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Panotopoulos, G. (2011). A dynamical dark energy model with a given luminosity distance. Gen. Relativ. Gravit., 43(11), 3191–3199.
Abstract: It is assumed that the current cosmic acceleration is driven by a scalar field, the Lagrangian of which is a function of the kinetic term only, and that the luminosity distance is a given function of the red-shift. Upon comparison with baryon acoustic oscillations and cosmic microwave background data the parameters of the models are determined, and then the time evolution of the scalar field is determined by the dynamics using the cosmological equations. We find that the solution is very different than the corresponding solution when the non-relativistic matter is ignored, and that the universe enters the acceleration era at larger red-shift compared to the standard I > CDM model.
Keywords: Dark energy; Observational cosmology; Particle-theory
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Cases, R., Ros, E., & Zuñiga, J. (2011). Measuring radon concentration in air using a diffusion cloud chamber. Am. J. Phys., 79(9), 903–908.
Abstract: Radon concentration in air is a major concern in lung cancer studies. A traditional technique used to measure radon abundance is the charcoal canister method. We propose a novel technique using a diffusion cloud chamber. This technique is simpler and can easily be used for physics demonstrations for high school and university students.
Keywords: cloud chambers; diffusion; radiation effects; radon; student experiments
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Eisenstein, D. J. et al, & Mena, O. (2011). SDSS-III: Massive Spectroscopic Surveys of the Distant Universe, the Milky Way, and Extra-Solar Planetary Systems. Astron. J., 142(3), 72–24pp.
Abstract: Building on the legacy of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-I and II), SDSS-III is a program of four spectroscopic surveys on three scientific themes: dark energy and cosmological parameters, the history and structure of the Milky Way, and the population of giant planets around other stars. In keeping with SDSS tradition, SDSS-III will provide regular public releases of all its data, beginning with SDSS Data Release 8 (DR8), which was made public in 2011 January and includes SDSS-I and SDSS-II images and spectra reprocessed with the latest pipelines and calibrations produced for the SDSS-III investigations. This paper presents an overview of the four surveys that comprise SDSS-III. The Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey will measure redshifts of 1.5 million massive galaxies and Ly alpha forest spectra of 150,000 quasars, using the baryon acoustic oscillation feature of large-scale structure to obtain percent-level determinations of the distance scale and Hubble expansion rate at z < 0.7 and at z approximate to 2.5. SEGUE-2, an already completed SDSS-III survey that is the continuation of the SDSS-II Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (SEGUE), measured medium-resolution (R = lambda/lambda Delta approximate to 1800) optical spectra of 118,000 stars in a variety of target categories, probing chemical evolution, stellar kinematics and substructure, and the mass profile of the dark matter halo from the solar neighborhood to distances of 100 kpc. APOGEE, the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment, will obtain high-resolution (R approximate to 30,000), high signal-to-noise ratio (S/N >= 100 per resolution element), H-band (1.51 μm < lambda < 1.70 μm) spectra of 105 evolved, late-type stars, measuring separate abundances for similar to 15 elements per star and creating the first high-precision spectroscopic survey of all Galactic stellar populations (bulge, bar, disks, halo) with a uniform set of stellar tracers and spectral diagnostics. The Multi-object APO Radial Velocity Exoplanet Large-area Survey (MARVELS) will monitor radial velocities of more than 8000 FGK stars with the sensitivity and cadence (10-40 ms(-1), similar to 24 visits per star) needed to detect giant planets with periods up to two years, providing an unprecedented data set for understanding the formation and dynamical evolution of giant planet systems. As of 2011 January, SDSS-III has obtained spectra of more than 240,000 galaxies, 29,000 z >= 2.2 quasars, and 140,000 stars, including 74,000 velocity measurements of 2580 stars for MARVELS.
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Trotta, R., Johannesson, G., Moskalenko, I. V., Porter, T. A., Ruiz de Austri, R., & Strong, A. W. (2011). Constraints on Cosmic-Ray Propagation Models from a Global Bayesian Analysis. Astrophys. J., 729(2), 106–16pp.
Abstract: Research in many areas of modern physics such as, e. g., indirect searches for dark matter and particle acceleration in supernova remnant shocks rely heavily on studies of cosmic rays (CRs) and associated diffuse emissions (radio, microwave, X-rays, gamma-rays). While very detailed numerical models of CR propagation exist, a quantitative statistical analysis of such models has been so far hampered by the large computational effort that those models require. Although statistical analyses have been carried out before using semi-analytical models (where the computation is much faster), the evaluation of the results obtained from such models is difficult, as they necessarily suffer from many simplifying assumptions. The main objective of this paper is to present a working method for a full Bayesian parameter estimation for a numerical CR propagation model. For this study, we use the GALPROP code, the most advanced of its kind, which uses astrophysical information, and nuclear and particle data as inputs to self-consistently predict CRs, gamma-rays, synchrotron, and other observables. We demonstrate that a full Bayesian analysis is possible using nested sampling and Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods (implemented in the SuperBayeS code) despite the heavy computational demands of a numerical propagation code. The best-fit values of parameters found in this analysis are in agreement with previous, significantly simpler, studies also based on GALPROP.
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Serenelli, A. M., Haxton, W. C., & Pena-Garay, C. (2011). Solar Models With Accretion. I. Application To The Solar Abundance Problem. Astrophys. J., 743(1), 24–20pp.
Abstract: We generate new standard solar models using newly analyzed nuclear fusion cross sections and present results for helioseismic quantities and solar neutrino fluxes. The status of the solar abundance problem is discussed. We investigate whether nonstandard solar models with accretion from the protoplanetary disk might alleviate this problem. We examine a broad range of models, analyzing metal-enriched and metal-depleted accretion and three scenarios for the timing of accretion. Only partial solutions are found. Formetal-rich accreted material (Z(ac) greater than or similar to 0.018) there exist combinations of accreted mass and metallicity that bring the depth of the convective zone into agreement with the helioseismic value. For the surface helium abundance, the helioseismic value is reproduced if metal-poor or metal-free accretion is assumed (Z(ac) less than or similar to 0.09). In both cases a few percent of the solar mass must be accreted. Precise values depend on when accretion takes place. We do not find a simultaneous solution to both problems but speculate that changing the hydrogen-to-helium mass ratio in the accreted material may lead to more satisfactory solutions. We also show that, with current data, solar neutrinos are already a very competitive source of information about the solar core and can help constraining possible accretion histories. Even without helioseismic constraints, solar neutrinos rule out the possibility that more than 0.02 M(circle dot) from the protoplanetary disk were accreted after the Sun settled on the main sequence. Finally, we discuss how measurements of neutrinos from the CN cycle could shed light on the interaction between the early Sun and its protoplanetary disk.
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Nguyen, C. V., Gillam, J. E., Brown, J. M. C., Martin, D. V., Nikulin, D. A., & Dimmock, M. R. (2011). Towards Optimal Collimator Design for the PEDRO Hybrid Imaging System. IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci., 58(3), 639–650.
Abstract: The Pixelated Emission Detector for RadiOisotopes (PEDRO) is a hybrid imaging system designed for the measurement of single photon emission from small animal models. The proof-of-principle device consists of a Compton-camera situated behind a mechanical collimator and is intended to provide optimal detection characteristics over a broad spectral range, from 30 to 511 keV. An automated routine has been developed for the optimization of large-area slits in the outer regions of a collimator which has a central region allocated for pinholes. The optimization was tested with a GEANT4 model of the experimental prototype. The data were blurred with the expected position and energy resolution parameters and a Bayesian interaction ordering algorithm was applied. Images were reconstructed using cone back-projection. The results show that the optimization technique allows the large-area slits to both sample fully and extend the primary field of view (FoV) determined by the pinholes. The slits were found to provide truncation of the back-projected cones of response and also an increase in the success rate of the interaction ordering algorithm. These factors resulted in an increase in the contrast and signal-to-noise ratio of the reconstructed image estimates. Of the two configurations tested, the cylindrical geometry outperformed the square geometry, primarily because of a decrease in artifacts. This was due to isotropic modulation of the cone surfaces, that can be achieved with a circular shape. Also, the cylindrical geometry provided increased sampling of the FoV due to more optimal positioning of the slits. The use of the cylindrical collimator and application of the transmission function in the reconstruction was found to improve the resolution of the system by a factor of 20, as compared to the uncollimated Compton camera. Although this system is designed for small animal imaging, the technique can be applied to any application of single photon imaging.
Keywords: Compton scattering enhancement; multiple pinhole; PEDRO
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Miñano, M. (2011). Radiation Hard Silicon Strips Detectors for the SLHC. IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci., 58(3), 1135–1140.
Abstract: While the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) began taking data in 2009, scenarios for a machine upgrade to achieve a much higher luminosity are being developed. In the current planning, it is foreseen to increase the luminosity of the LHC at CERN around 2018. As radiation damage scales with integrated luminosity, the particle physics experiments will need to be equipped with a new generation of radiation hard detectors. This article reports on the status of the R&D projects on radiation hard silicon strips detectors for particle physics, linked to the Large Hadron Collider Upgrade, super-LHC (sLHC) of the ATLAS microstrip detector. The primary focus of this report is on measuring the radiation hardness of the silicon materials and the detectors under study. This involves designing silicon detectors, irradiating them to the sLHC radiation levels and studying their performance as particle detectors. The most promising silicon detector for the different radiation levels in the different regions of the ATLAS microstrip detector will be presented. Important challenges related to engineering layout, powering, cooling and reading out a very large strip detector are presented. Ideas on possible schemes for the layout and support mechanics will be shown.
Keywords: High energy physics; microstrip; radiation detectors; silicon; SLHC
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Carrio, F., Castillo Gimenez, V., Ferrer, A., Gonzalez, V., Higon-Rodriguez, E., Marin, C., et al. (2011). Optical Link Card Design for the Phase II Upgrade of TileCal Experiment. IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci., 58(4), 1657–1663.
Abstract: This paper presents the design of an optical link card developed in the frame of the R&D activities for the phase 2 upgrade of the TileCal experiment. This board, that is part of the evaluation of different technologies for the final choice in the next years, is designed as a mezzanine that can work independently or be plugged in the optical multiplexer board of the TileCal backend electronics. It includes two SNAP 12 optical connectors able to transmit and receive up to 75 Gb/s and one SFP optical connector for lower speeds and compatibility with existing hardware as the read out driver. All processing is done in a Stratix II GX field-programmable gate array (FPGA). Details are given on the hardware design, including signal and power integrity analysis, needed when working with these high data rates and on firmware development to obtain the best performance of the FPGA signal transceivers and for the use of the GBT protocol.
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Navarro, J., & Guardiola, R. (2011). Thermal Effects on Small Para-Hydrogen Clusters. Int. J. Quantum Chem., 111(2), 463–471.
Abstract: A brief review of different quantum Monte Carlo simulations of small (p-H-2)(N) clusters is presented. The clusters are viewed as a set of N structureless p-H-2 molecules, interacting via an isotropic pairwise potential. Properties as superfluidity, magic numbers, radial structure, excitation spectra, and abundance production of (p-H-2)(N) clusters are discussed and, whenever possible, a comparison with He-4(N) droplets is presented. All together, the simulations indicate that temperature has a paradoxical effect of the properties of (p-H-2)(N) clusters, as they are solid-like at high T and liquid-like at low T, due to quantum delocalization at the lowest temperature.
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de Azcarraga, J. A., Izquierdo, J. M., & Picon, M. (2011). Contractions of Filippov algebras. J. Math. Phys., 52(1), 013516–24pp.
Abstract: We introduce in this paper the contractions B-c of n-Lie (or Filippov) algebras B and show that they have a semidirect structure as their n = 2 Lie algebra counterparts. As an example, we compute the nontrivial contractions of the simple A(n+1) Filippov algebras. By using the. Inonu-Wigner and the generalized Weimar-Woods contractions of ordinary Lie algebras, we compare (in the B = A(n+1) simple case) the Lie algebras Lie B-c (the Lie algebra of inner endomorphisms of B-c) with certain contractions (Lie B)(IW) and (Lie B)(W-W) of the Lie algebra Lie B associated with B.
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