GPS Positioning and Velocity Field in the Apennines Subduction Zone

A stable geodetic reference frame permits to relate one position to another and to compute a reliable deformation field from geodetic observations. In order to satisfy scientific requirements, the reference frame should be accurate, reliable and internally consistent over time with unambiguously specified datum definition (origin, scale, orientation and their respective time evolution). Current reference frame stability between successive frame realizations suggests that the agreement is at the level of 1 cm and 0.3 mm/yr respectively for absolute and time derivative translation and scale factors. They represent the current stability over time of the reference frame and set the sensitivity for geodetic measurements. Here we will present the results of a GPS deformation field in the Italian region obtained from all the available permanent GPS stations operated in Italy. The complex nature of the ongoing tectonic deformation along the Alpine-Apennines orogenic systems is now evident and GPS data have proven its capability to measure millimetre scale deformations

Model for a Universe described by a non-minimally coupled scalar field and interacting dark matter

In this work it is investigated the evolution of a Universe where a scalar field, non-minimally coupled to space-time curvature, plays the role of quintessence and drives the Universe to a present accelerated expansion. A non-relativistic dark matter constituent that interacts directly with dark energy is also considered, where the dark matter particle mass is assumed to be proportional to the value of the scalar field. Two models for dark matter pressure are considered: the usual one, pressureless, and another that comes from a thermodynamic theory and relates the pressure with the coupling between the scalar field and the curvature scalar. Although the model has a strong dependence on the initial conditions, it is shown that the mixture consisted of dark components plus baryonic matter and radiation can reproduce the expected red-shift behavior of the deceleration parameter, density parameters and luminosity distance.Comment: 11 pages and 6 figures. To appear in GR

Cosmology With Non-Minimally Coupled K-Field

We consider non-minimally coupled (with gravity) scalar field with non-canonical kinetic energy. The form of the kinetic term is of Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) form.We study the early evolution of the universe when it is sourced only by the k-field, as well as late time evolution when both the matter and k-field are present. For the k-field, we have considered constant potential as well as potential inspired from Boundary String Field Theory (B-SFT). We show that it is possible to have inflationary solution in early time as well as late time accelerating phase. The solutions also exhibit attractor property in a sense that it does not depend on the initial conditions for a certain values of the parameters.Comment: 10 pages, Revtex style, 14 eps figures, to appear in General Relativity and Gravitatio

Oscillation effects on neutrino decoupling in the early universe

In the early universe, neutrinos decouple from equilibrium with the electromagnetic plasma at a temperature which is only slightly higher than the temperature where electrons and positrons annihilate. Therefore neutrinos to some extent share in the entropy transfer from e^+e^- to other species, and their final temperature is slightly higher than the canonical value T_nu = (4/11)^{1/3} T_gamma. We study neutrino decoupling in the early universe with effects of neutrino oscillations included, and find that the change in neutrino energy density from e^+ e^- annihilations can be about 2-3% higher if oscillation are included. The primordial helium abundance can be changed by as much as 1.5 x 10^-4 by neutrino oscillations.Comment: minor changes, matches version to appear in PR

Search for narrow resonances in e+ e- annihilation between 1.85 and 3.1 GeV with the KEDR Detector

We report results of a search for narrow resonances in e+ e- annihilation at center-of-mass energies between 1.85 and 3.1 GeV performed with the KEDR detector at the VEPP-4M e+ e- collider. The upper limit on the leptonic width of a narrow resonance Gamma(R -> ee) Br(R -> hadr) < 120 eV has been obtained (at 90 % C.L.)

Solar Neutrino Constraints on the BBN Production of Li

Using the recent WMAP determination of the baryon-to-photon ratio, 10^{10} \eta = 6.14 to within a few percent, big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) calculations can make relatively accurate predictions of the abundances of the light element isotopes which can be tested against observational abundance determinations. At this value of \eta, the Li7 abundance is predicted to be significantly higher than that observed in low metallicity halo dwarf stars. Among the possible resolutions to this discrepancy are 1) Li7 depletion in the atmosphere of stars; 2) systematic errors originating from the choice of stellar parameters - most notably the surface temperature; and 3) systematic errors in the nuclear cross sections used in the nucleosynthesis calculations. Here, we explore the last possibility, and focus on possible systematic errors in the He3(\alpha,\gamma)Be7 reaction, which is the only important Li7 production channel in BBN. The absolute value of the cross section for this key reaction is known relatively poorly both experimentally and theoretically. The agreement between the standard solar model and solar neutrino data thus provides additional constraints on variations in the cross section (S_{34}). Using the standard solar model of Bahcall, and recent solar neutrino data, we can exclude systematic S_{34} variations of the magnitude needed to resolve the BBN Li7 problem at > 95% CL. Additional laboratory data on He3(\alpha,\gamma)Be7 will sharpen our understanding of both BBN and solar neutrinos, particularly if care is taken in determining the absolute cross section and its uncertainties. Nevertheless, it already seems that this ``nuclear fix'' to the Li7 BBN problem is unlikely; other possible solutions are briefly discussed.Comment: 21 pages, 3 ps figure

Constraining the dark energy dynamics with the cosmic microwave background bispectrum

We consider the influence of the dark energy dynamics at the onset of cosmic acceleration on the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) bispectrum, through the weak lensing effect induced by structure formation. We study the line of sight behavior of the contribution to the bispectrum signal at a given angular multipole $l$: we show that it is non-zero in a narrow interval centered at a redshift $z$ satisfying the relation $l/r(z)\simeq k_{NL}(z)$, where the wavenumber corresponds to the scale entering the non-linear phase, and $r$ is the cosmological comoving distance. The relevant redshift interval is in the range 0.1\lsim z\lsim 2 for multipoles 1000\gsim\ell\gsim 100; the signal amplitude, reflecting the perturbation dynamics, is a function of the cosmological expansion rate at those epochs, probing the dark energy equation of state redshift dependence independently on its present value. We provide a worked example by considering tracking inverse power law and SUGRA Quintessence scenarios, having sensibly different redshift dynamics and respecting all the present observational constraints. For scenarios having the same present equation of state, we find that the effect described above induces a projection feature which makes the bispectra shifted by several tens of multipoles, about 10 times more than the corresponding effect on the ordinary CMB angular power spectrum.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, matching version accepted by Physical Review D, one figure improve

The acceleration of the universe and the physics behind it

Using a general classification of dark enegy models in four classes, we discuss the complementarity of cosmological observations to tackle down the physics beyond the acceleration of our universe. We discuss the tests distinguishing the four classes and then focus on the dynamics of the perturbations in the Newtonian regime. We also exhibit explicitely models that have identical predictions for a subset of observations.Comment: 18 pages, 18 figure

On exact solutions for quintessential (inflationary) cosmological models with exponential potentials

We first study dark energy models with a minimally-coupled scalar field and exponential potentials, admitting exact solutions for the cosmological equations: actually, it turns out that for this class of potentials the Einstein field equations exhibit alternative Lagrangians, and are completely integrable and separable (i.e. it is possible to integrate the system analytically, at least by quadratures). We analyze such solutions, especially discussing when they are compatible with a late time quintessential expansion of the universe. As a further issue, we discuss how such quintessential scalar fields can be connected to the inflationary phase, building up, for this class of potentials, a quintessential inflationary scenario: actually, it turns out that the transition from inflation toward late-time exponential quintessential tail admits a kination period, which is an indispensable ingredient of this kind of theoretical models. All such considerations have also been done by including radiation into the model.Comment: Revtex4, 10 figure

Search for direct production of charginos and neutralinos in events with three leptons and missing transverse momentum in √s = 7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three electrons or muons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is based on 4.7 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations in three signal regions that are either depleted or enriched in Z-boson decays. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set in R-parity conserving phenomenological minimal supersymmetric models and in simplified models, significantly extending previous results