3-D Photoionization Structure and Distances of Planetary Nebulae II. Menzel 1

We present the results of a spatio-kinematic study of the planetary nebula Menzel 1 using spectro-photometric mapping and a 3-D photoionization code. We create several 2-D emission line images from our long-slit spectra, and use these to derive the line fluxes for 15 lines, the Halpha/Hbeta extinction map, and the [SII] line ratio density map of the nebula. We use our photoionization code constrained by these data to derive the three-dimensional nebular structure and ionizing star parameters of Menzel 1 by simultaneously fitting the integrated line intensities, the density map, and the observed morphologies in several lines, as well as the velocity structure. Using theoretical evolutionary tracks of intermediate and low mass stars, we derive a mass for the central star of 0.63+-0.05 Msolar. We also derive a distance of 1050+_150 pc to Menzel 1.Comment: To be published in ApJ of 10th February 2005. 12 figure

Evidence for right-handed neutrinos at a neutrino factory

We emphasize that a muon based neutrino factory could show the existence of light right-handed neutrinos, if a deficit in the number of detected events is observed at a near detector. This could be as large as ~10% if the size of the new interactions saturates the present limits from electroweak precision data, what is not excluded by the oscillation experiments performed up to now. A simple model realizing such a scenario can be obtained adding right-handed neutrinos to the minimal Standard Model, together with an extra scalar doublet and a triplet of hypercharge 1. In this case, however, the possible deficit is reduced by a factor of ~3, and the Yukawa couplings must be adequately chosen. This is also generically required if lepton flavour violation must be below present bounds.Comment: Latex 18 pages, 2 eps figure

Implications of the Fermi-LAT diffuse gamma-ray measurements on annihilating or decaying Dark Matter

We analyze the recently published Fermi-LAT diffuse gamma-ray measurements in the context of leptonically annihilating or decaying dark matter (DM) with the aim to explain simultaneously the isotropic diffuse gamma-ray and the PAMELA, Fermi and HESS (PFH) anomalous $e^\pm$ data. Five different DM annihilation/decay channels $2e$, $2\mu$, $2\tau$, $4e$, or $4\mu$ (the latter two via an intermediate light particle $\phi$) are generated with PYTHIA. We calculate both the Galactic and extragalactic prompt and inverse Compton (IC) contributions to the resulting gamma-ray spectra. To find the Galactic IC spectra we use the interstellar radiation field model from the latest release of GALPROP. For the extragalactic signal we show that the amplitude of the prompt gamma-emission is very sensitive to the assumed model for the extragalactic background light. For our Galaxy we use the Einasto, NFW and Isothermal DM density profiles and include the effects of DM substructure assuming a simple subhalo model. Our calculations show that for the annihilating DM the extragalactic gamma-ray signal can dominate only if rather extreme power-law concentration-mass relation $C(M)$ is used, while more realistic $C(M)$ relations make the extragalactic component comparable or subdominant to the Galactic signal. For the decaying DM the Galactic signal always exceeds the extragalactic one. In the case of annihilating DM the PFH favored parameters can be ruled out only if power-law $C(M)$ relation is assumed. For DM decaying into $2\mu$ or $4\mu$ the PFH favored DM parameters are not in conflict with the Fermi gamma-ray data. We find that, due to the (almost) featureless Galactic IC spectrum and the DM halo substructure, annihilating DM may give a good simultaneous fit to the isotropic diffuse gamma-ray and to the PFH $e^\pm$ data without being in clear conflict with the other Fermi-LAT gamma-ray measurements.Comment: Accepted for publication in JCAP, added missing references, new Figs. 9 \& 10, 35 page

Top A_FB at the Tevatron vs. charge asymmetry at the LHC in chiral U(1) flavor models with flavored Higgs doublets

We consider the top forward-backward (FB) asymmetry at the Tevatron and top charge asymmetry at the LHC within chiral U(1)^\prime models with flavor-dependent U(1)^\prime charges and flavored Higgs fields, which were introduced in the ref. [65]. The models could enhance not only the top forward-backward asymmetry at Tevatron, but also the top charge asymmetry at LHC, without too large same-sign top pair production rates. We identify parameter spaces for the U(1)^\prime gauge boson and (pseudo)scalar Higgs bosons where all the experimental data could be accommodated, including the case with about 125 GeV Higgs boson, as suggested recently by ATLAS and CMS.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, figures and discussion adde

PPPC 4 DM ID: A Poor Particle Physicist Cookbook for Dark Matter Indirect Detection

We provide ingredients and recipes for computing signals of TeV-scale Dark Matter annihilations and decays in the Galaxy and beyond. For each DM channel, we present the energy spectra of electrons and positrons, antiprotons, antideuterons, gamma rays, neutrinos and antineutrinos e, mu, tau at production, computed by high-statistics simulations. We estimate the Monte Carlo uncertainty by comparing the results yielded by the Pythia and Herwig event generators. We then provide the propagation functions for charged particles in the Galaxy, for several DM distribution profiles and sets of propagation parameters. Propagation of electrons and positrons is performed with an improved semi-analytic method that takes into account position-dependent energy losses in the Milky Way. Using such propagation functions, we compute the energy spectra of electrons and positrons, antiprotons and antideuterons at the location of the Earth. We then present the gamma ray fluxes, both from prompt emission and from Inverse Compton scattering in the galactic halo. Finally, we provide the spectra of extragalactic gamma rays. All results are available in numerical form and ready to be consumed.Comment: 57 pages with many figures and tables. v4: updated to include a 125 higgs boson, computation and discussion of extragalactic spectra corrected, some other typos fixed; all these corrections and updates are reflected on the numerical ingredients available at http://www.marcocirelli.net/PPPC4DMID.html they correspond to Release 2.

Epidemiology, patterns of care, and mortality for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome in intensive care units in 50 countries

IMPORTANCE: Limited information exists about the epidemiology, recognition, management, and outcomes of patients with the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). OBJECTIVES: To evaluate intensive care unit (ICU) incidence and outcome of ARDS and to assess clinician recognition, ventilation management, and use of adjuncts-for example prone positioning-in routine clinical practice for patients fulfilling the ARDS Berlin Definition. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS:The Large Observational Study to Understand the Global Impact of Severe Acute Respiratory Failure (LUNG SAFE) was an international, multicenter, prospective cohort study of patients undergoing invasive or noninvasive ventilation, conducted during 4 consecutive weeks in the winter of 2014 in a convenience sample of 459 ICUs from 50 countries across 5 continents. EXPOSURES:Acute respiratory distress syndrome. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was ICU incidence of ARDS. Secondary outcomes included assessment of clinician recognition of ARDS, the application of ventilatory management, the use of adjunctive interventions in routine clinical practice, and clinical outcomes from ARDS. RESULTS: Of 29,144 patients admitted to participating ICUs, 3022 (10.4%) fulfilled ARDS criteria. Of these, 2377 patients developed ARDS in the first 48 hours and whose respiratory failure was managed with invasive mechanical ventilation. The period prevalence of mild ARDS was 30.0% (95% CI, 28.2%-31.9%); of moderate ARDS, 46.6% (95% CI, 44.5%-48.6%); and of severe ARDS, 23.4% (95% CI, 21.7%-25.2%). ARDS represented 0.42 cases per ICU bed over 4 weeks and represented 10.4% (95% CI, 10.0%-10.7%) of ICU admissions and 23.4% of patients requiring mechanical ventilation. Clinical recognition of ARDS ranged from 51.3% (95% CI, 47.5%-55.0%) in mild to 78.5% (95% CI, 74.8%-81.8%) in severe ARDS. Less than two-thirds of patients with ARDS received a tidal volume 8 of mL/kg or less of predicted body weight. Plateau pressure was measured in 40.1% (95% CI, 38.2-42.1), whereas 82.6% (95% CI, 81.0%-84.1%) received a positive end-expository pressure (PEEP) of less than 12 cm H2O. Prone positioning was used in 16.3% (95% CI, 13.7%-19.2%) of patients with severe ARDS. Clinician recognition of ARDS was associated with higher PEEP, greater use of neuromuscular blockade, and prone positioning. Hospital mortality was 34.9% (95% CI, 31.4%-38.5%) for those with mild, 40.3% (95% CI, 37.4%-43.3%) for those with moderate, and 46.1% (95% CI, 41.9%-50.4%) for those with severe ARDS. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Among ICUs in 50 countries, the period prevalence of ARDS was 10.4% of ICU admissions. This syndrome appeared to be underrecognized and undertreated and associated with a high mortality rate. These findings indicate the potential for improvement in the management of patients with ARDS

Constraints from Solar and Reactor Neutrinos on Unparticle Long-Range Forces

We have investigated the impact of long-range forces induced by unparticle operators of scalar, vector and tensor nature coupled to fermions in the interpretation of solar neutrinos and KamLAND data. If the unparticle couplings to the neutrinos are mildly non-universal, such long-range forces will not factorize out in the neutrino flavour evolution. As a consequence large deviations from the observed standard matter-induced oscillation pattern for solar neutrinos would be generated. In this case, severe limits can be set on the infrared fix point scale, Lambda_u, and the new physics scale, M, as a function of the ultraviolet (d_UV) and anomalous (d) dimension of the unparticle operator. For a scalar unparticle, for instance, assuming the non-universality of the lepton couplings to unparticles to be of the order of a few per mil we find that, for d_UV=3 and d=1.1, M is constrained to be M > O(10^9) TeV (M > O(10^10) TeV) if Lambda_u= 1 TeV (10 TeV). For given values of Lambda_u and d, the corresponding bounds on M for vector [tensor] unparticles are approximately 100 [3/Sqrt(Lambda_u/TeV)] times those for the scalar case. Conversely, these results can be translated into severe constraints on universality violation of the fermion couplings to unparticle operators with scales which can be accessible at future colliders.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures. Minor changes due to precision in numerical factors and correction in figure labels. References added. Conclusions remain unchange

Search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu channel in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu decay channel, where l = e or mu, in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is presented. The data were collected at the LHC, with the CMS detector, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 inverse femtobarns. No significant excess is observed above the background expectation, and upper limits are set on the Higgs boson production cross section. The presence of the standard model Higgs boson with a mass in the 270-440 GeV range is excluded at 95% confidence level.Comment: Submitted to JHE

Search for New Physics with Jets and Missing Transverse Momentum in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search for new physics is presented based on an event signature of at least three jets accompanied by large missing transverse momentum, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36 inverse picobarns collected in proton--proton collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. No excess of events is observed above the expected standard model backgrounds, which are all estimated from the data. Exclusion limits are presented for the constrained minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model. Cross section limits are also presented using simplified models with new particles decaying to an undetected particle and one or two jets

Measurement of the Z/gamma* + b-jet cross section in pp collisions at 7 TeV

The production of b jets in association with a Z/gamma* boson is studied using proton-proton collisions delivered by the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV and recorded by the CMS detector. The inclusive cross section for Z/gamma* + b-jet production is measured in a sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.2 inverse femtobarns. The Z/gamma* + b-jet cross section with Z/gamma* to ll (where ll = ee or mu mu) for events with the invariant mass 60 < M(ll) < 120 GeV, at least one b jet at the hadron level with pT > 25 GeV and abs(eta) < 2.1, and a separation between the leptons and the jets of Delta R > 0.5 is found to be 5.84 +/- 0.08 (stat.) +/- 0.72 (syst.) +(0.25)/-(0.55) (theory) pb. The kinematic properties of the events are also studied and found to be in agreement with the predictions made by the MadGraph event generator with the parton shower and the hadronisation performed by PYTHIA.Comment: Submitted to the Journal of High Energy Physic