Measurement of the cross-section for b-jets produced in association with a Z boson at root s=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector ATLAS Collaboration

A measurement is presented of the inclusive cross-section for b-jet production in association with a Z boson in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 7 TeV. The analysis uses the data sample collected by the ATLAS experiment in 2010, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 36 pb(-1). The event selection requires a Z boson decaying into high P-T electrons or muons, and at least one b-jet, identified by its displaced vertex, with transverse momentum p(T) > 25 GeV and rapidity vertical bar y vertical bar < 2.1. After subtraction of background processes, the yield is extracted from the vertex mass distribution of the candidate b-jets. The ratio of this cross-section to the inclusive Z cross-section (the average number of b-jets per Z event) is also measured. Both results are found to be in good agreement with perturbative QCD predictions at next-to-leading order

Multiblock copolymers of lactic acid and ethylene glycol containing periodic side-chain carboxyl groups : synthesis, characterization, and nanoparticle preparation

Multiblock copolymers containing periodically spaced side-chain carboxyl groups were obtained by a two-step synthesis involving the preparation of ABA triblock prepolymers of lactic acid (A block) and ethylene glycol (B block) followed by chain extension to (ABA)n multiblock copolymers by reaction with pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA). A series of polymer grades were synthesized by varying PEG and PLA chain length. NMR analysis demonstrated the incorporation of PMDA in polymer chain and revealed the possibility of PMDA units to exist in two isomers, cisoid and transoid forms. Chain extension resulted in the incorporation of free carboxylic groups in polymer backbone and in a 6-fold increase of molecular weight. Thermal analysis indicated that the extended polymers are more stable and have a Tg of 30−50 °C higher than their prepolymers. The polymers were found to be fast degrading in water following coupled first-order kinetics. Further, the carboxylated polymers can be processed into nanoparticulates by either nanoprecipitation or emulsion−diffusion methods resulting in 50−200 nm sized particles

Search for diphoton events with large missing transverse momentum in 1 fb(-1) of 7 TeV proton-proton collision data with the ATLAS detector ATLAS Collaboration

A search for diphoton events with large missing transverse momentum has been performed using 1.07 fb -1 of proton-proton collision data at s=7 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector. No excess of events was observed above the Standard Model prediction and 95% Confidence Level (CL) upper limits are set on the production cross section for new physics. The limits depend on each model parameter space and vary as follows: Λ&lt;(22-129) fb in the context of a generalised model of gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking (GGM) with a bino-like lightest neutralino, σ&lt;(27-91) fb in the context of a minimal model of gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking (SPS8), and σ&lt;(15-27) fb in the context of a specific model with one universal extra dimension (UED). A 95% CL lower limit of 805 GeV, for bino masses above 50 GeV, is set on the GGM gluino mass. Lower limits of 145 TeV and 1.23 TeV are set on the SPS8 breaking scale Λ and on the UED compactification scale 1/R, respectively. These limits provide the most stringent tests of these models to date. © 2012 CERN