23 research outputs found
A lower limit on the halo mass to form supermassive black holes
Article / Letter to editorSterrewach
A lower limit on the halo mass to form supermassive black holes
High Energy AstrophysicsGalaxie
Nambu-Goldstone Dark Matter and Cosmic Ray Electron and Positron Excess
We propose a model of dark matter identified with a pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone
boson in the dynamical supersymmetry breaking sector in a gauge mediation
scenario. The dark matter particles annihilate via a below-threshold narrow
resonance into a pair of R-axions each of which subsequently decays into a pair
of light leptons. The Breit-Wigner enhancement explains the excess electron and
positron fluxes reported in the recent cosmic ray experiments PAMELA, ATIC and
PPB-BETS without postulating an overdensity in halo, and the limit on
anti-proton flux from PAMELA is naturally evaded.Comment: 3 figure
Dynamic screening in solar and stellar nuclear reactions
In the hot, dense plasma of solar and stellar interiors, the Coulomb
interaction is screened by the surrounding plasma. Although the standard
Salpeter approximation for static screening is widely accepted and used in
stellar modeling, the question of dynamic screening has been revisited. In
particular, Shaviv and Shaviv apply the techniques of molecular dynamics to the
conditions in the solar core in order to numerically determine the dynamic
screening effect. By directly calculating the motion of ions and electrons due
to Coulomb interactions, they compute the effect of screening without the
mean-field assumption inherent in the Salpeter approximation. Here we reproduce
their numerical analysis of the screening energy in the plasma of the solar
core and conclude that the effects of dynamic screening are relevant and should
be included in the treatment of the plasma, especially in the computation of
stellar nuclear reaction rates.Comment: Astrophysics and Space Science, Special Issue Solar & Stellar
Modelling Corrected sign error. Now consistent with final published versio
Two component dark matter
We explain the PAMELA positron excess and the PPB-BETS/ATIC e+ + e- data
using a simple two component dark matter model (2DM). The two particle species
in the dark matter sector are assumed to be in thermal equilibrium in the early
universe. While one particle is stable and is the present day dark matter, the
second one is metastable and decays after the universe is 10^-8 s old. In this
model it is simple to accommodate the large boost factors required to explain
the PAMELA positron excess without the need for large spikes in the local dark
matter density. We provide the constraints on the parameters of the model and
comment on possible signals at future colliders.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, discussion clarified and extende
Absolute electron and positron fluxes from PAMELA/Fermi and Dark Matter
We extract the positron and electron fluxes in the energy range 10 - 100 GeV
by combining the recent data from PAMELA and Fermi LAT. The {\it absolute
positron and electron} fluxes thus obtained are found to obey the power laws:
and respectively, which can be confirmed by the
upcoming data from PAMELA. The positron flux appears to indicate an excess at
energies E\gsim 50 GeV even if the uncertainty in the secondary positron flux
is added to the Galactic positron background. This leaves enough motivation for
considering new physics, such as annihilation or decay of dark matter, as the
origin of positron excess in the cosmic rays.Comment: Accepted by JCA
Prospects for asteroseismology
The observational basis for asteroseismology is being dramatically
strengthened, through more than two years of data from the CoRoT satellite, the
flood of data coming from the Kepler mission and, in the slightly longer term,
from dedicated ground-based facilities. Our ability to utilize these data
depends on further development of techniques for basic data analysis, as well
as on an improved understanding of the relation between the observed
frequencies and the underlying properties of the stars. Also, stellar modelling
must be further developed, to match the increasing diagnostic potential of the
data. Here we discuss some aspects of data interpretation and modelling,
focussing on the important case of stars with solar-like oscillations.Comment: Proc. HELAS Workshop on 'Synergies between solar and stellar
modelling', eds M. Marconi, D. Cardini & M. P. Di Mauro, Astrophys. Space
Sci., in the press Revision: correcting abscissa labels on Figs 1 and
Recent Advances in Modeling Stellar Interiors
Advances in stellar interior modeling are being driven by new data from
large-scale surveys and high-precision photometric and spectroscopic
observations. Here we focus on single stars in normal evolutionary phases; we
will not discuss the many advances in modeling star formation, interacting
binaries, supernovae, or neutron stars. We review briefly: 1) updates to input
physics of stellar models; 2) progress in two and three-dimensional evolution
and hydrodynamic models; 3) insights from oscillation data used to infer
stellar interior structure and validate model predictions (asteroseismology).
We close by highlighting a few outstanding problems, e.g., the driving
mechanisms for hybrid gamma Dor/delta Sct star pulsations, the cause of giant
eruptions seen in luminous blue variables such as eta Car and P Cyg, and the
solar abundance problem.Comment: Proceedings for invited talk at conference High Energy Density
Laboratory Astrophysics 2010, Caltech, March 2010, submitted for special
issue of Astrophysics and Space Science; 7 pages; 5 figure
Positrons and antiprotons from inert doublet model dark matter
In the framework of the Inert Doublet Model, a very simple extension of the
Standard Model, we study the production and propagation of antimatter in cosmic
rays coming from annihilation of a scalar dark matter particle. We consider
three benchmark candidates, all consistent with the WMAP cosmic abundance and
existing direct detection experiments, and confront the predictions of the
model with the recent PAMELA, ATIC and HESS data. For a light candidate, M_{DM}
= 10 GeV, we argue that the positron and anti-proton fluxes may be large, but
still consistent with expected backgrounds, unless there is an enhancement
(boost factor) in the local density of dark matter. There is also a substantial
anti-deuteron flux which might be observable by future experiments. For a
candidate with M_{DM} = 70 GeV, the contribution to positron and anti-proton
fluxes is much smaller than the expected backgrounds. Even if a boost factor is
invoked to enhance the signals, the candidate is unable to explain the observed
positron and anti-proton excesses. Finally, for a heavy candidate, M_{DM} = 10
TeV, it is possible to fit the PAMELA excess (but, unfortunately, not the ATIC
one) provided there is a large enhancement, either in the local density of dark
matter or through the Sommerfeld effect.Comment: 17 pages ; v2: matches JCAP published versio