3,024 research outputs found
Kinetic decoupling of neutralino dark matter
After neutralinos cease annihilating in the early Universe, they may still
scatter elastically from other particles in the primordial plasma. At some
point in time, however, they will eventually stop scattering. We calculate the
cross sections for neutralino elastic scattering from standard-model particles
to determine the time at which this kinetic decoupling occurs. We show that
kinetic decoupling occurs above a temperature MeV. Thereafter,
neutralinos act as collisionless cold dark matter.Comment: Replaced with revised version, new references adde
Why Full Open Access Matters
This perspective explains the mechanics of copyright and scholarly publishing and warns authors who support open-access publishing about a new pseudo open-access publishing model in which authors pay but publishers still retain commercial reuse rights
Microscopic calculation of 6Li elastic and transition form factors
Variational Monte Carlo wave functions, obtained from a realistic Hamiltonian
consisting of the Argonne v18 two-nucleon and Urbana-IX three-nucleon
interactions, are used to calculate the 6Li ground-state longitudinal and
transverse form factors as well as transition form factors to the first four
excited states. The charge and current operators include one- and two-body
components, leading terms of which are constructed consistently with the
two-nucleon interaction. The calculated form factors and radiative widths are
in good agreement with available experimental data.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, REVTeX, submitted to Physical Review Letters,
with updated introduction and reference
The Abundance of New Kind of Dark Matter Structures
A new kind of dark matter structures, ultracompact minihalos (UCMHs) was
proposed recently. They would be formed during the radiation dominated epoch if
the large density perturbations are existent. Moreover, if the dark matter is
made up of weakly interacting massive particles, the UCMHs can have effect on
cosmological evolution because of the high density and dark matter annihilation
within them. In this paper, one new parameter is introduced to consider the
contributions of UCMHs due to the dark matter annihilation to the evolution of
cosmology, and we use the current and future CMB observations to obtain the
constraint on the new parameter and then the abundance of UCMHs. The final
results are applicable for a wider range of dark matter parametersComment: 4 pages, 1 tabl
Gravitational lensing of the farthest known supernova SN1997ff
We investigate the effects of gravitational lensing due to intervening
galaxies on the recently discovered Type Ia supernova at z=1.7, SN1997ff, in
the Hubble Deep Field North. We find that it is possible to obtain a wide range
of magnifications by varying the mass and/or the velocity dispersion
normalization of the lensing galaxies. In order to be able to use SN1997ff to
constrain the redshift-distance relation, very detailed modeling of the
galaxies to control the systematic effects from lensing is necessary. Thus we
argue, that based on our current limited knowledge of the lensing galaxies, it
is difficult to use SN1997ff to constrain the values of Omega_M and
Omega_Lambda, or even to place severe limits on grey dust obscuration or
luminosity evolution of Type Ia supernovae.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, minor revisions after bug fix, conclusions remain
unchange
Degenerate Fermi gas perturbations at standard background cosmology
The hypothesis of a tiny fraction of the cosmic inventory evolving
cosmologically as a degenerate Fermi gas test fluid at some dominant
cosmological background is investigated. Our analytical results allow for
performing preliminary computations to the evolution of perturbations for
relativistic and non-relativistic test fluids. The density fluctuation,
, the fluid velocity divergence, , and an explicit expression
for the dynamics of the shear stress, , are obtained for a degenerate
Fermi gas in the background regime of radiation. Extensions to the dominance of
matter and to the CDM cosmological background are also investigated
and lessons concerning the formation of large structures of degenerate Fermi
gas are depicted.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figure
A general condition of inflationary cosmology on trans-Planckian physics
We consider a more general initial condition satisfying the minimal
uncertainty relationship. We calculate the power spectrum of a simple model in
inflationary cosmology. The results depend on perturbations generated below a
fundamental scale, e.g. the Planck scale.Comment: 7 pages, References adde
Warped Radion Dark Matter
Warped scenarios offer an appealing solution to the hierarchy problem. We
consider a non-trivial deformation of the basic Randall-Sundrum framework that
has a KK-parity symmetry. This leads to a stable particle beyond the Standard
Model, that is generically expected to be the first KK-parity odd excitation of
the radion field. We consider the viability of the KK-radion as a DM candidate
in the context of thermal and non-thermal production in the early universe. In
the thermal case, the KK-radion can account for the observed DM density when
the radion decay constant is in the natural multi-TeV range. We also explore
the effects of coannihilations with the first KK excitation of the RH top, as
well as the effects of radion-Higgs mixing, which imply mixing between the
KK-radion and a KK-Higgs (both being KK-parity odd). The non-thermal scenario,
with a high radion decay constant, can also lead to a viable scenario provided
the reheat temperature and the radion decay constant take appropriate values,
although the reheat temperature should not be much higher than the TeV scale.
Direct detection is found to be feasible if the DM has a small (KK-parity odd)
Higgs admixture. Indirect detection via a photon signal from the galactic
center is an interesting possibility, while the positron and neutrino fluxes
from KK-radion annihilations are expected to be rather small. Colliders can
probe characteristic aspects of the DM sector of warped scenarios with
KK-parity, such as the degeneracy between the radion and the KK-radion (DM)
modes.Comment: 43 pages, 16 figures; added reference
Neutrino Telescopes' Sensitivity to Dark Matter
The nature of the dark matter of the Universe is yet unknown and most likely
is connected with new physics. The search for its composition is under way
through direct and indirect detection. Fundamental physical aspects such as
energy threshold, geometry and location are taken into account to investigate
proposed neutrino telescopes of km^3 volume sensitivities to dark matter. These
sensitivities are just sufficient to test a few WIMP scenarios. Telescopes of
km^3 volume, such as IceCube, can definitely discover or exclude superheavy (M
> 10^10 GeV) Strong Interacting Massive Particles (Simpzillas). Smaller
neutrino telescopes such as ANTARES, AMANDA-II and NESTOR can probe a large
region of the Simpzilla parameter space.Comment: 28 pages, 9 figure
A Comparison of Maize Stalk Rot Occurrence in Bt and Non-Bt Hybrids
Stalk rots, caused by a complex of fungal species, are among the most widespread and destructive diseases of maize. Larvae of the European corn borer (ECB) (Ostrinia nubilalis) promote stalk rot development by creating entry points for fungi, serving as vectors of pathogens, and causing physiological stress that may predispose plants to stalk decay. Field experiments were conducted in 1998, 1999, and 2000 to determine whether the use of transgenic Bt hybrids expressing insecticidal proteins would influence stalk rot symptoms (pith disintegration, pith discoloration, and lodging). Five hybrids representing different Bt types (or âBt eventsâ) (176, BT11, MON810, DBT418, and CBH351) were paired with their near-isogenic, non-Bt counterparts and subjected to treatments of manual and natural infestation with ECB larvae. Manual infestation resulted in significantly more ECB tunneling than natural infestation in 1998 and 1999 and significantly more lodging in 1998. There were significant linear correlations between ECB injury and stalk rot symptoms in non-Bt hybrids in 1998 and 1999, but not in 2000. A standard foliar insecticide treatment for ECB did not significantly affect stalk rot symptoms. In 1998, Bt hybrids had significantly less ECB tunneling, stalk discoloration, pith disintegration, and lodging compared with non-Bt hybrids, but these effects depended upon the Bt event and the infestation treatment. Similar but less pronounced effects of Bt events were observed in 1999. The 2000 results were more variable; the amount of pith disintegration was significantly lower but discoloration was significantly higher in the BT11 hybrid compared with its non-Bt counterpart, and the amount of lodging was significantly higher in the event 176 hybrid compared with its non-Bt counterpart. The ratio of stalk strength to grain weight did not consistently differ between Bt and non-Bt hybrids. These results indicate that, although specific Bt events in some years may cause reductions in stalk rot, the overall effect of Bt transformation on stalk rot occurrence is highly variable
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