Direct optimisation of the discovery significance when training neural networks to search for new physics in particle colliders

We introduce two new loss functions designed to directly optimise the statistical significance of the expected number of signal events when training neural networks to classify events as signal or background in the scenario of a search for new physics at a particle collider. The loss functions are designed to directly maximise commonly used estimates of the statistical significance, $s/\sqrt{s+b}$, and the Asimov estimate, $Z_A$. We consider their use in a toy SUSY search with 30~fb$^{-1}$ of 14~TeV data collected at the LHC. In the case that the search for the SUSY model is dominated by systematic uncertainties, it is found that the loss function based on $Z_A$ can outperform the binary cross entropy in defining an optimal search region

A search for supersymmetry in \sqrt{s}=13~\tev proton-proton collisions with the CMS detector at the LHC

An inclusive search for supersymmetry with jets and missing transverse energy is presented. Data from √s = 13 TeV pp-collisions with a total integrated luminosity of 12.9 fb^(−1) delivered by the LHC and collected by the CMS detector are analysed. The dominant quantum chromodynamic multijet background is strongly suppressed with several kinematic variables, which are also used to discriminate between Standard Model and supersymmetric processes. The observed events are found to be compatible with the expected contributions from Standard Model processes. This result is interpreted in the context of simplified supersymmetric models of gluino and third-generation squark production. The mass of the gluino, bottom squark and top squark are excluded to 1775, 1025 and 875 GeV respectively. In preparation for the collection of √s = 13 TeV data by CMS, the jet algorithm for the Level-1 trigger is upgraded. The new algorithm allows for dynamic pileup subtraction and takes advantage of hardware upgrades to the trigger. The performance of different types of pileup subtraction are evaluated and the most promising algorithm, chunky-donut subtraction, is chosen. The algorithm is found to give a significant performance improvement and has been used to collect data from 2016 onwards.Open Acces

Nonheme Iron–Thiolate Complexes as Structural Models of Sulfoxide Synthase Active Sites

Two mononuclear iron(II)–thiolate complexes have been prepared that represent structural models of the nonheme iron enzymes EgtB and OvoA, which catalyze the O2-dependent formation of carbon–sulfur bonds in the biosynthesis of thiohistidine compounds. The series of Fe(II) complexes reported here feature tripodal N4 chelates (LA and LB) that contain both pyridyl and imidazolyl donors (LA = (1H-imidazol-4-yl)-N,N-bis((pyridin-2-yl)methyl)methanamine; LB = N,N-bis((1-methylimidazol-2-yl)methyl)-2-pyridylmethylamine). Further coordination with monodentate aromatic or aliphatic thiolate ligands yielded the five-coordinate, high-spin Fe(II) complexes [FeII(LA)(SMes)]BPh4 (1) and [FeII(LB)(SCy)]BPh4 (2), where SMes = 2,4,6-trimethylthiophenolate and SCy = cyclohexanethiolate. X-ray crystal structures revealed that 1 and 2 possess trigonal bipyramidal geometries formed by the N4S ligand set. In each case, the thiolate ligand is positioned cis to an imidazole donor, replicating the arrangement of Cys- and His-based substrates in the active site of EgtB. The geometric and electronic structures of 1 and 2 were analyzed with UV-vis absorption and Mössbauer spectroscopies in tandem with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Exposure of 1 and 2 to nitric oxide (NO) yielded six-coordinate FeNO adducts that were characterized with infrared and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopies, confirming that these complexes are capable of binding diatomic molecules. Reaction of 1 and 2 with O2 causes oxidation of the thiolate ligands to disulfide products. The implications of these results for the development of functional models of EgtB and OvoA are discussed

Modelled isotopic fractionation and transient diffusive release of methane from potential subsurface sources on Mars

We calculate transport timescales of martian methane and investigate the effect of potential release mechanisms into the atmosphere using a numerical model that includes both Fickian and Knudsen diffusion. The incorporation of Knudsen diffusion, which improves on a Fickian description of transport given the low permeability of the martian regolith, means that transport timescales from sources collocated with a putative martian water table are very long, up to several million martian years. Transport timescales also mean that any temporally varying source process, even in the shallow subsurface, would not result in a significant, observable variation in atmospheric methane concentration since changes resulting from small variations in flux would be rapidly obscured by atmospheric transport. This means that a short-lived 'plume' of methane, as detected by Mumma et al. (2009) and Webster et al. (2014), cannot be reconciled with diffusive transport from any reasonable depth and instead must invoke alternative processes such as fracturing or convective plumes. It is shown that transport through the martian regolith will cause a significant change in the isotopic composition of the gas, meaning that methane release from depth will produce an isotopic signature in the atmosphere that could be significantly different than the source composition. The deeper the source, the greater the change, and the change in methane composition in both δ13C and δD approaches -1000 ‰ for sources at a depth greater than around 1 km. This means that signatures of specific sources, in particular the methane produced by biogenesis that is generally depleted in 13CH4 and CH3D, could be obscured. We find that an abiogenic source of methane could therefore display an isotopic fractionation consistent with that expected for biogenic source processes if the source was at sufficient depth. The only unambiguous inference that can be made from measurements of methane isotopes alone is a measured δ13C or δD close to zero or positive implies a shallow, abiogenic source. The effect of transport processes must therefore be carefully considered when attempting to identify the source of any methane observed by future missions, and the severe depletion in heavier isotopologues will have implications for the sensitivity requirements for future missions that aim to measure the isotopic fractionation of methane in the martian atmosphere

The s ---> d gamma decay in and beyond the Standard Model

The New Physics sensitivity of the s ---> d gamma transition and its accessibility through hadronic processes are thoroughly investigated. Firstly, the Standard Model predictions for the direct CP-violating observables in radiative K decays are systematically improved. Besides, the magnetic contribution to epsilon prime is estimated and found subleading, even in the presence of New Physics, and a new strategy to resolve its electroweak versus QCD penguin fraction is identified. Secondly, the signatures of a series of New Physics scenarios, characterized as model-independently as possible in terms of their underlying dynamics, are investigated by combining the information from all the FCNC transitions in the s ---> d sector.Comment: 54 pages, 14 eps figure

A pooled analysis of 10 case–control studies of melanoma and oral contraceptive use

Data regarding the effects of oral contraceptive use on women's risk of melanoma have been difficult to resolve. We undertook a pooled analysis of all case–control studies of melanoma in women completed as of July 1994 for which electronic data were available on oral contraceptive use along with other melanoma risk factors such as hair colour, sun sensitivity, family history of melanoma and sun exposure. Using the original data from each investigation (a total of 2391 cases and 3199 controls), we combined the study-specific odds ratios and standard errors to obtain a pooled estimate that incorporates inter-study heterogeneity. Overall, we observed no excess risk associated with oral contraceptive use for 1 year or longer compared to never use or use for less than 1 year (pooled odds ratio (pOR)=0.86; 95% CI=0.74–1.01), and there was no evidence of heterogeneity between studies. We found no relation between melanoma incidence and duration of oral contraceptive use, age began, year of use, years since first use or last use, or specifically current oral contraceptive use. In aggregate, our findings do not suggest a major role of oral contraceptive use on women's risk of melanoma

Constraints on the χ_(c1) versus χ_(c2) polarizations in proton-proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV

The polarizations of promptly produced χ_(c1) and χ_(c2) mesons are studied using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at √s=8  TeV. The χ_c states are reconstructed via their radiative decays χ_c → J/ψγ, with the photons being measured through conversions to e⁺e⁻, which allows the two states to be well resolved. The polarizations are measured in the helicity frame, through the analysis of the χ_(c2) to χ_(c1) yield ratio as a function of the polar or azimuthal angle of the positive muon emitted in the J/ψ → μ⁺μ⁻ decay, in three bins of J/ψ transverse momentum. While no differences are seen between the two states in terms of azimuthal decay angle distributions, they are observed to have significantly different polar anisotropies. The measurement favors a scenario where at least one of the two states is strongly polarized along the helicity quantization axis, in agreement with nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics predictions. This is the first measurement of significantly polarized quarkonia produced at high transverse momentum