40 research outputs found
Abelian Hidden Sectors at a GeV
We discuss mechanisms for naturally generating GeV-scale hidden sectors in
the context of weak-scale supersymmetry. Such low mass scales can arise when
hidden sectors are more weakly coupled to supersymmetry breaking than the
visible sector, as happens when supersymmetry breaking is communicated to the
visible sector by gauge interactions under which the hidden sector is
uncharged, or if the hidden sector is sequestered from gravity-mediated
supersymmetry breaking. We study these mechanisms in detail in the context of
gauge and gaugino mediation, and present specific models of Abelian GeV-scale
hidden sectors. In particular, we discuss kinetic mixing of a U(1)_x gauge
force with hypercharge, singlets or bi-fundamentals which couple to both
sectors, and additional loop effects. Finally, we investigate the possible
relevance of such sectors for dark matter phenomenology, as well as for low-
and high-energy collider searches.Comment: 43 pages, no figures; v2: to match JHEP versio
Clusters of galaxies: setting the stage
Clusters of galaxies are self-gravitating systems of mass ~10^14-10^15 Msun.
They consist of dark matter (~80 %), hot diffuse intracluster plasma (< 20 %)
and a small fraction of stars, dust, and cold gas, mostly locked in galaxies.
In most clusters, scaling relations between their properties testify that the
cluster components are in approximate dynamical equilibrium within the cluster
gravitational potential well. However, spatially inhomogeneous thermal and
non-thermal emission of the intracluster medium (ICM), observed in some
clusters in the X-ray and radio bands, and the kinematic and morphological
segregation of galaxies are a signature of non-gravitational processes, ongoing
cluster merging and interactions. In the current bottom-up scenario for the
formation of cosmic structure, clusters are the most massive nodes of the
filamentary large-scale structure of the cosmic web and form by anisotropic and
episodic accretion of mass. In this model of the universe dominated by cold
dark matter, at the present time most baryons are expected to be in a diffuse
component rather than in stars and galaxies; moreover, ~50 % of this diffuse
component has temperature ~0.01-1 keV and permeates the filamentary
distribution of the dark matter. The temperature of this Warm-Hot Intergalactic
Medium (WHIM) increases with the local density and its search in the outer
regions of clusters and lower density regions has been the quest of much recent
observational effort. Over the last thirty years, an impressive coherent
picture of the formation and evolution of cosmic structures has emerged from
the intense interplay between observations, theory and numerical experiments.
Future efforts will continue to test whether this picture keeps being valid,
needs corrections or suffers dramatic failures in its predictive power.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Space Science
Reviews, special issue "Clusters of galaxies: beyond the thermal view",
Editor J.S. Kaastra, Chapter 2; work done by an international team at the
International Space Science Institute (ISSI), Bern, organised by J.S.
Kaastra, A.M. Bykov, S. Schindler & J.A.M. Bleeke
Performance of the EDELWEISS-III experiment for direct dark matter searches
We present the results of measurements demonstrating the efficiency of the EDELWEISS-III array of cryogenic germanium detectors for direct dark matter searches. The experimental setup and the FID (Fully Inter-Digitized) detector array is described, as well as the efficiency of the double measurement of heat and ionization signals in background rejection. For the whole set of 24 FID detectors used for coincidence studies, the baseline resolutions for the fiducial ionization energy are mainly below 0.7 keV (FHWM) whereas the baseline resolutions for heat energies are mainly below 1.5 keV (FWHM). The response to nuclear recoils as well as the very good discrimination capability of the FID design has been measured with an AmBe source. The surface - and -decay rejection power of per at 90% C.L. has been determined with a Pb source, the rejection of bulk -ray events has been demonstrated using -calibrations with Ba sources leading to a value of at 90% C.L.. The current levels of natural radioactivity measured in the detector array are shown as the rate of single background. The fiducial volume fraction of the FID detectors has been measured to a weighted average value of using the cosmogenic activation of the Zn and Ge isotopes. The stability and uniformity of the detector response is also discussed. The achieved resolutions, thresholds and background levels of the upgraded EDELWEISS-III detectors in their setup are thus well suited to the direct search of WIMP dark matter over a large mass range
In situ lactate dehydrogenase patterns as markers of tumour oxygenation
The histochemical patterns of lactate dehydrogenase, LDH, are here proposed as indicators of the local levels of oxygenation of malignant tissue. This parameter has outstanding importance in determining the tumour aggressiveness and response to treatment. The tetrazolium salt reaction previously proposed for the mapping of hypoxia has been improved by the use of polyvinyl alcohol as a tissue stabilizer. The intracellular coloured products of this reaction appear in two distinct forms, diffuse and granular, which we previously postulated to be indicative of LDH isoenzymes soluble and bound, respectively. Solubility is promoted by H-LDH subunits preferentially synthesized under good oxygenation; binding to membranes is favoured by the presence of M-LDH subunits preferentially active under poor oxygeneration. A reversible shift between the two forms apparently regulates the cells' metabolic adaptation to different stress situations. We assume that the anoxic shock protein LDHk exists exclusively in the bound form. In the Ehrlich carcinoma model previously employed, we verify a drift towards the exclusive presence of the granular form as the section's depth increases and/or when the cuff width decreases. This trend is ascribed to a progressive worsening of the local oxygenation levels. At the tumour interface, a chronic inflammatory tissue (notoriously highly hypoxic) is characterized by a granular LDH activity. New models of hypoxia are proposed and discussed for explaining the patterns here described and observed also in other studies, namely those derived from hyperviscosaemia, damaged endothelia, fibrosis, anaemia, poor ventilation and impaired cardio-vascular system