Variation of fluxes of RR Tel emission lines measured in 2000 with respect to 1996

The aim of this work is to make available unpublished non-Fe+ emission line fluxes from optical spectra of the symbiotic nova RR Tel which were taken in 2000, and to compare them with fluxes of the same lines from spectra taken in 1996. After leaving out blends and misidentifications, as well as the unreliable far-red and violet lines, we present the log (F2000/F1996) flux ratios for identified non-Fe+ lines. Mean values of log (F2000/F1996) for different ionization potential ranges of the ions producing the lines are shown separately for the permitted and forbidden lines. All means show fading, which is larger in the lowest range of ionization potential. Provisional interpretations are suggested. We also measured the values of FWHM in 2000; the previously known decrease with time of FWHM of lines due to the same ion has continued.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure

KWISP: an ultra-sensitive force sensor for the Dark Energy sector

An ultra-sensitive opto-mechanical force sensor has been built and tested in the optics laboratory at INFN Trieste. Its application to experiments in the Dark Energy sector, such as those for Chameleon-type WISPs, is particularly attractive, as it enables a search for their direct coupling to matter. We present here the main characteristics and the absolute force calibration of the KWISP (Kinetic WISP detection) sensor. It is based on a thin Si3N4 micro-membrane placed inside a Fabry-Perot optical cavity. By monitoring the cavity characteristic frequencies it is possible to detect the tiny membrane displacements caused by an applied force. Far from the mechanical resonant frequency of the membrane, the measured force sensitivity is 5.0e-14 N/sqrt(Hz), corresponding to a displacement sensitivity of 2.5e-15 m/sqrt(Hz), while near resonance the sensitivity is 1.5e-14 N/sqrt(Hz), reaching the estimated thermal limit, or, in terms of displacement, 7.5e-16 N/sqrt(Hz). These displacement sensitivities are comparable to those that can be achieved by large interferometric gravitational wave detectors.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures in colo

Detecting solar chameleons through radiation pressure

Light scalar fields can drive the accelerated expansion of the universe. Hence, they are obvious dark energy candidates. To make such models compatible with tests of General Relativity in the solar system and "fifth force" searches on Earth, one needs to screen them. One possibility is the so-called "chameleon" mechanism, which renders an effective mass depending on the local matter density. If chameleon particles exist, they can be produced in the sun and detected on Earth exploiting the equivalent of a radiation pressure. Since their effective mass scales with the local matter density, chameleons can be reflected by a dense medium if their effective mass becomes greater than their total energy. Thus, under appropriate conditions, a flux of solar chameleons may be sensed by detecting the total instantaneous momentum transferred to a suitable opto-mechanical force/pressure sensor. We calculate the solar chameleon spectrum and the reach in the chameleon parameter space of an experiment using the preliminary results from a force/pressure sensor, currently under development at INFN Trieste, to be mounted in the focal plane of one of the X-Ray telescopes of the CAST experiment at CERN. We show, that such an experiment signifies a pioneering effort probing uncharted chameleon parameter space.Comment: revised versio

The effect of dust obscuration in RR Tel on optical and IR long-term photometry and Fe II emission lines

Infrared and optical photometric and spectroscopic observations of the symbiotic nova RR Tel are used to study the effects and properties of dust in symbiotic binaries containing a cool Mira component, as well as showing "obscuration events" of increased absorption, which are typical for such Miras. A set of photometric observations of the symbiotic nova RR Tel in different wavelength bands - visual from 1949 to 2002 and near-infrared (JHKL) from 1975 to 2002 - are presented. The variability due to the normal Mira pulsation was removed from the JHKL data, which were then compared with the AAVSO visual light curve. The changes of the Fe II emission line fluxes during the 1996-2000 obscuration episode were studied in the optical spectra taken with the Anglo-Australian telescope. We discuss the three periods during which the Mira component was heavily obscured by dust as observed in the different wavelength bands. A change in the correlations of J with other infrared magnitudes was observed with the colour becoming redder after JD2446000. Generally, J-K was comparable, while K-L was larger than typical values for single Miras. A distance estimate of 2.5 kpc, based on the IR data, is given. A larger flux decrease for the permitted than for the forbidden Fe II lines, during the obscuration episode studied, has been found. There is no evidence for other correlations with line properties, in particular with wavelength, which suggests obscuration due to separate optically thick clouds in the outer layers.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures, 3 table

Response-suggestion to The XENON1T excess: an overlooked dark matter signature?

The main alternatives of the recent XENON1T observation are solar axions, neutrino magnetic moment and tritium. In this short note we suggest to crosscheck whether the observation is related or not to dark matter (DM) streams, by searching for planetary dependence of the observed excess. If such a correlation is derived, this hint (<3.5sigma) can become the overlooked direct DM discovery. To do this it is necessary to analyze the time distribution of all the XENON1T data, and in particular the electronic events with their time stamp and energy. Notably, the velocities of the dark sector allow for planetary focusing effects towards the earth either by a single celestial body or combined by the whole solar system. Surprisingly, as yet this possibility has not been applied in the field of direct dark matter search, even though DM velocities fit-in well planetary gravitational lensing effects. The widely used signature of a direct dark matter search needs to be redefined, while, with luck, such an analysis might confirm or exclude the solar origin of the observed excess. Therefore, we suggest that XENON1T and DAMA release the data.Comment: 1 pag

Search for axions in streaming dark matter

A new search strategy for the detection of the elusive dark matter (DM) axion is proposed. The idea is based on streaming DM axions, whose flux might get temporally enormously enhanced due to gravitational lensing. This can happen if the Sun or some planet (including the Moon) is found along the direction of a DM stream propagating towards the Earth location. The experimental requirements to the axion haloscope are a wide-band performance combined with a fast axion rest mass scanning mode, which are feasible. Once both conditions have been implemented in a haloscope, the axion search can continue parasitically almost as before. Interestingly, some new DM axion detectors are operating wide-band by default. In order not to miss the actually unpredictable timing of a potential short duration signal, a network of co-ordinated axion antennae is required, preferentially distributed world-wide. The reasoning presented here for the axions applies to some degree also to any other DM candidates like the WIMPs.Comment: 5 page

Optomechanical sideband cooling of a thin membrane within a cavity

We present an experimental study of dynamical back-action cooling of the fundamental vibrational mode of a thin semitransparent membrane placed within a high-finesse optical cavity. We study how the radiation pressure interaction modifies the mechanical response of the vibrational mode, and the experimental results are in agreement with a Langevin equation description of the coupled dynamics. The experiments are carried out in the resolved sideband regime, and we have observed cooling by a factor 350 We have also observed the mechanical frequency shift associated with the quadratic term in the expansion of the cavity mode frequency versus the effective membrane position, which is typically negligible in other cavity optomechanical devices.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figure

Dark Matter Detection in the Stratosphere

We investigate the prospects for the direct detection of dark matter (DM) particles, incident on the upper atmosphere. A recent work relating the burst-like temperature excursions in the stratosphere at heights of ≈38–47 km with low speed incident invisible streaming matter is the motivation behind this proposal. As an example, dark photons could match the reasoning presented in that work provided they constitute part of the local DM density. Dark photons emerge as a U(1) symmetry within extensions of the standard model. Dark photons mix with real photons with the same total energy without the need for an external field, as would be required, for instance, for axions. Furthermore, the ionospheric plasma column above the stratosphere can resonantly enhance the dark photon-to-photon conversion. Noticeably, the stratosphere is easily accessible with balloon flights. Balloon missions with up to a few tons of payload can be readily assembled to operate for months at such atmospheric heights. This proposal is not limited to streaming dark photons, as other DM constituents could be involved in the observed seasonal heating of the upper stratosphere. Therefore, we advocate a combination of different types of measurements within a multi-purpose parallel detector system, in order to increase the direct detection potential for invisible streaming constituents that affect, annually and around January, the upper stratosphere

Advances in optomechanical force sensors

Mechanical elements are successfully employed as force sensors in various devices. The sensors have reached impressive sensitivity of few nN/sqrt(Hz), but the quest for even more sensitive sensors is still on. The capability of sensing a single bacteria stuck to the sensor's surface in few seconds would provide unprecedented possibilities in various fields. Even in physics such sensitive sensors could be used in search for the elusive constituents of the dark sector. A possible interaction of either dark energy or dark matter with the sensor could be detected. A characterisation of an optimised sensor element will be presented along with it's properties