2,649 research outputs found
On the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect from dark matter annihilation or decay in galaxy clusters
We revisit the prospects for detecting the Sunyaev Zel'dovich (SZ) effect
induced by dark matter (DM) annihilation or decay. We show that with standard
(or even extreme) assumptions for DM properties, the optical depth associated
with relativistic electrons injected from DM annihilation or decay is much
smaller than that associated with thermal electrons, when averaged over the
angular resolution of current and future experiments. For example, we find:
(depending on the assumptions) for \mchi
= 1 GeV and a density profile for a template cluster
located at 50 Mpc and observed within an angular resolution of , compared
to . This, together with a full spectral
analysis, enables us to demonstrate that, for a template cluster with generic
properties, the SZ effect due to DM annihilation or decay is far below the
sensitivity of the Planck satellite. This is at variance with previous claims
regarding heavier annihilating DM particles. Should DM be made of lighter
particles, the current constraints from 511 keV observations on the
annihilation cross section or decay rate still prevent a detectable SZ effect.
Finally, we show that spatial diffusion sets a core of a few kpc in the
electron distribution, even for very cuspy DM profiles, such that improving the
angular resolution of the instrument, e.g. with ALMA, does not necessarily
improve the detection potential. We provide useful analytical formulae
parameterized in terms of the DM mass, decay rate or annihilation cross section
and DM halo features, that allow quick estimates of the SZ effect induced by
any given candidate and any DM halo profile.Comment: 27 p, 6 figs, additional section on spatial diffusion effects.
Accepted for publication in JCA
Zener transitions between dissipative Bloch bands. II: Current Response at Finite Temperature
We extend, to include the effects of finite temperature, our earlier study of
the interband dynamics of electrons with Markoffian dephasing under the
influence of uniform static electric fields. We use a simple two-band
tight-binding model and study the electric current response as a function of
field strength and the model parameters. In addition to the Esaki-Tsu peak,
near where the Bloch frequency equals the damping rate, we find current peaks
near the Zener resonances, at equally spaced values of the inverse electric
field. These become more prominenent and numerous with increasing bandwidth (in
units of the temperature, with other parameters fixed). As expected, they
broaden with increasing damping (dephasing).Comment: 5 pages, LateX, plus 5 postscript figure
Differences in foetal topographical anatomy between insertion sites of the iliopsoas and gluteus medius muscles into the proximal femur: a consideration of femoral torsion
Background: Prenatal twisting of the femoral neck seems to result in an angle of anteversion or torsion, but the underlying process has not been elucidated.
Materials and methods: This study analysed sagittal, frontal and horizontal sections of 34 embryo and foetal specimens of gestational age (GA) 6–16 weeks (crown-rump length 21–130 mm). At GA 6–7 weeks, the iliopsoas (IP) and gluteus medius (GME) muscles were inserted into the anterior and posterior aspects of the femur, respectively, allowing both insertions to be viewed in a single sagittal section.
Results: At GA 8 weeks, the greater trochanter and the femoral neck angle became evident, and the GME tendon was inserted into the upper tip of the trochanter. At GA 9 weeks, the location of IP insertion was to the medial side of the GME insertion. After 9 weeks, the IP insertion consisted of a wavy, tendino- us part of the psoas muscle and another part of the iliacus muscle, with many fibres of the latter muscle attached to the joint capsule. After GA 12 weeks, the IP was inserted into the anteromedial side of the greater trochanter, while the aponeurotic insertion of the GME wrapped around the trochanter. At GA 15–16 weeks, a deep flexion at the hip joint caused an alteration in the relative heights of the lesser and greater trochanter, with the former migrating from the inferior to the slightly superior side.
Conclusions: These findings indicate that twisting of the femoral neck started at GA 8–9 weeks.
Development of digastric muscles in human foetuses: a review and findings in the flexor digitorum superficialis muscle
The digastricus and omohyoideus muscles are digastric muscles with two muscle bellies. An insertion tendon of the posterior belly becomes an intermediate tendon in digastricus muscles, whereas a single band-like muscle in omohyoideus muscles may later be interrupted by an intermediate tendon, possibly due to muscle cell death caused by mechanical stress. In human foetuses, an intermediate tendon provides the temporal origins of the tensor veli palatini and tensor tympani muscles. Some reptiles, including snakes, carry multiple series of digastric-like axial muscles, in which each intersegmental septum is likely to become an intermediate tendon. These findings indicate that many pathways are involved in the development of digastric muscles. A review of these morphologies suggested that the flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) muscle was a digastric muscle, although the intermediate tendon may not be visible in the surface view in adults. The present observations support the hypothesis that the proximal anlage at the elbow develops into a deep muscle slip to a limited finger, while the distal anlage at the wrist develops into the other slips. The findings suggest that, in the FDS muscle, the proximal and distal bellies of the embryonic digastric muscle fuse together to form a laminar structure, in which muscle slips accumulate from the palmar to the deep side of the forearm. (Folia Morphol 2018; 77, 2: 362–370
Franck-Condon Effect in Central Spin System
We study the quantum transitions of a central spin surrounded by a
collective-spin environment. It is found that the influence of the
environmental spins on the absorption spectrum of the central spin can be
explained with the analog of the Franck-Condon (FC) effect in conventional
electron-phonon interaction system. Here, the collective spins of the
environment behave as the vibrational mode, which makes the electron to be
transitioned mainly with the so-called "vertical transitions" in the
conventional FC effect. The "vertical transition" for the central spin in the
spin environment manifests as, the certain collective spin states of the
environment is favored, which corresponds to the minimal change in the average
of the total spin angular momentum.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure
Remoteness does not enhance coral reef resilience
Remote coral reefs are thought to be more resilient to climate change due to their isolation from local stressors like fishing and pollution. We tested this hypothesis by measuring the relationship between local human influence and coral community resilience. Surprisingly, we found no relationship between human influence and resistance to disturbance and some evidence that areas with greater human development may recover from disturbance faster than their more isolated counterparts. Our results suggest remote coral reefs are imperiled by climate change, like so many other geographically isolated ecosystems, and are unlikely to serve as effective biodiversity arks. Only drastic and rapid cuts in greenhouse gas emissions will ensure coral survival. Our results also indicate that some reefs close to large human populations were relatively resilient. Focusing research and conservation resources on these more accessible locations has the potential to provide new insights and maximize conservation outcomes
Synthesis of titanate nanofibers co-sensitized with ZnS and Bi2S3 nanocrystallites and their application on pollutants removal
The synthesis of nanocomposite materials combining titanate nanofibers (TNF)
with nanocrystalline ZnS and Bi2S3 semiconductors is described in this work.
The TNF were produced via hydrothermal synthesis and sensitized with the
semiconductor nanoparticles, through a single-source precursor decomposition
method. ZnS and Bi2S3 nanoparticles were successfully grown onto the TNF's
surface and Bi2S3-ZnS/TNF nanocomposite materials with different layouts were
obtained using either a layer-by-layer or a co-sensitization approach. The
samples' photocatalytic performance was first evaluated through the production
of the hydroxyl radical using terephthalic acid as probe molecule. All the
tested samples show photocatalytic ability for the production of this oxidizing
species. Afterwards, the samples were investigated for the removal of methylene
blue. The nanocomposite materials with best adsorption ability for the organic
dye were the ZnS/TNF and Bi2S3ZnS/TNF. The removal of the methylene blue was
systematically studied, and the most promising results were obtained
considering a sequential combination of an adsorption-photocatalytic
degradation process using the Bi2S3ZnS/TNF powder as a highly adsorbent and
photocatalyst material.Comment: 26 pages, 10 figure
Studies of Prototype CsI(Tl) Crystal Scintillators for Low-Energy Neutrino Experiments
Crystal scintillators provide potential merits for the pursuit of low-energy
low-background experiments. A CsI(Tl) scintillating crystal detector is being
constructed to study low-energy neutrino physics at a nuclear reactor, while
projects are underway to adopt this technique for dark matter searches. The
choice of the geometrical parameters of the crystal modules, as well as the
optimization of the read-out scheme, are the results of an R&D program.
Crystals with 40 cm in length were developed. The detector requirements and the
achieved performance of the prototypes are presented. Future prospects for this
technique are discussed.Comment: 32 pages, 14 figure
Computing on quantum shared secrets
A (k,n)-threshold secret-sharing scheme allows for a string to be split into n shares in such a way that any subset of at least k shares suffices to recover the secret string, but such that any subset of at most k-1 shares contains no information about the secret. Quantum secret-sharing schemes extend this idea to the sharing of quantum states. Here we propose a method of performing computation securely on quantum shared secrets. We introduce a (n,n)-quantum secret sharing scheme together with a set of algorithms that allow quantum circuits to be evaluated securely on the shared secret without the need to decode the secret. We consider a multipartite setting, with each participant holding a share of the secret. We show that if there exists at least one honest participant, no group of dishonest participants can recover any information about the shared secret, independent of their deviations from the algorithm
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