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Pierre Auger Collaboration(Abreu, P. et al), & Pastor, S. (2011). The Lateral Trigger Probability function for the Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray showers detected by the Pierre Auger Observatory. Astropart Phys., 35(5), 266–276.
Abstract: In this paper we introduce the concept of Lateral Trigger Probability (LTP) function, i.e., the probability for an Extensive Air Shower (EAS) to trigger an individual detector of a ground based array as a function of distance to the shower axis, taking into account energy, mass and direction of the primary cosmic ray. We apply this concept to the surface array of the Pierre Auger Observatory consisting of a 1.5 km spaced grid of about 1600 water Cherenkov stations. Using Monte Carlo simulations of ultra-high energy showers the LTP functions are derived for energies in the range between 10(17) and 10(19) eV and zenith angles up to 65 degrees. A parametrization combining a step function with an exponential is found to reproduce them very well in the considered range of energies and zenith angles. The LTP functions can also be obtained from data
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Amoros, G., Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Costa, M. J., Escobar, C., et al. (2011). Measurement of the transverse momentum distribution of Z/gamma* bosons in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector. Phys. Lett. B, 705(5), 415–434.
Abstract: A measurement of the Z/gamma* transverse momentum (p(T)(Z)) distribution in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV is presented using Z/gamma* -> e(+)e(-) and Z/gamma* -> mu(+)mu(-) decays collected with the ATLAS detector in data sets with integrated luminosities of 35 pb(-1) and 40 pb(-1), respectively. The normalized differential cross sections are measured separately for electron and muon decay channels as well as for their combination up to pi of 350 GeV for invariant dilepton masses 66 GeV < m(ll) < 116 GeV. The measurement is compared to predictions of perturbative QCD and various event generators. The prediction of resummed QCD combined with fixed order perturbative QCD is found to be in good agreement with the data.
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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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Agarwalla, S. K., Blennow, M., Fernandez-Martinez, E., & Mena, O. (2011). Neutrino probes of the nature of light dark matter. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 09(9), 004–19pp.
Abstract: Dark matter particles gravitationally trapped inside the Sun may annihilate into Standard Model particles, producing a flux of neutrinos. The prospects of detecting these neutrinos in future multi-kt neutrino detectors designed for other physics searches are explored here. We study the capabilities of a 34/100 kt liquid argon detector and a 100 kt magnetized iron calorimeter detector. These detectors are expected to determine the energy and the direction of the incoming neutrino with unprecedented precision allowing for tests of the dark matter nature at very low dark matter masses, in the range of 10-25 GeV. By suppressing the atmospheric background with angular cuts, these techniques would be sensitive to dark matter-nucleon spin-dependent cross sections at the fb level, reaching down to a few ab for the most favorable annihilation channels and detector technology.
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Agarwalla, S. K., Conrad, J. M., & Shaevitz, M. H. (2011). Short-baseline neutrino oscillation waves in ultra-large liquid scintillator detectors. J. High Energy Phys., 12(12), 085–24pp.
Abstract: Powerful new multi-kiloton liquid scintillator neutrino detectors, including NOvA and, possibly, LENA, will come on-line within the next decade. When coupled with a modest-power decay-at-rest (DAR) neutrino source at short-baseline, these detectors can decisively address signals for neutrino oscillations at high Delta m(2). Along the greater than 50 m length of the detector, the characteristic oscillation wave will be apparent, providing powerful verification of the oscillation phenomenon. LENA can simultaneously perform (v) over bar (mu) -> (v) over bar (e) appearance and v(e) -> v(e) disappearance searches while NOvA is likely limited to v(e) disappearance. For the appearance channel, a LENA-like detector could test the LSND and MiniBooNE signal regions at > 5 sigma with a fiducial volume of 5 kt and a 10 kW neutrino source. The LENA and NOvA v(e) disappearance sensitivities are complementary to the recent reactor anomaly indicating possible (v) over bar (e) disappearance and would cover this possible oscillation signal at similar to 3 sigma.
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