1,095 research outputs found
Searches for solar-influenced radioactive decay anomalies using Spacecraft RTGs
Experiments showing a seasonal variation of the nuclear decay rates of a
number of different nuclei, and decay anomalies apparently related to solar
flares and solar rotation, have suggested that the Sun may somehow be
influencing nuclear decay processes. Recently, Cooper searched for such an
effect in Pu nuclei contained in the radioisotope thermoelectric
generators (RTGs) on board the Cassini spacecraft. In this paper we modify and
extend Cooper's analysis to obtain constraints on anomalous decays of
Pu over a wider range of models, but these limits cannot be applied to
other nuclei if the anomaly is composition-dependent. We also show that it may
require very high sensitivity for terrestrial experiments to discriminate among
some models if such a decay anomaly exists, motivating the consideration of
future spacecraft experiments which would require less precision.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures (to appear in Astroparticle Physics
Towards the use of the most massive black hole candidates in AGN to test the Kerr paradigm
The super-massive objects in galactic nuclei are thought to be the Kerr black
holes predicted by General Relativity, although a definite proof of their
actual nature is still lacking. The most massive objects in AGN () seem to have a high radiative efficiency () and a
moderate mass accretion rate (). The high
radiative efficiency could suggest they are very rapidly-rotating black holes.
The moderate luminosity could indicate that their accretion disk is
geometrically thin. If so, these objects could be excellent candidates to test
the Kerr black hole hypothesis. An accurate measurement of the radiative
efficiency of an individual AGN may probe the geometry of the space-time around
the black hole candidate with a precision comparable to the one achievable with
future space-based gravitational-wave detectors like LISA. A robust evidence of
the existence of a black hole candidate with and accreting from a
thin disk may be interpreted as an indication of new physics. For the time
being, there are several issues to address before using AGN to test the Kerr
paradigm, but the approach seems to be promising and capable of providing
interesting results before the advent of gravitational wave astronomy.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures. v2: some typos correcte
Probing long-range leptonic forces with solar and reactor neutrinos
In this work we study the phenomenological consequences of the existence of
long-range forces coupled to lepton flavour numbers in solar neutrino
oscillations. We study electronic forces mediated by scalar, vector or tensor
neutral bosons and analyze their effect on the propagation of solar neutrinos
as a function of the force strength and range. Under the assumption of one mass
scale dominance, we perform a global analysis of solar and KamLAND neutrino
data which depends on the two standard oscillation parameters, \Delta m^2_{21}
and \tan^2\theta_{12}, the force coupling constant, its range and, for the case
of scalar-mediated interactions, on the neutrino mass scale as well. We find
that, generically, the inclusion of the new interaction does not lead to a very
statistically significant improvement on the description of the data in the
most favored MSW LMA (or LMA-I) region. It does, however, substantially improve
the fit in the high-\Delta m^2 LMA (or LMA-II) region which can be allowed for
vector and scalar lepto-forces (in this last case if neutrinos are very
hierarchical) at 2.5\sigma. Conversely, the analysis allows us to place
stringent constraints on the strength versus range of the leptonic interaction.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figure
Geometric Random Inner Products: A New Family of Tests for Random Number Generators
We present a new computational scheme, GRIP (Geometric Random Inner
Products), for testing the quality of random number generators. The GRIP
formalism utilizes geometric probability techniques to calculate the average
scalar products of random vectors generated in geometric objects, such as
circles and spheres. We show that these average scalar products define a family
of geometric constants which can be used to evaluate the quality of random
number generators. We explicitly apply the GRIP tests to several random number
generators frequently used in Monte Carlo simulations, and demonstrate a new
statistical property for good random number generators
Photon-Neutrino Interactions in Magnetic Field through Neutrino Magnetic Moment
We study the neutrino-photon processes like in
the presence of uniform external magnetic field for the case when neutrinos can
couple to the electromagnetic field directly through their dipole magnetic
moment and obtain the stellar energy loss. The process would be of special
relevance in astrophysical situations where standard left-handed neutrinos are
trapped and the right handed neutrinos produced through the spin flip
interaction induced by neutrino magnetic moment alone can freely stream out.Comment: LaTex2e file, 9 page
Super-soft symmetry energy encountering non-Newtonian gravity in neutron stars
Considering the non-Newtonian gravity proposed in the grand unification
theories, we show that the stability and observed global properties of neutron
stars can not rule out the super-soft nuclear symmetry energies at
supra-saturation densities. The degree of possible violation of the
Inverse-Square-Law of gravity in neutron stars is estimated using an Equation
of State (EOS) of neutron-rich nuclear matter consistent with the available
terrestrial laboratory data.Comment: Version accepted by Physical Review Letter
Constraints on non-Newtonian gravity from the Casimir force measurements between two crossed cylinders
Constraints on the Yukawa-type corrections to Newtonian gravitational law are
obtained resulting from the measurement of the Casimir force between two
crossed cylinders. The new constraints are stronger than those previously
derived in the interaction range between 1.5 nm and 11 nm. The maximal
strengthening in 300 times is achieved at 4.26 nm. Possible applications of the
obtained results to the elementary particle physics are discussed.Comment: An error in the text and in the figure had been corrected. To appear
in Phys. Rev.
On Equivalence of Duffin-Kemmer-Petiau and Klein-Gordon Equations
A strict proof of equivalence between Duffin-Kemmer-Petiau (DKP) and
Klein-Gordon (KG) theories is presented for physical S-matrix elements in the
case of charged scalar particles interacting in minimal way with an external or
quantized electromagnetic field. First, Hamiltonian canonical approach to DKP
theory is developed in both component and matrix form. The theory is then
quantized through the construction of the generating functional for Green
functions (GF) and the physical matrix elements of S-matrix are proved to be
relativistic invariants. The equivalence between both theories is then proved
using the connection between GF and the elements of S-matrix, including the
case of only many photons states, and for more general conditions - so called
reduction formulas of Lehmann, Symanzik, Zimmermann.Comment: 23 pages, no figures, requires macro tcilate
Coherent Neutrino Interactions in a Dense Medium
Motivated by the effect of matter on neutrino oscillations (the MSW effect)
we study in more detail the propagation of neutrinos in a dense medium. The
dispersion relation for massive neutrinos in a medium is known to have a
minimum at nonzero momentum p \sim (G_F\rho)/\sqrt{2}. We study in detail the
origin and consequences of this dispersion relation for both Dirac and Majorana
neutrinos both in a toy model with only neutral currents and a single neutrino
flavour and in a realistic "Standard Model" with two neutrino flavours. We find
that for a range of neutrino momenta near the minimum of the dispersion
relation, Dirac neutrinos are trapped by their coherent interactions with the
medium. This effect does not lead to the trapping of Majorana neutrinos.Comment: 28 pages, 6 figures, Latex; minor changes, one reference added;
version to appear in Phys. Rev.
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