We derive constraints on the annual modulation signal in Dark Matter (DM) direct detection experiments in terms of the unmodulated event rate. A general bound independent of the details of the DM distribution follows from the assumption that the motion of the earth around the sun is the only source of time variation. The bound is valid for a very general class of particle physics models and als...

The Data Management Association (DAMA) published body of knowledge framework defines the responsibility of IT professionals across the development life-cycle with respect to the domain of information engineering. Yet, it is not information that is power, it is applied information. The Capability Maturity Model (CMMI) of the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) promotes not only managing a proje...

The DAMA annual modulation signature, interpreted as evidence for a spin-independent WIMP coupling, seems in conflict with null results from CDMS. However, in models of “inelastic dark matter”, the experiments are compatible. Inelastic dark matter can arise in supersymmetric theories as the real component of a sneutrino mixed with a singlet scalar. In contrast with ordinary sneutrino dark matte...

The DAMA/LIBRA experiment searches for evidence of dark matter scattering off nuclei. Data from DAMA show 9.2σ evidence for an annual modulation, consistent with dark matter having a cross section around 2 × 10−40 cm. However, this is excluded by other direct detection experiments. We propose an alternative source of annual modulation in the form of neutrons, which have been liberated from mate...

Energy of ions (recoil nuclei) channeled along definite directions in crystals is transferred to the lattice electrons mainly. In NaI(Tl)-type scintillators, this leads to increasing the light yield from ∼10% to ∼100% when compared with the yield for electrons of the same energy. Taking into account this effect at processing data of DAMA/NaI experiments in Gran Sasso, which had demonstrated the...

Effects of inbreeding on individual fitness are of long-standing interest in evolutionary biology and conservation studies. Since estimation of the inbreeding coefficient of a given individual is often impossible in wild populations, some authors have attempted to demonstrate inbreeding depression in such populations by correlating the multi-locus marker heterozygosity of individuals with a tra...

Mycobacterium bovis infection in wildlife and feral species is a potential source of infection for livestock and a threat to protected and endangered species. The aim of this study was to identify Spanish wild animal species infected with M. bovis through bacteriological culture and spacer oligonucleotide typing (spoligotyping) of isolates for epidemiological purposes. This study included sampl...