8,688 research outputs found
From fracture to fragmentation: discrete element modeling -- Complexity of crackling noise and fragmentation phenomena revealed by discrete element simulations
Discrete element modelling (DEM) is one of the most efficient computational
approaches to the fracture processes of heterogeneous materials on mesoscopic
scales. From the dynamics of single crack propagation through the statistics of
crack ensembles to the rapid fragmentation of materials DEM had a substantial
contribution to our understanding over the past decades. Recently, the
combination of DEM with other simulation techniques like Finite Element
Modelling further extended the field of applicability. In this paper we briefly
review the motivations and basic idea behind the DEM approach to cohesive
particulate matter and then we give an overview of on-going developments and
applications of the method focusing on two fields where recent success has been
achieved. We discuss current challenges of this rapidly evolving field and
outline possible future perspectives and debates
Accelerator Constraints on Neutralino Dark Matter
The constraints on neutralino dark matter \chi obtained from accelerator
searches at LEP, the Fermilab Tevatron and elsewhere are reviewed, with
particular emphasis on results from LEP 1.5. These imply within the context of
the minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model that m_\chi \ge 21.4
GeV if universality is assumed, and yield for large tan\beta a significantly
stronger bound than is obtained indirectly from Tevatron limits on the gluino
mass. We update this analysis with preliminary results from the first LEP 2W
run, and also preview the prospects for future sparticle searches at the LHC.Comment: Presented by J. Ellis at the Workshop on the Identification of Dark
Matter, Sheffield, September, 1996. 14 pages; Latex; 12 Fig
Exploration of the MSSM with Non-Universal Higgs Masses
We explore the parameter space of the minimal supersymmetric extension of the
Standard Model (MSSM), allowing the soft supersymmetry-breaking masses of the
Higgs multiplets, m_{1,2}, to be non-universal (NUHM). Compared with the
constrained MSSM (CMSSM) in which m_{1,2} are required to be equal to the soft
supersymmetry-breaking masses m_0 of the squark and slepton masses, the Higgs
mixing parameter mu and the pseudoscalar Higgs mass m_A, which are calculated
in the CMSSM, are free in the NUHM model. We incorporate accelerator and dark
matter constraints in determining allowed regions of the (mu, m_A), (mu, M_2)
and (m_{1/2}, m_0) planes for selected choices of the other NUHM parameters. In
the examples studied, we find that the LSP mass cannot be reduced far below its
limit in the CMSSM, whereas m_A may be as small as allowed by LEP for large tan
\beta. We present in Appendices details of the calculations of
neutralino-slepton, chargino-slepton and neutralino-sneutrino coannihilation
needed in our exploration of the NUHM.Comment: 92 pages LaTeX, 32 eps figures, final version, some changes to
figures pertaining to the b to s gamma constrain
Lack of a retinal phenotype in a Syne-2/Nesprin-2 knockout mouse model
Syne-2 (also known as Nesprin-2) is a member of a family of proteins that are found primarily in the outer nuclear membrane, as well as other subcellular compartments. Syne-2 contains a C-terminal KASH transmembrane domain and is part of a protein network that associates the nuclear envelope to the cytoskeleton via the binding to actin filaments. Syne-2 plays a role in nuclear migration, nuclear positioning during retinal development, and in ciliogenesis. In a previous study, we showed a connection between Syne-2 and the multifunctional scaffold protein Pericentrin (Pcnt). The elimination of the interaction of Syne-2 and Pcnt showed defects in nuclear migration and the formation of outer segments during retinal development, as well as disturbances in centrosomal migration at the beginning of ciliogenesis in general. In this study, the Syne-2 KO mouse model Nesprin-2△ABD (Syne-2tm1Ngl, MGI) with special attention to Pcnt and ciliogenesis was analyzed. We show reduced expression of Syne-2 in the retina of the Syne-2 KO mouse but found no significant structural—and only a minor functional—phenotype. For the first time, detailed expression analyses showed an expression of a Syne-2 protein larger than 400 kDa (~750 kDa) in the Syne-2/Nesprin-2 KO mouse. In conclusion, the lack of an overt phenotype in Syne-2/Nesprin-2 KO mice suggests the usage of alternative translational start sites, producing Syne-2 splice variants with an intact Pcnt interaction site. Nevertheless, deletion of the actin-binding site in the Syne-2/Nesprin-2 KO mouse revealed a high variability in scotopic oscillatory potentials assuming a novel function of Syne-2 in synchronizing inner retinal processes
Sum rules in the heavy quark limit of QCD
In the leading order of the heavy quark expansion, we propose a method within
the OPE and the trace formalism, that allows to obtain, in a systematic way,
Bjorken-like sum rules for the derivatives of the elastic Isgur-Wise function
in terms of corresponding Isgur-Wise functions of transitions to
excited states. A key element is the consideration of the non-forward
amplitude, as introduced by Uraltsev. A simplifying feature of our method is to
consider currents aligned along the initial and final four-velocities. As an
illustration, we give a very simple derivation of Bjorken and Uraltsev sum
rules. On the other hand, we obtain a new class of sum rules that involve the
products of IW functions at zero recoil and IW functions at any . Special
care is given to the needed derivation of the projector on the polarization
tensors of particles of arbitrary integer spin. The new sum rules give further
information on the slope and also on the curvature
, and imply, modulo a very natural assumption, the
inequality , and therefore the absolute bound
.Comment: 64 pages, Late
Conclusions from CDF Results on CP Violation in D^0 \to \pi^+\pi^-, K^+K^- and Future Tasks
Within the Standard Model (SM) one predicts both direct and indirect CP
violation in D^0 \to \pi^+\pi^-, K^+K^- transitions, although the effects are
tiny: Indirect CP asymmetry cannot exceed O(10^{-4}), probably even O(10^{-5});
direct effects are estimated at not larger than 10^{-4}. At B factories direct
and indirect asymmetries have been studied with /\tau_{D^0} ~ 1; no CP
asymmetry was found with an upper bound of about 1%. CDF has shown intriguing
data on CP violation in D^0 \to \pi^+\pi^- [K^+K^-] with /\tau_{D^0} ~ 2.4
[2.65]. Also, CDF has not seen any CP violation. For direct CP asymmetry, CDF
has a sensitivity similar to the combination of the B factories, yet for
indirect CP violation it yields a significantly smaller sensitivity of
a_{cp}^{ind}=(-0.01 +- 0.06_{stat} +- 0.05_{syst})% due to it being based on
longer decay times. New Physics models (NP) like Little Higgs Models with
T-Parity (LHT) can produce an indirect CP asymmetry up to 1%; CDF's findings
thus cover the upper range of realistic NP predictions ~ 0.1 - 1%. One hopes
that LHCb and a Super-Flavour Factory will probe the lower range down to
~0.01%. Such non-ad-hoc NP like LHT cannot enhance direct CP violation
significantly over the SM level in D^0 \to \pi^+\pi^-, K^+K^- and D^{\pm} \to
\pi^{\pm}K^+K^- transitions, but others might well do so.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure. V2 has minor corrections and corresponds to the
published versio
Application of AFLPs to characterize somaclonal variation in anther-derived grapevines
The AFLP (amplified fragment length polymorphism) technique was used to characterize genetic variation in grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) regenerated from anther culture. 12 plants obtained by direct embryogenesis from cv. Valerien, and twelve plants obtained by indirect embryogenesis from cv. Mission were evaluated by AFLP. For each genotype the results were analyzed in comparison to control, represented by one field-grown plant (anther-donor). In contrast to cv. Mission, where no difference in polymorph pattern was observed in the DNA restricted with PstI/MseI, in cv. Valerien we found bands with different distribution among anther-derived plants and between them and the mother plant. When the DNA samples were digested with EcoRI in combination with methylation sensitive restriction enzymes MspI or HpaII, the AFLP products showed a higher polymorphism in cv. Mission with respect to the number of specific bands in correlation with the age of culture at the moment of regeneration from anthers. Direct embryogenesis from anther culture of cv. Valerien was associated with genetic variation induced in a very early stage of in vitro culture, while the indirect somatic embryogenesis, specific for cv. Mission and/or long-term culture was accompanied by changes in the methylation status. There is some evidence that all the analyzed grapevine somaclones regenerated from in vitro-cultured anthers are genetically distinct from the original cultivars.
Radiative Leptonic Decays of Heavy Mesons
We compute the photon spectrum and the rate for the decays These photonic modes constitute a potentially large background
for the purely leptonic decays which are used to extract the heavy meson decay
constants. While the rate for D\to l\n\g is small, the radiative decay in the
meson case could be of comparable magnitude or even larger than B\to\m\n.
This would affect the determination of if the channel cannot be
identified. We obtain theoretical estimates for the photonic rates and disscuss
their possible experimental implications.Comment: 12 pages, RevTex, 3 uuencoded figures include
Enhancing the Understanding of Anatomy Through the Coloration and Plastination of Anatomical Specimens
Articlehttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/96980/1/UMURF-Issue05_2008-AMarchese.pd
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