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Gardner, Susan

Publications and source records attributed to Gardner, Susan.

33 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

Milky Way Tomography with K and M Dwarf Stars: The Vertical Structure of the Galactic Disk

We use the number density distributions of K and M dwarf stars with vertical height from the Galactic disk, determined using observations from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, to probe the structure of the Milky Way disk across the survey’s footprint. Using photometric parallax as a distance estimator we analyze a sample of several million disk stars in matching footprints above and below the Galactic plane, and we determine the location and extent of vertical asymmetries in the number counts in a variety of thin- and thick-disk subsamples in regions of some 200 square degrees within 2 kpc in vertical distance from the Galactic disk. These disk asymmetries present wave-like features as previously observed on other scales and at other distances from the Sun. We additionally explore the scale height of the disk and the implied offset of the Sun from the Galactic plane at different locations, noting that the scale height of the disk can differ significantly when measured using stars only above or only below the plane. Moreover, we compare the shape of the number density distribution in the north for different latitude ranges with a fixed range in longitude and find the shape to be sensitive to the selected latitude window. We explain why this may be indicative of a change in stellar populations in the latitude regions compared, possibly allowing access to the systematic metallicity difference between thin- and thick-disk populations through photometry.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

A New Paradigm for Hadronic Parity Nonconservation and Its Experimental Implications

The primary experimental goal of studies of hadronic parity nonconservation (PNC) has long been the isolation of the isovector weak nucleon–nucleon interaction, expected to be dominated by long-range pion exchange and enhanced by the neutral current. In meson-exchange descriptions, this interaction, together with an isoscalar interaction generated by ρ and ω exchange, dominates most observables. Both amplitudes have been used to compare and check the consistency of experiments, yet no evidence for isovector hadronic PNC has been found. We argue that the emphasis on isovector hadronic PNC was misplaced. The large-N c expansion provides an alternative and theoretically better-motivated simplification of effective field theories (EFTs) of hadronic PNC, separating the five low-energy constants (LECs) into two of leading order (LO) and three of next-to-next-to-leading order (N 2 LO). We show that this large-N c LEC hierarchy accurately describes all existing data on hadronic PNC and discuss opportunities to further test the predicted large-N c LEC hierarchy. This formalism—combined with future experiments—could lead to rapid progress in the next 5 years. Finally, we discuss the impact of anticipated new results and describe future experiments that can yield more precise values of the LO LECs and help to isolate the N 2 LO ~10% corrections.

effective field theory↗
DOE OSTI2013

THE STELLAR NUMBER DENSITY DISTRIBUTION IN THE LOCAL SOLAR NEIGHBORHOOD IS NORTH-SOUTH ASYMMETRIC

We study the number density distribution of a sample of K and M dwarf stars, matched north and south of the Galactic plane within a distance of 2 kpc from the Sun, using observations from the Ninth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We determine distances using the photometric parallax method, and in this context systematic effects exist which could potentially impact the determination of the number density profile with height from the Galactic plane—and ultimately affect a number density north-south asymmetry. They include: (1) the calibration of the various photometric parallax relations, (2) the ability to separate dwarfs from giants in our sample, (3) the role of stellar population differences such as age and metallicity, (4) the ability to determine the offset of the Sun from the Galactic plane, and (5) the correction for reddening from dust in the Galactic plane, though our stars are at high Galactic latitudes. We find the various analyzed systematic effects to have a negligible impact on our observed asymmetry, and using a new and larger sample of stars we confirm and refine the earlier discovery of Widrow et al. of a significant Galactic north-south asymmetry in the stellar number density distribution.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

GALACTOSEISMOLOGY: DISCOVERY OF VERTICAL WAVES IN THE GALACTIC DISK

We present evidence for a Galactic North-South asymmetry in the number density and bulk velocity of solar neighborhood stars. The number density profile, which is derived from main-sequence stars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, shows a (North-South)/(North+South) deficit at |z| {approx_equal} 400 pc and an excess at |z| {approx} 800 pc. The bulk velocity profile, which is derived from the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration, shows a gradual trend across the Galactic midplane as well as smaller-scale features. We speculate that the North-South asymmetry, which has the appearance of a wavelike perturbation, is intrinsic to the disk. We explore the physics of this phenomenon through an analysis of the linearized Boltzmann and Poisson equations and through one-dimensional simulations. The perturbation may be excited by the passage of a satellite galaxy or dark matter subhalo through the Galactic disk, in which case we are witnessing a recent disk-heating event.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

The Impact of Intrinsic Heavy Quark Distributions in the Proton on New Physics Searches at the High Intensity Frontier

The possibility of an intense proton facility, at 'Project X' or elsewhere, will provide many new opportunities for searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. A Project X can serve a yet broader role in the search for new physics, and in this note we highlight the manner in which thus-enabled studies of the flavor structure of the proton, particularly of its intrinsic heavy quark content, facilitate other direct and indirect searches for new physics. Intrinsic heavy quarks in both light and heavy hadrons play a key role in searches for physics BSM with hadrons - and their study at the Intensity Frontier may prove crucial to establishing its existence.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Pair Production Constraints on Superluminal Neutrinos Revisited

We revisit the pair creation constraint on superluminal neutrinos considered by Cohen and Glashow in order to clarify which types of superluminal models are constrained. We show that a model in which the superluminal neutrino is effectively light-like can evade the Cohen-Glashow constraint. In summary, any model for which the CG pair production process operates is excluded because such timelike neutrinos would not be detected by OPERA or other experiments. However, a superluminal neutrino which is effectively lightlike with fixed p{sup 2} can evade the Cohen-Glashow constraint because of energy-momentum conservation. The coincidence involved in explaining the SN1987A constraint certainly makes such a picture improbable - but it is still intrinsically possible. The lightlike model is appealing in that it does not violate Lorentz symmetry in particle interactions, although one would expect Hughes-Drever tests to turn up a violation eventually. Other evasions of the CG constraints are also possible; perhaps, e.g., the neutrino takes a 'short cut' through extra dimensions or suffers anomalous acceleration in matter. Irrespective of the OPERA result, Lorentz-violating interactions remain possible, and ongoing experimental investigation of such possibilities should continue.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗