280 research outputs found
The Abundance of New Kind of Dark Matter Structures
A new kind of dark matter structures, ultracompact minihalos (UCMHs) was
proposed recently. They would be formed during the radiation dominated epoch if
the large density perturbations are existent. Moreover, if the dark matter is
made up of weakly interacting massive particles, the UCMHs can have effect on
cosmological evolution because of the high density and dark matter annihilation
within them. In this paper, one new parameter is introduced to consider the
contributions of UCMHs due to the dark matter annihilation to the evolution of
cosmology, and we use the current and future CMB observations to obtain the
constraint on the new parameter and then the abundance of UCMHs. The final
results are applicable for a wider range of dark matter parametersComment: 4 pages, 1 tabl
Probing Cosmic Strings with Satellite CMB measurements
We study the problem of searching for cosmic string signal patterns in the
present high resolution and high sensitivity observations of the Cosmic
Microwave Background (CMB). This article discusses a technique capable of
recognizing Kaiser-Stebbins effect signatures in total intensity anisotropy
maps, and shows that the biggest factor that produces confusion is represented
by the acoustic oscillation features of the scale comparable to the size of
horizon at recombination. Simulations show that the distribution of null
signals for pure Gaussian maps converges to a distribution, with
detectability threshold corresponding to a string induced step signal with an
amplitude of about 100 \muK which corresponds to a limit of roughly . We study the statistics of spurious detections caused by
extra-Galactic and Galactic foregrounds. For diffuse Galactic foregrounds,
which represents the dominant source of contamination, we derive sky masks
outlining the available region of the sky where the Galactic confusion is
sub-dominant, specializing our analysis to the case represented by the
frequency coverage and nominal sensitivity and resolution of the Planck
experiment.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, to be published in JCA
Epistemic and social scripts in computer-supported collaborative learning
Collaborative learning in computer-supported learning environments typically means that learners work on tasks together, discussing their individual perspectives via text-based media or videoconferencing, and consequently acquire knowledge. Collaborative learning, however, is often sub-optimal with respect to how learners work on the concepts that are supposed to be learned and how learners interact with each other. One possibility to improve collaborative learning environments is to conceptualize epistemic scripts, which specify how learners work on a given task, and social scripts, which structure how learners interact with each other. In this contribution, two studies will be reported that investigated the effects of epistemic and social scripts in a text-based computer-supported learning environment and in a videoconferencing learning environment in order to foster the individual acquisition of knowledge. In each study the factors âepistemic scriptâ and âsocial scriptâ have been independently varied in a 2Ă2-factorial design. 182 university students of Educational Science participated in these two studies. Results of both studies show that social scripts can be substantially beneficial with respect to the individual acquisition of knowledge, whereas epistemic scripts apparently do not to lead to the expected effects
Atmospheric Neutrinos Can Make Beauty Strange
The large observed mixing angle in atmospheric neutrinos, coupled with Grand
Unification, motivates the search for a large mixing between right-handed
strange and bottom squarks. Such mixing does not appear in the standard CKM
phenomenology, but may induce significant b to s transitions through gluino
diagrams. Working in the mass eigenbasis, we show quantitatively that an order
one effect on CP violation in B_d to phi+K_S is possible due to a large mixing
between right-handed b and s squarks, while still satisfying constraints from b
to s + gamma. We also include the effect of right- and left-handed bottom
squark mixing proportional to m_b*mu*tan(beta). For small mu*tan(beta) there
may also be a large effect in B_s mixing correlated with a large effect in B_d
to phi+K_S, typically mixing effects are greater than 100 ps^{-1}, an
unambiguous signal of new physics at Tevatron Run II.Comment: 32 pages, LaTeX. Corrected a factor of two mistake in the code; the
possible impact on B -> phi K_s became larger. Figures and discussion
updated, a reference adde
On primordial trispectrum from exchanging scalar modes in general multiple field inflationary models
We make an complementary investigation of the primordial trispectrum from
exchanging intermediate scalar modes in multi-field inflation models with
generalized kinetic terms. Together with the calculation of irreducible
contributions to the primordial trispectrum in Ref.[103], we give the full
leading-order primordial trispectrum in generalized multi-field models.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figure; v2 references adde
YREC: The Yale Rotating Stellar Evolution Code
The stellar evolution code YREC is outlined with emphasis on its applications
to helio- and asteroseismology. The procedure for calculating calibrated solar
and stellar models is described. Other features of the code such as a non-local
treatment of convective core overshoot, and the implementation of a
parametrized description of turbulence in stellar models, are considered in
some detail. The code has been extensively used for other astrophysical
applications, some of which are briefly mentioned at the end of the paper.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, ApSS accepte
SPIDER: Probing the Early Universe with a Suborbital Polarimeter
We evaluate the ability of SPIDER, a balloon-borne polarimeter, to detect a
divergence-free polarization pattern ("B-modes") in the Cosmic Microwave
Background (CMB). In the inflationary scenario, the amplitude of this signal is
proportional to that of the primordial scalar perturbations through the
tensor-to-scalar ratio r. We show that the expected level of systematic error
in the SPIDER instrument is significantly below the amplitude of an interesting
cosmological signal with r=0.03. We present a scanning strategy that enables us
to minimize uncertainty in the reconstruction of the Stokes parameters used to
characterize the CMB, while accessing a relatively wide range of angular
scales. Evaluating the amplitude of the polarized Galactic emission in the
SPIDER field, we conclude that the polarized emission from interstellar dust is
as bright or brighter than the cosmological signal at all SPIDER frequencies
(90 GHz, 150 GHz, and 280 GHz), a situation similar to that found in the
"Southern Hole." We show that two ~20-day flights of the SPIDER instrument can
constrain the amplitude of the B-mode signal to r<0.03 (99% CL) even when
foreground contamination is taken into account. In the absence of foregrounds,
the same limit can be reached after one 20-day flight.Comment: 29 pages, 8 figures, 4 tables; v2: matches published version, flight
schedule updated, two typos fixed in Table 2, references and minor
clarifications added, results unchange
A Herschel/PACS Far-infrared line emission survey of local luminous infrared galaxies
We present an analysis of [OI]63, [OIII]88, [NII]122 and [CII]158 far-infrared (FIR) fine-structure line observations obtained with Herschel/PACS, for ~240 local luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs) in the Great Observatories All-sky LIRG Survey (GOALS). We find pronounced declines -deficits- of line-to-FIR-continuum emission for [NII]122, [OI]63 and [CII]158 as a function of FIR color and infrared luminosity surface density, . The median electron density of the ionized gas in LIRGs, based on the [NII]122/[NII]205 ratio, is = 41 cm. We find that the dispersion in the [CII]158 deficit of LIRGs is attributed to a varying fractional contribution of photo-dissociation-regions (PDRs) to the observed [CII]158 emission, f([CII]PDR) = [CII]PDR/[CII], which increases from ~60% to ~95% in the warmest LIRGs. The [OI]63/[CII]158PDR ratio is tightly correlated with the PDR gas kinetic temperature in sources where [OI]63 is not optically-thick or self-absorbed. For each galaxy, we derive the average PDR hydrogen density, , and intensity of the interstellar radiation field, in units of G, and find G/ ratios ~0.1-50 cm, with ULIRGs populating the upper end of the distribution. There is a relation between G/ and , showing a critical break at ~ 5 x 10 Lsun/kpc. Below , G/ remains constant, ~0.32 cm, and variations in are driven by the number density of star-forming regions within a galaxy, with no change in their PDR properties. Above , G/ increases rapidly with , signaling a departure from the typical PDR conditions found in normal star-forming galaxies towards more intense/harder radiation fields and compact geometries typical of starbursting sources
Discovery and Characterization of Peptide Inhibitors for Calcium and Integrin Binding Protein 1
Calcium and integrin binding protein 1 (CIB1) is an EF-hand-containing, small intracellular protein that has recently been implicated in cancer cell survival and proliferation. In particular, CIB1 depletion significantly impairs tumor growth in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Thus, CIB1 is a potentially attractive target for cancer chemotherapy that has yet to be validated by a chemical probe. To produce a probe molecule to the CIB1 helix 10 (H10) pocket and demonstrate that it is a viable target for molecular intervention, we employed random peptide phage display to screen and select CIB1-binding peptides. The top peptide sequence selected, UNC10245092, was produced synthetically, and binding to CIB1 was confirmed by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and a time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer (TR-FRET) assay. Both assays showed that the peptide bound to CIB1 with low nanomolar affinity. CIB1 was cocrystallized with UNC10245092, and the 2.1 Ă
resolution structure revealed that the peptide binds as an α-helix in the H10 pocket, displacing the CIB1 C-terminal H10 helix and causing conformational changes in H7 and H8. UNC10245092 was further derivatized with a C-terminal Tat-derived cell penetrating peptide (CPP) to demonstrate its effects on TNBC cells in culture, which are consistent with results of CIB1 depletion. These studies provide a first-in-class chemical tool for CIB1 inhibition in cell culture and validate the CIB1 H10 pocket for future probe and drug discovery efforts
Recent Developments in Helioseismic Analysis Methods and Solar Data Assimilation
MR and AS have received funding from the European Research Council under the European Unionâs Seventh Framework Program (FP/2007-2013)/ERC Grant Agreement no. 307117
- âŠ