Signatures of Earth-scattering in the direct detection of Dark Matter

Direct detection experiments search for the interactions of Dark Matter (DM) particles with nuclei in terrestrial detectors. But if these interactions are sufficiently strong, DM particles may scatter in the Earth, affecting their distribution in the lab. We present a new analytic calculation of this `Earth-scattering' effect in the regime where DM particles scatter at most once before reaching the detector. We perform the calculation self-consistently, taking into account not only those particles which are scattered away from the detector, but also those particles which are deflected towards the detector. Taking into account a realistic model of the Earth and allowing for a range of DM-nucleon interactions, we present the EarthShadow code, which we make publicly available, for calculating the DM velocity distribution after Earth-scattering. Focusing on low-mass DM, we find that Earth-scattering reduces the direct detection rate at certain detector locations while increasing the rate in others. The Earth's rotation induces a daily modulation in the rate, which we find to be highly sensitive to the detector latitude and to the form of the DM-nucleon interaction. These distinctive signatures would allow us to unambiguously detect DM and perhaps even identify its interactions in regions of the parameter space within the reach of current and future experiments.Comment: 27 pages + appendices, 9 figures. Code (and animations) available at https://github.com/bradkav/EarthShadow (Astrophysics Source Code Library, record ascl:1611.012). v2: added references, matches version published in JCA

Feminist poet kicks off Lecture Series

The Distinguished Lecture Series began the year Tuesday night when 330 packed into 101 English/Math to hear feminist poet Adrienne Rich

Potential Alternative Revenue Sources for Municipal Infrastructure Maintenance – A Case Study: County of Peterborough Transportation Infrastructure

This paper examines whether the funding system for local infrastructure is adequate to ensure a sustainable, well-maintained transportation network and if there is a single, more effective means of funding local infrastructure maintenance based on a case study of the County of Peterborough. The findings reveal that the current funding system for local infrastructure maintenance is inadequate to ensure a sustainable, well-maintained transportation network and alternative revenue sources include the federal GST, the provincial PST, the gas tax, income tax, subsidies and transfers, infrastructure maintenance funding programs, and user fees

Disruptive Strategies for Removing Drug Discovery Bottlenecks

Drug Discovery is shifting focus from the industry to outside partners and in the process creating new bottlenecks, suggesting the need for a more disruptive overhaul. Technologies like high throughput screening (HTS) have moved to a larger number of academic and institutional laboratories in the US, with little apparent coordination or consideration of the outputs and creating a translational gap. While there have been collaborative public private partnerships in Europe to share pharmaceutical data, the USA has lagged behind. Sharing precompetitive computational models may be the next frontier to provide more confidence in the quality of the leads produced and attract investment. We suggest there needs to be an awareness of what research is going on in the screening centers, more collaboration and coordination. These efforts will shift the focus to finding the best researchers to fund and require a rethink of how to reward their collaborative efforts

Consistency issues in partially bound dynamically composed systems

Dynamically composed systems are able to incorporate new components as they execute. Therefore, configurations of these systems are not fully elaborated until at least the time that they are executed, and they are perhaps never fully elaborated. Such incomplete configurations are termed partially bound configurations. Although partially bound, it is still important to be able to analyse these configurations to ascertain whether they meet certain assumptions about their composition. We are endeavouring to provide such support for the construction of dynamically composed systems through the application of configuration management concepts. One way in which these concepts can be applied in this domain is to explicitly state such assumptions and hence be able to validate partially bound configurations against these assumptions; in this way, inconsistencies can be reported as soon as they arise. This paper explores some of the issues involved in providing this kind of consistency mechanism for dynamically composed systems. In particular, the paper discusses consistency issues which arise in the context of systems where the generic structure of the system configuration is known, but the decision about which particular components comprise the configuration is deferred until execution

A National Portrait of Domestic Violence Courts

A growing number of criminal courts nationwide handle domestic violence cases on separate calendars, termed domestic violence courts. There are now 208 confirmed domestic violence courts across the U.S. (Center for Court Innovation 2009). More than 150 similar projects have been established internationally. Some domestic violence courts emerged in the context of the broader "problem-solving court" movement and share characteristics with other specialized courts, such as separate dockets and specially trained judges. However, the origins of domestic violence courts are also distinct, growing out of the increased attention afforded domestic violence matters by the justice system over the past 30 years. With funding from the National Institute of Justice, this study explores how criminal domestic violence courts have evolved, their rationale, and how their operations vary across the U.S. This study does not test whether domestic violence courts reduce recidivism, protect victims, or achieve other specific effects -- although we provide a thorough literature review on these points. Rather, our aim is to present a comprehensive national portrait of the field as it exists today, laying the groundwork for future information exchange and research

Characterising Rhythmic and Episodic Pulsing Behaviour in the Castleton Karst, Derbyshire (UK), Using High Resolution in-Cave Monitoring

The discharge from most karst springs exhibits a consistent and reasonably predictable response to recharge but a few exhibit short-term (‘rhythmic’) changes in flow that are commonly attributed to the geometry of feeder conduits and the action of siphons. This paper investigates water flow in a karst system that exhibits rhythmic and episodic changes in discharge due to variations in flow from two phreatic conduits (Main Rising (MR) and Whirlpool Rising (WR)) that pass through Speedwell Cavern en route to the springs. Water tracing experiments indicate that the conduits receive both allogenic and autogenic recharge. Flow dynamics and conduit behaviour were investigated using high-resolution (2-min) water depth data collected from MR and WR between 2012 and 2015 (when MR was dominant) and between 2021 and 2023 (when WR was dominant). Water depths were also logged in a cave at the upstream end of a conduit draining to both MR and WR and at springs. The short-term temporal variability in water depths at both MR and WR is greater than any documented in previous studies. This is attributed to conduit bedrock geometry and changes in conduit permeability due to sediment accumulation in phreatic loops, which together influence the response to recharge

From recharge to cave to spring:transmission of a flood pulse through a complex karst conduit network, Castleton, Derbyshire (UK)

Storm Babet (18–21 October 2023) brought heavy and persistent rain (80–100 mm) to the English Peak District, causing widespread surface and underground flooding. The village of Castleton experienced groundwater flooding from springs that drain a complex mixed allogenic–autogenic karst catchment. Transmission of the flood pulse was monitored using high-resolution (2 and 4 min intervals) logging of (a) the hydraulic head at five underground locations in the karst conduits and (b) the water depth at three springs and in the surface river fed by the springs. Underground, there were large increases in the hydraulic head (9–35 m), which resulted in two types of flow switching. Firstly, the increased head at the input end of a phreatic (water-filled) conduit system removed an underwater permeability barrier in a relatively low-elevation conduit, resulting in a dramatic increase in flow out of the conduit and a corresponding decrease in flow from a linked higher-elevation conduit that had dominated before the storm. Secondly, the increased head upstream of two conduits with limited hydraulic conductivity allowed water to spill over into conduits that were inactive prior to the storm. As expected, the conduits fed by sinking streams from the allogenic catchment responded rapidly to the recharge, but there was also a rapid response from the autogenic catchment where there are no surface streams and only a small number of dolines. The complex signals measured underground are not apparent from the spring hydrographs