445 research outputs found
Generalized helicity formalism, higher moments, and the B→KJK(→Kπ)¯¯¯ℓ1ℓ2 angular distributions
We generalise the Jacob-Wick helicity formalism, which applies to sequential
decays, to effective field theories of rare decays of the type . This is achieved by reinterpreting
local interaction vertices as a coherent sum of processes mediated
by particles whose spin ranges between zero and . We illustrate the
framework by deriving the full angular distributions for and for the complete
dimension-six effective Hamiltonian for non-equal lepton masses. Amplitudes and
decay rates are expressed in terms of Wigner rotation matrices, leading
naturally to the method of moments in various forms. We discuss how higher-spin
operators and QED corrections alter the standard angular distribution used
throughout the literature, potentially leading to differences between the
method of moments and the likelihood fits. We propose to diagnose these effects
by assessing higher angular moments. These could be relevant in investigating
the nature of the current LHCb anomalies in as well as angular observables in .Comment: identical to version appeared in PRD. typo in Eq below C.9 corrected,
includes Mathematica notebook with angular distribution same as v
Deterministic polarization chaos from a laser diode
Fifty years after the invention of the laser diode and fourty years after the
report of the butterfly effect - i.e. the unpredictability of deterministic
chaos, it is said that a laser diode behaves like a damped nonlinear
oscillator. Hence no chaos can be generated unless with additional forcing or
parameter modulation. Here we report the first counter-example of a
free-running laser diode generating chaos. The underlying physics is a
nonlinear coupling between two elliptically polarized modes in a
vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser. We identify chaos in experimental
time-series and show theoretically the bifurcations leading to single- and
double-scroll attractors with characteristics similar to Lorenz chaos. The
reported polarization chaos resembles at first sight a noise-driven mode
hopping but shows opposite statistical properties. Our findings open up new
research areas that combine the high speed performances of microcavity lasers
with controllable and integrated sources of optical chaos.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure
Genotype, Childhood Maltreatment, and Their Interaction in the Etiology of Adult Antisocial Behaviors
BACKGROUND: Maltreatment by an adult or caregiver during childhood is a prevalent and important predictor of antisocial behaviors in adulthood. A functional promoter polymorphism in the monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) gene has been implicated as a moderating factor in the relationship between childhood maltreatment and antisocial behaviors. Although there have been numerous attempts at replicating this observation, results remain inconclusive. METHODS: We examined this gene-environment interaction hypothesis in a sample of 3356 white and 960 black men (aged 24-34) participating in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. RESULTS: Primary analysis indicated that childhood maltreatment was a significant risk factor for later behaviors that violate rules and the rights of others (p .05). Power analyses indicated that these results were not due to insufficient statistical power. CONCLUSIONS: We could not confirm the hypothesis that MAOA genotype moderates the relationship between childhood maltreatment and adult antisocial behaviors
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Depression, Stressful Life Events, and the Impact of Variation in the Serotonin Transporter: Findings from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health)
BackgroundThe low transcriptionally efficient short-allele of the 5HTTLPR serotonin transporter polymorphism has been implicated to moderate the relationship between the experience of stressful life events (SLEs) and depression. Despite numerous attempts at replicating this observation, results remain inconclusive.MethodsWe examined this relationship in young-adult Non-Hispanic white males and females between the ages of 22 and 26 (n = 4724) participating in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) with follow-up information every six years since 1995.ResultsLinear and logistic regression models, corrected for multiple testing, indicated that carriers of one or more of the S-alleles were more sensitive to stress than those with two L-alleles and at a higher risk for depression. This relationship behaved in a dose-response manner such that the risk for depression was greatest among those who reported experiencing higher numbers of SLEs. In post-hoc analyses we were not able to replicate an interaction effect for suicide ideation but did find suggestive evidence that the effects of SLEs and 5HTTLPR on suicide ideation differed for males and females. There were no effects of childhood maltreatment.DiscussionOur results provide partial support for the original hypothesis that 5-HTTLPR genotype interacts with the experience of stressful life events in the etiology of depression during young adulthood. However, even with this large sample, and a carefully constructed a priori analysis plan, the results were still not definitive. For the purposes of replication, characterizing the 5HTTLPR in other large data sets with extensive environmental and depression measures is needed
RIXS observation of bond-directional nearest-neighbor excitations in the Kitaev material NaIrO
Spin-orbit coupling locks spin direction and spatial orientation and
generates, in semi-classical magnets, a local spin easy-axis and associated
ordering. Quantum spin-1/2's defy this fate: rather than spins becoming locally
anisotropic, the spin-spin interactions do. Consequently interactions become
dependent on the spatial orientation of bonds between spins, prime theoretical
examples of which are Kitaev magnets. Bond-directional interactions imply the
existence of bond-directional magnetic modes, predicted spin excitations that
render crystallographically equivalent bonds magnetically inequivalent, which
yet have remained elusive experimentally. Here we show that resonant inelastic
x-ray scattering allows us to explicitly probe the bond-directional character
of magnetic excitations. To do so, we use a scattering plane spanned by one
bond and the corresponding spin component and scan a range of momentum transfer
that encompasses multiple Brillouin zones. Applying this approach to
NaIrO we establish the different bond-directional characters of
magnetic excitations at 10 meV and 45 meV. Combined with the observation of
spin-spin correlations that are confined to a single bond, this experimentally
validates the Kitaev character of exchange interactions long proposed for this
material.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, plus 4 pages Supplementary Information (incl. 5
figures
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Association studies of up to 1.2 million individuals yield new insights into the genetic etiology of tobacco and alcohol use.
Tobacco and alcohol use are leading causes of mortality that influence risk for many complex diseases and disorders1. They are heritable2,3 and etiologically related4,5 behaviors that have been resistant to gene discovery efforts6-11. In sample sizes up to 1.2 million individuals, we discovered 566 genetic variants in 406 loci associated with multiple stages of tobacco use (initiation, cessation, and heaviness) as well as alcohol use, with 150 loci evidencing pleiotropic association. Smoking phenotypes were positively genetically correlated with many health conditions, whereas alcohol use was negatively correlated with these conditions, such that increased genetic risk for alcohol use is associated with lower disease risk. We report evidence for the involvement of many systems in tobacco and alcohol use, including genes involved in nicotinic, dopaminergic, and glutamatergic neurotransmission. The results provide a solid starting point to evaluate the effects of these loci in model organisms and more precise substance use measures
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