1,501 research outputs found
Probing new physics in electroweak penguins through B_d and B_s decays
An enhanced electroweak penguin amplitude due to the presence of unknown new
physics can explain the discrepancies found between theory and experiment in
the B -> pi K decays, in particular in A_CP(B^- -> pi^0 K^-) - A_CP(\bar{B}^0
-> pi^+ K^-), but the current precision of the theoretical and experimental
results does not allow to draw a firm conclusion. We argue that the \bar{B}_s
-> phi rho^0 and \bar{B}_s -> phi pi^0 decays offer an additional tool to
investigate this possibility. These purely isospin-violating decays are
dominated by electroweak penguins and we show that in presence of a new physics
contribution their branching ratio can be enhanced by about an order of
magnitude, without violating any constraints from other hadronic B decays. This
makes them very interesting modes for LHCb and future B factories. In
arXiv:1011.6319 we have performed both a model-independent analysis and a study
within realistic New Physics models such as a modified-Z^0-penguin scenario, a
model with an additional Z' boson and the MSSM. In this article we summarise
the most important results of our study.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, LaTeX. Talk given at Discrete2010, Rome, 6-11
December 2010; References adde
The Solar Radius in the EUV during the Cycle XXIII
Aims. To determine the solar transition region and coronal radius at EUV
wavelengths and its time evolution during Solar Cycle XXIII.
Methods. We use daily 30.4 and 17.1 nm images obtained by the Extreme
Ultraviolet Imager (EIT) aboard the SoHO satellite and derive the solar radius
by fitting a circle to the limb brightness ring.
Results. The weighted mean of the temporal series gives (967''.56 +/- 0''.04)
and (969''.54 +/- 0''.02) at 30.4 and 17.1 nm respectively. No significant
correlation was found with the solar cycle at any of the two wavelengths.
Conclusions. Since the temperature formation of the 30.4 nm line is between
(60 - 80) 10^3 K (Transition Region), the obtained result is bigger than that
derived from present atmospheric models. On the contrary this height is
compatible with radio models.Comment: accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics minor changes
introduced during review proces
Towards all-order factorization of QED amplitudes at next-to-leading power
We generalise the factorization of abelian gauge theory amplitudes to
next-to-leading power (NLP) in a soft scale expansion, following a recent
generalisation for Yukawa theory. From an all-order power counting analysis of
leading and next-to-leading regions, we infer the factorized structure for both
a parametrically small and zero fermion mass. This requires the introduction of
new universal jet functions, for non-radiative and single-radiative QED
amplitudes, which we compute at one-loop order. We show that our factorization
formula reproduces the relevant regions in one- and two-loop scattering
amplitudes, appropriately addressing endpoint divergences. It provides a
description of virtual collinear modes and accounts for non-trivial
hard-collinear interplay present beyond the one-loop level, making this a first
step towards a complete all-order factorization framework for gauge-theory
amplitudes at NLP.Comment: 31 pages, 18 figures. v2: as in journal versio
Collisional dissipation of Alfvén waves in a partially ionised solar chromosphere
Certain regions of the solar atmosphere are at sufficiently low temperatures to be only partially ionised. The lower chromosphere contains neutral atoms, the existence of which greatly increases the efficiency of the damping of waves due to collisional friction momentum transfer. More specifically the Cowling conductivity can be up to 12 orders of magnitude smaller than the Spitzer value, so that the main damping mechanism in this region is due to the collisions between neutrals and positive ions (Khodachenko et al. 2004, A&A, 422, 1073). Using values for the gas density and temperature as functions of height taken from the VAL C model of the quiet Sun (Vernazza et al. 1981, ApJS, 45, 635), an estimate is made for the dependance of the Cowling conductivity on height and strength of magnetic field. Using both analytic and numerical approaches the passage of Alfvén waves over a wide spectrum through this partially ionised region is investigated. Estimates of the efficiency of this region in the damping of Alfvén waves are made and compared for both approaches. We find that Alfvén waves with frequencies above 0.6 Hz are completely damped and frequencies below 0.01 Hz unaffected
The energy of waves in the photosphere and lower chromosphere: 1. Velocity statistics
Acoustic waves are one of the primary suspects besides magnetic fields for
the chromospheric heating process to temperatures above radiative equilibrium
(RE). We derived the mechanical wave energy as seen in line-core velocities to
obtain a measure of mechanical energy flux with height for a comparison with
the energy requirements in a semi-empirical atmosphere model. We analyzed a
1-hour time series and a large-area map of Ca II H spectra on the traces of
propagating waves. We analyzed the velocity statistics of several spectral
lines in the wing of Ca II H, and the line-core velocity of Ca II H. We
converted the velocity amplitudes into volume and mass energy densities. For
comparison, we used the increase of internal energy necessary to lift a RE
atmosphere to the HSRA temperature stratification. We find that the velocity
amplitude grows in agreement with linear wave theory and thus slower with
height than predicted from energy conservation. The mechanical energy of the
waves above around z~500 km is insufficient to maintain the chromospheric
temperature rise in the semi-empirical HSRA model. The intensity variations of
the Ca line core (z~1000 km) can be traced back to the velocity variations of
the lowermost forming spectral line considered (z~ 250 km). The chromospheric
intensity, and hence, (radiation) temperature variations are seen to be induced
by passing waves originating in the photosphere.Comment: 13 pages, 15 figures + 2 pages Appendix, 5 figures, submitted to A &
Origin of molecular oxygen in Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Molecular oxygen has been detected in the coma of comet
67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko with abundances in the 1-10% range by the ROSINA-DFMS
instrument on board the Rosetta spacecraft. Here we find that the radiolysis of
icy grains in low-density environments such as the presolar cloud may induce
the production of large amounts of molecular oxygen. We also show that
molecular oxygen can be efficiently trapped in clathrates formed in the
protosolar nebula, and that its incorporation as crystalline ice is highly
implausible because this would imply much larger abundances of Ar and N2 than
those observed in the coma. Assuming that radiolysis has been the only O2
production mechanism at work, we conclude that the formation of comet
67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is possible in a dense and early protosolar nebula in
the framework of two extreme scenarios: (1) agglomeration from pristine
amorphous icy grains/particles formed in ISM and (2) agglomeration from
clathrates that formed during the disk's cooling. The former scenario is found
consistent with the strong correlation between O2 and H2O observed in 67P/C-G's
coma while the latter scenario requires that clathrates formed from ISM icy
grains that crystallized when entering the protosolar nebula.Comment: The Astrophysical Journal Letters, in pres
Inhomogeneities on the surface of 21 Lutetia, the asteroid target of the Rosetta mission
CONTEXT: In July 2010 the ESA spacecraft Rosetta will fly-by the main belt
asteroid 21 Lutetia. Several observations of this asteroid have been so far
performed, but its surface composition and nature are still a matter of debate.
For long time Lutetia was supposed to have a metallic nature due to its high
IRAS albedo. Later on it has been suggested to have a surface composition
similar to primitive carbonaceous chondrite meteorites, while further
observations proposed a possible genetic link with more evolved enstatite
chondrite meteorites. AIMS: In order to give an important contribution in
solving the conundrum of the nature of Lutetia, in November 2008 we performed
visible spectroscopic observations of this asteroid at the Telescopio Nazionale
Galileo (TNG, La Palma, Spain). METHODS: Thirteen visible spectra have been
acquired at different rotational phases. RESULTS: We confirm the presence of a
narrow spectral feature at about 0.47-0.48 micron already found by Lazzarin et
al. (2009) on the spectra of Lutetia. We also find a spectral feature at about
0.6 micron, detected by Lazzarin et al. (2004) on one of their Lutetia's
spectra. More importantly, our spectra exhibit different spectral slopes
between 0.6 and 0.75 micron and, in particular, we found that up to 20% of the
Lutetia surface could have flatter spectra. CONCLUSIONS: We detected a
variation of the spectral slopes at different rotational phases that could be
interpreted as possibly due to differences in the chemical/mineralogical
composition, as well as to inhomogeneities of the structure of the Lutetia's
surface (e.g., the presence of craters or albedo spots) in the southern
hemisphere.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysics. Updated on 25 March 2010
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