Doubly-charged particles at the Large Hadron Collider

In this work we investigate the production and signatures of doubly-charged particles at the Large Hadron Collider. We start with the Standard Model particle content and representations and add generic doubly-charged exotic particles. We classify these doubly-charged states according to their spin, considering scalar, fermionic and vectorial fields, and according to their SU(2)L representation, being chosen to be either trivial, fundamental, or adjoint. We write the most general interactions between them and the Standard Model sector and study their production modes and possible decay channels. We then probe how they can most likely be observed and how particles with different spin and SU(2)L representations could be possibly distinguished.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, 1 table; version accepted by Phys.Rev.

DEVELOPMENT OF LIDAR TECHNIQUES TO ESTIMATE ATMOSPHERIC OPTICAL PROPERTIES

The modified methodologies for one-directional and multiangle measurements, which were used to invert the data of the JHU elastic lidar obtained in clear and polluted atmospheres, are presented. The vertical profiles of the backscatter lidar signals at the wavelength 1064 nm were recorded in Baltimore during PM Supersite experiment. The profiles of the aerosol extinction coefficient over a broad range of atmospheric turbidity, which includes a strong haze event which occurred due to the smoke transport from Canadian forest fires in 2002, were obtained with the near-end solution, in which the boundary condition was determined at the beginning of the complete overlap zone. This was done using an extrapolation from the ground level of the aerosol extinction coefficient, calculated with the Mie theory. For such calculations the data of the ground-based in-situ instrumentation, the nephelometer and two particle size analyzers were used. An analysis of relative errors in the retrieved extinction profiles iii due to the uncertainties in the established boundary conditions was performed using two methods to determine the ground-level extinction coefficient, which in turn, imply two methods to determine aerosol index of refraction (using the nephelometer data and chemical species measurements). The comparison of the three analytical methods used to solve lidar equation (near-end, far-end and optical-depth solutions) is presented. An improved measurement methodology and modifications of a data processing technique are proposed to process the multiangle elastic-lidar data in clear atmospheres. The technique allows one to determine more accurate profiles of the optical depth and relative backscattering versus height. It is also shown that these profiles and the measured range-corrected signals can be used to determine the lidar overlap function versus range. The retrieved data allow one to analyze the influence of the local horizontal heterogeneity and measured lidar-data distortions, and thus, to estimate the retrieved data quality. The methodology and the data processing technique were tested with experimental data of two simultaneously scanning lidars operating in clear atmospheres. The experimental results obtained with the two lidars at different wavelengths are discussed. The results show that the multi-angle method is most suitable for the shortest wavelength (355 nm)

Four species linked by three hybrid zones: two instances of repeated hybridization in one species group (Genus Liolaemus)

Hybridization is an evolutionary process that can generate diverse outcomes, such as reinforcing species boundaries, generating new species, or facilitating the introgression of locally-adapted alleles into new genomic backgrounds. Liolaemus is a highly diverse clade of South American lizards with ∼260 species and as many as ten new species are described each year. Previous Liolaemus studies have detected gene flow and introgression among species using phylogenetic network methods and/or through comparisons of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA patterns, yet no study has systematically studied hybrid zones between Liolaemus species. Here, we compared three hybrid zones between four species in the Liolaemus fitzingerii group of lizards in Central Argentina where two species, L. melanops and L. xanthoviridis, each hybridize withtwo other species (L. shehuen and L. fitzingerii). We sampled three transects that were each ∼120 km in length and sequenced both mitochondrial and genome-wide SNP data for 267 individuals. In our analyses of nuclear DNA, we also compared bi-allelic SNPs to phased alleles (50 bp RAD loci). Population structure analyses confirmed that boundaries separating species are sharp, and all clines are <65 km wide. Cline center estimates were consistent between SNPs and phased alleles, but cline width estimates were significantly different with the SNPs producing wider estimates. The mitochondrial clines are narrower and shifted 4?20 km southward in comparison to the nuclear clines in all three hybrid zones, indicating that either each of the species has sex-biased dispersal (males northward or females southward), the population densities are unequal, or that the hybrid zones are moving north over time. These comparisonsindicate that some patterns of hybridization are similar across hybrid zones (mtDNA clines all narrower and shifted to the south), whereas cline width is variable. Hybridization in the L. fitzingerii group is common and geographically localized; further studies are needed to investigate whether hybrid zones act as hard species boundaries or promoters ofspeciation through processes such as reinforcement. Nonetheless, this study provides insights into both biotic and abiotic mechanisms helping to maintain species boundaries within the speciose Liolaemus system.Fil: Grummer, Jared A.. University of Washington; Estados UnidosFil: Avila, Luciano Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico para el Estudio de los Ecosistemas Continentales; ArgentinaFil: Morando, Mariana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico para el Estudio de los Ecosistemas Continentales; ArgentinaFil: Leaché, Adam D.. University of Washington; Estados Unido

Patterns of Vertebrate Diversity and Protection in Brazil

Most conservation decisions take place at national or finer spatial scales. Providing useful information at such decision-making scales is essential for guiding the practice of conservation. Brazil is one of the world’s megadiverse countries, and consequently decisions about conservation in the country have a disproportionate impact on the survival of global biodiversity. For three groups of terrestrial vertebrates (birds, mammals, and amphibians), we examined geographic patterns of diversity and protection in Brazil, including that of endemic, small-ranged, and threatened species. To understand potential limitations of the data, we also explored how spatial bias in collection localities may influence the perceived patterns of diversity. The highest overall species richness is in the Amazon and Atlantic Forests, while the Atlantic Forest dominates in terms of country endemics and small-ranged species. Globally threatened species do not present a consistent pattern. Patterns for birds were similar to overall species richness, with higher concentrations of threatened species in the Atlantic Forest, while mammals show a more generalized pattern across the country and a high concentration in the Amazon. Few amphibians are listed as threatened, mostly in the Atlantic Forest. Data deficient mammals occur across the country, concentrating in the Amazon and southeast Atlantic Forest, and there are no data deficient birds in Brazil. In contrast, nearly a third of amphibians are data deficient, widespread across the country, but with a high concentration in the far southeast. Spatial biases in species locality data, however, possibly influence the perceived patterns of biodiversity. Regions with low sampling density need more biological studies, as do the many data deficient species. All biomes except the Amazon have less than 3% of their area under full protection. Reassuringly though, rates of protection do correlate with higher biodiversity, including higher levels of threatened and small-ranged species. Our results indicate a need for expanded formal protection in Brazil, especially in the Atlantic forest, and with an emphasis on fully protected areas