866 research outputs found
Experimental approaches for 100 TeV gamma-ray astronomy
The high energy end of gamma-ray source spectra might provide important clues
regarding the nature of the processes involved in gamma-ray emission. Several
galactic sources with hard emission spectra extending up to more than 30TeV
have already been reported. Measurements around 100TeV and above should be an
important goal for the next generation of high energy gamma-ray astronomy
experiments. Here we present several techniques providing the required exposure
(100 km^2.h). We focus our study on three Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov
Technique (IACT) based approaches: low elevation observations, large field of
view telescopes, and large telescope arrays. We comment on the advantages and
disadvantages of each approach and report simulation based estimates of their
energy ranges and sensitivities.Comment: 3 pages 1 figure. Proceedings of TeV particle astrophysics 2,
Madison, August 2006.
http://www.icecube.wisc.edu/TeV/presentations/colin_poster.pd
Quantum Gravity and the Algebra of Tangles
In Rovelli and Smolin's loop representation of nonperturbative quantum
gravity in 4 dimensions, there is a space of solutions to the Hamiltonian
constraint having as a basis isotopy classes of links in R^3. The physically
correct inner product on this space of states is not yet known, or in other
words, the *-algebra structure of the algebra of observables has not been
determined. In order to approach this problem, we consider a larger space H of
solutions of the Hamiltonian constraint, which has as a basis isotopy classes
of tangles. A certain algebra T, the ``tangle algebra,'' acts as operators on
H. The ``empty state'', corresponding to the class of the empty tangle, is
conjectured to be a cyclic vector for T. We construct simpler representations
of T as quotients of H by the skein relations for the HOMFLY polynomial, and
calculate a *-algebra structure for T using these representations. We use this
to determine the inner product of certain states of quantum gravity associated
to the Jones polynomial (or more precisely, Kauffman bracket).Comment: 16 pages (with major corrections
A Search for Dark Matter Annihilation with the Whipple 10m Telescope
We present observations of the dwarf galaxies Draco and Ursa Minor, the local
group galaxies M32 and M33, and the globular cluster M15 conducted with the
Whipple 10m gamma-ray telescope to search for the gamma-ray signature of
self-annihilating weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) which may
constitute astrophysical dark matter (DM). We review the motivations for
selecting these sources based on their unique astrophysical environments and
report the results of the data analysis which produced upper limits on excess
rate of gamma rays for each source. We consider models for the DM distribution
in each source based on the available observational constraints and discuss
possible scenarios for the enhancement of the gamma-ray luminosity. Limits on
the thermally averaged product of the total self-annihilation cross section and
velocity of the WIMP, , are derived using conservative estimates for
the magnitude of the astrophysical contribution to the gamma-ray flux. Although
these limits do not constrain predictions from the currently favored
theoretical models of supersymmetry (SUSY), future observations with VERITAS
will probe a larger region of the WIMP parameter phase space, and
WIMP particle mass (m_\chi).Comment: 33 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
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