5,227 research outputs found
Analyzing the Fierz Rearrangement Freedom for Local Chiral Two-Nucleon Potentials
Chiral effective field theory is a framework to derive systematic nuclear
interactions. It is based on the symmetries of quantum chromodynamics and
includes long-range pion physics explicitly, while shorter-range physics is
expanded in a general operator basis. The number of low-energy couplings at a
particular order in the expansion can be reduced by exploiting the fact that
nucleons are fermions and therefore obey the Pauli exclusion principle. The
antisymmetry permits the selection of a subset of the allowed contact operators
at a given order. When local regulators are used for these short-range
interactions, however, this "Fierz rearrangement freedom" is violated. In this
paper, we investigate the impact of this violation at leading order (LO) in the
chiral expansion. We construct LO and next-to-leading order (NLO) potentials
for all possible LO-operator pairs and study their reproduction of phase
shifts, the He ground-state energy, and the neutron-matter energy at
different densities. We demonstrate that the Fierz rearrangement freedom is
partially restored at NLO where subleading contact interactions enter. We also
discuss implications for local chiral three-nucleon interactions.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure
Searching for t-bar t Resonances at the Large Hadron Collider
Many new physics models predict resonances with masses in the TeV range which
decay into a pair of top quarks. With its large cross section, t-bar t
production at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) offers an excellent opportunity
to search for such particles. We present a detailed study of the discovery
potential of the CERN Large Hadron Collider for Kaluza-Klein (KK) excitations
of the gluon in bulk Randall-Sundrum (RS) models in the t-bar t -> ell^+/- nu
b-bar bq-bar q' (ell=e, mu) final state. We utilize final states with one or
two tagged b-quarks, and two, three or four jets (including b-jets). Our
calculations take into account the finite resolution of detectors, the energy
loss due to b-quark decays, the expected reduced b-tagging efficiency at large
t-bar t invariant masses, and include the background originating from Wb-bar
b+jets, (Wb+W-bar b)+jets, W+jets, and single top + jets production. We derive
semi-realistic 5 sigma discovery limits for nine different KK gluon scenarios,
and compare them with those for KK gravitons, and a Z_H boson in the Littlest
Higgs model. We also analyze the capabilities of the LHC experiments to
differentiate between individual KK gluon models and measure the couplings of
KK gluons to quarks. We find that, for the parameters and models chosen, KK
gluons with masses up to about 4 TeV can be discovered at the LHC. The ability
of the LHC to discriminate between different bulk RS models, and to measure the
couplings of the KK gluons is found to be highly model dependent.Comment: revtex3, 27 pages, 5 tables, 6 figure
PrAGMATiC: a Probabilistic and Generative Model of Areas Tiling the Cortex
Much of the human cortex seems to be organized into topographic cortical
maps. Yet few quantitative methods exist for characterizing these maps. To
address this issue we developed a modeling framework that can reveal
group-level cortical maps based on neuroimaging data. PrAGMATiC, a
probabilistic and generative model of areas tiling the cortex, is a
hierarchical Bayesian generative model of cortical maps. This model assumes
that the cortical map in each individual subject is a sample from a single
underlying probability distribution. Learning the parameters of this
distribution reveals the properties of a cortical map that are common across a
group of subjects while avoiding the potentially lossy step of co-registering
each subject into a group anatomical space. In this report we give a
mathematical description of PrAGMATiC, describe approximations that make it
practical to use, show preliminary results from its application to a real
dataset, and describe a number of possible future extensions
Warped Gravitons at the LHC and Beyond
We study the production and decay of Kaluza-Klein (KK) gravitons at the Large
Hadron Collider (LHC), in the framework of a warped extra dimension in which
the Standard Model (SM) fields propagate. Such a scenario can provide solutions
to both the Planck-weak hierarchy problem and the flavor puzzle of the SM. In
this scenario, the production via annihilation and decays to the
conventional photon and lepton channels are highly suppressed. However, we show
that graviton production via gluon fusion followed by decay to longitudinal
can be significant; vector boson fusion is found to be a sub-dominant
production mode. In particular, the ``golden'' decay mode offers a
distinctive 4-lepton signal that could lead to the observation at the LHC with
300 fb (SLHC with 3 ab) of a KK graviton with a mass up to () TeV for the ratio of the AdS curvature to the Planck scale
modestly above unity. We argue that (contrary to the lore) such a size of the
curvature scale can still be within the regime of validity of the framework.
Upgrades beyond the SLHC luminosity are required to discover gravitons heavier
than TeV, as favored by the electroweak and flavor precision tests in
the simplest such models.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures. Minor modifications, reference adde
An International Comparison of Work Sharing Programs
This article draws together primarily unpublished information that provides comparative information with respect to North American and Western European experiences with work sharing
Effectiveness of 4 Pulpotomy Techniques—Randomized Controlled Trial
Pulpotomy is the accepted therapy for the management of cariously exposed pulps in symptom-free primary molars; however, evidence is lacking about the most appropriate technique. The aim of this study was to compare the relative effectiveness of the Er:YAG laser, calcium hydroxide, and ferric sulfate techniques with that of dilute formocresol in retaining such molars symptom-free. Two hundred primary molars in 107 healthy children were included and randomly allocated to one of the techniques. The treated teeth were blindly re-evaluated after 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. Descriptive data analysis and logistic regression analysis, accounting for each patient's effect by a generalized estimating equation (GEE), were used. After 24 months, the following total and clinical success rates were determined (%): formocresol 85 (96), laser 78 (93), calcium hydroxide 53 (87), and ferric sulfate 86 (100). Only calcium hydroxide performed significantly worse than formocresol (p = 0.001, odds ratio = 5.6, 95% confidence interval 2.0-15.5). In conclusion, calcium hydroxide is less appropriate for pulpotomies than is formocresol
Factorization for generic jet production
Factorization is the central ingredient in any theoretical prediction for
collider experiments. We introduce a factorization formalism that can be
applied to any desired observable, like event shapes or jet observables, for
any number of jets and a wide range of jet algorithms in leptonic or hadronic
collisions. This is achieved by using soft-collinear effective theory to prove
the formal factorization of a generic fully-differential cross section in terms
of a hard coefficient, and generic jet and soft functions. In this formalism,
whether a given observable factorizes in the usual sense, depends on whether it
is inclusive enough, so the jet functions can be calculated perturbatively. The
factorization formula for any such observable immediately follows from our
general result, including the precise definition of the jet and soft functions
appropriate for the observable in question. As examples of our formalism, we
work out several results in two-jet production for both e+e- and pp collisions.
For the latter, we also comment on how our formalism allows one to treat
underlying events and beam remnants.Comment: 33 pages, v2: minor typos corrected, journal versio
Effect of Aqueous Ozone on the NF-κB System
Ozone has been proposed as an alternative oral antiseptic in dentistry, due to its antimicrobial power reported for gaseous and aqueous forms, the latter showing a high biocompatibility with mammalian cells. New therapeutic strategies for the treatment of periodontal disease and apical periodontitis should consider not only antibacterial effects, but also their influence on the host immune response. Therefore, our aim was to investigate the effect of aqueous ozone on the NF-κB system, a paradigm for inflammationassociated signaling/transcription. We showed that NF-κB activity in oral cells stimulated with TNF, and in periodontal ligament tissue from root surfaces of periodontally damaged teeth, was inhibited following incubation with ozonized medium. Under this treatment, IκBalpah proteolysis, cytokine expression, and κB-dependent transcription were prevented. Specific ozonized amino acids were shown to represent major inhibitory components of ozonized medium. In summary, our study establishes a condition under which aqueous ozone exerts inhibitory effects on the NF-κB system, suggesting that it has an antiinflammatory capacity
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