Right-handed Neutrinos in Low-Energy Neutrino-Electron Scattering

In this paper a scenario admitting the participation of the exotic scalar coupling of the right-handed neutrinos in addition to the standard vector and axial couplings of the left-handed neutrinos in the weak interactions is considered. The research is based on the low-energy $(\nu_{\mu} e^{-})$ and $(\nu_{e} e^{-})$ scattering processes. The main goal is to show how the presence of the right-handed neutrinos in the above processes changes the laboratory differential cross section in relation to the Standard Model prediction. Both processes are studied at the level of the four-fermion point interaction. Neutrinos are assumed to be polarized Dirac fermions and to be massive. In the laboratory differential cross section, the new interference term between the standard vector coupling of the left-handed neutrinos and exotic scalar coupling of the right-handed neutrinos appears which does not vanish in the limit of massless neutrino. This additional contribution, including information about the transverse components of neutrino polarization, generates the azimuthal asymmetry in the angular distribution of the recoil electrons. This regularity would be a signature of the participation of the right-handed neutrinos in the neutrino-electron scattering. The future low-energy high-precision neutrino-electron scattering experiments using the strong and polarized artificial neutrino source would allow to search for the exotic effects coming from the R-handed neutrinos.Comment: REVTeX, 9 pages, 5 eps figures; published in Phys. Lett. B 555, 215-226 (2003

The Muon g-2

The muon anomalous magnetic moment is one of the most precisely measured quantities in particle physics. In a recent experiment at Brookhaven it has been measured with a remarkable 14-fold improvement of the previous CERN experiment reaching a precision of 0.54ppm. Since the first results were published, a persisting "discrepancy" between theory and experiment of about 3 standard deviations is observed. It is the largest "established" deviation from the Standard Model seen in a "clean" electroweak observable and thus could be a hint for New Physics to be around the corner. This deviation triggered numerous speculations about the possible origin of the "missing piece" and the increased experimental precision animated a multitude of new theoretical efforts which lead to a substantial improvement of the prediction of the muon anomaly a_mu=(g_mu-2)/2. The dominating uncertainty of the prediction, caused by strong interaction effects, could be reduced substantially, due to new hadronic cross section measurements in electron-positron annihilation at low energies. Also the recent electron g-2 measurement at Harvard contributes substantially to the progress in this field, as it allows for a much more precise determination of the fine structure constant alpha as well as a cross check of the status of our theoretical understanding.Comment: 134 pages, 68 figure

The rhodopsin-transducin complex houses two distinct rhodopsin molecules

Upon illumination the visual receptor rhodopsin (Rho) transitions to the activated form Rho*, which binds the heterotrimeric G protein, transducin (G(t)) causing GDP to GTP exchange and G(t) dissociation. Using succinylated concanavalin A (sConA) as a probe, we visualized native Rho dimers solubilized in 1 mM n-dodecyl-β-D-maltoside (DDM) and Rho monomers 5 mM in DDM. By nucleotide depletion and affinity chromatography together with crosslinking and size exclusion chromatography, we trapped and purified nucleotide-free Rho*•G(t) and sConA-Rho*•G(t) complexes kept in solution by either DDM or lauryl-maltose-neopentyl-glycol (LMNG). The 3-D envelope calculated from projections of negatively stained Rho*•G(t)-LMNG complexes accommodated two Rho molecules, one G(t) heterotrimer and a detergent belt. Visualization of triple sConA-Rho*•G(t) complexes unequivocally demonstrated a pentameric assembly of the Rho*•G(t) complex in which the photoactivated Rho* dimer serves as a platform for binding the G(t) heterotrimer. Importantly, individual monomers of the Rho* dimer in the heteropentameric complex exhibited different capabilities to be regenerated with either 11-cis or 9-cis-retinal