Neutrinos from the Propagation of a Relativistic Jet Through a Star

We discuss the neutrino signature of a relativistic jet propagating through a stellar envelope, a scenario realized in the collapsar model for Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). It is shown that the dramatic slowing of the jet deep within the star is accompanied by inelastic neutron-nucleon collisions and the conversion of a substantial fraction of the jet kinetic energy to neutrinos. These neutrinos have observed energies in the range two to tens of GeV and an estimated detection rate comparable to or larger than the detection rate of GeV neutrinos from other GRB-related processes. The time delay between the arrival of these neutrinos and the GRB photons is tens of seconds. An observation of this delay would provide an indication that the GRB jet originated in a massive star.Comment: To appear in Ap

The relation between radio-active collector current potential gradient and wind speed

Several workers have suggested that the current flowing to earth through an earthed radio-active collector could, if wind speed was considered, be used to measure the earth's vertical potential gradient. Without measurement of wind speed such a collector has been used to give an approximate estimate of the potential gradient. The present work sets out to show whether, in fact, an accurate estimate of potential gradient can be got from the simultaneous recording of the current flowing to earth from an earthed radio-active collector and wind speed. Records were taken at the Durham University Observatory of the two variables mentioned and were compared with records of potential gradient as measured with a field mill. The records showed agreement, with the results of other workers in-that there was: a highly significant correlation between the collector current and the potential gradient; and in almost all cases; a significant correlation between collector current and wind speed. However, the results showed that no reliable estimate could be got of potential gradient from the other two records. It was found that the errors in such an estimate were about 6% over short periods (up to three hours) and appreciably greater over longer periods. It is suggested that the apparently random short term errors are due to rapid fluctuations in wind speed which are not accurately recorded on the anemometer because of the smoothing which was necessary. The long term errors are thought to be due to variations in the effective activity of the collector because of contamination on the surface of the radio-active laminae restricting the emission of radiation

Depression and anxiety: Experiences, symptoms, and help seeking attitude differences between males and females

The current study examined the differences in experiences of depression and anxiety, symptoms, and help-seeking behaviors between males and females. The importance of this research was to better understand the impact that sex has on how individuals are affected by and live with mental illnesses like depression and anxiety. Participants took an online survey that asked them a series of questions about their experiences with mental illness, their perceptions of mental illness, and their ideas toward mental health assistance. T-test analyses and correlations were conducted in order to better understand how males and females differ when it comes to mental illness. The findings can help provide new insights into how care should be fine-tuned for males and for females, and how the best and most effective help can be provided to those who suffer from depression and anxiety

Light bottom squark and gluino confront electroweak precision measurements

We address the compatibility of a light sbottom (mass 2\sim 5.5 \gev) and a light gluino (mass 12\sim 16 \gev) with electroweak precision measurements. Such light particles have been suggested to explain the observed excess in the $b$ quark production cross section at the Tevatron. The electroweak observables may be affected by the sbottom and gluino through the SUSY-QCD corrections to the $Zbb$ vertex. We examine, in addition to the SUSY-QCD corrections, the electroweak corrections to the gauge boson propagators from the stop which are allowed to be light from the SU(2)$_L$ symmetry. We find that this scenario is strongly disfavored from electroweak precision measurements unless the heavier sbottom mass eigenstate is lighter than 180\gev and the left-right mixing in the stop sector is sufficiently large. This implies that one of the stops should be lighter than about 98\gev.Comment: 4 pages, revtex, 2 figures. Reference added, version to appear in Phys.Rev.Let

Highlights of the SLD Physics Program at the SLAC Linear Collider

Starting in 1989, and continuing through the 1990s, high-energy physics witnessed a flowering of precision measurements in general and tests of the standard model in particular, led by e+e- collider experiments operating at the Z0 resonance. Key contributions to this work came from the SLD collaboration at the SLAC Linear Collider. By exploiting the unique capabilities of this pioneering accelerator and the SLD detector, including a polarized electron beam, exceptionally small beam dimensions, and a CCD pixel vertex detector, SLD produced a broad array of electroweak, heavy-flavor, and QCD measurements. Many of these results are one of a kind or represent the world's standard in precision. This article reviews the highlights of the SLD physics program, with an eye toward associated advances in experimental technique, and the contribution of these measurements to our dramatically improved present understanding of the standard model and its possible extensions.Comment: To appear in 2001 Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science; 78 pages, 31 figures; A version with higher resolution figures can be seen at http://www.slac.stanford.edu/pubs/slacpubs/8000/slac-pub-8985.html; Second version incorporates minor changes to the tex

Z decay into two massless gauge bosons in a magnetic field

An investigation of the processes Z to gluon-gluon and Z to photon-photon in a background magnetic field is presented. For homogeneous fields corrections to the charged fermion propagator can be calculated in leading orders of the magnetic field. This work examines the first order contributions of the corrected propagator to decays that are otherwise zero. Results of the decay rates for varying field strengths are included.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures, needs RevTeX4; typos corrected, appendix added, references added, format changed to preprint mod

Inversion of exciton level splitting in quantum dots

The demonstration of degeneracy of exciton spin states is an important step toward the production of entangled photon pairs from the biexciton cascade. We measure the fine structure of exciton and biexciton states for a large number of single InAs quantum dots in a GaAs matrix; the energetic splitting of the horizontally and vertically polarized components of the exciton doublet is shown to decrease as the exciton confinement decreases, crucially passing through zero and changing sign. Thermal annealing is shown to reduce the exciton confinement, thereby increasing the number of dots with splitting close to zero

GaAs-based Self-Aligned Stripe Superluminescent Diodes Processed Normal to the Cleaved Facet

We demonstrate GaAs-based superluminescent diodes (SLDs) incorporating a window-like back facet in a self-aligned stripe. SLDs are realised with low spectral modulation depth (SMD) at high power spectral density, without application of anti-reflection coatings. Such application of a window-like facet reduces effective facet reflectivity in a broadband manner. We demonstrate 30mW output power in a narrow bandwidth with only 5% SMD, outline the design criteria for high power and low SMD, and describe the deviation from a linear dependence of SMD on output power as a result of Joule heating in SLDs under continuous wave current injection. Furthermore, SLDs processed normal to the facet demonstrate output powers as high as 20mW, offering improvements in beam quality, ease of packaging and use of real estate. © (2016) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only

Consistent analysis of the reaction γp→pη′\gamma p \to p \eta^\prime and pp→ppη′pp \to pp\eta^\prime

The production of $\eta'$ mesons in the reactions $\gamma p\to p\eta'$ and $pp\to pp\eta'$ is described consistently within a relativistic meson exchange model of hadronic interactions. The photoproduction can be described quite well over the entire energy range of available data by considering an $S_{11}$ and a $P_{11}$ resonance, in addition to the $t$-channel mesonic current. The observed angular distribution is due to the interference between the $t$-channel and the nucleon resonance $s$- and $u$-channel contributions. Our analysis yields positions close to 1650 MeV and 1870 MeV for the $S_{11}$ and $P_{11}$ resonances, respectively. We argue that, at present, identifying these states with the known $S_{11}(1650)$ resonance and the missing $P_{11}$ resonance predicted at 1880 MeV, respectively, would be premature. It is found that the nucleonic current is relatively small and that the $NN\eta^\prime$ coupling constant cannot be much larger than $g_{NN\eta^\prime}=3$. As for the $p p \to p p \eta^\prime$ reaction, different current contributions are constrained by a combined analysis of this and the photoproduction reaction. Difficulties to simultaneously account for the 47-MeV and 144-MeV angular distributions measured by the COSY-11 and DISTO collaborations, respectively, are addressed.Comment: minor revision, scheduled to a appear in Phys. Rev. C 69 (May 2004), revtex, 17 pages, 10 figures, 3 table

Dynamical freeze-out condition in ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions

We determine the decoupling surfaces for the hydrodynamic description of heavy ion collisions at RHIC and LHC by comparing the local hydrodynamic expansion rate with the microscopic pion-pion scattering rate. The pion $p_T$ spectra for nuclear collisions at RHIC and LHC are computed by applying the Cooper-Frye procedure on the dynamical-decoupling surfaces, and compared with those obtained from the constant-temperature freeze-out surfaces. Comparison with RHIC data shows that the system indeed decouples when the expansion rate becomes comparable with the pion scattering rate. The dynamical decoupling based on the rates comparison also suggests that the effective decoupling temperature in central heavy ion collisions remains practically unchanged from RHIC to LHC.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figure