445 research outputs found
The eleven observations of comets between 687 AD and 1114 AD recorded in the Anglo Saxon Chronicle
This research paper is an examination of the eleven cometary references (679AD, 729AD, 892AD, 950AD, 975AD, 995AD, 1066AD, 1097AD, 1106AD, 1110AD and 1114AD) found in the various manuscripts of The Anglo Saxon Chronicle between 678 AD and 1114 AD. The manuscripts contain more than 35 celestial observations. This is an examination of astronomical phenomena and other climatic or natural events, that are described in The Anglo Saxon Chronicle, which is also referred to as The Old English Annals
Heparin binding domain in vitronectin is required for oligomerization and thus enhances integrin mediated cell adhesion and spreading
AbstractVitronectin is a multi-functional protein found predominantly as a monomer in blood and as an oligomer in the extracellular matrix. We have dissected the minimal regions of vitronectin protein needed for effective integrin dependent cell adhesion and spreading. A fragment of vitronectin containing the RGD integrin binding site showed similar binding affinity as that of full vitronectin protein to purified integrin αvβ3 but had diminished cell adhesion and spreading function in vivo. We demonstrate that the oligomeric state of the protein is responsible for this effect. We provide compelling evidence for the involvement of the heparin binding domain of vitronectin in the oligomerization process and show that such oligomerization reinforces the activity of vitronectin in cell adhesion and spreading.Structured summaryMINT-7905703: Vn (uniprotkb:P04004) and Vn (uniprotkb:P04004) bind (MI:0407) by molecular sieving (MI:0071
A Brief Review on Dark Matter Annihilation Explanation for Excesses in Cosmic Ray
Recently data from PAMELA, ATIC, FERMI-LAT and HESS show that there are
excesses in the cosmic ray energy spectrum. PAMELA observed excesses
only in , but not in anti-proton spectrum. ATIC, FERMI-LAT and HESS
observed excesses in spectrum, but the detailed shapes are different
which requires future experimental observations to pin down the correct data
set. Nevertheless a lot of efforts have been made to explain the observed
excesses, and also why PAMELA only observed excesses in but not
in anti-proton. In this brief review we discuss one of the most popular
mechanisms to explain the data, the dark matter annihilation. It has long been
known that about 23% of our universe is made of relic dark matter. If the relic
dark matter was thermally produced, the annihilation rate is constrained
resulting in the need of a large boost factor to explain the data. We will
discuss in detail how a large boost factor can be obtained by the Sommerfeld
and Briet-Wigner enhancement mechanisms. Some implications for particle physics
model buildings will also be discussed.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figures. Several typoes corrected and some references
added. Published in Mod. Phys. Lett. A, Vol. 24, No. 27 (2009) pp. 2139-216
Neutralino Dark Matter in BMSSM Effective Theory
We study thermal neutralino dark matter in an effective field theory
extension of the MSSM, called "Beyond the MSSM" (BMSSM) in Dine, Seiberg and
Thomas (2007). In this class of effective field theories, the field content of
the MSSM is unchanged, but the little hierarchy problem is alleviated by
allowing small corrections to the Higgs/higgsino part of the Lagrangian. We
perform parameter scans and compute the dark matter relic density. The light
Higgsino LSP scenario is modified the most; we find new regions of parameter
space compared to the standard MSSM. This involves interesting interplay
between the WMAP dark matter bounds and the LEP chargino bound. We also find
some changes for gaugino LSPs, partly due to annihilation through a Higgs
resonance, and partly due to coannihilation with light stops in models that are
ruled in by the new effective terms.Comment: 37 pages + appendi
PAMELA, DAMA, INTEGRAL and Signatures of Metastable Excited WIMPs
Models of dark matter with ~ GeV scale force mediators provide attractive
explanations of many high energy anomalies, including PAMELA, ATIC, and the
WMAP haze. At the same time, by exploiting the ~ MeV scale excited states that
are automatically present in such theories, these models naturally explain the
DAMA/LIBRA and INTEGRAL signals through the inelastic dark matter (iDM) and
exciting dark matter (XDM) scenarios, respectively. Interestingly, with only
weak kinetic mixing to hypercharge to mediate decays, the lifetime of excited
states with delta < 2 m_e is longer than the age of the universe. The
fractional relic abundance of these excited states depends on the temperature
of kinetic decoupling, but can be appreciable. There could easily be other
mechanisms for rapid decay, but the consequences of such long-lived states are
intriguing. We find that CDMS constrains the fractional relic population of
~100 keV states to be <~ 10^-2, for a 1 TeV WIMP with sigma_n = 10^-40 cm^2.
Upcoming searches at CDMS, as well as xenon, silicon, and argon targets, can
push this limit significantly lower. We also consider the possibility that the
DAMA excitation occurs from a metastable state into the XDM state, which decays
via e+e- emission, which allows lighter states to explain the INTEGRAL signal
due to the small kinetic energies required. Such models yield dramatic signals
from down-scattering, with spectra peaking at high energies, sometimes as high
as ~1 MeV, well outside the usual search windows. Such signals would be visible
at future Ar and Si experiments, and may be visible at Ge and Xe experiments.
We also consider other XDM models involving ~ 500 keV metastable states, and
find they can allow lighter WIMPs to explain INTEGRAL as well.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figure
A Definitive Signal of Multiple Supersymmetry Breaking
If the lightest observable-sector supersymmetric particle (LOSP) is charged
and long-lived, then it may be possible to indirectly measure the Planck mass
at the LHC and provide a spectacular confirmation of supergravity as a symmetry
of nature. Unfortunately, this proposal is only feasible if the gravitino is
heavy enough to be measured at colliders, and this condition is in direct
conflict with constraints from big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). In this work, we
show that the BBN bound can be naturally evaded in the presence of multiple
sectors which independently break supersymmetry, since there is a new decay
channel of the LOSP to a goldstino. Certain regions of parameter space allow
for a direct measurement of LOSP decays into both the goldstino and the
gravitino at the LHC. If the goldstino/gravitino mass ratio is measured to be
2, as suggested by theory, then this would provide dramatic verification of the
existence of multiple supersymmetry breaking and sequestering. A variety of
consistent cosmological scenarios are obtained within this framework. In
particular, if an R symmetry is imposed, then the gauge-gaugino-goldstino
interaction vertices can be forbidden. In this case, there is no bound on the
reheating temperature from goldstino overproduction, and thermal leptogenesis
can be accommodated consistently with gravitino dark matter.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, title changed to match the version published in
JHE
Conservative Constraints on Dark Matter from the Fermi-LAT Isotropic Diffuse Gamma-Ray Background Spectrum
We examine the constraints on final state radiation from Weakly Interacting
Massive Particle (WIMP) dark matter candidates annihilating into various
standard model final states, as imposed by the measurement of the isotropic
diffuse gamma-ray background by the Large Area Telescope aboard the Fermi
Gamma-Ray Space Telescope. The expected isotropic diffuse signal from dark
matter annihilation has contributions from the local Milky Way (MW) as well as
from extragalactic dark matter. The signal from the MW is very insensitive to
the adopted dark matter profile of the halos, and dominates the signal from
extragalactic halos, which is sensitive to the low mass cut-off of the halo
mass function. We adopt a conservative model for both the low halo mass
survival cut-off and the substructure boost factor of the Galactic and
extragalactic components, and only consider the primary final state radiation.
This provides robust constraints which reach the thermal production
cross-section for low mass WIMPs annihilating into hadronic modes. We also
reanalyze limits from HESS observations of the Galactic Ridge region using a
conservative model for the dark matter halo profile. When combined with the
HESS constraint, the isotropic diffuse spectrum rules out all interpretations
of the PAMELA positron excess based on dark matter annihilation into two lepton
final states. Annihilation into four leptons through new intermediate states,
although constrained by the data, is not excluded.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures. v3: minor revisions, matches version to appear
in JCA
Decaying Hidden Dark Matter in Warped Compactification
The recent PAMELA and ATIC/Fermi/HESS experiments have observed an excess of
electrons and positrons, but not anti-protons, in the high energy cosmic rays.
To explain this result, we construct a decaying hidden dark matter model in
string theory compactification that incorporates the following two ingredients,
the hidden dark matter scenario in warped compactification and the
phenomenological proposal of hidden light particles that decay to the Standard
Model. In this model, on higher dimensional warped branes, various warped
Kaluza-Klein particles and the zero-mode of gauge field play roles of the
hidden dark matter or mediators to the Standard Model.Comment: 15 pages; v4, several clarifications added, update on Fermi/HESS
result
Two component dark matter
We explain the PAMELA positron excess and the PPB-BETS/ATIC e+ + e- data
using a simple two component dark matter model (2DM). The two particle species
in the dark matter sector are assumed to be in thermal equilibrium in the early
universe. While one particle is stable and is the present day dark matter, the
second one is metastable and decays after the universe is 10^-8 s old. In this
model it is simple to accommodate the large boost factors required to explain
the PAMELA positron excess without the need for large spikes in the local dark
matter density. We provide the constraints on the parameters of the model and
comment on possible signals at future colliders.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, discussion clarified and extende
Transformation kinetics of alloys under non-isothermal conditions
The overall solid-to-solid phase transformation kinetics under non-isothermal
conditions has been modeled by means of a differential equation method. The
method requires provisions for expressions of the fraction of the transformed
phase in equilibrium condition and the relaxation time for transition as
functions of temperature. The thermal history is an input to the model. We have
used the method to calculate the time/temperature variation of the volume
fraction of the favored phase in the alpha-to-beta transition in a zirconium
alloy under heating and cooling, in agreement with experimental results. We
also present a formulation that accounts for both additive and non-additive
phase transformation processes. Moreover, a method based on the concept of path
integral, which considers all the possible paths in thermal histories to reach
the final state, is suggested.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures. To appear in Modelling Simul. Mater. Sci. En
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