It is not yet known if the properties of molecular gas in distant protocluster galaxies are significantly affected by their environment as galaxies are in local clusters. Through a deep, 64 h of ...effective on-source integration with the Australian Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), we discovered a massive, Mmol = 2.0 ± 0.2× 1011 M⊙, extended, ~40 kpc, CO(1–0)-emitting disk in the protocluster surrounding the radio galaxy, MRC 1138−262. The galaxy, at zCO = 2.1478, is a clumpy, massive disk galaxy, M∗ ~ 5 × 1011 M⊙, which lies 250 kpc in projection from MRC 1138−262 and is a known Hα emitter, named HAE229. This source has a molecular gas fraction of ~30%. The CO emission has a kinematic gradient along its major axis, centered on the highest surface brightness rest-frame optical emission, consistent with HAE229 being a rotating disk. Surprisingly, a significant fraction of the CO emission lies outside of the UV/optical emission. In spite of this, HAE229 follows the same relation between star-formation rate and molecular gas mass as normal field galaxies. HAE229 is the first CO(1–0) detection of an ordinary, star-forming galaxy in a protocluster. We compare a sample of cluster members at z > 0.4 thatare detected in low-order CO transitions, with a similar sample of sources drawn from the field. We confirm findings that the CO-luminosity and full-width at half maximum are correlated in starbursts and show that this relation is valid for normal high-z galaxies as well as for those in overdensities. We do not find a clear dichotomy in the integrated Schmidt-Kennicutt relation for protocluster and field galaxies. Our results suggest that environment does not have an impact on the “star-formation efficiency” or the molecular gas content of high-redshift galaxies. Not finding any environmental dependence in these characteristics, especially for such an extended CO disk, suggests that environmentally-specific processes such as ram pressure stripping do not operate efficiently in (proto)clusters.
We present the first limits on inelastic electron-scattering dark matter and dark photon absorption using a prototype SuperCDMS detector having a charge resolution of 0.1 electron-hole pairs (CDMS ...HVeV, a 0.93 g CDMS high-voltage device). These electron-recoil limits significantly improve experimental constraints on dark matter particles with masses as low as 1 MeV/c^{2}. We demonstrate a sensitivity to dark photons competitive with other leading approaches but using substantially less exposure (0.49 g d). These results demonstrate the scientific potential of phonon-mediated semiconductor detectors that are sensitive to single electronic excitations.
A comprehensive study of the atmospheric neutrino flux in the energy region from sub-GeV up to several TeV using the Super-Kamiokande (SK) water Cherenkov detector is presented in this paper. The ...energy and azimuthal spectra, and variation over time, of the atmospheric νe+ν¯e and νμ+ν¯μ fluxes are measured. The energy spectra are obtained using an iterative unfolding method by combining various event topologies with differing energy responses. The azimuthal spectra depending on energy and zenith angle, and their modulation by geomagnetic effects, are also studied. A predicted east-west asymmetry is observed in both the νe and νμ samples at 8.0σ and 6.0σ significance, respectively, and an indication that the asymmetry dipole angle changes depending on the zenith angle was seen at the 2.2σ level. The measured energy and azimuthal spectra are consistent with the current flux models within the estimated systematic uncertainties. A study of the long-term correlation between the atmospheric neutrino flux and the solar magnetic activity cycle is performed, and a weak preference for a correlation was seen at the 1.1σ level, using SK-I–SK-IV data spanning a 20-year period. For several particularly strong solar activity periods, corresponding to Forbush decrease events, no theoretical prediction is available but a deviation below the typical neutrino event rate is seen at the 2.4σ level. The seasonal modulation of the neutrino flux is also examined, but the change in flux at the SK site is predicted to be negligible, and, as expected, no evidence for a seasonal correlation is seen.
This paper reports the first simultaneous measurement of the double differential muon neutrino charged-current cross section on oxygen and carbon without pions in the final state as a function of the ...outgoing muon kinematics, made at the ND280 off-axis near detector of the T2K experiment. The ratio of the oxygen and carbon cross sections is also provided to help validate various models' ability to extrapolate between carbon and oxygen nuclear targets, as is required in T2K oscillation analyses. The data are taken using a neutrino beam with an energy spectrum peaked at 0.6 GeV. The extracted measurement is compared with the prediction from different Monte Carlo neutrino-nucleus interaction event generators, showing particular model separation for very forward-going muons. Overall, of the models tested, the result is best described using local Fermi gas descriptions of the nuclear ground state with RPA suppression.
We report the result of a blinded search for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) using the majority of the SuperCDMS Soudan data set. With an exposure of 1690 kg d, a single candidate event ...is observed, consistent with expected backgrounds. This analysis (combined with previous Ge results) sets an upper limit on the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross section of 1.4×10^{-44} (1.0×10^{-44}) cm^{2} at 46 GeV/c^{2}. These results set the strongest limits for WIMP-germanium-nucleus interactions for masses >12 GeV/c^{2}.
We report here the first successful synthesis of cold antihydrogen atoms employing a cusp trap, which consists of a superconducting anti-Helmholtz coil and a stack of multiple ring electrodes. This ...success opens a new path to make a stringent test of the CPT symmetry via high precision microwave spectroscopy of ground-state hyperfine transitions of antihydrogen atoms.
Super-Kamiokande (SK) can search for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) by detecting neutrinos produced from WIMP annihilations occurring inside the Sun. In this analysis, we include ...neutrino events with interaction vertices in the detector in addition to upward-going muons produced in the surrounding rock. Compared to the previous result, which used the upward-going muons only, the signal acceptances for light (few-GeV/c^{2}-200-GeV/c^{2}) WIMPs are significantly increased. We fit 3903 days of SK data to search for the contribution of neutrinos from WIMP annihilation in the Sun. We found no significant excess over expected atmospheric-neutrino background and the result is interpreted in terms of upper limits on WIMP-nucleon elastic scattering cross sections under different assumptions about the annihilation channel. We set the current best limits on the spin-dependent WIMP-proton cross section for WIMP masses below 200 GeV/c^{2} (at 10 GeV/c^{2}, 1.49×10^{-39} cm^{2} for χχ→bbover ¯ and 1.31×10^{-40} cm^{2} for χχ→τ^{+}τ^{-} annihilation channels), also ruling out some fraction of WIMP candidates with spin-independent coupling in the few-GeV/c^{2} mass range.
This paper presents the first combined measurement of the double-differential muon neutrino and antineutrino charged-current cross sections with no pions in the final state on hydrocarbon at the ...off-axis near detector of the T2K experiment. The data analyzed in this work comprise 5.8 × 10 20 and 6.3 × 10 20 protons on target in neutrino and antineutrino mode respectively, at a beam energy peak of 0.6 GeV. Using the two measured cross sections, the sum, difference, and asymmetry were calculated with the aim of better understanding the nuclear effects involved in such interactions. The extracted measurements have been compared with the prediction from different Monte Carlo generators and theoretical models showing that the difference between the two cross sections have interesting sensitivity to nuclear effects.
As a baryon number violating process with ΔB = 2, neutron-antineutron oscillation (n → n) provides a unique test of baryon number conservation. We have performed a search for n → n oscillation with ...bound neutrons in Super-Kamiokande, with the full dataset from its first four run periods, representing an exposure of 0.37 Mton − years. The search used a multivariate analysis trained on simulated n → n events and atmospheric neutrino backgrounds and resulted in 11 candidate events with an expected background of 9.3 events. In the absence of statistically significant excess, we derived a lower limit on n appearance lifetime in 16O nuclei of 3.6 × 1032 years and on the neutron-antineutron oscillation time of τn→n > 4.7 × 108 s at 90% C.L.
Groundwater through hand-operated tubewell (a type of water well) tapping is the main source of drinking water in Bangladesh. This study investigated iron and manganese concentration in groundwater ...across Jashore district-one of the worst arsenic contaminated area in Bangladesh. One working tubewell that had been tested previously for arsenic and marked safe (green) was selected from each unions of the district. Results revealed that approximately 73% and 87% of groundwater samples exceeded the limits for iron and manganese in Bangladesh drinking water, respectively. Additionally, spatial distribution of iron and manganese indicate that only 5% of the total surface area of groundwater is covered by safe level of iron and manganese. Human health risk due to ingestion of iron and manganese through drinking water was evaluated using hazard quotients (HQ) for adults and children. The result of the health risk assessment revealed that the non-carcinogenic health risks due to ingestion of iron (HQ up to 1.446 for adults and 0.590 for children) and manganese (HQ up to 2.459 for adults and 1.004 for children) contaminated groundwater are much higher among adults than children. On the basis of occurrences, spatial distribution and health risk assessment results, the area can be categorized as a high-risk zone for iron and manganese-related problems and needs special attention in order to protect public health of local residents.