Self-consistent treatment of the self-energy in nuclear matter

The influence of hole-hole propagation in addition to the conventional particle-particle propagation, on the energy per nucleon and the momentum distribution is investigated. The results are compared to the Brueckner-Hartree-Fock (BHF) calculations with a continuous choice and conventional choice for the single-particle spectrum. The Bethe-Goldstone equation has been solved using realistic $NN$ interactions. Also, the structure of nucleon self-energy in nuclear matter is evaluated. All the self-energies are calculated self-consistently. Starting from the BHF approximation without the usual angle-average approximation, the effects of hole-hole contributions and a self-consistent treatment within the framework of the Green function approach are investigated. Using the self-consistent self-energy, the hole and particle self-consistent spectral functions including the particle-particle and hole-hole ladder contributions in nuclear matter are calculated using realistic $NN$ interactions. We found that, the difference in binding energy between both results, i.e. BHF and self-consistent Green function, is not large. This explains why is the BHF ignored the 2h1p contribution.Comment: Preprint 20 pages including 15 figures and one tabl

Scalar FCNC and rare top decays in a two Higgs doublet model "for the top"

In the so called two Higgs doublet model for the top-quark (T2HDM), first suggested by Das and Kao, the top quark receives a special status, which endows it with a naturally large mass, and also potentially gives rise to large flavor changing neutral currents (FCNC) only in the up-quark sector. In this paper we calculate the branching ratio (BR) for the rare decays t->ch and h->tc (h is a neutral Higgs) in the T2HDM, at tree level and at 1-loop when it exceeds the tree-level. We compare our results to predictions from other versions of 2HDM's and find that the scalar FCNC in the T2HDM can play a significant role in these decays. In particular, the 1-loop mediated decays can be significantly enhanced in the T2HDM compared to the 2HDM of types I and II, in some instances reaching BR~10^-4 which is within the detectable level at the LHC.Comment: added two references. 15 pages, 14 figure

Energy and Momentum densities of cosmological models, with equation of state ρ=μ\rho=\mu, in general relativity and teleparallel gravity

We calculated the energy and momentum densities of stiff fluid solutions, using Einstein, Bergmann-Thomson and Landau-Lifshitz energy-momentum complexes, in both general relativity and teleparallel gravity. In our analysis we get different results comparing the aforementioned complexes with each other when calculated in the same gravitational theory, either this is in general relativity and teleparallel gravity. However, interestingly enough, each complex's value is the same either in general relativity or teleparallel gravity. Our results sustain that (i) general relativity or teleparallel gravity are equivalent theories (ii) different energy-momentum complexes do not provide the same energy and momentum densities neither in general relativity nor in teleparallel gravity. In the context of the theory of teleparallel gravity, the vector and axial-vector parts of the torsion are obtained. We show that the axial-vector torsion vanishes for the space-time under study.Comment: 15 pages, no figures, Minor typos corrected; version to appear in International Journal of Theoretical Physic

Properties of asymmetric nuclear matter in different approaches

Properties of asymmetric nuclear matter are derived from various many-body approaches. This includes phenomenological ones like the Skyrme Hartree-Fock and relativistic mean field approaches, which are adjusted to fit properties of nuclei, as well as more microscopic attempts like the Brueckner-Hartree-Fock approximation, a self-consistent Greens function method and the so-called $V_{lowk}$ approach, which are based on realistic nucleon-nucleon interactions which reproduce the nucleon-nucleon phase shifts. These microscopic approaches are supplemented by a density-dependent contact interaction to achieve the empirical saturation property of symmetric nuclear matter. The predictions of all these approaches are discussed for nuclear matter at high densities in $\beta$-equilibrium. Special attention is paid to behavior of the isovector component of the effective mass in neutron-rich matter.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figure

Polymorphic members of the lag gene family mediate kin discrimination in Dictyostelium

Self and kin discrimination are observed in most kingdoms of life and are mediated by highly polymorphic plasma membrane proteins. Sequence polymorphism, which is essential for effective recognition, is maintained by balancing selection. Dictyostelium discoideum are social amoebas that propagate as unicellular organisms but aggregate upon starvation and form fruiting bodies with viable spores and dead stalk cells. Aggregative development exposes Dictyostelium to the perils of chimerism, including cheating, which raises questions about how the victims survive in nature and how social cooperation persists. Dictyostelids can minimize the cost of chimerism by preferential cooperation with kin, but the mechanisms of kin discrimination are largely unknown. Dictyostelium lag genes encode transmembrane proteins with multiple immunoglobulin (Ig) repeats that participate in cell adhesion and signaling. Here, we describe their role in kin discrimination. We show that lagB1 and lagC1 are highly polymorphic in natural populations and that their sequence dissimilarity correlates well with wild-strain segregation. Deleting lagB1 and lagC1 results in strain segregation in chimeras with wild-type cells, whereas elimination of the nearly invariant homolog lagD1 has no such consequences. These findings reveal an early evolutionary origin of kin discrimination and provide insight into the mechanism of social recognition and immunity

A new social gene in Dictyostelium discoideum, chtB

Background: Competitive social interactions are ubiquitous in nature, but their genetic basis is difficult to determine. Much can be learned from single gene knockouts in a eukaryote microbe. The mutants can be competed with the parent to discern the social impact of that specific gene. Dictyostelium discoideum is a social amoeba that exhibits cooperative behavior in the construction of a multicellular fruiting body. It is a good model organism to study the genetic basis of cooperation since it has a sequenced genome and it is amenable to genetic manipulation. When two strains of D. discoideum are mixed, a cheater strain can exploit its social partner by differentiating more spore than its fair share relative to stalk cells. Cheater strains can be generated in the lab or found in the wild and genetic analyses have shown that cheating behavior can be achieved through many pathways. Results: We have characterized the knockout mutant chtB, which was isolated from a screen for cheater mutants that were also able to form normal fruiting bodies on their own. When mixed in equal proportions with parental strain cells, chtB mutants contributed almost 60% of the total number of spores. To do so, chtB cells inhibit wild type cells from becoming spores, as indicated by counts and by the wild type cells’ reduced expression of the prespore gene, cotB. We found no obvious fitness costs (morphology, doubling time in liquid medium, spore production, and germination efficiency) associated with the cheating ability of the chtB knockout. Conclusions: In this study we describe a new gene in D. discoideum, chtB, which when knocked out inhibits the parental strain from producing spores. Moreover, under lab conditions, we did not detect any fitness costs associated with this behavior

Nucleotide mutations associated with hepatitis B e antigen negativity

Copyright © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc., A Wiley CompanyArticleJOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY. 76(2): 170-175 (2005)journal articl

Enhancement of the superconducting transition temperature in La2-xSrxCuO4 bilayers: Role of pairing and phase stiffness

The superconducting transition temperature, Tc, of bilayers comprising underdoped La2-xSrxCuO4 films capped by a thin heavily overdoped metallic La1.65Sr0.35CuO4 layer, is found to increase with respect to Tc of the bare underdoped films. The highest Tc is achieved for x = 0.12, close to the 'anomalous' 1/8 doping level, and exceeds that of the optimally-doped bare film. Our data suggest that the enhanced superconductivity is confined to the interface between the layers. We attribute the effect to a combination of the high pairing scale in the underdoped layer with an enhanced phase stiffness induced by the overdoped film.Comment: Published versio