1,452 research outputs found
Experimental Limit on the Cosmic Diffuse Ultra-high Energy Neutrino Flux
We report results from 120 hours of livetime with the Goldstone Lunar
Ultra-high energy neutrino Experiment (GLUE). The experiment searches for <10
ns microwave pulses from the lunar regolith, appearing in coincidence at two
large radio telescopes separated by 22 km and linked by optical fiber. Such
pulses would arise from subsurface electromagnetic cascades induced by
interactions of >= 100 EeV neutrinos in the lunar regolith. No candidates are
yet seen, and the implied limits constrain several current models for
ultra-high energy neutrino fluxes.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, revtex4 style. New intro section, Fig. 2, Fig 4;
in final PRL revie
Time-Domain Measurement of Broadband Coherent Cherenkov Radiation
We report on further analysis of coherent microwave Cherenkov impulses
emitted via the Askaryan mechanism from high-energy electromagnetic showers
produced at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC). In this report, the
time-domain based analysis of the measurements made with a broadband (nominally
1-18 GHz) log periodic dipole array antenna is described. The theory of a
transmit-receive antenna system based on time-dependent effective height
operator is summarized and applied to fully characterize the measurement
antenna system and to reconstruct the electric field induced via the Askaryan
process. The observed radiation intensity and phase as functions of frequency
were found to agree with expectations from 0.75-11.5 GHz within experimental
errors on the normalized electric field magnitude and the relative phase; 0.039
microV/MHz/TeV and 17 deg, respectively. This is the first time this agreement
has been observed over such a broad bandwidth, and the first measurement of the
relative phase variation of an Askaryan pulse. The importance of validation of
the Askaryan mechanism is significant since it is viewed as the most promising
way to detect cosmogenic neutrino fluxes at E > 10^15 eV.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, accepted by Phys. Rev.
Bone Marrow Stromal Cells Use Tgf-Β to Suppress Allergic Responses in a Mouse Model of Ragweed-Induced Asthma
Bone marrow stromal cells [BMSCs; also known as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)] effectively suppress inflammatory responses in acute graft-versus-host disease in humans and in a number of disease models in mice. Many of the studies concluded that BMSC- driven immunomodulation is mediated by the suppression of pro- inflammatory Th1 responses while rebalancing the Th1/Th2 ratio toward Th2. In this study, using a ragweed induced mouse asthma model, we studied if BMSCs could be beneficial in an allergic, Th2- dominant environment. When BMSCs were injected i.v. at the time of the antigen challenge, they protected the animals from the majority of asthma-specific pathological changes, including inhib- ition of eosinophil infiltration and excess mucus production in the lung, decreased levels of Th2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13) in bronchial lavage, and lowered serum levels of Th2 immunoglobu- lins (IgG1 and IgE). To explore the mechanism of the effect we used BMSCs isolated from a variety of knockout mice, performed in vivo blocking of cytokines and studied the effect of asthmatic serum and bronchoalveolar lavage from ragweed challenged animals on the BMSCs in vitro. Our results suggest that IL-4 and/ or IL-13 activate the STAT6 pathway in the BMSCs resulting in an increase of their TGF-β production, which seems to mediate the beneficial effect, either alone, or together with regulatory T cells, some of which might be recruited by the BMSCs. These data sug- gest that, in addition to focusing on graft-versus-host disease and autoimmune diseases, allergic conditions—specifically therapy resistant asthma—might also be a likely target of the recently discovered cellular therapy approach using BMSCs
Application of imaging to the atmospheric Cherenkov technique
Turver and Weekes proposed using a system of phototubes in the focal plane of a large reflector to give an air Cherenkov camera for gamma ray astronomy. Preliminary results with a 19 element camera have been reported previously. In 1983 the camera was increased to 37 pixels; it has now been routinely operated for two years. A brief physical description of the camera, its mode of operation, and the data reduction procedures are presented. The Monte Carlo simultations on which these are based on also reviewed
Observation of the Askaryan Effect: Coherent Microwave Cherenkov Emission from Charge Asymmetry in High Energy Particle Cascades
We present the first direct experimental evidence for the charge excess in
high energy particle showers predicted nearly 40 years ago by Askaryan. We
directed bremsstrahlung photons from picosecond pulses of 28.5 GeV electrons at
the SLAC Final Focus Test Beam facility into a 3.5 ton silica sand target,
producing electromagnetic showers several meters long. A series of antennas
spanning 0.3 to 6 GHz were used to detect strong, sub-nanosecond radio
frequency pulses produced whenever a shower was present. The measured electric
field strengths are consistent with a completely coherent radiation process.
The pulses show 100% linear polarization, consistent with the expectations of
Cherenkov radiation. The field strength versus depth closely follows the
expected particle number density profile of the cascade, consistent with
emission from excess charge distributed along the shower. These measurements
therefore provide strong support for experiments designed to detect high energy
cosmic rays and neutrinos via coherent radio emission from their cascades.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Search for gamma-rays from M31 and other extragalactic objects
Although the existence of fluxes of gamma-rays of energies 10 to the 12th power eV is now established for galactic sources, the detection of such gamma-rays from extragalactic sources has yet to be independently confirmed in any case. The detection and confirmation of such energetic photons is of great astrophysical importance in the study of production mechanisms for cosmic rays, and other high energy processes in extragalactic objects. Observations of m31 are discussed. It is reported as a 10 to the 12th power eV gamma-ray source. Flux limits on a number of other extragalactic objects chosen for study are given
LUNASKA experiments using the Australia Telescope Compact Array to search for ultra-high energy neutrinos and develop technology for the lunar Cherenkov technique
We describe the design, performance, sensitivity and results of our recent
experiments using the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) for lunar
Cherenkov observations with a very wide (600 MHz) bandwidth and nanosecond
timing, including a limit on an isotropic neutrino flux. We also make a first
estimate of the effects of small-scale surface roughness on the effective
experimental aperture, finding that contrary to expectations, such roughness
will act to increase the detectability of near-surface events over the neutrino
energy-range at which our experiment is most sensitive (though distortions to
the time-domain pulse profile may make identification more difficult). The aim
of our "Lunar UHE Neutrino Astrophysics using the Square Kilometer Array"
(LUNASKA) project is to develop the lunar Cherenkov technique of using
terrestrial radio telescope arrays for ultra-high energy (UHE) cosmic ray (CR)
and neutrino detection, and in particular to prepare for using the Square
Kilometer Array (SKA) and its path-finders such as the Australian SKA
Pathfinder (ASKAP) and the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) for lunar Cherenkov
experiments.Comment: 27 pages, 18 figures, 4 tables
Search for gamma-rays above 400 GeV from Geminga
Observations of Geminga made at the Whipple Observatory using the atmospheric Cherenkov technique during the moonless periods of November 1983 to February 1984 and November 1984 till February 1985 were examined for evidence for the emission of gamma rays with energy in excess of approx 400 GeV. Evidence of either a steady flux or a flux pulsed with a period near 60 seconds were studied. In neither case was any significant effect observed, enabling the establishment 3 of sigma upper limits of 5.5 x 10 to the -11th power photons/sq cm/s and 2.0 x 10 to the -11th power photons/sq cm/s for the steady and pulsed emission respectively. The limit to the pulsed flux is approximately a factor of six below that predicted
Observations of the Crab Nebula at energies 4.10(11)
Since the development of gamma-ray astronomical telescopes, the Crab Nebula has been a prime target for observations. From 100 to 1000 MeV, the pulsar PSR0531 is the dominant source with a light-curve similar to that seen at lower energies; there is also some evidence for longterm amplitude variations but none for emission from the Nebula itself. In the very high energy gamma-ray region there have been reported detections of pulsed emission with longterm time variations from minutes to months. Recently a pulsed flux has been reported that resisted over a long time interval. The detection of a flux from the Nebula at the 3 sigma level at energies of 3x1011eV was reported; there was no evidence of periodic emissions on any time scale during the three years of observations. A new measurement of very high energy gamma rays from the Crab Nebula is reported using the imaging system on the Whipple Observatory 10m reflector
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