6,400 research outputs found
Relativistic effects in neutrino-Fermi gas interactions
We study neutrino interactions in a hadron gas within a relativistic
framework. The hadron matter is described by a non-interacting Fermi gas in
beta equilibrium. We show that the introduction of relativistic effects causes
a sizable enhancement of the neutrino-scattering cross sections.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of International School of Nuclear
Physics: 27th Course: "Neutrinos in Cosmology, in Astro, Particle and Nuclear
Physics". Erice, Sicily, Italy, 16-2
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First CRDS-measurements of water vapour continuum in the 940nm absorption band
Measurements of near-infrared water vapour continuum using continuous wave cavity ring down spectroscopy (cw-
CRDS) have been performed at around 10611.6 and 10685:2 cm1. The continuum absorption coefficients for N2-
broadening have been determined for two temperatures and wavenumbers.
These results represent the first near-IR continuum laboratory data determined within the complex spectral environment in the 940nm water vapour band and are in reasonable agreement with simulations using the semiempirical CKD formulation
GRB Energetics in the Swift Era
We examine the rest frame energetics of 76 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with known
redshift that were detected by the Swift spacecraft and monitored by the
satellite's X-ray Telescope (XRT). Using the bolometric fluence values
estimated in Butler et al. 2007b and the last XRT observation for each event,
we set a lower limit the their collimation corrected energy Eg and find that a
68% of our sample are at high enough redshift and/or low enough fluence to
accommodate a jet break occurring beyond the last XRT observation and still be
consistent with the pre-Swift Eg distribution for long GRBs. We find that
relatively few of the X-ray light curves for the remaining events show evidence
for late-time decay slopes that are consistent with that expected from post jet
break emission. The breaks in the X-ray light curves that do exist tend to be
shallower and occur earlier than the breaks previously observed in optical
light curves, yielding a Eg distribution that is far lower than the pre-Swift
distribution. If these early X-ray breaks are not due to jet effects, then a
small but significant fraction of our sample have lower limits to their
collimation corrected energy that place them well above the pre-Swift Eg
distribution. Either scenario would necessitate a much wider post-Swift Eg
distribution for long cosmological GRBs compared to the narrow standard energy
deduced from pre-Swift observations. We note that almost all of the pre-Swift
Eg estimates come from jet breaks detected in the optical whereas our sample is
limited entirely to X-ray wavelengths, furthering the suggestion that the
assumed achromaticity of jet breaks may not extend to high energies.Comment: 30 pages, 10 figures, Accepted to Ap
Learning from good practice: a review of current oral health promotion materials for parents of young children
Objectives To examine the quality of UK-based oral health promotion materials (OHPM) for parents of young children aged 0-5 years old. Data sources OHPM were obtained via email request to dental public health consultants and oral health promotion teams in the UK, structured web-based searches or collected from oral health events. Data selection Materials were included if: they were freely available; they were in English; they were parent facing and included oral health advice aimed at children aged 0-5-years-old. Data extraction Quality assessment was based on: whether the oral health messages were consistent with Public Health England’s Delivering better oral health guidance, and what barriers to good oral health were addressed by the OHPM using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF). Data synthesis A wide range of printed and digital OHPM were identified (n = 111). However, only one piece of material covered all 16 guidance points identified in Public Health England’s Delivering better oral health (mean 6, SD 4), and one other material addressed all 12 domains of the TDF (mean 6, SD 2). Conclusions Although there were examples of high quality, further development is required to ensure OHPM are clear, consistent and address a wider range of barriers to good oral health behaviours
First Records of the Adventive Pseudoanthidium nanum (Mocsáry) (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) in Illinois and Minnesota, with Notes on its Identification and Taxonomy
We report the first records of Pseudoanthidium nanum (Mocsáry) in Illinois and Minnesota in 2016 and 2018, respectively. This represents a relatively rapid expansion since P. nanum was first detected in New Jersey in 2008. In order to help monitor the spread of this bee, we provide information on how to identify P. nanum and provide images of the general habitus, diagnostic features, and male genitalia. Finally, we confirm the taxonomic identity of P. nanum in the United States and highlight potential impacts on native anthidiines
Testing the standard fireball model of GRBs using late X-ray afterglows measured by Swift
We show that all X-ray decay curves of GRBs measured by Swift can be fitted
using one or two components both of which have exactly the same functional form
comprised of an early falling exponential phase followed by a power law decay.
The 1st component contains the prompt gamma-ray emission and the initial X-ray
decay. The 2nd component appears later, has a much longer duration and is
present for ~80% of GRBs. It most likely arises from the external shock which
eventually develops into the X-ray afterglow. In the remaining ~20% of GRBs the
initial X-ray decay of the 1st component fades more slowly than the 2nd and
dominates at late times to form an afterglow but it is not clear what the
origin of this emission is.
The temporal decay parameters and gamma/X-ray spectral indices derived for
107 GRBs are compared to the expectations of the standard fireball model
including a search for possible "jet breaks". For ~50% of GRBs the observed
afterglow is in accord with the model but for the rest the temporal and
spectral indices do not conform to the expected closure relations and are
suggestive of continued, late, energy injection. We identify a few possible jet
breaks but there are many examples where such breaks are predicted but are
absent.
The time, T_a, at which the exponential phase of the 2nd component changes to
a final powerlaw decay afterglow is correlated with the peak of the gamma-ray
spectrum, E_peak. This is analogous to the Ghirlanda relation, indicating that
this time is in some way related to optically observed break times measured for
pre-Swift bursts.Comment: submitted to Ap
Crucial Physical Dependencies of the Core-Collapse Supernova Mechanism
We explore with self-consistent 2D F{\sc{ornax}} simulations the dependence
of the outcome of collapse on many-body corrections to neutrino-nucleon cross
sections, the nucleon-nucleon bremsstrahlung rate, electron capture on heavy
nuclei, pre-collapse seed perturbations, and inelastic neutrino-electron and
neutrino-nucleon scattering. Importantly, proximity to criticality amplifies
the role of even small changes in the neutrino-matter couplings, and such
changes can together add to produce outsized effects. When close to the
critical condition the cumulative result of a few small effects (including
seeds) that individually have only modest consequence can convert an anemic
into a robust explosion, or even a dud into a blast. Such sensitivity is not
seen in one dimension and may explain the apparent heterogeneity in the
outcomes of detailed simulations performed internationally. A natural
conclusion is that the different groups collectively are closer to a realistic
understanding of the mechanism of core-collapse supernovae than might have
seemed apparent.Comment: 25 pages; 10 figure
On the Radii of Close-in Giant Planets
The recent discovery that the close-in extrasolar giant planet, HD209458b,
transits its star has provided a first-of-its-kind measurement of the planet's
radius and mass. In addition, there is a provocative detection of the light
reflected off of the giant planet, Boo b. Including the effects of
stellar irradiation, we estimate the general behavior of radius/age
trajectories for such planets and interpret the large measured radii of
HD209458b and Boo b in that context. We find that HD209458b must be a
hydrogen-rich gas giant. Furthermore, the large radius of close-in gas giant is
not due to the thermal expansion of its atmosphere, but to the high residual
entropy that remains throughout its bulk by dint of its early proximity to a
luminous primary. The large stellar flux does not inflate the planet, but
retards its otherwise inexorable contraction from a more extended configuration
at birth. This implies either that such a planet was formed near its current
orbital distance or that it migrated in from larger distances (0.5 A.U.),
no later than a few times years of birth.Comment: aasms4 LaTeX, 1 figure, accepted to Ap.J. Letter
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