2,396 research outputs found
On the muon neutrino mass
During the runs of the PS 179 experiment at LEAR of CERN, we photographed an
event of antiproton-Ne absorption, with a complete pi+ -> mu+ ->e+ chain. From
the vertex of the reaction a very slow energy pi+ was emitted. The pi+ decays
into a mu+ and subsequently the mu+ decays into a positron. At the first decay
vertex a muon neutrino was emitted and at the second decay vertex an electron
neutrino and a muon antineutrino. Measuring the pion and muon tracks and
applying the momentum and energy conservation and using a classical statistical
interval estimator, we obtained an experimental upper limit for the muon
neutrino mass: m_nu < 2.2 MeV at a 90% confidence level. A statistical analysis
has been performed of the factors contributing to the square value of the
neutrino mass limit.Comment: 18 pages, 5 eps figure
A phenomenological analysis of antiproton interactions at low energies
We present an optical potential analysis of the antiproton-proton
interactions at low energies. Our optical potential is purely phenomenological,
and has been parametrized on data recently obtained by the Obelix Collaboration
at momenta below 180 MeV/c. It reasonably fits annihilation and elastic data
below 600 MeV/c, and allows us for an evaluation of the elastic cross section
and rho-parameter down to zero kinetic energy. Moreover we show that the
mechanism that depresses antiproton-nucleus annihilation cross sections at low
energies is present in antiproton-proton interactions too.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
The evolution of the spatially-resolved metal abundance in galaxy clusters up to z=1.4
We present the combined analysis of the metal content of 83 objects in the
redshift range 0.09-1.39, and spatially-resolved in the 3 bins (0-0.15,
0.15-0.4, >0.4) R500, as obtained with similar analysis using XMM-Newton data
in Leccardi & Molendi (2008) and Baldi et al. (2012). We use the pseudo-entropy
ratio to separate the Cool-Core (CC) cluster population, where the central gas
density tends to be relatively higher, cooler and more metal rich, from the
Non-Cool-Core systems. The average, redshift-independent, metal abundance
measured in the 3 radial bins decrease moving outwards, with a mean metallicity
in the core that is even 3 (two) times higher than the value of 0.16 times the
solar abundance in Anders & Grevesse (1989) estimated at r>0.4 R500 in CC (NCC)
objects. We find that the values of the emission-weighted metallicity are
well-fitted by the relation at given radius. A
significant scatter, intrinsic to the observed distribution and of the order of
0.05-0.15, is observed below 0.4 R500. The nominal best-fit value of
is significantly different from zero in the inner cluster regions () and in CC clusters only. These results are confirmed also with a
bootstrap analysis, which provides a still significant negative evolution in
the core of CC systems (P>99.9 per cent). No redshift-evolution is observed
when regions above the core (r > 0.15 R500) are considered. A reasonable good
fit of both the radial and redshift dependence is provided from the functional
form , with in CC clusters
and for NCC systems. Our results
represent the most extensive study of the spatially-resolved metal distribution
in the cluster plasma as function of redshift.Comment: 5 pages. Research Note accepted for publication in A&
CLASH-VLT: Dissecting the Frontier Fields Galaxy Cluster MACS J0416.1-2403 with ∼800 Spectra of Member Galaxies
We present VIMOS-Very Large Telescope (VLT) spectroscopy of the Frontier Fields cluster MACS J0416.1-2403 (z = 0.397). Taken as part of the CLASH-VLT survey, the large spectroscopic campaign provided more than 4000 reliable redshifts over ~600 arcmin^2, including ~800 cluster member galaxies. The unprecedented sample of cluster members at this redshift allows us to perform a highly detailed dynamical and structural analysis of the cluster out to ~2.2 r _(200) (~4 Mpc). Our analysis of substructures reveals a complex system composed of a main massive cluster (M _(200) ~ 0.9 × 10^(15) M_⊙ and σ_(V,r200) ~ 1000 km s^(−1)) presenting two major features: (i) a bimodal velocity distribution, showing two central peaks separated by ΔV _(rf) ~ 1100 km s^(−1) with comparable galaxy content and velocity dispersion, and (ii) a projected elongation of the main substructures along the NE–SW direction, with a prominent sub-clump ~600 kpc SW of the center and an isolated BCG approximately halfway between the center and the SW clump. We also detect a low-mass structure at z ~ 0.390, ~10' south of the cluster center, projected at ~3 Mpc, with a relative line-of-sight velocity of ΔV_(rf) ~ −1700 km s^(−1). The cluster mass profile that we obtain through our dynamical analysis deviates significantly from the "universal" NFW, being best fit by a Softened Isothermal Sphere model instead. The mass profile measured from the galaxy dynamics is found to be in relatively good agreement with those obtained from strong and weak lensing, as well as with that from the X-rays, despite the clearly unrelaxed nature of the cluster. Our results reveal an overall complex dynamical state of this massive cluster and support the hypothesis that the two main subclusters are being observed in a pre-collisional phase, in agreement with recent findings from radio and deep X-ray data. In this article, we also release the entire redshift catalog of 4386 sources in the field of this cluster, which includes 60 identified Chandra X-ray sources and 105 JVLA radio sources
Production of Mesons in the Reaction at 3.67 GeV/c
The ratio of the total exclusive production cross sections for
and mesons has been measured in the reaction at
GeV/c. The observed ratio is
from which the exclusive
meson production cross section is determined to be
. Differential cross section
distributions have been measured. Their shape is consistent with isotropic
meson production.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, accepted by Phys.Lett.
High efficiency thermionic converter studies
The objective is to improve thermionic converter performance by means of reduced interelectrode losses, greater emitter capabilities, and lower collector work functions until the converter performance level is suitable for out-of-core space reactors and radioisotope generators. Electrode screening experiments have identified several promising collector materials. Back emission work function measurements of a ZnO collector in a thermionic diode have given values less than 1.3 eV. Diode tests were conducted over the range of temperatures of interest for space power applications. Enhanced mode converter experiments have included triodes operated in both the surface ionization and plasmatron modes. Pulsed triodes were studied as a function of pulse length, pulse potential, inert gas fill pressure, cesium pressure, spacing, emitter temperature and collector temperature. Current amplifications (i.e., mean output current/mean grid current) of several hundred were observed up to output current densities of one amp/sq cm. These data correspond to an equivalent arc drop less than 0.1 eV
Flux of Primordial Monopoles
We discuss how in supersymmetric models with D and F-flat directions, a
primordial monopole flux of order 10^{-16} - 10^{-18} cm^{-2} sec^{-1} sr^{-1}
can coexist with the observed baryon asymmetry. A modified Affleck-Dine
scenario yields the desired asymmetry if the monopoles are superheavy (~
10^{13}-10^{18} GeV). For lighter monopoles with masses ~ 10^{9}-10^{12} GeV,
the baryon asymmetry can arise via TeV scale leptogenesis.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, revtex
Constraining Antimatter Domains in the Early Universe with Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
We consider the effect of a small-scale matter-antimatter domain structure on
big bang nucleosynthesis and place upper limits on the amount of antimatter in
the early universe. For small domains, which annihilate before nucleosynthesis,
this limit comes from underproduction of He-4. For larger domains, the limit
comes from He-3 overproduction. Most of the He-3 from antiproton-helium
annihilation is annihilated also. The main source of He-3 is
photodisintegration of He-4 by the electromagnetic cascades initiated by the
annihilation.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, revtex, (slightly shortened
Feature Selection Based on a Genetic Algorithm for Optimizing Weaning Success
Finding the right time for weaning from ventilator is a difficult clinical decision. Several systems based on machine or deep learning are reported in literature. However, the results of these applications are not completely satisfactory and may be improved. An important aspect is represented by the features used as input of these systems. In this paper we present the results of the application of genetic algorithms to perform feature selection on a dataset containing 13688 patients under mechanical ventilation characterizing by 58 variables, extracted from the MIMIC III database. The results show that all features are important, but four of them are essential: 'Sedation_days', 'Mean_Airway_Pressure', 'PaO2', and 'Chloride'. This is only the initial step to obtain a tool to be added to the other clinical indices for minimize the risk of extubation failure
Apparent high metallicity in 3-4 keV galaxy clusters: the inverse iron-bias in action in the case of the merging cluster Abell 2028
Recent work based on a global measurement of the ICM properties find evidence
for an increase of the iron abundance in galaxy clusters with temperature
around 2-4 keV up to a value about 3 times larger than that typical of very hot
clusters. We have started a study of the metal distribution in these objects
from the sample of Baumgartner et al. (2005), aiming at resolving spatially the
metal content of the ICM. We report here on a 42ks XMM observation of the first
object of the sample, the cluster Abell 2028. The XMM observation reveals a
complex structure of the cluster over scale of 300 kpc, showing an interaction
between two sub-clusters in cometary-like configurations. At the leading edges
of the two substructures cold fronts have been detected. The core of the main
subcluster is likely hosting a cool corona. We show that a one-component fit
for this region returns a biased high metallicity. This inverse iron bias is
due to the behavior of the fitting code in shaping the Fe-L complex. In
presence of a multi-temperature structure of the ICM, the best-fit metallicity
is artificially higher when the projected spectrum is modeled with a single
temperature component and it is not related to the presence of both Fe-L and
Fe-K emission lines in the spectrum. After accounting for the bias, the overall
abundance of the cluster is consistent with the one typical of hotter, more
massive clusters. We caution the interpretation of high abundances inferred
when fitting a single thermal component to spectra derived from relatively
large apertures in 3-4 keV clusters, because the inverse iron bias can be
present. Most of the inferences trying to relate high abundances in 3-4 keV
clusters to fundamental physical processes will likely have to be revised.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures.Accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysycs. Minor changes to match published versio
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