86 research outputs found
An Elusive Z' Coupled to Beauty
By extending the standard gauge group to SU(3)_c \times SU(2)_L \times U(1)_Y
\times U(1)_X with X charges carried only by the third family we accommodate
the LEP measurement of R_b and predict a potentially measurable discrepancy in
A_{FB}^{b} in e^+e^- scattering and that D^0\bar{D}^0 mixing may be near its
experimental limit. The Z', which explicitly violates the GIM mechanism, can
nevertheless be naturally consistent with FCNC constraints. Direct detection of
the Z' is possible but challenging.Comment: 12 pages, plus 1 Postscript figure, uses revtex, Discussion of FCNC
extende
R_b and New Physics: A Comprehensive Analysis
We survey the implications for new physics of the discrepancy between the LEP
measurement of and its Standard Model prediction. Two broad classes of
models are considered: () those in which new Z\bbar b couplings arise at
tree level, through or -quark mixing with new particles, and ()
those in which new scalars and fermions alter the Z \bbar b vertex at one
loop. We keep our analysis as general as possible in order to systematically
determine what kinds of features can produce corrections to of the right
sign and magnitude. We are able to identify several successful mechanisms,
which include most of those which have been recently been proposed in the
literature, as well as some earlier proposals (\eg\ supersymmetric models). By
seeing how such models appear as special cases of our general treatment we are
able to shed light on the reason for, and the robustness of, their ability to
explain .Comment: 60 pages, 8 figures, plain tex, uses epsf. Final version to appear in
Phys. Rev. D; propgating sign error corrected in eqs. 78, 87, 88, 89, 98, and
107; results unchange
Resonant origin for density fluctuations deep within the Sun: helioseismology and magneto-gravity waves
We analyze helioseismic waves near the solar equator in the presence of
magnetic fields deep within the solar radiative zone. We find that reasonable
magnetic fields can significantly alter the shapes of the wave profiles for
helioseismic g-modes. They can do so because the existence of density gradients
allows g-modes to resonantly excite Alfven waves, causing mode energy to be
funnelled along magnetic field lines, away from the solar equatorial plane. The
resulting wave forms show comparatively sharp spikes in the density profile at
radii where these resonances take place. We estimate how big these waves might
be in the Sun, and perform a first search for observable consequences. We find
the density excursions at the resonances to be too narrow to be ruled out by
present-day analyses of p-wave helioseismic spectra, even if their amplitudes
were to be larger than a few percent. (In contrast it has been shown in
(Burgess et al. 2002) that such density excursions could affect solar neutrino
fluxes in an important way.) Because solar p-waves are not strongly influenced
by radiative-zone magnetic fields, standard analyses of helioseismic data
should not be significantly altered. The influence of the magnetic field on the
g-mode frequency spectrum could be used to probe sufficiently large
radiative-zone magnetic fields should solar g-modes ever be definitively
observed. Our results would have stronger implications if overstable solar
g-modes should prove to have very large amplitudes, as has sometimes been
argued.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures; misprints correcte
Signature for heavy Majorana neutrinos in hadronic collisions
The production and decay of new possible heavy Majorana neutrinos are
analyzed in hadronic collisions. New bounds on the mixing of these particles
with standard neutrinos are estimated according to a fundamental representation
suggested by grand unified models. A clear signature for these Majorana
neutrinos is given by same-sign dileptons plus a charged weak vector boson in
the final state. We discuss the experimental possibilities for the future Large
Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN.Comment: Latex2e(epsfig), 12 pages, 8 figures, to appear Physical Review
MeV neutrinos in double beta decay
The effect of Majorana neutrinos in the MeV mass range on the double beta
decay of various isotopes is studied on pure phenomenological arguments. By
using only experimental half life data, limits on the mixing parameter
of the order 10 can be derived. Also the possible
achievements of upcoming experiments and some consequences are outlined.Comment: 7 pages, 6 uudecoded EPS-figure
Leptophobic U(1)'s and the R_b - R_c Crisis
In this paper, we investigate the possibility of explaining both the R_b
excess and the R_c deficit reported by the LEP experiments through Z-Z' mixing
effects. We have constructed a set of models consistent with a restrictive set
of principles: unification of the Standard Model (SM) gauge couplings, vector-
like additional matter, and couplings which are both generation-independent and
leptophobic. These models are anomaly-free, perturbative up to the GUT scale,
and contain realistic mass spectra. Out of this class of models, we find three
explicit realizations which fit the LEP data to a far better extent than the
unmodified SM or MSSM and satisfy all other phenomenological constraints which
we have investigated. One realization, the \eta-model coming from E_6, is
particularly attractive, arising naturally from geometrical compactifications
of heterotic string theory. This conclusion depends crucially on the inclusion
of a U(1) kinetic mixing term, whose value is correctly predicted by
renormalization group running in the E_6 model given one discrete choice of
spectra.Comment: LaTeX, 26 pages, 5 embedded EPSF figures. Version to be published in
Phys. Rev.
Discovering a Light Higgs Boson with Light
We evaluate the prospects for detecting a non-standard light Higgs boson with
a significant branching ratio to two photons, in Run II of the Fermilab
Tevatron. We derive the reach for several channels: inclusive,
jet and jets. We present the expected Run II limits on
the branching ratio of as a function of the Higgs mass, for
the case of ``bosonic'', as well as ``topcolor'' Higgs bosons.Comment: 11 pages, LaTeX, 7 figures, 4 tables, uses aipproc2.sty, contributed
to the Physics at Run II Workshop, analysis redone with optimized cuts and
improved background estimate, references adde
Magnetic fields in cosmic particle acceleration sources
We review here some magnetic phenomena in astrophysical particle accelerators
associated with collisionless shocks in supernova remnants, radio galaxies and
clusters of galaxies. A specific feature is that the accelerated particles can
play an important role in magnetic field evolution in the objects. We discuss a
number of CR-driven, magnetic field amplification processes that are likely to
operate when diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) becomes efficient and
nonlinear. The turbulent magnetic fields produced by these processes determine
the maximum energies of accelerated particles and result in specific features
in the observed photon radiation of the sources. Equally important, magnetic
field amplification by the CR currents and pressure anisotropies may affect the
shocked gas temperatures and compression, both in the shock precursor and in
the downstream flow, if the shock is an efficient CR accelerator. Strong
fluctuations of the magnetic field on scales above the radiation formation
length in the shock vicinity result in intermittent structures observable in
synchrotron emission images. Resonant and non-resonant CR streaming
instabilities in the shock precursor can generate mesoscale magnetic fields
with scale-sizes comparable to supernova remnants and even superbubbles. This
opens the possibility that magnetic fields in the earliest galaxies were
produced by the first generation Population III supernova remnants and by
clustered supernovae in star forming regions.Comment: 30 pages, Space Science Review
Single-cell profiling of myasthenia gravis identifies a pathogenic T cell signature.
Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease characterized by impaired neuromuscular signaling due to autoantibodies targeting the acetylcholine receptor. Although its auto-antigens and effector mechanisms are well defined, the cellular and molecular drivers underpinning MG remain elusive. Here, we employed high-dimensional single-cell mass and spectral cytometry of blood and thymus samples from MG patients in combination with supervised and unsupervised machine-learning tools to gain insight into the immune dysregulation underlying MG. By creating a comprehensive immune map, we identified two dysregulated subsets of inflammatory circulating memory T helper (Th) cells. These signature ThCD103 and ThGM cells populated the diseased thymus, were reduced in the blood of MG patients, and were inversely correlated with disease severity. Both signature Th subsets rebounded in the blood of MG patients after surgical thymus removal, indicative of their role as cellular markers of disease activity. Together, this in-depth analysis of the immune landscape of MG provides valuable insight into disease pathogenesis, suggests novel biomarkers and identifies new potential therapeutic targets for treatment
Supernova Bounds on Majoron-emitting decays of light neutrinos
Neutrino masses arising from the spontaneous violation of ungauged
lepton-number are accompanied by a physical Goldstone boson, generically called
Majoron. In the high-density supernova medium the effects of Majoron-emitting
neutrino decays are important even if they are suppressed in vacuo by small
neutrino masses and/or small off-diagonal couplings. We reconsider the
influence of these decays on the neutrino signal of supernovae in the light of
recent Super-Kamiokande data on solar and atmospheric neutrinos. We find that
majoron-neutrino coupling constants in the range 3\times 10^{-7}\lsim g\lsim
2\times 10^{-5} or g \gsim 3 \times 10^{-4} are excluded by the observation
of SN1987A. Then we discuss the potential of Superkamiokande and the Sudbury
Neutrino Observatory to detect majoron neutrino interactions in the case of a
future galactic supernova. We find that these experiments could probe majoron
neutrino interactions with improved sensitivity.Comment: 28 pages, 5 figure
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