2,188 research outputs found
Periodogram and likelihood periodicity search in the SNO solar neutrino data
In this work a detailed spectral analysis for periodicity search of the time
series of the 8B solar neutrino flux released by the SNO Collaboration is
presented. The data have been publicly released with truncation of the event
times to the unit of day (1 day binning); they are thus suited to undergo the
traditional Lomb-Scargle analysis for periodicity investigation, as well as an
extension of such a method based on a likelihood approach. The results of the
analysis presented here confirm the absence of modulation signatures in the SNO
data. For completeness, a more refined "1 day binned" likelihood is also
illustrated, which approximates the unbinned likelihood methodology, based upon
the availability of the full time information, adopted by the SNO
collaboration. Finally, this work is completed with two different joint
analyses of the SNO and Super-Kamiokande data, respectively, over the common
and the entire data taking periods. While both analyses reinforce the case of
the constancy of the neutrino flux, the latter in addition provides evidence of
the detection at the 99.7% confidence level of the annual modulation spectral
line due to the Earth's orbit eccentricity around the SunComment: 27 pages, 29 figures. Joint periodicity analysis of the SNO and
Super-Kamiokande data added. Accepted for publication on Phys. Rev.
Focusing of Intense Subpicosecond Laser Pulses in Wedge Targets
Two dimensional particle-in-cell simulations characterizing the interaction
of ultraintense short pulse lasers in the range 10^{18} \leq I \leq 10^{20}
W/cm^{2} with converging target geometries are presented. Seeking to examine
intensity amplification in high-power laser systems, where focal spots are
typically non-diffraction limited, we describe key dynamical features as the
injected laser intensity and convergence angle of the target are systematically
varied. We find that laser pulses are focused down to a wavelength with the
peak intensity amplified by an order of magnitude beyond its vacuum value, and
develop a simple model for how the peak location moves back towards the
injection plane over time. This performance is sustained over hundreds of
femtoseconds and scales to laser intensities beyond 10^{20} W/cm^{2} at 1 \mu m
wavelength.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Physics of Plasma
A New Technique for Finding Needles in Haystacks: A Geometric Approach to Distinguishing Between a New Source and Random Fluctuations
We propose a new test statistic based on a score process for determining the
statistical significance of a putative signal that may be a small perturbation
to a noisy experimental background. We derive the reference distribution for
this score test statistic; it has an elegant geometrical interpretation as well
as broad applicability. We illustrate the technique in the context of a model
problem from high-energy particle physics. Monte Carlo experimental results
confirm that the score test results in a significantly improved rate of signal
detection.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
A Degenerate Bose-Fermi Mixture of Metastable Atoms
We report the observation of simultaneous quantum degeneracy in a dilute
gaseous Bose-Fermi mixture of metastable atoms. Sympathetic cooling of helium-3
(fermion) by helium-4 (boson), both in the lowest triplet state, allows us to
produce ensembles containing more than 10^6 atoms of each isotope at
temperatures below 1 micro-Kelvin, and achieve a fermionic degeneracy parameter
of T/Tf=0.45. Due to their high internal energy, the detection of individual
metastable atoms with sub-nanosecond time resolution is possible, permitting
the study of bosonic and fermionic quantum gases with unprecedented precision.
This may lead to metastable helium becoming the mainstay of quantum atom
optics.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures submitted to PR
A new regime of anomalous penetration of relativistically strong laser radiation into an overdense plasma
It is shown that penetration of relativistically intense laser light into an
overdense plasma, accessible by self-induced transparency, occurs over a finite
length only. The penetration length depends crucially on the overdense plasma
parameter and increases with increasing incident intensity after exceeding the
threshold for self-induced transparency. Exact analytical solutions describing
the plasma-field distributions are presented.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures in 2 separate eps files; submitted to JETP Letter
Electromagnetic energy penetration in the self-induced transparency regime of relativistic laser-plasma interactions
Two scenarios for the penetration of relativistically intense laser radiation
into an overdense plasma, accessible by self-induced transparency, are
presented. For supercritical densities less than 1.5 times the critical one,
penetration of laser energy occurs by soliton-like structures moving into the
plasma. At higher background densities laser light penetrates over a finite
length only, that increases with the incident intensity. In this regime
plasma-field structures represent alternating electron layers separated by
about half a wavelength by depleted regions.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, submitted for publication to PR
University Of Sheffield: Description Of The Lasie-Ii System As Used For Muc-7
this article wewere largely successful with all slots except for the Entity Descriptor slot where scores were 50 # precision and 21 # recall. We will #rst explain the particular items we failed on, and then discuss why our Entity Descriptor slots were so poo
Impact of previous hepatitis B infection on the clinical outcomes from chronic hepatitis C? A population-level analysis
Chronic coinfection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) is associated with adverse liver outcomes. The clinical impact of previous HBV infection on liver disease in HCV infection is unknown. We aimed at determining any association of previous HBV infection with liver outcomes using antibodies to the hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAb) positivity as a marker of exposure. The Scottish Hepatitis C Clinical Database containing data for all patients attending HCV clinics in participating health boards was linked to the HBV diagnostic registry and mortality data from Information Services Division, Scotland. Survival analyses with competing risks were constructed for time from the first appointment to decompensated cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver‐related mortality. Records of 8513 chronic HCV patients were included in the analyses (87 HBcAb positive and HBV surface antigen [HBsAg] positive, 1577 HBcAb positive and HBsAg negative, and 6849 HBcAb negative). Multivariate cause‐specific proportional hazards models showed previous HBV infection (HBcAb positive and HBsAg negative) significantly increased the risks of decompensated cirrhosis (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.29, 95% CI: 1.01‐1.65) and HCC (HR: 1.64, 95% CI: 1.09‐2.49), but not liver‐related death (HR: 1.02, 95% CI: 0.80‐1.30). This is the largest study to date showing an association between previous HBV infection and certain adverse liver outcomes in HCV infection. Our analyses add significantly to evidence which suggests that HBV infection adversely affects liver health despite apparent clearance. This has important implications for HBV vaccination policy and indications for prioritization of HCV therapy
Prospects for local co-governance
British local authorities and their partners are increasingly developing new ways of working together with local communities. The nature of this co-working, however, is complex, multi-faceted and little understood. This article argues for greater clarity of thinking on the topic, by analysing this co-working as a form of political co-governance, and drawing attention in particular to issues of scale and democracy. Using evidence from a study of 43 local authority areas, 16 authorities are identified where co-governance is practised, following three main types of approach: service-influencing, service-delivering and parish council developing. It is concluded that strengthening political co-governance is essential for a healthy democracy
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