496 research outputs found
The Octonionic Membrane
We generalize the supermembrane solution of D=11 supergravity by permitting
the 4-form to be either self-dual or anti-self-dual in the eight dimensions
transverse to the membrane. After analyzing the supergravity field equations
directly, and also discussing necessary conditions for unbroken supersymmetry,
we focus on two specific, related solutions. The self-dual solution is not
asymptotically flat. The anti-self-dual solution is asymptotically flat, has
finite mass per unit area and saturates the same mass=charge Bogomolnyi bound
as the usual supermembrane. Nevertheless, neither solution preserves any
supersymmetry. Both solutions involve the octonionic structure constants but,
perhaps surprisingly, they are unrelated to the octonionic instanton 2-form
, for which is neither self-dual nor anti-self-dual.Comment: 17 pages, Latex; enhanced discussion on supersymmetry, some
references adde
Calculations of parity nonconserving s-d transitions in Cs, Fr, Ba II, and Ra II
We have performed ab initio mixed-states and sum-over-states calculations of
parity nonconserving (PNC) electric dipole (E1) transition amplitudes between
s-d electron states of Cs, Fr, Ba II, and Ra II. For the lower states of these
atoms we have also calculated energies, E1 transition amplitudes, and
lifetimes. We have shown that PNC E1 transition amplitudes between s-d states
can be calculated to high accuracy. Contrary to the Cs 6s-7s transition, in
these transitions there are no strong cancelations between different terms in
the sum-over-states approach. In fact, there is one dominating term which
deviates from the sum by less than 20%. This term corresponds to an s-p_{1/2}
weak matrix element, which can be calculated to better than 1%, and a
p_{1/2}-d_{3/2} E1 transition amplitude, which can be measured. Also, the s-d
amplitudes are about four times larger than the corresponding s-s transitions.
We have shown that by using a hybrid mixed-states/sum-over-states approach the
accuracy of the calculations of PNC s-d amplitudes could compete with that of
Cs 6s-7s if p_{1/2}-d_{3/2} E1 amplitudes are measured to high accuracy.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Using untagged B^0 -> D K_S to determine gamma
It is shown that the weak phase gamma=arg(-V_{ud}V^*_{ub}V_{cb}V_{cd}^*) can
be determined using only untagged decays B/Bbar--> D K_S. In order to reduce
the uncertainty in gamma, we suggest combining information from B^{+-}-->
DK^{+-} and from untagged B^0 decays, where the D meson is observed in common
decay modes. Theoretical assumptions, which may further reduce the statistical
error, are also discussed.Comment: 18 pages, same as published versio
Neutrino masses in R-parity violating supersymmetric models
We study neutrino masses and mixing in R-parity violating supersymmetric
models with generic soft supersymmetry breaking terms. Neutrinos acquire masses
from various sources: Tree level neutrino--neutralino mixing and loop effects
proportional to bilinear and/or trilinear R-parity violating parameters. Each
of these contributions is controlled by different parameters and have different
suppression or enhancement factors which we identified. Within an Abelian
horizontal symmetry framework these factors are related and specific
predictions can be made. We found that the main contributions to the neutrino
masses are from the tree level and the bilinear loops and that the observed
neutrino data can be accommodated once mild fine-tuning is allowed.Comment: 18 pages; minor typos corrected. To be published in Physical Review
Removing Discrete Ambiguities in CP Asymmetry Measurements
We discuss methods to resolve the ambiguities in CP violating phase angles
that are left when a measurement of is made. We show what
knowledge of hadronic quantities will be needed to fully resolve all such
ambiguities.Comment: 23 pages, revtex, no figure
Higgsless Theory of Electroweak Symmetry Breaking from Warped Space
We study a theory of electroweak symmetry breaking without a Higgs boson,
recently suggested by Csaki et al. The theory is formulated in 5D warped space
with the gauge bosons and matter fields propagating in the bulk. In the 4D dual
picture, the theory appears as the standard model without a Higgs field, but
with an extra gauge group G which becomes strong at the TeV scale. The strong
dynamics of G breaks the electroweak symmetry, giving the masses for the W and
Z bosons and the quarks and leptons. We study corrections in 5D which are
logarithmically enhanced by the large mass ratio between the Planck and weak
scales, and show that they do not destroy the structure of the electroweak
gauge sector at the leading order. We introduce a new parameter, the ratio
between the two bulk gauge couplings, into the theory and find that it allows
us to control the scale of new physics. We also present a potentially realistic
theory accommodating quarks and leptons and discuss its implications, including
the violation of universality in the W and Z boson couplings to matter and the
spectrum of the Kaluza-Klein excitations of the gauge bosons. The theory
reproduces many successful features of the standard model, although some
cancellations may still be needed to satisfy constraints from the precision
electroweak data.Comment: 17 pages, Latex; important correction in discussions on effects from
brane terms, reference adde
Corporate financing decisions: UK survey evidence
Despite theoretical developments in recent years, our understanding of corporate capital structure remains incomplete. Prior empirical research has been dominated by archival regression studies which are limited in their ability to fully reflect the diversity found in practice. The present paper reports on a comprehensive survey of corporate financing decision-making in UK listed companies. A key finding is that firms are heterogeneous in their capital structure policies. About half of the firms seek to maintain a target debt level, consistent with trade-off theory, but 60 per cent claim to follow a financing hierarchy, consistent with pecking order theory. These two theories are not viewed by respondents as either mutually exclusive or exhaustive. Many of the theoretical determinants of debt levels are widely accepted by respondents, in particular the importance of interest tax shield, financial distress, agency costs and also, at least implicitly, information asymmetry. Results also indicate that cross-country institutional differences have a significant impact on financial decisions
The Empirical Mass-Luminosity Relation for Low Mass Stars
This work is devoted to improving empirical mass-luminosity relations and
mass-metallicity-luminosity relation for low mass stars. For these stars,
observational data in the mass-luminosity plane or the
mass-metallicity-luminosity space subject to non-negligible errors in all
coordinates with different dimensions. Thus a reasonable weight assigning
scheme is needed for obtaining more reliable results. Such a scheme is
developed, with which each data point can have its own due contribution.
Previous studies have shown that there exists a plateau feature in the
mass-luminosity relation. Taking into account the constraints from the
observational luminosity function, we find by fitting the observational data
using our weight assigning scheme that the plateau spans from 0.28 to 0.50
solar mass. Three-piecewise continuous improved mass-luminosity relations in K,
J, H and V bands, respectively, are obtained. The visual
mass-metallicity-luminosity relation is also improved based on our K band
mass-luminosity relation and the available observational metallicity data.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space
Scienc
Phenomenology of the nMSSM from colliders to cosmology
Low energy supersymmetric models provide a solution to the hierarchy problem
and also have the necessary ingredients to solve two of the most outstanding
issues in cosmology: the origin of dark matter and baryonic matter. One of the
most attractive features of this framework is that the relevant physical
processes are related to interactions at the weak scale and therefore may be
tested in collider experiments in the near future. This is true for the Minimal
Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) as well as for its extension with the
addition of one singlet chiral superfield, the so-called nMSSM. It has been
recently shown that within the nMSSM an elegant solution to both the problem of
baryogenesis and dark matter may be found, that relies mostly on the mixing of
the singlet sector with the Higgs sector of the theory. In this work we review
the nMSSM model constraints from cosmology and present the associated collider
phenomenology at the LHC and the ILC. We show that the ILC will efficiently
probe the neutralino, chargino and Higgs sectors, allowing to confront
cosmological observations with computations based on collider measurements. We
also investigate the prospects for a direct detection of dark matter and the
constraints imposed by the current bounds of the electron electric dipole
moment in this model.Comment: 44 pp, 10 figures; Fig.9 replaced; discussion on CP violation
extended and references added; few minor additions in text about details of
the cut
Adenovirus-mediated correction of the genetic defect in hepatocytes from patients with familial hypercholesterolemia
Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is an inherited deficiency of LDL receptors that has been an important model for liver-directed gene therapy. We are developing approaches for treating FH that are based on direct delivery of recombinant LDL receptor genes to liver in vivo. As a first step towards this goal, replication-defective recombinant adenoviruses were constructed which contained either the lacZ gene or the human LDL receptor cDNA expressed from a β-actin promoter. Primary cultures of hepatocytes were established from two patients with homozygous FH and one nonFH patient, and subsequently exposed to recombinant adenoviruses at MOIs ranging from 0.1 to 5. Essentially all of the cells expressed high levels of the transgene without demonstrable expression of an early or late adenoviral gene product; the level of recombinant-derived LDL receptor protein in transduced FH hepatocytes exceeded the endogenous levels by at least 20-fold. These studies support the utility of recombinant adenoviruses for efficient transduction of recombinant LDL receptor genes into human FH hepatocytes without expression of viral proteins.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45545/1/11188_2005_Article_BF01233250.pd
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