1,351 research outputs found
Prospects For Identifying Dark Matter With CoGeNT
It has previously been shown that the excess of events reported by the CoGeNT
collaboration could be generated by elastically scattering dark matter
particles with a mass of approximately 5-15 GeV. This mass range is very
similar to that required to generate the annual modulation observed by
DAMA/LIBRA and the gamma rays from the region surrounding the Galactic Center
identified within the data of the Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope. To
confidently conclude that CoGeNT's excess is the result of dark matter,
however, further data will likely be needed. In this paper, we make projections
for the first full year of CoGeNT data, and for its planned upgrade. Not only
will this body of data more accurately constrain the spectrum of nuclear recoil
events, and corresponding dark matter parameter space, but will also make it
possible to identify seasonal variations in the rate. In particular, if the
CoGeNT excess is the product of dark matter, then one year of CoGeNT data will
likely reveal an annual modulation with a significance of 2-3. The
planned CoGeNT upgrade will not only detect such an annual modulation with high
significance, but will be capable of measuring the energy spectrum of the
modulation amplitude. These measurements will be essential to irrefutably
confirming a dark matter origin of these events.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
Rigidité artérielle mesurée par pOpmètre® chez les patients à risque cardiovasculaire, lien aux plaques d’athérome carotidien
PURPOSE:
Aortic stiffness is a functional and structural consequence of ageing and arteriosclerosis. Regional arterial stiffness can be easily evaluated using pOpmetre(®) (Axelife SAS, France). This new technique assesses the pulse wave transit time (TT) between the finger (TTf) and the toe (TTt). Based on height chart, regional pulse wave velocity (PWV) between the toe and the finger can be estimated (PWVtf). pOpscore(®) index is also calculated as the ratio between PWVtoe and PWVfinger and can be considered as a peripheral vascular stiffness index. The aim of the study was to evaluate the relationship between pOpmetre(®) indices and the presence of carotid plaques in a population with cardiovascular risk factors.
METHODS:
In 77 consecutive patients recruited for a vascular screening for atherosclerosis (46 men aged 54 ± 2 years; 31 women aged 49 ± 3 years; ns), the difference between TTt and TTf (called Dt-f), the regional pulse wave velocity between the toe and the finger (PWVtf = constant × height/Dt-fm/s) and pOpscore(®) were measured by pOpmetre(®). Presence of carotid plaques was assessed using ultrasound imaging. The local aortic stiffness (AoStiff) was evaluated by the Physioflow(®) system.
RESULTS:
No difference was found between patients with or without carotid plaques (n=25 versus 52) for Ankle-Brachial Pressure Index (ABPI: 1.15 ± 0.04 versus 1.12 ± 0.03), nor for diastolic or systolic blood pressure (87 ± 3 versus 82 ± 2; 137 ± 3 versus 132 ± 2 mmHg). The first group was older than the second (59 ± 2 versus 49 ± 2 years, P<0.002) with a larger intimae media thickness (0.69 ± 0.02 versus 0.63 ± 0.01 mm, P<0.004), a higher AoStiff (10.4 ± 0.7 versus 8.2 ± 0.5m/s, P<0.02), and PWVtf (14.3 ± 1.0 versus 10.7 ± 0.7 m/s, P<0.004) and a shorter Dt-f (57.9 ± 5.1 versus 73.5 ± 3.5 ms, P<0.01). PWVtf (r(2)=0.49, P<0.0001) and Dt-f (r(2)=0.54, P<0.0001) correlated with age. A significant difference in pOpscore(®) index was observed between both groups (1.51 ± 0.3 versus 1.41 ± 0.2, P<0.006).
CONCLUSION:
Our results show a significant arterial stiffness indices measured by pOpmetre(®) in patients with and without carotid plaques
Prospects of cold dark matter searches with an ultra-low-energy germanium detector
The report describes the research program on the development of
ultra-low-energy germanium detectors, with emphasis on WIMP dark matter
searches. A threshold of 100 eV is achieved with a 20 g detector array,
providing a unique probe to the low-mas WIMP. Present data at a surface
laboratory is expected to give rise to comparable sensitivities with the
existing limits at the WIMP-mass range. The projected
parameter space to be probed with a full-scale, kilogram mass-range experiment
is presented. Such a detector would also allow the studies of neutrino-nucleus
coherent scattering and neutrino magnetic moments.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures, Proceedings of TAUP-2007 Conferenc
Signal modeling of high-purity Ge detectors with a small read-out electrode and application to neutrinoless double beta decay search in Ge-76
The GERDA experiment searches for the neutrinoless double beta decay of Ge-76
using high-purity germanium detectors enriched in Ge-76. The analysis of the
signal time structure provides a powerful tool to identify neutrinoless double
beta decay events and to discriminate them from gamma-ray induced backgrounds.
Enhanced pulse shape discrimination capabilities of "Broad Energy Germanium"
detectors with a small read-out electrode have been recently reported. This
paper describes the full simulation of the response of such a detector,
including the Monte Carlo modeling of radiation interaction and subsequent
signal shape calculation. A pulse shape discrimination method based on the
ratio between the maximum current signal amplitude and the event energy applied
to the simulated data shows quantitative agreement with the experimental data
acquired with calibration sources. The simulation has been used to study the
survival probabilities of the decays which occur inside the detector volume and
are difficult to assess experimentally. Such internal decay events are produced
by the cosmogenic radio-isotopes Ge-68 and Co-60 and the neutrinoless double
beta decay of Ge-76. Fixing the experimental acceptance of the double escape
peak of the 2.614 MeV photon to 90%, the estimated survival probabilities at
Qbb = 2.039 MeV are (86+-3)% for Ge-76 neutrinoless double beta decays,
(4.5+-0.3)% for the Ge-68 daughter Ga-68, and (0.9+0.4-0.2)% for Co-60 decays.Comment: 27 pages, 17 figures. v2: fixed typos and references. Submitted to
JINS
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