11,951 research outputs found
Search for Cosmic Axions using an Optical Interferometer
A high finesse optical cavity can be used to search for cosmic axions in the
mass range 10^{-6}< m_a <10^{-4} eV. Either a two-arm or a single-arm cavity is
suitable and in either case the signal as resonant sidebands imposed on the
carrier. Assuming for the local axion density the usual figure of 500 MeV/cm^3
[8], the KSVZ axion line [4] g/m_a = 0.4 Gev^{-2}, can be reached over the full
mass range in a one year search.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figur
Black hole hunting in the Andromeda Galaxy
We present a new technique for identifying stellar mass black holes in low
mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs), and apply it to XMM-Newton observations of M31. We
examine X-ray time series variability seeking power density spectra (PDS)
typical of LMXBs accreting at a low accretion rate (which we refer to as Type A
PDS); these are very similar for black hole and neutron star LMXBs. Galactic
neutron star LMXBs exhibit Type A PDS at low luminosities (~10^36--10^37 erg/s)
while black hole LMXBs can exhibit them at luminosities >10^38 erg/s. We
propose that Type A PDS are confined to luminosities below a critical fraction
of the Eddington limit, that is constant for all LMXBs; we have examined
asample of black hole and neutron star LMXBs and find they are all consistent
with = 0.10+/-0.04 in the 0.3--10 keV band. We present luminosity and PDS
data from 167 observations of X-ray binaries in M31 that provide strong support
for our hypothesis. Since the theoretical maximum mass for a neutron star is
\~3.1 M_Sun, we therefore assert that any LMXB that exhibits a Type A PDS at a
0.3--10 keV luminosity greater than 4 x 10^37 erg/s is likely to contain a
black hole primary. We have found eleven new black hole candidates in M31 using
this method. We focus on XMM-Newton observations of RX J0042.4+4112, an X-ray
source in M31 and find the mass of the primary to be 7+/-2 M_Sun, if our
assumptions are correct. Furthermore, RX J0042.4+4112 is consistently bright in
\~40 observations made over 23 years, and is likely to be a persistently bright
LMXB; by contrast all known Galactic black hole LMXBs are transient. Hence our
method may be used to find black holes in known, persistently bright Galactic
LMXBs and also in LMXBs in other galaxies.Comment: 6 Pages, 6 figures. To appear in the conference proceedings of
"Interacting Binaries: Accretion, Evolution and Outcomes" (Cefalu, July 4-10
2004
Initial states and infrared physics in locally de Sitter spacetime
The long wavelength physics in a de Sitter region depends on the initial
quantum state. While such long wavelength physics is under control for massive
fields near the Hartle-Hawking vacuum state, such initial states make unnatural
assumptions about initial data outside the region of causal contact of a local
observer. We argue that a reasonable approximation to a maximum entropy state,
one that makes minimal assumptions outside an observer's horizon volume, is one
where a cutoff is placed on a surface bounded by timelike geodesics, just
outside the horizon. For sufficiently early times, such a cutoff induces
secular logarithmic divergences with the expansion of the region. For massive
fields, these effects sum to finite corrections at sufficiently late times. The
difference between the cutoff correlators and Hartle-Hawking correlators
provides a measure of the theoretical uncertainty due to lack of knowledge of
the initial state in causally disconnected regions. These differences are
negligible for primordial inflation, but can become significant during epochs
with very long-lived de Sitter regions, such as we may be entering now.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures, references adde
Effects of Minijets on Hadronic Spectra and Azimuthal Harmonics in Au-Au Collisions at 200 GeV
The production of hadrons in heavy-ion collisions at RHIC in the low
transverse-momentum () region is investigated in the recombination model
with emphasis on the effects of minijets on the azimuthal anisotropy. Since the
study is mainly on the hadronization of partons at late time, the fluid picture
is not used to trace the evolution of the system. The inclusive distributions
at low are determined as the recombination products of thermal partons.
The dependencies of both pion and proton have a common exponential factor
apart from other dissimilar kinematic and resonance factors, because they are
inherited from the same pool of thermal partons. Instead of the usual
description based on hydrodynamics, the azimuthal anisotropy of the produced
hadrons is explained as the consequence of the effects of minijets, either
indirectly through the recombination of enhanced thermal partons in the
vicinity of the trajectories of the semihard partons, or directly through
thermal-shower recombination. Although our investigation is focussed on the
single-particle distribution at midrapidity, we give reasons why a component in
that distribution can be identified with the ridge, which together with the
second harmonic is due to the semihard partons created near the medium
surface that lead to calculable anisotropy in . It is shown that the
higher azimuthal harmonics, , can also be well reproduced without
reference to flow. The and centrality dependencies of the higher
harmonics are prescribed by the interplay between TT and TS recombination
components. The implication of the success of this drastic departure from the
conventional approach is discussed.Comment: 28 pages and 8 figures, more discussions and references adde
Femtolensing and Picolensing by Axion Miniclusters
Non-linear effects in the evolution of the axion field in the early Universe
may lead to the formation of gravitationally bound clumps of axions, known as
``miniclusters.'' Minicluster masses and radii should be in the range and cm, and in plausible
early-Universe scenarios a significant fraction of the mass density of the
Universe may be in the form of axion miniclusters. If such axion miniclusters
exist, they would have the physical properties required to be detected by
``femtolensing.''Comment: 7 pages plus 2 figures (Fig.1 avalible upon request), LaTe
Can We See Lorentz-Violating Vector Fields in the CMB?
We investigate the perturbation theory of a fixed-norm, timelike
Lorentz-violating vector field. After consistently quantizing the vector field
to put constraints on its parameters, we compute the primordial spectra of
perturbations generated by inflation in the presence of this vector field. We
find that its perturbations are sourced by the perturbations of the inflaton;
without the inflaton perturbation the vector field perturbations decay away
leaving no primordial spectra of perturbations. Since the inflaton perturbation
does not have a spin-1 component, the vector field generically does not
generate any spin-1 ``vector-type'' perturbations. Nevertheless, it will modify
the amplitude of both the spin-0 ``scalar-type'' and spin-2 ``tensor-type''
perturbation spectra, leading to violations of the inflationary consistency
relationship.Comment: 36 pages, 1 fig, RevTex4, Submitted to PR
Elliptic Flow and Fixed p_T Suppression in a Final State Interaction Model
It has been shown that a final state interaction model, used to describe
J/psi suppression, can also describe the fixed p_T suppression of the pi^0 (and
charged pions) yield at all values of p_T, with a final state interaction
cross-section sigma close to one milibarn. We propose an extension of the model
to the pion motion in the transverse plane - which introduces a dependence of
the suppression on the azimuthal angle theta_R. Using the same value of sigma,
we obtain values of the elliptic flow v_2 close to the experimental ones, for
all values of p_T, including the soft p_T region.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figure
Constraints on radiative decay of the 17-keV neutrino from COBE Measurements
It is shown that, for a nontrivial radiative decay channel of the 17-keV
neutrino, the photons would distort the microwave background radiation through
ionization of the universe. The constraint on the branching ratio of such
decays from COBE measurements is found to be more stringent than that from
other considerations. The limit on the branching ratio in terms of the Compton
parameter is for an
universe.Comment: 7 pages. (figures will be sent on request) (To appear in Phys. Rev.
D.
Nitrous oxide in fresh water systems: An estimate for the yield of atmospheric N2O associated with disposal of human waste
The N2O content of waters in the Potomac and Merrimack Rivers was measured on a number of occasions over the period April to July 1977. The concentrations of dissolved N2O exceeded those which would apply in equilibrium with air by factors ranging from about 46 in the Potomac to 1.2 in the Merrimack. Highest concentrations of dissolved N2O were associated with sewage discharges from the vicinity of Washington, D. C., and analysis indicates a relatively high yield, 1.3 to 11%, for prompt conversion of waste nitrogen to N2O. Measurements of dissolved N2O in fresh water ponds near Boston demonstrated that aquatic systems provide both strong sources and sinks for atmospheric N2O
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