435 research outputs found
Cosmic Strings Lens Phenomenology: Model of Poisson Energy Distribution
We present a novel approach for investigating lens phenomenology of cosmic
strings in order to elaborate detection strategies in galaxy deep field images.
To account for the complexity of the projected energy distribution of string
networks we assume their lens effects to be similar to those of a straight
string carrying a {\em random} lineic energy distribution. In such a model we
show that, unlike the case of uniform strings, critical phenomena naturally
appear. We explore the properties of the critical lines and caustics. In
particular, assuming that the energy coherence length along the string is much
smaller than the observation scale, we succeeded in computing the total length
of critical lines per unit string length and found it to be . The length of the associated caustic lines can also be computed to be
. The picture we obtain here for the
phenomenology of cosmic string detection is clearly at variance with common
lore.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures. Minor correction
Supersonic Electroweak Baryogenesis: Achieving Baryogenesis for Fast Bubble Walls
Standard electroweak baryogenesis in the context of a first order phase
transition is effective in generating the baryon asymmetry of the universe if
the broken phase bubbles expand at subsonic speed, so that CP asymmetric
currents can diffuse in front of the wall. Here we present a new mechanism for
electroweak baryogenesis which operates for supersonic bubble walls. It relies
on the formation of small bubbles of the symmetric phase behind the bubble
wall, in the broken phase, due to the heating of the plasma as the wall passes
by. We apply the mechanism to a model in which the Higgs field is coupled to
several singlets, and find that enough baryon asymmetry is generated for
reasonable values of the parameter space
Revisit of the Interaction between Holographic Dark Energy and Dark Matter
In this paper we investigate the possible direct, non-gravitational
interaction between holographic dark energy (HDE) and dark matter. Firstly, we
start with two simple models with the interaction terms
and , and then we move on to the general form . The cosmological constraints of the models are
obtained from the joint analysis of the present Union2.1+BAO+CMB+ data. We
find that the data slightly favor an energy flow from dark matter to dark
energy, although the original HDE model still lies in the 95.4% confidence
level (CL) region. For all models we find at the 95.4% CL. We show that
compared with the cosmic expansion, the effect of interaction on the evolution
of and is smaller, and the relative increment
(decrement) amount of the energy in the dark matter component is constrained to
be less than 9% (15%) at the 95.4% CL. By introducing the interaction, we find
that even when the big rip still can be avoided due to the existence of a
de Sitter solution at . We show that this solution can not be
accomplished in the two simple models, while for the general model such a
solution can be achieved with a large , and the big rip may be avoided
at the 95.4% CL.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figures, version accepted for publication in JCA
The stochastic gravitational wave background from turbulence and magnetic fields generated by a first-order phase transition
We analytically derive the spectrum of gravitational waves due to
magneto-hydrodynamical turbulence generated by bubble collisions in a
first-order phase transition. In contrast to previous studies, we take into
account the fact that turbulence and magnetic fields act as sources of
gravitational waves for many Hubble times after the phase transition is
completed. This modifies the gravitational wave spectrum at large scales. We
also model the initial stirring phase preceding the Kolmogorov cascade, while
earlier works assume that the Kolmogorov spectrum sets in instantaneously. The
continuity in time of the source is relevant for a correct determination of the
peak position of the gravitational wave spectrum. We discuss how the results
depend on assumptions about the unequal-time correlation of the source and
motivate a realistic choice for it. Our treatment gives a similar peak
frequency as previous analyses but the amplitude of the signal is reduced due
to the use of a more realistic power spectrum for the magneto-hydrodynamical
turbulence. For a strongly first-order electroweak phase transition, the signal
is observable with the space interferometer LISA.Comment: 46 pages, 17 figures. Replaced with revised version accepted for
publication in JCA
Evolution of cosmic string configurations
We extend and develop our previous work on the evolution of a network of
cosmic strings. The new treatment is based on an analysis of the probability
distribution of the end-to-end distance of a randomly chosen segment of
left-moving string of given length. The description involves three distinct
length scales: , related to the overall string density, , the
persistence length along the string, and , describing the small-scale
structure, which is an important feature of the numerical simulations that have
been done of this problem. An evolution equation is derived describing how the
distribution develops in time due to the combined effects of the universal
expansion, of intercommuting and loop formation, and of gravitational
radiation. With plausible assumptions about the unknown parameters in the
model, we confirm the conclusions of our previous study, that if gravitational
radiation and small-scale structure effects are neglected, the two dominant
length scales both scale in proportion to the horizon size. When the extra
effects are included, we find that while and grow,
initially does not. Eventually, however, it does appear to scale, at a much
lower level, due to the effects of gravitational back-reaction.Comment: 61 pages, requires RevTex v3.0, SUSSEX-TH-93/3-4,
IMPERIAL/TP/92-93/4
Gravitational Lensing by Cosmic Strings in the Era of Wide-Field Surveys
Motivated by the recent claim for gravitational lensing by a cosmic string,
we reinvestigate the probability of finding such an event with upcoming
wide-field surveys. If an observed lensing event is suspected to be due to a
string, observations of the vicinity of the event in a circle of diameter L
centered on the observed lens should reveal several additional lensing events.
For a string located nearby (z\lesssim 0.5), we find that observations in a
region of size \approx 1 arcmin^2 will see \sim 100 objects, of which \sim 5
would be lensed by the string, compared to \sim 0.1 lensed by conventional
sources.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to be submitted to PRD Rapid
Professionalism, Golf Coaching and a Master of Science Degree: A commentary
As a point of reference I congratulate Simon Jenkins on tackling the issue of professionalism in coaching. As he points out coaching is not a profession, but this does not mean that coaching would not benefit from going through a professionalization process. As things stand I find that the stimulus article unpacks some critically important issues of professionalism, broadly within the context of golf coaching. However, I am not sure enough is made of understanding what professional (golf) coaching actually is nor how the development of a professional golf coach can be facilitated by a Master of Science Degree (M.Sc.). I will focus my commentary on these two issues
Symposium on The New Significance of Learning:Imagination’s heartwork
Hogan has written a fine, timely book which deserves to be widely read. The main
argument is for a remembering (re-membering) of an idea of education in which it is
understood as a practice in its own right, rather than just what Hogan provocatively
and accurately terms a ‘subordinate activity’. That is, he argues persuasively for an
understanding that education has its own inherent purposes, rather than (or as well
as) extrinsic religious or political ones
Origin and evolution of the light nuclides
After a short historical (and highly subjective) introduction to the field, I
discuss our current understanding of the origin and evolution of the light
nuclides D, He-3, He-4, Li-6, Li-7, Be-9, B-10 and B-11. Despite considerable
observational and theoretical progress, important uncertainties still persist
for each and every one of those nuclides. The present-day abundance of D in the
local interstellar medium is currently uncertain, making it difficult to infer
the recent chemical evolution of the solar neighborhood. To account for the
observed quasi-constancy of He-3 abundance from the Big Bang to our days, the
stellar production of that nuclide must be negligible; however, the scarce
observations of its abundance in planetary nebulae seem to contradict this
idea. The observed Be and B evolution as primaries suggests that the source
composition of cosmic rays has remained quasi-constant since the early days of
the Galaxy, a suggestion with far reaching implications for the origin of
cosmic rays; however, the main idea proposed to account for that constancy,
namely that superbubbles are at the source of cosmic rays, encounters some
serious difficulties. The best explanation for the mismatch between primordial
Li and the observed "Spite-plateau" in halo stars appears to be depletion of Li
in stellar envelopes, by some yet poorly understood mechanism. But this
explanation impacts on the level of the recently discovered early ``Li-6
plateau'', which (if confirmed), seriously challenges current ideas of cosmic
ray nucleosynthesis.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figs. Invited Review in "Symposium on the Composition of
Matter", honoring Johannes Geiss on the occasion of his 80th birthday
(Grindelwald, Switzerland, Sept. 2006), to be published in Space Science
Series of ISS
Quantification of milk yield and composition changes as affected by subclinical mastitis during the current lactation in sheep
[EN] The aim of this work was to quantify, on a half-udder basis, the changes in ewe milk yield and composition caused by unilateral subclinical mastitis within the current lactation. Fluctuations due to production level, infection severity, time from the onset of infection, and lactation curves were also studied. Yield and composition of milk from half-udders of unilateral infected ewes were compared between them and with a set of healthy halves using a mixed model. The experiment was completed with a whole-udder approach on the same animals. To test the effect of intramammary infection (IMI) in the 7 wk following the onset of infection, 20 ewes that acquired unilateral subclinical mastitis during lactation and 40 healthy ewes were used. Another group of 20 unilaterally infected ewes from wk 1 of lactation and other 40 healthy ewes were studied to test the effect of IMI on lactational milk yield and composition. The individual milk loss in ewes infected during lactation was 15% for the 7 wk following the onset of infection, and 6.6% more milk was produced by the uninfected half to compensate milk lost by the infected half. Lactational milk yield loss in ewes infected from wk 1 postpartum was 17%. The changes in milk yield were noticed from the week of infection diagnosis. The production level of animals influenced the milk yield changes caused by IMI in such a way that the more productive ewes lost more milk, although these losses were proportional to their production level. On the other hand, infection severity affected milk loss between glands, being more pronounced as somatic cell count increased. A clear decrease of lactose content and casein:protein ratio due to subclinical IMI was observed and it remained throughout the postinfection period. Improving udder health status is necessary to maintain milk production and quality in dairy ewes during lactationThe authors thank the regional government of Valencia ("Generalitat Valenciana") for its support by means of a research fellowship.Martí De Olives, AM.; Díaz, J.; Molina Pons, MP.; Peris Ribera, CJ. (2013). Quantification of milk yield and composition changes as affected by subclinical mastitis during the current lactation in sheep. Journal of Dairy Science. 96(12):7698-7708. doi:10.3168/jds.2013-6998S76987708961
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