No Arabic abstract
We use the calculations derived in a previous paper (Mera, Chabrier and Schaeffer, 1997), based on observational constraints arising from star counts, microlensing experiments and kinematic properties, to determine the amount of dark matter under the form of stellar and sub-stellar objects in the different parts of the Galaxy. This yields the derivation of different mass-models for the Galaxy. In the light of all the afore-mentioned constraints, we discuss two models that correspond to different conclusions about the nature and the location of the Galactic dark matter. In the first model there is a small amount of dark matter in the disk, and a large fraction of the dark matter in the halo is still undetected and likely to be non-baryonic. The second, less conventional model is consistent with entirely, or at least predominantly baryonic dark matter, under the form of brown dwarfs in the disk and white dwarfs in the dark halo. We derive observational predictions for these two models which should be verifiable by near future infrared and microlensing observations.
We examine the most recent observational constraints arising from i) small-scale and large-scale Galactic dynamical properties, ii) star counts at faint magnitude and iii) microlensing experiments. From these constraints, we determine the halo and disk stellar mass functions and stellar content down to the bottom of the main sequence, which yields the normalization of the halo/disk total stellar population, and we infer the contributions of sub-stellar objects to the mass budget of the various Galactic regions. The consistent analysis of star counts and of the overall microlensing observations in the Bulge are compatible with a small contribution of brown dwarfs to the Galactic mass budget $rho_{BD}/rho_* leq 0.2 $. However the separate bulge/disk analysis based on the bulge clump giants is compatible with a substantial population of disk brown dwarfs, $Sigma_{BD}/Sigma_*leq 1 $. More statistics of microlensing events towards the Galactic center and a better determination of the velocity dispersions in the bulge should break this degeneracy of solutions. For the halo, we show that a steep mass-function in the dark halo is excluded and that low-mass stars and brown dwarfs represent a negligible fraction of the halo dark matter, and thus of the observed events towards the LMC. The nature of these events remains a puzzle and halo white dwarfs remain the least unlikely candidates.
The question of whether classically conformal modifications of the standard model are consistent with experimental obervations has recently been subject to renewed interest. The method of Gildener and Weinberg provides a natural framework for the study of the effective potential of the resulting multi-scalar standard model extensions. This approach relies on the assumption of the ordinary loop hierarchy $lambda_text{s} sim g^2_text{g}$ of scalar and gauge couplings. On the other hand, Andreassen, Frost and Schwartz recently argued that in the (single-scalar) standard model, gauge invariant results require the consistent scaling $lambda_text{s} sim g^4_text{g}$. In the present paper we contrast these two hierarchy assumptions and illustrate the differences in the phenomenological predictions of minimal conformal extensions of the standard model.
Mapping complex problems to simpler effective models is a key tool in theoretical physics. One important example in the realm of strongly correlated fermionic systems is the mapping of the Hubbard model to a t-J model which is appropriate for the treatment of doped Mott insulators. Charge fluctuations across the charge gap are eliminated. So far the derivation of the t-J model is only known at half-filling or in its immediate vicinity. Here we present the necessary conceptual advancement to treat finite doping. The results for the ensuing coupling constants are presented. Technically, the extended derivation relies on self-similar continuous unitary transformations (sCUT) and normal-ordering relative to a doped reference ensemble. The range of applicability of the derivation of t-J model is determined as function of the doping $delta$ and the ratio bandwidth W over interaction U.
Measuring the proper motions and geometric distances of galaxies within the Local Group is very important for our understanding of the history, present state and future of the Local Group. Currently, proper motion measurements using optical methods are limited only to the closest companions of the Milky Way. However, Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) provides the best angular resolution in astronomy and phase-referencing techniques yield astrometric accuracies of ~ 10 micro-arcseconds. This makes a measurement of proper motions and angular rotation rates of galaxies out to a distance of ~ 1 Mpc feasible. This article presents results of VLBI observations of regions of H2O maser activity in the Local Group galaxies M33 and IC10. These measurements promise a new handle on dynamical models for the Local Group and the mass and dark matter halo of Andromeda and the Milky Way. (Abridged)
Aiming at a consistent planetary synchronization model of both short-term and long-term solar cycles, we start with an analysis of Schoves historical data of cycle maxima. Their deviations (residuals) from the average cycle duration of 11.07 years show a high degree of regularity, comprising a dominant 200-year period (Suess-de Vries cycle), and a few periods around 100 years (Gleissberg cycle). Encouraged by their robustness, we support previous forecasts of an upcoming grand minimum in the 21st century. To explain the long-term cycles, we enhance our tidally synchronized solar dynamo model by a modulation of the field storage capacity of the tachocline with the orbital angular momentum of the Sun, which is dominated by the 19.86-year periodicity of the Jupiter-Saturn synodes. This modulation of the 22.14 years Hale cycle leads to a 193-year beat period of dynamo activity which is indeed close to the Suess-de Vries cycle. For stronger dynamo modulation, the model produces additional peaks at typical Gleissberg frequencies, which seem to be explainable by the non-linearities of the basic beat process, leading to a bi-modality of the Schwabe cycle. However, a complementary role of beat periods between the Schwabe cycle and the Jupiter-Uranus/Neptune synodic cycles cannot be completely excluded.