5,075 research outputs found
Toward Full LHC Coverage of Natural Supersymmetry
We argue that combining just a handful of searches for new physics at Run I
of the LHC is sufficient to exclude most supersymmetric extensions of the
Standard Model in which the gluino is kinematically accessible and the spectrum
is natural. Such models typically give rise to significant MET, top quarks
and/or high object multiplicity, and we show that having even one of these
signatures generally results in stringent limits. We also identify, among
models that lack these signatures, the few gaps in coverage remaining, and
propose search strategies to close these gaps. Our results are general and
independent of the details of the spectrum, assumptions about minimality,
R-parity, etc. Our analysis strategy should remain applicable when the LHC
moves to higher energy. Central to our argument are ATLAS and CMS searches for
many jets and low MET, a proposed lepton + many jets search, an ATLAS search
for 6-7 high-pT jets, and a reexamination of the control and signal regions of
the CMS black hole search.Comment: 53 pages, 16 figures, journal versio
Parameter estimation for binary black holes with networks of third-generation gravitational-wave detectors
Parameter estimation for binary black holes with networks of third-generation gravitational-waveaThe two binary black hole (BBH) coalescences detected by LIGO, GW150914, and GW151226, were relatively nearby sources, with a redshift of ∼ 0.1. As the sensitivity of Advanced LIGO and Virgo increases in the next few years, they will eventually detect stellar-mass BBHs up to redshifts of ∼ 1. However, these are still relatively small distances compared with the size of the Universe, or with those encountered in most areas of astrophysics. In order to study BBH during the epoch of reionization, or black holes born from population III stars, more sensitive instruments are needed. Third-generation gravitational-wave detectors, such as the Einstein Telescope or the Cosmic Explorer, are already in an advanced R&D stage. These detectors will be roughly a factor of 10 more sensitive in strain than the current generation, and they will be able to detect BBH mergers beyond a redshift of 20. In this paper we quantify the precision with which these new facilities will be able to estimate the parameters of stellar-mass, heavy, and intermediate-mass BBHs as a function of their redshifts and the number of detectors. We show that having only two detectors would result in relatively poor estimates of black hole intrinsic masses: a situation improved with three or four instruments. Larger improvements are visible for the sky localization, although it is not yet clear whether BBHs are luminous in the electromagnetic or neutrino band. The measurement of the spin parameters, on the other hand, does not improve significantly as more detectors are added to the network since redshift information is not required to measure spin. detectorsNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observator
Methanesulfonic acid (MSA) migration in polar ice : data synthesis and theory
© The Author(s), 2017. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Cryosphere 11 (2017): 2439-2462, doi:10.5194/tc-11-2439-2017.Methanesulfonic acid (MSA; CH3SO3H) in polar ice is a unique proxy of marine primary productivity, synoptic atmospheric transport, and regional sea-ice behavior. However, MSA can be mobile within the firn and ice matrix, a post-depositional process that is well known but poorly understood and documented, leading to uncertainties in the integrity of the MSA paleoclimatic signal. Here, we use a compilation of 22 ice core MSA records from Greenland and Antarctica and a model of soluble impurity transport in order to comprehensively investigate the vertical migration of MSA from summer layers, where MSA is originally deposited, to adjacent winter layers in polar ice.
We find that the shallowest depth of MSA migration in our compilation varies over a wide range (∼ 2 to 400 m) and is positively correlated with snow accumulation rate and negatively correlated with ice concentration of Na+ (typically the most abundant marine cation). Although the considered soluble impurity transport model provides a useful mechanistic framework for studying MSA migration, it remains limited by inadequate constraints on key physico-chemical parameters – most notably, the diffusion coefficient of MSA in cold ice (DMS). We derive a simplified version of the model, which includes DMS as the sole parameter, in order to illuminate aspects of the migration process. Using this model, we show that the progressive phase alignment of MSA and Na+ concentration peaks observed along a high-resolution West Antarctic core is most consistent with 10−12 m2 s−1 < DMS < 10−11 m2 s−1, which is 1 order of magnitude greater than the DMS values previously estimated from laboratory studies. More generally, our data synthesis and model results suggest that (i) MSA migration may be fairly ubiquitous, particularly at coastal and (or) high-accumulation regions across Greenland and Antarctica; and (ii) can significantly change annual and multiyear MSA concentration averages. Thus, in most cases, caution should be exercised when interpreting polar ice core MSA records, although records that have undergone severe migration could still be useful for inferring decadal and lower-frequency climate variability.Matthew Osman acknowledges government support awarded by
DoD, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, National Defense
Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship, 32 CFR
168a. This work was supported by the US NSF (ANT-0632031
and PLR-1205196 to Sarah B. Das, and NSF-MRI-1126217 to
Matthew J. Evans) and a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Interdisciplinary Research award to Sarah B. Das and Olivier Marchal
Multimaterial coatings with reduced thermal noise
The most sensitive measurements of time and space are made with resonant optical cavities, and these measurements are limited by coating thermal noise. The mechanical and optical performance requirements placed on coating materials, especially for interferometric gravitational wave detectors, have proven extremely difficult to meet despite a lengthy search. In this paper we propose a new approach to high performance coatings, the use of multiple materials at different depths in the coating. To support this we generalize previous work on thermal noise in two-material coatings to an arbitrary multimaterial stack, and develop a means of estimating absorption in these multimaterial coatings. This new approach will allow for a broadening of the search for high performance coating materials.National Science Foundation (U.S.)Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (Cooperative Agreement PHY-0757058
Differential regulation of the SMN2 gene by individual HDAC proteins
Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disorder that is the leading genetic cause of infantile death. SMA is caused by homozygous deletion or mutation of the survival of motor neuron 1 gene (SMN1). The SMN2 gene is nearly identical to SMN1, however is alternatively spliced. The close relationship to SMN1 results in SMN2 being a very power genetic modifier of SMA disease severity and a target for therapies. We sought to identify the regulatory role individual HDAC proteins use to control expression of full length protein from the SMN2 genes. We used quantitative PCR to determine the effects shRNA silencing of individual HDACs on the steady state levels of a SMN2-luciferase reporter transcripts. We determined that reduction of individual HDAC proteins was sufficient to increase SMN protein levels in a transgenic reporter system. Knockdown of class I HDAC proteins preferentially activated the reporter by increased promoter transcription. Silencing of class II HDAC proteins maintained transcriptional activity; however silencing of HDAC 5 and 6 also appeared to enhance inclusion of an alternatively spliced exon. This work highlights HDAC proteins 2 and 6 as excellent investigative targets. These data are important to the basic understanding of SMN expression regulation and the refinements of current therapeutic compounds as well as the development of novel SMA therapeutics
Arm-length stabilisation for interferometric gravitational-wave detectors using frequency-doubled auxiliary lasers
Residual motion of the arm cavity mirrors is expected to prove one of the
principal impediments to systematic lock acquisition in advanced
gravitational-wave interferometers. We present a technique which overcomes this
problem by employing auxiliary lasers at twice the fundamental measurement
frequency to pre-stabilise the arm cavities' lengths. Applying this approach,
we reduce the apparent length noise of a 1.3 m long, independently suspended
Fabry-Perot cavity to 30 pm rms and successfully transfer longitudinal control
of the system from the auxiliary laser to the measurement laser
Probability and visual aids for assessing intervention effectiveness in single-case designs: A field test
Single-case data analysis still relies heavily on visual inspection and, at the same time, it is not clear to what extent the results of different quantitative procedures converge in identifying an intervention effect and its magnitude when applied to the same data; this is the type of evidence provided here for two procedures. One of the procedures, included due to the importance of providing objective criteria to visual analysts, is a visual aid fitting and projecting split-middle trend while taking into account data variability. The other procedure converts several different metrics into probabilities making their results comparable. In the present study we study to what extend these two procedures coincide in the magnitude of intervention effect taking place in a set of studies stemming from a recent meta-analysis. The procedures concur to a greater extent with the values of the indices computed and with each other and, to a lesser extent, with our own visual analysis. For the distinctions smaller and larger effects the probability-based approach seems somewhat better suited. Moreover, the results of the field test suggest that the latter is a reasonably good mechanism for translating different metrics into similar labels. User friendly R code is provided for promoting the use of the visual aid, together with a quantification based on nonoverlap and the label provided by the probability approach
Physical characteristics and non-keplerian orbital motion of "propeller" moons embedded in Saturn's rings
We report the discovery of several large "propeller" moons in the outer part
of Saturn's A ring, objects large enough to be followed over the 5-year
duration of the Cassini mission. These are the first objects ever discovered
that can be tracked as individual moons, but do not orbit in empty space. We
infer sizes up to 1--2 km for the unseen moonlets at the center of the
propeller-shaped structures, though many structural and photometric properties
of propeller structures remain unclear. Finally, we demonstrate that some
propellers undergo sustained non-keplerian orbit motion. (Note: This arXiv
version of the paper contains supplementary tables that were left out of the
ApJL version due to lack of space).Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures; Published in ApJ
A discussion of alternatives for establishing empirical benchmarks for interpreting single-case effect sizes
In this paper we reflect on the numerous calls for the development of benchmarks for interpreting effect size indices, reviewing several possibilities. Such benchmarks are aimed to provide criteria so that analysts can judge whether the size of the effect observed is rather 'small', 'medium' or 'large'. The context of this discussion is single-case experimental designs, for which a great variety of procedures have been proposed, with their different nature (e.g., being based on amount of overlap vs. a standardized mean difference) posing challenges to interpretation. For each of the alternatives discussed we point at their strengths and limitations. We also comment how such empirical benchmarks can be obtained, usually b methodologists, and illustrate how these benchmarks can be used by applied researchers willing to have more evidence on the magnitude of effect observed and not only whether an effect is present or not. One of the alternatives discussed is a proposal we make in the current paper. Although it has certain limitations, as all alternatives do, we consider that it is worth discussing it and the whole set of alternatives in order to advance in interpreting effect sizes, now that computing and reporting their numerical values is (or is expected to be) common practice
From a microscopic solution to a continuum description of active particles with a recoil interaction in one dimension
We consider a model system of persistent random walkers that can jam, pass
through each other or jump apart (recoil) on contact. In a continuum limit,
where particle motion between stochastic changes in direction becomes
deterministic, we find that the stationary inter-particle distribution
functions are governed by an inhomogeneous fourth-order differential equation.
Our main focus is on determining the boundary conditions that these
distribution functions should satisfy. We find that these do not arise
naturally from physical considerations, but need to be carefully matched to
functional forms that arise from the analysis of an underlying discrete
process. The inter-particle distribution functions, or their first derivatives,
are generically found to be discontinuous at the boundaries.Comment: 16 pages; 5 figures; published in PR
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