1,580 research outputs found
Observation of thundercloud-related gamma rays and neutrons in Tibet
During the 2010 rainy season in Yangbajing (4300 m above sea level) in Tibet, China, a long-duration count enhancement associated with thunderclouds was detected by a solar-neutron telescope and neutron monitors installed at the Yangbajing Comic Ray Observatory. The event, lasting for ∼40 min, was observed on July 22, 2010. The solar-neutron telescope detected significant γ-ray signals with energies >40 MeV in the event. Such a prolonged high-energy event has never been observed in association with thunderclouds, clearly suggesting that electron acceleration lasts for 40 min in thunderclouds. In addition, Monte Carlo simulations showed that >10 MeV γ rays largely contribute to the neutron monitor signals, while >1 keV neutrons produced via a photonuclear reaction contribute relatively less to the signals. This result suggests that enhancements of neutron monitors during thunderstorms are not necessarily clear evidence for neutron production, as previously thought
Optical followup of galaxy clusters detected by the South Pole Telescope
The South Pole Telescope (SPT) is a 10 meter telescope operating at mm
wavelengths. It has recently completed a three-band survey covering 2500 sq.
degrees. One of the survey's main goals is to detect galaxy clusters using
Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect and use these clusters for a variety of cosmological
and astrophysical studies such as the dark energy equation of state, the
primordial non-gaussianity and the evolution of galaxy populations. Since 2005,
we have been engaged in a comprehensive optical and near-infrared followup
program (at wavelengths between 0.4 and 5 {\mu}m) to image high-significance
SPT clusters, to measure their photometric redshifts, and to estimate the
contamination rate of the candidate lists. These clusters are then used for
various cosmological and astrophysical studies.Comment: For TAUP 2011 proceeding
Resonant Subband Landau Level Coupling in Symmetric Quantum Well
Subband structure and depolarization shifts in an ultra-high mobility
GaAs/Al_{0.24}Ga_{0.76}As quantum well are studied using magneto-infrared
spectroscopy via resonant subband Landau level coupling. Resonant couplings
between the 1st and up to the 4th subbands are identified by well-separated
anti-level-crossing split resonance, while the hy-lying subbands were
identified by the cyclotron resonance linewidth broadening in the literature.
In addition, a forbidden intersubband transition (1st to 3rd) has been
observed. With the precise determination of the subband structure, we find that
the depolarization shift can be well described by the semiclassical slab plasma
model, and the possible origins for the forbidden transition are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
First Results from Pan-STARRS1: Faint, High Proper Motion White Dwarfs in the Medium-Deep Fields
The Pan-STARRS1 survey has obtained multi-epoch imaging in five bands
(Pan-STARRS1 gps, rps, ips, zps, and yps) on twelve "Medium Deep Fields", each
of which spans a 3.3 degree circle. For the period between Apr 2009 and Apr
2011 these fields were observed 50-200 times. Using a reduced proper motion
diagram, we have extracted a list of 47 white dwarf (WD) candidates whose
Pan-STARRS1 astrometry indicates a non-zero proper motion at the 6-sigma level,
with a typical 1-sigma proper motion uncertainty of 10 mas/yr. We also used
astrometry from SDSS (when available) and USNO-B to assess our proper motion
fits. None of the WD candidates exhibits evidence of statistically significant
parallaxes, with a typical 1-sigma uncertainty of 8 mas. Twelve of these
candidates are known WDs, including the high proper motion (1.7"/yr) WD LHS
291. We confirm three more objects as WDs through optical spectroscopy. Based
on the Pan-STARRS1 colors, ten of the stars are likely to be cool WDs with 4170
K Teff 5000 K and cooling ages <9 Gyr. We classify these objects as likely
thick disk WDs based on their kinematics. Our current sample represents only a
small fraction of the Pan-STARRS1 data. With continued coverage from the Medium
Deep Field Survey and the 3pi survey, Pan-STARRS1 should find many more high
proper motion WDs that are part of the old thick disk and halo.Comment: 33 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Ap
Declination dependence of the cosmic-ray flux at extreme energies
We study the large-scale distribution of the arrival directions of the
highest energy cosmic rays observed by various experiments. Despite clearly
insufficient statistics, we find a deficit of cosmic rays at energies higher
than 10^{20} eV from a large part of the sky around the celestial North Pole.
We speculate on possible explanations of this feature.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures; v2: 11 pages, 4 figures, title changed (to avoid
confusion with the Southern hemisphere), analysis extended, more data
included, results unchanged; to be published in JCA
‘Talent-spotting’ or ‘social magic’? Inequality, cultural sorting and constructions of the ideal graduate in elite professions
Graduate outcomes – including rates of employment and earnings – are marked by persistent
inequalities related to social class, as well as gender, ethnicity and institution. Despite national
policy agendas related to social mobility and ‘fair access to the professions’, high-status occupations
are disproportionately composed of those from socially privileged backgrounds, and evidence
suggests that in recent decades many professions have become less socially representative.
This article makes an original contribution to sociological studies of inequalities in graduate
transitions and elite reproduction through a distinct focus on the ‘pre-hiring’ practices of graduate
employers. It does this through a critical analysis of the graduate recruitment material of two
popular graduate employers. It shows how, despite espousing commitments to diversity and
inclusion, constructions of the ‘ideal’ graduate privilege individuals who can mobilise and embody
certain valued capitals. Using Bourdieusian concepts of ‘social magic’ and ‘institutional habitus’, the
article argues that more attention must be paid to how graduate employers’ practices constitute
tacit processes of social exclusion and thus militate against the achievement of more equitable
graduate outcomes and fair access to the ‘top jobs
Development of an Interpretive Simulation Tool for the Proton Radiography Technique
Proton radiography is a useful diagnostic of high energy density (HED)
plasmas under active theoretical and experimental development. In this paper we
describe a new simulation tool that interacts realistic laser-driven point-like
proton sources with three dimensional electromagnetic fields of arbitrary
strength and structure and synthesizes the associated high resolution proton
radiograph. The present tool's numerical approach captures all relevant physics
effects, including effects related to the formation of caustics.
Electromagnetic fields can be imported from PIC or hydrodynamic codes in a
streamlined fashion, and a library of electromagnetic field `primitives' is
also provided. This latter capability allows users to add a primitive, modify
the field strength, rotate a primitive, and so on, while quickly generating a
high resolution radiograph at each step. In this way, our tool enables the user
to deconstruct features in a radiograph and interpret them in connection to
specific underlying electromagnetic field elements. We show an example
application of the tool in connection to experimental observations of the
Weibel instability in counterstreaming plasmas, using particles
generated from a realistic laser-driven point-like proton source, imaging
fields which cover volumes of mm. Insights derived from this
application show that the tool can support understanding of HED plasmas.Comment: Figures and tables related to the Appendix are included in the
published journal articl
Exciton Condensation and Perfect Coulomb Drag
Coulomb drag is a process whereby the repulsive interactions between
electrons in spatially separated conductors enable a current flowing in one of
the conductors to induce a voltage drop in the other. If the second conductor
is part of a closed circuit, a net current will flow in that circuit. The drag
current is typically much smaller than the drive current owing to the heavy
screening of the Coulomb interaction. There are, however, rare situations in
which strong electronic correlations exist between the two conductors. For
example, bilayer two-dimensional electron systems can support an exciton
condensate consisting of electrons in one layer tightly bound to holes in the
other. One thus expects "perfect" drag; a transport current of electrons driven
through one layer is accompanied by an equal one of holes in the other. (The
electrical currents are therefore opposite in sign.) Here we demonstrate just
this effect, taking care to ensure that the electron-hole pairs dominate the
transport and that tunneling of charge between the layers is negligible.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure
Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray Nuclei from Individual Magnetized Sources
We investigate the dependence of composition, spectrum and angular
distributions of ultra-high energy cosmic rays above 10^19 eV from individual
sources on their magnetization. We find that, especially for sources within a
few megaparsecs from the observer, observable spectra and composition are
severely modified if the source is surrounded by fields of ~ 10^-7 Gauss on
scales of a few megaparsecs. Low energy particles diffuse over larger distances
during their energy loss time. This leads to considerable hardening of the
spectrum up to the energy where the loss distance becomes comparable to the
source distance. Magnetized sources thus have very important consequences for
observations, even if cosmic rays arrive within a few degrees from the source
direction. At the same time, details in spectra and chemical composition may be
intrinsically unpredictable because they depend on the unknown magnetic field
structure. If primaries are predominantly nuclei of atomic mass A accelerated
up to a maximum energy E_max with spectra not much softer than E^-2, secondary
protons from photo-disintegration can produce a conspicuous peak in the
spectrum at energy ~ E_max/A. A related feature appears in the average mass
dependence on energy.Comment: 15 pages, 16 ps figures, published version with minor changes, see
http://stacks.iop.org/1475-7516/2004/i=08/a=01
Factor XSanto Domingo. Evidence that the severe clinical phenotype arises from a mutation blocking secretion.
Factor X (FX) is a vitamin K-dependent plasma protein required for the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways of blood coagulation. FXSanto Domingo is a hereditary FX deficiency which is characterized clinically by a severe bleeding diathesis. The proposita has a FX activity of less than 1% and a FX antigen of less than 5%. We have determined the molecular basis of the defect in the FXSanto Domingo gene by amplification of all eight exons with polymerase chain reaction and subsequent sequence analysis. The patient is homozygous for a G----A transition in exon I at codon -20 (numbering the alanine at the NH2 terminus of the mature protein as +1), resulting in the substitution of arginine for glycine in the carboxy-terminal part of the signal peptide. This amino acid change occurs near the presumed cleavage site of the signal peptidase. We hypothesized that the mutation might prevent cleavage by the signal peptidase which in turn would impair proper secretion of the FX protein. To test this hypothesis, we compared the expression of wild type and mutant FX cDNA in a human kidney cell line. Wild type and mutant constructs in the expression vector pCMV4 were introduced into the human embryonic kidney cell line 293 by calcium phosphate transfection. FX antigen levels in the supernatant of the cells harboring the wild type construct were 2.4 micrograms/10(7) cells per 24 h, whereas antigen levels in media from cells containing the FXSanto Domingo construct were undetectable. No FX antigen was detected in the cell lysates of cells transfected with the mutant construct. To insure that the difference in protein levels was not due to a difference in steady state levels of mRNA, Northern analysis was performed on RNA from the cell lysates of both constructs. The results showed a transcript of the same size, present in roughly equal amounts, in both cases. Thus, the defect in the signal sequence of FXSanto Domingo exerts its effect posttranscriptionally. FXSanto Domingo is the first described example of a bleeding diathesis due to a mutation in the signal sequence
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