horizontal separation between the radar and the radiosondes (which were launched at the radar site) increases with increasing altitude. Under conditions of mountain wave activity, which can be highly localised, large discrepancies can occur at lower-stratospheric altitudes. This demonstrates the fact that radiosonde observations cannot necessarily be assumed to be representative of the atmosphere above the launch site
A Network Inversion Filter combining GNSS and InSAR for tectonic slip modeling
Studies of the earthquake cycle benefit from long-term time-dependent slip modeling, as it can be a powerful means to improve our understanding on the interaction of earthquake cycle processes such as interseismic, coseismic, postseismic, and aseismic slip. Observations from Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) allow us to model slip at depth with a higher spatial resolution than when using GNSS alone. While the temporal resolution of InSAR has typically been limited, the recent fleet of SAR satellites including Sentinel-1, COSMO-SkyMED, and RADARSAT-2 permits the use of InSAR for time-dependent slip modeling, at intervals of a few days when combined. With the vast amount of SAR data available, simultaneous data inversion of all epochs becomes challenging. Here, we expanded the original Network Inversion Filter to include InSAR observations of surface displacements in addition to GNSS. In the NIF framework, geodetic observations are limited to those of a given epoch, with a stochastic model describing slip evolution over time. The combination of the Kalman forward filtering and backward smoothing allows all geodetic observations to constrain the complete observation period. Combining GNSS and InSAR allows modeling of time-dependent slip at unprecedented spatial resolution. We validate the approach with a simulation of the 2006 Guerrero slow slip event. We highlight the importance of including InSAR covariance information, and demonstrate that InSAR provides an additional constraint on the spatial extent of the slow slip
The Milky Way as a Kiloparsec-Scale Axionscope
Very high energy gamma-rays are expected to be absorbed by the extragalactic
background light over cosmological distances via the process of
electron-positron pair production. Recent observations of cosmologically
distant gamma-ray emitters by ground based gamma-ray telescopes have, however,
revealed a surprising degree of transparency of the universe to very high
energy photons. One possible mechanism to explain this observation is the
oscillation between photons and axion-like-particles (ALPs). Here we explore
this possibility further, focusing on photon-ALP conversion in the magnetic
fields in and around gamma-ray sources and in the magnetic field of the Milky
Way, where some fraction of the ALP flux is converted back into photons. We
show that this mechanism can be efficient in allowed regions of the ALP
parameter space, as well as in typical configurations of the Galactic Magnetic
Field. As case examples, we consider the spectrum observed from two HESS
sources: 1ES1101-232 at redshift z=0.186 and H 2356-309 at z=0.165. We also
discuss features of this scenario which could be used to distinguish it from
standard or other exotic models.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures. Matches published versio
- …