487 research outputs found
Sifting data in the real world
In the real world, experimental data are rarely, if ever, distributed as a
normal (Gaussian) distribution. As an example, a large set of data--such as the
cross sections for particle scattering as a function of energy contained in the
archives of the Particle Data Group--is a compendium of all published data, and
hence, unscreened. Inspection of similar data sets quickly shows that, for many
reasons, these data sets have many outliers--points well beyond what is
expected from a normal distribution--thus ruling out the use of conventional
techniques. This note suggests an adaptive algorithm that allows a
phenomenologist to apply to the data sample a sieve whose mesh is coarse enough
to let the background fall through, but fine enough to retain the preponderance
of the signal, thus sifting the data. A prescription is given for finding a
robust estimate of the best-fit model parameters in the presence of a noisy
background, together with a robust estimate of the model parameter errors, as
well as a determination of the goodness-of-fit of the data to the theoretical
hypothesis. Extensive computer simulations are carried out to test the
algorithm for both its accuracy and stability under varying background
conditions.Comment: 29 pages, 13 figures. Version to appear in Nucl. Instr. & Meth.
Effects of new physics in neutrino oscillations in matter
A new flavor changing electron neutrino interaction with matter would always
dominate the nu_e oscillation probability at sufficiently high neutrino
energies. Being suppressed by theta_{13}, the energy scale at which the new
effect starts to be relevant may be within the reach of realistic experiments,
where the peculiar dependence of the signal with energy could give rise to a
clear signature in the nu_e --> nu_tau channel. The latter could be observed by
means of a coarse large magnetized detector by exploiting tau --> mu decays. We
discuss the possibility of identifying or constraining such effects with a high
energy neutrino factory. We also comment on the model independent limits on
them.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure
Abrupt episode of mid-Cretaceous ocean acidification triggered by massive volcanism
Large igneous province volcanic activity during the mid-Cretaceous approximately 94.5 million years ago triggered a global-scale episode of reduced marine oxygen levels known as Oceanic Anoxic Event 2. It has been hypothesized that this geologically rapid degassing of volcanic carbon dioxide altered seawater carbonate chemistry, affecting marine ecosystems, geochemical cycles, and sedimentation. Here, we report on two sites drilled by the International Ocean Discovery Program offshore of southwest Australia that exhibit clear evidence for suppressed pelagic carbonate sedimentation in the form of a stratigraphic interval barren of carbonate, recording ocean acidification during the event. We then use the osmium isotopic composition of bulk sediments to directly link this protracted ~600- kiloyear shoaling of the marine calcite compensation depth to the onset of volcanic activity. This decrease in marine pH was prolonged by biogeochemical feedbacks in highly productive regions that elevated heterotrophic respiration of carbon dioxide to the water column. A compilation of mid- Cretaceous marine stratigraphic records reveals a contemporaneous decrease of sedimentary carbonate content at continental slope sites globally. Thus, we contend that changes in marine carbonate chemistry are a primary ecological stress and important consequence of rapid emission of carbon dioxide during many large igneous province eruptions in the geologic past
Reexamining nonstandard interaction effects on supernova neutrino flavor oscillations
Several extensions of the standard electroweak model allow new four-fermion
interactions (nu_a nu_b * ff) with strength eps_ab*G_F, where (a,b) are flavor
indices. We revisit their effects on flavor oscillations of massive
(anti)neutrinos in supernovae, in order to achieve, in the region above the
protoneutron star, an analytical treatment valid for generic values of the
neutrino mixing angles (omega,phi,psi)=(theta_12,theta_13,theta_23). Assuming
that eps_ab<<1, we find that the leading effects on the flavor transitions
occurring at high (H) and low (L) density along the supernova matter profile
can be simply embedded through the replacements phi-->phi+eps_H and
omega-->omega+eps_L, respectively, where eps_H and eps_L are specific linear
combinations of the eps_ab's. Similar replacements hold for eventual
oscillations in the Earth matter. From a phenomenological point of view, the
most relevant consequence is a possible uncontrolled bias (phi-->phi+eps_H) in
the value of the mixing angle phi inferred by inversion of supernova neutrino
data. Such a drawback, however, does not preclude the discrimination of the
neutrino mass spectrum hierarchy (direct or inverse) through supernova neutrino
oscillations.Comment: Text clarified, one figure added. To appear in PR
Status of a hybrid three-neutrino interpretation of neutrino data
We reanalyze the non-standard interaction (NSI) solutions to the solar
neutrino problem in the light of the latest solar, atmospheric and reactor
neutrino data. We show that such solutions, although preferred by the solar
data and consistent with the oscillation description of the atmospheric
neutrino data, are ruled out by the first results of the KamLAND reactor
experiment, at more than 3_sigma.Comment: 19 pages, LaTeX file using Elsart, 2 tables and 4 figures included.
This version updates the one published in Nucl.Phys.B629:479-490,2002 by
including the new KamLAND dat
The primary cilium influences interleukin-1 beta-induced NF kappa B signalling by regulating IKK activity
AbstractThe primary cilium is an organelle acting as a master regulator of cellular signalling. We have previously shown that disruption of primary cilia assembly, through targeting intraflagellar transport, is associated with muted nitric oxide and prostaglandin responses to the inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1β (IL-1β). Here, we show that loss of the primary cilium disrupts specific molecular signalling events in cytosolic NFκB signalling. The induction of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) and inducible nitrous oxide synthase (iNOS) protein is abolished. Cells unable to assemble cilia exhibit unaffected activation of IκB kinase (IKK), but delayed and reduced degradation of IκB, due to diminished phosphorylation of inhibitor of kappa B (IκB) by IKK. This results in both delayed and reduced NFκB p65 nuclear translocation and nuclear transcript binding. We also demonstrate that heat shock protein 27 (hsp27), an established regulator of IKK, is localized to the ciliary axoneme and cellular levels are dramatically disrupted with loss of the primary cilium. These results suggest that the primary cilia compartment exerts influence over NFκB signalling. We propose that the cilium is a locality for regulation of the molecular events defining NFκB signalling events, tuning signalling as appropriate
Theoretical basis for the Dubinin-Radushkevitch (D-R) adsorption isotherm equation
The Dubinin-Radushkevitch (D-R) equation, which was originally proposed as an empirical adaptation The Polanyi adsorption potential theory, has been the fundamental equation to quantitatively describe the adsorption gases and vapors by microporous sorbents. The equation, based on the postulate that the mechanism for adsorption in micropores is that of pore-filling rather than layer-by-layer surface coverage, generally applies well to adsorption systems involving only van der Waals forces and is especially useful to describe adsorption on activated ???. The ability of the D-R equation to describe gas adsorption on porous materials has inspired many to undertake studies, both experimental and theoretical, to explain the source of the success of the D-R equation in ??? of molecular properties at the gas-solid interface. In many cases, these studies have led to extensions or modifications of the original D-R equation. Many of these attempts and the resulting extensions are reviewed and discussed here. Recently, an isotherm equation was derived for adsorption of gases and vapors on microporous ??? from statistical mechanical principles. It was shown that the D-R equation is an approximated form of this potential theory isotherm. This development is also reviewed and discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43972/1/10450_2005_Article_BF01650130.pd
Asymmetric nuclear matter:the role of the isovector scalar channel
We try to single out some qualitative new effects of the coupling to the
-isovector-scalar meson introduced in a minimal way in a
phenomenological hadronic field theory. Results for the equation of state
() and the phase diagram of asymmetric nuclear matter () are
discussed. We stress the consistency of the -coupling introduction in a
relativistic approach. New contributions to the slope and curvature of the
symmetry energy and the neutron-proton effective mass splitting appear
particularly interesting. A more repulsive for neutron matter at high
baryon densities is expected. Effects on new critical properties of warm ,
mixing of mechanical and chemical instabilities and isospin distillation, are
also presented. The influence is mostly on the {\it isovectorlike}
collective response.
The results are largely analytical and this makes the physical meaning quite
transparent. Implications for nuclear structure properties of drip-line nuclei
and for reaction dynamics with Radioactive Beams are finally pointed out.Comment: 12 pages, 10 Postscript figure
Atmospheric Neutrino Oscillations and New Physics
We study the robustness of the determination of the neutrino masses and
mixing from the analysis of atmospheric and K2K data under the presence of
different forms of phenomenologically allowed new physics in the nu_mu--nu_tau
sector. We focus on vector and tensor-like new physics interactions which allow
us to treat, in a model independent way, effects due to the violation of the
equivalence principle, violations of the Lorentz invariance both CPT conserving
and CPT violating, non-universal couplings to a torsion field and non-standard
neutrino interactions with matter. We perform a global analysis of the full
atmospheric data from SKI together with long baseline K2K data in the presence
of nu_mu -> nu_tau transitions driven by neutrino masses and mixing together
with sub-dominant effects due to these forms of new physics. We show that
within the present degree of experimental precision, the extracted values of
masses and mixing are robust under those effects and we derive the upper bounds
on the possible strength of these new interactions in the nu_mu--nu_tau sector.Comment: 22 pages, LaTeX file using RevTEX4, 5 figures and 4 tables include
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