Neutrino Interferometry In Curved Spacetime

Gravitational lensing introduces the possibility of multiple (macroscopic) paths from an astrophysical neutrino source to a detector. Such a multiplicity of paths can allow for quantum mechanical interference to take place that is qualitatively different to neutrino oscillations in flat space. After an illustrative example clarifying some under-appreciated subtleties of the phase calculation, we derive the form of the quantum mechanical phase for a neutrino mass eigenstate propagating non-radially through a Schwarzschild metric. We subsequently determine the form of the interference pattern seen at a detector. We show that the neutrino signal from a supernova could exhibit the interference effects we discuss were it lensed by an object in a suitable mass range. We finally conclude, however, that -- given current neutrino detector technology -- the probability of such lensing occurring for a (neutrino-detectable) supernova is tiny in the immediate future.Comment: 25 pages, 1 .eps figure. Updated version -- with simplified notation -- accepted for publication in Phys.Rev.D. Extra author adde

Jamming at Zero Temperature and Zero Applied Stress: the Epitome of Disorder

We have studied how 2- and 3- dimensional systems made up of particles interacting with finite range, repulsive potentials jam (i.e., develop a yield stress in a disordered state) at zero temperature and applied stress. For each configuration, there is a unique jamming threshold, $\phi_c$, at which particles can no longer avoid each other and the bulk and shear moduli simultaneously become non-zero. The distribution of $\phi_c$ values becomes narrower as the system size increases, so that essentially all configurations jam at the same $\phi$ in the thermodynamic limit. This packing fraction corresponds to the previously measured value for random close-packing. In fact, our results provide a well-defined meaning for "random close-packing" in terms of the fraction of all phase space with inherent structures that jam. The jamming threshold, Point J, occurring at zero temperature and applied stress and at the random close-packing density, has properties reminiscent of an ordinary critical point. As Point J is approached from higher packing fractions, power-law scaling is found for many quantities. Moreover, near Point J, certain quantities no longer self-average, suggesting the existence of a length scale that diverges at J. However, Point J also differs from an ordinary critical point: the scaling exponents do not depend on dimension but do depend on the interparticle potential. Finally, as Point J is approached from high packing fractions, the density of vibrational states develops a large excess of low-frequency modes. All of these results suggest that Point J may control behavior in its vicinity-perhaps even at the glass transition.Comment: 21 pages, 20 figure

Lepton Flavor Non-Conservation

In the present work we review the most prominent lepton flavor violating processes (\mu \ra e\gamma, \mu \ra 3e, $(\mu , e)$ conversion, $M-\bar M$ oscillations etc), in the context of unified gauge theories. Many currently fashionable extensions of the standard model are considered, such as: {\it i)} extensions of the fermion sector (right-handed neutrino); {\it ii)} minimal extensions involving additional Higgs scalars (more than one isodoublets, singly and doubly charged isosinglets, isotriplets with doubly charged members etc.); {\it iii)} supersymmetric or superstring inspired unified models emphasizing the implications of the renormalization group equations in the leptonic sector. Special attention is given to the experimentaly most interesting $(\mu - e)$ conversion in the presence of nuclei. The relevant nuclear aspects of the amplitudes are discussed in a number of fashionable nuclear models. The main features of the relevant experiments are also discussed, and detailed predictions of the above models are compared to the present experimental limits.Comment: (IOA-300/93, review article, 83p, 6 epsf figures , available upon request from [email protected])

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157: H7 from healthy dairy cattle in Mid-West Brazil: occurrence and molecular characterization

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) serotype O157:H7 represents the major Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) strain related to large outbreaks and severe diseases such as hemorrhagic colitis (HC) and the potentially lethal hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). The aim of this study was to report the occurrence and molecular characterization of O157:H7 isolates obtained by rectal swab from 52 healthy dairy cattle belonging to 21 farms in Mid-West of Brazil. Detection of 16SrRNA, stx1, stx2, rfbO157, fliCh7, eae, ehxA, saa, cnf1, chuA, yjaA and TSPE4.C2 genes was performed by PCR. The isolates were further characterized by serotyping. Two hundred and sixty E. coli isolates were obtained, of which 126 were characterized as STEC. Two isolates from the same cow were identified as serotype O157:H7. Both isolates presented the stx2, eae, ehxA, saa and cnf1 virulence factor genes and the chuA gene in the phylogenetic classification (virulent group D), suggesting that they were clones. The prevalence of O157:H7 was found to be 1.92% (1/52 animals), demonstrating that healthy dairy cattle from farms in the Mid-West of Brazil are an important reservoir for highly pathogenic E. coli O157:H7

Anomalous accelerations in spacecraft flybys of the Earth

[EN] The flyby anomaly is a persistent riddle in astrodynamics. Orbital analysis in several flybys of the Earth since the Galileo spacecraft flyby of the Earth in 1990 have shown that the asymptotic post-encounter velocity exhibits a difference with the initial velocity that cannot be attributed to conventional effects. To elucidate its origin, we have developed an orbital program for analyzing the trajectory of the spacecraft in the vicinity of the perigee, including both the Sun and the Moon¿s tidal perturbations and the geopotential zonal, tesseral and sectorial harmonics provided by the EGM96 model. The magnitude and direction of the anomalous acceleration acting upon the spacecraft can be estimated from the orbital determination program by comparing with the trajectories fitted to telemetry data as provided by the mission teams. This acceleration amounts to a fraction of a mm/s2 and decays very fast with altitude. The possibility of some new physics of gravity in the altitude range for spacecraft flybys is discussed.Acedo Rodríguez, L. (2017). Anomalous accelerations in spacecraft flybys of the Earth. Astrophysics and Space Science. 362(12):1-15. doi:10.1007/s10509-017-3205-xS11536212Acedo, L.: Galaxies 3, 113 (2015)Acedo, L.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 463(2), 2119 (2016)Acedo, L.: Adv. Space Res. 59(7), 1715 (2017). 1701.06939Acedo, L., Bel, L.: Astron. Nachr. 338(1), 117 (2017). 1602.03669Adler, S.L.: Int. J. Mod. Phys. A 25, 4577 (2010). 0908.2414 . doi: 10.1142/S0217751X10050706Adler, S.L.: In: Proceedings of the Conference in Honour of Murray Gellimann’s 80th Birthday, p. 352 (2011). doi: 10.1142/9789814335614_0032Anderson, J.D., Nieto, M.M.: In: Klioner, S.A., Seidelmann, P.K., Soffel, M.H. (eds.) Relativity in Fundamental Astronomy: Dynamics, Reference Frames, and Data Analysis. IAU Symposium, vol. 261, p. 189 (2010). doi: 10.1017/S1743921309990378Anderson, J.D., Laing, P.A., Lau, E.L., Liu, A.S., Nieto, M.M., Turyshev, S.G.: Phys. Rev. Lett. 81(14), 2858 (1998). gr-qc/0104064 . doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.81.2858Anderson, J.D., Laing, P.A., Lau, E.L., Liu, A.S., Nieto, M.M., Turyshev, S.G.: Phys. Rev. D 65(8), 082004 (2002). gr-qc/0104064 . doi: 10.1103/PhysRevD.65.082004Anderson, J.D., Campbell, J.K., Ekelund, J.E., Ellis, J., Jordan, J.F.: Phys. Rev. Lett. 100(9), 091102 (2008). doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.091102Atchison, J.A., Peck, M.A.: J. Guid. Control Dyn. 33, 1115 (2010). doi: 10.2514/1.47413Bertolami, O., Francisco, F., Gil, P.J.S.: Class. Quantum Gravity 33(12), 125021 (2016). 1507.08457 . doi: 10.1088/0264-9381/33/12/125021Bolton, S.J., Adriani, A., Adumitroaie, V., Allison, M., Anderson, J., Atreya, S., Bloxham, J., Brown, S., Connerney, J.E.P., DeJong, E., Folkner, W., Gautier, D., Grassi, D., Gulkis, S., Guillot, T., Hansen, C., Hubbard, W.B., Iess, L., Ingersoll, A., Janssen, M., Jorgensen, J., Kaspi, Y., Levin, S.M., Li, C., Lunine, J., Miguel, Y., Mura, A., Orton, G., Owen, T., Ravine, M., Smith, E., Steffes, P., Stone, E., Stevenson, D., Thorne, R., Waite, J., Durante, D., Ebert, R.W., Greathouse, T.K., Hue, V., Parisi, M., Szalay, J.R., Wilson, R.: Science 356, 821 (2017). doi: 10.1126/science.aal2108Cahill, R.T.: ArXiv e-prints (2008). 0804.0039Chamberlin, A., Yeomans, D., Giorgini, J., Chodas, P.: Horizons Ephemeris System (2016). http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.cgi . Accessed: 2016-10-27Chao, B.F.: C. R. Géosci. 338, 1123 (2006). doi: 10.1016/j.crte.2006.09.014Coddington, E., Levinson, N.: McGraw-Hill, New York (1955)Debono, I., Smoot, G.F.: Universe 2(4), 23 (2016). doi: 10.3390/universe2040023Desai, S.D.: J. Geophys. Res., Oceans 107(C11), 7 (2002). 3186. doi: 10.1029/2001JC001224Dickey, J.O., Bender, P.L., Faller, J.E., Newhall, X.X., Ricklefs, R.L., Ries, J.G., Shelus, P.J., Veillet, C., Whipple, A.L., Wiant, J.R., Williams, J.G., Yoder, C.F.: Science 265, 482 (1994). doi: 10.1126/science.265.5171.482Dyson, F.W., Eddington, A.S., Davidson, C.: Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., Ser. A 220, 291 (1920). doi: 10.1098/rsta.1920.0009Everitt, C.W.F., et al.: Phys. Rev. Lett. 221101(106) (2011)Feng, J.L., Fornal, B., Galon, I., Gardner, S., Smolinsky, J., Tait, T.M.P., Tanedo, P.: Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 071803 (2016). 1604.07411 . doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.071803Folkner, W.M., Williams, J.G., Boggs, D.H., Park, R.S., Kuchynka, P.: IPN Prog. Rep. 42(196) (2014)Fornberg, B.: Math. Comput. 51(184), 699 (1988). doi: 10.1090/S0025-5718-1988-0935077-0Franklin, A., Fischback, E.: The Rise and Fall of the Fifth Force. Discovery, Pursuit, and Justification in Modern Physics, second edition. Springer, New York (2016)Giorgini, J.D.: Personal communication (2015)Hackmann, E., Laemmerzahl, C.: In: 38th COSPAR Scientific Assembly. COSPAR Meeting, vol. 38, p. 3 (2010)Hafele, J.C.: ArXiv e-prints (2009). 0904.0383ICGEM: International Center for Global Gravity Field Models. http://icgem.gfz-potsdam.de/tom_longtimeIERS: In: Petit, G., Luzum, B. (eds.) IERS Conventions (2010), p. 1. Verlag des Bundesamts für Kartographie und Geodäsie, Frankfurt am Main (2010)Iess, L., Asmar, S.: Int. J. Mod. Phys. D 16, 2117 (2007). doi: 10.1142/S0218271807011449Iess, L., Asmar, S., Tortora, P.: Acta Astronaut. 65, 666 (2009). doi: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2009.01.049Iess, L., Di Benedetto, M., James, M., Mercolino, M., Simone, L., Tortora, P.: Acta Astronaut. 94, 699 (2014). doi: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2013.06.011Iorio, L.: Sch. Res. Exch. (2009). 0811.3924 . doi: 10.3814/2009/807695Iorio, L.: Astron. J. 142, 68 (2011a). 1102.4572 . doi: 10.1088/0004-6256/142/3/68Iorio, L.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 415, 1266 (2011b). 1102.0212Iorio, L.: Europhys. Lett. (2011c). 1105.4145 . doi: 10.1209/0295-5075/96/30001Iorio, L.: Adv. Space Res. 54(11), 2441 (2014a). 1311.4218 . doi: 10.1016/j.asr.2014.06.035Iorio, L.: Galaxies 2, 259 (2014b). 1404.6537 . doi: 10.3390/galaxies2020259Iorio, L.: Universe 1(1), 38 (2015a). doi: 10.3390/universe1010038Iorio, L.: Int. J. Mod. Phys. D 24, 1530015 (2015b). 1412.7673Iorio, L., Giudice, G.: New Astron. 11, 600 (2006). gr-qc/0601055Iorio, L., Lichtenegger, H.I.M., Ruggiero, M.L., Corda, C.: Astrophys. Space Sci. 331, 351 (2011). 1009.3225 . doi: 10.1007/s10509-010-0489-5Jouannic, B., Noomen, R., van den IJSel, J.A.A.: In: Proceedings of the 25th International Symposium on Space Flight Dynamics ISSFD, Munich, Germany (2015)Kennefick, D.: Phys. Today 62, 37 (2009). doi: 10.1063/1.3099578King-Hele, D.: Satellite Orbits in an Atmosphere. Theory and Applications. Blackie and Son Ltd., Glasgow (1987)Lämmerzahl, C., Preuss, O., Dittus, H.: In: Dittus, H., Lammerzahl, C., Turyshev, S.G. (eds.) Lasers, Clocks and Drag-Free Control: Exploration of Relativistic Gravity in Space. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol. 349, p. 75 (2008). doi: 10.1007/978-3-540-34377-6_3Le Verrier, U.: C. R. Hebd. Acad. Sci. 49, 379 (1859)Lemoine, F.G.E.A.: NASA/TP-1998-206861 (1998)Lewis, R.A.: In: Robertson, G.A. (ed.) American Institute of Physics Conference Series. American Institute of Physics Conference Series, vol. 1103, p. 226 (2009). doi: 10.1063/1.3115499Longair, M.: Philos. Trans. R. Soc., Math. Phys. Eng. Sci. (2015). doi: 10.1098/rsta.2014.0287McCulloch, M.E.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 389, 57 (2008). 0806.4159 . doi: 10.1111/j.1745-3933.2008.00523.xMoe, M.M., Wallace, S.D., Moe, K.: In: Washington DC American Geophysical Union Geophysical Monograph Series, vol. 87, p. 349 (1995). doi: 10.1029/GM087p0349Murphy, E.M.: Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, 1890 (1998). doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.83.1890Naval Observatory: Dept. of the Navy, USA (2009)Newcomb, S.: Tables of the Four Inner Planets. Government Printing Office, Washington (1895)Nyambuya, G.G.: ArXiv e-prints (2008). 0803.1370Nyambuya, G.G.: New Astron. 57, 22 (2017). doi: 10.1016/j.newast.2017.06.001Páramos, J., Hechenblaikner, G.: Adv. Space Res. 79–80(7), 76 (2013). 1210.7333v1Peskin, M.E., Schroeder, D.V.: An Introduction to Quantum Field Theory. Westview Press, Perseus Books Group, London (1995)Pinheiro, M.J.: Phys. Lett. A 378, 3007 (2014). 1404.1101Pinheiro, M.J.: Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 461(4), 3948 (2016)Renzetti, G.: Cent. Eur. J. Phys. 11, 531 (2013). doi: 10.2478/s11534-013-0189-1Rievers, B., Lämmerzahl, C.: Ann. Phys. 523, 439 (2011). 1104.3985 . doi: 10.1002/andp.201100081Roseveare, N.T.: Mercury’s Perihelion, from Le Verrier to Einstein. Clarendon Press, Wotton-under-Edge (1982)Rubincam, D.P.: Icarus 148, 2 (2000). doi: 10.1006/icar.2000.6485Standish, E.M.: In: Macias, A., Lämmerzahl, C., Camacho, A. (eds.) Recent Developments in Gravitation and Cosmology. American Institute of Physics Conference Series, vol. 977, p. 254 (2008). doi: 10.1063/1.2902789Standish, E.M.: In: Klioner, S.A., Seidelmann, P.K., Soffel, M.H. (eds.) Relativity in Fundamental Astronomy: Dynamics, Reference Frames, and Data Analysis. IAU Symposium, vol. 261, p. 179 (2010). doi: 10.1017/S1743921309990354Thompson, P.F., Abrahamson, M., Ardalan, S., Bordi, J.: In: 24th AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting, Santa Fe, New Mexico, January 26–30, 2014 (2014). http://hdl.handle.net/2014/45519Turyshev, S.G., Toth, V.T.: Living Rev. Relativ. (2010). 1001.3686 . doi: 10.12942/lrr-2010-4Turyshev, S.G., Toth, V.T., Kinsella, G., Lee, S.-C., Lok, S.M., Ellis, J.: Phys. Rev. Lett. 108(24), 241101 (2012). 1204.2507 . doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.241101Varieschi, G.U.: Gen. Relativ. Gravit. 46, 1741 (2014). 1401.6503 . doi: 10.1007/s10714-014-1741-zWilhelm, K., Dwivedi, B.N.: Astrophys. Space Sci. 358, 18 (2015). doi: 10.1007/s10509-015-2413-5Will, C.M.: Living Rev. Relativ. 3(9) (2006)Will, C.M.: Class. Quantum Gravity (2015). doi: 10.1098/rsta.2014.0287Will, C.M.: In: Peron, R., Colpi, M., Gorini, V., Moschella, U. (eds.) Gravity: Where Do We Stand? Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol. 349, p. 9 (2016). doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-20224-2_2Williams, J.G., Boggs, D.H.: Celest. Mech. Dyn. Astron. 126, 89 (2016). doi: 10.1007/s10569-016-9702-3Williams, J.G., Dickey, J.O.: In: Noomen, R., Klosko, S., Noll, C., Pearlman, M. (eds.) Proceedings of 13th International Workshop on Laser Ranging, p. 75 (2003). http://cddisa.gsfc.nasa.gov/lw13/lw_proceedings.htmlWilliams, J.G., Newhall, X.X., Dickey, J.O.: Phys. Rev. D 53, 6730 (1996). doi: 10.1103/PhysRevD.53.6730Williams, J.G., Turyshev, S.G., Boggs, D.H.: Phys. Rev. Lett. 93(26), 261101 (2004). gr-qc/0411113 . doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.261101Williams, J.G., Turyshev, S.G., Boggs, D.H.: Planet. Sci. 3, 2 (2014). doi: 10.1186/s13535-014-0002-5Williams, J.G., Boggs, D.H., Yoder, C.F., Ratcliff, J.T., Dickey, J.O.: J. Geophys. Res. 106, 27933 (2001). doi: 10.1029/2000JE001396Wolfram, S.: The Mathematica Book, fifth edition. Wolfram Media, Champaign (2003

Black Hole Spin via Continuum Fitting and the Role of Spin in Powering Transient Jets

The spins of ten stellar black holes have been measured using the continuum-fitting method. These black holes are located in two distinct classes of X-ray binary systems, one that is persistently X-ray bright and another that is transient. Both the persistent and transient black holes remain for long periods in a state where their spectra are dominated by a thermal accretion disk component. The spin of a black hole of known mass and distance can be measured by fitting this thermal continuum spectrum to the thin-disk model of Novikov and Thorne; the key fit parameter is the radius of the inner edge of the black hole's accretion disk. Strong observational and theoretical evidence links the inner-disk radius to the radius of the innermost stable circular orbit, which is trivially related to the dimensionless spin parameter a_* of the black hole (|a_*| < 1). The ten spins that have so far been measured by this continuum-fitting method range widely from a_* \approx 0 to a_* > 0.95. The robustness of the method is demonstrated by the dozens or hundreds of independent and consistent measurements of spin that have been obtained for several black holes, and through careful consideration of many sources of systematic error. Among the results discussed is a dichotomy between the transient and persistent black holes; the latter have higher spins and larger masses. Also discussed is recently discovered evidence in the transient sources for a correlation between the power of ballistic jets and black hole spin.Comment: 30 pages. Accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews. Also to appear in hard cover in the Space Sciences Series of ISSI "The Physics of Accretion onto Black Holes" (Springer Publisher). Changes to Sections 5.2, 6.1 and 7.4. Section 7.4 responds to Russell et al. 2013 (MNRAS, 431, 405) who find no evidence for a correlation between the power of ballistic jets and black hole spi

Measurement of the Charged Multiplicities in b, c and Light Quark Events from Z0 Decays

Average charged multiplicities have been measured separately in $b$, $c$ and light quark ($u,d,s$) events from $Z^0$ decays measured in the SLD experiment. Impact parameters of charged tracks were used to select enriched samples of $b$ and light quark events, and reconstructed charmed mesons were used to select $c$ quark events. We measured the charged multiplicities: $\bar{n}_{uds} = 20.21 \pm 0.10 (\rm{stat.})\pm 0.22(\rm{syst.})$, $\bar{n}_{c} = 21.28 \pm 0.46(\rm{stat.}) ^{+0.41}_{-0.36}(\rm{syst.})$ $\bar{n}_{b} = 23.14 \pm 0.10(\rm{stat.}) ^{+0.38}_{-0.37}(\rm{syst.})$, from which we derived the differences between the total average charged multiplicities of $c$ or $b$ quark events and light quark events: $\Delta \bar{n}_c = 1.07 \pm 0.47(\rm{stat.})^{+0.36}_{-0.30}(\rm{syst.})$ and $\Delta \bar{n}_b = 2.93 \pm 0.14(\rm{stat.})^{+0.30}_{-0.29}(\rm{syst.})$. We compared these measurements with those at lower center-of-mass energies and with perturbative QCD predictions. These combined results are in agreement with the QCD expectations and disfavor the hypothesis of flavor-independent fragmentation.Comment: 19 pages LaTex, 4 EPS figures, to appear in Physics Letters

Juno Plasma Wave Observations at Ganymede.

The Juno Waves instrument measured plasma waves associated with Ganymede's magnetosphere during its flyby on 7 June, day 158, 2021. Three distinct regions were identified including a wake, and nightside and dayside regions in the magnetosphere distinguished by their electron densities and associated variability. The magnetosphere includes electron cyclotron harmonic emissions including a band at the upper hybrid frequency, as well as whistler-mode chorus and hiss. These waves likely interact with energetic electrons in Ganymede's magnetosphere by pitch angle scattering and/or accelerating the electrons. The wake is accentuated by low-frequency turbulence and electrostatic solitary waves. Radio emissions observed before and after the flyby likely have their source in Ganymede's magnetosphere.884711 - European Research Council; 699041X - Southwest Research Institute; Q99064JAR - Southwest Research Institute; 80NSSC20K0557 - NASAPublished versio

Toward an internally consistent astronomical distance scale

Accurate astronomical distance determination is crucial for all fields in astrophysics, from Galactic to cosmological scales. Despite, or perhaps because of, significant efforts to determine accurate distances, using a wide range of methods, tracers, and techniques, an internally consistent astronomical distance framework has not yet been established. We review current efforts to homogenize the Local Group's distance framework, with particular emphasis on the potential of RR Lyrae stars as distance indicators, and attempt to extend this in an internally consistent manner to cosmological distances. Calibration based on Type Ia supernovae and distance determinations based on gravitational lensing represent particularly promising approaches. We provide a positive outlook to improvements to the status quo expected from future surveys, missions, and facilities. Astronomical distance determination has clearly reached maturity and near-consistency.Comment: Review article, 59 pages (4 figures); Space Science Reviews, in press (chapter 8 of a special collection resulting from the May 2016 ISSI-BJ workshop on Astronomical Distance Determination in the Space Age

Measurement of the ttbar Production Cross Section in ppbar Collisions at sqrt{s} = 1.96 TeV using Kinematic Characteristics of Lepton + Jets Events

We present a measurement of the top quark pair ttbar production cross section in ppbar collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV using 230 pb**{-1} of data collected by the DO detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. We select events with one charged lepton (electron or muon), large missing transverse energy, and at least four jets, and extract the ttbar content of the sample based on the kinematic characteristics of the events. For a top quark mass of 175 GeV, we measure sigma(ttbar) = 6.7 {+1.4-1.3} (stat) {+1.6- 1.1} (syst) +/-0.4 (lumi) pb, in good agreement with the standard model prediction.Comment: submitted to Phys.Rev.Let