912 research outputs found
Do current WIMP direct measurements constrain light relic neutralinos?
New upper bounds on direct detection rates have recently been presented by a
number of experimental collaborations working on searches for WIMPs. In this
paper we analyze how the constraints on relic neutralinos which can be derived
from these results is affected by the uncertainties in the distribution
function of WIMPs in the halo. Various different categories of velocity
distribution functions are considered, and the ensuing implications for
supersymmetric configurations derived. We conservatively conclude that current
experimental data do not constrain neutralinos of small mass (below 50 GeV).Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, typeset with ReVTeX4. The paper may also be found
at http://www.to.infn.it/~fornengo/papers/constraints05.ps.gz or through
http://www.astroparticle.to.infn.it/index.htm
Mechanisms of the Vertical Secular Heating of a Stellar Disk
We investigate the nonlinear growth stages of bending instability in stellar
disks with exponential radial density profiles.We found that the unstable modes
are global (the wavelengths are larger than the disk scale lengths) and that
the instability saturation level is much higher than that following from a
linear criterion. The instability saturation time scales are of the order of
one billion years or more. For this reason, the bending instability can play an
important role in the secular heating of a stellar disk in the direction.
In an extensive series of numerical -body simulations with a high spatial
resolution, we were able to scan in detail the space of key parameters (the
initial disk thickness , the Toomre parameter , and the ratio of dark
halo mass to disk mass ). We revealed three distinct
mechanisms of disk heating in the direction: bending instability of the
entire disk, bending instability of the bar, and heating on vertical
inhomogeneities in the distribution of stellar matter.Comment: 22 pages including 8 figures. To be published in Astronomy Letters
(v.29, 2003
Theoretical Directional and Modulated Rates for Direct SUSY Dark Matter Detection
Exotic dark matter together with the vacuum energy (cosmological constant)
seem to dominate in the flat Universe. Thus direct dark matter detection is
central to particle physics and cosmology. Supersymmetry provides a natural
dark matter candidate, the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP). Furthermore
from the knowledge of the density and velocity distribution of the LSP, the
quark substructure of the nucleon and the nuclear structure (form factor and/or
spin response function), one is able to evaluate the event rate for LSP-nucleus
elastic scattering. The thus obtained event rates are, however, very low. So it
is imperative to exploit the two signatures of the reaction, namely the
modulation effect, i.e. the dependence of the event rate on the Earth's motion,
and the directional asymmetry, i.e. the dependence of the rate on the the
relative angle between the direction of the recoiling nucleus and the sun's
velocity. These two signatures are studied in this paper employing various
velocity distributions and a supersymmetric model with universal boundary
conditions at large tan(beta).Comment: 11 LATEX pages, 1 table and 4 ps figures included. Paper presented in
DARK2002, Fourth Heidelberg International Conference on Dark Matter in Astro-
and Particle Physics, Cape Town, South Africa, 4-9 February, 2002, to appear
in the proceedings (to be published by Springer Verlag
GEMINI 3D spectroscopy of BAL+IR+Fe II QSOs: II. IRAS 04505-2958 an explosive QSO with hypershell and a new scenario for galaxy formation and galaxy end
From a study of BAL + IR + Fe II QSOs (using deep Gemini GMOS-IFU
spectroscopy) new results are presented: for IRAS 04505-2958. Specifically, we
have studied in detail the out flow (OF) process and their associated
structures, mainly at two large galactic scales: (i) two blobs/shells (S1, S2)
at radius r = 1.1 and 2.2 kpc; and (ii) an external hypergiant shell (S3) at r
= 11 kpc. In addition, the presence of two very extended hypergiant shells (S4,
S5) at r = 80 kpc is discussed. From this GMOS study the following main results
were obtained: (i) For the external hypergiant shell S3 the kinematics GMOS
maps of the ionized gas show very similar features to those observed for the
prototype of exploding external supergiant shell: in NGC 5514. (ii) The main
knots K1, K2 and K3 -of this hypergiant shell S3- show a stellar population and
emission line ratios associated with the presence of a starburst + OF/shocks.
(iii) The internal shells S1 and S2 show structures, OF components and
properties very similar to those detected in the nuclear shells of Mrk 231.
(iv) The shells S1+S2 and S3 are aligned at PA = 131: i.e. suggesting that the
OF process is in the blow-out phase with bipolar structure. In addition, the
shells S4 and S5 (at 80-100 kpc scale) are aligned at PA = 40, i.e.: a bipolar
OF perpendicular to the internal OF. Finally, the generation of UHE cosmic rays
and neutrino/ dark-matter -associated with HyNe in BAL + IR + Fe II QSOs- is
discussed.Comment: Submitted MNRAS, 81 pages, 25 Figure
Effects of Temperature, Salinity and Fish in Structuring the Macroinvertebrate Community in Shallow Lakes: Implications for Effects of Climate Change
Climate warming may lead to changes in the trophic structure and diversity of shallow lakes as a combined effect of increased temperature and salinity and likely increased strength of trophic interactions. We investigated the potential effects of temperature, salinity and fish on the plant-associated macroinvertebrate community by introducing artificial plants in eight comparable shallow brackish lakes located in two climatic regions of contrasting temperature: cold-temperate and Mediterranean. In both regions, lakes covered a salinity gradient from freshwater to oligohaline waters. We undertook day and night-time sampling of macroinvertebrates associated with the artificial plants and fish and free-swimming macroinvertebrate predators within artificial plants and in pelagic areas. Our results showed marked differences in the trophic structure between cold and warm shallow lakes. Plant-associated macroinvertebrates and free-swimming macroinvertebrate predators were more abundant and the communities richer in species in the cold compared to the warm climate, most probably as a result of differences in fish predation pressure. Submerged plants in warm brackish lakes did not seem to counteract the effect of fish predation on macroinvertebrates to the same extent as in temperate freshwater lakes, since small fish were abundant and tended to aggregate within the macrophytes. The richness and abundance of most plant-associated macroinvertebrate taxa decreased with salinity. Despite the lower densities of plant-associated macroinvertebrates in the Mediterranean lakes, periphyton biomass was lower than in cold temperate systems, a fact that was mainly attributed to grazing and disturbance by fish. Our results suggest that, if the current process of warming entails higher chances of shallow lakes becoming warmer and more saline, climatic change may result in a decrease in macroinvertebrate species richness and abundance in shallow lakes
Feeding habits of Chironomid larvae (Insecta: Diptera) from a stream in the Floresta da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Shading by Napier Grass Reduces Malaria Vector Larvae in Natural Habitats in Western Kenya Highlands
Increased human population in the Western Kenya highlands has led to reclamation of natural swamps resulting in the creation of habitats suitable for the breeding of Anopheles gambiae, the major malaria vector in the region. Here we report on a study to restore the reclaimed swamp and reverse its suitability as a habitat for malaria vectors. Napier grass-shaded and non-shaded water channels in reclaimed sites in Western Kenya highlands were studied for the presence and density of mosquito larvae, mosquito species composition, and daily variation in water temperature. Shading was associated with 75.5% and 88.4% (P < 0.0001) reduction in anopheline larvae densities and 78.1% and 88% (P < 0.0001) reduction in Anopheles gambiae sensu lato (s.l.) densities in two sites, respectively. Shading was associated with a 5.7°C, 5.0°C, and 4.7°C, and 1.6°C, 3.9°C, and 2.8°C (for maximum, minimum, and average temperatures, respectively) reduction (P < 0.0001) in water temperatures in the two locations, respectively. An. gambiae s.l. was the dominant species, constituting 83.2% and 73.1%, and 44.5% and 42.3%, of anophelines in non-shaded and shaded channels, respectively, in the two sites, respectively. An. gambiae sensu stricto (s.s.) constituted the majority (97.4%) of An. gambiae s.l., while the rest (2.6%) comprised of Anopheles arabiensis. Minimum water temperature decreased with increasing grass height (P = 0.0039 and P = 0.0415 for Lunyerere and Emutete sites, respectively). The results demonstrate how simple environmental strategies can have a strong impact on vector densities
Time-dependent inhibition of oxygen radical induced lung injury
Experimental acute lung injury mediated by reactive metabolites of oxygen can be inhibited by the antioxidant enzymes catalase and Superoxide dismutase (SOD). However, the specific time interval during which these enzymes must be present in order to cause protection is not well defined. Using two experimental models of oxidant-dependent acute lung injury, one involving the intratracheal injection of glucose, glucose oxidase, and lactoperoxidase and the other involving the intravenous injection of cobra venom factor (CVF), we investigated the effects of delaying antioxidant administration on the outcome of the inflammatory response. In both cases, the protective effects of catalase and SOD were rapidly attenuated when their administration was delayed for a short period of time. For example, intratracheal catalase resulted in 98% protection when given simultaneously with the glucose oxidase and lactoperoxidase, but only 13% protection when the catalase was delayed 4 min. Likewise, in the CVF-induced lung injury model, intravenous catalase resulted in 40% protection when given simultaneously with the CVF, but only 2% protection when the catalase was delayed 20 min, even though the peak of the injury occurred hours after the initiation of the injury. A similar time dependence was seen with SOD. These results indicate that antioxidant therapy is required early in the course of oxygen radical-mediated acute lung injury for effective protection.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44504/1/10753_2004_Article_BF00914272.pd
Combined searches for the production of supersymmetric top quark partners in protonâproton collisions at âs=13Te
A combination of searches for top squark pair production using protonâproton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 13TeV at the CERN LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137fb collected by the CMS experiment, is presented. Signatures with at least 2 jets and large missing transverse momentum are categorized into events with 0, 1, or 2 leptons. New results for regions of parameter space where the kinematical properties of top squark pair production and top quark pair production are very similar are presented. Depending on the model, the combined result excludes a top squark mass up to 1325GeV for a massless neutralino, and a neutralino mass up to 700GeV for a top squark mass of 1150GeV. Top squarks with masses from 145 to 295GeV, for neutralino masses from 0 to 100GeV, with a mass difference between the top squark and the neutralino in a window of 30GeV around the mass of the top quark, are excluded for the first time with CMS data. The results of theses searches are also interpreted in an alternative signal model of dark matter production via a spin-0 mediator in association with a top quark pair. Upper limits are set on the cross section for mediator particle masses of up to 420GeV
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