3,139 research outputs found
MAGIC sensitivity to millisecond-duration optical pulses
The MAGIC telescopes are a system of two Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov
Telescopes (IACTs) designed to observe very high energy (VHE) gamma rays above
~50 GeV. However, as IACTs are sensitive to Cherenkov light in the UV/blue and
use photo-detectors with a time response well below the ms scale, MAGIC is also
able to perform simultaneous optical observations. Through an alternative
system installed in the central PMT of MAGIC II camera, the so-called central
pixel, MAGIC is sensitive to short (1ms - 1s) optical pulses. Periodic signals
from the Crab pulsar are regularly monitored. Here we report for the first time
the experimental determination of the sensitivity of the central pixel to
isolated 1-10 ms long optical pulses. The result of this study is relevant for
searches of fast transients such as Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs).Comment: Proceedings of the 35th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC
2017), Bexco, Busan, Korea (arXiv:1708.05153
Monte Carlo Performance Studies for the Site Selection of the Cherenkov Telescope Array
The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) represents the next generation of
ground-based instruments for very-high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray astronomy, aimed
at improving on the sensitivity of current-generation experiments by an order
of magnitude and providing coverage over four decades of energy. The current
CTA design consists of two arrays of tens of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov
telescopes, comprising Small, Medium and Large-Sized Telescopes, with one array
located in each of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. To study the effect
of the site choice on the overall \gls{cta} performance and support the site
evaluation process, detailed Monte Carlo simulations have been performed. These
results show the impact of different site-related attributes such as altitude,
night-sky background and local geomagnetic field on CTA performance for the
observation of VHE gamma rays.Comment: 34 pages, 11 figures, Accepted for publication in AP
Charge density distributions and related form factors in neutron-rich light exotic nuclei
Charge form factors corresponding to proton density distributions in exotic
nuclei, such as He, Li, B and Be are calculated
and compared. The results can be used as tests of various theoretical models
for the exotic nuclei structure in possible future experiments using a
colliding electron-exotic nucleus storage ring. The result of such a comparison
would show the effect of the neutron halo or skin on the proton distributions
in exotic nuclei.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, to be published in International Journal of
Modern Physics
Production of new neutron-rich isotopes of heavy elements in fragmentation reactions of U projectiles at 1 A GeV
The production of heavy neutron-rich nuclei has been investigated using cold
fragmentation reactions of U projectiles at relativistic energies. The
experiment performed at the high-resolving-power magnetic spectrometer FRS at
GSI allowed to identify 45 new heavy neutron-rich nuclei: Pt,
Au, Hg, Tl, Pb, Bi,
Po, At, Rn and Fr. The production
cross sections of these nuclei were also determined and used to benchmark
reaction codes that predict the production of nuclei far from stability.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure
Techniques used to identify the Brazilian variant of HIV-1 subtype B
The purpose of the present study was to compare the sensitivity and specificity of V3 enzyme immunoassay (solid phase EIA and EIA inhibition) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) with the DNA sequencing "gold standard" to identify the Brazilian HIV-1 variants of subtype B and B"-GWGR. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were collected from 61 HIV-1-infected individuals attending a clinic in SĂŁo Paulo. Proviral DNA was amplified and sequentially cleaved with the Fok I restriction enzyme. Plasma samples were submitted to a V3-loop biotinylated synthetic peptide EIA. Direct partial DNA sequencing of the env gene was performed on all samples. Based on EIA results, the sensitivity for detecting B-GPGR was 70%, compared to 64% for the Brazilian variant B"-GWGR while, the specificity of B-GPGR detection was 85%, compared to 88% for GWGR. The assessment of RFLP revealed 68% sensitivity and 94% specificity for the B-GPGR strain compared to 84 and 90% for the B"-GWGR variant. Moreover, direct DNA sequencing was able to detect different base sequences corresponding to amino acid sequences at the tip of the V3 loop in 22 patients. These results show a similar performance of V3 serology and RLFP in identifying the Brazilian variant GWGR. However, V3 peptide serology may give indeterminate results. Therefore, we suggest that V3 serology be used instead of DNA sequencing where resources are limited. Samples giving indeterminate results by V3 peptide serology should be analyzed by direct DNA sequencing to distinguish between B-GPGR and the Brazilian variant B"-GWGR
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