1,458 research outputs found
Corrigan-Ramond Extension of QCD at Nonzero Baryon Density
We investigate the Corrigan-Ramond extension of one massless flavor Quantum
Chromo Dynamics at nonzero quark chemical potential. Since the extension
requires the fermions to transform in the two index antisymmetric
representation of the gauge group, one finds that the number of possible
channels is richer than in the 't Hooft limit. We first discuss the diquark
channels and show that for a number of colors larger than three a new diquark
channel appears. We then study the infinite number of color limit and show that
the Fermi surface is unstable to the formation of the
Deryagin-Grigoriev-Rubakov chiral waves. We discover, differently from the 't
Hooft limit, the possibility of a colored chiral wave breaking the color
symmetry as well as translation invariance.Comment: RevTeX, 14 pages, 2 figure
On the Direct Detection of Dark Matter Annihilation
We investigate the direct detection phenomenology of a class of dark matter
(DM) models in which DM does not directly interact with nuclei, {but rather}
the products of its annihilation do. When these annihilation products are very
light compared to the DM mass, the scattering in direct detection experiments
is controlled by relativistic kinematics. This results in a distinctive recoil
spectrum, a non-standard and or even absent annual modulation, and the ability
to probe DM masses as low as a 10 MeV. We use current LUX data to show
that experimental sensitivity to thermal relic annihilation cross sections has
already been reached in a class of models. Moreover, the compatibility of dark
matter direct detection experiments can be compared directly in
space without making assumptions about DM astrophysics, mass, or scattering
form factors. Lastly, when DM has direct couplings to nuclei, the limit from
annihilation to relativistic particles in the Sun can be stronger than that of
conventional non-relativistic direct detection by more than three orders of
magnitude for masses in a 2-7 GeV window.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, PRL versio
Halo Independent Direct Detection of Momentum-Dependent Dark Matter
We show that the momentum dependence of dark matter interactions with nuclei
can be probed in direct detection experiments without knowledge of the dark
matter velocity distribution. This is one of the few properties of DM
microphysics that can be determined with direct detection alone, given a signal
of dark matter in multiple direct detection experiments with different targets.
Long-range interactions arising from the exchange of a light mediator are one
example of momentum-dependent DM. For data produced from the exchange of a
massless mediator we find for example that the mediator mass can be constrained
to be MeV for DM in the 20-1000 GeV range in a halo-independent
manner.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures; updated to match published versio
NASA Work Experience
I have had the opportunity to support the analytical laboratories in chemical analysis of unknown samples, using Optical Microscopy (OM), Polarizing Light Microscopy (PLM), Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEMEDS), and X-ray Powder Diffraction (XPD). I have assisted in characterizing fibers pulled from a spacecraft, a white fibrous residue discovered in a jet refueler truck, brown residue from a plant habitat slated for delivery to the ISS (International Space Station), corrosion on a pipe from a sprinkler, and air filtration material brought back from the ISS. I also conducted my own fiber study in order to practice techniques and further my understanding of background concepts. Furthermore, I had the opportunity to participate in diverse work assignments, where I was assigned to work with other branches of the engineering department for 1-2 days each. The first was in the Materials Science branch where I participated in the construction of the plant habitat intended for use in research aboard the ISS. The second was in the Testing Design branch where I assisted with tensile and hardness testing of over 40 samples. In addition, I have had the privilege to attend multiple tours of the NASA KSC campus, including to the Astronaut Crew Quarters, the VAB (the main area, the Columbia room, and the catwalk), the Visitor Center housing the shuttle Atlantis, the Saturn-V exhibit, the Prototype laboratory, SWAMP WORKS, the Shuttle Landing Facility, the Crawler, and the Booster Fabrication Facility (BFF). Lastly, much of my coursework prepared me for this experience, including numerous laboratory courses with topics diverse as chemistry, physics, and biology
Synthesis and catalytic performance of CeOCl in Deacon reaction
Surface chlorinated CeO2 is an efficient material for HCl oxidation, which raises the question whether an oxychloride phase could be also active in the same reaction. CeOCl was synthesized by solid state reaction of cerium oxide with anhydrous cerium chloride and tested in HCl oxidation using various feed compositions at 703 K. X-ray diffraction of post-reaction samples revealed that CeOCl is unstable, in both oxygen-rich and -lean conditions. Applying oxygen over-stoichiometric feeds led to complete transformation of CeOCl into CeO2. Considerable HCl conversions were obtained only after this transformation, which confirms the essential role of bulk cerium oxide in this catalytic system
Sounding stellar cycles with Kepler - preliminary results from ground-based chromospheric activity measurements
Due to its unique long-term coverage and high photometric precision,
observations from the Kepler asteroseismic investigation will provide us with
the possibility to sound stellar cycles in a number of solar-type stars with
asteroseismology. By comparing these measurements with conventional
ground-based chromospheric activity measurements we might be able to increase
our understanding of the relation between the chromospheric changes and the
changes in the eigenmodes.
In parallel with the Kepler observations we have therefore started a
programme at the Nordic Optical Telescope to observe and monitor chromospheric
activity in the stars that are most likely to be selected for observations for
the whole satellite mission. The ground-based observations presented here can
be used both to guide the selection of the special Kepler targets and as the
first step in a monitoring programme for stellar cycles. Also, the
chromospheric activity measurements obtained from the ground-based observations
can be compared with stellar parameters such as ages and rotation in order to
improve stellar evolution models.Comment: submitted to the proceedings of the IAU symposium No. 264, 200
Age and helium content of the open cluster NGC 6791 from multiple eclipsing binary members. I. Measurements, methods, and first results
Earlier measurements of the masses and radii of the detached eclipsing binary
V20 in the open cluster NGC 6791 were accurate enough to demonstrate that there
are significant differences between current stellar models. Here we improve on
those results and add measurements of two additional detached eclipsing
binaries, the cluster members V18 and V80. The enlarged sample sets much
tighter constraints on the properties of stellar models than has hitherto been
possible, thereby improving both the accuracy and precision of the cluster age.
We employed (i) high-resolution UVES spectroscopy of V18, V20 and V80 to
determine their spectroscopic effective temperatures, [Fe/H] values, and
spectroscopic orbital elements, and (ii) time-series photometry from the Nordic
Optical Telescope to obtain the photometric elements. The masses and radii of
the V18 and V20 components are found to high accuracy, with errors on the
masses in the range 0.27-0.36% and errors on the radii in the range 0.61-0.92%.
V80 is found to be magnetically active, and more observations are needed to
determine its parameters accurately. The metallicity of NGC 6791 is measured
from disentangled spectra of the binaries and a few single stars to be [Fe/H]=
+0.29 \pm 0.03 (random) \pm 0.07 (systematic). The cluster reddening and
apparent distance modulus are found to be E(B - V) = 0.160 \pm 0.025 and (m -
M)V = 13.51 \pm 0.06 . A first model comparison shows that we can constrain the
helium content of the NGC 6791 stars, and thus reach a more accurate age than
previously possible. It may be possible to constrain additional parameters, in
particular the C, N, and O abundances. This will be investigated in paper II.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
- …