Upper bounds on all R-parity-violating \lambda\lambda'' combinations from proton stability

In an R-parity-violating supersymmetric theory, we derive upper bounds on all the \lambda''_{ijk}\lambda_{i'j'k'}-type combinations from the consideration of proton stability, where \lambda''_{ijk} are baryon-number-violating couplings involving three baryonic fields and \lambda_{i'j'k'} are lepton-number-violating couplings involving three leptonic fields.Comment: 5 pages, Latex, uses axodraw.sty; minor changes in the text. Final versio

Measurement of Double-Polarization asymmetries in the Quasi-Elastic He→ 3 (e→, e′ p) Process

We report on a precise measurement of double-polarization asymmetries in electron-induced breakup of 3He proceeding to pd and ppn final states, performed in quasi-elastic kinematics at Q2 = 0.25 (GeV/c)2 for missing momenta up to 250 MeV/c. These observables represent highly sensitive tools to investigate the electromagnetic and spin structure of 3He and the relative importance of two- and three-body effects involved in the breakup reaction dynamics. The measured asymmetries cannot be satisfactorily reproduced by state-of-the-art calculations of 3He unless their three-body segment is adjusted, indicating that the spin-dependent part of the nuclear interaction governing the three-body breakup process is much smaller than previously thought

Measurement of Double-Polarization asymmetries in the Quasi-Elastic He→ 3 (e→, e′ p) Process

We report on a precise measurement of double-polarization asymmetries in electron-induced breakup of 3He proceeding to pd and ppn final states, performed in quasi-elastic kinematics at Q2 = 0.25 (GeV/c)2 for missing momenta up to 250 MeV/c. These observables represent highly sensitive tools to investigate the electromagnetic and spin structure of 3He and the relative importance of two- and three-body effects involved in the breakup reaction dynamics. The measured asymmetries cannot be satisfactorily reproduced by state-of-the-art calculations of 3He unless their three-body segment is adjusted, indicating that the spin-dependent part of the nuclear interaction governing the three-body breakup process is much smaller than previously thought

Acceleressence: Dark Energy from a Phase Transition at the Seesaw Scale

Simple models are constructed for "acceleressence" dark energy: the latent heat of a phase transition occurring in a hidden sector governed by the seesaw mass scale v^2/M_Pl, where v is the electroweak scale and M_Pl the gravitational mass scale. In our models, the seesaw scale is stabilized by supersymmetry, implying that the LHC must discover superpartners with a spectrum that reflects a low scale of fundamental supersymmetry breaking. Newtonian gravity may be modified by effects arising from the exchange of fields in the acceleressence sector whose Compton wavelengths are typically of order the millimeter scale. There are two classes of models. In the first class the universe is presently in a metastable vacuum and will continue to inflate until tunneling processes eventually induce a first order transition. In the simplest such model, the range of the new force is bounded to be larger than 25 microns in the absence of fine-tuning of parameters, and for couplings of order unity it is expected to be \approx 100 microns. In the second class of models thermal effects maintain the present vacuum energy of the universe, but on further cooling, the universe will "soon" smoothly relax to a matter dominated era. In this case, the range of the new force is also expected to be of order the millimeter scale or larger, although its strength is uncertain. A firm prediction of this class of models is the existence of additional energy density in radiation at the eV era, which can potentially be probed in precision measurements of the cosmic microwave background. An interesting possibility is that the transition towards a matter dominated era has occurred in the very recent past, with the consequence that the universe is currently decelerating.Comment: 10 pages, references adde

C1q deficiency leads to the defective suppression of IFN-α in response to nucleoprotein containing immune complexes

Almost all humans with homozygous deficiency of C1q develop systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The precise cellular mechanism (s) by which C1q prevents the development of SLE remains unclear. In this study, we tested the role of C1q in the regulation of IFN-α induced by immune complexes (ICs) in vitro, as well as the consequences of lack of C1q in vivo. Our experiments revealed that C1q preferentially promotes the binding of SLE ICs to monocytes rather than plasmacytoid dendritic cells, but this inhibition was not due to the induction of inhibitory soluble factors. The presence of C1q also altered the trafficking of ICs within monocytes such that ICs persisted in early endosomes. In patients with C1q deficiency, serum and cerebrospinal fluid levels of IFN-α and IFN-γ–inducible protein-10 levels were elevated and strongly correlated with Ro autoantibodies, demonstrating the clinical significance of these observations. These studies therefore associate C1q deficiency with defective regulation of IFN-α and provide a better understanding of the cellular mechanisms by which C1q prevents the development of IC-stimulated autoimmunity

Gravitational decays of heavy particles in large extra dimensions

In the framework of quantum gravity propagating in large extra dimensions, we analyze the inclusive radiative emission of Kaluza-Klein spin-2 gravitons in the two-fermions decays of massive gauge bosons, heavy quarks, Higgs bosons, and in the two-massive gauge bosons decay of Higgs bosons. We provide analytical expressions for the square modulus of amplitudes summed over polarizations, and numerical results for the widths and branching ratios. The corresponding decays in the Z, top quark, and Higgs boson sectors of the standard model are analyzed in the light of present and future experiments.Comment: 29 pages, 4 figures, notation slightly changed, a few comments adde

Young Stellar Object Candidates in IC 417

IC 417 is in the Galactic Plane, and likely part of the Aur OB2 association; it is ~2 kpc away. Stock 8 is one of the densest cluster constituents; off of it to the East, there is a 'Nebulous Stream' (NS) that is dramatic in the infrared (IR). We have assembled a list of literature-identified young stellar objects (YSOs), new candidate YSOs from the NS, and new candidate YSOs from IR excesses. We vetted this list via inspection of the images, spectral energy distributions (SEDs), and color-color/color-magnitude diagrams. We placed the 710 surviving YSOs and candidate YSOs in ranked bins, nearly two-thirds of which have more than 20 points defining their SEDs. The lowest-ranked bins include stars that are confused, or likely carbon stars. There are 503 in the higher-ranked bins; half are SED Class III, and $\sim$40\% are SED Class II. Our results agree with the literature in that we find that the NS and Stock 8 are at about the same distance as each other (and as the rest of the YSOs), and that the NS is the youngest region, with Stock 8 a little older. We do not find any evidence for an age spread within the NS, consistent with the idea that the star formation trigger came from the north. We do not find that the other literature-identified clusters here are as young as either the NS or Stock 8; at best they are older than Stock 8, and they may not all be legitimate clusters.Comment: Accepted by AAS Journal

Recent Nuclear Astrophysics Measurements using the TwinSol Separator

Many astrophysical events, such as novae and X-ray bursts, are powered by reactions with radioactive nuclei. Studying the properties of these nuclei in the laboratory can therefore further our understanding of these astrophysical explosions. The TwinSol separator at the University of Notre Dame has recently been used to produce intense (∼106 pps) beams of 17F. In this article, some of the first measurements with these beams are discussed