Linking the exotic structure of 17{}^{17}C to its unbound mirror 17{}^{17}Na

The structure of ${}^{17}$C is used to define a nuclear interaction that, when used in a multichannel algebraic scattering theory for the $n+{}^{16}$C system, gives a credible definition of the (compound) excitation spectra. When couplings to the low-lying collective excitations of the ${}^{16}$C-core are taken into account, both sub-threshold and resonant states about the $n+{}^{16}$C threshold are found. Adding Coulomb potentials to that nuclear interaction, the method is used for the mirror system of $p+{}^{16}$Ne to specify the low-excitation spectrum of the particle unstable $^{17}$Na. We compare the results with those of a microscopic cluster model. A spectrum of low excitation resonant states in ${}^{17}$Na is found with some differences to that given by the microscopic-cluster model. The calculated resonance half-widths (for proton emission) range from $\sim 2$ to $\sim 672$ keV.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure

A Quantum-Mechanical Equivalent-Photon Spectrum for Heavy-Ion Physics

In a previous paper, we calculated the fully quantum-mechanical cross section for electromagnetic excitation during peripheral heavy-ion collisions. Here, we examine the sensitivity of that cross section to the detailed structure of the projectile and target nuclei. At the transition energies relevant to nuclear physics, we find the cross section to be weakly dependent on the projectile charge radius, and to be sensitive to only the leading momentum-transfer dependence of the target transition form factors. We exploit these facts to derive a quantum-mechanical ``equivalent-photon spectrum'' valid in the long-wavelength limit. This improved spectrum includes the effects of projectile size, the finite longitudinal momentum transfer required by kinematics, and the response of the target nucleus to the off-shell photon.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figure

Anisotropy at the end of the cosmic ray spectrum?

The starburst galaxies M82 and NGC253 have been proposed as the primary sources of cosmic rays with energies above $10^{18.7}$ eV. For energies \agt 10^{20.3} eV the model predicts strong anisotropies. We calculate the probabilities that the latter can be due to chance occurrence. For the highest energy cosmic ray events in this energy region, we find that the observed directionality has less than 1% probability of occurring due to random fluctuations. Moreover, during the first 5 years of operation at Auger, the observation of even half the predicted anisotropy has a probability of less than $10^{-5}$ to occur by chance fluctuation. Thus, this model can be subject to test at very small cost to the Auger priors budget and, whatever the outcome of that test, valuable information on the Galactic magnetic field will be obtained.Comment: Final version to be published in Physical Review

Transport on percolation clusters with power-law distributed bond strengths: when do blobs matter?

The simplest transport problem, namely maxflow, is investigated on critical percolation clusters in two and three dimensions, using a combination of extremal statistics arguments and exact numerical computations, for power-law distributed bond strengths of the type $P(\sigma) \sim \sigma^{-\alpha}$. Assuming that only cutting bonds determine the flow, the maxflow critical exponent \ve is found to be \ve(\alpha)=(d-1) \nu + 1/(1-\alpha). This prediction is confirmed with excellent accuracy using large-scale numerical simulation in two and three dimensions. However, in the region of anomalous bond capacity distributions ($0\leq \alpha \leq 1$) we demonstrate that, due to cluster-structure fluctuations, it is not the cutting bonds but the blobs that set the transport properties of the backbone. This ``blob-dominance'' avoids a cross-over to a regime where structural details, the distribution of the number of red or cutting bonds, would set the scaling. The restored scaling exponents however still follow the simplistic red bond estimate. This is argued to be due to the existence of a hierarchy of so-called minimum cut-configurations, for which cutting bonds form the lowest level, and whose transport properties scale all in the same way. We point out the relevance of our findings to other scalar transport problems (i.e. conductivity).Comment: 9 pages + Postscript figures. Revtex4+psfig. Submitted to PR

Benchmark Parameters for CMB Polarization Experiments

The recently detected polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) holds the potential for revealing the physics of inflation and gravitationally mapping the large-scale structure of the universe, if so called B-mode signals below 10^{-7}, or tenths of a uK, can be reliably detected. We provide a language for describing systematic effects which distort the observed CMB temperature and polarization fields and so contaminate the B-modes. We identify 7 types of effects, described by 11 distortion fields, and show their association with known instrumental systematics such as common mode and differential gain fluctuations, line cross-coupling, pointing errors, and differential polarized beam effects. Because of aliasing from the small-scale structure in the CMB, even uncorrelated fluctuations in these effects can affect the large-scale B modes relevant to gravitational waves. Many of these problems are greatly reduced by having an instrumental beam that resolves the primary anisotropies (FWHM << 10'). To reach the ultimate goal of an inflationary energy scale of 3 \times 10^{15} GeV, polarization distortion fluctuations must be controlled at the 10^{-2}-10^{-3} level and temperature leakage to the 10^{-4}-10^{-3} level depending on effect. For example pointing errors must be controlled to 1.5'' rms for arcminute scale beams or a percent of the Gaussian beam width for larger beams; low spatial frequency differential gain fluctuations or line cross-coupling must be eliminated at the level of 10^{-4} rms.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PR

A lower bound on the local extragalactic magnetic field

Assuming that the hard gamma-ray emission of Cen A is a result of synchrotron radiation of ultra-relativistic electrons, we derive a lower bound on the local extragalactic magnetic field, $B> 10^{-8}$ G. This result is consistent with (and close to) upper bounds on magnetic fields derived from consideration of cosmic microwave background distortions and Faraday rotation measurements.Comment: Includes extensive discussion of particle acceleration above 10^20 eV in the hot spot-like region of Cen

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

Helical distribution of the bacterial chemoreceptor via colocalization with the Sec protein translocation machinery

In Escherichia coli, chemoreceptor clustering at a cell pole seems critical for signal amplification and adaptation. However, little is known about the mechanism of localization itself. Here we examined whether the aspartate chemoreceptor (Tar) is inserted directly into the polar membrane by using its fusion to green fluorescent protein (GFP). After induction of Tar–GFP, fluorescent spots first appeared in lateral membrane regions, and later cell poles became predominantly fluorescent. Unexpectedly, Tar–GFP showed a helical arrangement in lateral regions, which was more apparent when a Tar–GFP derivative with two cysteine residues in the periplasmic domain was cross-linked to form higher oligomers. Moreover, similar distribution was observed even when the cytoplasmic domain of the double cysteine Tar–GFP mutant was replaced by that of the kinase EnvZ, which does not localize to a pole. Observation of GFP–SecE and a translocation-defective MalE–GFP mutant, as well as indirect immunofluorescence microscopy on SecG, suggested that the general protein translocation machinery (Sec) itself is arranged into a helical array, with which Tar is transiently associated. The Sec coil appeared distinct from the MreB coil, an actin-like cytoskeleton. These findings will shed new light on the mechanisms underlying spatial organization of membrane proteins in E. coli

Black Holes from Cosmic Rays: Probes of Extra Dimensions and New Limits on TeV-Scale Gravity

If extra spacetime dimensions and low-scale gravity exist, black holes will be produced in observable collisions of elementary particles. For the next several years, ultra-high energy cosmic rays provide the most promising window on this phenomenon. In particular, cosmic neutrinos can produce black holes deep in the Earth's atmosphere, leading to quasi-horizontal giant air showers. We determine the sensitivity of cosmic ray detectors to black hole production and compare the results to other probes of extra dimensions. With n \ge 4 extra dimensions, current bounds on deeply penetrating showers from AGASA already provide the most stringent bound on low-scale gravity, requiring a fundamental Planck scale M_D > 1.3 - 1.8 TeV. The Auger Observatory will probe M_D as large as 4 TeV and may observe on the order of a hundred black holes in 5 years. We also consider the implications of angular momentum and possible exponentially suppressed parton cross sections; including these effects, large black hole rates are still possible. Finally, we demonstrate that even if only a few black hole events are observed, a standard model interpretation may be excluded by comparison with Earth-skimming neutrino rates.Comment: 30 pages, 18 figures; v2: discussion of gravitational infall, AGASA and Fly's Eye comparison added; v3: Earth-skimming results modified and strengthened, published versio