18,296 research outputs found
On the Evidence for Axion-like Particles from Active Galactic Nuclei
Burrage, Davis, and Shaw recently suggested exploiting the correlations
between high and low energy luminosities of astrophysical objects to probe
possible mixing between photons and axion-like particles (ALP) in magnetic
field regions. They also presented evidence for the existence of ALP's by
analyzing the optical/UV and X-ray monochromatic luminosities of AGNs. We
extend their work by using the monochromatic luminosities of 320 unobscured
Active Galactic Nuclei from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey/Xmm-Newton Quasar
Survey (Young et al., 2009), which allows the exploration of 18 different
combinations of optical/UV and X-ray monochromatic luminosities. However, we do
not find compelling evidence for the existence of ALPs. Moreover, it appears
that the signal reported by Burrage et al. is more likely due to X-ray
absorption rather than to photon-ALP oscillation.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures. Updated to reflect the minor changes introduced
in the published versio
Magnetic susceptibility of vanadium carbide
Magnetic susceptibility of vanadium carbide from 77 to 300 K measured by magnetomete
New limits for neutrinoless tau decays
Neutrinoless 3-prong tau lepton decays into a charged lepton and either two charged particles or one neutral meson have been searched for using 4.79 fb-1 of data collected with the CLEO II detector at Cornell Electron Storage Ring. This analysis represents an update of a previous study and the addition of six decay channels. In all channels the numbers of events found are compatible with background estimates and branching fraction upper limits are set for 28 different decay modes. These limits are either more stringent than those set previously or represent the first attempt to find these decays
Investigation of laser dynamics, modulation and control by means of intra-cavity time varying perturbation
The generation of tunable visible, infrared, and ultraviolet light is examined, along with the control of this light by means of novel mode-locking and modulation techniques. Transient mode-locking of the Nd:YAG laser and generation of short tunable pulses in the visible and the alkali metal inert gas excimer laser systems were investigated. Techniques for frequency conversion of high power and high energy laser radiation are discussed, along with high average power blue and UV laser light sources
On the Conditions for Neutron-Rich Gamma-Ray Burst Outflows
We calculate the structure and neutron content of neutrino-heated MHD winds
driven from the surface of newly-formed magnetars (``proto-magnetars'') and
from the midplane of hyper-accreting disks, two of the possible central engines
for gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and hyper-energetic supernovae (SNe). Both the
surface of proto-magnetars and the midplane of neutrino-cooled accretion flows
(NDAFs) are electron degenerate and neutron-rich (neutron-to-proton ratio n/p
>> 1). If this substantial free neutron excess is preserved to large radii in
ultra-relativistic outflows, several important observational consequences may
result. Weak interaction processes, however, can drive n/p to ~1 in the
nondegenerate regions that obtain just above the surfaces of NDAFs and
proto-magnetars. Our calculations show that mildly relativistic neutron-rich
outflows from NDAFs are possible in the presence of a strong poloidal magnetic
field. However, we find that neutron-rich winds possess a minimum mass-loss
rate that likely precludes simultaneously neutron-rich and ultra-relativistic
(Lorentz factor > 100) NDAF winds accompanying a substantial accretion power.
In contrast, proto-magnetars are capable of producing neutron-rich
long-duration GRB outflows ~10-30 seconds following core bounce for
sub-millisecond rotation periods; such outflows would, however, accompany only
extremely energetic events, in which the GRB + SN energy budget exceeds ~ 4e52
ergs. Neutron-rich highly relativistic outflows may also be produced during
some short-duration GRBs by geometrically thick accretion disks formed from
compact object mergers. The implications for r-process nucleosynthesis, optical
transients due to non-relativistic neutron-rich winds, and Nickel production in
proto-magnetar and NDAF winds are also briefly discussed.Comment: 24 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Ap
Local Duality Predictions for x ~ 1 Structure Functions
Recent data on the proton F_2 structure function in the resonance region
suggest that local quark-hadron duality works remarkably well for each of the
low-lying resonances, including the elastic, to rather low values of Q^2. We
derive model-independent relations between structure functions at x ~ 1 and
elastic electromagnetic form factors, and predict the x -> 1 behavior of
nucleon polarization asymmetries and the neutron to proton structure function
ratios from available data on nucleon electric and magnetic form factors.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, typos in Eq. (2) correcte
Multiwaveband Observations of Quasars with Flat Radio Spectra and Strong Millimeter Emission
We present multiwaveband observations of a well selected sample of 28 quasars
and two radio galaxies with flat radio spectra and strong millimeter wave
emission (referred to here as FSRQ's). The observations include multifrequency
VLBI measurements, X-ray observations with ROSAT and submillimeter observations
with the JCMT. Particularly interesting among many findings is a correlation
between the X-ray to millimeter spectral index and fraction of flux density
contained in the VLBI core. This tendency toward higher X-ray fluxes from
sources with stronger jet emission implies that the knots in the jet are the
prominent source of X-rays.Comment: 38 pages, 17 figures, 12 tables, accepted for publication in Ap J
Suppl, May 199
Plant evolution can mediate negative effects from honey bees on wild pollinators
Pollinators are introduced to agroecosystems to provide pollination services. Introductions of managed pollinators often promote ecosystem services, but it remains largely unknown whether they also affect evolutionary mutualisms between wild pollinators and plants.
Here, we developed a model to assess effects of managed honey bees on mutualisms between plants and wild pollinators. Our model tracked how interactions among wild pollinators and honey bees affected pollinator and plant populations.
We show that when managed honey bees have a competitive advantage over wild pollinators, or a greater carrying capacity, the honey bees displace the wild pollinator. This leads to reduced plant density because plants benefit less by visits from honey bees than wild pollinators that coevolved with the plants.
As wild pollinators are displaced, plants evolve by increasing investment in traits that are attractive for honey bees but not wild pollinators. This evolutionary switch promotes wild pollinator displacement. However, higher mutualism investment costs by the plant to the honey bee can promote pollinator coexistence.
Our results show plant evolution can promote displacement of wild pollinators by managed honey bees, while limited plant evolution may lead to pollinator coexistence. More broadly, effects of honey bees on wild pollinators in agroecosystems, and effects on ecosystem services, may depend on the capacity of plant populations to evolve
Limits on axion and light Higgs boson production in Y(1S) decays
We have searched for axion and light Higgs boson production in the channel Y(1S) → (a0 or h0)+gamma, where the non-interacting axion a0 and the Higgs boson h0 do not decay in the detector. We find no evidence for an axion and give an upper limit, Br(Y(1S) -> a0 gamma) <4.0x10(-5) (90% CL), for long-lived axions. Combining our limit with the previous search in J/Psi decays, we are able to rule out the axion in the standard model with first order QCD corrections. Our Y(1S) data also rule out a Higgs boson with mass m<86 MeV
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