2,310 research outputs found
The MAGIC Telescope: Prospects for GRB research
The Major Atmospheric Gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov (MAGIC) Telescope collaboration is constructing a large Cherenkov telescope (17 m diameter) for the exploration of the gamma-ray energy regime above 10 GeV with high sensitivity. One of the highlights in the science program of this future observatory are the plans for fast follow-up observations of of GRBs. By ``fast'' we mean delays of less than 30 s between notification and the beginning of observations. The expected gamma counting rates are of the order of 100 Hz for a EGRET counting rate of 0.1 Hz above 100 MeV and a spectral index of 2.0 (this would correspond to a fluence of 10^{-5} erg cm^{-2} for 60 s burst duration). The good photon statistics will permit determination of spectra, search for cutoffs and measurement of light-curves with a time resolution of the order of 1 s
PC1643+4631A,B: The Lyman-Alpha Forest at the Edge of Coherence
This is the first measurement and detection of coherence in the intergalactic
medium (IGM) at substantially high redshift (z~3.8) and on large physical
scales (~2.5 h^-1 Mpc). We perform the measurement by presenting new
observations from Keck LRIS of the high redshift quasar pair PC 1643+4631A, B
and their Ly-alpha absorber coincidences. This experiment extends multiple
sightline quasar absorber studies to higher redshift, higher opacity, larger
transverse separation, and into a regime where coherence across the IGM becomes
weak and difficult to detect. We fit 222 discrete Ly-alpha absorbers to
sightline A and 211 to sightline B. Relative to a Monte Carlo pairing test
(using symmetric, nearest neighbor matching) the data exhibit a 4sigma excess
of pairs at low velocity splitting (<150 km/s), thus detecting coherence on
transverse scales of ~2.5 h^-1 Mpc. We use spectra extracted from an SPH
simulation to analyze symmetric pair matching, transmission distributions as a
function of redshift and compute zero-lag cross-correlations to compare with
the quasar pair data. The simulations agree with the data with the same
strength (~4sigma) at similarly low velocity splitting above random chance
pairings. In cross-correlation tests, the simulations agree when the mean flux
(as a function of redshift) is assumed to follow the prescription given by
Kirkman et al. (2005). While the detection of flux correlation (measured
through coincident absorbers and cross-correlation amplitude) is only
marginally significant, the agreement between data and simulations is
encouraging for future work in which even better quality data will provide the
best insight into the overarching structure of the IGM and its understanding as
shown by SPH simulations.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures; accepted for publication in Astronomical
Journa
Instructional Technology Usage and Implications for Student Academic Achievement and Further Success
The digital divide was once a term used to indicate disparity between socio-economic classes and access to digital devices. The digital divide may now more accurately indicate differences in the types of usage between members of different socio-economic classes. Differences in usage among the middle school student population may play a role in the development of critical thinking and collaborative communication. The Maryland results of the 2010 Speak Up survey – a national student survey regarding the usage of technology - were used in comparison with student respondent school district differentiation and were also compared with student state standardized test scores. No statistically significant relationships were found between student responses to questions of technology access or usage, dependent on urban or suburban/rural district setting
Potential Food and Nonfood Utilization of Potatoes and Related Byproducts in North Dakota
Demand and Price Analysis,
Probing Split Supersymmetry with Cosmic Rays
A striking aspect of the recently proposed split supersymmetry is the
existence of heavy gluinos which are metastable because of the very heavy
squarks which mediate their decay. In this paper we correlate the expected flux
of these particles with the accompanying neutrino flux produced in inelastic
collisions in distant astrophysical sources. We show that an event rate at
the Pierre Auger Observatory of approximately 1 yr for gluino masses of
about 500 GeV is consistent with existing limits on neutrino fluxes. The
extremely low inelasticity of the gluino-containing hadrons in their collisions
with the air molecules makes possible a distinct characterization of the
showers induced in the atmosphere. Should such anomalous events be observed, we
show that their cosmogenic origin, in concert with the requirement that they
reach the Earth before decay, leads to a lower bound on their proper lifetime
of the order of 100 years, and consequently, to a lower bound on the scale of
supersymmetry breaking, GeV. Obtaining
such a bound is not possible in collider experiments.Comment: Version to be published in Phys. Rev.
The Economics of Exporting North Dakota Beef to Asian Pacific Markets
International Relations/Trade,
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