14,769 research outputs found
Dilaton dominance in the early Universe dilutes Dark Matter relic abundances
The role of the dilaton field and its coupling to matter may result to a
dilution of Dark Matter (DM) relic densities. This is to be contrasted with
quintessence scenarios in which relic densities are augmented, due to
modification of the expansion rate, since Universe is not radiation dominated
at DM decoupling. Dilaton field, besides this, affects relic densities through
its coupling to dust which tends to decrease relic abundances. Thus two
separate mechanisms compete each other resulting, in general, to a decrease of
the relic density. This feature may be welcome and can rescue the situation if
Direct Dark Matter experiments point towards small neutralino-nucleon cross
sections, implying small neutralino annihilation rates and hence large relic
densities, at least in the popular supersymmetric scenarios. In the presence of
a diluting mechanism both experimental constraints can be met. The role of the
dilaton for this mechanism has been studied in the context of the non-critical
string theory but in this work we follow a rather general approach assuming
that the dilaton dominates only at early eras long before Big Bang
Nucleosynthesis.Comment: 11 pages, Latex, 4 figures: Comments and references added, version to
appear in Phys. Rev.
Coherent Description for Hitherto Unexplained Radioactivities by Super- and Hyperdeformed Isomeric States
Recently long-lived high spin super- and hyperdeformed isomeric states with
unusual radioactive decay properties have been discovered. Based on these newly
observed modes of radioactive decay, consistent interpretations are suggested
for previously unexplained phenomena seen in nature. These are the Po halos,
the low-energy enhanced 4.5 MeV alpha-particle group proposed to be due to an
isotope of a superheavy element with Z = 108, and the giant halos.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, 1 table, to be published in Int. J. Mod. Phys.
Super- and Hyperdeformed Isomeric States and Long-Lived Superheavy Elements
The recent discoveries of the long-lived high spin super- and hyperdeformed
isomeric states and their unusual radioactive decay properties are described.
Based on their existence a consistent interpretation is given to the production
of the long-lived superheavy element with Z = 112, via secondary reactions in
CERN W targets, and to the low energy and very enhanced alpha-particle groups
seen in various actinide fractions separated from the same W target. In
addition, consistent interpretations are suggested for previously unexplained
phenomena seen in nature. These are the Po halos, the low-energy enhanced 4.5
MeV alpha-particle group proposed to be due to an isotope of a superheavy
element with Z = 108, and the giant halos.Comment: 4 pages. Contribution to the 2nd Int. Conf. on the Chemistry and
Physics of the Transactinide Elements (TAN 03) Napa California, November 200
Event-by-event shape and flow fluctuations of relativistic heavy-ion collision fireballs
Heavy-ion collisions create deformed quark-gluon plasma (QGP) fireballs which
explode anisotropically. The viscosity of the fireball matter determines its
ability to convert the initial spatial deformation into momentum anisotropies
that can be measured in the final hadron spectra. A quantitatively precise
empirical extraction of the QGP viscosity thus requires a good understanding of
the initial fireball deformation. This deformation fluctuates from event to
event, and so does the finally observed momentum anisotropy. We present a
harmonic decomposition of the initial fluctuations in shape and orientation of
the fireball and perform event-by-event ideal fluid dynamical simulations to
extract the resulting fluctuations in the magnitude and direction of the
corresponding harmonic components of the final anisotropic flow at midrapidity.
The final harmonic flow coefficients are found to depend non-linearly on the
initial harmonic eccentricity coefficients. We show that, on average, initial
density fluctuations suppress the buildup of elliptic flow relative to what one
obtains from a smooth initial profile of the same eccentricity, and discuss
implications for the phenomenological extraction of the QGP shear viscosity
from experimental elliptic flow data.Comment: 22 pages, 17 figures. Relative to [v2], minor changes in text. Fig. 9
redrawn. This version accepted by Phys. Rev.
Nonthermal Supermassive Dark Matter
We discuss several cosmological production mechanisms for nonthermal
supermassive dark matter and argue that dark matter may be elementary particles
of mass much greater than the weak scale. Searches for dark matter should not
be limited to weakly interacting particles with mass of the order of the weak
scale, but should extend into the supermassive range as well.Comment: 11 page LaTeX file. No major changes. Version accepted by PR
Dark Matter and the Baryon Asymmetry
We present a mechanism to generate the baryon asymmetry of the Universe which
preserves the net baryon number created in the Big Bang. If dark matter
particles carry baryon number , and , the 's freeze out at a higher temperature
and have a larger relic density than 's. If m_X \lsi 4.5 B_X GeV and the
annihilation cross sections differ by (10%) or more, this type of
scenario naturally explains the observed . Two
concrete examples are given, one of which can be excluded on observational
grounds
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
Blunting the Spike: the CV Minimum Period
The standard picture of CV secular evolution predicts a spike in the CV
distribution near the observed short-period cutoff P_0 ~ 78 min, which is not
observed. We show that an intrinsic spread in minimum (`bounce') periods P_b
resulting from a genuine difference in some parameter controlling the evolution
can remove the spike without smearing the sharpness of the cutoff. The most
probable second parameter is different admixtures of magnetic stellar wind
braking (at up to 5 times the GR rate) in a small tail of systems, perhaps
implying that the donor magnetic field strength at formation is a second
parameter specifying CV evolution. We suggest that magnetic braking resumes
below the gap with a wide range, being well below the GR rate in most CVs, but
significantly above it in a small tail.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures; accepted for publication in MNRA
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
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