Hybrid vehicle assessment. Phase 1: Petroleum savings analysis

The results of a comprehensive analysis of near term electric hybrid vehicles are presented, with emphasis on their potential to save significant amounts of petroleum on a national scale in the 1990s. Performance requirements and expected annual usage patterns of these vehicles are first modeled. The projected U.S. fleet composition is estimated, and conceptual hybrid vehicle designs are conceived and analyzed for petroleum use when driven in the expected annual patterns. These petroleum consumption estimates are then compared to similar estimates for projected 1990 conventional vehicles having the same performance and driven in the same patterns. Results are presented in the form of three utility functions and comparisons of sevral conceptual designs are made. The Hybrid Vehicle (HV) design and assessment techniques are discussed and a general method is explained for selecting the optimum energy management strategy for any vehicle mission battery combination. Conclusions and recommendations are presented, and development recommendations are identified

Invisible Higgs boson, continuous mass fields and unHiggs mechanism

We explore the consequences of an electroweak symmetry breaking sector which exhibits approximately scale invariant dynamics -- i.e., nontrivial fixed point behavior, as in unparticle models. One can think of an unHiggs as a composite Higgs boson with a continuous mass distribution. We find it convenient to represent the unHiggs in terms of a Kallen-Lehmann spectral function, from which it is simple to verify the generation of gauge boson and fermion masses, and unitarization of WW scattering. We show that a spectral function with broad support, which corresponds to approximate fixed point behavior over an extended range of energy, can lead to an effectively invisible Higgs particle, whose decays at LEP or LHC could be obscured by background.Comment: 8 page

Study of inspiratory lung function parameters in Indian children

Background: The inspiratory parameters of pulmonary function test commonly used for various purposes in clinical practice including diagnosing airway obstruction. Expiratory portion of the flow volume loop of the pulmonary function test is studied in detail. The prediction equations for expiratory parameters are available for different population. However, the reference equation for inspiratory parameters is not available in Indian context. The current study derived the prediction equation for inspiratory parameters of pulmonary function test.Methods: The current study was carried out in school going 732 healthy girls and 1377 boys aged 6-15 years in India.  The children who meet the inclusion criteria were recruited in the study after detailed medical examination by registered medical practitioner. The lung function parameters were recorded by spirometry. The multivariate regression analysis was done to develop the prediction model.Results: The prediction equation for predicting inspiratory parameter were developed. This study revealed gender-wise and geographical variation in the inspiratory parameters. Hence this study recommends to derive gender wise prediction equations. The reference equations derived in this study can be used in population with similar background.Conclusions: Use of these equations for population having similar backgrounds will help for early and accurate diagnosis of the airway abnormalities in children. The inspiratory parameter assessment shall be included in the routine assessment of respiratory patient

Texture of fermion mass matrices in partially unified theories

We investigate the texture of fermion mass matrices in theories with partial unification (for example $SU(2)_L\times SU(2)_R\times SU(4)_c$) at a scale $\sim 10^{12}$ GeV. Starting with the low energy values of the masses and the mixing angles, we find only two viable textures with atmost four texture zeros. One of these corresponds to a somewhat modified Fritzsch textures. A theoretical derivataion of these textures leads to new interesting relations among the masses and the mixing angles.Comment: 10 pages(Latex

Free-energy-based framework for early forecasting of stem cell differentiation.

Commitment of stem cells to different lineages is inherently stochastic but regulated by a range of environmental bio/chemo/mechanical cues. Here, we develop an integrated stochastic modelling framework for predicting the differentiation of hMSCs in response to a range of environmental cues, including sizes of adhesive islands, stiffness of substrates and treatment with ROCK inhibitors in both growth and mixed media. The statistical framework analyses the fluctuations of cell morphologies over approximately a 24 h period after seeding the cells in the specific environment and uses the cytoskeletal free-energy distribution to forecast the lineage the hMSCs will commit to. The cytoskeletal free energy which succinctly parametrizes the biochemical state of the cell is shown to capture hMSC commitment over a range of environments while simple morphological factors such as cell shape, tractions on their own are unable to correlate with lineages hMSCs adopt

CP Violation in a Multi-Higgs Doublet Model

We study CP violation in a multi-Higgs doublet model based on a $S_3 \times Z_3$ horizontal symmetry. We consider two mechanisms for CP violation in this model: a) CP violation due to complex Yukawa couplings; and b) CP violation due to scalar-pseudoscalar mixings. We find that the predictions for $\epsilon'/\epsilon$, CP violation in B decays and the electric dipole moments of neutron and electron are different between these two mechanisms. These predictions are also dramatically different from the minimal Standard Model predictions.Comment: 17 pages + one figure, Revtex. Talk presented by Deshpande at the Conference WHEPP-3, December 199

Constraints from b→sγb \to s \gamma on gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking models

We consider the branching ratio of $b \to s\gamma$ in gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking theories. Useful bounds on the parameter space of these models are derived from the experimental bounds on $b \to s\gamma$. Constraints on masses of NLSP are presented as a function of $tan\beta$ and $M/\Lambda$ for $\mu0$.Comment: 12 pages(Latex), 3 PS Figures (uuencoded, epsf.tex); minor modification in the introductory part of the tex

Electroweak Model Independent Tests for SU(3) Symmetry in Hadronic B Decays

We study effects of new physics beyond the Standard Model on SU(3) symmetry in charmless hadronic two body B decays. It is found that several equalities for some of the decay amplitudes, such as $A(B_d (B_u) \to \pi^+\pi^-,\pi^+ K^- (\pi^- \bar K^0)) =A(B_s \to K^+ \pi^-, K^- K^+ (K^0 \bar K^0))$, $A(B_d \to \pi^+\rho^-, \pi^- \rho^+, K^-\rho^+, \pi^+ K^{*-}) = A(B_s \to K^+ \rho^-, \pi^- K^{*+}, K^- K^{*+}, K^+ K^{*-})$, $A(B_d (B_u) \to \rho^+\rho^-, \rho^+ K^{*-}(\rho^- \bar K^{*0})) =A(B_s \to K^{*+} \rho^-, K^{*-} K^{*+} (K^{*0} \bar K^{*0}))$, predicted by SU(3) symmetry in the SM are not affected by new physics. These relations provide important electroweak model independent tests for SU(3) symmetry in B decays.Comment: 4 pages, revte

Prospects for Direct CP Violaton in Exclusive and Inclusive Charmless B decays

Within the Standard Model, CP rate asymmetries for $B\to K^-\pi^{+,0}$ could reach 10%. With strong final state phases, they could go up to 20--30%, even for $\bar K^0\pi^-$ mode which would have opposite sign. We can account for $K^-\pi^{+}$, $\bar K^0\pi^-$ and $\phi K$ rate data with new physics enhanced color dipole coupling and destructive interference. Asymmetries could reach 40--60% for $K\pi$ and $\phi K$ modes and are all of the same sign. We are unable to account for $K^-\pi^0$ rate. Our inclusive study supports our exclusive results.Comment: Minor changes, correct a small bug in Fig. 1(b). Version to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Semi-Inclusive B\to K(K^*) X Decays with Initial Bound State Effects

The effects of initial $b$ quark bound state for the semi-inclusive decays $B\to K(K^*) X$ are studied using light cone expansion and heavy quark effective theory methods. We find that the initial bound state effects on the branching ratios and CP asymmetries are small. In the light cone expansion approach, the CP-averaged branching ratios are increased by about 2% with respect to the free $b$-quark decay. For $\bar B^0 \to K^- (K^{*-}) X$, the CP-averaged branching ratios are sensitive to the phase $\gamma$ and the CP asymmetry can be as large as 7% (14%), whereas for $B^-\to \bar K^0 (\bar K^{*0})X$ the CP-averaged branching ratios are not sensitive to $\gamma$ and the CP asymmetries are small ($< 1$). The CP-averaged branching ratios are predicted to be in the ranges $(0.53 \sim 1.5)\times 10^{-4}$ [$(0.25 \sim 2.0)\times 10^{-4}$] for $\bar B^0 \to K^- (K^{*-})X$ and $(0.77 \sim 0.84)\times 10^{-4}$ [$(0.67 \sim 0.74)\times 10^{-4}$] for $B^-\to \bar K^0 (\bar K^{*0}) X$, depending on the value of the CP violating phase $\gamma$. In the heavy quark effective theory approach, we find that the branching ratios are decreased by about 10% and the CP asymmetries are not affected. These predictions can be tested in the near future.Comment: 29 pages, 12 ps figure