3,342 research outputs found
An Automated Method for the Detection and Extraction of HI Self-Absorption in High-Resolution 21cm Line Surveys
We describe algorithms that detect 21cm line HI self-absorption (HISA) in
large data sets and extract it for analysis. Our search method identifies HISA
as spatially and spectrally confined dark HI features that appear as negative
residuals after removing larger-scale emission components with a modified CLEAN
algorithm. Adjacent HISA volume-pixels (voxels) are grouped into features in
(l,b,v) space, and the HI brightness of voxels outside the 3-D feature
boundaries is smoothly interpolated to estimate the absorption amplitude and
the unabsorbed HI emission brightness. The reliability and completeness of our
HISA detection scheme have been tested extensively with model data. We detect
most features over a wide range of sizes, linewidths, amplitudes, and
background levels, with poor detection only where the absorption brightness
temperature amplitude is weak, the absorption scale approaches that of the
correlated noise, or the background level is too faint for HISA to be
distinguished reliably from emission gaps. False detection rates are very low
in all parts of the parameter space except at sizes and amplitudes approaching
those of noise fluctuations. Absorption measurement biases introduced by the
method are generally small and appear to arise from cases of incomplete HISA
detection. This paper is the third in a series examining HISA at high angular
resolution. A companion paper (Paper II) uses our HISA search and extraction
method to investigate the cold atomic gas distribution in the Canadian Galactic
Plane Survey.Comment: 39 pages, including 14 figure pages; to appear in June 10 ApJ, volume
626; figure quality significantly reduced for astro-ph; for full resolution,
please see http://www.ras.ucalgary.ca/~gibson/hisa/cgps1_survey
A Search for Electron Antineutrino Appearance at the 1 Scale
The MiniBooNE Collaboration reports initial results from a search for
oscillations. A signal-blind analysis was
performed using a data sample corresponding to protons on
target. The data are consistent with background prediction across the full
range of neutrino energy reconstructed assuming quasielastic scattering, MeV: 144 electron-like events have been observed in this
energy range, compared to an expectation of events. No
significant excess of events has been observed, both at low energy, 200-475
MeV, and at high energy, 475-1250 MeV. The data are inconclusive with respect
to antineutrino oscillations suggested by data from the Liquid Scintillator
Neutrino Detector at Los Alamos National Laboratory.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, 2 table
The detection of sub-solar mass dark matter halos
Dark matter halos of sub-solar mass are the first bound objects to form in
cold dark matter theories. In this article, I discuss the present understanding
of "microhalos'', their role in structure formation, and the implications of
their potential presence, in the interpretation of dark matter experiments.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures. Invited contribution to NJP Focus Issue on "Dark
Matter and Particle Physics
Measurement of Muon Neutrino Quasi-Elastic Scattering on Carbon
The observation of neutrino oscillations is clear evidence for physics beyond
the standard model. To make precise measurements of this phenomenon, neutrino
oscillation experiments, including MiniBooNE, require an accurate description
of neutrino charged current quasi-elastic (CCQE) cross sections to predict
signal samples. Using a high-statistics sample of muon neutrino CCQE events,
MiniBooNE finds that a simple Fermi gas model, with appropriate adjustments,
accurately characterizes the CCQE events observed in a carbon-based detector.
The extracted parameters include an effective axial mass, M_A^eff = 1.23+/-0.20
GeV, that describes the four-momentum dependence of the axial-vector form
factor of the nucleon; and a Pauli-suppression parameter, kappa =
1.019+/-0.011. Such a modified Fermi gas model may also be used by future
accelerator-based experiments measuring neutrino oscillations on nuclear
targets.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Measurement of the \nu_\mu charged current \pi^+ to quasi-elastic cross section ratio on mineral oil in a 0.8 GeV neutrino beam
Using high statistics samples of charged current interactions,
MiniBooNE reports a measurement of the single charged pion production to
quasi-elastic cross section ratio on mineral oil (CH), both with and
without corrections for hadron re-interactions in the target nucleus. The
result is provided as a function of neutrino energy in the range 0.4 GeV 2.4 GeV with 11% precision in the region of highest statistics. The
results are consistent with previous measurements and the prediction from
historical neutrino calculations.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Magnetism, FeS colloids, and Origins of Life
A number of features of living systems: reversible interactions and weak
bonds underlying motor-dynamics; gel-sol transitions; cellular connected
fractal organization; asymmetry in interactions and organization; quantum
coherent phenomena; to name some, can have a natural accounting via
interactions, which we therefore seek to incorporate by expanding the horizons
of `chemistry-only' approaches to the origins of life. It is suggested that the
magnetic 'face' of the minerals from the inorganic world, recognized to have
played a pivotal role in initiating Life, may throw light on some of these
issues. A magnetic environment in the form of rocks in the Hadean Ocean could
have enabled the accretion and therefore an ordered confinement of
super-paramagnetic colloids within a structured phase. A moderate H-field can
help magnetic nano-particles to not only overcome thermal fluctuations but also
harness them. Such controlled dynamics brings in the possibility of accessing
quantum effects, which together with frustrations in magnetic ordering and
hysteresis (a natural mechanism for a primitive memory) could throw light on
the birth of biological information which, as Abel argues, requires a
combination of order and complexity. This scenario gains strength from
observations of scale-free framboidal forms of the greigite mineral, with a
magnetic basis of assembly. And greigite's metabolic potential plays a key role
in the mound scenario of Russell and coworkers-an expansion of which is
suggested for including magnetism.Comment: 42 pages, 5 figures, to be published in A.R. Memorial volume, Ed
Krishnaswami Alladi, Springer 201
Hormone replacement therapy and risk of epithelial ovarian cancer
It has been suggested that oestrogen replacement therapy is associated with risk of epithelial ovarian cancer of the endometrioid type. Using data from an Australian population-based case–control study, the relation between unopposed oestrogen replacement therapy and epithelial ovarian cancer, both overall and according to histological type, was examined. A total of 793 eligible incident cases of epithelial ovarian cancer diagnosed from 1990 to 1993 among women living in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria were identified. These were compared with 855 eligible female controls selected at random from the electoral roll, stratified by age and geographic region. Trained interviewers administered standard questionnaires to obtain detailed reproductive and contraceptive histories, as well as details about hormone replacement therapy and pelvic operations. No clear associations were observed between use of hormone replacement therapy overall and risk of ovarian cancer. Unopposed oestrogen replacement therapy was, however, associated with a significant increase in risk of endometrioid or clear cell epithelial ovarian tumours (odds ratio (OR) 2.56; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.32–4.94). In addition, the risk associated with oestrogen replacement therapy was much larger in women with an intact genital tract (OR 3.00; 95% Cl 1.54–5.85) than in those with a history of either hysterectomy or tubal ligation. Post-menopausal oestrogen replacement therapy may, therefore, be a risk factor associated with endometrioid and clear cell tumours in particular. Additionally, the risk may be increased predominantly in women with an intact genital tract. These associations could reflect a possible role of endometriosis in the development of endometrioid or clear cell ovarian tumours. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig
Measurement of the neutrino component of an anti-neutrino beam observed by a non-magnetized detector
Two independent methods are employed to measure the neutrino flux of the
anti-neutrino-mode beam observed by the MiniBooNE detector. The first method
compares data to simulated event rates in a high purity \numu induced
charged-current single \pip (CC1\pip) sample while the second exploits the
difference between the angular distributions of muons created in \numu and
\numub charged-current quasi-elastic (CCQE) interactions. The results from
both analyses indicate the prediction of the neutrino flux component of the
pre-dominately anti-neutrino beam is over-estimated - the CC1\pip analysis
indicates the predicted \numu flux should be scaled by , while
the CCQE angular fit yields . The energy spectrum of the flux
prediction is checked by repeating the analyses in bins of reconstructed
neutrino energy, and the results show that the spectral shape is well modeled.
These analyses are a demonstration of techniques for measuring the neutrino
contamination of anti-neutrino beams observed by future non-magnetized
detectors.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, published in Physical Review D, latest version
reflects changes from referee comment
Low Energy 6-Dimensional N=2 Supersymmertric SU(6) Models on Orbifolds
We propose low energy 6-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric SU(6) models on
and , where the orbifold
model can be embedded on the boundary 4-brane. For the
zero modes, the 6-dimensional N=2 supersymmetry and the SU(6) gauge symmetry
are broken down to the 4-dimensional N=1 supersymmetry and the gauge symmetry by orbifold projections. In
order to cancel the anomalies involving at least one , we add extra
exotic particles. We also study the anomaly free conditions and present some
anomaly free models. The gauge coupling unification can be achieved at TeV if the compactification scale for the fifth dimension is
TeV. The proton decay problem can be avoided by putting the quarks and
leptons/neutrinos on different 3-branes. And we discuss how to break the
gauge symmetry, solve the
problem, and generate the mass hierarchy naturally by using the
geometry. The masses of exotic particles can be at the order of 1 TeV after the
gauge symmetry breaking. We also forbid the dimension-5 operators for the
neutrino masses by gauge symmetry, and the realistic left-handed
neutrino masses can be obtained via non-renormalizable terms.Comment: Latex, 33 pages, discussion and references adde
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