1,977 research outputs found
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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Experiences and acceptance of intimate partner violence: associations with sexually transmitted infection symptoms and ability to negotiate sexual safety among young Liberian women
Women who experience intimate partner violence may be at elevated risk for poor sexual health outcomes including sexual transmitted infections (STIs). This association however, has not been consistently demonstrated in low-income or post-conflict countries; furthermore, the role that attitudes towards intimate partner violence play in sexual health outcomes and behaviour has rarely been examined. We examined associations between intimate partner violence experiences, accepting attitudes towards physical intimate partner violence, and sexual health and behavioural outcomes among 592 young women in post-conflict Liberia. Participants’ experiences with either moderate or severe physical violence or sexual violence were common. Additionally, accepting attitudes towards physical intimate partner violence were positively associated with reporting STI symptoms, intimate partner violence experiences and the ability to negotiate safe sex. Findings suggest that for sexual health promotion and risk reduction intervention efforts to achieve full impact, interventions must address the contextual influence of violence, including individual attitudes toward intimate partner violence
New Measurement of Compton Scattering from the Deuteron and an Improved Extraction of the Neutron Electromagnetic Polarizabilities
The electromagnetic polarizabilities of the nucleon are fundamental
properties that describe its response to external electric and magnetic fields.
They can be extracted from Compton-scattering data --- and have been, with good
accuracy, in the case of the proton. In contradistinction, information for the
neutron requires the use of Compton scattering from nuclear targets. Here we
report a new measurement of elastic photon scattering from deuterium using
quasimonoenergetic tagged photons at the MAX IV Laboratory in Lund, Sweden.
These first new data in more than a decade effectively double the world
dataset. Their energy range overlaps with previous experiments and extends it
by 20 MeV to higher energies. An analysis using Chiral Effective Field Theory
with dynamical \Delta(1232) degrees of freedom shows the data are consistent
with and within the world dataset. After demonstrating that the fit is
consistent with the Baldin sum rule, extracting values for the isoscalar
nucleon polarizabilities and combining them with a recent result for the
proton, we obtain the neutron polarizabilities as \alpha_n = [11.55 +/-
1.25(stat) +/- 0.2(BSR) +/- 0.8(th)] X 10^{-4} fm^3 and \beta_n = [3.65 -/+
1.25(stat) +/- 0.2(BSR) -/+ 0.8(th)] X 10^{-4} fm3, with \chi^2 = 45.2 for 44
degrees of freedom.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, comments from Physical Review Letters Referees
addresse
Global governance approaches to addressing illegal logging: Uptake and lessons learned
One of the most challenging tasks facing development agencies, trade ministries, environmental groups, social activists and forest-focused business interests seeking to ameliorate illegal logging and related timber trade is to identify and nurture promising global governance interventions capable of helping improve compliance to governmental policies and laws at national, subnational and local levels. This question is especially acute for developing countries constrained by capacity challenges and “weak states” (Risse, 2011). This chapter seeks to shed light on this task by asking four related questions: How do we understand the emergence of illegal logging as a matter of global interest? What are the types of global interventions designed to improve domestic legal compliance? How have individual states responded to these global efforts? What are the prospects for future impacts and evolution?
We proceed in the following steps. Following this introduction, step two reviews how the problem of “illegal logging” emerged on the international agenda. Step three reviews leading policy interventions that resulted from this policy framing. Step four reviews developments in selected countries/regions around the world according to their place on the global forest products supply chain: consumers (United States, Europe and Australia); middle of supply chain manufacturers (China and South Korea) and producers (Russia; Indonesia; Brazil and Peru; Ghana, Cameroon and the Republic of Congo). We conclude by reflecting on key trends that emerge from this review relevant for understanding the conditions through which legality might make a difference in addressing critical challenges
Towards a formalism for mapping the spacetimes of massive compact objects: Bumpy black holes and their orbits
Observations have established that extremely compact, massive objects are
common in the universe. It is generally accepted that these objects are black
holes. As observations improve, it becomes possible to test this hypothesis in
ever greater detail. In particular, it is or will be possible to measure the
properties of orbits deep in the strong field of a black hole candidate (using
x-ray timing or with gravitational-waves) and to test whether they have the
characteristics of black hole orbits in general relativity. Such measurements
can be used to map the spacetime of a massive compact object, testing whether
the object's multipoles satisfy the strict constraints of the black hole
hypothesis. Such a test requires that we compare against objects with the
``wrong'' multipole structure. In this paper, we present tools for constructing
bumpy black holes: objects that are almost black holes, but that have some
multipoles with the wrong value. The spacetimes which we present are good deep
into the strong field of the object -- we do not use a large r expansion,
except to make contact with weak field intuition. Also, our spacetimes reduce
to the black hole spacetimes of general relativity when the ``bumpiness'' is
set to zero. We propose bumpy black holes as the foundation for a null
experiment: if black hole candidates are the black holes of general relativity,
their bumpiness should be zero. By comparing orbits in a bumpy spacetime with
those of an astrophysical source, observations should be able to test this
hypothesis, stringently testing whether they are the black holes of general
relativity. (Abridged)Comment: 16 pages + 2 appendices + 3 figures. Submitted to PR
Juvenile rockfish show resilience to CO\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e-acidification and hypoxia across multiple biological scales
California’s coastal ecosystems are forecasted to undergo shifting ocean conditions due to climate change, some of which may negatively impact recreational and commercial fish populations. To understand if fish populations have the capacity to respond to multiple stressors, it is critical to examine interactive effects across multiple biological scales, from cellular metabolism to species interactions. This study examined the effects of CO2-acidification and hypoxia on two naturally cooccurring species, juvenile rockfish (genus Sebastes) and a known predator, cabezon (Scorpaenichthys marmoratus). Fishes were exposed to two PCO2 levels at two dissolved oxygen (DO) levels: ~600 (ambient) and ~1600 (high) μatm PCO2 and 8.0 (normoxic) and 4.5 mg l−1 DO (hypoxic) and assessments of cellular metabolism, prey behavior and predation mortality rates were quantified after 1 and 3 weeks. Physiologically, rockfish showed acute alterations in cellular metabolic enzyme activity after 1 week of acclimation to elevated PCO2 and hypoxia that were not evident in cabezon. Alterations in rockfish energy metabolism were driven by increases in anaerobic LDH activity, and adjustments in enzyme activity ratios of cytochrome c oxidase and citrate synthase and LDH:CS. Correlated changes in rockfish behavior were also apparent after 1 week of acclimation to elevated PCO2 and hypoxia. Exploration behavior increased in rockfish exposed to elevated PCO2 and spatial analysis of activity indicated short-term interference with anti-predator responses. Predation rate after 1 week increased with elevated PCO2; however, no mortality was observed under the multiple-stressor treatment suggesting negative effects on cabezon predators. Most noteworthy, metabolic and behavioral changes were moderately compensated after 3 weeks of acclimation, and predation mortality rates also decreased suggesting that these rockfish may be resilient to changes in environmental stressors predicted by climate models. Linking physiological and behavioral responses to multiple stressors is vital to understand impacts on populations and community dynamics
Correlates of HIV testing among abused women in South Africa
Gender-based violence increases a woman’s risk for HIV but little is known about her
decision to get tested. We interviewed 97 women seeking abuse-related services from
a nongovernmental organization (NGO) in Johannesburg, South Africa. Forty-six women
(47%) had been tested for HIV. Caring for children (odds ratio [OR] = 0.27, 95% confidence
interval [CI] = [0.07, 1.00]) and conversing with partner about HIV (OR = 0.13, 95%
CI = [0.02, 0.85]) decreased odds of testing. Stronger risk-reduction intentions (OR = 1.27,
95% CI = [1.01, 1.60]) and seeking help from police (OR = 5.51, 95% CI = [1.18, 25.76])
increased odds of testing. Providing safe access to integrated services and testing may
increase testing in this population. Infection with HIV is highly prevalent in South Africa
where an estimated 16.2% of adults between the ages of 15 and 49 have the virus. The
necessary first step to stemming the spread of HIV and receiving life-saving treatment is
learning one’s HIV serostatus through testing. Many factors may contribute to someone’s
risk of HIV infection and many barriers may prevent testing. One factor that does both is
gender-based violence.The authors disclosed that they received the following support for their research and/or authorship
of this article: This research was supported by grants WAF 244 (01-016; awarded to
Kathleen Sikkema, PhD) from the World AIDS Foundation, and D43-TW05808 from the NIH
Fogarty International Center and P30-MH62294 Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA) from NIMH (awarded to Michael H. Merson, MD). Dr. Adams was supported by
5KL2RR024127-03 from the NIH National Center for Research Resources.http://www.sagepub.co.uk/journalsProdDesc.nav?prodId=Journal20083
Compton Scattering Cross Section on the Proton at High Momentum Transfer
Cross-section values for Compton scattering on the proton were measured at 25
kinematic settings over the range s = 5-11 and -t = 2-7 GeV2 with statistical
accuracy of a few percent. The scaling power for the s-dependence of the cross
section at fixed center of mass angle was found to be 8.0 +/ 0.2, strongly
inconsistent with the prediction of perturbative QCD. The observed
cross-section values are in fair agreement with the calculations using the
handbag mechanism, in which the external photons couple to a single quark.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
A Study of the Quasi-elastic (e,e'p) Reaction on C, Fe and Au
We report the results from a systematic study of the quasi-elastic (e,e'p)
reaction on C, Fe and Au performed at Jefferson Lab. We
have measured nuclear transparency and extracted spectral functions (corrected
for radiation) over a Q range of 0.64 - 3.25 (GeV/c) for all three
nuclei. In addition we have extracted separated longitudinal and transverse
spectral functions at Q of 0.64 and 1.8 (GeV/c) for these three nuclei
(except for Au at the higher Q). The spectral functions are
compared to a number of theoretical calculations. The measured spectral
functions differ in detail but not in overall shape from most of the
theoretical models. In all three targets the measured spectral functions show
considerable excess transverse strength at Q = 0.64 (GeV/c), which is
much reduced at 1.8 (GeV/c).Comment: For JLab E91013 Collaboration, 19 pages, 20 figures, 3 table
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