8,475 research outputs found
Upward Tau Air Showers from Earth
We estimate the rate of observable Horizontal and Upward Tau Air-Showers
(HORTAUs, UPTAUS) considering both the Earth opacity and the finite size of the
terrestrial atmosphere. We calculate the effective target volumes and masses
for Tau air-showers emerging from the Earth. The resulting model-independent
masses for satellite experiments such as EUSO may encompass at E_nu_tau = 10^19
eV a very large volume, V= 1020 km^3. Adopting simple power law neutrino
fluxes, E^-2 and E^-1, calibrated to GZK-like and Z-Burst-like models, we
estimate that at E= 10^19 eV nearly half a dozen horizontal shower events
should be detected by EUSO in three years of data collection by the
"guaranteed" GZK neutrino flux. We also find that the equivalent mass for an
Earth outer layer made of rock is dominant compared to the water, contrary to
simplified all-rock/all-water Earth models and previous Montecarlo simulations.
Therefore we expect an enhancement of neutrino detection along continental
shelves nearby the highest mountain chains, also given the better geometrical
acceptance for Earth skimming neutrinos. The Auger experiment might reveal such
a signature at E_nu= 10^{18} eV (with 26 events in 3 yr) towards the Andes, if
the angular resolution at the horizon (both in azimuth and zenith) would reach
an accuracy of nearly one degree needed to disentangle tau air showers from
common UHECR. The number of events increases at lower energies; therefore we
suggest an extension of the EUSO and Auger sensitivity down to (or even below)
E_nu = 10^19 eV and E_nu = 10^18 eV respectively.Comment: New version resubmitted to ApJ on the 6th April 2004; 55 Pages,20
figures, major changes following referee reques
Revisiting cosmological bounds on radiative neutrino lifetime
Neutrino oscillation experiments and direct bounds on absolute masses
constrain neutrino mass differences to fall into the microwave energy range,
for most of the allowed parameter space. As a consequence of these recent
phenomenological advances, older constraints on radiative neutrino decays based
on diffuse background radiations and assuming strongly hierarchical masses in
the eV range are now outdated. We thus derive new bounds on the radiative
neutrino lifetime using the high precision cosmic microwave background spectral
data collected by the Far Infrared Absolute Spectrophotometer instrument on
board of Cosmic Background Explorer. The lower bound on the lifetime is between
a few x 10^19 s and 5 x 10^20 s, depending on the neutrino mass ordering and on
the absolute mass scale. However, due to phase space limitations, the upper
bound in terms of the effective magnetic moment mediating the decay is not
better than ~ 10^-8 Bohr magnetons. We also comment about possible improvements
of these limits, by means of recent diffuse infrared photon background data. We
compare these bounds with pre-existing limits coming from laboratory or
astrophysical arguments. We emphasize the complementarity of our results with
others available in the literature.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures. Minor changes in the text, few references added.
Matches the published versio
Nonlinearity arising from noncooperative transcription factor binding enhances negative feedback and promotes genetic oscillations
We study the effects of multiple binding sites in the promoter of a genetic
oscillator. We evaluate the regulatory function of a promoter with multiple
binding sites in the absence of cooperative binding, and consider different
hypotheses for how the number of bound repressors affects transcription rate.
Effective Hill exponents of the resulting regulatory functions reveal an
increase in the nonlinearity of the feedback with the number of binding sites.
We identify optimal configurations that maximize the nonlinearity of the
feedback. We use a generic model of a biochemical oscillator to show that this
increased nonlinearity is reflected in enhanced oscillations, with larger
amplitudes over wider oscillatory ranges. Although the study is motivated by
genetic oscillations in the zebrafish segmentation clock, our findings may
reveal a general principle for gene regulation.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figure
The Poker Face of Inelastic Dark Matter: Prospects at Upcoming Direct Detection Experiments
The XENON100 and CRESST experiments will directly test the inelastic dark
matter explanation for DAMA's 8.9? sigma anomaly. This article discusses how
predictions for direct detection experiments depend on uncertainties in
quenching factor measurements, the dark matter interaction with the Standard
Model and the halo velocity distribution. When these uncertainties are
accounted for, an order of magnitude variation is found in the number of
expected events at CRESST and XENON100.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Bose Einstein condensation on inhomogeneous amenable graphs
We investigate the Bose-Einstein Condensation on nonhomogeneous amenable
networks for the model describing arrays of Josephson junctions. The resulting
topological model, whose Hamiltonian is the pure hopping one given by the
opposite of the adjacency operator, has also a mathematical interest in itself.
We show that for the nonhomogeneous networks like the comb graphs, particles
condensate in momentum and configuration space as well. In this case different
properties of the network, of geometric and probabilistic nature, such as the
volume growth, the shape of the ground state, and the transience, all play a
role in the condensation phenomena. The situation is quite different for
homogeneous networks where just one of these parameters, e.g. the volume
growth, is enough to determine the appearance of the condensation.Comment: 43 pages, 12 figures, final versio
Identification of redundant and synergetic circuits in triplets of electrophysiological data
Neural systems are comprised of interacting units, and relevant information
regarding their function or malfunction can be inferred by analyzing the
statistical dependencies between the activity of each unit. Whilst correlations
and mutual information are commonly used to characterize these dependencies,
our objective here is to extend interactions to triplets of variables to better
detect and characterize dynamic information transfer. Our approach relies on
the measure of interaction information (II). The sign of II provides
information as to the extent to which the interaction of variables in triplets
is redundant (R) or synergetic (S). Here, based on this approach, we calculated
the R and S status for triplets of electrophysiological data recorded from
drug-resistant patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy in order to study
the spatial organization and dynamics of R and S close to the epileptogenic
zone (the area responsible for seizure propagation). In terms of spatial
organization, our results show that R matched the epileptogenic zone while S
was distributed more in the surrounding area. In relation to dynamics, R made
the largest contribution to high frequency bands (14-100Hz), whilst S was
expressed more strongly at lower frequencies (1-7Hz). Thus, applying
interaction information to such clinical data reveals new aspects of
epileptogenic structure in terms of the nature (redundancy vs. synergy) and
dynamics (fast vs. slow rhythms) of the interactions. We expect this
methodology, robust and simple, can reveal new aspects beyond pair-interactions
in networks of interacting units in other setups with multi-recording data sets
(and thus, not necessarily in epilepsy, the pathology we have approached here).Comment: 31 pages, 6 figures, 3 supplementary figures. To appear in the
Journal of Neural Engineering in its current for
Complete compensation of criss-cross deflection in a negative ion accelerator by magnetic technique
During 2016, a joint experimental campaign was carried out by QST and Consorzio RFX on the Negative Ion Test Stand (NITS) at the QST Naka Fusion Institute, Japan, with the purpose of validating some design solutions adopted in MITICA, which is the full-scale prototype of the ITER NBI, presently under construction at Consorzio RFX, Padova, Italy. The main purpose of the campaign was to test a novel technique, for suppressing the beamlet criss-cross magnetic deflection. This new technique, involving a set of permanent magnets embedded in the Extraction Grid, named Asymmetric Deflection Compensation Magnets (ADCM), is potentially more performing and robust than the traditional electrostatic compensation methods. The results of this first campaign confirmed the effectiveness of the new magnetic configuration in reducing the criss-cross magnetic deflection. Nonetheless, contrary to expectations, a complete deflection correction was not achieved. By analyzing in detail the results, we found indications that a physical process, taking place just upstream of the plasma grid, was giving an important contribution to the final deflection of the negative ion beam. This process appears to be related to the drift of negative ions inside the plasma source, in the presence of a magnetic field transverse to the extraction direction, and results in a non-uniform ion current density extracted at the meniscus. Therefore, the numerical models adopted in the design were improved by including this previously disregarded effect, so as to obtain a much better matching with the experimental results. Based on the results of the first campaign, new permanent magnets were designed and installed on the Extraction Grid of NITS. A second QST-Consorzio RFX joint experimental campaign was then carried out in 2017, demonstrating the complete correction of the criss-cross deflection and confirming the validity of the novel magnetic configuration and of the hypothesis behind the new models. This contribution presents the results of the second joint experimental campaign on NITS along with the overall data analysis of both campaigns, and the description of the improved models. A general picture is given of the relation among magnetic field, beam energy, meniscus non-uniformity and beamlet deflection, constituting a useful database for the design of future machines
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