The gamma-ray burst monitor for Lobster-ISS

Lobster-ISS is an X-ray all-sky monitor experiment selected by ESA two years ago for a Phase A study (now almost completed) for a future flight (2009) aboard the Columbus Exposed Payload Facility of the International Space Station. The main instrument, based on MCP optics with Lobster-eye geometry, has an energy passband from 0.1 to 3.5 keV, an unprecedented daily sensitivity of 2x10^{-12} erg cm^{-2}s$^{-1}, and it is capable to scan, during each orbit, the entire sky with an angular resolution of 4--6 arcmin. This X-ray telescope is flanked by a Gamma Ray Burst Monitor, with the minimum requirement of recognizing true GRBs from other transient events. In this paper we describe the GRBM. In addition to the minimum requirement, the instrument proposed is capable to roughly localize GRBs which occur in the Lobster FOV (162x22.5 degrees) and to significantly extend the scientific capabilities of the main instrument for the study of GRBs and X-ray transients. The combination of the two instruments will allow an unprecedented spectral coverage (from 0.1 up to 300/700 keV) for a sensitive study of the GRB prompt emission in the passband where GRBs and X-Ray Flashes emit most of their energy. The low-energy spectral band (0.1-10 keV) is of key importance for the study of the GRB environment and the search of transient absorption and emission features from GRBs, both goals being crucial for unveiling the GRB phenomenon. The entire energy band of Lobster-ISS is not covered by either the Swift satellite or other GRB missions foreseen in the next decade.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Paper presented at the COSPAR 2004 General Assembly (Paris), accepted for publication in Advances in Space Research in June 2005 and available on-line at the Journal site (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/02731177), section "Articles in press

Neutron star properties with relativistic equations of state

We study the properties of neutron stars adopting relativistic equations of state of neutron star matter, calculated in the framework of the relativistic Brueckner-Hartree-Fock approximation for electrically charge neutral neutron star matter in beta-equilibrium. For higher densities more baryons (hyperons etc.) are included by means of the relativistic Hartree- or Hartree-Fock approximation. The special features of the different approximations and compositions are discussed in detail. Besides standard neutron star properties special emphasis is put on the limiting periods of neutron stars, for which the Kepler criterion and gravitation-reaction instabilities are considered. Furthermore the cooling behaviour of neutron stars is investigated, too. For comparison we give also the outcome for some nonrelativistic equations of state.Comment: 43 pages, 22 ps-figures, to be published in the International Journal of Modern Physics

Antimicrobials: a global alliance for optimizing their rational use in intra-abdominal infections (AGORA)

Intra-abdominal infections (IAI) are an important cause of morbidity and are frequently associated with poor prognosis, particularly in high-risk patients. The cornerstones in the management of complicated IAIs are timely effective source control with appropriate antimicrobial therapy. Empiric antimicrobial therapy is important in the management of intra-abdominal infections and must be broad enough to cover all likely organisms because inappropriate initial antimicrobial therapy is associated with poor patient outcomes and the development of bacterial resistance. The overuse of antimicrobials is widely accepted as a major driver of some emerging infections (such as C. difficile), the selection of resistant pathogens in individual patients, and for the continued development of antimicrobial resistance globally. The growing emergence of multi-drug resistant organisms and the limited development of new agents available to counteract them have caused an impending crisis with alarming implications, especially with regards to Gram-negative bacteria. An international task force from 79 different countries has joined this project by sharing a document on the rational use of antimicrobials for patients with IAIs. The project has been termed AGORA (Antimicrobials: A Global Alliance for Optimizing their Rational Use in Intra-Abdominal Infections). The authors hope that AGORA, involving many of the world's leading experts, can actively raise awareness in health workers and can improve prescribing behavior in treating IAIs

Measurement of the multi-TeV neutrino cross section with IceCube using Earth absorption

Neutrinos interact only very weakly, so they are extremely penetrating. However, the theoretical neutrino-nucleon interaction cross section rises with energy such that, at energies above 40 TeV, neutrinos are expected to be absorbed as they pass through the Earth. Experimentally, the cross section has been measured only at the relatively low energies (below 400 GeV) available at neutrino beams from accelerators \cite{Agashe:2014kda, Formaggio:2013kya}. Here we report the first measurement of neutrino absorption in the Earth, using a sample of 10,784 energetic upward-going neutrino-induced muons observed with the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. The flux of high-energy neutrinos transiting long paths through the Earth is attenuated compared to a reference sample that follows shorter trajectories through the Earth. Using a fit to the two-dimensional distribution of muon energy and zenith angle, we determine the cross section for neutrino energies between 6.3 TeV and 980 TeV, more than an order of magnitude higher in energy than previous measurements. The measured cross section is $1.30^{+0.21}_{-0.19}$ (stat.) $^{+0.39}_{-0.43}$ (syst.) times the prediction of the Standard Model \cite{CooperSarkar:2011pa}, consistent with the expectation for charged and neutral current interactions. We do not observe a dramatic increase in the cross section, expected in some speculative models, including those invoking new compact dimensions \cite{AlvarezMuniz:2002ga} or the production of leptoquarks \cite{Romero:2009vu}.Comment: Preprint version of Nature paper 10.1038/nature2445

Photo-excited zero-resistance states in the GaAs/AlGaAs system

The microwave-excited high mobility two-dimensional electron system exhibits, at liquid helium temperatures, vanishing resistance in the vicinity of $B = [4/(4j+1)] B_{f}$, where $B_{f} = 2\pi\textit{f}m^{*}/e$, m$^{*}$ is an effective mass, e is the charge, and \textit{f} is the microwave frequency. Here, we summarize some experimental results.Comment: 7 color figures, 5 page

Dynamical Systems Method (DSM) for solving nonlinear operator equations in Banach spaces

Let $F(u)=h$ be an operator equation in a Banach space $X$, $\|F'(u)-F'(v)\|\leq \omega(\|u-v\|)$, where $\omega\in C([0,\infty))$, $\omega(0)=0$, $\omega(r)>0$ if $r>0$, $\omega(r)$ is strictly growing on $[0,\infty)$. Denote $A(u):=F'(u)$, where $F'(u)$ is the Fr\'{e}chet derivative of $F$, and $A_a:=A+aI.$ Assume that (*) $\|A^{-1}_a(u)\|\leq \frac{c_1}{|a|^b}$, $|a|>0$, $b>0$, $a\in L$. Here $a$ may be a complex number, and $L$ is a smooth path on the complex $a$-plane, joining the origin and some point on the complex $a-$plane, $00$ is a small fixed number, such that for any $a\in L$ estimate (*) holds. It is proved that the DSM (Dynamical Systems Method) \bee \dot{u}(t)=-A^{-1}_{a(t)}(u(t))[F(u(t))+a(t)u(t)-f],\quad u(0)=u_0,\ \dot{u}=\frac{d u}{dt}, \eee converges to $y$ as $t\to +\infty$, where $a(t)\in L,$ $F(y)=f$, $r(t):=|a(t)|$, and $r(t)=c_4(t+c_2)^{-c_3}$, where $c_j>0$ are some suitably chosen constants, $j=2,3,4.$ Existence of a solution $y$ to the equation $F(u)=f$ is assumed. It is also assumed that the equation $F(w_a)+aw_a-f=0$ is uniquely solvable for any $f\in X$, $a\in L$, and $\lim_{|a|\to 0,a\in L}\|w_a-y\|=0.

On the structure of signed Selmer groups

Let $F$ be a number field unramified at an odd prime $p$ and $F_\infty$ be the $\mathbf{Z}_p$-cyclotomic extension of $F$. Generalizing Kobayashi plus/minus Selmer groups for elliptic curves, B\"uy\"ukboduk and Lei have defined modified Selmer groups, called signed Selmer groups, for certain non-ordinary $\mathrm{Gal} \overline{F}/F)$-representations. In particular, their construction applies to abelian varieties defined over $F$ with good supersingular reduction at primes of $F$ dividing $p$. Assuming that these Selmer groups are cotorsion $\mathbf{Z}_p[[\mathrm{Gal}(F_\infty/F)]]$-modules, we show that they have no proper sub-$\mathbf{Z}_p[[\mathrm{Gal}(F_\infty/F)]]$-module of finite index. We deduce from this a number of arithmetic applications. On studying the Euler-Poincar\'e characteristic of these Selmer groups, we obtain an explicit formula on the size of the Bloch-Kato Selmer group attached to these representations. Furthermore, for two such representations that are isomorphic modulo $p$, we compare the Iwasawa-invariants of their signed Selmer groups