Modeling the two-point correlation of the vector stream function

A new model for the two-point vector stream function correlation has been developed using tensor invariant arguments and evaluated by the comparison of model predictions with DNS data for incompressible homogeneous turbulent shear flow. This two-point vector stream function model correlation can then be used to calculate the two-point velocity correlation function and other quantities useful in turbulence modeling. The model assumes that the two-point vector stream function correlation can be written in terms of the separation vector and a new tensor function that depends only on the magnitude of the separation vector. The model has a single free model coefficient, which has been chosen by comparison with the DNS data. The relative error of the model predictions of the two-point vector stream function correlation is only a few percent for a broad range of the model coefficient. Predictions of the derivatives of this correlation, which are of interest in turbulence modeling, may not be this accurate

Production of 26Al in stellar hydrogen-burning environments: spectroscopic properties of states in 27Si

Model predictions of the amount of the radioisotope 26Al produced in hydrogen-burning environments require reliable estimates of the thermonuclear rates for the 26gAl(p,{\gamma})27Si and 26mAl(p,{\gamma})27Si reactions. These rates depend upon the spectroscopic properties of states in 27Si within about 1 MeV of the 26gAl+p threshold (Sp = 7463 keV). We have studied the 28Si(3He,{\alpha})27Si reaction at 25 MeV using a high-resolution quadrupole-dipole-dipole-dipole magnetic spectrograph. For the first time with a transfer reaction, we have constrained J{\pi} values for states in 27Si over Ex = 7.0 - 8.1 MeV through angular distribution measurements. Aside from a few important cases, we generally confirm the energies and spin-parity assignments reported in a recent {\gamma}-ray spectroscopy study. The magnitudes of neutron spectroscopic factors determined from shell-model calculations are in reasonable agreement with our experimental values extracted using this reaction.Comment: accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

The COMPTEL instrumental line background

The instrumental line background of the Compton telescope COMPTEL onboard the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory is due to the activation and/or decay of many isotopes. The major components of this background can be attributed to eight individual isotopes, namely 2D, 22Na, 24Na, 28Al, 40K, 52Mn, 57Ni, and 208Tl. The identification of instrumental lines with specific isotopes is based on the line energies as well as on the variation of the event rate with time, cosmic-ray intensity, and deposited radiation dose during passages through the South-Atlantic Anomaly. The characteristic variation of the event rate due to a specific isotope depends on its life-time, orbital parameters such as the altitude of the satellite above Earth, and the solar cycle. A detailed understanding of the background contributions from instrumental lines is crucial at MeV energies for measuring the cosmic diffuse gamma-ray background and for observing gamma-ray line emission in the interstellar medium or from supernovae and their remnants. Procedures to determine the event rate from each background isotope are described, and their average activity in spacecraft materials over the first seven years of the mission is estimated.Comment: accepted for publication in A&A, 22 pages, 21 figure

The Galactic 26Al Problem and The Close Binary SNIb/c Solution?

The origin of the long-lived radioactive 26Al, which has been observed in the Galactic interstellar medium from its 1.809 MeV decay gamma-ray line emission, has been a persistent problem for over twenty years. Wolf-Rayet (WR) winds were thought to be the most promising source, but their calculated 26Al yields are not consistent with recent analyses of the 1.809 MeV emission from the nearest WR star and nearby OB associations. The expected 26Al yield from the WR star exceeds by as much as a factor of 3, that set by the 2-sigma upper limit on the 1.809 MeV emission, while the WR yields in the OB associations are only about 1/3 of that required by the 1.809 MeV emission. We suggest that a solution to these problems may lie in 26Al from a previously ignored source: explosive nucleosynthesis in the core collapse SNIb/c supernovae of WR stars that have lost most of their mass to close binary companions. Recent nucleosynthetic calculations of SNIb/c suggest that their 26Al yields depend very strongly on the final, pre-supernova mass of the WR star, and that those with final masses around 6 to 8 solar masses are expected to produce as much as 0.01 solar masses of 26Al per supernova. Such binary SNIb/c make up only a small fraction of the current SNIb/c and only about 1% of all Galactic core collapse supernovae. They appear to be such prolific sources that the bulk of the present 26Al in the Galaxy may come from just a few hundred close binary SNIb/c and the intense 1.809 MeV emission from nearby OB associations may come from just one or two such supernova.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Letters, 611,10 August 200

Positron Annihilation in the Galaxy

The 511 keV line from positron annihilation in the Galaxy was the first γ-ray line detected to originate from outside our solar system. Going into the fifth decade since the discovery, the source of positrons is still unconfirmed and remains one of the enduring mysteries in γ-ray astronomy. With a large flux of ∼10−3 γ/cm2/s, after 15 years in operation INTEGRAL/SPI has detected the 511 keV line at >50σ and has performed high-resolution spectral studies which conclude that Galactic positrons predominantly annihilate at low energies in warm phases of the interstellar medium. The results from imaging are less certain, but show a spatial distribution with a strong concentration in the center of the Galaxy. The observed emission from the Galactic disk has low surface brightness and the scale height is poorly constrained, therefore, the shear number of annihilating positrons in our Galaxy is still not well know. Positrons produced in β+-decay of nucleosynthesis products, such as 26Al, can account for some of the annihilation emission in the disk, but the observed spatial distribution, in particular the excess in the Galactic bulge, remains difficult to explain. Additionally, one of the largest uncertainties in these studies is the unknown distance that positrons propagate before annihilation. In this paper, we will summarize the current knowledge base of Galactic positrons, and discuss how next-generation instruments could finally provide the answers.Non peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

A search for light dark matter in XENON10 data

We report results of a search for light (<10 GeV) particle dark matter with the XENON10 detector. The event trigger was sensitive to a single electron, with the analysis threshold of 5 electrons corresponding to 1.4 keV nuclear recoil energy. Considering spin-independent dark matter-nucleon scattering, we exclude cross sections \sigma_n>3.5x10^{-42} cm^2, for a dark matter particle mass m_{\chi}=8 GeV. We find that our data strongly constrain recent elastic dark matter interpretations of excess low-energy events observed by CoGeNT and CRESST-II, as well as the DAMA annual modulation signal.Comment: Manuscript identical to v2 (published version) but also contains erratum. Note v3==v2 but without \linenumber

Constraints on inelastic dark matter from XENON10

It has been suggested that dark matter particles which scatter inelastically from detector target nuclei could explain the apparent incompatibility of the DAMA modulation signal (interpreted as evidence for particle dark matter) with the null results from CDMS-II and XENON10. Among the predictions of inelastically interacting dark matter are a suppression of low-energy events, and a population of nuclear recoil events at higher nuclear recoil equivalent energies. This is in stark contrast to the well-known expectation of a falling exponential spectrum for the case of elastic interactions. We present a new analysis of XENON10 dark matter search data extending to E$_{nr}=75$ keV nuclear recoil equivalent energy. Our results exclude a significant region of previously allowed parameter space in the model of inelastically interacting dark matter. In particular, it is found that dark matter particle masses $m_{\chi}\gtrsim150$ GeV are disfavored.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure