104 research outputs found
How does a bicycle work? A new instrument to assess mechanical reasoning in school aged children
This study demonstrated that a brief interview can reveal the mechanical reasoning that could not be assessed via the Bicycle Drawing Test. This study, conducted on 190 children (6 to 11 years old), shows that mechanical reasoning improves with age. It shows correlations with spatial reasoning and motor control, and with visual reasonin
Impact of internal bremsstrahlung on the detection of gamma-rays from neutralinos
We present a detailed study of the effect of internal bremsstrahlung photons
in the context of the minimal supersymmetric standard models and their impact
on gamma-ray dark matter annihilation searches. We find that although this
effect has to be included for the correct evaluation of fluxes of high energy
photons from neutralino annihilation, its contribution is relevant only in
models and at energies where the lines contribution is dominant over the
secondary photons. Therefore, we find that the most optimistic supersymmetric
scenarios for dark matter detection do not change significantly when including
the internal bremsstrahlung. As an example, we review the gamma-ray dark matter
detection prospects of the Draco dwarf spheroidal galaxy for the MAGIC
stereoscopic system and the CTA project. Though the flux of high energy photons
is enhanced by an order of magnitude in some regions of the parameter space,
the expected fluxes are still much below the sensitivity of the instruments.Comment: 5 pages, twocolumn format, 3 figures:3 references added, accepted as
Brief Report in PR
Supersymmetry Searches in GUT Models with Non-Universal Scalar Masses
We study SO(10), SU(5) and flipped SU(5) GUT models with non-universal soft
supersymmetry-breaking scalar masses, exploring how they are constrained by LHC
supersymmetry searches and cold dark matter experiments, and how they can be
probed and distinguished in future experiments. We find characteristic
differences between the various GUT scenarios, particularly in the
coannihilation region, which is very sensitive to changes of parameters. For
example, the flipped SU(5) GUT predict the possibility of
coannihilation, which is absent in the regions of the SO(10) and SU(5) GUT
parameter spaces that we study. We use the relic density predictions in
different models to determine upper bounds for the neutralino masses, and we
find large differences between different GUT models in the sparticle spectra
for the same LSP mass, leading to direct connections of distinctive possible
experimental measurements with the structure of the GUT group. We find that
future LHC searches for generic missing , charginos and stops will be able
to constrain the different GUT models in complementary ways, as will the Xenon
1 ton and Darwin dark matter scattering experiments and future FERMI or CTA
-ray searches.Comment: 21 pages, 10 Figures. V3: some comments and 1 reference added,
published version. JCAP03(2016)04
A scheme for the extraction of WIMP-nucleon scattering cross sections from total event rates
We propose a scheme that allows to analytically determine the three
elementary cross sections and connect the solutions to the relative sign
between the proton and the neutron spin scattering amplitudes once the
measurements of total event rate from three appropriate targets become
available. In this way it is thus possible to extract the maximum information
on the supersymmetric parameter space obtainable from direct detection
experiments, in the case that the dark matter particle is the lightest
neutralino. Our scheme is based on suitably normalized form of the isospin
momentum dependent structure functions entering in the spin-dependent elastic
neutralino-nucleus cross section. We compare these functions with the commonly
used ones and discuss their advantages: in particular, these allow in the
spin-dependent cross section to factorize the particle physics degrees of
freedom from the momentum transfer dependent nuclear structure functions as it
happens in the spin-independent cross section with the nuclear form factor.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. Title, text and references revised and expanded.
Added an Appendix explaining the advantages of the normalized spin structure
functions. Accepted in PR
Recommended from our members
Dark Matter Searches with Cherenkov Telescopes: Nearby Dwarf Galaxies or Local Galaxy Clusters?
In this paper, we compare dwarf galaxies and galaxy clusters in order to elucidate which object class is the best target for gamma-ray DM searches with imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs). We have built a mixed dwarfs+clusters sample containing some of the most promising nearby dwarf galaxies (Draco, Ursa Minor, Wilman 1 and Segue 1) and local galaxy clusters (Perseus, Coma, Ophiuchus, Virgo, Fornax, NGC 5813 and NGC 5846), and then compute their DM annihilation flux profiles by making use of the latest modeling of their DM density profiles. We also include in our calculations the effect of DM substructure. Willman 1 appears as the best candidate in the sample. However, its mass modeling is still rather uncertain, so probably other candidates with less uncertainties and quite similar fluxes, namely Ursa Minor and Segue 1, might be better options. As for galaxy clusters, Virgo represents the one with the highest flux. However, its large spatial extension can be a serious handicap for IACT observations and posterior data analysis. Yet, other local galaxy cluster candidates with more moderate emission regions, such as Perseus, may represent good alternatives. After comparing dwarfs and clusters, we found that the former exhibit annihilation flux profiles that, at the center, are roughly one order of magnitude higher than those of clusters, although galaxy clusters can yield similar, or even higher, integrated fluxes for the whole object once substructure is taken into account. Even when any of these objects are strictly point-like according to the properties of their annihilation signals, we conclude that dwarf galaxies are best suited for observational strategies based on the search of point-like sources, while galaxy clusters represent best targets for analyses that can deal with rather extended emissions. Finally, we study the detection prospects for present and future IACTs in the framework of the constrained minimal supersymmetric standard model. We find that the level of the annihilation flux from these targets is below the sensitivities of current IACTs and the future CTA
Searches for Lepton Flavour Violation at a Linear Collider
We investigate the prospects for detection of lepton flavour violation in
sparticle production and decays at a Linear Collider (LC), in models guided by
neutrino oscillation data. We consider both slepton pair production and
sleptons arising from the cascade decays of non-leptonic sparticles. We study
the expected signals when lepton-flavour-violating (LFV) interactions are
induced by renormalization effects in the Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric
extension of the Standard Model (CMSSM), focusing on the subset of the
supersymmetric parameter space that also leads to cosmologically interesting
values of the relic neutralino LSP density. Emphasis is given to the
complementarity between the LC, which is sensitive to mixing in both the left
and right slepton sectors, and the LHC, which is sensitive primarily to mixing
in the right sector. We also emphasize the complementarity between searches for
rare LFV processes at the LC and in low-energy experiments.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figure
The Influence of Number and Timing of Pregnancies on Breast Cancer Risk for Women With BRCA1 or BRCA2 Mutations
International audienceBACKGROUND:Full-term pregnancy (FTP) is associated with a reduced breast cancer (BC) risk over time, but women are at increased BC risk in the immediate years following an FTP. No large prospective studies, however, have examined whether the number and timing of pregnancies are associated with BC risk for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers.METHODS:Using weighted and time-varying Cox proportional hazards models, we investigated whether reproductive events are associated with BC risk for mutation carriers using a retrospective cohort (5707 BRCA1 and 3525 BRCA2 mutation carriers) and a prospective cohort (2276 BRCA1 and 1610 BRCA2 mutation carriers), separately for each cohort and the combined prospective and retrospective cohort.RESULTS:For BRCA1 mutation carriers, there was no overall association with parity compared with nulliparity (combined hazard ratio [HRc] = 0.99, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.83 to 1.18). Relative to being uniparous, an increased number of FTPs was associated with decreased BC risk (HRc = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.69 to 0.91; HRc = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.59 to 0.82; HRc = 0.50, 95% CI = 0.40 to 0.63, for 2, 3, and ≥4 FTPs, respectively, P trend < .0001) and increasing duration of breastfeeding was associated with decreased BC risk (combined cohort P trend = .0003). Relative to being nulliparous, uniparous BRCA1 mutation carriers were at increased BC risk in the prospective analysis (prospective hazard ration [HRp] = 1.69, 95% CI = 1.09 to 2.62). For BRCA2 mutation carriers, being parous was associated with a 30% increase in BC risk (HRc = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.05 to 1.69), and there was no apparent decrease in risk associated with multiparity except for having at least 4 FTPs vs. 1 FTP (HRc = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.54 to 0.98).CONCLUSIONS:These findings suggest differential associations with parity between BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers with higher risk for uniparous BRCA1 carriers and parous BRCA2 carriers
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