Neutrino Mixing Discriminates Geo-reactor Models

Geo-reactor models suggest the existence of natural nuclear reactors at different deep-earth locations with loosely defined output power. Reactor fission products undergo beta decay with the emission of electron antineutrinos, which routinely escape the earth. Neutrino mixing distorts the energy spectrum of the electron antineutrinos. Characteristics of the distorted spectrum observed at the earth's surface could specify the location of a geo-reactor, discriminating the models and facilitating more precise power measurement. The existence of a geo-reactor with known position could enable a precision measurement of the neutrino oscillation parameter delta-mass-squared.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, minor revisions, submitted to PR

Geophysical and geochemical constraints on geoneutrino fluxes from Earth's mantle

Knowledge of the amount and distribution of radiogenic heating in the mantle is crucial for understanding the dynamics of the Earth, including its thermal evolution, the style and planform of mantle convection, and the energetics of the core. Although the flux of heat from the surface of the planet is robustly estimated, the contributions of radiogenic heating and secular cooling remain poorly defined. Constraining the amount of heat-producing elements in the Earth will provide clues to understanding nebula condensation and planetary formation processes in early Solar System. Mantle radioactivity supplies power for mantle convection and plate tectonics, but estimates of mantle radiogenic heat production vary by a factor of more than 20. Recent experimental results demonstrate the potential for direct assessment of mantle radioactivity through observations of geoneutrinos, which are emitted by naturally occurring radionuclides. Predictions of the geoneutrino signal from the mantle exist for several established estimates of mantle composition. Here we present novel analyses, illustrating surface variations of the mantle geoneutrino signal for models of the deep mantle structure, including those based on seismic tomography. These variations have measurable differences for some models, allowing new and meaningful constraints on the dynamics of the planet. An ocean based geoneutrino detector deployed at several strategic locations will be able to discriminate between competing compositional models of the bulk silicate Earth.Comment: 34 pages, 6 tables, 5 figures, 2 supplementary figures; revised version submitted to Earth Planet. Sci. Let

Mid-Infrared Identifications of SCUBA Galaxies in the CUDSS 14-Hour Field with the Spitzer Space Telescope

We identify 17 possible 8.0 micron-selected counterparts to the submillimeter galaxies in the CUDSS 14-hour field, derived from deep imaging carried out with the IRAC and MIPS instruments aboard the Spitzer Space Telescope. Ten of the 17 counterparts are not the same as those previously identified at shorter wavelengths. We argue that 8.0 micron selection offers a better means for identifying counterparts to submillimeter galaxies than near-infrared or optical selection. Based on the panchromatic SEDs, most counterparts appear to be powered by ongoing star formation. Power-law fits to the SEDs suggest that five objects in the 8.0 micron-selected counterpart sample harbor dominant AGNs; a sixth object is identified as a possible AGN. The 3.6 to 8.0 micron colors of the infrared-selected counterparts are significantly redder than the general IRAC galaxy population in the CUDSS 14-hour field.Comment: 36 pages, 9 figures, accepted by the Astrophysical Journal. This version corrects the bibliography and typographical errors in the text and table

Predicting the Impact of Climate Change on Threatened Species in UK Waters

Global climate change is affecting the distribution of marine species and is thought to represent a threat to biodiversity. Previous studies project expansion of species range for some species and local extinction elsewhere under climate change. Such range shifts raise concern for species whose long-term persistence is already threatened by other human disturbances such as fishing. However, few studies have attempted to assess the effects of future climate change on threatened vertebrate marine species using a multi-model approach. There has also been a recent surge of interest in climate change impacts on protected areas. This study applies three species distribution models and two sets of climate model projections to explore the potential impacts of climate change on marine species by 2050. A set of species in the North Sea, including seven threatened and ten major commercial species were used as a case study. Changes in habitat suitability in selected candidate protected areas around the UK under future climatic scenarios were assessed for these species. Moreover, change in the degree of overlap between commercial and threatened species ranges was calculated as a proxy of the potential threat posed by overfishing through bycatch. The ensemble projections suggest northward shifts in species at an average rate of 27 km per decade, resulting in small average changes in range overlap between threatened and commercially exploited species. Furthermore, the adverse consequences of climate change on the habitat suitability of protected areas were projected to be small. Although the models show large variation in the predicted consequences of climate change, the multi-model approach helps identify the potential risk of increased exposure to human stressors of critically endangered species such as common skate (Dipturus batis) and angelshark (Squatina squatina)

The collective impact of rare diseases in Western Australia: an estimate using a population-based cohort.

PURPOSE: It has been argued that rare diseases should be recognized as a public health priority. However, there is a shortage of epidemiological data describing the true burden of rare diseases. This study investigated hospital service use to provide a better understanding of the collective health and economic impacts of rare diseases. METHODS: Novel methodology was developed using a carefully constructed set of diagnostic codes, a selection of rare disease cohorts from hospital administrative data, and advanced data-linkage technologies. Outcomes included health-service use and hospital admission costs. RESULTS: In 2010, cohort members who were alive represented approximately 2.0% of the Western Australian population. The cohort accounted for 4.6% of people discharged from hospital and 9.9% of hospital discharges, and it had a greater average length of stay than the general population. The total cost of hospital discharges for the cohort represented 10.5% of 2010 state inpatient hospital costs. CONCLUSIONS: This population-based cohort study provides strong new evidence of a marked disparity between the proportion of the population with rare diseases and their combined health-system costs. The methodology will inform future rare-disease studies, and the evidence will guide government strategies for managing the service needs of people living with rare diseases.Genet Med advance online publication 22 September 2016Genetics in Medicine (2016); doi:10.1038/gim.2016.143

The Herschel–ATLAS data release 2, Paper I. Submillimeter and far-infrared images of the South and North Galactic Poles: the largest Herschel survey of the extragalactic sky

We present the largest submillimeter images that have been made of the extragalactic sky. The Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey (H-ATLAS) is a survey of 660 deg2 with the PACS and SPIRE cameras in five photometric bands: 100, 160, 250, 350, and 500 μm. In this paper we present the images from our two largest fields, which account for ~75% of the survey. The first field is 180.1 deg2 in size, centered on the north Galactic pole (NGP), and the second is 317.6 deg2 in size, centered on the south Galactic pole. The NGP field serendipitously contains the Coma cluster. Over most (~80%) of the images, the pixel noise, including both instrumental noise and confusion noise, is approximately 3.6, and 3.5 mJy pix−1 at 100 and 160 μm, and 11.0, 11.1 and 12.3 mJy beam−1 at 250, 350 and 500 μm, respectively, but reaches lower values in some parts of the images. If a matched filter is applied to optimize point-source detection, our total 1σ map sensitivity is 5.7, 6.0, and 7.3 mJy at 250, 350, and 500 μm, respectively. We describe the results of an investigation of the noise properties of the images. We make the most precise estimate of confusion in SPIRE maps to date, finding values of 3.12 ± 0.07, 4.13 ± 0.02, and 4.45 ± 0.04 mJy beam−1 at 250, 350, and 500 μm in our un-convolved maps. For PACS we find an estimate of the confusion noise in our fast-parallel observations of 4.23 and 4.62 mJy beam−1 at 100 and 160 μm. Finally, we give recipes for using these images to carry out photometry, both for unresolved and extended sources

Revealing the complex nature of the strong gravitationally lensed system H-ATLAS J090311.6+003906 using ALMA

We have modelled Atacama Large Millimetre/sub-millimetre Array (ALMA) long baseline imaging of the strong gravitational lens system H-ATLAS J090311.6+003906 (SDP.81). We have reconstructed the distribution of band 6 and 7 continuum emission in the z = 3.042 source and determined its kinematic properties by reconstructing CO(5–4) and CO(8–7) line emission in bands 4 and 6. The continuum imaging reveals a highly non-uniform distribution of dust with clumps on scales of ∼200 pc. In contrast, the CO line emission shows a relatively smooth, disc-like velocity field which is well fitted by a rotating disc model with an inclination angle of (40 ± 5)° and an asymptotic rotation velocity of 320 km s−1. The inferred dynamical mass within 1.5 kpc is (3.5 ± 0.5) × 1010 M⊙ which is comparable to the total molecular gas masses of (2.7 ± 0.5) × 1010 M⊙ and (3.5 ± 0.6) × 1010 M⊙ from the dust continuum emission and CO emission, respectively. Our new reconstruction of the lensed Hubble Space Telescope near-infrared emission shows two objects which appear to be interacting, with the rotating disc of gas and dust revealed by ALMA distinctly offset from the near-infrared emission. The clumpy nature of the dust and a low value of the Toomre parameter of Q ∼ 0.3 suggest that the disc is in a state of collapse. We estimate a star formation rate in the disc of 470 ± 80 M⊙ yr−1 with an efficiency ∼65 times greater than typical low-redshift galaxies. Our findings add to the growing body of evidence that the most infrared luminous, dust obscured galaxies in the high-redshift Universe represent a population of merger-induced starbursts

Herschel-ATLAS and ALMA: HATLAS J142935.3-002836, a lensed major merger at redshift 1.027

Context. The submillimetre-bright galaxy population is believed to comprise, aside from local galaxies and radio-loud sources, intrinsically active star-forming galaxies, the brightest of which are lensed gravitationally. The latter enable studies at a level of detail beyond what is usually possible by the observation facility. Aims. This work focuses on one of these lensed systems, HATLAS J142935.3−002836 (H1429−0028), selected in the Herschel-ATLAS field. Gathering a rich, multi-wavelength dataset, we aim to confirm the lensing hypothesis and model the background source’s morphology and dynamics, as well as to provide a full physical characterisation. Methods. Multi-wavelength high-resolution data is utilised to assess the nature of the system. A lensing-analysis algorithm that simultaneously fits different wavebands is adopted to characterise the lens. The background galaxy dynamical information is studied by reconstructing the 3D source plane of the ALMA CO (J:4 → 3) transition. Near-IR imaging from HST and Keck-AO allows to constrain rest-frame optical photometry independently for the foreground and background systems. Physical parameters (such as stellar and dust masses) are estimated via modelling of the spectral energy distribution taking source blending, foreground obscuration, and differential magnification into account. Results. The system comprises a foreground edge-on disk galaxy (at zsp = 0.218) with an almost complete Einstein ring around it. The background source (at zsp = 1.027) is magnified by a factor of μ ~ 8−10 depending on wavelength. It is comprised of two components and a tens-of-kpc-long tidal tail resembling the Antennæ merger. As a whole, the background source is a massive stellar system (1.32-0.41+ 0.63 × 1011 M⊙) forming stars at a rate of 394 ± 90  M⊙ yr-1, and it has a significant gas reservoir MISM = 4.6 ± 1.7 × 1010 M⊙. Its depletion time due to star formation alone is thus expected to be τSF = MISM/ SFR = 117 ± 51 Myr. The dynamical mass of one of the components is estimated to be 5.8 ± 1.7 × 1010 M⊙, and, together with the photometric total mass estimate, it implies that H1429−0028 is a major merger system (1:2.8-1.5+1.8)