82 research outputs found
Supersymmetry for Fermion Masses
It is proposed that supersymmetry (SUSY) maybe used to understand fermion
mass hierarchies. A family symmetry Z_{3L} is introduced, which is the cyclic
symmetry among the three generation SU(2) doublets. SUSY breaks at a high
energy scale ~ 10^{11} GeV. The electroweak energy scale ~ 100 GeV is
unnaturally small. No additional global symmetry, like the R-parity, is
imposed. The Yukawa couplings and R-parity violating couplings all take their
natural values which are about (10^0-10^{-2}). Under the family symmetry, only
the third generation charged fermions get their masses. This family symmetry is
broken in the soft SUSY breaking terms which result in a hierarchical pattern
of the fermion masses. It turns out that for the charged leptons, the tau mass
is from the Higgs vacuum expectation value (VEV) and the sneutrino VEVs, the
muon mass is due to the sneutrino VEVs, and the electron gains its mass due to
both Z_{3L} and SUSY breaking. The large neutrino mixing are produced with
neutralinos playing the partial role of right-handed neutrinos. |V_{e3}| which
is for nu_e-nu_{tau} mixing is expected to be about 0.1. For the quarks, the
third generation masses are from the Higgs VEVs, the second generation masses
are from quantum corrections, and the down quark mass due to the sneutrino
VEVs. It explains m_c/m_s, m_s/m_e, m_d > m_u and so on. Other aspects of the
model are discussed.Comment: 25 pages, 3 figures, revtex4; neutrino oscillation and many
discussions added, smallness of the electron mass due to supersymmetry
pointed out; v3: numerical errors correcte
Game Theoretical Interactions of Moving Agents
Game theory has been one of the most successful quantitative concepts to
describe social interactions, their strategical aspects, and outcomes. Among
the payoff matrix quantifying the result of a social interaction, the
interaction conditions have been varied, such as the number of repeated
interactions, the number of interaction partners, the possibility to punish
defective behavior etc. While an extension to spatial interactions has been
considered early on such as in the "game of life", recent studies have focussed
on effects of the structure of social interaction networks.
However, the possibility of individuals to move and, thereby, evade areas
with a high level of defection, and to seek areas with a high level of
cooperation, has not been fully explored so far. This contribution presents a
model combining game theoretical interactions with success-driven motion in
space, and studies the consequences that this may have for the degree of
cooperation and the spatio-temporal dynamics in the population. It is
demonstrated that the combination of game theoretical interactions with motion
gives rise to many self-organized behavioral patterns on an aggregate level,
which can explain a variety of empirically observed social behaviors
Stable isotope food-web analysis and mercury biomagnification in polar bears ( Ursus maritimus )
Mercury (Hg) biomagnification occurs in many ecosystems, resulting in a greater potential for toxicological effects in higher-level trophic feeders. However, Hg transport pathways through different food-web channels are not well known, particularly in high-latitude systems affected by the atmospheric Hg deposition associated with snow and ice. Here, we report on stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios, and Hg concentrations, determined for 26, late 19th and early 20th century, polar bear ( Ursus maritimus ) hair specimens, collected from catalogued museum collections. These data elucidate relationships between the high-latitude marine food-web structure and Hg concentrations in polar bears. The carbon isotope compositions of polar bear hairs suggest that polar bears derive nutrition from coupled food-web channels, based in pelagic and sympagic primary producers, whereas the nitrogen isotope compositions indicate that polar bears occupy > fourth-level trophic positions. Our results show a positive correlation between polar bear hair Hg concentrations and ÎŽ 15 N. Interpretation of the stable isotope data in combination with Hg concentrations tentatively suggests that polar bears participating in predominantly pelagic food webs exhibit higher mercury concentrations than polar bears participating in predominantly sympagic food webs.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73930/1/j.1751-8369.2009.00114.x.pd
Update on the correlation of the highest energy cosmic rays with nearby extragalactic matter
Data collected by the Pierre Auger Observatory through 31 August 2007 showed
evidence for anisotropy in the arrival directions of cosmic rays above the
Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuz'min energy threshold, \nobreak{eV}. The
anisotropy was measured by the fraction of arrival directions that are less
than from the position of an active galactic nucleus within 75 Mpc
(using the V\'eron-Cetty and V\'eron catalog). An updated
measurement of this fraction is reported here using the arrival directions of
cosmic rays recorded above the same energy threshold through 31 December 2009.
The number of arrival directions has increased from 27 to 69, allowing a more
precise measurement. The correlating fraction is , compared
with expected for isotropic cosmic rays. This is down from the early
estimate of . The enlarged set of arrival directions is
examined also in relation to other populations of nearby extragalactic objects:
galaxies in the 2 Microns All Sky Survey and active galactic nuclei detected in
hard X-rays by the Swift Burst Alert Telescope. A celestial region around the
position of the radiogalaxy Cen A has the largest excess of arrival directions
relative to isotropic expectations. The 2-point autocorrelation function is
shown for the enlarged set of arrival directions and compared to the isotropic
expectation.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physics on 31 August 201
The Fluorescence Detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory
The Pierre Auger Observatory is a hybrid detector for ultra-high energy
cosmic rays. It combines a surface array to measure secondary particles at
ground level together with a fluorescence detector to measure the development
of air showers in the atmosphere above the array. The fluorescence detector
comprises 24 large telescopes specialized for measuring the nitrogen
fluorescence caused by charged particles of cosmic ray air showers. In this
paper we describe the components of the fluorescence detector including its
optical system, the design of the camera, the electronics, and the systems for
relative and absolute calibration. We also discuss the operation and the
monitoring of the detector. Finally, we evaluate the detector performance and
precision of shower reconstructions.Comment: 53 pages. Submitted to Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics
Research Section
Advanced functionality for radio analysis in the Offline software framework of the Pierre Auger Observatory
The advent of the Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) necessitates the
development of a powerful framework for the analysis of radio measurements of
cosmic ray air showers. As AERA performs "radio-hybrid" measurements of air
shower radio emission in coincidence with the surface particle detectors and
fluorescence telescopes of the Pierre Auger Observatory, the radio analysis
functionality had to be incorporated in the existing hybrid analysis solutions
for fluoresence and surface detector data. This goal has been achieved in a
natural way by extending the existing Auger Offline software framework with
radio functionality. In this article, we lay out the design, highlights and
features of the radio extension implemented in the Auger Offline framework. Its
functionality has achieved a high degree of sophistication and offers advanced
features such as vectorial reconstruction of the electric field, advanced
signal processing algorithms, a transparent and efficient handling of FFTs, a
very detailed simulation of detector effects, and the read-in of multiple data
formats including data from various radio simulation codes. The source code of
this radio functionality can be made available to interested parties on
request.Comment: accepted for publication in NIM A, 13 pages, minor corrections to
author list and references in v
Search for First Harmonic Modulation in the Right Ascension Distribution of Cosmic Rays Detected at the Pierre Auger Observatory
We present the results of searches for dipolar-type anisotropies in different
energy ranges above eV with the surface detector array of
the Pierre Auger Observatory, reporting on both the phase and the amplitude
measurements of the first harmonic modulation in the right-ascension
distribution. Upper limits on the amplitudes are obtained, which provide the
most stringent bounds at present, being below 2% at 99% for EeV
energies. We also compare our results to those of previous experiments as well
as with some theoretical expectations.Comment: 28 pages, 11 figure
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