7,999 research outputs found
Exploring the S-Matrix of Massless Particles
We use the recently proposed generalised on-shell representation for
scattering amplitudes and a consistency test to explore the space of tree-level
consistent couplings in four-dimensional Minkowski spacetime. The extension of
the constructible notion implied by the generalised on-shell representation,
i.e. the possibility to reconstruct at tree level all the scattering amplitudes
from the three-particle ones, together with the imposition of the consistency
conditions at four-particle level, allow to rediscover all the known theories
and their algebra structure, if any. Interestingly, this analysis seems to
leave room for high-spin couplings, provided that at least the requirement of
locality is weakened. We do not claim to have found tree-level consistent
high-spin theories, but rather that our methods show signatures of them and
very likely, with a suitable modification, they can be a good framework to
perform a systematic search.Comment: 44 pages, 1 figur
Hints of the existence of Axion-Like-Particles from the gamma-ray spectra of cosmological sources
Axion Like Particles (ALPs) are predicted to couple with photons in the
presence of magnetic fields. This effect may lead to a significant change in
the observed spectra of gamma-ray sources such as AGNs. Here we carry out a
detailed study that for the first time simultaneously considers in the same
framework both the photon/axion mixing that takes place in the gamma-ray source
and that one expected to occur in the intergalactic magnetic fields. An
efficient photon/axion mixing in the source always means an attenuation in the
photon flux, whereas the mixing in the intergalactic medium may result in a
decrement and/or enhancement of the photon flux, depending on the distance of
the source and the energy considered. Interestingly, we find that decreasing
the value of the intergalactic magnetic field strength, which decreases the
probability for photon/axion mixing, could result in an increase of the
expected photon flux at Earth if the source is far enough. We also find a 30%
attenuation in the intensity spectrum of distant sources, which occurs at an
energy that only depends on the properties of the ALPs and the intensity of the
intergalactic magnetic field, and thus independent of the AGN source being
observed. Moreover, we show that this mechanism can easily explain recent
puzzles in the spectra of distant gamma-ray sources... [ABRIDGED] The
consequences that come from this work are testable with the current generation
of gamma-ray instruments, namely Fermi (formerly known as GLAST) and imaging
atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes like CANGAROO, HESS, MAGIC and VERITAS.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures. Replaced to match the published version in Phys.
Rev. D. Minor changes with respect to v
The Origin of the Extragalactic Gamma-Ray Background and Implications for Dark-Matter Annihilation
The origin of the extragalactic -ray background (EGB) has been
debated for some time. { The EGB comprises the -ray emission from
resolved and unresolved extragalactic sources, such as blazars, star-forming
galaxies and radio galaxies, as well as radiation from truly diffuse
processes.} This letter focuses on the blazar source class, the most numerous
detected population, and presents an updated luminosity function and spectral
energy distribution model consistent with the blazar observations performed by
the {\it Fermi} Large Area Telescope (LAT). We show that blazars account for
50\,\% of the EGB photons (0.1\,GeV), and that {\it Fermi}-LAT
has already resolved 70\,\% of this contribution. Blazars, and in
particular low-luminosity hard-spectrum nearby sources like BL Lacs, are
responsible for most of the EGB emission above 100\,GeV. We find that the
extragalactic background light, which attenuates blazars' high-energy emission,
is responsible for the high-energy cut-off observed in the EGB spectrum.
Finally, we show that blazars, star-forming galaxies and radio galaxies can
naturally account for the amplitude and spectral shape of the background in the
0.1--820\,GeV range, leaving only modest room for other contributions. This
allows us to set competitive constraints on the dark-matter annihilation cross
section.Comment: On behalf of the Fermi-LAT collaboration. Contact authors: M. Ajello,
D. Gasparrini, M. Sanchez-Conde, G. Zaharijas, M. Gustafsson. Accepted for
publication on ApJ
The Holographic Dual of 2+1 Dimensional QFTs with N=1 SUSY and Massive Fundamental Flavours
The Maldacena Nastase solution is generalised to include massive fundamental
matter through the addition of a flavour profile. This gives a holographic dual
to N=1 SYM-CS with massive fundamental matter with a singularity free IR. We
study this solution in some detail confirming confinement and asymptotic
freedom. A recently proposed solution generating technique is then applied
which results in a new type-IIA supergravity solution. In a certain limit the
geometry of this solution is asymptotically AdS_4X Y, where Y is the metric at
the base of the Bryant-Salamon G_2 cone, which has topology S^3XS^3.Comment: 31 pages plus appendices, 6 figures. v3: Typos corrected, version to
appear in JHE
The Clumping Transition in Niche Competition: a Robust Critical Phenomenon
We show analytically and numerically that the appearance of lumps and gaps in
the distribution of n competing species along a niche axis is a robust
phenomenon whenever the finiteness of the niche space is taken into account. In
this case depending if the niche width of the species is above or
below a threshold , which for large n coincides with 2/n, there are
two different regimes. For the lumpy pattern emerges
directly from the dominant eigenvector of the competition matrix because its
corresponding eigenvalue becomes negative. For the lumpy
pattern disappears. Furthermore, this clumping transition exhibits critical
slowing down as is approached from above. We also find that the number
of lumps of species vs. displays a stair-step structure. The positions
of these steps are distributed according to a power-law. It is thus
straightforward to predict the number of groups that can be packed along a
niche axis and it coincides with field measurements for a wide range of the
model parameters.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures;
http://iopscience.iop.org/1742-5468/2010/05/P0500
Body mass index and airway hyper-responsiveness in individuals without respiratory disease
BACKGROUND: Overweight and obesity are major health issues in Western societies. They are related with a higher risk of different co-morbidities but their relationship with airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) is still under discussion. Nevertheless, they are related to higher severity in asthma and other respiratory diseases. The aim of the study was to analyze the AHR in individuals with normal lung function without respiratory disorders, according to body mass index (BMI) calculation.
METHODS: We performed clinical observation and basal lung function tests (LFT) in 595 consecutive individuals in order to exclude respiratory disease. 377 individuals fulfilled the criteria of normal values according international guidelines. They were submitted to standardized treadmill exercise test followed by bronchodilator test. FVC, FEV1, FEF 25/75, RV and Raw were obtained at different conditions according to BMI groups (I: lean; II: normal; III: overweight; IV obese).
RESULTS: 55.2% of the sample was overweight or obese, and a signficant relationship was found with female gender and older ages (p=0.0046 and p<0.0001 respectively). The positive response to exercise test or bronchodilator beta2 agonists was not significantly frequent compared with the other groups. In obese individuals the exercise markedly reduced basal Raw and increased FEF 25/75. Lean individuals showed higher basal values of RV that was reduced upon exercise. Response to 12 agonists showed no differences according to weight biotypes.
CONCLUSION: BMI hampers lung function in normal individuals, and seems not to be related to AHR. Regular exercise should be encouraged in overweight and obese individuals, since it increases their bronchial permeability as shown in lower frequency of positive exercise tests. The same is advisable for lean individuals for different reasons. Their increased basal RV and Raw improve upon exercise. Despite overweight and obesity are being related to a low-grade of basal systemic inflammation, there was no association with a higher basal bronchial hyperresponsiveness in these individuals
Observations of Microwave Continuum Emission from Air Shower Plasmas
We investigate a possible new technique for microwave measurements of
ultra-high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) extensive air showers which relies on
detection of expected continuum radiation in the microwave range, caused by
free-electron collisions with neutrals in the tenuous plasma left after the
passage of the shower. We performed an initial experiment at the AWA (Argonne
Wakefield Accelerator) laboratory in 2003 and measured broadband microwave
emission from air ionized via high energy electrons and photons. A follow-up
experiment at SLAC (Stanford Linear Accelerator Center) in summer of 2004
confirmed the major features of the previous AWA observations with better
precision and made additional measurements relevant to the calorimetric
capabilities of the method. Prompted by these results we built a prototype
detector using satellite television technology, and have made measurements
indicating possible detection of cosmic ray extensive air showers. The method,
if confirmed by experiments now in progress, could provide a high-duty cycle
complement to current nitrogen fluorescence observations of UHECR, which are
limited to dark, clear nights. By contrast, decimeter microwave observations
can be made both night and day, in clear or cloudy weather, or even in the
presence of moderate precipitation.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figure
EBSD-data analysis of an additive manufactured maraging 300 steel submitted to different tempering and aging treatments
This research was funded by FAPESP grants (2017/17697-5, 2019/00691-0, and 2020/09079-2) and was supported by LNNano – Brazilian Nanotechnology National Laboratory (CNPEM/MCTI) during the use of the electron microscopy open access facility.
F. Conde acknowledges the Ph.D. scholarship CNPq 142440/2019-1.
In addition, JPO acknowledges funding by national funds from FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., in the scope of the projects LA/P/0037/2020, of the Associate Laboratory Institute of Nanostructures, Nanomodelling, and Nanofabrication – i3N. Finally, Julian A. Avila is a Serra Hunter Fellow and a CNPq fellow.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The AuthorsMaraging is a high alloy steel sensitive to the precipitation of intermetallics from a supersaturated solid solution during aging heat treatments. The precipitation phenomenon is well described in the literature, which gave rise to the alloy name regarding a martensite matrix with precipitates formed by aging treatment. Many studies have been performed to characterize this material, usually subjected to many sample preparations for transmission microscopy, which is very laborious, and few EBSD analyses. Therefore, in this work, a large study was conducted using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) to analyze maraging microstructures through band-contrast, kernel average misorientation (KAM), grain orientation spread (GOS), and misorientation distribution. Our results show that solubilization of the additive manufactured maraging steel resulted in a more homogeneous microstructure with new angle grain boundaries. Furthermore, tempering heat treatments relieve martensite strain, increasing band contrast values. Posterior aging presented a low impact on the results of EBSD analysis.publishersversionpublishe
Electronic structure and optical properties of ZnS/CdS nanoheterostructures
The electronic and optical properties of spherical nanoheterostructures are
studied within the semi-empirical tight-binding model including
the spin-orbit interaction. We use a symmetry-based approach previously applied
to CdSe and CdTe quantum dots. The complete one-particle spectrum is obtained
by using group-theoretical methods. The excitonic eigenstates are then deduced
in the configuration-interaction approach by fully taking into account the
Coulomb direct and exchange interactions. Here we focus on ZnS/CdS, ZnS/CdS/ZnS
and CdS/ZnS nanocrystals with particular emphasis on recently reported
experimental data. The degree of carrier localization in the CdS well layer is
analyzed as a function of its thickness. We compute the excitonic fine
structure, i.e., the relative intensities of low-energy optical transitions.
The calculated values of the absorption gap show a good agreement with the
experimental ones. Enhanced resonant photoluminescence Stokes shifts are
predicted.Comment: 6 pages, 4 Figures, revtex
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