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No abstract.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78300/1/20291_ftp.pd

A Simple Explanation for DAMA with Moderate Channeling

We consider the possibility that the DAMA signal arises from channeled events in simple models where the dark matter interaction with nuclei is suppressed at small momenta. As with the standard WIMP, these models have two parameters (the dark matter mass and the size of the cross-section), without the need to introduce an additional energy threshold type of parameter. We find that they can be consistent with channeling fractions as low as about ~ 15%, so long as at least ~70% of the nuclear recoil energy for channeled events is deposited electronically. Given that there are reasons not to expect very large channeling fractions, these scenarios make the channeling explanation of DAMA much more compelling.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figure

Interesting dynamics at high mutual inclination in the framework of the Kozai problem with an eccentric perturber

We study the dynamics of the 3-D three-body problem of a small body moving under the attractions of a star and a giant planet which orbits the star on a much wider and elliptic orbit. In particular, we focus on the influence of an eccentric orbit of the outer perturber on the dynamics of a small highly inclined inner body. Our analytical study of the secular perturbations relies on the classical octupole hamiltonian expansion (third-order theory in the ratio of the semi-major axes), as third-order terms are needed to consider the secular variations of the outer perturber and potential secular resonances between the arguments of the pericenter and/or longitudes of the node of both bodies. Short-period averaging and node reduction (Laplace plane) reduce the problem to two degrees of freedom. The four-dimensional dynamics is analyzed through representative planes which identify the main equilibria of the problem. As in the circular problem (i.e. perturber on a circular orbit), the "Kozai-bifurcated" equilibria play a major role in the dynamics of an inner body on quasi-circular orbit: its eccentricity variations are very limited for mutual inclination between the orbital planes smaller than ~40^{\deg}, while they become large and chaotic for higher mutual inclination. Particular attention is also given to a region around 35^{\deg} of mutual inclination, detected numerically by Funk et al. (2011) and consisting of long-time stable and particularly low eccentric orbits of the small body. Using a 12th-order Hamiltonian expansion in eccentricities and inclinations, in particular its action-angle formulation obtained by Lie transforms in Libert & Henrard (2008), we show that this region presents an equality of two fundamental frequencies and can be regarded as a secular resonance. Our results also apply to binary star systems where a planet is revolving around one of the two stars.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Ethics, space, and somatic sensibilities: comparing relationships between scientific researchers and their human and animal experimental subjects

Drawing on geographies of affect and nature-society relations, we propose a radical rethinking of how scientists, social scientists, and regulatory agencies conceptualise human and animal participants in scientif ic research. The scientific rationale for using animal bodies to simulate what could be done in human bodies emphasises shared somatic capacities that generate comparable responses to clinical interventions. At the same time, regulatory guidelines and care practices stress the differences between human and animal subjects. In this paper we consider the implications of this differentiation between human and animal bodies in ethical and welfare protocols and practices. We show how the bioethical debates around the use of human subjects tend to focus on issues of consent and language, while recent work in animal welfare reflects an increasing focus on the affectual dimensions of ethical practice. We argue that this attention to the more-than-representational dimensions of ethics and welfare might be equally important for human subjects. We assert that paying attention to these somatic sensibilities can offer insights into how experimental environments can both facilitate and restrict the development of more care-full and response-able relations between researchers and their experimental subjects. <br/

Who’s afraid of the predicate theory of names?

This essay is devoted to an analysis of the semantic significance of a fashionable view of proper names, the Predicate Theory of names (PT), typically developed in the direction of the Metalinguistic Theory of names (MT). According to MT, ‘syntactic evidence supports the conclusion that a name such as ‘Kennedy’ is analyzable in terms of the predicate (general term) ‘individual named ‘Kennedy’’. This analysis is in turn alleged to support a descriptivist treatment of proper names in designative position, presumably in contrast with theories of names as ‘directly referring rigid designators’. The main aim of this essay is that of questioning the significance of PT and MT as theories of designation: even granting for the argument’s sake that names are analyzable as (metalinguistic) predicates, their designative occurrences may be interpreted in consonance with the dictates of Direct Reference—indeed, in consonance with the radically anti-descriptivist version of Direct Reference I call Millianism

Dark Matter Direct Detection with Non-Maxwellian Velocity Structure

The velocity distribution function of dark matter particles is expected to show significant departures from a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution. This can have profound effects on the predicted dark matter - nucleon scattering rates in direct detection experiments, especially for dark matter models in which the scattering is sensitive to the high velocity tail of the distribution, such as inelastic dark matter (iDM) or light (few GeV) dark matter (LDM), and for experiments that require high energy recoil events, such as many directionally sensitive experiments. Here we determine the velocity distribution functions from two of the highest resolution numerical simulations of Galactic dark matter structure (Via Lactea II and GHALO), and study the effects for these scenarios. For directional detection, we find that the observed departures from Maxwell-Boltzmann increase the contrast of the signal and change the typical direction of incoming DM particles. For iDM, the expected signals at direct detection experiments are changed dramatically: the annual modulation can be enhanced by more than a factor two, and the relative rates of DAMA compared to CDMS can change by an order of magnitude, while those compared to CRESST can change by a factor of two. The spectrum of the signal can also change dramatically, with many features arising due to substructure. For LDM the spectral effects are smaller, but changes do arise that improve the compatibility with existing experiments. We find that the phase of the modulation can depend upon energy, which would help discriminate against background should it be found.Comment: 34 pages, 16 figures, submitted to JCAP. Tables of g(v_min), the integral of f(v)/v from v_min to infinity, derived from our simulations, are available for download at http://astro.berkeley.edu/~mqk/dmdd

C. elegans LIN-18 Is a Ryk Ortholog and Functions in Parallel to LIN-17/Frizzled in Wnt Signaling

Wnt proteins are intercellular signals that regulate various aspects of animal development. In Caenorhabditis elegans, mutations in lin-17, a Frizzled-class Wnt receptor, and in lin-18 affect cell fate patterning in the P7.p vulval lineage. We found that lin-18 encodes a member of the Ryk/Derailed family of tyrosine kinase-related receptors, recently found to function as Wnt receptors. Members of this family have nonactive kinase domains. The LIN-18 kinase domain is dispensable for LIN-18 function, while the Wnt binding WIF domain is required. We also found that Wnt proteins LIN-44, MOM-2, and CWN-2 redundantly regulate P7.p patterning. Genetic interactions indicate that LIN-17 and LIN-18 function independently of each other in parallel pathways, and different ligands display different receptor specificities. Thus, two independent Wnt signaling pathways, one employing a Ryk receptor and the other a Frizzled receptor, function in parallel to regulate cell fate patterning in the C. elegans vulva

Abelian Hidden Sectors at a GeV

We discuss mechanisms for naturally generating GeV-scale hidden sectors in the context of weak-scale supersymmetry. Such low mass scales can arise when hidden sectors are more weakly coupled to supersymmetry breaking than the visible sector, as happens when supersymmetry breaking is communicated to the visible sector by gauge interactions under which the hidden sector is uncharged, or if the hidden sector is sequestered from gravity-mediated supersymmetry breaking. We study these mechanisms in detail in the context of gauge and gaugino mediation, and present specific models of Abelian GeV-scale hidden sectors. In particular, we discuss kinetic mixing of a U(1)_x gauge force with hypercharge, singlets or bi-fundamentals which couple to both sectors, and additional loop effects. Finally, we investigate the possible relevance of such sectors for dark matter phenomenology, as well as for low- and high-energy collider searches.Comment: 43 pages, no figures; v2: to match JHEP versio

Weather Variability, Tides, and Barmah Forest Virus Disease in the Gladstone Region, Australia

In this study we examined the impact of weather variability and tides on the transmission of Barmah Forest virus (BFV) disease and developed a weather-based forecasting model for BFV disease in the Gladstone region, Australia. We used seasonal autoregressive integrated moving-average (SARIMA) models to determine the contribution of weather variables to BFV transmission after the time-series data of response and explanatory variables were made stationary through seasonal differencing. We obtained data on the monthly counts of BFV cases, weather variables (e.g., mean minimum and maximum temperature, total rainfall, and mean relative humidity), high and low tides, and the population size in the Gladstone region between January 1992 and December 2001 from the Queensland Department of Health, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland Department of Transport, and Australian Bureau of Statistics, respectively. The SARIMA model shows that the 5-month moving average of minimum temperature (β = 0.15, p-value < 0.001) was statistically significantly and positively associated with BFV disease, whereas high tide in the current month (β = −1.03, p-value = 0.04) was statistically significantly and inversely associated with it. However, no significant association was found for other variables. These results may be applied to forecast the occurrence of BFV disease and to use public health resources in BFV control and prevention