Chandra Observations of SNR 1987A

We report on the results of our monitoring program of the X-ray remnant of supernova 1987A with the {\it Chandra X-Ray Observatory}. We have performed two new observations during the {\it Chandra} Cycle 3 period, bringing the total to six monitoring observations over the past three years. These six observations provide a detailed time history of the birth of a new supernova remnant in X-rays. The high angular resolution images indicate that soft X-ray bright knots are associated with the optical spots, while hard X-ray features are better correlated with radio images. We interpret this in terms of a model in which fast shocks propagating through the circumstellar HII region produce the hard X-ray and radio emission, while the soft X-ray and optical emission arise in slower shocks entering into dense knots in the circumstellar inner ring. New observations begin to show changes in the morphology that may herald a new stage in the development of this incipient supernova remnant. The observed X-ray fluxes increase by nearly a factor of three over the last 30 months. The X-ray remnant is expanding at a velocity of $\sim$5000 km s$^{-1}$.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, 2 color figures, To appear in AdSpR (Proceedings 34th COSPAR Synposium E1.4 "High Energy Studies of Supernova Remnants and Neutron stars" For high resolution color figures contact [email protected]

Semilinear mixed problems on Hilbert complexes and their numerical approximation

Arnold, Falk, and Winther recently showed [Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. 47 (2010), 281-354] that linear, mixed variational problems, and their numerical approximation by mixed finite element methods, can be studied using the powerful, abstract language of Hilbert complexes. In another recent article [arXiv:1005.4455], we extended the Arnold-Falk-Winther framework by analyzing variational crimes (a la Strang) on Hilbert complexes. In particular, this gave a treatment of finite element exterior calculus on manifolds, generalizing techniques from surface finite element methods and recovering earlier a priori estimates for the Laplace-Beltrami operator on 2- and 3-surfaces, due to Dziuk [Lecture Notes in Math., vol. 1357 (1988), 142-155] and later Demlow [SIAM J. Numer. Anal., 47 (2009), 805-827], as special cases. In the present article, we extend the Hilbert complex framework in a second distinct direction: to the study of semilinear mixed problems. We do this, first, by introducing an operator-theoretic reformulation of the linear mixed problem, so that the semilinear problem can be expressed as an abstract Hammerstein equation. This allows us to obtain, for semilinear problems, a priori solution estimates and error estimates that reduce to the Arnold-Falk-Winther results in the linear case. We also consider the impact of variational crimes, extending the results of our previous article to these semilinear problems. As an immediate application, this new framework allows for mixed finite element methods to be applied to semilinear problems on surfaces.Comment: 22 pages; v2: major revision, particularly sharpening of error estimates in Section

Baryogenesis in the Two-Higgs Doublet Model

We consider the generation of the baryon asymmetry in the two-Higgs doublet model. Investigating the thermal potential in the presence of CP violation, as relevant for baryogenesis, we find a strong first-order phase transition if the extra Higgs states are heavier than about 300 GeV. The mass of the lightest Higgs can be as large as about 200 GeV. We compute the bubble wall properties, including the profile of the relative complex phase between the two Higgs vevs. The baryon asymmetry is generated by top transport, which we treat in the WKB approximation. We find a baryon asymmetry consistent with observations. The neutron electric dipole moment is predicted to be larger than about 10^{-27}ecm and can reach the current experimental bound. Low values of tan\beta are favored.Comment: 25 pages, 7 figure

Improving water productivity, reducing poverty and enhancing equity in mixed crop-livestock systems in the Indo-Gangetic Basin

The “Improving water productivity, reducing poverty and enhancing equity in mixed crop-livestock systems in the Indo-Gangetic Basin” was designed and conducted by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), in partnership with international and national partners, to address the relative neglect of livestock water needs of crop-livestock farming systems. The primary objective of this project was to optimize the productive use of water in the crop-livestock farming systems of semi-arid areas to enhance livelihoods, reduce poverty, contribute to gender equity, and protect the environment. This was addressed through an integrated approach led by a multi-disciplinary team across three States of the Ganga Basin

Cross-Correlation of the Cosmic Microwave Background with the 2MASS Galaxy Survey: Signatures of Dark Energy, Hot Gas, and Point Sources

We cross-correlate the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature anisotropies observed by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) with the projected distribution of extended sources in the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS). By modelling the theoretical expectation for this signal, we extract the signatures of dark energy (Integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect;ISW), hot gas (thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect;thermal SZ), and microwave point sources in the cross-correlation. Our strongest signal is the thermal SZ, at the 3.1-3.7 \sigma level, which is consistent with the theoretical prediction based on observations of X-ray clusters. We also see the ISW signal at the 2.5 \sigma level, which is consistent with the expected value for the concordance LCDM cosmology, and is an independent signature of the presence of dark energy in the universe. Finally, we see the signature of microwave point sources at the 2.7 \sigma level.Comment: 35 pages (preprint format), 8 figures. In addition to minor revisions based on referee's comments, after correcting for a bug in the code, the SZ detection is consistent with the X-ray observations. Accepeted for publication in Physical Review

Bubble collisions and measures of the multiverse

To compute the spectrum of bubble collisions seen by an observer in an eternally-inflating multiverse, one must choose a measure over the diverging spacetime volume, including choosing an "initial" hypersurface below which there are no bubble nucleations. Previous calculations focused on the case where the initial hypersurface is pushed arbitrarily deep into the past. Interestingly, the observed spectrum depends on the orientation of the initial hypersurface, however one's ability observe the effect rapidly decreases with the ratio of inflationary Hubble rates inside and outside one's bubble. We investigate whether this conclusion might be avoided under more general circumstances, in particular placing the observer's bubble near the initial hypersurface. We find that it is not. As a point of reference, a substantial appendix reviews relevant aspects of the measure problem of eternal inflation.Comment: 24 pages, two figures, plus 16-page appendix with one figure; v2: minor improvements and clarifications, conclusions unchanged (version to appear in JCAP

Quantum Inequalities for the Electromagnetic Field

A quantum inequality for the quantized electromagnetic field is developed for observers in static curved spacetimes. The quantum inequality derived is a generalized expression given by a mode function expansion of the four-vector potential, and the sampling function used to weight the energy integrals is left arbitrary up to the constraints that it be a positive, continuous function of unit area and that it decays at infinity. Examples of the quantum inequality are developed for Minkowski spacetime, Rindler spacetime and the Einstein closed universe.Comment: 19 pages, 1 table and 1 figure. RevTex styl

Baryogenesis, Electric Dipole Moments and Dark Matter in the MSSM

We study the implications for electroweak baryogenesis (EWB) within the minimal supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) of present and future searches for the permanent electric dipole moment (EDM) of the electron, for neutralino dark matter, and for supersymmetric particles at high energy colliders. We show that there exist regions of the MSSM parameter space that are consistent with both present two-loop EDM limits and the relic density and that allow for successful EWB through resonant chargino and neutralino processes at the electroweak phase transition. We also show that under certain conditions the lightest neutralino may be simultaneously responsible for both the baryon asymmetry and relic density. We give present constraints on chargino/neutralino-induced EWB implied by the flux of energetic neutrinos from the Sun, the prospective constraints from future neutrino telescopes and ton-sized direct detection experiments, and the possible signatures at the Large Hadron Collider and International Linear Collider.Comment: 32 pages, 10 figures; version to appear on JHE

Metastable Vacua in Flux Compactifications and Their Phenomenology

In the context of flux compactifications, metastable vacua with a small positive cosmological constant are obtained by combining a sector where supersymmetry is broken dynamically with the sector responsible for moduli stabilization, which is known as the F-uplifting. We analyze this procedure in a model-independent way and study phenomenological properties of the resulting vacua.Comment: 21 pages, 19 figures; v2: matches version published in JHE

Unitarity bounds on low scale quantum gravity

We study the unitarity of models with low scale quantum gravity both in four dimensions and in models with a large extra-dimensional volume. We find that models with low scale quantum gravity have problems with unitarity below the scale at which gravity becomes strong. An important consequence of our work is that their first signal at the Large Hadron Collider would not be of a gravitational nature such as graviton emission or small black holes, but rather linked to the mechanism which fixes the unitarity problem. We also study models with scalar fields with non minimal couplings to the Ricci scalar. We consider the strength of gravity in these models and study the consequences for inflation models with non-minimally coupled scalar fields. We show that a single scalar field with a large non-minimal coupling can lower the Planck mass in the TeV region. In that model, it is possible to lower the scale at which gravity becomes strong down to 14 TeV without violating unitarity below that scale.Comment: 15 page