24,373,804 research outputs found
Anisotropy probe of galactic and extra-galactic Dark Matter annihilations
We study the flux and the angular power spectrum of gamma-rays produced by
Dark Matter (DM) annihilations in the Milky Way (MW) and in extra-galactic
halos. The annihilation signal receives contributions from: a) the smooth MW
halo, b) resolved and unresolved substructures in the MW, c) external DM halos
at all redshifts, including d) their substructures. Adopting a self-consistent
description of local and extra-galactic substructures, we show that the
annihilation flux from substructures in the MW dominates over all the other
components for angles larger than O(1) degrees from the Galactic Center, unless
an extreme prescription is adopted for the substructures concentration. We also
compute the angular power spectrum of gamma-ray anisotropies and find that, for
an optimistic choice of the particle physics parameters, an interesting
signature of DM annihilations could soon be discovered by the Fermi LAT
satellite at low multipoles, l<100, where the dominant contribution comes from
MW substructures with mass M>10^4 solar masses. For the substructures models we
have adopted, we find that the contribution of extra-galactic annihilations is
instead negligible at all scales.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figure
First narrow-band search for continuous gravitational waves from known pulsars in advanced detector data
Spinning neutron stars asymmetric with respect to their rotation axis are potential sources of
continuous gravitational waves for ground-based interferometric detectors. In the case of known pulsars a
fully coherent search, based on matched filtering, which uses the position and rotational parameters
obtained from electromagnetic observations, can be carried out. Matched filtering maximizes the signalto-
noise (SNR) ratio, but a large sensitivity loss is expected in case of even a very small mismatch
between the assumed and the true signal parameters. For this reason, narrow-band analysis methods have
been developed, allowing a fully coherent search for gravitational waves from known pulsars over a
fraction of a hertz and several spin-down values. In this paper we describe a narrow-band search of
11 pulsars using data from Advanced LIGOâs first observing run. Although we have found several initial
outliers, further studies show no significant evidence for the presence of a gravitational wave signal.
Finally, we have placed upper limits on the signal strain amplitude lower than the spin-down limit for 5 of
the 11 targets over the bands searched; in the case of J1813-1749 the spin-down limit has been beaten for
the first time. For an additional 3 targets, the median upper limit across the search bands is below the
spin-down limit. This is the most sensitive narrow-band search for continuous gravitational waves carried
out so far
Proton spectra from Non-Mesonic Weak Decay of p-shell Lambda-Hypernuclei and evidence for the two-nucleon induced process
New spectra from the FINUDA experiment of the Non Mesonic Weak Decay (NMWD)
proton kinetic energy for 9(Lambda)Be, 11(Lambda)B, 12(Lambda)C, 13(Lambda)C,
15 (Lambda)N and 16(Lambda)O are presented and discussed along with the
published data on 5(Lambda)He and 7(Lambda)Li. Exploiting the large mass number
range and the low energy threshold (15 MeV) for the proton detection of FINUDA,
an evaluation of both Final State Interactions (FSI) and the two nucleon
induced NMWD contributions to the decay process has been done. Based on this
evaluation, a linear dependence of FSI on the hypernuclear mass number A is
found and for the two nucleon stimulated decay rate the experimental value of
Gamma2/Gammap=0.43+-0.25 is determined for the first time. A value for the two
nucleon stimulated decay rate to the total decay rate
Gamma2/GammaNMWD=0.24+-0.10 is also extracted.Comment: 11 pages and 2 figure
Measurement of the multi-TeV neutrino cross section with IceCube using Earth absorption
Neutrinos interact only very weakly, so they are extremely penetrating.
However, the theoretical neutrino-nucleon interaction cross section rises with
energy such that, at energies above 40 TeV, neutrinos are expected to be
absorbed as they pass through the Earth. Experimentally, the cross section has
been measured only at the relatively low energies (below 400 GeV) available at
neutrino beams from accelerators \cite{Agashe:2014kda, Formaggio:2013kya}. Here
we report the first measurement of neutrino absorption in the Earth, using a
sample of 10,784 energetic upward-going neutrino-induced muons observed with
the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. The flux of high-energy neutrinos transiting
long paths through the Earth is attenuated compared to a reference sample that
follows shorter trajectories through the Earth. Using a fit to the
two-dimensional distribution of muon energy and zenith angle, we determine the
cross section for neutrino energies between 6.3 TeV and 980 TeV, more than an
order of magnitude higher in energy than previous measurements. The measured
cross section is (stat.) (syst.)
times the prediction of the Standard Model \cite{CooperSarkar:2011pa},
consistent with the expectation for charged and neutral current interactions.
We do not observe a dramatic increase in the cross section, expected in some
speculative models, including those invoking new compact dimensions
\cite{AlvarezMuniz:2002ga} or the production of leptoquarks
\cite{Romero:2009vu}.Comment: Preprint version of Nature paper 10.1038/nature2445
Non-existence of Ramanujan congruences in modular forms of level four
Ramanujan famously found congruences for the partition function like p(5n+4)
= 0 modulo 5. We provide a method to find all simple congruences of this type
in the coefficients of the inverse of a modular form on Gamma_{1}(4) which is
non-vanishing on the upper half plane. This is applied to answer open questions
about the (non)-existence of congruences in the generating functions for
overpartitions, crank differences, and 2-colored F-partitions.Comment: 19 page
Lyman Alpha Emitter Evolution in the Reionization Epoch
Combining cosmological SPH simulations with a previously developed Lyman
Alpha production/transmission model and the Early Reionization Model (ERM,
reionization ends at redshift z~7), we obtain Lyman Alpha and UV Luminosity
Functions (LFs) for Lyman Alpha Emitters (LAEs) for redshifts between 5.7 and
7.6. Matching model results to observations at z~5.7 requires escape fractions
of Lyman Alpha, f_alpha=0.3, and UV (non-ionizing) continuum photons, f_c=0.22,
corresponding to a color excess, E(B-V)=0.15. We find that (i) f_c increases
towards higher redshifts, due the decreasing mean dust content of galaxies,
(ii) the evolution of f_alpha/f_c hints at the dust content of the ISM becoming
progressively inhomogeneous/clumped with decreasing redshift. The clustering
photoionization boost is important during the initial reionization phases but
has little effect on the Lyman Alpha LF for a highly ionized IGM. Halo
(stellar) masses are in the range 10.0 < \log M_h < 11.8 (8.1 < \log M_* <
10.4) with M_h \propto M_*^{0.64}. The star formation rates are between 3-120
solar masses per year, mass-weighted mean ages are greater than 20 Myr at all
redshifts, while the mean stellar metallicity increases from Z=0.12 to 0.22
solar metallicity from z~7.6 to z~5.7; both age and metallicity positively
correlate with stellar mass. The brightest LAEs are all characterized by large
star formation rates and intermediate ages (~200 Myr), while objects in the
faint end of the Lyman Alpha LF show large age and star formation rate spreads.
With no more free parameters, the Spectral Energy Distributions of three LAE at
z~5.7 observed by Lai et al. (2007) are well reproduced by an intermediate age
(182-220 Myr) stellar population and the above E(B-V) value.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, accepted to MNRA
Diluted one-dimensional spin glasses with power law decaying interactions
We introduce a diluted version of the one dimensional spin-glass model with
interactions decaying in probability as an inverse power of the distance. In
this model varying the power corresponds to change the dimension in short-range
models. The spin-glass phase is studied in and out of the range of validity of
the mean-field approximation in order to discriminate between different
theories. Since each variable interacts only with a finite number of others the
cost for simulating the model is drastically reduced with respect to the fully
connected version and larger sizes can be studied. We find both static and
dynamic evidence in favor of the so-called replica symmetry breaking theory.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, 2 table
The gamma-ray burst monitor for Lobster-ISS
Lobster-ISS is an X-ray all-sky monitor experiment selected by ESA two years
ago for a Phase A study (now almost completed) for a future flight (2009)
aboard the Columbus Exposed Payload Facility of the International Space
Station. The main instrument, based on MCP optics with Lobster-eye geometry,
has an energy passband from 0.1 to 3.5 keV, an unprecedented daily sensitivity
of 2x10^{-12} erg cm^{-2}s$^{-1}, and it is capable to scan, during each orbit,
the entire sky with an angular resolution of 4--6 arcmin. This X-ray telescope
is flanked by a Gamma Ray Burst Monitor, with the minimum requirement of
recognizing true GRBs from other transient events. In this paper we describe
the GRBM. In addition to the minimum requirement, the instrument proposed is
capable to roughly localize GRBs which occur in the Lobster FOV (162x22.5
degrees) and to significantly extend the scientific capabilities of the main
instrument for the study of GRBs and X-ray transients. The combination of the
two instruments will allow an unprecedented spectral coverage (from 0.1 up to
300/700 keV) for a sensitive study of the GRB prompt emission in the passband
where GRBs and X-Ray Flashes emit most of their energy. The low-energy spectral
band (0.1-10 keV) is of key importance for the study of the GRB environment and
the search of transient absorption and emission features from GRBs, both goals
being crucial for unveiling the GRB phenomenon. The entire energy band of
Lobster-ISS is not covered by either the Swift satellite or other GRB missions
foreseen in the next decade.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Paper presented at the COSPAR 2004 General
Assembly (Paris), accepted for publication in Advances in Space Research in
June 2005 and available on-line at the Journal site
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/02731177), section "Articles in
press
Antimicrobials: a global alliance for optimizing their rational use in intra-abdominal infections (AGORA)
Intra-abdominal infections (IAI) are an important cause of morbidity and are frequently associated with poor prognosis, particularly in high-risk patients. The cornerstones in the management of complicated IAIs are timely effective source control with appropriate antimicrobial therapy. Empiric antimicrobial therapy is important in the management of intra-abdominal infections and must be broad enough to cover all likely organisms because inappropriate initial antimicrobial therapy is associated with poor patient outcomes and the development of bacterial resistance. The overuse of antimicrobials is widely accepted as a major driver of some emerging infections (such as C. difficile), the selection of resistant pathogens in individual patients, and for the continued development of antimicrobial resistance globally. The growing emergence of multi-drug resistant organisms and the limited development of new agents available to counteract them have caused an impending crisis with alarming implications, especially with regards to Gram-negative bacteria. An international task force from 79 different countries has joined this project by sharing a document on the rational use of antimicrobials for patients with IAIs. The project has been termed AGORA (Antimicrobials: A Global Alliance for Optimizing their Rational Use in Intra-Abdominal Infections). The authors hope that AGORA, involving many of the world's leading experts, can actively raise awareness in health workers and can improve prescribing behavior in treating IAIs
Workplace democracy and training reform: Some emerging insights from Australia and New Zealand
This paper builds on a series of published articles and chapters that date back to the ESREA seminar on Adult education and the labour market held in Slovenia in 1993 Law, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998a, 1998b. The overarching purpose of that work has been to track and analyse, from a labour studies perspective, trade union strategies to education and training reform in Australia and New Zealand since the mid-1980s
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