2,605 research outputs found
Expected seismicity and the seismic noise environment of Europa
Seismic data will be a vital geophysical constraint on internal structure of
Europa if we land instruments on the surface. Quantifying expected seismic
activity on Europa both in terms of large, recognizable signals and ambient
background noise is important for understanding dynamics of the moon, as well
as interpretation of potential future data. Seismic energy sources will likely
include cracking in the ice shell and turbulent motion in the oceans. We define
a range of models of seismic activity in Europa's ice shell by assuming each
model follows a Gutenberg-Richter relationship with varying parameters. A range
of cumulative seismic moment release between and Nm/yr is
defined by scaling tidal dissipation energy to tectonic events on the Earth's
moon. Random catalogs are generated and used to create synthetic continuous
noise records through numerical wave propagation in thermodynamically
self-consistent models of the interior structure of Europa. Spectral
characteristics of the noise are calculated by determining probabilistic power
spectral densities of the synthetic records. While the range of seismicity
models predicts noise levels that vary by 80 dB, we show that most noise
estimates are below the self-noise floor of high-frequency geophones, but may
be recorded by more sensitive instruments. The largest expected signals exceed
background noise by 50 dB. Noise records may allow for constraints on
interior structure through autocorrelation. Models of seismic noise generated
by pressure variations at the base of the ice shell due to turbulent motions in
the subsurface ocean may also generate observable seismic noise.Comment: 24 pages, 11 figures, Added in supplementary information from
revision submission, including 3 audio files with sonification of Europa
noise records. To view attachments, please download and extract the gzipped
tar source file listed under "Other formats
Resolved Depletion Zones and Spatial Differentiation of N2H+ and N2D+
We present a study on the spatial distribution of N2D+ and N2H+ in thirteen
protostellar systems. Eight of thirteen objects observed with the IRAM 30m
telescope show relative offsets between the peak N2D+ (J=2-1) and N2H+ (J=1-0)
emission. We highlight the case of L1157 using interferometric observations
from the Submillimeter Array and Plateau de Bure Interferometer of the N2D+
(J=3-2) and N2H+ (J=1-0) transitions respectively. Depletion of N2D+ in L1157
is clearly observed inside a radius of ~2000 AU (7") and the N2H+ emission is
resolved into two peaks at radii of ~1000 AU (3.5"), inside the depletion
region of N2D+. Chemical models predict a depletion zone in N2H+ and N2D+ due
to destruction of H2D+ at T ~ 20 K and the evaporation of CO off dust grains at
the same temperature. However, the abundance offsets of 1000 AU between the two
species are not reproduced by chemical models, including a model that follows
the infall of the protostellar envelope. The average abundance ratios of N2D+
to N2H+ have been shown to decrease as protostars evolve by Emprechtinger et
al., but this is the first time depletion zones of N2D+ have been spatially
resolved. We suggest that the difference in depletion zone radii for N2H+ and
N2D+ is caused by either the CO evaporation temperature being above 20 K or an
H2 ortho-to-para ratio gradient in the inner envelope.Comment: Accepted to ApJ. 44 pages 13 Figure
Recommended from our members
Magnetic Trapping of NH Molecules with 20 s Lifetimes
Buffer gas cooling is used to trap NH molecules with 1/e lifetimes exceeding 20 s. Helium vapor generated by laser desorption of a helium film is employed to thermalize 10 molecules at a temperature of 500 mK in a 3.9 T magnetic trap. Long molecule trapping times are attained through rapid pumpout of residual buffer gas. Molecules experience a helium background gas density below 1×10 cm.Engineering and Applied SciencesPhysic
Little Hierarchy, Little Higgses, and a Little Symmetry
Little Higgs theories are an attempt to address the little hierarchy problem,
i.e., the tension between the naturalness of the electroweak scale and the
precision measurements showing no evidence for new physics up to 5-10 TeV. In
little Higgs theories, the Higgs mass-squareds are protected to the one-loop
order from the quadratic divergence. This allows the cutoff to be raised up to
\~10 TeV, beyond the scales probed by the precision data. However, strong
constraints can still arise from the contributions of the new TeV scale
particles and hence re-introduces the fine-tuning problem. In this paper we
show that a new symmetry, denoted as T-parity, under which all heavy gauge
bosons and scalar triplets are odd, can remove all the tree-level contributions
to the electroweak observables and therefore makes the little Higgs theories
completely natural. The T-parity can be manifestly implemented in a majority of
little Higgs models by following the most general construction of the low
energy effective theory a la Callan, Coleman, Wess and Zumino. In particular,
we discuss in detail how to implement the T-parity in the littlest Higgs model
based on SU(5)/SO(5). The symmetry breaking scale f can be even lower than 500
GeV if the contributions from the unknown UV physics at the cutoff are somewhat
small. The existence of -parity has drastic impacts on the phenomenology of
the little Higgs theories. The T-odd particles need to be pair-produced and
will cascade down to the lightest T-odd particle (LTP) which is stable. A
neutral LTP gives rise to missing energy signals at the colliders which can
mimic supersymmetry. It can also serve as a good dark matter candidate.Comment: 20 pages, 2 figures, RevTeX; v2: Yukawa sector in the SU(5)/SO(5)
model slightly modified. Also added comments on the Dirac mass term for the
fermionic doublet partner; v3: clarifying comments on the modified Yukawa
sector. version to appear on JHE
Lifshitz transition and van Hove singularity in a Topological Dirac Semimetal
A topological Dirac semimetal is a novel state of quantum matter which has
recently attracted much attention as an apparent 3D version of graphene. In
this paper, we report critically important results on the electronic structure
of the 3D Dirac semimetal Na3Bi at a surface that reveals its nontrivial
groundstate. Our studies, for the first time, reveal that the two 3D Dirac
cones go through a topological change in the constant energy contour as a
function of the binding energy, featuring a Lifshitz point, which is missing in
a strict 3D analog of graphene (in other words Na3Bi is not a true 3D analog of
graphene). Our results identify the first example of a band saddle point
singularity in 3D Dirac materials. This is in contrast to its 2D analogs such
as graphene and the helical Dirac surface states of a topological insulator.
The observation of multiple Dirac nodes in Na3Bi connecting via a Lifshitz
point along its crystalline rotational axis away from the Kramers point serves
as a decisive signature for the symmetry-protected nature of the Dirac
semimetal's topological groundstate.Comment: 5 pages, 4 Figures, Related papers on topological Fermi arcs and Weyl
Semimetals (WSMs) are at
http://physics.princeton.edu/zahidhasangroup/index.htm
Syntaphilin Ubiquitination Regulates Mitochondrial Dynamics and Tumor Cell Movements.
Syntaphilin (SNPH) inhibits the movement of mitochondria in tumor cells, preventing their accumulation at the cortical cytoskeleton and limiting the bioenergetics of cell motility and invasion. Although this may suppress metastasis, the regulation of the SNPH pathway is not well understood. Using a global proteomics screen, we show that SNPH associates with multiple regulators of ubiquitin-dependent responses and is ubiquitinated by the E3 ligase CHIP (or STUB1) on Lys111 and Lys153 in the microtubule-binding domain. SNPH ubiquitination did not result in protein degradation, but instead anchored SNPH on tubulin to inhibit mitochondrial motility and cycles of organelle fusion and fission, that is dynamics. Expression of ubiquitination-defective SNPH mutant Lys111!Arg or Lys153!Arg increased the speed and distance traveled by mitochondria, repositioned mitochondria to the cortical cytoskeleton, and supported heightened tumor chemotaxis, invasion, and metastasis in vivo. Interference with SNPH ubiquitination activated mitochondrial dynamics, resulting in increased recruitment of the fission regulator dynamin-related protein-1 (Drp1) to mitochondria and Drp1-dependent tumor cell motility. These data uncover nondegradative ubiquitination of SNPH as a key regulator of mitochondrial trafficking and tumor cell motility and invasion. In this way, SNPH may function as a unique, ubiquitination-regulated suppressor of metastasis
Self-Breaking of the Standard Model Gauge Symmetry
If the gauge fields of the Standard Model propagate in TeV-size extra
dimensions, they rapidly become strongly coupled and can form scalar bound
states of quarks and leptons. If the quarks and leptons of the third generation
propagate in 6 or 8 dimensions, we argue that the most tightly bound scalar is
a composite of top quarks, having the quantum numbers of the Higgs doublet and
a large coupling to the top quark. In the case where the gauge bosons propagate
in a bulk of a certain volume, this composite Higgs doublet can successfully
trigger electroweak symmetry breaking. The mass of the top quark is correctly
predicted to within 20%, without the need to add a fundamental Yukawa
interaction, and the Higgs boson mass is predicted to lie in the range 165 -
230 GeV. In addition to the Higgs boson, there may be a few other scalar
composites sufficiently light to be observed at upcoming collider experiments.Comment: 26 pages, 4 figures, typos corrected, references adde
Supercooled Water and the Kinetic Glass Transition II: Collective Dynamics
In this article we study in detail the Q-vector dependence of the collective
dynamics in simulated deeply supercooled SPC/E water. The evolution of the
system has been followed for 250 ns at low T, allowing a clear identification
of a two step relaxation process. We present evidence in favor of the use of
the mode coupling theory for supercooled liquid as framework for the
description of the slow alpha-relaxation dynamics in SPC/E water,
notwithstanding the fact that the cage formation in this system is controlled
by the formation of an open network of hydrogen bonds as opposed to packing
constraints, as in the case of simple liquids.Comment: rev-tex + 9 figure
High resolution Compton scattering as a Probe of the Fermi surface in the Iron-based superconductor
We have carried out first principles all-electron calculations of the
(001)-projected 2D electron momentum density and the directional Compton
profiles along the [100], [001] and [110] directions in the Fe-based
superconductor LaOFeAs within the framework of the local density approximation.
We identify Fermi surface features in the 2D electron momentum density and the
directional Compton profiles, and discuss issues related to the observation of
these features via Compton scattering experiments.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
- …