70 research outputs found
The effect of fluorination on the luminescent behaviour of 8-hydroxyquinoline boron compounds
Limits on dark matter WIMPs using upward-going muons in the MACRO detector
We perform an indirect search for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles
(WIMPs) using the MACRO detector to look for neutrino-induced upward-going
muons resulting from the annihilation of WIMPs trapped in the Sun and Earth.
The search is conducted in various angular cones centered on the Sun and Earth
to accommodate a range of WIMP masses. No significant excess over the
background from atmospheric neutrinos is seen and limits are placed on the
upward-going muon fluxes from Sun and Earth. These limits are used to constrain
neutralino particle parameters from supersymmetric theory, including those
suggested by recent results from DAMA/NaI.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Observation of the Shadowing of Cosmic Rays by the Moon using a Deep Underground Detector
Using data collected by the MACRO experiment during the years 1989-1996, we
show evidence for the shadow of the moon in the underground cosmic ray flux
with a significance of 3.6 sigma. This detection of the shadowing effect is the
first by an underground detector. A maximum-likelihood analysis is used to
determine that the angular resolution of the apparatus is 0.9+/-0.3 degrees.
These results demonstrate MACRO's capabilities as a muon telescope by
confirming its absolute pointing ability and quantifying its angular
resolution.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Nuclearite search with the MACRO detector at Gran Sasso
In this paper we present the results of a search for nuclearites in the
penetrating cosmic radiation using the scintillator and track-etch subdetectors
of the MACRO apparatus. The analyses cover the beta =v/c range at the detector
depth (3700 hg/cm^2) 10^-5 < beta < 1; for beta = 2 x 10^-3 the flux limit is
2.7 x 10^-16 cm^-2 s^-1 sr^-1 for an isotropic flux of nuclearites, and twice
this value for a flux of downgoing nuclearites.Comment: 16 pages, 4 Encapsulated Postscript figures, uses article.sty.
Submitted to The European Physical Journal
Measurement of the atmospheric neutrino-induced upgoing muon flux using MACRO
We present a measurement of the flux of neutrino-induced upgoing muons
(~100 GeV) using the MACRO detector. The ratio of the number of observed
to expected events integrated over all zenith angles is 0.74 +/- 0.036 (stat)
+/- 0.046(systematic) +/- 0.13 (theoretical). The observed zenith distribution
for -1.0 < cos(theta) < -0.1 does not fit well with the no oscillation
expectation, giving a maximum probability for chi^2 of 0.1%. The acceptance of
the detector has been extensively studied using downgoing muons, independent
analyses and Monte-Carlo simulations. The other systematic uncertainties cannot
be the source of the discrepancies between the data and expectations. We have
investigated whether the observed number of events and the shape of the zenith
distribution can be explained by a neutrino oscillation hypothesis. Fitting
either the flux or zenith distribution independently yields mixing parameters
of sin^2 (2theta)=1.0 and delta m^2 of a few times 10^-3 eV^2. However, the
observed zenith distribution does not fit well with any expectations giving a
maximum probability for chi^2 of 5% for the best oscillation hypothesis, and
the combined probability for the shape and number of events is 17%. We conclude
that these data favor a neutrino oscillation hypothesis, but with unexplained
structure in the zenith distribution not easily explained by either the
statistics or systematics of the experiment.Comment: 7 pages (two-column) with 4 figure
Climbing walls, making bridges: children of immigrants’ identity negotiations through capoeira and parkour in Turin.
Capoeira and parkour are two different body practices which have gained worldwide attention in urban settings in the last few decades. The following paper will explore how capoeira and parkour relate to the construction of identity paths amongst children of immigrants between 12 and 20 in Turin, Italy. It will do so by looking at how such practices are used by young men of migrant origin to negotiate and perform narratives of self-worth, belonging and recognition within marginalising and excluding urban environments. This study acknowledges that social identifications are created, negotiated and (re)produced through bodily and spatial means and within networks of power relations. Following this premise, the insights proposed in this paper suggest that the ambivalent and fluid use of bodies and spaces implied by capoeira and parkour can represent a meaningful lens to understand the embodied and spatial identity negotiations enacted by participants in their daily lives. This theoretical perspective will illuminate the place that active bodies, spaces and leisure practices take in the negotiation of social identities, and dynamics of inclusion/exclusion, enacted by youth of migrant origin within early twenty-first century Turin cityscape
Models of Networked Analysis at Regional Centres for LHC Experiments (MONARC), Phase 2 Report, 24th March 2000
Spatial and Temporal Variations in the Annual Pollen Index Recorded by Sites Belonging to the Portuguese Aerobiology Network
This study presents the findings of a 10-year survey carried out by the Portuguese Aerobiology Network (RPA) at seven pollen-monitoring stations: five mainland stations (Oporto, Coimbra, Lisbon, Évora and Portimão) and two insular stations [Funchal (Madeira archipelago) and Ponta Delgada (Azores archipelago)]. The main aim of the study was to examine spatial and temporal variations in the Annual Pollen Index (API) with particular focus on the most frequently recorded pollen types. Pollen monitoring (2003–2012) was carried out using Hirst-type volumetric spore traps, following the minimum recommendations proposed by the European Aerobiology Society Working Group on Quality Control. Daily pollen data were examined for similarities using the Kruskal–Wallis nonparametric test and multivariate regression trees. Simple linear regression analysis was used to describe trends in API. The airborne pollen spectrum at RPA stations is dominated by important allergenic pollen types such as Poaceae, Olea and Urticaceae. Statistically significant differences were witnessed in the API recorded at the seven stations. Mean API is higher in the southern mainland cities, e.g. Évora, Lisbon and Portimão, and lower in insular and littoral cities. There were also a number of significant trends in API during the 10-year study. This report identifies spatial and temporal variations in the amount of airborne pollen recorded annually in the Portuguese territory. There were also a number of significant changes in API, but no general increases in the amount of airborne pollen
Parkour, Counter-Conducts and the Government of Difference in Post-industrial Turin
The following paper aims to offer a critical discussion of the unfolding politics of belonging and exclusion taking place in Turin's regenerating cityscape as a way to illuminate the paradoxes, tensions and daily negotiations of emerging forms of social and spatial restructuring in the post-industrial city. In developing this analysis, we engage with an integrated methodological approach that privileges the voices and experiences of about 30 young men, mostly of migrant origins and aged 16-21, practicing parkour in the city's public spaces. In addressing these issues, we focus on the participants' engagement with one of the symbols of Turin's (multi)cultural, community-oriented and creative renewal, the post-industrial urban park of Parco Dora in order to unpack the processes of inclusion/exclusion and the conduct of conduct (Rose 2000) enacted in the creation, management and use of the city's regenerating areas. Our discussion of the participants' ambivalent and contested practices in Turin's cityscape enabled us to address how these young men re-inscribe tensions, instabilities and fault-lines relational to the “selective story-telling” (Vanolo 2015, 2) characterizing Turin's narratives of consensual transformation, post-industrial renaissance and (multi)cultural vitality. In particular, by engaging with the participants' bodily and spatial negotiations in Turin's public spaces through the lens of counter-conduct (Foucault 2007[1978]), we highlight the significance of recognising and examining partial, but productive forms of urban contestation within contemporary, pacified scenarios of urban regeneration
- …