arXiv subjects

M. Walker

Publications and source records attributed to M. Walker.

43 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2008

Science with ASKAP - the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder

[ABRIDGED VERSION] The future of cm and m-wave astronomy lies with the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), a telescope under development by a consortium of 17 countries. The SKA will be 50 times more sensitive than any existing radio facility. A majority of the key science for the SKA will be addressed through large-area imaging of the Universe at frequencies from 300 MHz to a few GHz. The Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) is aimed squarely in this frequency range, and achieves instantaneous wide-area imaging through the development and deployment of phase-array feed systems on parabolic reflectors. This large field-of-view makes ASKAP an unprecedented synoptic telescope poised to achieve substantial advances in SKA key science. The central core of ASKAP will be located at the Murchison Radio Observatory in inland Western Australia, one of the most radio-quiet locations on the Earth and one of the sites selected by the international community as a potential location for the SKA. Following an introductory description of ASKAP, this document contains 7 chapters describing specific science programmes for ASKAP. The combination of location, technological innovation and scientific program will ensure that ASKAP will be a world-leading radio astronomy facility, closely aligned with the scientific and technical direction of the SKA. A brief summary chapter emphasizes the point, and considers discovery space.

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arXiv2004

Virtual- and bremsstrahlung corrections to b -> d l+ l- in the standard model

We present the calculation of the virtual- and bremsstrahlung corrections of O(alpha_s) to the matrix elements . This is the missing piece in the NNLL results for various observables associated with the process B-> X_d l+ l-, like the branching ratio, the CP-rate asymmetry and the forward-backward asymmetry. This paper is an extension of analogous calculations done by some of us for the process B-> X_s l+ l-. As the contributions of the diagrams induced by the operators O_1^u and O_2^u with a u-quark running in the quark loop are strongly CKM suppressed, they were omitted in the analysis of B->X_s l+ l-. This is no longer possible for B-> X_d l+ l-, as the corresponding contributions are not suppressed. The main new work therefore consists of calculating the O(alpha_s) corrections to . In this paper we restrict ourselves to the range 0.05 < s/m_b^2 < 0.25 (s is the invariant mass of the lepton pair), which lies above the rho- and omega-resonances and below the J/psi-resonance. We present the analytic results for the mentioned observables related to the process B-> X_d l+ l- as expansions in the small parameters s/m_b^2, z = m_c^2/m_b^2 and s/(4 m_c^2). In the phenomenological analysis at the end of the paper we discuss the impact of the NNLL corrections on the observables mentioned above.

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arXiv2002

Complete gluon bremsstrahlung corrections to the process b -> s l+ l-

In a recent paper, we presented the calculation of the order (alpha_s) virtual corrections to b->s l+ l- and of those bremsstrahlung terms which are needed to cancel the infrared divergences. In the present paper we work out the remaining order(alpha_s) bremsstrahlung corrections to b->s l+ l- which do not suffer from infrared and collinear singularities. These new contributions turn out to be small numerically. In addition, we also investigate the impact of the definition of the charm quark mass on the numerical results.

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arXiv2002

Calculation of two-loop virtual corrections to b --> s l+ l- in the standard model

We present in detail the calculation of the virtual O(alpha_s) corrections to the inclusive semi-leptonic rare decay b --> s l+ l-. We also include those O(alpha_s) bremsstrahlung contributions which cancel the infrared and mass singularities showing up in the virtual corrections. In order to avoid large resonant contributions, we restrict the invariant mass squared s of the lepton pair to the range 0.05 < s/mb^2 < 0.25. The analytic results are represented as expansions in the small parameters s/mb^2, z = mc^2/mb^2 and s/(4 mc^2). The new contributions drastically reduce the renormalization scale dependence of the decay spectrum. For the corresponding branching ratio (restricted to the above s-range) the renormalization scale uncertainty gets reduced from +/-13% to +/-6.5%.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2001

Results of the O(alpha_s) two-loop virtual corrections to B --> X_s l+ l- in the standard model

We present the results of the O(alpha_s) two-loop virtual corrections to the differential decay width dGamma(B -> X_s l+ l-)/ds, where s is the invariant mass squared of the lepton pair. Those contributions from gluon bremsstrahlung which are needed to cancel infrared and collinear singularities are also included. Our calculation is restricted to the range 0.05 < s/mb^2 < 0.25 where the effects from resonances are small. The new contributions drastically reduce the renormalization scale dependence of existing results for dGamma(B->X_s l+ l-)/ds. The renormalization scale uncertainty of the corresponding branching ratio (restricted to range mentioned above) gets reduced from +/-13% to +/-6.5%.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2001

Two-loop virtual corrections to B --> X_s l^+ l^- in the standard model

We calculate O(alpha_s) two-loop virtual corrections to the differential decay width dGamma(B --> X_s l^+ l^-)/ds, where s is the invariant mass squared of the lepton pair. We also include those contributions from gluon bremsstrahlung which are needed to cancel infrared and collinear singularities present in the virtual corrections. Our calculation is restricted to the range 0.05 < s/m_b^2 < 0.25 where the effects from resonances are small. The new contributions drastically reduce the renormalization scale dependence of existing results for dGamma(B --> X_s l^+ l^-)/ds. For the corresponding branching ratio (restricted to the above s-range) the renormalization scale uncertainty gets reduced from +/- 13% to +/- 6.5%.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2000

Nanoarcsecond single-dish imaging of the Vela pulsar

We have measured the properties of the diffractive scintillation toward the Vela pulsar under the extremely strong scattering conditions encountered at 660 MHz. We obtain a decorrelation bandwidth of $ν_d = 244 \pm 4$ Hz and diffractive decorrelation timescale of $t_{\rm diff} = 3.3\pm 0.3$ s. Our measurement of the modulation indices $m=0.87\pm 0.003\pm 0.05$ and $m=0.93\pm 0.03 \pm 0.05$ (one for each polarization stream), are at variance with the modulation index of the Vela pulsar obtained at 2.3 GHz by Gwinn et al. (1997) {\it if} the deviation from a modulation index of unity is ascribed to a source size effect.

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