3,327 research outputs found
Physics Needs for Future Accelerators
Contents:
1. Prologomena to any meta future physics
1.1 Physics needs for building future accelerators
1.2 Physics needs for funding future accelerators
2. Physics questions for future accelerators
2.1 Crimes and misapprehensions
2.1.1 Organized religion 2.1.2 Feudalism 2.1.3 Trotsky was right
2.2 The Standard Model as an effective field theory
2.3 What is the scale of new physics?
2.4 What could be out there?
2.5 Model-independent conclusions
3. Future accelerators
3.1 What is the physics driving the LHC?
3.2 What is the physics driving the LC?
3.2.1 Higgs physics is golden
3.2.2 LHC won't be sufficient to unravel the new physics as the TeV scale
3.2.3 LC precision measurements can pin down new physics scales
3.3 Why a Neutrino Factory?
3.4 Pushing the energy frontierComment: 19 pages, 7 figures. Talk presented at the XIX International
Symposium on Lepton and Photon Interactions at High Energies (Lepton-Photon
'99), Stanford University, August 9-14, 199
A novel totivirus and piscine reovirus (PRV) in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) with cardiomyopathy syndrome (CMS)
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cardiomyopathy syndrome (CMS) is a severe disease affecting large farmed Atlantic salmon. Mortality often appears without prior clinical signs, typically shortly prior to slaughter. We recently reported the finding and the complete genomic sequence of a novel piscine reovirus (PRV), which is associated with another cardiac disease in Atlantic salmon; heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI). In the present work we have studied whether PRV or other infectious agents may be involved in the etiology of CMS.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using high throughput sequencing on heart samples from natural outbreaks of CMS and from fish experimentally challenged with material from fish diagnosed with CMS a high number of sequence reads identical to the PRV genome were identified. In addition, a sequence contig from a novel totivirus could also be constructed. Using RT-qPCR, levels of PRV in tissue samples were quantified and the totivirus was detected in all samples tested from CMS fish but not in controls. <it>In situ </it>hybridization supported this pattern indicating a possible association between CMS and the novel piscine totivirus.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Although causality for CMS in Atlantic salmon could not be proven for either of the two viruses, our results are compatible with a hypothesis where, in the experimental challenge studied, PRV behaves as an opportunist whereas the totivirus might be more directly linked with the development of CMS.</p
EUV lines observed with EIS/Hinode in a solar prominence
<b>Context</b>. During a multi-wavelength observation campaign with Hinode and ground-based instruments, a solar prominence was observed for three consecutive days as it crossed the western limb of the Sun in April 2007.<p></p>
<b>Aims.</b> We report on observations obtained on 26 April 2007 using EIS (Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer) on Hinode. They are analysed to provide a qualitative diagnostic of the plasma in different parts of the prominence.<p></p>
<b>Methods</b>. After correcting for instrumental effects, the rasters at different wavelengths are presented. Several regions within the same prominence are identified for further analysis. Selected profiles for lines with formation temperatures between log (T) = 4.7 and log (T) = 6.3, as well as their integrated intensities, are given. The profiles of coronal, transition region, and He ii lines are discussed. We pay special attention to the He ii line, which is blended with coronal lines.<p></p>
<b>Results.</b> Some quantitative results are obtained by analysing the line profiles. They confirm that depression in EUV lines can be interpreted in terms of two mechanisms: absorption of coronal radiation by the hydrogen and neutral helium resonance continua, and emissivity blocking. We present estimates of the He ii line integrated intensity in different parts of the prominence according to different scenarios for the relative contribution of absorption and emissivity blocking to the coronal lines blended with the He ii line. We estimate the contribution of the He ii 256.32 Å line to the He ii raster image to vary between ∼44% and 70% of the raster’s total intensity in the prominence according to the different models used to take into account the blending coronal lines. The inferred integrated intensities of the He ii 256 Å line are consistent with the theoretical intensities obtained with previous 1D non-LTE radiative transfer calculations, yielding a preliminary estimate of the central temperature of 8700 K, a central pressure of 0.33 dyn cm<sup>-2</sup>, and a column mass of 2.5 × 10<sup>-4</sup> g cm<sup>-2</sup>. The corresponding theoretical hydrogen column density (10<sup>20</sup> cm<sup>-2</sup>) is about two orders of magnitude higher than those inferred from the opacity estimates at 195 Å. The non-LTE calculations indicate that the He ii 256.32 Å line is essentially formed in the prominence-to-corona transition region by resonant scattering of the incident radiation.<p></p>
Estimation of solar prominence magnetic fields based on the reconstructed 3D trajectories of prominence knots
We present an estimation of the lower limits of local magnetic fields in
quiescent, activated, and active (surges) promineces, based on reconstructed
3-dimensional (3D) trajectories of individual prominence knots. The 3D
trajectories, velocities, tangential and centripetal accelerations of the knots
were reconstructed using observational data collected with a single
ground-based telescope equipped with a Multi-channel Subtractive Double Pass
imaging spectrograph. Lower limits of magnetic fields channeling observed
plasma flows were estimated under assumption of the equipartition principle.
Assuming approximate electron densities of the plasma n_e = 5*10^{11} cm^{-3}
in surges and n_e = 5*10^{10} cm^{-3} in quiescent/activated prominences, we
found that the magnetic fields channeling two observed surges range from 16 to
40 Gauss, while in quiescent and activated prominences they were less than 10
Gauss. Our results are consistent with previous detections of weak local
magnetic fields in the solar prominences.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures, 1 tabl
Significant Limb-Brightening in the Inner Parsec of Markarian 501
We present three 43 GHz images and a single 86 GHz image of Markarian 501
from VLBA observations in 2005. The 86 GHz image shows a partially resolved
core with a flux density of about 200 mJy and a size of about 300 Schwarzschild
radii, similar to recent results by Giroletti et al. Extreme limb-brightening
is found in the inner parsec of the jet in the 43 GHz images, providing strong
observational support for a `spine-layer' structure at this distance from the
core. The jet is well resolved transverse to its axis, allowing Gaussian model
components to be fit to each limb of the jet. The spine-layer brightness ratio
and relative sizes, the jet opening angle, and a tentative detection of
superluminal motion in the layer are all discussed.Comment: Astrophysical Journal Letters, accepted for January 1, 2009 issu
Sedimentary macrofossil records reveal ecological change in English lakes: implications for conservation
Aquatic macrophytes play a key role in providing habitat, refuge and food for a range of biota in shallow lakes. However, many shallow lakes have experienced declines in macrophyte vegetation in recent decades, principally due to eutrophication. As changes in macrophyte composition and abundance can affect overall ecological structure and function of a lake, an assessment of the timing and nature of such changes is crucial to our understanding of the wider lake ecosystem. In the typical absence of historical plant records, the macro-remains of macrophytes preserved in lake sediments can be used to assess long-term changes in aquatic vegetation. We generated recent (150–200 years) plant macrofossil records for six English lakes subject to conservation protection to define past macrophyte communities, assess trajectories of ecological change and consider the implications of our findings for conservation targets and strategies. The data for all six lakes reveal a diverse submerged macrophyte community, with charophytes as a key component, in the early part of the sedimentary records. The stratigraphies indicate considerable change to the aquatic vegetation over the last two centuries with a general shift towards species more typically associated with eutrophic conditions. A common feature is the decline in abundance of low-growing charophytes and an increase in tall canopy-forming angiosperms such as fine-leaved Potamogeton species, Zannichellia palustris and Callitriche species. We hypothesise, based on findings from long-term datasets and palaeoecological records from enriched shallow lakes where plants are now absent, that the observed shifts provide a warning to managers that the lakes are on a pathway to complete macrophyte loss such that nutrient load reduction is urgently needed. It is the sound understanding of present-day plant ecology that affords such reliable interpretation of the fossil data which, in turn, provide valuable context for current conservation decisions
Prospects for CDM sub-halo detection using high angular resolution observations
In the CDM scenario, dark matter halos are assembled hierarchically from
smaller subunits. A long-standing problem with this picture is that the number
of sub-halos predicted by CDM simulations is orders of magnitudes higher than
the known number of satellite galaxies in the vicinity of the Milky Way. A
plausible way out of this problem could be that the majority of these sub-halos
somehow have so far evaded detection. If such "dark galaxies" do indeed exist,
gravitational lensing may offer one of the most promising ways to detect them.
Dark matter sub-halos in the 1e6 - 1e10 solar mass range should cause strong
gravitational lensing on (sub)milliarcsecond scales. We study the feasibility
of a strong lensing detection of dark sub-halos by deriving the image
separations expected for density profiles favoured by recent simulations and
comparing these to the angular resolution of both existing and upcoming
observational facilities. We find that there is a reasonable probability to
detect sub-halo lensing effects in high resolution observations at radio
wavelengths, such as produced by the upcoming VSOP-2 satellite, and thereby
test the existence of dark galaxies.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, Proceedings for "The Universe under the
Microscope" (AHAR 2008), held in Bad Honnef (Germany) in April 2008, to be
published in Journal of Physics: Conference Series by Institute of Physics
Publishing, R. Schoedel, A. Eckart, S. Pfalzner, and E. Ros (eds.
Selma chondrite
7 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. 7)
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