81 research outputs found
Boundary and expansion effects on two-pion correlation functions in relativistic heavy-ion collisions
We examine the effects that a confining boundary together with hydrodynamical
expansion play on two-pion distributions in relativistic heavy-ion collisions.
We show that the effects arise from the introduction of further correlations
due both to collective motion and the system's finite size. As is well known,
the former leads to a reduction in the apparent source radius with increasing
average pair momentum K. However, for small K, the presence of the boundary
leads to a decrease of the apparent source radius with decreasing K. These two
competing effects produce a maximum for the effective source radius as a
function of K.Comment: 6 pages, 5 Eps figures, uses RevTeX and epsfi
Differentiation and function of human monocyte-derived dendritic cells under the influence of leflunomide
Leflunomide is an immunosuppressive drug effective in experimental models of transplantation and autoimmune diseases and in the treatment of active rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Having in mind that it has been shown that some other immunosuppressive drugs (glucocorticoids, mycophenolate mofetil, sirolimus etc.) impair dendritic cell (DC) phenotype and function, we investigated the effect of A77 1726, an active metabolite of leflunomide, on the differentiation and function of human monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MDDC) in vitro. Immature MDDC were generated by cultivating monocytes in medium supplemented with GM-CSF and IL-4. To induce maturation, immature MDDC were cultured for 2 additional days with LPS. A77 1726 (100 μM) was added at the beginning of cultivation. Flow cytometric analysis showed that MDDC differentiated in the presence of A77 1726 exhibited an altered phenotype, with a down-regulated surface expression of CD80, CD86, CD54 and CD40 molecules. Furthermore, the continuous presence of A77 1726 during differentiation and maturation prevented successful maturation, judging by the decreased expression of maturation marker CD83, costimulatory and adhesive molecules on A77 1726-treated mature MDDC. In addition, A77 1726-pretreated MDDC exhibited a poor stimulatory capacity of the allogeneic T cells and a low production of IL-10 and IL-18. These data suggest that leflunomide impairs the differentiation, maturation and function of human MDDC in vitro, which is an additional mechanism of its immunosuppressive effect
Bounding wide composite vector resonances at the LHC
In composite Higgs models (CHMs), electroweak precision data generically push
colourless composite vector resonances to a regime where they dominantly decay
into pairs of light top partners. This greatly attenuates their traces in
canonical collider searches, tailored for narrow resonances promptly decaying
into Standard Model final states. By reinterpreting the CMS same-sign dilepton
(SS2) analysis at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), originally designed to
search for top partners with electric charge , we demonstrate its
significant coverage over this kinematical regime. We also show the reach of
the 13 TeV run of the LHC, with various integrated luminosity options, for a
possible upgrade of the SS2 search. The top sector of CHMs is found to be
more fine-tuned in the presence of colourless composite resonances in the few
TeV range.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures. Minor corrections for publication in JHE
General Gauge Mediation at the Weak Scale
We completely characterize General Gauge Mediation (GGM) at the weak scale by
solving all IR constraints over the full parameter space. This is made possible
through a combination of numerical and analytical methods, based on a set of
algebraic relations among the IR soft masses derived from the GGM boundary
conditions in the UV. We show how tensions between just a few constraints
determine the boundaries of the parameter space: electroweak symmetry breaking
(EWSB), the Higgs mass, slepton tachyons, and left-handed stop/sbottom
tachyons. While these constraints allow the left-handed squarks to be
arbitrarily light, they place strong lower bounds on all of the right-handed
squarks. Meanwhile, light EW superpartners are generic throughout much of the
parameter space. This is especially the case at lower messenger scales, where a
positive threshold correction to coming from light Higgsinos and winos is
essential in order to satisfy the Higgs mass constraint.Comment: 43 pages, 20 figures, mathematica package included in the sourc
Recommendations of the LHC Dark Matter Working Group: Comparing LHC searches for dark matter mediators in visible and invisible decay channels and calculations of the thermal relic density
Weakly-coupled TeV-scale particles may mediate the interactions between normal matter and dark matter. If so, the LHC would produce dark matter through these mediators, leading to the familiar “mono-X” search signatures, but the mediators would also produce signals without missing momentum via the same vertices involved in their production. This document from the LHC Dark Matter Working Group suggests how to compare searches for these two types of signals in case of vector and axial-vector mediators, based on a workshop that took place on September 19/20, 2016 and subsequent discussions. These suggestions include how to extend the spin-1 mediated simplified models already in widespread use to include lepton couplings. This document also provides analytic calculations of the relic density in the simplified models and reports an issue that arose when ATLAS and CMS first began to use preliminary numerical calculations of the dark matter relic density in these models
From PET Bottles Waste to N-Doped Graphene as Sustainable Electrocatalyst Support for Direct Liquid Fuel Cells
Direct liquid fuel cells represent one of the most rapidly emerging energy conversion devices. The main challenge in developing fuel cell devices is finding low-cost and highly active catalysts. In this work, PET bottle waste was transformed into nitrogen-doped graphene (NG) as valuable catalyst support. NG was prepared by a one-pot thermal decomposition process of mineral water waste bottles with urea at 800 °C. Then, NG/Pt electrocatalysts with Pt loadings as low as 0.9 wt.% and 1.8 wt.% were prepared via a simple reduction method in aqueous solution at room temperature. The physical and electrochemical properties of the NG/Pt electrocatalysts are characterized and evaluated for application in direct borohydride peroxide fuel cells (DBPFCs). The results show that NG/Pt catalysts display catalytic activity for borohydride oxidation reaction, particularly the NG/Pt_1, with a number of exchanged electrons of 2.7. Using NG/Pt composite in fuel cells is anticipated to lower prices and boost the usage of electrochemical energy devices. A DBPFC fuel cell using NG/Pt_1 catalyst (1.8 wt.% Pt) in the anode achieved a power density of 75 mW cm−2 at 45 °C. The exceptional performance and economic viability become even more evident when expressed as mass-specific power density, reaching a value as high as 15.8 W mgPt−1
Exploring holographic Composite Higgs models
Simple Composite Higgs models predict new vector-like fermions not too far from the electroweak scale, yet LHC limits are now sensitive to the TeV scale. Motivated by this tension, we explore the holographic dual of the minimal model, MCHM5, to try and alleviate this tension without increasing the fine-tuning in the Higgs potential. Interestingly, we find that lowering the UV cutoff in the 5D picture allows for heavier top partners and less fine-tuning. In the 4D dual this corresponds to increasing the number of “colours” N , thus increasing the decay constant of the Goldstone Higgs. This is essentially a ‘Little Randall-Sundrum Model’, which are known to reduce some flavour and electroweak constraints. Furthermore, in anticipation of the ongoing efforts at the LHC to put bounds on the top Yukawa, we demonstrate that deviations from the SM can be suppressed or enhanced with respect to what is expected from mere symmetry arguments in 4D. We conclude that the 5D holographic realisation of the MCHM5 with a small UV cutoff is not in tension with the current experimental data
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