145 research outputs found
Hadronically decaying color-adjoint scalars at the LHC
We study the phenomenology of the pair-production of scalar color-octet
electroweak singlet states at the LHC. Such states appear in many extensions of
the Standard Model. They can be pair-produced copiously at the LHC and will
signal themselves as resonances in multijet final states. Beyond the QCD
pair-production process we consider a vectorlike confinement scenario with an
additional color-octet vector state. These vector particles can be produced in
the s-channel and through their decay contribute to the scalar pair production.
We point out the differences between the two hypotheses and device a strategy
to distinguish them.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figure
Missing Momentum Reconstruction and Spin Measurements at Hadron Colliders
We study methods for reconstructing the momenta of invisible particles in
cascade decay chains at hadron colliders. We focus on scenarios, such as SUSY
and UED, in which new physics particles are pair produced. Their subsequent
decays lead to two decay chains ending with neutral stable particles escaping
detection. Assuming that the masses of the decaying particles are already
measured, we obtain the momenta by imposing the mass-shell constraints. Using
this information, we develop techniques of determining spins of particles in
theories beyond the standard model. Unlike the methods relying on Lorentz
invariant variables, this method can be used to determine the spin of the
particle which initiates the decay chain. We present two complementary ways of
applying our method by using more inclusive variables relying on kinematic
information from one decay chain, as well as constructing correlation variables
based on the kinematics of both decay chains in the same event.Comment: Version to appear in JHE
SUSY, the Third Generation and the LHC
We develop a bottom-up approach to studying SUSY with light stops and
sbottoms, but with other squarks and sleptons heavy and beyond reach of the
LHC. We discuss the range of squark, gaugino and Higgsino masses for which the
electroweak scale is radiatively stable over the "little hierarchy" below ~ 10
TeV. We review and expand on indirect constraints on this scenario, in
particular from flavor and CP tests. We emphasize that in this context,
R-parity violation is very well motivated. The phenomenological differences
between Majorana and Dirac gauginos are also discussed. Finally, we focus on
the light subsystem of stops, sbottom and neutralino with R-parity, in order to
probe the current collider bounds. We find that 1/fb LHC bounds are mild and
large parts of the motivated parameter space remain open, while the 10/fb data
can be much more decisive.Comment: 42 pages, 8 figures, 1 table. V2: minor corrections, references adde
Composite Octet Searches with Jet Substructure
Many new physics models with strongly interacting sectors predict a mass
hierarchy between the lightest vector meson and the lightest pseudoscalar
mesons. We examine the power of jet substructure tools to extend the 7 TeV LHC
sensitivity to these new states for the case of QCD octet mesons, considering
both two gluon and two b-jet decay modes for the pseudoscalar mesons. We
develop both a simple dijet search using only the jet mass and a more
sophisticated jet substructure analysis, both of which can discover the
composite octets in a dijet-like signature. The reach depends on the mass
hierarchy between the vector and pseudoscalar mesons. We find that for the
pseudoscalar-to-vector meson mass ratio below approximately 0.2 the simple jet
mass analysis provides the best discovery limit; for a ratio between 0.2 and
the QCD-like value of 0.3, the sophisticated jet substructure analysis has the
best discovery potential; for a ratio above approximately 0.3, the standard
four-jet analysis is more suitable.Comment: 21 pages, 8 figure
Exploring the Higgs Portal with 10/fb at the LHC
We consider the impact of new exotic colored and/or charged matter
interacting through the Higgs portal on Standard Model Higgs boson searches at
the LHC. Such Higgs portal couplings can induce shifts in the effective
Higgs-gluon-gluon and Higgs-photon-photon couplings, thus modifying the Higgs
production and decay patterns. We consider two possible interpretations of the
current LHC Higgs searches based on ~ 5/fb of data at each detector: 1) a Higgs
boson in the mass range (124-126) GeV and 2) a `hidden' heavy Higgs boson which
is underproduced due to the suppression of its gluon fusion production cross
section. We first perform a model independent analysis of the allowed sizes of
such shifts in light of the current LHC data. As a class of possible candidates
for new physics which gives rise to such shifts, we investigate the effects of
new scalar multiplets charged under the Standard Model gauge symmetries. We
determine the scalar parameter space that is allowed by current LHC Higgs
searches, and compare with complementary LHC searches that are sensitive to the
direct production of colored scalar states.Comment: 27 pages, 11 figures; v2: references added, correction to scalar form
factor, numerical results updated with Moriond 2012 data, conclusions
unchange
LHC Test of CDF anomaly
We discuss a test of the CDF dijet anomaly at the LHC. The recent observed
dijet mass peak at the CDF is well fitted by a new particle with a mass of
around 150 GeV, which decays into two jets. In this paper, we focus on only
signal to avoid model dependence, and comprehensively study the LHC
discovery/exclusion reach. We found almost all the models are inconsistent with
the result of the LHC, unless only valence quarks contribute the new process.
We also discuss further prospects of the LHC search for this anomaly.Comment: 21 pages, 2 figures, 17 tables; v4:typos are correcte
Changes in circulating microRNA levels can be identified as early as day 8 of pregnancy in cattle
<div><p>Poor reproductive performance remains a major issue in the dairy industry, with low conception rates having a significant impact on milk production through extended calving intervals. A major limiting factor is the lack of reliable methods for early pregnancy diagnosis. Identification of animals within a herd that fail to conceive within 3 weeks after insemination would allow early re-insemination and shorten calving intervals. In a previous study, we found an increase in plasma miR-26a levels in Day 16-pregnant relative to non-pregnant heifers, however changes in miRNA levels that early during pregnancy were very small which likely prevented the identification of robust biomarkers. In this study, we extended our analyses to a wider interval during pregnancy (Days 8 to 60, n = 11 heifers) with the rationale that this may facilitate the identification of additional early pregnancy miRNA biomarkers. Using small RNA sequencing we identified a total of 77 miRNAs that were differentially expressed on Day 60 relative to Day 0 of pregnancy. We selected 14 miRNAs for validation by RT-qPCR and confirmed significant differences in the expression of let-7f, let-7c, miR-30c, miR-101, miR-26a, miR-205 and miR-143 between Days 0 and 60. RT-qPCR profiling throughout Days 0, 8, 16 and 60 of pregnancy showed a distinct increase in circulating levels of miR-26a (3.1-fold, P = 0.046) as early as Day 8 of pregnancy. In summary, in contrast to earlier stages of pregnancy (≤ Day 24), marked differences in the levels of multiple miRNAs can be detected in circulation by Day 60 in cattle. Retrospective analyses showed miR-26a levels to be increased in circulation as early as Day 8, sooner than previously reported in any species, suggesting a biological role for this miRNA in the very early events of pregnancy.</p></div
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