342 research outputs found
Searching for Dark Matter in the CMB: A Compact Parameterization of Energy Injection from New Physics
High-precision measurements of the temperature and polarization anisotropies
of the cosmic microwave background radiation have been previously employed to
set robust constraints on dark matter annihilation during recombination. In
this work we improve and generalize these constraints to apply to energy
deposition during the recombination era with arbitrary redshift dependence. Our
approach also provides more rigorous and model-independent bounds on dark
matter annihilation and decay scenarios. We employ principal component analysis
to identify a basis of weighting functions for the energy deposition. The
coefficients of these weighting functions parameterize any energy deposition
model and can be constrained directly by experiment. For generic energy
deposition histories that are currently allowed by WMAP7 data, up to 3
principal component coefficients are measurable by Planck and up to 5
coefficients are measurable by an ideal cosmic variance limited experiment. For
WIMP dark matter, our analysis demonstrates that the effect on the CMB is
described well by a single (normalization) parameter and a "universal" redshift
dependence for the energy deposition history. We give WMAP 7 constraints on
both generic energy deposition histories and the universal WIMP case.Comment: 30 pages, 24 figure
Evolution of Ecological Niche Breadth
How ecological niche breadth evolves is central to adaptation and speciation and has been a topic of perennial interest. Niche breadth evolution research has occurred within environmental, ecological, evolutionary, and biogeographical contexts, and although some generalities have emerged, critical knowledge gaps exist. Performance breadth trade-offs, although long invoked, may not be common determinants of niche breadth evolution or limits. Niche breadth can expand or contract from specialist or generalist lineages, and so specialization need not be an evolutionary dead end. Whether niche breadth determines diversification and distribution breadth and how niche breadth is partitioned among individuals and populations within a species are important but particularly understudied topics. Molecular genetic and phylogenetic techniques have greatly expanded understanding of niche breadth evolution, but field studies of how niche breadth evolves are essential for providing mechanistic details and allowing the development of comprehensive theory and improved prediction of biological responses under global change. </jats:p
CMB Constraints on WIMP Annihilation: Energy Absorption During the Recombination Epoch
We compute in detail the rate at which energy injected by dark matter
annihilation heats and ionizes the photon-baryon plasma at z ~ 1000, and
provide accurate fitting functions over the relevant redshift range for a broad
array of annihilation channels and DM masses. The resulting perturbations to
the ionization history can be constrained by measurements of the CMB
temperature and polarization angular power spectra. We show that models which
fit recently measured excesses in 10-1000 GeV electron and positron cosmic rays
are already close to the 95% confidence limits from WMAP. The recently launched
Planck satellite will be capable of ruling out a wide range of DM explanations
for these excesses. In models of dark matter with Sommerfeld-enhanced
annihilation, where sigma v rises with decreasing WIMP velocity until some
saturation point, the WMAP5 constraints imply that the enhancement must be
close to saturation in the neighborhood of the Earth.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures, v2 extends discussion of constraints on
Sommerfeld-enhanced model
Extra-dimensional cosmology with domain-wall branes
We show how to define a consistent braneworld cosmology in a model in which
the brane is constructed as a field-theoretic domain wall of finite thickness.
The Friedmann, Robertson-Walker metric is recovered in the region of the brane,
but, remarkably, with scale factor that depends on particle energy and on
particle species, constituting a breakdown of the weak equivalence principle on
sufficiently small scales. This unusual effect comes from the extended nature
of particles confined to a domain-wall brane, and the fact that they feel an
"average" of the bulk spacetime. We demonstrate how to recover the standard
results of brane cosmology in the infinitely-thin brane limit, and comment on
how our results have the potential to place bounds on parameters such as the
thickness of domain-wall braneworlds.Comment: 23 pages; v2 has additional references and reflects journal versio
Cosmology and Fermion Confinement in a Scalar-Field-Generated Domain Wall Brane in Five Dimensions
We consider a brane generated by a scalar field domain wall configuration in
4+1 dimensions, interpolating, in most cases, between two vacua of the field.
We study the cosmology of such a system in the cases where the effective
four-dimensional brane metric is de Sitter or anti de Sitter, including a
discussion of the bulk coordinate singularities present in the de-Sitter case.
We demonstrate that a scalar field kink configuration can support a brane with
dS cosmology, despite the presence of coordinate singularities in the
metric. We examine the trapping of fermion fields on the domain wall for
nontrivial brane cosmology.Comment: 29 pages, 12 figures; minor changes, accepted by JHE
Fermion localization on degenerate and critical branes
In this work we analyze the localization of fermions on degenerate and
critical Bloch branes. This is done directly on physical coordinates, in
constrast to some works that has been using conformal coordinates. We find the
range of coupling constants of the interaction of fermions with the scalar
fields that allow us to have normalizable fermion zero-mode localized on the
brane on both, critical and degenerate Bloch branes. In the case of critical
branes our results agree with those found in [Class. Quantum Grav. \textbf{27}
(2010) 185001]. The results on fermion localization on degenerate Bloch branes
are new. We also propose a coupling of fermions to the scalar fields which
leads to localization of massless fermion on both sides of a double-brane.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figure
Phylogenetics of the skyhoppers (Kosciuscola) of the Australian Alps : evolutionary and conservation implications
The true biodiversity of Australia's alpine and subalpine endemics is unknown. Genetic studies to date have focused on sub-regions and restricted taxa, but even so, indicate deep divergences across small geographic scales and therefore that the bulk of biodiversity remains to be discovered. We aimed to study the phylogeography of the Australian Alps by focusing on the skyhoppers (Kosciuscola), a genus of five species of flightless grasshoppers whose combined distributions both span the region and are almost exclusively contained within it. Our sampling covered 650 km on the mainland and several sites in Tasmania with total of 260 specimens used to reconstruct a robust phylogeny of Koscisucola. Phylogenies were based on single nucleotide polymorphism data generated from double-digested restriction-associated DNA sequencing. Skyhoppers diverged around 2 million years ago and have since undergone complex diversification seemingly driven by climatic oscillations throughout the Pleistocene. We recovered not 5 but 14 clades indicating the presence of many unknown species. Our results support conspicuous geographic features as genetic breaks; e.g. the Murray Valley, and inconspicuous ones; e.g. between the Bogong High Plains and Mt Hotham. Climate change is progressing quickly in the region and its impact, particularly on snow, could have severe consequences for the skyhoppers' overwinter survival. The true diversity of skyhoppers highlights that biodiversity loss in the Alps as a result of climate change is likely to be far greater than what can be estimated based on current species numbers and that management including small geographical scales is key
Hearing the voices of older adult patients: processes and findings to inform health services research
Background
Clinical academic research and service improvement is planned using Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) but older PPIE participants are consulted less often due to the perception that they are vulnerable or hard to engage.
Objectives
To consult frail older adults about a recently adopted service, discharge to assess (D2A), and to prioritise services improvements and research topics associated with the design and delivery of discharge from hospital. To use successive PPIE processes to enable a permanent PPIE panel to be established.
Participants
Following guidance from an established hospital PPI panel 27 older adult participants were recruited. Participants from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities, affluent and non-affluent areas and varied social circumstances were included.
Methods
Focus groups and individual interviews were conducted in participants own homes or nearby social venues.
Results
Priorities for discharge included remaining independent despite often feeling lonely at home; to remain in hospital if needed; and for services to ensure effective communication with families. The main research priority identified was facilitating independence, whilst establishing a permanent PPIE panel involving older adults was viewed favourably.
Conclusions
Taking a structured approach to PPIE enabled varied older peoples’ voices to express their priorities and concerns into early discharge from hospital, as well as enabling the development of health services research into hospital discharge planning and management. Older people as participants identified research priorities after reflecting on their experiences. Listening and reflection enabled researchers to develop a new “Community PPIE Elders Panel” to create an enduring PPIE infrastructure for frail older housebound people to engage in research design, development and dissemination
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