Coherent π0 photoproduction on the deuteron up to 4 GeV

The differential cross section for 2H(γ,d)π0 has been measured at deuteron center-of-mass angles of 90° and 136°. This work reports the first data for this reaction above a photon energy of 1 GeV, and permits a test of the apparent constituent counting rule and reduced nuclear amplitude behavior as observed in elastic ed scattering. Measurements were performed up to a photon energy of 4.0 GeV, and are in good agreement with previous lower energy measurements. Overall, the data are inconsistent with both constituent-counting rule and reduced nuclear amplitude predictions

Measurements of Deuteron Photodisintegration up to 4.0 GeV

The first measurements of the differential cross section for the d(γ,p)n reaction up to 4.0 GeV were performed at the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) at Thomas Jefferson Laboratory. We report the cross sections at the proton center-of-mass angles of 36°, 52°, 69°, and 89°. These results are in reasonable agreement with previous measurements at lower energy. The 89° and 69° data show constituent-counting-rule behavior up to 4.0 GeV photon energy. The 52° and 36° data disagree with the counting-rule behavior. The quantum chromodynamics (QCD) model of nuclear reactions involving reduced amplitudes disagrees with the present data.U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundatio

Search for patterns by combining cosmic-ray energy and arrival directions at the Pierre Auger Observatory

Energy-dependent patterns in the arrival directions of cosmic rays are searched for using data of the Pierre Auger Observatory. We investigate local regions around the highest-energy cosmic rays with E > = 6×1019 eV by analyzing cosmic rays with energies above E > = 5×1018 eV arriving within an angular separation of approximately 15°. We characterize the energy distributions inside these regions by two independent methods, one searching for angular dependence of energy-energy correlations and one searching for collimation of energy along the local system of principal axes of the energy distribution. No significant patterns are found with this analysis. The comparison of these measurements with astrophysical scenarios can therefore be used to obtain constraints on related model parameters such as strength of cosmic-ray deflection and density of point sources

Latent-transforming growth factor beta-binding protein-2 (LTBP-2) is required for longevity but not for development of zonular fibers

Latent-transforming growth factor beta-binding protein 2 (LTBP-2) is a major component of arterial and lung tissue and of the ciliary zonule, the system of extracellular fibers that centers and suspends the lens in the eye. LTBP-2 has been implicated previously in the development of extracellular microfibrils, although its exact role remains unclear. Here, we analyzed the three-dimensional structure of the ciliary zonule in wild type mice and used a knockout model to test the contribution of LTBP-2 to zonule structure and mechanical properties. In wild types, zonular fibers had diameters of 0.5–1.0 micrometers, with an outer layer of fibrillin-1-rich microfibrils and a core of fibrillin-2-rich microfibrils. LTBP-2 was present in both layers. The absence of LTBP-2 did not affect the number of fibers, their diameters, nor their coaxial organization. However, by two months of age, LTBP-2-depleted fibers began to rupture, and by six months, a fully penetrant ectopia lentis phenotype was present, as confirmed by in vivo imaging. To determine whether the seemingly normal fibers of young mice were compromised mechanically, we compared zonule stress/strain relationships of wild type and LTBP-2-deficient mice and developed a quasi-linear viscoelastic engineering model to analyze the resulting data. In the absence of LTBP-2, the ultimate tensile strength of the zonule was reduced by about 50%, and the viscoelastic behavior of the fibers was altered significantly. We developed a harmonic oscillator model to calculate the forces generated during saccadic eye movement. Model simulations suggested that mutant fibers are prone to failure during rapid rotation of the eyeball. Together, these data indicate that LTBP-2 is necessary for the strength and longevity of zonular fibers, but not necessarily for their formation.Y. Shi, W. Jones, W. Beatty, Q. Tan, R.P. Mecham, H. Kumra, D.P. Reinhardt, M.A. Gibson, M.A. Reilly, J. Rodriguez and S. Bassnet

Very low mass stellar and substellar companions to solar-like stars from MARVELS. II. A short-period companios orbiting an F star with evidence of a stellar tertiary and significant mutual inclination

We report the discovery via radial velocity (RV) measurements of a short-period (P = 2.430420±0.000006 days) companion to the F-type main-sequence star TYC 2930-00872-1. A long-term trend in the RV data also suggests the presence of a tertiary stellar companion with P > 2000 days. High-resolution spectroscopy of the host star yields Teff = 6427 ± 33 K, log g = 4.52 ± 0.14, and [Fe/H] = −0.04 ± 0.05. These parameters, combined with the broadband spectral energy distribution (SED) and a parallax, allow us to infer a mass and radius of the host star of M1 = 1.21 ± 0.08 M and R1 = 1.09+0.15 −0.13 R . The minimum mass of the inner companion is below the hydrogen-burning limit; however, the true mass is likely to be substantially higher. We are able to exclude transits of the inner companion with high confidence. Further, the host star spectrum exhibits a clear signature of Ca H and K core emission, indicating stellar activity, but a lack of photometric variability and small v sin I suggest that the primary’s spin axis is oriented in a pole-on configuration. The rotational period of the primary estimated through an activity–rotation relation matches the orbital period of the inner companion to within 1.5 σ, suggesting that the primary and inner companion are tidally locked. If the inner companion’s orbital angular momentum vector is aligned with the stellar spin axis as expected through tidal evolution, then it has a stellar mass of ∼0.3–0.4 M . Direct imaging limits the existence of stellar companions to projected separations <30 AU. No set of spectral lines and no significant flux contribution to the SED from either companion are detected, which places individual upper mass limits of M{2,3} 1.0 M , provided they are not stellar remnants. If the tertiary is not a stellar remnant, then it likely has a mass of ∼0.5–0.6M , and its orbit is likely significantly inclined from that of the secondary, suggesting that the Kozai–Lidov mechanism may have driven the dynamical evolution of this system