264 research outputs found
Parity-violating asymmetry in with a pionless effective theory
Nuclear parity violation is studied with polarized neutrons in the
photodisintegration of the deuteron at low energies. A pionless effective field
theory with di-baryon fields is used for the investigation. Hadronic weak
interactions are treated by parity-violating di-baryon-nucleon-nucleon
vertices, which have undetermined coupling contants. A parity-violating
asymmetry in the process is calculated for the incident photon energy up to 30
MeV. If experimental data for the parity-violating asymmetry become available
in the future, we will be able to determine the unknown coupling contants in
the parity-violating vertices.Comment: 4 pages. A contribution to APFB2011, August 22-26, 2011, Seoul, Kore
Reddening law and interstellar dust properties along Magellanic sight-lines
This study establishes that SMC, LMC and Milky Way extinction curves obey the
same extinction law which depends on the 2200A bump size and one parameter, and
generalizes the Cardelli, Clayton and Mathis (1989) relationship. This suggests
that extinction in all three galaxies is of the same nature. The role of linear
reddening laws over all the visible/UV wavelength range, particularly important
in the SMC but also present in the LMC and in the Milky Way, is also
highlighted and discussed.Comment: accepted for publication in Astrophysics and Space Science. 16 pages,
12 figures. Some figures are colour plot
Self-diffusion in dense granular shear flows
Diffusivity is a key quantity in describing velocity fluctuations in granular
materials. These fluctuations are the basis of many thermodynamic and
hydrodynamic models which aim to provide a statistical description of granular
systems. We present experimental results on diffusivity in dense, granular
shear in a 2D Couette geometry. We find that self-diffusivities are
proportional to the local shear rate with diffusivities along the mean flow
approximately twice as large as those in the perpendicular direction. The
magnitude of the diffusivity is D \approx \dot\gamma a^2 where a is the
particle radius. However, the gradient in shear rate, coupling to the mean
flow, and drag at the moving boundary lead to particle displacements that can
appear sub- or super-diffusive. In particular, diffusion appears superdiffusive
along the mean flow direction due to Taylor dispersion effects and subdiffusive
along the perpendicular direction due to the gradient in shear rate. The
anisotropic force network leads to an additional anisotropy in the diffusivity
that is a property of dense systems with no obvious analog in rapid flows.
Specifically, the diffusivity is supressed along the direction of the strong
force network. A simple random walk simulation reproduces the key features of
the data, such as the apparent superdiffusive and subdiffusive behavior arising
from the mean flow, confirming the underlying diffusive motion. The additional
anisotropy is not observed in the simulation since the strong force network is
not included. Examples of correlated motion, such as transient vortices, and
Levy flights are also observed. Although correlated motion creates velocity
fields qualitatively different from Brownian motion and can introduce
non-diffusive effects, on average the system appears simply diffusive.Comment: 13 pages, 20 figures (accepted to Phys. Rev. E
The origin of aubrites: Evidence from lithophile trace element abundances and oxygen isotope compositions
We report the abundances of a selected set of “lithophile” trace elements (including lanthanides, actinides and high field strength elements) and high-precision oxygen isotope analyses of a comprehensive suite of aubrites. Two distinct groups of aubrites can be distinguished: (a) the main-group aubrites display flat or light-REE depleted REE patterns with variable Eu and Y anomalies; their pyroxenes are light-REE depleted and show marked negative Eu anomalies; (b) the Mount Egerton enstatites and the silicate fraction from Larned display distinctive light-REE enrichments, and high Th/Sm ratios; Mount Egerton pyroxenes have much less pronounced negative Eu anomalies than pyroxenes from the main-group aubrites.
Leaching experiments were undertaken to investigate the contribution of sulfides to the whole rock budget of the main-group aubrites. Sulfides contain in most cases at least 50% of the REEs and of the actinides. Among the elements we have analyzed, those displaying the strongest lithophile behaviors are Rb, Ba, Sr and Sc.
The homogeneity of the Δ17O values obtained for main-group aubrite falls [Δ17O = +0.009 ± 0.010‰ (2σ)] suggests that they originated from a single parent body whose differentiation involved an early phase of large-scale melting that may have led to the development of a magma ocean. This interpretation is at first glance in agreement with the limited variability of the shapes of the REE patterns of these aubrites. However, the trace element concentrations of their phases cannot be used to discuss this hypothesis, because their igneous trace-element signatures have been modified by subsolidus exchange. Finally, despite similar O isotopic compositions, the marked light-REE enrichments displayed by Mount Egerton and Larned suggest that they are unrelated to the main-group aubrites and probably originated from a distinct parent body
Affleck-Dine dynamics and the dark sector of pangenesis
Pangenesis is the mechanism for jointly producing the visible and dark matter
asymmetries via Affleck-Dine dynamics in a baryon-symmetric universe. The
baryon-symmetric feature means that the dark asymmetry cancels the visible
baryon asymmetry and thus enforces a tight relationship between the visible and
dark matter number densities. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the
general dynamics of this scenario in more detail and to construct specific
models. After reviewing the simple symmetry structure that underpins all
baryon-symmetric models, we turn to a detailed analysis of the required
Affleck-Dine dynamics. Both gravity-mediated and gauge-mediated supersymmetry
breaking are considered, with the messenger scale left arbitrary in the latter,
and the viable regions of parameter space are determined. In the gauge-mediated
case where gravitinos are light and stable, the regime where they constitute a
small fraction of the dark matter density is identified. We discuss the
formation of Q-balls, and delineate various regimes in the parameter space of
the Affleck-Dine potential with respect to their stability or lifetime and
their decay modes. We outline the regions in which Q-ball formation and decay
is consistent with successful pangenesis. Examples of viable dark sectors are
presented, and constraints are derived from big bang nucleosynthesis, large
scale structure formation and the Bullet cluster. Collider signatures and
implications for direct dark matter detection experiments are briefly
discussed. The following would constitute evidence for pangenesis:
supersymmetry, GeV-scale dark matter mass(es) and a Z' boson with a significant
invisible width into the dark sector.Comment: 51 pages, 7 figures; v2: minor modifications, comments and references
added; v3: minor changes, matches published versio
Random walk forecast of urban water in Iran under uncertainty
There are two significant reasons for the uncertainties of water demand. On one hand, an evolving technological world is plagued with accelerated change in lifestyles and consumption patterns; and on the other hand, intensifying climate change. Therefore, with an uncertain future, what enables policymakers to define the state of water resources, which are affected by withdrawals and demands? Through a case study
based on thirteen years of observation data in the Zayandeh Rud River basin in Isfahan province located in Iran, this paper forecasts a wide range of urban water demand possibilities in order to create a portfolio of plans which could be utilized by different water managers. A comparison and contrast of two existing methods are discussed, demonstrating the Random Walk Methodology, which will be referred to as the â On uncertainty pathâ , because it takes the uncertainties into account and can be recommended to managers. This On Uncertainty Path is composed of both dynamic forecasting method and system simulation. The outcomes
show the advantage of such methods particularly for places that climate change will aggravate their water scarcity, such as Iran
ANAIS: Status and prospects
AbstractANAIS (Annual modulation with NAI Scintillators) experiment aims to look for dark matter annual modulation with 250 kg of ultra-pure NaI(Tl) scintillators at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory (LSC), in order to confirm the DAMA/LIBRA positive signal in a model-independent way. The detector will consists in an array of close-packed single modules, each of them coupled to two high efficiency Hamamatsu photomultipliers. Two 12.5 kg each NaI(Tl) crystals provided by Alpha Spectra are currently taking data at the LSC. These modules have shown an outstanding light collection efficiency (12-16 phe/keV), about the double of that from DAMA/LIBRA phase 1 detectors, which could enable reducing the energy threshold down to 1 keVee. ANAIS crystal radiopurity goals are fulfilled for 232Th and 238U chains, assuming equilibrium, and in the case of 40K, present crystals activity (although not at the required 20 ppb level) could be acceptable. However, a 210Pb contamination out-of-equilibrium has been identified and its origin traced back, so we expect it will be avoided in next prototypes. Finally, current status and prospects of the experiment considering several exposure and background scenarios are presented
Visible and dark matter from a first-order phase transition in a baryon-symmetric universe
The similar cosmological abundances observed for visible and dark matter
suggest a common origin for both. By viewing the dark matter density as a
dark-sector asymmetry, mirroring the situation in the visible sector, we show
that the visible and dark matter asymmetries may have arisen simultaneously
through a first-order phase transition in the early universe. The dark
asymmetry can then be equal and opposite to the usual visible matter asymmetry,
leading to a universe that is symmetric with respect to a generalised baryon
number. We present both a general structure, and a precisely defined example of
a viable model of this type. In that example, the dark matter is atomic as well
as asymmetric, and various cosmological and astrophysical constraints are
derived. Testable consequences for colliders include a Z' boson that couples
through the B-L charge to the visible sector, but also decays invisibly to dark
sector particles. The additional scalar particles in the theory can mix with
the standard Higgs boson and provide other striking signatures.Comment: 26 pages, comments and references added, JCAP versio
Abstract sentence representations in 3-year-olds: Evidence from language production and comprehension
We use syntactic priming to test the abstractness of the sentence representations of young 3-year-olds (35-42 months). In describing pictures with inanimate participants, 18 children primed with passives produced more passives (11 with a strict scoring scheme, 16 with lax scoring) than did 18 children primed with actives (2 on either scheme) or 12 children who received no priming (0). Priming was comparable to that reported for older children and adults. Comprehension of reversible passives with animate participants before and after priming was above chance but did not improve as a result of priming. Young 3-year-olds represent sentences abstractly, have syntactic representations for noun, verb, "surface subject", and "surface object", have semantic representations for "agent" and "patient", and flexibly map the relation between syntax and semantics. Taken together with research on syntactic categories in 2-year-olds, our results provide empirical support for continuity in language acquisition
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