6,145 research outputs found
Gamma Ray Bursts: recent results and connections to very high energy Cosmic Rays and Neutrinos
Gamma-ray bursts are the most concentrated explosions in the Universe. They
have been detected electromagnetically at energies up to tens of GeV, and it is
suspected that they could be active at least up to TeV energies. It is also
speculated that they could emit cosmic rays and neutrinos at energies reaching
up to the eV range. Here we review the recent developments in
the photon phenomenology in the light of \swift and \fermi satellite
observations, as well as recent IceCube upper limits on their neutrino
luminosity. We discuss some of the theoretical models developed to explain
these observations and their possible contribution to a very high energy cosmic
ray and neutrino background.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures. Text of a plenary lecture at the PASCOS 12
conference, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, June 2012; to appear in J.Phys. (Conf.
Series
Elliptic Flow from a Transversally Thermalized Fireball
The agreement of elliptic flow data at RHIC at central rapidity with the
hydrodynamic model has led to the conclusion of very rapid thermalization. This
conclusion is based on the intuitive argument that hydrodynamics, which assumes
instantaneous local thermalization, produces the largest possible elliptic flow
values and that the data seem to saturate this limit. We here investigate the
question whether incompletely thermalized viscous systems may actually produce
more elliptic flow than ideal hydrodynamics. Motivated by the extremely fast
primordial longitudinal expansion of the reaction zone, we investigate a toy
model which exhibits thermalization only in the transverse directions but
undergoes collisionless free-streaming expansion in the longitudinal direction.
For collisions at RHIC energies, elliptic flow results from the model are
compared with those from hydrodynamics. With the final particle yield and
\kt-distribution fixed, the transversally thermalized model is shown not to
be able to produce the measured amount of elliptic flow. This investigation
provides further support for very rapid local kinetic equilibration at RHIC. It
also yields interesting novel results for the elliptic flow of massless
particles such as direct photons.Comment: revtex4, 15 pages + 10 embedded EPS figure
Measuring diffuse neutrino fluxes with IceCube
In this paper the sensitivity of a future kilometer-sized neutrino detector
to detect and measure the diffuse flux of high energy neutrinos is evaluated.
Event rates in established detection channels, such as muon events from charged
current muon neutrino interactions or cascade events from electron neutrino and
tau neutrino interactions, are calculated using a detailed Monte Carlo
simulation. Neutrino fluxes as expected from prompt charm decay in the
atmosphere or from astrophysical sources such as Active Galactic Nuclei are
modeled assuming power laws. The ability to measure the normalization and slope
of these spectra is then analyzed.
It is found that the cascade channel generally has a high sensitivity for the
detection and characterization of the diffuse flux, when compared to what is
expected for the upgoing- and downgoing-muon channels. A flux at the level of
the Waxman-Bahcall upper bound should be detectable in all channels separately
while a combination of the information of the different channels will allow
detection of a flux more than one order of magnitude lower. Neutrinos from the
prompt decay of charmed mesons in the atmosphere should be detectable in future
measurements for all but the lowest predictions.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure
Energy consumption and capacity utilization of galvanizing furnaces
An explicit equation leading to a method for improving furnace efficiency is presented. This equation is dimensionless and can be applied to furnaces of any size and fuel type for the purposes of comparison. The implications for current furnace design are discussed. Currently the technique most commonly used to reduce energy consumption in galvanizing furnaces is to increase burner turndown. This is shown by the analysis presented here actually to worsen the thermal efficiency of the furnace, particularly at low levels of capacity utilization. Galvanizing furnaces are different to many furnaces used within industry, as a quantity of material (in this case zinc) is kept molten within the furnace at all times, even outside production periods. The dimensionless analysis can, however, be applied to furnaces with the same operational function as a galvanizing furnace, such as some furnaces utilized within the glass industry. © IMechE 2004
The effect of finite-range interactions in classical transport theory
The effect of scattering with non-zero impact parameters between consituents
in relativistic heavy ion collisions is investigated. In solving the
relativistic Boltzmann equation, the characteristic range of the collision
kernel is varied from approximately one fm to zero while leaving the mean-free
path unchanged. Modifying this range is shown to significantly affect spectra
and flow observables. The finite range is shown to provide effective
viscosities, shear, bulk viscosity and heat conductivity, with the viscous
coefficients being proportional to the square of the interaction range
Multiple solutions to a magnetic nonlinear Choquard equation
We consider the stationary nonlinear magnetic Choquard equation
[(-\mathrm{i}\nabla+A(x))^{2}u+V(x)u=(\frac{1}{|x|^{\alpha}}\ast |u|^{p})
|u|^{p-2}u,\quad x\in\mathbb{R}^{N}%] where is a real valued vector
potential, is a real valued scalar potential ,
and . \ We assume that both and are
compatible with the action of some group of linear isometries of
. We establish the existence of multiple complex valued
solutions to this equation which satisfy the symmetry condition where
is a given group homomorphism into the unit
complex numbers.Comment: To appear on ZAM
Direct mass measurements beyond the proton drip-line
First on-line mass measurements were performed at the SHIPTRAP Penning trap
mass spectrometer. The masses of 18 neutron-deficient isotopes in the
terbium-to-thulium region produced in fusion-evaporation reactions were
determined with relative uncertainties of about , nine of them
for the first time. Four nuclides (Ho and Tm) were
found to be proton-unbound. The implication of the results on the location of
the proton drip-line is discussed by analyzing the one-proton separation
energies
From AMANDA to IceCube
The first string of the neoteric high energy neutrino telescope IceCube
successfully began operating in January 2005. It is anticipated that upon
completion the new detector will vastly increase the sensitivity and extend the
reach of AMANDA to higher energies. A discussion of the IceCube's discovery
potential for extra-terrestrial neutrinos, together with the prospects of new
physics derived from the ongoing AMANDA research will be the focus of this
paper. Preliminary results of the first antarctic high energy neutrino
telescope AMANDA searching in the muon neutrino channel for localized and
diffuse excess of extra-terrestrial neutrinos will be reviewed using data
collected between 2000 and 2003. Neutrino flux limits obtained with the
all-flavor dedicated UHE and cascade analyses will be described. A first
neutrino spectrum above one TeV in agreement with atmospheric neutrino flux
expectations and no extra-terrestrial contribution will be presented, followed
by a discussion of a limit for neutralino CDM candidates annihilating in the
center of the Sun.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures Invited talk contribution at 5th International
Conference on Non-accelerator New Physics (NANP 05), Dubna, Russia, 20-25 Jun
200
Ixodes ricinus spirochete and European erythema chronicum migrans disease.
From three endemic locations of erythema chronicum migrans disease in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, we recovered 19 isolates of a spirochete from Ixodes ricinus ticks. The infection rate in adult ticks was 16 percent. The isolated spirochete is immunologically related to the Ixodes dammini spirochete, Borrelia duttoni, and Treponema pallidum. Using indirect immunofluorescence, the sera of 90 patients with erythema chronicum migrans disease showed antibody titers against the isolated spirochete, which correlated with the clinical course. Similarly, antibodies were demonstrated in the sera of 21 patients with acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans. These results suggest an etiologic role for the Ixodes ricinus spriochete in European erythema chronicum migrans disease
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