42 research outputs found
What information can we obtain from the yield ratio in heavy-ion collisions ?
The recently reported data on the yield ratio in central
rapidity region of heavy-ion collisions are analyzed by theoretical formula
which accounts for Coulomb interaction between central charged fragment (CCF)
consisting of nearly stopped nucleons with effective charge
Z_{\mbox{\scriptsize eff}} and charged pions produced in the same region of
the phase space. The Coulomb wave function method is used instead of the usual
Gamow factor in order to account for the finite production range of pions,
. For Gaussian shape of the pion production sources it results in a
quasi-scaling in and Z_{\mbox{\scriptsize eff}} which makes
determination of parameters and Z_{\mbox{\scriptsize eff}} from the
existing experimental data difficult. Only sufficiently accurate data taken in
the extreme small - region, where this
quasi-scaling is broken, could be used for this purpose.Comment: 7 pages, Latex type, 8 figure
Boundary and expansion effects on two-pion correlation functions in relativistic heavy-ion collisions
We examine the effects that a confining boundary together with hydrodynamical
expansion play on two-pion distributions in relativistic heavy-ion collisions.
We show that the effects arise from the introduction of further correlations
due both to collective motion and the system's finite size. As is well known,
the former leads to a reduction in the apparent source radius with increasing
average pair momentum K. However, for small K, the presence of the boundary
leads to a decrease of the apparent source radius with decreasing K. These two
competing effects produce a maximum for the effective source radius as a
function of K.Comment: 6 pages, 5 Eps figures, uses RevTeX and epsfi
Density and expansion effects on pion spectra in relativistic heavy-ion collisions
We compute the pion inclusive momentum distribution in heavy-ion collisions
at AGS energies, assuming thermal equilibrium and accounting for density and
expansion effects at the time of decoupling. We compare to data on mid rapidity
charged pions produced in central Au + Au collisions and find a very good
agreement. The shape of the distribution at low is explained in part as
an effect arising from the high mean pion density achieved in these reactions.
The difference between the positive and negative pion distributions in the same
region is attributed in part to the different average yields of each kind of
charged pions.Comment: Minor changes, typo in Fig. 2b corrected, version to appear in Phys.
Rev.
Signatures of Thermal Dilepton Radiation at RHIC
The properties of thermal dilepton production from heavy-ion collisions in
the RHIC energy regime are evaluated for invariant masses ranging from 0.5 to 3
GeV. Using an expanding thermal fireball to model the evolution through both
quark-gluon and hadronic phases various features of the spectra are addressed.
In the low-mass region, due to an expected large background, the focus is on
possible medium modifications of the narrow resonance structures from
and mesons, whereas in the intermediate-mass region the old idea of
identifying QGP radiation is reiterated including effects of chemical
under-saturation in the early stages of central Au+Au collisions.Comment: 17 pages ReVTeX including 16 figure
Update on the correlation of the highest energy cosmic rays with nearby extragalactic matter
Data collected by the Pierre Auger Observatory through 31 August 2007 showed
evidence for anisotropy in the arrival directions of cosmic rays above the
Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuz'min energy threshold, \nobreak{eV}. The
anisotropy was measured by the fraction of arrival directions that are less
than from the position of an active galactic nucleus within 75 Mpc
(using the V\'eron-Cetty and V\'eron catalog). An updated
measurement of this fraction is reported here using the arrival directions of
cosmic rays recorded above the same energy threshold through 31 December 2009.
The number of arrival directions has increased from 27 to 69, allowing a more
precise measurement. The correlating fraction is , compared
with expected for isotropic cosmic rays. This is down from the early
estimate of . The enlarged set of arrival directions is
examined also in relation to other populations of nearby extragalactic objects:
galaxies in the 2 Microns All Sky Survey and active galactic nuclei detected in
hard X-rays by the Swift Burst Alert Telescope. A celestial region around the
position of the radiogalaxy Cen A has the largest excess of arrival directions
relative to isotropic expectations. The 2-point autocorrelation function is
shown for the enlarged set of arrival directions and compared to the isotropic
expectation.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physics on 31 August 201
Advanced functionality for radio analysis in the Offline software framework of the Pierre Auger Observatory
The advent of the Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) necessitates the
development of a powerful framework for the analysis of radio measurements of
cosmic ray air showers. As AERA performs "radio-hybrid" measurements of air
shower radio emission in coincidence with the surface particle detectors and
fluorescence telescopes of the Pierre Auger Observatory, the radio analysis
functionality had to be incorporated in the existing hybrid analysis solutions
for fluoresence and surface detector data. This goal has been achieved in a
natural way by extending the existing Auger Offline software framework with
radio functionality. In this article, we lay out the design, highlights and
features of the radio extension implemented in the Auger Offline framework. Its
functionality has achieved a high degree of sophistication and offers advanced
features such as vectorial reconstruction of the electric field, advanced
signal processing algorithms, a transparent and efficient handling of FFTs, a
very detailed simulation of detector effects, and the read-in of multiple data
formats including data from various radio simulation codes. The source code of
this radio functionality can be made available to interested parties on
request.Comment: accepted for publication in NIM A, 13 pages, minor corrections to
author list and references in v
Search for First Harmonic Modulation in the Right Ascension Distribution of Cosmic Rays Detected at the Pierre Auger Observatory
We present the results of searches for dipolar-type anisotropies in different
energy ranges above eV with the surface detector array of
the Pierre Auger Observatory, reporting on both the phase and the amplitude
measurements of the first harmonic modulation in the right-ascension
distribution. Upper limits on the amplitudes are obtained, which provide the
most stringent bounds at present, being below 2% at 99% for EeV
energies. We also compare our results to those of previous experiments as well
as with some theoretical expectations.Comment: 28 pages, 11 figure
Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome
The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead
Repositioning of the global epicentre of non-optimal cholesterol
High blood cholesterol is typically considered a feature of wealthy western countries1,2. However, dietary and behavioural determinants of blood cholesterol are changing rapidly throughout the world3 and countries are using lipid-lowering medications at varying rates. These changes can have distinct effects on the levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol, which have different effects on human health4,5. However, the trends of HDL and non-HDL cholesterol levels over time have not been previously reported in a global analysis. Here we pooled 1,127 population-based studies that measured blood lipids in 102.6 million individuals aged 18 years and older to estimate trends from 1980 to 2018 in mean total, non-HDL and HDL cholesterol levels for 200 countries. Globally, there was little change in total or non-HDL cholesterol from 1980 to 2018. This was a net effect of increases in low- and middle-income countries, especially in east and southeast Asia, and decreases in high-income western countries, especially those in northwestern Europe, and in central and eastern Europe. As a result, countries with the highest level of non-HDL cholesterol—which is a marker of cardiovascular risk—changed from those in western Europe such as Belgium, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Malta in 1980 to those in Asia and the Pacific, such as Tokelau, Malaysia, The Philippines and Thailand. In 2017, high non-HDL cholesterol was responsible for an estimated 3.9 million (95% credible interval 3.7 million–4.2 million) worldwide deaths, half of which occurred in east, southeast and south Asia. The global repositioning of lipid-related risk, with non-optimal cholesterol shifting from a distinct feature of high-income countries in northwestern Europe, north America and Australasia to one that affects countries in east and southeast Asia and Oceania should motivate the use of population-based policies and personal interventions to improve nutrition and enhance access to treatment throughout the world.</p