Correlation Time-of-flight Spectrometry of Ultracold Neutrons

The fearures of the correlation method used in time-of-flight spectrometry of ultracold neutrons are analyzed. The time-of-flight spectrometer for the energy range of ultracold neutrons is described, and results of its testing by measuring spectra of neutrons passing through interference filters are presented.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure

B Production Asymmetries in Perturbative QCD

This paper explores a new mechanism for B production in which a b quark combines with a light parton from the hard-scattering process before hadronizing into the B hadron. This recombination mechanism can be calculated within perturbative QCD up to a few nonperturbative constants. Though suppressed at large transverse momentum by a factor Lambda_QCD m_b/p_t^2 relative to b quark fragmentation production, it can be important at large rapidities. A signature for this heavy-quark recombination mechanism in proton-antiproton colliders is the presence of rapidity asymmetries in B cross sections. Given reasonable assumptions about the size of nonperturbative parameters entering the calculation, we find that the asymmetries are only significant for rapidities larger than those currently probed by collider experiments.Comment: 17 pages, LaTeX, 4 ps figures, tightenlines, sections added, final version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Unintegrated gluon distributions in D* and dijet associated photoproduction at HERA

We consider the photoproduction of D* mesons associated with two hadron jets at HERA collider in the framework of the kt-factorization approach. The unintegrated gluon densities in a proton are obtained from the full CCFM, from unified BFKL-DGLAP evolution equations as well as from the Kimber-Martin-Ryskin prescription. Resolved photon contributions are reproduced by the initial-state gluon radiation. We investigate different production rates and make comparison with the recent experimental data taken by the ZEUS collaboration. Special attention is put on the specific dijet correlations which can provide unique information about non-collinear gluon evolution dynamics.Comment: 31 pages, 18 figure

Study of the Linked Dipole Chain Model in heavy quark production at the Tevatron

We present calculations of charm and beauty production at Tevatron within the framework of kT-factorization, using the unintegrated gluon distributions as obtained from the Linked Dipole Chain model. The analysis covers transverse momentum and rapidity distributions and the azimuthal correlations between b and bbar quarks (or rather muons from their decay) which are powerful tests for the different unintegrated gluon distributions. We compare the theoretical results with recent experimental data taken by D0 and CDF collaborations at the Tevatron Run I and II.Comment: 16 page

Active Galaxies in the UV

In this article we present different aspects of AGN studies demonstrating the importance of the UV spectral range. Most important diagnostic lines for studying the general physical conditions as well as the metalicities in the central broad line region in AGN are emitted in the UV. The UV/FUV continuum in AGN excites not only the emission lines in the immediate surrounding but it is responsible for the ionization of the intergalactic medium in the early stages of the universe. Variability studies of the emission line profiles of AGN in the UV give us information on the structure and kinematics of the immediate surrounding of the central supermassive black hole as well as on its mass itself.Comment: 29 pages, 13 figures, Ap&SS in pres

Effects of short-term ambient PM2.5 exposure on cardiovascular disease incidence and mortality among U.S. hemodialysis patients: a retrospective cohort study

Background: Ambient PM2.5 is a ubiquitous air pollutant with demonstrated adverse health impacts in population. Hemodialysis patients are a highly vulnerable population and may be particularly susceptible to the effects of PM2.5 exposure. This study examines associations between short-term PM2.5 exposure and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality among patients receiving maintenance in-center hemodialysis. Methods: Using the United State Renal Data System (USRDS) registry, we enumerated a cohort of all US adult kidney failure patients who initiated in-center hemodialysis between 1/1/2011 and 12/31/2016. Daily ambient PM2.5 exposure estimates were assigned to cohort members based on the ZIP code of the dialysis clinic. CVD incidence and mortality were ascertained through 2016 based on USRDS records. Discrete time hazards regression was used to estimate the association between lagged PM2.5 exposure and CVD incidence, CVD-specific mortality, and all-cause mortality 1 t adjusting for temperature, humidity, day of the week, season, age at baseline, race, employment status, and geographic region. Effect measure modification was assessed for age, sex, race, and comorbidities. Results: Among 314,079 hemodialysis patients, a 10 µg/m3 increase in the average lag 0–1 daily PM2.5 exposure was associated with CVD incidence (HR: 1.03 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.04)), CVD mortality (1.05 (95% CI: 1.03, 1.08)), and all-cause mortality (1.04 (95% CI: 1.03, 1.06)). The association was larger for people who initiated dialysis at an older age, while minimal evidence of effect modification was observed across levels of sex, race, or baseline comorbidities. Conclusions: Short-term ambient PM2.5 exposure was positively associated with incident CVD events and mortality among patients receiving in-center hemodialysis. Older patients appeared to be more susceptible to PM2.5-associated CVD events than younger hemodialysis patients

Definition and Calculation of Bottom Quark Cross-Sections in Deep-inelastic Scattering at HERA and Determination of their Uncertainties

The uncertainties involved in the calculation of bottom quark cross-sections in deep-inelastic scattering at HERA are studied in different phase space regions. Besides the inclusive bottom quark cross-section, definitions closer to the detector acceptance requiring at least one high energetic muon from the semi-leptonic \bquark decay or a jet with high transverse energy are investigated. For each case the uncertainties due to the choice of the renormalisation and factorisation scale as well as the \bquark mass are estimated in the perturbative NLO QCD calculation and furthermore uncertainties in the fragmenation of the bottom quark to a B-meson and in its semi-leptonic decay are discussed

Neutrino Interferometry In Curved Spacetime

Gravitational lensing introduces the possibility of multiple (macroscopic) paths from an astrophysical neutrino source to a detector. Such a multiplicity of paths can allow for quantum mechanical interference to take place that is qualitatively different to neutrino oscillations in flat space. After an illustrative example clarifying some under-appreciated subtleties of the phase calculation, we derive the form of the quantum mechanical phase for a neutrino mass eigenstate propagating non-radially through a Schwarzschild metric. We subsequently determine the form of the interference pattern seen at a detector. We show that the neutrino signal from a supernova could exhibit the interference effects we discuss were it lensed by an object in a suitable mass range. We finally conclude, however, that -- given current neutrino detector technology -- the probability of such lensing occurring for a (neutrino-detectable) supernova is tiny in the immediate future.Comment: 25 pages, 1 .eps figure. Updated version -- with simplified notation -- accepted for publication in Phys.Rev.D. Extra author adde

Horizontal Branch Stars: The Interplay between Observations and Theory, and Insights into the Formation of the Galaxy

We review HB stars in a broad astrophysical context, including both variable and non-variable stars. A reassessment of the Oosterhoff dichotomy is presented, which provides unprecedented detail regarding its origin and systematics. We show that the Oosterhoff dichotomy and the distribution of globular clusters (GCs) in the HB morphology-metallicity plane both exclude, with high statistical significance, the possibility that the Galactic halo may have formed from the accretion of dwarf galaxies resembling present-day Milky Way satellites such as Fornax, Sagittarius, and the LMC. A rediscussion of the second-parameter problem is presented. A technique is proposed to estimate the HB types of extragalactic GCs on the basis of integrated far-UV photometry. The relationship between the absolute V magnitude of the HB at the RR Lyrae level and metallicity, as obtained on the basis of trigonometric parallax measurements for the star RR Lyrae, is also revisited, giving a distance modulus to the LMC of (m-M)_0 = 18.44+/-0.11. RR Lyrae period change rates are studied. Finally, the conductive opacities used in evolutionary calculations of low-mass stars are investigated. [ABRIDGED]Comment: 56 pages, 22 figures. Invited review, to appear in Astrophysics and Space Scienc

Amplifying actions for food system transformation: Insights from the Stockholm region

Food is essential to people and is one of the main ways in which people are connected to the world’s ecosystems. However, food systems often cause ecosystem degradation and produce ill-health, which has generated increasing calls to transform food systems to be more sustainable. The Swedish food system is currently undergoing substantial change. A varied set of local actors have created alternative sustainability initiatives that enact new ways of doing, thinking, and organizing. These actors can increase the transformative impact of their initiatives through multiple actions and a variety of amplification processes. We analyzed the actions adopted by 29 food initiatives active in the Stockholm region using information available online. We conducted 11 interviews to better understand the amplification processes of speeding up (i.e., accelerating impact), scaling up (i.e., influencing higher institutional levels), and scaling deep (i.e., changing values and mind-sets). Our results indicated that the initiatives mainly seek to stabilize and grow their impact while changing the awareness, values, and mind-sets of people concerning the food they consume (scaling deep). However, these approaches raise new questions about whether these actions subvert or reinforce current unsustainable and inequitable system dynamics. We suggest there are distinct steps that local and regional governments could take to support these local actors via collaborations with coordinated forms of initiatives, and fostering changes at the municipality level, but these steps require ongoing, adaptive approaches given the highly complex nature of transformative change and the risks of reinforcing current system dynamics