90 research outputs found
Consequences of short range interactions between dark matter and protons in galaxy clusters
Protons gain energy in short range collisions with heavier dark matter
particles (DMPs) of comparable velocity dispersion. We examine the conditions
under which the heating of baryons by scattering off DMPs can offset radiative
cooling in the cores of galaxy clusters. Collisions with a constant cross
section independent of the relative velocity of the colliding particles, cannot
produce stable thermal balance. In this case, avoiding an unrealistic increase
of the central temperatures yields the upper bound on the cross-section,
\sigma_xp<10^-25 cm^2 (m_x/m_p), where m_x and m_p are the DMP and proton mass,
respectively. A stable balance, however, can be achieved for a power law
dependence on the relative velocity, V, of the form \sigma_xp \propto V^a with
a<-3. An advantage of this heating mechanism is that it preserves the metal
gradients observed in clusters.Comment: 7 pages, new calculations include
Replica Placement on Bounded Treewidth Graphs
We consider the replica placement problem: given a graph with clients and
nodes, place replicas on a minimum set of nodes to serve all the clients; each
client is associated with a request and maximum distance that it can travel to
get served and there is a maximum limit (capacity) on the amount of request a
replica can serve. The problem falls under the general framework of capacitated
set covering. It admits an O(\log n)-approximation and it is NP-hard to
approximate within a factor of . We study the problem in terms of
the treewidth of the graph and present an O(t)-approximation algorithm.Comment: An abridged version of this paper is to appear in the proceedings of
WADS'1
Matroid and Knapsack Center Problems
In the classic -center problem, we are given a metric graph, and the
objective is to open nodes as centers such that the maximum distance from
any vertex to its closest center is minimized. In this paper, we consider two
important generalizations of -center, the matroid center problem and the
knapsack center problem. Both problems are motivated by recent content
distribution network applications. Our contributions can be summarized as
follows:
1. We consider the matroid center problem in which the centers are required
to form an independent set of a given matroid. We show this problem is NP-hard
even on a line. We present a 3-approximation algorithm for the problem on
general metrics. We also consider the outlier version of the problem where a
given number of vertices can be excluded as the outliers from the solution. We
present a 7-approximation for the outlier version.
2. We consider the (multi-)knapsack center problem in which the centers are
required to satisfy one (or more) knapsack constraint(s). It is known that the
knapsack center problem with a single knapsack constraint admits a
3-approximation. However, when there are at least two knapsack constraints, we
show this problem is not approximable at all. To complement the hardness
result, we present a polynomial time algorithm that gives a 3-approximate
solution such that one knapsack constraint is satisfied and the others may be
violated by at most a factor of . We also obtain a 3-approximation
for the outlier version that may violate the knapsack constraint by
.Comment: A preliminary version of this paper is accepted to IPCO 201
Reopening the window on charged dark matter
We reexamine the limits on charged dark matter particles. We show that if
their mass and charge fall in the range 100(q_X/e)^2< m_X < 10^8(q_X/e) TeV,
then magnetic fields prevent particles in the halo from entering the galactic
disk, while those initially trapped inside are accelerated through the Fermi
mechanism and ejected within about 0.1-1 Gyrs. Consequently, previous
constraints on charged dark matter based on terrestrial non-observation are
invalid within that range. Further, we find that charged massive particles may
simultaneously solve several long-standing astrophysical problems, including
the underabundance of dwarf galaxies, the shallow density profiles in the cores
of the LSB galaxies, the absence of cooling flows in the cores of galaxy
clusters, and several others.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in JCA
A model for right-handed neutrino magnetic moments
A simple extension of the Standard Model providing Majorana magnetic moments
to right-handed neutrinos is presented. The model contains, in addition to the
Standard Model particles and right-handed neutrinos, just a singly charged
scalar and a vector-like charged fermion. The phenomenology of the model is
analysed and its implications in cosmology, astrophysics and lepton flavour
violating processes are extracted. If light enough, the charged particles
responsible for the right-handed neutrino magnetic moments could copiously be
produced at the LHC.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure
On the Detectability of the Hydrogen 3-cm Fine Structure Line from the EoR
A soft ultraviolet radiation field, 10.2 eV < E <13.6 eV, that permeates
neutral intergalactic gas during the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) excites the 2p
(directly) and 2s (indirectly) states of atomic hydrogen. Because the 2s state
is metastable, the lifetime of atoms in this level is relatively long, which
may cause the 2s state to be overpopulated relative to the 2p state. It has
recently been proposed that for this reason, neutral intergalactic atomic
hydrogen gas may be detected in absorption in its 3-cm fine-structure line
(2s_1/2 -> 2p_3/2) against the Cosmic Microwave Background out to very high
redshifts. In particular, the optical depth in the fine-structure line through
neutral intergalactic gas surrounding bright quasars during the EoR may reach
tau~1e-5. The resulting surface brightness temperature of tens of micro K (in
absorption) may be detectable with existing radio telescopes. Motivated by this
exciting proposal, we perform a detailed analysis of the transfer of Lyman
beta,gamma,delta,... radiation, and re-analyze the detectability of the
fine-structure line in neutral intergalactic gas surrounding high-redshift
quasars. We find that proper radiative transfer modeling causes the
fine-structure absorption signature to be reduced tremendously to tau< 1e-10.
We therefore conclude that neutral intergalactic gas during the EoR cannot
reveal its presence in the 3-cm fine-structure line to existing radio
telescopes.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, MNRAS in press; v2. some typos fixe
Vertex Sparsifiers: New Results from Old Techniques
Given a capacitated graph and a set of terminals ,
how should we produce a graph only on the terminals so that every
(multicommodity) flow between the terminals in could be supported in
with low congestion, and vice versa? (Such a graph is called a
flow-sparsifier for .) What if we want to be a "simple" graph? What if
we allow to be a convex combination of simple graphs?
Improving on results of Moitra [FOCS 2009] and Leighton and Moitra [STOC
2010], we give efficient algorithms for constructing: (a) a flow-sparsifier
that maintains congestion up to a factor of , where , (b) a convex combination of trees over the terminals that maintains
congestion up to a factor of , and (c) for a planar graph , a
convex combination of planar graphs that maintains congestion up to a constant
factor. This requires us to give a new algorithm for the 0-extension problem,
the first one in which the preimages of each terminal are connected in .
Moreover, this result extends to minor-closed families of graphs.
Our improved bounds immediately imply improved approximation guarantees for
several terminal-based cut and ordering problems.Comment: An extended abstract appears in the 13th International Workshop on
Approximation Algorithms for Combinatorial Optimization Problems (APPROX),
2010. Final version to appear in SIAM J. Computin
Formation of the seed black holes: a role of quark nuggets?
Strange quark nuggets (SQNs) could be the relics of the cosmological QCD
phase transition, and they could very likely be the candidate of cold quark
matter if survived the cooling of the later Universe, although the formation
and evolution of these SQNs depend on the physical state of the hot QGP
(quark-gluon plasma) phase and the state of cold quark matter. We reconsider
the possibility of SQNs as cold dark matter, and find that the formation of
black holes in primordial halos could be significantly different from the
standard scenario. In a primordial halo, the collision between gas and SQNs
could be frequent enough, and thus the viscosity acting on each SQN would
decrease its angular momentum and make it to sink into the center of the halo,
as well as heat the gas. The SQNs with baryon numbers less than could
assemble in the center of the halo before the formation of primordial stars. A
black hole could form by merger of these SQNs, and then its mass could quickly
become about or higher, by accreting the surrounding SQNs or
gas. The black holes formed in this way could be the seeds for the supermassive
black holes at redshift as high as .Comment: 15 page
Approximation Algorithms for the Job Interval Selection Problem and Related Scheduling Problems
21-cm cosmology
Imaging the Universe during the first hundreds of millions of years remains
one of the exciting challenges facing modern cosmology. Observations of the
redshifted 21 cm line of atomic hydrogen offer the potential of opening a new
window into this epoch. This would transform our understanding of the formation
of the first stars and galaxies and of the thermal history of the Universe. A
new generation of radio telescopes is being constructed for this purpose with
the first results starting to trickle in. In this review, we detail the physics
that governs the 21 cm signal and describe what might be learnt from upcoming
observations. We also generalize our discussion to intensity mapping of other
atomic and molecular lines.Comment: 64 pages, 20 figures, submitted to Reports on Progress in Physics,
comments welcom
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