Hydrodynamics of galactic dark matter

We consider simple hydrodynamical models of galactic dark matter in which the galactic halo is a self-gravitating and self-interacting gas that dominates the dynamics of the galaxy. Modeling this halo as a sphericaly symmetric and static perfect fluid satisfying the field equations of General Relativity, visible barionic matter can be treated as ``test particles'' in the geometry of this field. We show that the assumption of an empirical ``universal rotation curve'' that fits a wide variety of galaxies is compatible, under suitable approximations, with state variables characteristic of a non-relativistic Maxwell-Boltzmann gas that becomes an isothermal sphere in the Newtonian limit. Consistency criteria lead to a minimal bound for particle masses in the range $30 \hbox{eV} \leq m \leq 60 \hbox{eV}$ and to a constraint between the central temperature and the particles mass. The allowed mass range includes popular supersymmetric particle candidates, such as the neutralino, axino and gravitino, as well as lighter particles ($m\approx$ keV) proposed by numerical N-body simulations associated with self-interactive CDM and WDM structure formation theories.Comment: LaTeX article style, 16 pages including three figures. Final version to appear in Classical and Quantum Gravit

Perspectives on Astrophysics Based on Atomic, Molecular, and Optical (AMO) Techniques

About two generations ago, a large part of AMO science was dominated by experimental high energy collision studies and perturbative theoretical methods. Since then, AMO science has undergone a transition and is now dominated by quantum, ultracold, and ultrafast studies. But in the process, the field has passed over the complexity that lies between these two extremes. Most of the Universe resides in this intermediate region. We put forward that the next frontier for AMO science is to explore the AMO complexity that describes most of the Cosmos.Comment: White paper submission to the Decadal Assessment and Outlook Report on Atomic, Molecular, and Optical (AMO) Science (AMO 2020

A comprehensive description of kidney disease progression after Acute Kidney Injury: results of a prospective, parallel group cohort study

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is associated with adverse long-term outcomes, but many studies are retrospective, focussed on specific patient groups or lack adequate comparators. The ARID (AKI Risk in Derby) Study is a 5-year prospective parallel-group cohort study. Hospitalised cohorts with and without exposure to AKI were matched 1:1 for age, baseline renal function and diabetes. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and urinary albumin:creatinine ratio (uACR) were measured at 3-months, 1, 3 and 5-years. Outcomes included kidney disease progression, heart failure episodes and mortality.In 866 matched individuals, kidney disease progression at 5-years occurred in 94 (30%) of the exposed group versus 24 (7%) of those non-exposed (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 2.49 [95%CI 1.43 to 4.36]; P=0.001). In the AKI group, this was largely characterised by incomplete recovery of kidney function by 3-months. Further episodes of AKI during follow-up were more common in the exposed group (OR 2.71 [95% CI 1.94 to 3.77]; P<0.001) and had an additive effect on risk of kidney disease progression. Mortality and heart failure episodes were more frequent in the exposed group, but the association with AKI was no longer significant when models were adjusted for 3-month eGFR and uACR. In a general hospitalised population, kidney disease progression after 5-years was common and strongly associated with AKI. The time-course of changes and the attenuation of associations with adverse outcomes after adjustment for 3-month eGFR and uACR suggest that non-recovery of kidney function is an important assessment in post-AKI care and a potential future target for intervention. Study registration: ISRCTN2540599

July 2004 Report of Progress

Progress of each ALS-NSCORT project given by each project lead. 10 pages

LSST Science Book, Version 2.0

A survey that can cover the sky in optical bands over wide fields to faint magnitudes with a fast cadence will enable many of the exciting science opportunities of the next decade. The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will have an effective aperture of 6.7 meters and an imaging camera with field of view of 9.6 deg^2, and will be devoted to a ten-year imaging survey over 20,000 deg^2 south of +15 deg. Each pointing will be imaged 2000 times with fifteen second exposures in six broad bands from 0.35 to 1.1 microns, to a total point-source depth of r~27.5. The LSST Science Book describes the basic parameters of the LSST hardware, software, and observing plans. The book discusses educational and outreach opportunities, then goes on to describe a broad range of science that LSST will revolutionize: mapping the inner and outer Solar System, stellar populations in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies, the structure of the Milky Way disk and halo and other objects in the Local Volume, transient and variable objects both at low and high redshift, and the properties of normal and active galaxies at low and high redshift. It then turns to far-field cosmological topics, exploring properties of supernovae to z~1, strong and weak lensing, the large-scale distribution of galaxies and baryon oscillations, and how these different probes may be combined to constrain cosmological models and the physics of dark energy.Comment: 596 pages. Also available at full resolution at http://www.lsst.org/lsst/sciboo

May 2004 Report of Progress

Progress of each ALS-NSCORT project given by each project lead. 11 pages