Interpreting Dark Matter Direct Detection Independently of the Local Velocity and Density Distribution

We demonstrate precisely what particle physics information can be extracted from a single direct detection observation of dark matter while making absolutely no assumptions about the local velocity distribution and local density of dark matter. Our central conclusions follow from a very simple observation: the velocity distribution of dark matter is positive definite, f(v) >= 0. We demonstrate the utility of this result in several ways. First, we show a falling deconvoluted recoil spectrum (deconvoluted of the nuclear form factor), such as from ordinary elastic scattering, can be "mocked up" by any mass of dark matter above a kinematic minimum. As an example, we show that dark matter much heavier than previously considered can explain the CoGeNT excess. Specifically, m_chi < m_Ge} can be in just as good agreement as light dark matter, while m_\chi > m_Ge depends on understanding the sensitivity of Xenon to dark matter at very low recoil energies, E_R ~ 6 keVnr. Second, we show that any rise in the deconvoluted recoil spectrum represents distinct particle physics information that cannot be faked by an arbitrary f(v). As examples of resulting non-trivial particle physics, we show that inelastic dark matter and dark matter with a form factor can both yield such a rise

Children, Sports, and Family Dynamics: Are We Having Fun Yet?

The involvement of children in sports is rarely an individual endeavor and can positively and /or negatively affect the entire family system to varying degrees. However, little has been written about how children’s participation in sports impact family dynamics. In working toward filling this void, this paper elaborates on several themes that can emerge when children participate in school or community sports. The themes that will be discussed in this paper include: parent/coach/child triangulation, parent coach-parent conflict, performing a dual role, the family all-star, time, financial commitment, and differing parental perspectives. Based on informal observations and discussions with children, parents, and coaches who are involved in a variety of sports, this paper uses case vignettes to augment the discussion

Emotion word processing: does mood make a difference?

Visual emotion word processing has been in the focus of recent psycholinguistic research. In general, emotion words provoke differential responses in comparison to neutral words. However, words are typically processed within a context rather than in isolation. For instance, how does one's inner emotional state influence the comprehension of emotion words? To address this question, the current study examined lexical decision responses to emotionally positive, negative, and neutral words as a function of induced mood as well as their word frequency. Mood was manipulated by exposing participants to different types of music. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions—no music, positive music, and negative music. Participants' moods were assessed during the experiment to confirm the mood induction manipulation. Reaction time results confirmed prior demonstrations of an interaction between a word's emotionality and its frequency. Results also showed a significant interaction between participant mood and word emotionality. However, the pattern of results was not consistent with mood-congruency effects. Although positive and negative mood facilitated responses overall in comparison to the control group, neither positive nor negative mood appeared to additionally facilitate responses to mood-congruent words. Instead, the pattern of findings seemed to be the consequence of attentional effects arising from induced mood. Positive mood broadens attention to a global level, eliminating the category distinction of positive-negative valence but leaving the high-low arousal dimension intact. In contrast, negative mood narrows attention to a local level, enhancing within-category distinctions, in particular, for negative words, resulting in less effective facilitation

Robust Bayesian detection of unmodelled bursts

A Bayesian treatment of the problem of detecting an unmodelled gravitational wave burst with a global network of gravitational wave observatories reveals that several previously proposed statistics have implicit biases that render them sub-optimal for realistic signal populations.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure, submitted to CQG Amaldi proceedings special issu

Vocal foragers and silent crowds: context-dependent vocal variation in Northeast Atlantic long-finned pilot whales

13 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables.-- Fleur Visser ... et al.-- This article is an open access publicationVocalisations form a key component of the social interactions and foraging behaviour of toothed whales. We investigated changes in calling and echolocation behaviour of long-finned pilot whales between foraging and non-foraging periods, by combining acoustic recordings and diving depth data from tagged individuals with concurrent surface observations on social behaviour of their group. The pilot whales showed marked vocal variation, specific to foraging and social context. During periods of foraging, pilot whales showed more vocal activity than during non-foraging periods (rest, travel). In addition to the expected increase in echolocation activity, call rates also increased, suggesting that pilot whales communicate more during foraging. Furthermore, calls with multiple inflections occurred more often immediately before and after foraging dives and during the early descent and late ascent phases of foraging dives. However, these calls were almost never detected at diving depths of the tagged whale beyond 350 m. Calls with no or few inflections were produced at all times, irrespective of diving depth of the tagged whale. We discuss possible explanations for the distinct vocal variation associated with foraging periods. In addition, during non-foraging periods, the pilot whales were found to be more silent (no calling or echolocation) in larger, more closely spaced groups. This indicates that increased levels of social cohesion may release the need to stay in touch acoustically.This study was financially supported by the US Office of Naval Research, The Netherlands Ministry of Defence, the Norwegian Research Council and the Norwegian Ministry of DefencePeer reviewe

The Protection of Instream Flows in Montana: A Legal-Institutional Perspective

42 pages. Contains references

The Protection of Instream Flows in Montana: A Legal-Institutional Perspective

42 pages. Contains references