107 research outputs found
The experimental challenge of detecting solar axion-like particles to test cosmological ALP-photon oscillation hypothesis
We consider possible experimental tests of recent hypotheses suggesting that
TeV photons survive the pair production interaction with extragalactic
background light over cosmological distances by converting to axion-like
particles (ALPs) in galactic magnetic fields. We show that proposed giant
ultra-low background scintillation detectors will even have a difficult time
reaching the present CAST sensitivity, which is one to two orders of magnitude
less sensitive than necessary for a meaningful test of the ALP-photon
oscillation hypothesis. Potential alternative tests are briefly discussed.Comment: 4 pages, no figure
Can large scintillators be used for solar-axion searches to test the cosmological axion-photon oscillation proposal?
Solar-axion interaction rates in NaI, CsI and Xe scintillators via the
axio-electric effect were calculated. A table is presented with photoelectric
and axioelectric cross sections, solar-axion fluxes, and the interaction rates
from 2.0 to 10.0 keV. The results imply that annual-modulation data of large
NaI and CsI arrays, and large Xe scintillation chambers, might be made
sensitive enough to probe coupling to photons at levels required to explain
axion-photon oscillation phenomena proposed to explain the survival of
high-energy photons traveling cosmological distances. The DAMAA/LIBRA data are
used to demonstrate the power of the model-independent annual modulation due to
the seasonal variation in the earth sun distance.Comment: 7 pages and no figure
Theory for the Direct Detection of Solar Axions by Coherent Primakoff Conversion in Germanium Detectors
It is assumed that axions exist and are created in the Sun by Primakoff
conversion of photons in the Coulomb fields of nuclei. Detection rates are
calculated in germanium detectors due to the coherent conversion of axions to
photons in the lattice when the incident angle fulfills the Bragg condition for
a given crystalline plane. The rates are correlated with the relative positions
of the Sun and detector, yielding a characteristic recognizable sub-diurnal
temporal pattern. A major experiment is proposed based on a large detector
array.Comment: gzipped postscript file from Microsoft Word, 8 pages. Figures can be
obtained by fax from [email protected]. Submitted to Phys. Lett.
Predicted modulated differential rates for direct WIMP searches at low energy transfers
The differential event rate for direct detection of dark matter, both the
time averaged and the modulated one due to the motion of the Earth, are
discussed. The calculations focus on relatively light cold dark matter
candidates (WIMP) and low energy transfers. It is shown that for sufficiently
light WIMPs the extraction of relatively large nucleon cross sections is
possible. Furthermore for some WIMP masses the modulation amplitude may change
sign, meaning that, in such a case, the maximum rate may occur six months later
than naively expected. This effect can be exploited to yield information about
the mass of the dark matter candidate, if and when the observation of the
modulation of the event rate is established.Comment: 16 pages, 22 figures; references adde
Anomalous scaling and Lee-Yang zeroes in Self-Organized Criticality
We show that the generating functions of avalanche observables in SOC models
exhibits a Lee-Yang phenomenon. This establishes a new link between the
classical theory of critical phenomena and SOC. A scaling theory of the
Lee-Yang zeroes is proposed including finite sampling effects.Comment: 33 pages, 19 figures, submitte
CUORE: A Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events
CUORE is a proposed tightly packed array of 1000 TeO2 bolometers, each being
a cube 5 cm on a side with a mass of 760 g. The array consists of 25 vertical
towers, arranged in a square of 5 towers by 5 towers, each containing 10 layers
of 4 crystals. The design of the detector is optimized for ultralow-background
searches: for neutrinoless double beta decay of 130Te (33.8% abundance), cold
dark matter, solar axions, and rare nuclear decays. A preliminary experiment
involving 20 crystals 3x3x6 cm3 of 340 g has been completed, and a single CUORE
tower is being constructed as a smaller scale experiment called CUORICINO. The
expected performance and sensitivity, based on Monte Carlo simulations and
extrapolations of present results, are reported.Comment: 39 pages, 12 figures, submitted to NI
Experimental Search for Solar Axions
A new technique has been used to search for solar axions using a single crystal germanium detector. It exploits the coherent conversion of axions into photons when their angle of incidence satisfies a Bragg condition with a crystalline plane. The analysis of approximately 1.94 kg.yr of data from the 1-kg DEMOS detector in Sierra Grande, Argentina, yields a new laboratory bound on axion-photon coupling of g_{a,\gamma\gamma}<2.7\times 10^{-9} GeV^{-1} independent of axion mass up to \sim 1 keV
Theory of finite temperature crossovers near quantum critical points close to, or above, their upper-critical dimension
A systematic method for the computation of finite temperature () crossover
functions near quantum critical points close to, or above, their upper-critical
dimension is devised. We describe the physics of the various regions in the
and critical tuning parameter () plane. The quantum critical point is at
, , and in many cases there is a line of finite temperature
transitions at , with . For the relativistic,
-component continuum quantum field theory (which describes lattice
quantum rotor () and transverse field Ising () models) the upper
critical dimension is , and for , is the control
parameter over the entire phase diagram. In the region , we obtain an expansion for coupling constants which then are
input as arguments of known {\em classical, tricritical,} crossover functions.
In the high region of the continuum theory, an expansion in integer powers
of , modulo powers of , holds for all
thermodynamic observables, static correlators, and dynamic properties at all
Matsubara frequencies; for the imaginary part of correlators at real
frequencies (), the perturbative expansion describes
quantum relaxation at or larger, but fails for or smaller. An important principle,
underlying the whole calculation, is the analyticity of all observables as
functions of at , for ; indeed, analytic continuation in is
used to obtain results in a portion of the phase diagram. Our method also
applies to a large class of other quantum critical points and their associated
continuum quantum field theories.Comment: 36 pages, 4 eps figure
Numerical comparison of two approaches for the study of phase transitions in small systems
We compare two recently proposed methods for the characterization of phase
transitions in small systems. The validity and usefulness of these approaches
are studied for the case of the q=4 and q=5 Potts model, i.e. systems where a
thermodynamic limit and exact results exist. Guided by this analysis we discuss
then the helix-coil transition in polyalanine, an example of structural
transitions in biological molecules.Comment: 16 pages and 7 figure
Astroparticle Physics with a Customized Low-Background Broad Energy Germanium Detector
The MAJORANA Collaboration is building the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR, a 60 kg
array of high purity germanium detectors housed in an ultra-low background
shield at the Sanford Underground Laboratory in Lead, SD. The MAJORANA
DEMONSTRATOR will search for neutrinoless double-beta decay of 76Ge while
demonstrating the feasibility of a tonne-scale experiment. It may also carry
out a dark matter search in the 1-10 GeV/c^2 mass range. We have found that
customized Broad Energy Germanium (BEGe) detectors produced by Canberra have
several desirable features for a neutrinoless double-beta decay experiment,
including low electronic noise, excellent pulse shape analysis capabilities,
and simple fabrication. We have deployed a customized BEGe, the MAJORANA
Low-Background BEGe at Kimballton (MALBEK), in a low-background cryostat and
shield at the Kimballton Underground Research Facility in Virginia. This paper
will focus on the detector characteristics and measurements that can be
performed with such a radiation detector in a low-background environment.Comment: Submitted to NIMA Proceedings, SORMA XII. 9 pages, 4 figure
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