392 research outputs found
Newly Discovered Global Temperature Structures in the Quiet Sun at Solar Minimum
Magnetic loops are building blocks of the closed-field corona. While active
region loops are readily seen in images taken at EUV and X-ray wavelengths,
quiet Sun loops are seldom identifiable and therefore difficult to study on an
individual basis. The first analysis of solar minimum (Carrington Rotation
2077) quiet Sun (QS) coronal loops utilizing a novel technique called the
Michigan Loop Diagnostic Technique (MLDT) is presented. This technique combines
Differential Emission Measure Tomography (DEMT) and a potential field source
surface (PFSS) model, and consists of tracing PFSS field lines through the
tomographic grid on which the Local Differential Emission Measure (LDEM) is
determined. As a result, the electron temperature Te and density Ne at each
point along each individual field line can be obtained. Using data from
STEREO/EUVI and SOHO/MDI, the MLDT identifies two types of QS loops in the
corona: so-called "up" loops in which the temperature increases with height,
and so-called "down" loops in which the temperature decreases with height. Up
loops are expected, however, down loops are a surprise, and furthermore, they
are ubiquitous in the low-latitude corona. Up loops dominate the QS at higher
latitudes. The MLDT allows independent determination of the empirical pressure
and density scale heights, and the differences between the two remain to be
explained. The down loops appear to be a newly discovered property of the solar
minimum corona that may shed light on the physics of coronal heating. The
results are shown to be robust to the calibration uncertainties of the EUVI
instrument.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal, waiting for
the full biblio inf
Elephants classify human ethnic groups by odor and garment color
Animals can benefit from classifying predators or other dangers into categories, tailoring their escape strategies to the type and nature of the risk. Studies of alarm vocalizations have revealed various levels of sophistication in classification [1-5]. In many taxa, reactions to danger are inflexible, but some species can learn the level of threat presented by the local population of a predator [6-8] or by specific, recognizable individuals [9-10]. Some species distinguish several species of predator, giving differentiated warning calls and escape reactions; here we explore an animal’s classification of sub-groups within a species. We show that elephants distinguish at least two Kenyan ethnic groups, and can identify them by olfactory and color cues independently. In the Amboseli ecosystem, Kenya, Maasai warriors demonstrate virility by spearing elephants (Loxodonta africana), but Kamba agriculturalists pose little threat. Elephants showed greater fear when they detected the scent of garments previously worn by Maasai than by Kamba men, and reacted aggressively to the color associated with Maasai warriors. Elephants are therefore able to classify members of a single species into sub-groups that pose different degrees of danger
Effects of Reproductive Status, Social Rank, Sex and Group Size on Vigilance Patterns in Przewalski's Gazelle
Quantifying vigilance and exploring the underlying mechanisms has been the subject of numerous studies. Less attention has focused on the complex interplay between contributing factors such as reproductive status, social rank, sex and group size. Reproductive status and social rank are of particular interest due to their association with mating behavior. Mating activities in rutting season may interfere with typical patterns of vigilance and possibly interact with social rank. In addition, balancing the tradeoff between vigilance and life maintenance may represent a challenge for gregarious ungulate species rutting under harsh winter conditions. We studied vigilance patterns in the endangered Przewalski's gazelle (Procapra przewalskii) during both the rutting and non-rutting seasons to examine these issues.Field observations were carried out with focal sampling during rutting and non-rutting season in 2008-2009. Results indicated a complex interplay between reproductive status, social rank, sex and group size in determining vigilance in this species. Vigilance decreased with group size in female but not in male gazelles. Males scanned more frequently and thus spent more time vigilant than females. Compared to non-rutting season, gazelles increased time spent scanning at the expense of bedding in rutting season. During the rutting season, territorial males spent a large proportion of time on rutting activities and were less vigilant than non-territorial males. Although territorial males may share collective risk detection with harem females, we suggest that they are probably more vulnerable to predation because they seemed reluctant to leave rut stands under threats.Vigilance behavior in Przewalski's gazelle was significantly affected by reproductive status, social rank, sex, group size and their complex interactions. These findings shed light on the mechanisms underlying vigilance patterns and the tradeoff between vigilance and other crucial activities
Measurement of the Quark and Gluon Fragmentation Functions in Hadronic Decays
The fragmentation functions and multiplicities in and light quark events are compared. The measured transverse and longitudinal components of the fragmentation function allow the gluon fragmentation function to be evaluated
Search for Neutral Heavy Leptons Produced in Z Decays
Weak isosinglet Neutral Heavy Leptons () have been searched for using data collected by the DELPHI detector corresponding to hadronic~Z decays at LEP1. Four separate searches have been performed, for short-lived production giving monojet or acollinear jet topologies, and for long-lived giving detectable secondary vertices or calorimeter clusters. No indication of the existence of these particles has been found, leading to an upper limit for the branching ratio Z of about at 95\% confidence level for masses between 3.5 and 50 GeV/. Outside this range the limit weakens rapidly with the mass. %Special emphasis has been given to the search for monojet--like topologies. One event %has passed the selection, in agreement with the expectation from the reaction: %. The results are also interpreted in terms of limits for the single production of excited neutrinos
Measurement of inclusive production in hadronic decays
An analysis is presented of inclusive \pi^0 production in Z^0 decays measured with the DELPHI detector. At low energies, \pi^0 decays are reconstructed by \linebreak using pairs of converted photons and combinations of converted photons and photons reconstructed in the barrel electromagnetic calorimeter (HPC). At high energies (up to x_p = 2 \cdot p_{\pi}/\sqrt{s} = 0.75) the excellent granularity of the HPC is exploited to search for two-photon substructures in single showers. The inclusive differential cross section is measured as a function of energy for {q\overline q} and {b \bar b} events. The number of \pi^0's per hadronic Z^0 event is N(\pi^0)/ Z_{had}^0 = 9.2 \pm 0.2 \mbox{(stat)} \pm 1.0 \mbox{(syst)} and for {b \bar b}~events the number of \pi^0's is {\mathrm N(\pi^0)/ b \overline b} = 10.1 \pm 0.4 \mbox{(stat)} \pm 1.1 \mbox{(syst)} . The ratio of the number of \pi^0's in b \overline b events to hadronic Z^0 events is less affected by the systematic errors and is found to be 1.09 \pm 0.05 \pm 0.01. The measured \pi^0 cross sections are compared with the predictions of different parton shower models. For hadronic events, the peak position in the \mathrm \xi_p = \ln(1/x_p) distribution is \xi_p^{\star} = 3.90^{+0.24}_{-0.14}. The average number of \pi^0's from the decay of primary \mathrm B hadrons is found to be {\mathrm N} (B \rightarrow \pi^0 \, X)/\mbox{B hadron} = 2.78 \pm 0.15 \mbox{(stat)} \pm 0.60 \mbox{(syst)}
Measurement of the B oscillation frequency using kaons, leptons and jet charge
A measurement of the mass difference, \Delta m_d, between the two physical \mbox{B}^0_d states has been obtained from the analysis of the impact parameter distribution of a lepton emitted at large transverse momentum (p_t) relative to the jet axis and from the analysis of the flight distance distribution of secondary vertices tagged by either a high p_t lepton or an identified kaon. In the opposite hemisphere of the event, the charge of the initial quark has been evaluated using a high p_t lepton, a charged kaon or the mean jet charge. With 1.7 million hadronic Z^0 decays recorded by DELPHI between 1991 and 1993, \Delta m_d is found to be: \Delta m_d = 0.531^{+0.050}_{-0.046} ~(stat.) \pm 0.078 ~(syst.) ~ {\mathrm{ps}}^{-1} \,
Search for new phenomena using single photon events in the DELPHI detector at LEP
Data are presented on the reaction \epem~\into~\gamma + no other detected particle at center-of-mass energies, \sqs = 89.48 GeV, 91.26 GeV and 93.08 GeV. The cross section for this reaction is related directly to the number of light neutrino generations which couple to the \zz boson, and to several other phenomena such as excited neutrinos, the production of an invisible `X' particle, a possible magnetic moment of the tau neutrino, and neutral monojets. Based on the observed number of single photon events, the number of light neutrinos which couple to the \zz is measured to be N_\nu = 3.15 \pm 0.34. No evidence is found for anomalous production of energetic single photons, and upper limits at the 95\% confidence level are determined for excited neutrino production (BR < 4-9 \times 10^{-6}), production of an invisible `X' particle (\sigma < 0.1 pb), and the magnetic moment of the tau neutrino (< 5.2 \times 10^{-6} \mu_B). No event with the topology of a neutral monojet is found, and this corresponds to the limit \sigma < 0.044/\epsilon pb at the 95\% confidence level, where \epsilon is the unknown overall monojet detection efficiency
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