Radio Observations of the Magnetic Fields in Galaxies

After a short introduction on how we get information of the magnetic fields from radio observations I discuss the results concerning the magnetic field structure in galaxies: Large-scale regular magnetic field pattern of spiral structure exist in grand-design spirals, flocculent and even irregular galaxies. The regular field in spirals is aligned along the optical spiral arms but strongest in the interarm region, sometimes forming 'magnetic arms'. The strongest total field is found in the optical arms, but mainly irregular. The large-scale regular field is best explained by some kind of dynamo action. Only a few galaxies show a dominant axisymmetric field pattern, most field structures seem to be a superposition of different dynamo modes or rather reveal more local effects related to density waves, bars or shocks. Observations of edge-on galaxies show that the magnetic fields are mainly parallel to the disk except in some galaxies with strong star formation and strong galactic winds as e.g. NGC 4631.Comment: 9 pages with 4 figures. To be published in Acta Astronomica Sinica Vol. 44, 2003 (Conf. Proc. "Radio Studies of Galactic Objects, Galaxies and AGNs", eds. J.L. Han et al.). Final published version also available at http://www.bao.ac.cn/bao/hjl/xian/proceedings

Extragalactic Radio Sources as a Piece of the Cosmological Jigsaw

Early on, extragalactic radio sources have pointed to a cosmologically evolv- ing Universe. They were also an important piece of evidence for the existence of supermassive black holes, now thought to be a key component of galaxies. The observation that the power of radio sources increases with redshift, whereas the cosmological assembly of mass proceeds vice versa means that radio sources have their strongest impact in the early Universe. Our simulations suggest that radio sources heat hot halo gas, boost star formation in disc galaxies and other cold gas in the vicinity, possibly filaments, by a surround and squash mechanism. They might cause gaseous outflows in connection with stellar feedback. This might be an important mode of star formation for forming massive galaxies. Analysis of the jet-environment interaction may provide insights into black-hole physics and jet formation, e.g., rotational energy extraction (Blandford-Znajek) or how frequent black-hole binaries or multiple systems are. The former relates to fundamental questions about the nature of black holes. The latter is expected from hierarchical cosmology. Extragalactic radio sources thus continue to corroborate the cosmolog- ical picture and lead the way towards new, exciting discoveries.Non peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Impact of Electroweak Corrections on Neutral Higgs Boson Decays in Extended Higgs Sectors

Precision predictions play an important role in the search for indirect New Physics effects in the Higgs sector itself. For the electroweak (EW) corrections of the Higgs bosons in extended Higgs sectors several renormalization schemes have been worked out that provide gauge-parameter-independent relations between the input parameters and the computed observables. Our recently published program codes 2HDECAY and ewN2HDECAY allow for the computation of the EW corrections to the Higgs decay widths and branching ratios of the Two-Higgs-Doublet Model (2HDM) and the Next-to-Minimal-2HDM (N2HDM) for different renormalization schemes of the scalar mixing angles. In this paper, we present a comprehensive and complete overview over the relative size of the EW corrections to the branching ratios of the 2HDM and N2HDM neutral Higgs bosons for different applied renormalization schemes. We quantify the size of the EW corrections of Standard Model(SM)- and non-SM-like Higgs bosons and moreover also identify renormalization schemes that are well-behaved and do not induce unnaturally large corrections. We furthermore pin down decays and parameter regions that feature large EW corrections and need further treatment in order to improve the predictions. Our study sets the scene for future work in the computation of higher-order corrections to the decays of non-minimal Higgs sectors

Optimal redundancy against disjoint vulnerabilities in networks

Redundancy is commonly used to guarantee continued functionality in networked systems. However, often many nodes are vulnerable to the same failure or adversary. A "backup" path is not sufficient if both paths depend on nodes which share a vulnerability.For example, if two nodes of the Internet cannot be connected without using routers belonging to a given untrusted entity, then all of their communication-regardless of the specific paths utilized-will be intercepted by the controlling entity.In this and many other cases, the vulnerabilities affecting the network are disjoint: each node has exactly one vulnerability but the same vulnerability can affect many nodes. To discover optimal redundancy in this scenario, we describe each vulnerability as a color and develop a "color-avoiding percolation" which uncovers a hidden color-avoiding connectivity. We present algorithms for color-avoiding percolation of general networks and an analytic theory for random graphs with uniformly distributed colors including critical phenomena. We demonstrate our theory by uncovering the hidden color-avoiding connectivity of the Internet. We find that less well-connected countries are more likely able to communicate securely through optimally redundant paths than highly connected countries like the US. Our results reveal a new layer of hidden structure in complex systems and can enhance security and robustness through optimal redundancy in a wide range of systems including biological, economic and communications networks.Comment: 15 page