Neutrino masses in lepton number violating mSUGRA

In SUSY models which violate R-parity, there exist trilinear lepton number violating (LNV) operators which can lead to neutrino masses. If these operators are defined at the unification scale, the renormalization group flow becomes important and generally leads to one neutrino mass much heavier than the others. We study, in a minimal supergravity (mSUGRA) set-up with two trilinear LNV operators and three charged lepton mixing angles, numerically how these parameters may be arranged to be compatible with neutrino oscillation data, and discuss some phenomenological observations.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures. Talk given at SUSY08. To be published in the Conference Proceeding

Prospects for observation of double parton scattering with four-muon final states at LHCb

We study the prospects for observing double parton scattering through four-muon final states, forming two opposite-sign muon pairs, in the LHCb experiment in pp collisions at 14 TeV centre of mass energy. We consider two special cases, namely double Drell-Yan and J/psi-pair production. The kinematic properties and prospects for observing these processes are discussed. We find that the production rate depends strongly on the origin of the four muons, while many kinematic properties can be used to help identify the presence of double parton scattering events.Comment: 22 pages, 12 figure

Neutrino masses and mixings in the baryon triality constrained minimal supersymmetric standard model

We discuss how the experimental neutrino oscillation data can be realized in the framework of the baryon triality ($B_3$) constrained supersymmetric Standard Model (cSSM). We show how to obtain phenomenologically viable solutions, which are compatible with the recent WMAP observations. We present results for the hierarchical, inverted and degenerate cases which illustrate the possible size and structure of the lepton number violating couplings. We work with a new, as yet unpublished version of SOFTSUSY, where we implemented full one--loop neutrino masses. Finally, we shortly discuss some phenomenological implications at the LHC.Comment: 25 pages, 17 figure

Continuous Global Symmetries and Hyperweak Interactions in String Compactifications

We revisit general arguments for the absence of exact continuous global symmetries in string compactifications and extend them to D-brane models. We elucidate the various ways approximate continuous global symmetries arise in the 4-dimensional effective action. In addition to two familiar methods - axionic Peccei-Quinn symmetries and remnant global abelian symmetries from Green-Schwarz gauge symmetry breaking - we identify new ways to generate approximate continuous global symmetries. Two methods stand out, both of which occur for local brane constructions within the LARGE volume scenario of moduli stabilisation. The first is the generic existence of continuous non-abelian global symmetries associated with local Calabi-Yau isometries. These symmetries are exact in the non-compact limit and are spontaneously broken by the LARGE volume, with breaking effects having phenomenologically interesting sizes \sim 0.01 for plausible choices for underlying parameters. Such approximate flavour symmetries are phenomenologically attractive and may allow the fermion mass hierarchies to be connected to the electroweak hierarchy via the large volume. The second is the possible existence of new hyper-weak gauge interactions under which Standard Model matter is charged, with \alpha_{HW} \sim 10^{-9}. Such groups arise from branes wrapping bulk cycles and intersecting the local (resolved) singularity on which the Standard Model is supported. We discuss experimental bounds for these new gauge bosons and their interactions with the Standard Model particles.Comment: 26 pages, JHEP styl

Alimentary Canal of the Adult Blow Fly, Chrysomya megacephala (F.) (Diptera: Calliphoridae)—Part I: Ultrastructure of Salivary Glands

The salivary gland ultrastructure of the adult male blow fly, Chrysomya megacephala (F.) (Diptera: Calliphoridae), was investigated at the ultrastructural level using light microscopy (LM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The salivary glands are paired structures composed of a single median deferent duct bifurcated into two long, narrow efferent ducts connected to the coiled tubular glands. The SEM image of the gland surface revealed that the basal lamina is relatively smooth in general, but the whole surface appeared as a trace of rough swollen insertion by intense tracheal ramification. Ultrastructurally, the salivary gland is enclosed within the basal lamina, and interdigitation cytoplasmic extensions were apparent between the adjacent gland cells. The basement membrane appeared infoldings that is similar to the complex of the labyrinth channel. The cytoplasm characteristic of the gland revealed high activity, based on the abundance of noticeable secretory granules, either singly or in an aggregated reservoir. In addition, mitochondria were found to intersperse among rich parallel of arrays rough endoplasmic reticulum. Thick cuticle, which was well-delineated and electron dense, apically lined the gland compartments, with discontinuity of the double-layer cuticle revealing a trace of secretion discharged into the lumen. Gross anatomy of the adult salivary gland was markedly different from that of the third instar of the same species, and structural dissimilarity is discussed briefly

Perturbations of a Universe Filled with Dust and Radiation

A first-order perturbation approach to $k=0$ Friedmann cosmologies filled with dust and radiation is developed. Adopting the coordinate gauge comoving with the perturbed matter, and neglecting the vorticity of the radiation, a pair of coupled equations is obtained for the trace $h$ of the metric perturbations and for the velocity potential $v$. A power series solution with upwards cutoff exists such that the leading terms for large values of the dimensionless time $\xi$ agree with the relatively growing terms of the dust solution of Sachs and Wolfe.Comment: 9 pp, typeset in late

Resummation of small-x double logarithms in QCD: inclusive deep-inelastic scattering

We present a comprehensive study of high-energy double logarithms in inclusive DIS. They appear parametrically as αns ln2n−k x at the n-th order in perturbation theory in the splitting functions for the parton evolution and the coefficient functions for the hard scattering process, and represent the leading corrections at small x in the flavour non-singlet case. We perform their resummation, in terms of modified Bessel functions, to all orders in full QCD up to NNLL accuracy, and partly to N3LL and beyond in the large-nc limit, and provide fixed-order expansions up to five loops. In the flavour-singlet sector, where these double logarithms are sub-dominant at small x compared to single-logarithmic αns x−1 lnn−k x BFKL contributions, we construct fixed-order expansions up to five loops at NNLL accuracy in full QCD. The results elucidate the analytic small-x structure underlying inclusive DIS results in fixed-order perturbation theory and provide important information for present and future numerical and analytic calculations of these quantities

Charge asymmetry ratio as a probe of quark flavour couplings of resonant particles at the LHC

We show how a precise knowledge of parton distribution functions, in particular those of the u and d quarks, can be used to constrain a certain class of New Physics models in which new heavy charged resonances couple to quarks and leptons. We illustrate the method by considering a left-right symmetric model with a W' from a SU(2)_R gauge sector produced in quark-antiquark annihilation and decaying into a charged lepton and a heavy Majorana neutrino. We discuss a number of quark and lepton mixing scenarios, and simulate both signals and backgrounds in order to determine the size of the expected charge asymmetry. We show that various quark-W' mixing scenarios can indeed be constrained by charge asymmetry measurements at the LHC, particularly at 14 TeV centre of mass energy.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figure