86 research outputs found
Fitting Neutrino Physics with a U(1)_R Lepton Number
We study neutrino physics in the context of a supersymmetric model where a
continuous R-symmetry is identified with the total Lepton Number and one
sneutrino can thus play the role of the down type Higgs. We show that
R-breaking effects communicated to the visible sector by Anomaly Mediation can
reproduce neutrino masses and mixing solely via radiative contributions,
without requiring any additional degree of freedom. In particular, a relatively
large reactor angle (as recently observed by the Daya Bay collaboration) can be
accommodated in ample regions of the parameter space. On the contrary, if the
R-breaking is communicated to the visible sector by gravitational effects at
the Planck scale, additional particles are necessary to accommodate neutrino
data.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figures; v2: references added, constraints updated,
overall conclusions unchange
Moderate and heavy metabolic stress interval training improve arterial stiffness and heart rate dynamics in humans
Traditional continuous aerobic exercise training attenuates age-related increases of arterial stiffness, however, training studies have not determined whether metabolic stress impacts these favourable effects. Twenty untrained healthy participants (n = 11 heavy metabolic stress interval training, n = 9 moderate metabolic stress interval training) completed 6 weeks of moderate or heavy intensity interval training matched for total work and exercise duration. Carotid artery stiffness, blood pressure contour analysis, and linear and non-linear heart rate variability were assessed before and following training. Overall, carotid arterial stiffness was reduced (p 0.05). This study demonstrates the effectiveness of interval training at improving arterial stiffness and autonomic function, however, the metabolic stress was not a mediator of this effect. In addition, these changes were also independent of improvements in aerobic capacity, which were only induced by training that involved a high metabolic stress
Dynamical R-parity Breaking at the LHC
In a class of extensions of the minimal supersymmetric standard model with
(B-L)/left-right symmetry that explains the neutrino masses, breaking R-parity
symmetry is an essential and dynamical requirement for successful gauge
symmetry breaking. Two consequences of these models are: (i) a new kind of
R-parity breaking interaction that protects proton stability but adds new
contributions to neutrinoless double beta decay and (ii) an upper bound on the
extra gauge and parity symmetry breaking scale which is within the large hadron
collider (LHC) energy range. We point out that an important prediction of such
theories is a potentially large mixing between the right-handed charged lepton
() and the superpartner of the right-handed gauge boson (), which leads to a brand new class of R-parity violating interactions of
type and \widetilde{d^c}^\dagger\u^c
e^c. We analyze the relevant constraints on the sparticle mass spectrum and
the LHC signatures for the case with smuon/stau NLSP and gravitino LSP. We note
the "smoking gun" signals for such models to be lepton flavor/number violating
processes: (or ) and
(or ) without
significant missing energy. The predicted multi-lepton final states and the
flavor structure make the model be distinguishable even in the early running of
the LHC.Comment: 30 pages, 13 figures, 6 tables, reference adde
On the nature of the fourth generation neutrino and its implications
We consider the neutrino sector of a Standard Model with four generations.
While the three light neutrinos can obtain their masses from a variety of
mechanisms with or without new neutral fermions, fourth-generation neutrinos
need at least one new relatively light right-handed neutrino. If lepton number
is not conserved this neutrino must have a Majorana mass term whose size
depends on the underlying mechanism for lepton number violation. Majorana
masses for the fourth generation neutrinos induce relative large two-loop
contributions to the light neutrino masses which could be even larger than the
cosmological bounds. This sets strong limits on the mass parameters and mixings
of the fourth generation neutrinos.Comment: To be published. Few typos corrected, references update
Single-Scale Natural SUSY
We consider the prospects for natural SUSY models consistent with current
data. Recent constraints make the standard paradigm unnatural so we consider
what could be a minimal extension consistent with what we now know. The most
promising such scenarios extend the MSSM with new tree-level Higgs interactions
that can lift its mass to at least 125 GeV and also allow for flavor-dependent
soft terms so that the third generation squarks are lighter than current bounds
on the first and second generation squarks. We argue that a common feature of
almost all such models is the need for a new scale near 10 TeV, such as a scale
of Higgsing or confinement of a new gauge group. We consider the question
whether such a model can naturally derive from a single mass scale associated
with supersymmetry breaking. Most such models simply postulate new scales,
leaving their proximity to the scale of MSSM soft terms a mystery. This
coincidence problem may be thought of as a mild tuning, analogous to the usual
mu problem. We find that a single mass scale origin is challenging, but suggest
that a more natural origin for such a new dynamical scale is the gravitino
mass, m_{3/2}, in theories where the MSSM soft terms are a loop factor below
m_{3/2}. As an example, we build a variant of the NMSSM where the singlet S is
composite, and the strong dynamics leading to compositeness is triggered by
masses of order m_{3/2} for some fields. Our focus is the Higgs sector, but our
model is compatible with a light stop (with the other generation squarks heavy,
or with R-parity violation or another mechanism to hide them from current
searches). All the interesting low-energy mass scales, including linear terms
for S playing a key role in EWSB, arise dynamically from the single scale
m_{3/2}. However, numerical coefficients from RG effects and wavefunction
factors in an extra dimension complicate the otherwise simple story.Comment: 32 pages, 3 figures; version accepted by JHE
R-parity violation in SU(5)
We show that judiciously chosen R-parity violating terms in the minimal
renormalizable supersymmetric SU(5) are able to correct all the
phenomenologically wrong mass relations between down quarks and charged
leptons. The model can accommodate neutrino masses as well. One of the most
striking consequences is a large mixing between the electron and the Higgsino.
We show that this can still be in accord with data in some regions of the
parameter space and possibly falsified in future experiments.Comment: 30 pages, 1 figure. Revised version. To appear in JHE
Radiative contribution to neutrino masses and mixing in SSM
In an extension of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (popularly known
as the SSM), three right handed neutrino superfields are introduced to
solve the -problem and to accommodate the non-vanishing neutrino masses
and mixing. Neutrino masses at the tree level are generated through parity
violation and seesaw mechanism. We have analyzed the full effect of one-loop
contributions to the neutrino mass matrix. We show that the current three
flavour global neutrino data can be accommodated in the SSM, for both
the tree level and one-loop corrected analyses. We find that it is relatively
easier to accommodate the normal hierarchical mass pattern compared to the
inverted hierarchical or quasi-degenerate case, when one-loop corrections are
included.Comment: 51 pages, 14 figures (58 .eps files), expanded introduction, other
minor changes, references adde
Genome-wide transcriptional analysis of salinity stressed japonica and indica rice genotypes during panicle initiation stage
Rice yield is most sensitive to salinity stress imposed during the panicle initiation (PI) stage. In this study, we have focused on physiological and transcriptional responses of four rice genotypes exposed to salinity stress during PI. The genotypes selected included a pair of indicas (IR63731 and IR29) and a pair of japonica (Agami and M103) rice subspecies with contrasting salt tolerance. Physiological characterization showed that tolerant genotypes maintained a much lower shoot Na(+) concentration relative to sensitive genotypes under salinity stress. Global gene expression analysis revealed a strikingly large number of genes which are induced by salinity stress in sensitive genotypes, IR29 and M103 relative to tolerant lines. We found 19 probe sets to be commonly induced in all four genotypes. We found several salinity modulated, ion homeostasis related genes from our analysis. We also studied the expression of SKC1, a cation transporter reported by others as a major source of variation in salt tolerance in rice. The transcript abundance of SKC1 did not change in response to salinity stress at PI stage in the shoot tissue of all four genotypes. However, we found the transcript abundance of SKC1 to be significantly higher in tolerant japonica Agami relative to sensitive japonica M103 under control and stressed conditions during PI stage. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11103-006-9112-0 and is accessible for authorized users
Flavour Structure of R-violating Neutralino Decays at the LHC
We study signatures of R-parity violation in the production of supersymmetric
particles at the LHC, and the subsequent decay of the lightest neutralino being
the end product of a supersymmetric cascade decay. In doing so, we pay
particular attention to the possible flavour structure of the operators, and
how one may discriminate between different possibilities. A neutralino LSP
would couple to all quarks and leptons and a comparative study of its decays
provides an optimal channel for the simultaneous study of all 45 R-violating
operators. By studying the expected signals from all these operators, we
demonstrate the ability to understand whether more than one coupling dominates,
and to map the experimental signatures to operator hierarchies that can then be
compared against theoretical models of flavour. Detailed comparisons with
backgrounds, including those from MSSM cascade decays are made, using the
PYTHIA event simulator.Comment: 47 pages, 22 figures; v2 matches JHEP versio
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