5,778 research outputs found
The Canada-UK Deep Submillimetre Survey: The Survey of the 14-hour field
We have used SCUBA to survey an area of 50 square arcmin, detecting 19
sources down to a 3sigma sensitivity limit of 3.5 mJy at 850 microns. We have
used Monte-Carlo simulations to assess the effect of source confusion and noise
on the SCUBA fluxes and positions, finding that the fluxes of sources in the
SCUBA surveys are significantly biased upwards and that the fraction of the 850
micron background that has been resolved by SCUBA has been overestimated. The
radio/submillmetre flux ratios imply that the dust in these galaxies is being
heated by young stars rather than AGN. We have used simple evolution models
based on our parallel SCUBA survey of the local universe to address the major
questions about the SCUBA sources: (1) what fraction of the star formation at
high redshift is hidden by dust? (2) Does the submillimetre luminosity density
reach a maximum at some redshift? (3) If the SCUBA sources are
proto-ellipticals, when exactly did ellipticals form? However, we show that the
observations are not yet good enough for definitive answers to these questions.
There are, for example, acceptable models in which 10 times as much
high-redshift star formation is hidden by dust as is seen at optical
wavelengths, but also acceptable ones in which the amount of hidden star
formation is less than that seen optically. There are acceptable models in
which very little star formation occurred before a redshift of three (as might
be expected in models of hierarchical galaxy formation), but also ones in which
30% of the stars have formed by this redshift. The key to answering these
questions are measurements of the dust temperatures and redshifts of the SCUBA
sources.Comment: 41 pages (latex), 17 postscript figures, to appear in the November
issue of the Astronomical Journa
Far infrared and Radio emission in dusty starburst galaxies
We revisit the nature of the FIR/Radio correlation by means of the most
recent models for star forming galaxies. We model the IR emission with our
population synthesis code, GRASIL (Silva et al. 1998). As for the radio
emission, we revisit the simple model of Condon & Yin (1990). We find that a
tightFIR/Radio correlation is natural when the synchrotron mechanism dominates
over the inverse Compton, and the electrons cooling time is shorter than the
fading time of the supernova rate. Observations indicate that both these
conditions are met in star forming galaxies. However since the radio non
thermal emission is delayed, deviations are expected both in the early phases
of a starburst, when the radio thermal component dominates, and in the
post-starburst phase, when the bulk of the NT component originates from less
massive stars. This delay allows the analysis of obscured starbursts with a
time resolution of a few tens of Myrs, unreachable with other star formation
indicators. We suggest to complement the analysis of the deviations from the
FIR/Radio correlation with the radio slope to obtain characteristic parameters
of the burst. The analysis of a sample of compact ULIRGs shows that they are
intense but transient starbursts, to which one should not apply usual SF
indicators devised for constant SF rates. We also discuss the possibility of
using the q- radio slope diagram to asses the presence of obscured AGN. A firm
prediction of the models is an apparent radio excess during the post-starburst
phase, which seems to be typical of a class of star forming galaxies in rich
cluster cores. We discuss how deviations from the correlation, due to the
evolutionary status of the starburst, affect the technique of photometric
redshift determination widely used for high-z sources.Comment: accepted by A&A, 16 page
Numerical simulations of the cosmic star formation history
The cosmic star formation history in Cold Dark Matter dominated cosmological
scenarios is studied by means of hydrodynamical numerical simulations. In
particular, we explore a low density model with a Lambda-term and two high
density models with different power spectra, all of them being spatially flat.
Our simulations employ a fully nonlinear N-body and Eulerian hydrodynamics
algorithm with a model for star formation and supernovae feedback that depends
on two phenomenological parameters determined in agreement with previous
papers. We find a nearly constant star formation rate beyond z=1, and we
discuss which facts may determine the decrease in the SFR from z=1 to the
present epoch. The Lambda-term cosmology with realistic parameters for star
formation and feedback best reproduces the observed star formation history.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in A&
First Measurement of Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering on Argon
We report the first measurement of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus
scattering (\cevns) on argon using a liquid argon detector at the Oak Ridge
National Laboratory Spallation Neutron Source. Two independent analyses prefer
\cevns over the background-only null hypothesis with greater than
significance. The measured cross section, averaged over the incident neutrino
flux, is (2.2 0.7) 10 cm -- consistent with the
standard model prediction. The neutron-number dependence of this result,
together with that from our previous measurement on CsI, confirms the existence
of the \cevns process and provides improved constraints on non-standard
neutrino interactions.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures with 2 pages, 6 figures supplementary material V3:
fixes to figs 3,4 V4: fix typo in table 1, V5: replaced missing appendix, V6:
fix Eq 1, new fig 3, V7 final version, updated with final revision
Inclusive Search for Anomalous Production of High-pT Like-Sign Lepton Pairs in Proton-Antiproton Collisions at sqrt{s}=1.8 TeV
We report on a search for anomalous production of events with at least two
charged, isolated, like-sign leptons with pT > 11 GeV/c using a 107 pb^-1
sample of 1.8 TeV ppbar collisions collected by the CDF detector. We define a
signal region containing low background from Standard Model processes. To avoid
bias, we fix the final cuts before examining the event yield in the signal
region using control regions to test the Monte Carlo predictions. We observe no
events in the signal region, consistent with an expectation of
0.63^(+0.84)_(-0.07) events. We present 95% confidence level limits on new
physics processes in both a signature-based context as well as within a
representative minimal supergravity (tanbeta = 3) model.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures. Minor textual changes, cosmetic improvements to
figures and updated and expanded reference
The genomes of two key bumblebee species with primitive eusocial organization
Background: The shift from solitary to social behavior is one of the major evolutionary transitions. Primitively eusocial bumblebees are uniquely placed to illuminate the evolution of highly eusocial insect societies. Bumblebees are also invaluable natural and agricultural pollinators, and there is widespread concern over recent population declines in some species. High-quality genomic data will inform key aspects of bumblebee biology, including susceptibility to implicated population viability threats. Results: We report the high quality draft genome sequences of Bombus terrestris and Bombus impatiens, two ecologically dominant bumblebees and widely utilized study species. Comparing these new genomes to those of the highly eusocial honeybee Apis mellifera and other Hymenoptera, we identify deeply conserved similarities, as well as novelties key to the biology of these organisms. Some honeybee genome features thought to underpin advanced eusociality are also present in bumblebees, indicating an earlier evolution in the bee lineage. Xenobiotic detoxification and immune genes are similarly depauperate in bumblebees and honeybees, and multiple categories of genes linked to social organization, including development and behavior, show high conservation. Key differences identified include a bias in bumblebee chemoreception towards gustation from olfaction, and striking differences in microRNAs, potentially responsible for gene regulation underlying social and other traits. Conclusions: These two bumblebee genomes provide a foundation for post-genomic research on these key pollinators and insect societies. Overall, gene repertoires suggest that the route to advanced eusociality in bees was mediated by many small changes in many genes and processes, and not by notable expansion or depauperation
Measurement of the ttbar Production Cross Section in ppbar Collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV
We present a measurement of the top quark pair production cross section in
ppbar collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV using 318 pb^{-1} of data collected with
the Collider Detector at Fermilab. We select ttbar decays into the final states
e nu + jets and mu nu + jets, in which at least one b quark from the t-quark
decays is identified using a secondary vertex-finding algorithm. Assuming a top
quark mass of 178 GeV/c^2, we measure a cross section of 8.7 +-0.9 (stat)
+1.1-0.9 (syst) pb. We also report the first observation of ttbar with
significance greater than 5 sigma in the subsample in which both b quarks are
identified, corresponding to a cross section of 10.1 +1.6-1.4(stat)+2.0-1.3
(syst) pb.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physics Review Letters, 7 page
Measurement of and Production in Collisions at = 1.96 TeV
The Standard Model predictions for and production are
tested using an integrated luminosity of 200 pb of \ppbar collision data
collected at the Collider Detector at Fermilab. The cross sections are measured
selecting leptonic decays of the and bosons, and photons with
transverse energy GeV that are well separated from leptons. The
production cross sections and kinematic distributions for the and
are compared to SM predictions.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, submitted to PR
Search for New Physics in Lepton + Photon + X Events with L=305 pb-1 of ppbar Collisions at roots=1.96 TeV
We present results of a search for anomalous production of events containing
a charged lepton (either electron or muon) and a photon, both with high
transverse momentum, accompanied by additional signatures, X, including missing
transverse energy (MET) and additional leptons and photons. We use the same
kinematic selection criteria as in a previous CDF search, but with a
substantially larger data set, 305 pb-1, a ppbar collision energy of 1.96 TeV,
and the upgraded CDF II detector. We find 42 Lepton+Photon+MET events versus a
standard model expectation of 37.3 +- 5.4 events. The level of excess observed
in Run I, 16 events with an expectation of 7.6 +- 0.7 events (corresponding to
a 2.7 sigma effect), is not supported by the new data. In the signature of
Multi-Lepton+Photon+X we observe 31 events versus an expectation of 23.0 +- 2.7
events. In this sample we find no events with an extra photon or MET and so
find no events like the one ee+gg+MET event observed in Run I.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. Accepted to PR
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