Fermion masses in SUSY SO(10) with type II seesaw: a non-minimal predictive scenario

A predictive framework for fermion masses and mixing is given by the supersymmetric SO(10) model with one 10, one bar126, one 126 and one 210 Higgs representations, and type II seesaw dominating the neutrino mass matrix. We investigate the origin of the tension between this model and lepton mixing data and refine previous numerical analyses. We discuss an extension of the minimal model that includes one 120 Higgs chiral superfield representation. This exhausts the possible renormalizable contributions to the Yukawa sector. In spite of the increase in the number of parameters the predictivity of the minimal setting is not spoiled. We argue that the contributions to fermion masses due to the doublet components of 120 can be naturally small compared to those of 10 and 126, thus acting as a perturbation in the fermion mass generation. The antisymmetric nature of the 120 Yukawa coupling affects at leading order the determination of the mixing angles and it allows to remove the inconsistencies between predictions and data on the neutrino parameters. An improvement in the experimental bound on |Ue3| can tell this scenario from the minimal model.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures; Note and references added on new KamLAND dat

Blocked All-Pairs Shortest Paths Algorithm on Intel Xeon Phi KNL Processor: A Case Study

Manycores are consolidating in HPC community as a way of improving performance while keeping power efficiency. Knights Landing is the recently released second generation of Intel Xeon Phi architecture. While optimizing applications on CPUs, GPUs and first Xeon Phi's has been largely studied in the last years, the new features in Knights Landing processors require the revision of programming and optimization techniques for these devices. In this work, we selected the Floyd-Warshall algorithm as a representative case study of graph and memory-bound applications. Starting from the default serial version, we show how data, thread and compiler level optimizations help the parallel implementation to reach 338 GFLOPS.Comment: Computer Science - CACIC 2017. Springer Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 79

Numerical computations of facetted pattern formation in snow crystal growth

Facetted growth of snow crystals leads to a rich diversity of forms, and exhibits a remarkable sixfold symmetry. Snow crystal structures result from diffusion limited crystal growth in the presence of anisotropic surface energy and anisotropic attachment kinetics. It is by now well understood that the morphological stability of ice crystals strongly depends on supersaturation, crystal size and temperature. Until very recently it was very difficult to perform numerical simulations of this highly anisotropic crystal growth. In particular, obtaining facet growth in combination with dendritic branching is a challenging task. We present numerical simulations of snow crystal growth in two and three space dimensions using a new computational method recently introduced by the authors. We present both qualitative and quantitative computations. In particular, a linear relationship between tip velocity and supersaturation is observed. The computations also suggest that surface energy effects, although small, have a larger effect on crystal growth than previously expected. We compute solid plates, solid prisms, hollow columns, needles, dendrites, capped columns and scrolls on plates. Although all these forms appear in nature, most of these forms are computed here for the first time in numerical simulations for a continuum model.Comment: 12 pages, 28 figure

The importance of scale in spatially varying coefficient modelling

While spatially varying coefficient (SVC) models have attracted considerable attention in applied science, they have been criticized as being unstable. The objective of this study is to show that capturing the “spatial scale” of each data relationship is crucially important to make SVC modeling more stable, and in doing so, adds flexibility. Here, the analytical properties of six SVC models are summarized in terms of their characterization of scale. Models are examined through a series of Monte Carlo simulation experiments to assess the extent to which spatial scale influences model stability and the accuracy of their SVC estimates. The following models are studied: (i) geographically weighted regression (GWR) with a fixed distance or (ii) an adaptive distance bandwidth (GWRa),(iii) flexible bandwidth GWR (FB-GWR) with fixed distance or (iv) adaptive distance bandwidths (FB-GWRa), (v) eigenvector spatial filtering (ESF), and (vi) random effects ESF (RE-ESF). Results reveal that the SVC models designed to capture scale dependencies in local relationships (FB-GWR, FB-GWRa and RE-ESF) most accurately estimate the simulated SVCs, where RE-ESF is the most computationally efficient. Conversely GWR and ESF, where SVC estimates are naively assumed to operate at the same spatial scale for each relationship, perform poorly. Results also confirm that the adaptive bandwidth GWR models (GWRa and FB-GWRa) are superior to their fixedbandwidth counterparts (GWR and FB-GWR)

Earth Matter Effects at Very Long Baselines and the Neutrino Mass Hierarchy

We study matter effects which arise in the muon neutrino oscillation and survival probabilities relevant to atmospheric neutrino and very long baseline beam experiments. The inter-relations between the three probabilities P_{\mu e}, P_{\mu \tau} and P_{\mu \mu} are examined. It is shown that large and observable sensitivity to the neutrino mass hierarchy can be present in P_{\mu \mu} and P_{\mu \tau}. We emphasize that at baselines of > 7000 Km, matter effects in P_{\mu \tau} can be large under certain conditions. The muon survival rates in experiments with very long baselines thus depend on matter effects in both P_{\mu \tau} and P_{\mu e}. We indicate where these effects are sensitive to \theta_{13}, and identify ranges of E and L where the event rates increase with decreasing \theta_{13}, providing a handle to probe small \theta_{13}. The effect of parameter degeneracies in the three probabilities at these baselines and energies is studied in detail. Realistic event rate calculations are performed for a charge discriminating 100 kT iron calorimeter which demonstrate the possibility of realising the goal of determining the neutrino mass hierarchy using atmospheric neutrinos. It is shown that a careful selection of energy and baseline ranges is necessary in order to obtain a statistically significant signal, and that the effects are largest in bins where matter effects in both P_{\mu e} and P_{\mu \tau} combine constructively. Under these conditions, upto a 4\sigma signal for matter effects is possible (for \Delta_{31}>0) within a timescale appreciably shorter than the one anticipated for neutrino factories.Comment: 40 pages, 27 figures, version to match the published versio

Expression of epithelial calcium transport system in rat cochlea and vestibular labyrinth

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The low luminal Ca²⁺concentration of mammalian endolymph in the inner ear is required for normal hearing and balance. We recently reported the expression of mRNA for a Ca²⁺-absorptive transport system in primary cultures of semicircular canal duct (SCCD) epithelium.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We now identify this system in native vestibular and cochlear tissues by qRT-PCR, immunoblots and confocal immunolocalization. Transcripts were found and quantified for several isoforms of epithelial calcium channels (TRPV5, TRPV6), calcium buffer proteins (calbindin-D9K, calbindin-D28K), sodium-calcium exchangers (NCX1, NCX2, NCX3) and plasma membrane Ca²⁺-ATPase (PMCA1, PMCA2, PMCA3, and PMCA4) in native SCCD, cochlear lateral wall (LW) and stria vascularis (SV) of adult rat as well as Ca²⁺channels in neonatal SCCD. All components were expressed except TRPV6 in SV and PMCA2 in SCCD. 1,25-(OH)₂vitamin D₃(VitD) significantly up-regulated transcripts of TRPV5 in SCCD, calbindin-D9K in SCCD and LW, NCX2 in LW, while PMCA4 in SCCD and PMCA3 in LW were down-regulated. The expression of TRPV5 relative to TRPV6 was in the sequence SV > Neonatal SCCD > Adult SCCD > LW > primary culture SCCD. Expression of TRPV5 protein from primary culture of SCCD did not increase significantly when cells were incubated with VitD (1.2 times control; P > 0.05). Immunolocalization showed the distribution of TRPV5 and TRPV6. TRPV5 was found near the apical membrane of strial marginal cells and both TRPV5 and TRPV6 in outer and inner sulcus cells of the cochlea and in the SCCD of the vestibular system.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These findings demonstrate for the first time the expression of a complete Ca²⁺absorptive system in native cochlear and vestibular tissues. Regulation by vitamin D remains equivocal since the results support the regulation of this system at the transcript level but evidence for control of the TRPV5 channel protein was lacking.</p

Design and performance of the muon monitor for the T2K neutrino oscillation experiment

This article describes the design and performance of the muon monitor for the T2K (Tokaito-Kamioka) long baseline neutrino oscillation experiment. The muon monitor consists of two types of detector arrays: ionization chambers and silicon PIN photodiodes. It measures the intensity and profile of muons produced, along with neutrinos, in the decay of pions. The measurement is sensitive to the intensity and direction of the neutrino beam. The linearity and stability of the detectors were measured in beam tests to be within 2.4% and 1.5%, respectively. Based on the test results, the precision of the beam direction measured by the muon monitor is expected to be 0.25 mrad.Comment: 22 page

On the possible generation of the young massive open clusters Stephenson2 and BDSB122 by Omega Centauri

A massive objects such as a globular cluster passing through the disk of a galaxy can trigger star formation. We test the hypothesis that the most massive globular cluster in the Galaxy, $\omega$ Centauri, which crossed the disk approximately $24\pm2$ Myr ago, may have triggered the formation of the open clusters Stephenson 2 and BDSB 122. The orbits of $\omega$ Centauri, Stephenson 2 and BDSB 122 are computed for the three-component model of Johnston, Hernquist & Bolte, which considers the disk, spheroidal and halo gravitational potentials. With the re-constructed orbit of $\omega$ Centauri, we show that the latest impact site is consistent, within important uncertainties, with the birth-site of the young massive open clusters BDSB 122 and Stephenson 2. Within uncertainties, this scenario is consistent with the time-scale of their backwards motion in the disk, shock wave propagation and delay for star formation. Together with open cluster formation associated to density waves in spiral arms, the present results are consistent with the idea that massive globular clusters as additional progenitors of open clusters, the massive ones in particular.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures; accepted by A&