16224074
Proton-proton fusion in pionless effective theory
Abstract The proton–proton fusion reaction, p p → d e + ν , is studied in pionless effective field theory (EFT) with di-baryon fields up to next-to leading order. With the aid of the di-baryon fields, the effective range corrections are naturally resummed up to the infinite order and thus the calculation is greatly simplified. Furthermore, the low-energy constant which appears in the axial-current-di-baryon–di-baryon contact vertex is fixed through the ratio of two- and one-body matrix elements which reproduces the tritium lifetime very precisely. As a result we can perform a parameter free calculation for the process. We compare our numerical result with those from the accurate potential model and previous pionless EFT calculations, and find a good agreement within the accuracy better than 1%.
122375456
Renormalization group analysis of nuclear current operators
A Wilsonian renormalization group (WRG) equation for nuclear current operators in two-nucleon systems is derived. Nuclear current operators relevant to low-energy Gamow-Teller transitions are analyzed using the WRG equation. We employ the axial two-body current operators from phenomenological models and heavy-baryon chiral perturbation theory, which are quite different from one another in describing small-scale physics. After reducing the model space of the operators using the WRG equation, we find that there still remains a significant model dependence at {lambda}=200 MeV, where {lambda} is the sharp cutoff specifying the size of the model space. A model-independent effective current operator is found at a rather small cutoff value, {lambda}=70 MeV. By simulating the effective current operator at {lambda}=70 MeV, we obtain a current operator based on a pionless theory, thereby arguing that an equivalence relation exists between nuclear current operators of phenomenological models and those of effective field theories.
14652153
Neutron–neutron fusion
Abstract The neutron–neutron fusion process, n n → d e ν , at very low neutron energies is studied in the framework of pionless effective field theory that incorporates dibaryon fields. The cross section and electron energy spectrum for this process are calculated up to next-to-leading order. We include the radiative corrections of O ( α ) calculated for the one-body transition amplitude. The precision of our theoretical estimates is found to be governed essentially by the accuracy with which the empirical values of the neutron–neutron scattering length and effective range are currently known. Also discussed is the precision of theoretical estimates of the transition rates of related electroweak processes in few-nucleon systems.
55936228
Effective field theory of 3He
We examine the effects of the long range Coulomb force on the three-body contact interaction in a pionless effective theory of 3He. The corresponding interaction in 3H exhibits limit-cycle behavior and we show that this is not altered by the 1/r singularity of the potential.
118594879
Renormalization-group analysis for low-energy scattering of charged particles
The low-energy scattering of two charged particles is analyzed using a renormalization group approach based on dimensional regularization with power-divergence subtraction. A nontrivial solution with a marginally unstable direction is found, corresponding to a system with a bound state at zero energy. For purely energy-dependent perturbations around this solution, the power counting agrees with that from Wilsonian methods. These terms in the effective potential are in direct correspondence with the the terms in the Coulomb-distorted effective-range expansion. We also study perturbations that depend on off-shell momenta as well as energy, and we show that these affect only the off-shell form of the scattering matrix. These terms are of higher order than the corresponding energy-dependent ones and so terms in the potential that depend only on the off-shell momenta do not have definite orders in power counting.
639846
Neutrino-deuteron reactions at solar neutrino energies
Abstract In interpreting the SNO experiments, accurate estimates of the νd reaction cross sections are of great importance. We improve the previous estimates of our group by updating some of its inputs and by taking into account the results of a recent effective-field-theoretical calculation. The new cross sections are slightly (∼1%) larger than the previously reported values. It is shown to be reasonable to assign 1% uncertainty to the νd cross sections reported here; this error estimate does not include radiative corrections, for which we refer to the literature.
53419787
Inverse-Compton emission from clusters of galaxies: Predictions for ASTRO-H ?
The intra-cluster medium of several galaxy clusters hosts large-scale regions of diffuse synchrotron radio emission, known as radio halos and relics, which demonstrates the presence of magnetic fields and relativistic electrons in clusters. These relativistic electrons should also emit X-rays through inverse-Compton scattering off of cosmic microwave background photons. The detection of such a non-thermal X-ray component, together with the radio measurement, would permit the magnetic field to be clearly separated from the relativistic electron distribution because the inverse-Compton emission is independent of the magnetic field in the cluster. However, non-thermal X-rays have not been conclusively detected from any cluster of galaxies so far. In this paper, for the first time, we model the synchrotron and inverse-Compton emission of all clusters hosting radio halos and relics for which the spectral index can be determined. We provide constraints on the volume-average magnetic field by comparing with current X-ray measurements. We then estimate the maximum volume-average magnetic field that will allow detection of inverse-Compton hard X-rays by the ASTRO-H satellite. We find that several clusters are good targets for ASTRO-H to detect their inverse-Compton emission, in particular for what corresponds to radio relics, so we propose a list of promising targets for which ASTRO-H can test ≥ 1μG magnetic fields. We conclude that the already operating NuSTAR and the soon-to-be-launched ASTRO-H definitely have the potential of shedding light on the long-sought non-thermal hard-X-ray emission in clusters of galaxies.
122096776
Multimessenger Astronomy and Neutrinos
Abstract Neutrinos play a very important role in multimessenger astronomy. In this talk, I start with a simple argument on how bright the Universe is in both photons and neutrinos. It is remarkable that one can easily show that the neutrinos, especially those emitted from past core-collapse supernovae, form the brightest radiation component in the Universe, ever emitted from astrophysical sources. The detection of this cosmic supernova neutrino background has not been made yet, but is almost guaranteed in the near future. Thus, I review theoretical predictions of the supernova neutrino background, and the latest upper limits experimentally obtained on its flux. Then I discuss prospects of detecting supernova neutrinos from nearby galaxies. With upcoming Mton detectors, or hopefully with a multi-Mton detector, one could study not only supernova neutrinos but also a true stellar death rate, hidden black-hole formation, etc. Finally, I discuss detectability of high-energy neutrinos and implications for underlying supernova–gamma-ray burst connection. Detecting neutrinos will not only give unique diagnostics but also help find gravitational waves.
15332448
Relic neutrino background from cosmological supernovae
Present and future observations of supernova relic neutrinos (SRNs), i.e., a cosmological neutrino background from past core-collapse supernova explosions, potentially give us useful information concerning various fields of astrophysics, cosmology and particle physics. We review recent progress of theoretical and observational studies of SRNs, particularly focusing on the detectability, and also on implications for cosmic star formation history and neutrino physics.
119307331
Fermi-LAT constraints on dark matter annihilation cross section from observations of the Fornax cluster
We analyze 2.8-yr data of 1?100 GeV photons for clusters of galaxies, collected with the Large Area Telescope onboard the Fermi satellite. By analyzing 49 nearby massive clusters located at high Galactic latitudes, we find no excess gamma-ray emission towards directions of the galaxy clusters. Using flux upper limits, we show that the Fornax cluster provides the most stringent constraints on the dark matter annihilation cross section. Stacking a large sample of nearby clusters does not help improve the limit for most dark matter models. This suggests that a detailed modeling of the Fornax cluster is important for setting robust limits on the dark matter annihilation cross section based on clusters. We therefore perform the detailed mass modeling and predict the expected dark matter annihilation signals from the Fornax cluster, by taking into account effects of dark matter contraction and substructures. By modeling the mass distribution of baryons (stars and gas) around a central bright elliptical galaxy, NGC 1399, and using a modified contraction model motivated by numerical simulations, we show that the dark matter contraction boosts the annihilation signatures by a factor of 4. For dark matter masses around 10 GeV, the upper limit obtained on the annihilation cross section times relative velocity is ??(2?3) ? 10?25?cm3?s?1, which is within a factor of 10 from the value required to explain the dark matter relic density. This effect is more robust than the annihilation boost due to substructure, and it is more important unless the mass of the smallest subhalos is much smaller than that of the Sun.
125701625
Gamma-ray burst neutrino background and star formation history in the universe
Abstract We estimate the flux of the GRB neutrino background and compute the event rate at SK and TITAND in the collapsar model, assuming that GRB formation rate is proportional to the star formation rate. We find that the predicted background neutrino flux is highly sensitive to unknown model parameters, mainly to the mass accretion rate, to the fraction of disk energy emitted in thermal neutrinos (as opposed to emission through electromagnetic processes), and to the fraction of collapsar events leading to GRBs. The predicted neutrino flux varies over many orders of magnitude as the values of unknown model parameters are varied. We investigate the detection possibility of thermal neutrinos from collapsars which lead to GRBs by TITAND. We find that the GRB neutrino background might be detected by TITAND within ∼ 10 yrs only for the optimistic cases in which the average mass-accretion rate is high (≥ a few M ⊙ s −1 ), and the probability that one collapsar generates a GRB is high ( φ = 0.5 − 1.0).