881 research outputs found
Solar Neutrinos and the Principle of Equivalence
We study the proposed solution of the solar neutrino problem which requires a
flavor nondiagonal coupling of neutrinos to gravity. We adopt a
phenomenological point of view and investigate the consequences of the
hypothesis that the neutrino weak interaction eigenstates are linear
combinations of the gravitational eigenstates which have slightly different
couplings to gravity, and , , corresponding to a
difference in red-shift between electron and muon neutrinos, . We perform a analysis of the latest available solar
neutrino data and obtain the allowed regions in the space of the relevant
parameters. The existing data rule out most of the parameter space which can be
probed in solar neutrino experiments, allowing only for small values of the mixing angle () and for large mixing (). Measurements of the -neutrino energy spectrum in the SNO and
Super-Kamiokande experiments will provide stronger constraints independent of
all considerations related to solar models. We show that these measurements
will be able to exclude part of the allowed region as well as to distinguish
between conventional oscillations and oscillations due to the violation of the
equivalence principle.Comment: 20 pages + 4 figures, IASSNS-AST 94/5
On the nature of the z=0 X-ray absorbers: I. Clues from an external group
Absorption lines of OVII at redshift zero are observed in high quality
Chandra spectra of extragalactic sightlines. The location of the absorber
producing these lines, whether from the corona of the Galaxy or from the Local
Group or even larger scale structure, has been a matter of debate. Here we
study another poor group like our Local Group to understand the distribution of
column density from galaxy to group scales. We show that we cannot yet rule out
the group origin of z=0 systems. We further argue that the debate over Galactic
vs. extragalactic origin of z=0 systems is premature as they likely contain
both components and predict that future higher resolution observations will
resolve the z=0 systems into multiple components.Comment: Submitted to ApJ
Reluctant subjects or passive resistance? A commentary on J. K. Gibson-Graham's "Surplus possibilities: Postdevelopment and community economies"
A commentary on J.K. Gibson-Graham's "Surplus possibilities: Postdevelopment and community economies
A Measurement of Time-Averaged Aerosol Optical Depth using Air-Showers Observed in Stereo by HiRes
Air fluorescence measurements of cosmic ray energy must be corrected for
attenuation of the atmosphere. In this paper we show that the air-showers
themselves can yield a measurement of the aerosol attenuation in terms of
optical depth, time-averaged over extended periods. Although the technique
lacks statistical power to make the critical hourly measurements that only
specialized active instruments can achieve, we note the technique does not
depend on absolute calibration of the detector hardware, and requires no
additional equipment beyond the fluorescence detectors that observe the air
showers. This paper describes the technique, and presents results based on
analysis of 1258 air-showers observed in stereo by the High Resolution Fly's
Eye over a four year span.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication by Astroparticle Physics
Journa
Lorentz and CPT Violation in Neutrinos
A general formalism is presented for violations of Lorentz and CPT symmetry
in the neutrino sector. The effective hamiltonian for neutrino propagation in
the presence of Lorentz and CPT violation is derived, and its properties are
studied. Possible definitive signals in existing and future
neutrino-oscillation experiments are discussed. Among the predictions are
direction-dependent effects, including neutrino-antineutrino mixing, sidereal
and annual variations, and compass asymmetries. Other consequences of Lorentz
and CPT violation involve unconventional energy dependences in oscillation
lengths and mixing angles. A variety of simple models both with and without
neutrino masses are developed to illustrate key physical effects. The
attainable sensitivities to coefficients for Lorentz violation in the
Standard-Model Extension are estimated for various types of experiments. Many
experiments have potential sensitivity to Planck-suppressed effects, comparable
to the best tests in other sectors. The lack of existing experimental
constraints, the wide range of available coefficient space, and the variety of
novel effects imply that some or perhaps even all of the existing data on
neutrino oscillations might be due to Lorentz and CPT violation.Comment: 25 pages REVTe
Decoherence in trapped ions due to polarization of the residual background gas
We investigate the mechanism of damping and heating of trapped ions
associated with the polarization of the residual background gas induced by the
oscillating ions themselves. Reasoning by analogy with the physics of surface
electrons in liquid helium, we demonstrate that the decay of Rabi oscillations
observed in experiments on 9Be+ can be attributed to the polarization phenomena
investigated here. The measured sensitivity of the damping of Rabi oscillations
with respect to the vibrational quantum number of a trapped ion is also
predicted in our polarization model.Comment: 26 pdf pages with 5 figures, http://www.df.ufscar.br/~quantum
Observation of the Ankle and Evidence for a High-Energy Break in the Cosmic Ray Spectrum
We have measured the cosmic ray spectrum at energies above eV using
the two air fluorescence detectors of the High Resolution Fly's Eye experiment
operating in monocular mode. We describe the detector, PMT and atmospheric
calibrations, and the analysis techniques for the two detectors. We fit the
spectrum to models describing galactic and extragalactic sources. Our measured
spectrum gives an observation of a feature known as the ``ankle'' near eV, and strong evidence for a suppression near eV.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures. To appear in Physics Letters B. Accepted versio
Is an MRI-derived anatomical measure of dementia risk also a measure of brain aging?
Machine learning methods have been applied to estimate measures of brain aging from neuroimages. However, only rarely have these measures been examined in the context of biologic age. Here, we investigated associations of an MRI-based measure of dementia risk, the Alzheimer’s disease pattern similarity (AD-PS) scores, with measures used to calculate biological age. Participants were those from visit 5 of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study with cognitive status adjudication, proteomic data, and AD-PS scores available. The AD-PS score estimation is based on previously reported machine learning methods. We evaluated associations of the AD-PS score with all-cause mortality. Sensitivity analyses using only cognitively normal (CN) individuals were performed treating CNS-related causes of death as competing risk. AD-PS score was examined in association with 32 proteins measured, using a Somalogic platform, previously reported to be associated with age. Finally, associations with a deficit accumulation index (DAI) based on a count of 38 health conditions were investigated. All analyses were adjusted for age, race, sex, education, smoking, hypertension, and diabetes. The AD-PS score was significantly associated with all-cause mortality and with levels of 9 of the 32 proteins. Growth/differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) and pleiotrophin remained significant after accounting for multiple-testing and when restricting the analysis to CN participants. A linear regression model showed a significant association between DAI and AD-PS scores overall. While the AD-PS scores were created as a measure of dementia risk, our analyses suggest that they could also be capturing brain aging
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