43 research outputs found
Maxwell-like Lagrangians for higher spins
We show how implementing invariance under divergence-free gauge
transformations leads to a remarkably simple Lagrangian description of massless
bosons of any spin. Our construction covers both flat and (A)dS backgrounds and
extends to tensors of arbitrary mixed-symmetry type. Irreducible and traceless
fields produce single-particle actions, while whenever trace constraints can be
dispensed with the resulting Lagrangians display the same reducible,
multi-particle spectra as those emerging from the tensionless limit of free
open-string field theory. For all explored options the corresponding kinetic
operators take essentially the same form as in the spin-one, Maxwell case.Comment: 77 pages, revised version. Erroneous interpretation and proof of the
gauge-fixing procedure for mixed-symmetry fields corrected. As a consequence,
the mixed-symmetry, one-particle Lagrangians are to be complemented with
conditions on the divergences of the fields; all other conclusions unchanged.
Additional minor changes including references added. To appear in JHE
On the cubic interactions of massive and partially-massless higher spins in (A)dS
Cubic interactions of massive and partially-massless totally-symmetric
higher-spin fields in any constant-curvature background of dimension greater
than three are investigated. Making use of the ambient-space formalism, the
consistency condition for the traceless and transverse parts of the
parity-invariant interactions is recast into a system of partial differential
equations. The latter can be explicitly solved for given s_1-s_2-s_3 couplings
and the 2-2-2 and 3-3-2 examples are provided in detail for general choices of
the masses. On the other hand, the general solutions for the interactions
involving massive and massless fields are expressed in a compact form as
generating functions of all the consistent couplings. The St\"uckelberg
formulation of the cubic interactions as well as their massless limits are also
analyzed.Comment: 42 pages, 2 tables, LaTex. Comments on two-derivative couplings
involving partially-massless spin-2 fields added, typos corrected, references
added. v2: final version to appear in JHEP. v3: formulae (3.4) and (3.9)
correcte
Higher-Spin Interactions: four-point functions and beyond
In this work we construct an infinite class of four-point functions for
massless higher-spin fields in flat space that are consistent with the gauge
symmetry. In the Lagrangian picture, these reflect themselves in a peculiar
non-local nature of the corresponding non-abelian higher-spin couplings implied
by the Noether procedure that starts from the fourth order. We also comment on
the nature of the colored spin-2 excitation present both in the open string
spectrum and in the Vasiliev system, highlighting how some aspects of String
Theory appear to reflect key properties of Field Theory that go beyond its low
energy limit. A generalization of these results to n-point functions, fermions
and mixed-symmetry fields is also addressed.Comment: 66 pages, 10 figures, 1 table, LaTex. Several statements clarified.
Final version to appear in JHE
Higher-Spin Fermionic Gauge Fields and Their Electromagnetic Coupling
We study the electromagnetic coupling of massless higher-spin fermions in
flat space. Under the assumptions of locality and Poincare invariance, we
employ the BRST-BV cohomological methods to construct consistent
parity-preserving off-shell cubic 1-s-s vertices. Consistency and
non-triviality of the deformations not only rule out minimal coupling, but also
restrict the possible number of derivatives. Our findings are in complete
agreement with, but derived in a manner independent from, the
light-cone-formulation results of Metsaev and the string-theory-inspired
results of Sagnotti-Taronna. We prove that any gauge-algebra-preserving vertex
cannot deform the gauge transformations. We also show that in a local theory,
without additional dynamical higher-spin gauge fields, the non-abelian vertices
are eliminated by the lack of consistent second-order deformations.Comment: 44 pages; references added, minor changes made, to appear in JHE
Genomics of high molecular weight plasmids isolated from an on-farm biopurification system
The use of biopurification systems (BPS) constitutes an efficient strategy to eliminate pesticides from polluted wastewaters from farm activities. BPS environments contain a high microbial density and diversity facilitating the exchange of information among bacteria, mediated by mobile genetic elements (MGEs), which play a key role in bacterial adaptation and evolution in such environments. Here we sequenced and characterized high-molecular-weight plasmids from a bacterial collection of an on-farm BPS. The high-throughput-sequencing of the plasmid pool yielded a total of several Mb sequence information. Assembly of the sequence data resulted in six complete replicons. Using in silico analyses we identified plasmid replication genes whose encoding proteins represent 13 different Pfam families, as well as proteins involved in plasmid conjugation, indicating a large diversity of plasmid replicons and suggesting the occurrence of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) events within the habitat analyzed. In addition, genes conferring resistance to 10 classes of antimicrobial compounds and those encoding enzymes potentially involved in pesticide and aromatic hydrocarbon degradation were found. Global analysis of the plasmid pool suggest that the analyzed BPS represents a key environment for further studies addressing the dissemination of MGEs carrying catabolic genes and pathway assembly regarding degradation capabilities.Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the European Commission’s 7th Framework Programme (project Metaexplore 222625), the National Scientific and Technical Research Council of Argentina (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas—CONICET, Argentina) and Ministry of Science Technology and Productive Innovation (Ministerio de Ciencia Tecnolología e Innovación Productiva—MinCyT, Argentina), projects PICT2013-0113, PICT2012-518 and PICT 2012-1719). MCM, FJA were supported by fellowships from CONICET. MFDP, MP, ML, GTT and AL are researchers at CONICET. The bioinformatics support of the BMBF-funded project (grant 031A533) within the German Network for Bioinformatics Infrastructure (de.NBI) is gratefully acknowledged. Work in FdlC group was supported by grant “Plasmid Offensive” BFU2014-55534-C2-1-P from Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO, Spain), and Spanish Network for the Research in Infectious Diseases (REIPI RD12/0015/0019) from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Spain)-co-financed by European Development Regional Fund. The authors are grateful to Paula Giménez and Silvana Tongiani for excellent technical assistance
CMS physics technical design report : Addendum on high density QCD with heavy ions
Peer reviewe
Performance of the CMS muon detector and muon reconstruction with proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV
The CMS muon detector system, muon reconstruction software, and high-level trigger underwent significant changes in 2013-2014 in preparation for running at higher LHC collision energy and instantaneous luminosity. The performance of the modified system is studied using proton-proton collision data at center-of-mass energy root s = 13 TeV, collected at the LHC in 2015 and 2016. The measured performance parameters, including spatial resolution, efficiency, and timing, are found to meet all design specifications and are well reproduced by simulation. Despite the more challenging running conditions, the modified muon system is found to perform as well as, and in many aspects better than, previously. We dedicate this paper to the memory of Prof. Alberto Benvenuti, whose work was fundamental for the CMS muon detector.Peer reviewe
Recent advances in the biology and drug targeting of malaria parasite aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases
New Developments in the Pathogenesis, Therapeutic Targeting, and Treatment of Pediatric Medulloblastoma
Pediatric medulloblastoma (MB) is the most common pediatric brain tumor with varying prognoses depending on the distinct molecular subtype. The four consensus subgroups are WNT, Sonic hedgehog (SHH), Group 3, and Group 4, which underpin the current 2021 WHO classification of MB. While the field of knowledge for treating this disease has significantly advanced over the past decade, a deeper understanding is still required to improve the clinical outcomes for pediatric patients, who are often vulnerable in ways that adult patients are not. Here, we discuss how recent insights into the pathogenesis of pediatric medulloblastoma have directed current and future research. This review highlights new developments in understanding the four molecular subtypes’ pathophysiology, epigenetics, and therapeutic targeting. In addition, we provide a focused discussion of recent developments in imaging, and in the surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy of pediatric medulloblastoma. The article includes a brief explanation of healthcare costs associated with medulloblastoma treatment