2,685 research outputs found
FUSE Measurements of Far Ultraviolet Extinction. I. Galactic Sight Lines
We present extinction curves that include data down to far ultraviolet
wavelengths (FUV; 1050 - 1200 A) for nine Galactic sight lines. The FUV
extinction was measured using data from the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic
Explorer. The sight lines were chosen for their unusual extinction properties
in the infrared through the ultraviolet; that they probe a wide range of dust
environments is evidenced by the large spread in their measured ratios of
total-to-selective extinction, R_V = 2.43 - 3.81. We find that extrapolation of
the Fitzpatrick & Massa relationship from the ultraviolet appears to be a good
predictor of the FUV extinction behavior. We find that predictions of the FUV
extinction based upon the Cardelli, Clayton & Mathis (CCM) dependence on R_V
give mixed results. For the seven extinction curves well represented by CCM in
the infrared through ultraviolet, the FUV extinction is well predicted in three
sight lines, over-predicted in two sight lines, and under-predicted in 2 sight
lines. A Maximum Entropy Method analysis using a simple three component grain
model shows that seven of the nine sight lines in the study require a larger
fraction of grain materials to be in dust when FUV extinction is included in
the models. Most of the added grain material is in the form of small (radii <
200 A) grains.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. 31 pages with
7 figure
The Role of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Ultraviolet Extinction. I. Probing small molecular PAHs
We have obtained new STIS/HST spectra to search for structure in the
ultraviolet interstellar extinction curve, with particular emphasis on a search
for absorption features produced by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
The presence of these molecules in the interstellar medium has been postulated
to explain the infrared emission features seen in the 3-13 m spectra of
numerous sources. UV spectra are uniquely capable of identifying specific PAH
molecules. We obtained high S/N UV spectra of stars which are significantly
more reddened than those observed in previous studies. These data put limits on
the role of small (30-50 carbon atoms) PAHs in UV extinction and call for
further observations to probe the role of larger PAHs. PAHs are of importance
because of their ubiquity and high abundance inferred from the infrared data
and also because they may link the molecular and dust phases of the
interstellar medium. A presence or absence of ultraviolet absorption bands due
to PAHs could be a definitive test of this hypothesis. We should be able to
detect a 20 \AA wide feature down to a 3 limit of 0.02 A. No
such absorption features are seen other than the well-known 2175 \AA bump.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figure, ApJ in pres
Neutron cross sections for He-3 at epithermal energies
High accuracy, absolute measurements of the neutron total cross section for He-3 are reported for incident neutron energies 0.1-400 eV. The measurements were performed at the LANSCE short-pulse neutron spallation source. Using the previously determined cross section for neutron elastic scattering, 3.367+/-0.019 b, we extract a new value for the energy dependence of the He-3(n,p)He-3 reaction cross section, sigma(np)=(849.77+/-0.14+/-1.02)E-1/2-(1.253+/-0.00+/-(+0.008)(-0.049))b, where the neutron energy is expressed in eV. The first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic
Interstellar extinction and polarization -- A spheroidal dust grain approach perspective
We extend and investigate the spheroidal model of interstellar dust grains
used to simultaneously interpret the observed interstellar extinction and
polarization curves. We compare our model with similar models recently
suggested by other authors, study its properties and apply it to fit the
normalized extinction and the polarizing efficiency
measured in the near IR to far UV region for several
stars seen through one large cloud. We conclude that the model parameter
being the angle between the line of sight and the magnetic field
direction can be more or less reliably determined from comparison of the theory
and observations. This opens a way to study the spatial structure of
interstellar magnetic fields by using multi-wavelength photometric and
polarimetric observations.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures and 4 tables, To appear in MNRAS (added
Effect of early vasopressin vs norepinephrine on kidney failure in patients with septic shock. The VANISH Randomized Clinical Trial
IMPORTANCE: Norepinephrine is currently recommended as the first-line vasopressor in septic shock; however, early vasopressin use has been proposed as an alternative. OBJECTIVE: To compare the effect of early vasopressin vs norepinephrine on kidney failure in patients with septic shock. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A factorial (2×2), double-blind, randomized clinical trial conducted in 18 general adult intensive care units in the United Kingdom between February 2013 and May 2015, enrolling adult patients who had septic shock requiring vasopressors despite fluid resuscitation within a maximum of 6 hours after the onset of shock. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomly allocated to vasopressin (titrated up to 0.06 U/min) and hydrocortisone (n = 101), vasopressin and placebo (n = 104), norepinephrine and hydrocortisone (n = 101), or norepinephrine and placebo (n = 103). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was kidney failure-free days during the 28-day period after randomization, measured as (1) the proportion of patients who never developed kidney failure and (2) median number of days alive and free of kidney failure for patients who did not survive, who experienced kidney failure, or both. Rates of renal replacement therapy, mortality, and serious adverse events were secondary outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 409 patients (median age, 66 years; men, 58.2%) were included in the study, with a median time to study drug administration of 3.5 hours after diagnosis of shock. The number of survivors who never developed kidney failure was 94 of 165 patients (57.0%) in the vasopressin group and 93 of 157 patients (59.2%) in the norepinephrine group (difference, -2.3% [95% CI, -13.0% to 8.5%]). The median number of kidney failure-free days for patients who did not survive, who experienced kidney failure, or both was 9 days (interquartile range [IQR], 1 to -24) in the vasopressin group and 13 days (IQR, 1 to -25) in the norepinephrine group (difference, -4 days [95% CI, -11 to 5]). There was less use of renal replacement therapy in the vasopressin group than in the norepinephrine group (25.4% for vasopressin vs 35.3% for norepinephrine; difference, -9.9% [95% CI, -19.3% to -0.6%]). There was no significant difference in mortality rates between groups. In total, 22 of 205 patients (10.7%) had a serious adverse event in the vasopressin group vs 17 of 204 patients (8.3%) in the norepinephrine group (difference, 2.5% [95% CI, -3.3% to 8.2%]). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Among adults with septic shock, the early use of vasopressin compared with norepinephrine did not improve the number of kidney failure-free days. Although these findings do not support the use of vasopressin to replace norepinephrine as initial treatment in this situation, the confidence interval included a potential clinically important benefit for vasopressin, and larger trials may be warranted to assess this further. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: ISRCTN 20769191
A Quasi-Model-Independent Search for New Physics at Large Transverse Momentum
We apply a quasi-model-independent strategy ("Sleuth") to search for new high
p_T physics in approximately 100 pb^-1 of ppbar collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.8 TeV
collected by the DZero experiment during 1992-1996 at the Fermilab Tevatron.
Over thirty-two e mu X, W+jets-like, Z+jets-like, and 3(lepton/photon)X
exclusive final states are systematically analyzed for hints of physics beyond
the standard model. Simultaneous sensitivity to a variety of models predicting
new phenomena at the electroweak scale is demonstrated by testing the method on
a particular signature in each set of final states. No evidence of new high p_T
physics is observed in the course of this search, and we find that 89% of an
ensemble of hypothetical similar experimental runs would have produced a final
state with a candidate signal more interesting than the most interesting
observed in these data.Comment: 28 pages, 17 figures. Submitted to Physical Review
A measurement of the W boson mass using large rapidity electrons
We present a measurement of the W boson mass using data collected by the D0
experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron during 1994--1995. We identify W bosons by
their decays to e-nu final states where the electron is detected in a forward
calorimeter. We extract the W boson mass, Mw, by fitting the transverse mass
and transverse electron and neutrino momentum spectra from a sample of 11,089 W
-> e nu decay candidates. We use a sample of 1,687 dielectron events, mostly
due to Z -> ee decays, to constrain our model of the detector response. Using
the forward calorimeter data, we measure Mw = 80.691 +- 0.227 GeV. Combining
the forward calorimeter measurements with our previously published central
calorimeter results, we obtain Mw = 80.482 +- 0.091 GeV
Search for Second Generation Leptoquark Pairs in pbar-p Collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.8 TeV
We have searched for second generation leptoquark (LQ) pairs in the
\mu\mu+jets channel using 94+-5 pb^{-1} of pbar-p collider data collected by
the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron during 1993-1996. No evidence for a
signal is observed. These results are combined with those from the \mu\nu+jets
and \nu\nu+jets channels to obtain 95% confidence level (C.L.) upper limits on
the LQ pair production cross section as a function of mass and $beta, the
branching fraction of a LQ decay into a charged lepton and a quark. Lower
limits of 200(180) GeV/c^2 for \beta=1(1/2) are set at the 95% C.L. on the mass
of scalar LQ. Mass limits are also set on vector leptoquarks as a function of
\beta.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Spin Correlation in tt-bar Production from pp-bar Collisions at sqrt(s)=1.8 TeV
The D0 collaboration has performed a study of spin correlation in tt-bar
production for the process tt-bar to bb-bar W^+W^-, where the W bosons decay to
e-nu or mu-nu. A sample of six events was collected during an exposure of the
D0 detector to an integrated luminosity of approximately 125 pb^-1 of
sqrt{s}=1.8 TeV pp-bar collisions. The standard model (SM) predicts that the
short lifetime of the top quark ensures the transmission of any spin
information at production to the tt-bar decay products.
The degree of spin correlation is characterized by a correlation coefficient
k. We find that k>-0.25 at the 68% confidence level, in agreement with the SM
prediction of k=0.88.Comment: Submitted to PRL, Added references, minor changes to tex
Probing BFKL Dynamics in the Dijet Cross Section at Large Rapidity Intervals in ppbar Collisions at sqrt{s}=1800 and 630 GeV
Inclusive dijet production at large pseudorapidity intervals (delta_eta)
between the two jets has been suggested as a regime for observing BFKL
dynamics. We have measured the dijet cross section for large delta_eta in ppbar
collisions at sqrt{s}=1800 and 630 GeV using the DO detector. The partonic
cross section increases strongly with the size of delta_eta. The observed
growth is even stronger than expected on the basis of BFKL resummation in the
leading logarithmic approximation. The growth of the partonic cross section can
be accommodated with an effective BFKL intercept of
a_{BFKL}(20GeV)=1.65+/-0.07.Comment: Published in Physical Review Letter
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