491 research outputs found
Force and Motion Generation of Molecular Motors: A Generic Description
We review the properties of biological motor proteins which move along linear
filaments that are polar and periodic. The physics of the operation of such
motors can be described by simple stochastic models which are coupled to a
chemical reaction. We analyze the essential features of force and motion
generation and discuss the general properties of single motors in the framework
of two-state models. Systems which contain large numbers of motors such as
muscles and flagella motivate the study of many interacting motors within the
framework of simple models. In this case, collective effects can lead to new
types of behaviors such as dynamic instabilities of the steady states and
oscillatory motion.Comment: 29 pages, 9 figure
Four Light Neutrinos in Singular Seesaw Mechanism with Abelian Flavor Symmetry
The four light neutrino scenario, which explains the atmosphere, solar and
LSND neutrino experiments, is studied in the framework of the seesaw mechanism.
By taking both the Dirac and Majorana mass matrix of neutrinos to be singular,
the four neutrino mass spectrum consisting of two almost degenerate pairs
separated by a mass gap eV is naturally generated. Moreover the
right-handed neutrino Majorana mass can be at GeV scale unlike
in the usual singular seesaw mechanism. Abelian flavor symmetry is used to
produce the required neutrino mass pattern. A specific example of the flavor
charge assignment is provided to show that maximal mixings between the
and are respectively attributed to the
atmosphere and solar neutrino anomalies while small mixing between two pairs to
the LSND results. The implication in the other fermion masses is also
discussed.Comment: Firnal version to appear in PR
A New Upper Limit for the Tau-Neutrino Magnetic Moment
Using a prompt neutrino beam in which a nu_tau component was identified for
the first time, the nu_tau magnetic moment was measured based on a search for
an anomalous increase in the number of neutrino-electron interactions. One such
event was observed when 2.3 were expected from background processes, giving an
upper 90% confidence limit of 3.9x10^-7 Bohr magnetons.Comment: 9 pages; 1 figur
Status of four-neutrino mass schemes: a global and unified approach to current neutrino oscillation data
We present a unified global analysis of neutrino oscillation data within the
framework of the four-neutrino mass schemes (3+1) and (2+2). We include all
data from solar and atmospheric neutrino experiments, as well as information
from short-baseline experiments including LSND. If we combine only solar and
atmospheric neutrino data, (3+1) schemes are clearly preferred, whereas
short-baseline data in combination with atmospheric data prefers (2+2) models.
When combining all data in a global analysis the (3+1) mass scheme gives a
slightly better fit than the (2+2) case, though all four-neutrino schemes are
presently acceptable. The LSND result disfavors the three-active neutrino
scenario with only and at 99.9% CL with
respect to the four-neutrino best fit model. We perform a detailed analysis of
the goodness of fit to identify which sub-set of the data is in disagreement
with the best fit solution in a given mass scheme.Comment: 32 pages, 8 Figures included, REVTeX4.Improved discussion in sec. XI,
references added, version accepted by Phys. Rev.
Neutrinoless double-beta decay with three or four neutrino mixing
Considering the scheme with mixing of three neutrinos and a mass hierarchy
that can accommodate the results of solar and atmospheric neutrino experiments,
it is shown that the results of solar neutrino experiments imply a lower bound
for the effective Majorana mass in neutrinoless double-beta decay, under the
natural assumptions that massive neutrinos are Majorana particles and there are
no unlikely fine-tuned cancellations among the contributions of the different
neutrino masses. Considering the four-neutrino schemes that can accommodate
also the results of the LSND experiment, it is shown that only one of them is
compatible with the results of neutrinoless double-beta decay experiments and
with the measurement of the abundances of primordial elements produced in
Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis. It is shown that in this scheme, under the
assumptions that massive neutrinos are Majorana particles and there are no
cancellations among the contributions of the different neutrino masses, the
results of the LSND experiment imply a lower bound for the effective Majorana
mass in neutrinoless double-beta decay.Comment: 18 pages including 2 figures, RevTe
Can R-parity violation explain the LSND data as well?
The recent Super-Kamiokande data now admit only one type of mass hierarchy in
a framework with three active and one sterile neutrinos. We show that neutrino
masses and mixings generated by R-parity-violating couplings, with values
within their experimental upper limits, are capable of reproducing this
hierarchy, explaining all neutrino data particularly after including the LSND
results.Comment: 7 pages, Latex, 3 PS figures; in v2 a few clarifying remarks included
and two references added (to appear in Physical Review D
Neutrino oscillation constraints on neutrinoless double beta decay
We have studied the constraints imposed by the results of neutrino
oscillation experiments on the effective Majorana mass || that characterizes
the contribution of Majorana neutrino masses to the matrix element of
neutrinoless double-beta decay. We have shown that in a general scheme with
three Majorana neutrinos and a hierarchy of neutrino masses (which can be
explained by the see-saw mechanism), the results of neutrino oscillation
experiments imply rather strong constraints on the parameter ||. From the
results of the first reactor long-baseline experiment CHOOZ and the Bugey
experiment it follows that || < 3x10^{-2} eV if the largest mass-squared
difference is smaller than 2 eV^2. Hence, we conclude that the observation of
neutrinoless double-beta decay with a probability that corresponds to || >
10^{-1} eV would be a signal for a non-hierarchical neutrino mass spectrum
and/or non-standard mechanisms of lepton number violation.Comment: 20 pages, including 4 figure
Measurement of a small atmospheric ratio
From an exposure of 25.5~kiloton-years of the Super-Kamiokande detector, 900
muon-like and 983 electron-like single-ring atmospheric neutrino interactions
were detected with momentum MeV/, MeV/, and
with visible energy less than 1.33 GeV. Using a detailed Monte Carlo
simulation, the ratio was measured to be , consistent with previous results from the
Kamiokande, IMB and Soudan-2 experiments, and smaller than expected from
theoretical models of atmospheric neutrino production.Comment: 14 pages with 5 figure
Dilepton mass spectra in p+p collisions at sqrt(s)= 200 GeV and the contribution from open charm
The PHENIX experiement has measured the electron-positron pair mass spectrum
from 0 to 8 GeV/c^2 in p+p collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV. The contributions
from light meson decays to e^+e^- pairs have been determined based on
measurements of hadron production cross sections by PHENIX. They account for
nearly all e^+e^- pairs in the mass region below 1 GeV/c^2. The e^+e^- pair
yield remaining after subtracting these contributions is dominated by
semileptonic decays of charmed hadrons correlated through flavor conservation.
Using the spectral shape predicted by PYTHIA, we estimate the charm production
cross section to be 544 +/- 39(stat) +/- 142(syst) +/- 200(model) \mu b, which
is consistent with QCD calculations and measurements of single leptons by
PHENIX.Comment: 375 authors from 57 institutions, 18 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables.
Submitted to Physics Letters B. v2 fixes technical errors in matching authors
to institutions. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for
this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at
http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm
Inclusive cross section and double helicity asymmetry for \pi^0 production in p+p collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV: Implications for the polarized gluon distribution in the proton
The PHENIX experiment presents results from the RHIC 2005 run with polarized
proton collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV, for inclusive \pi^0 production at
mid-rapidity. Unpolarized cross section results are given for transverse
momenta p_T=0.5 to 20 GeV/c, extending the range of published data to both
lower and higher p_T. The cross section is described well for p_T < 1 GeV/c by
an exponential in p_T, and, for p_T > 2 GeV/c, by perturbative QCD. Double
helicity asymmetries A_LL are presented based on a factor of five improvement
in uncertainties as compared to previously published results, due to both an
improved beam polarization of 50%, and to higher integrated luminosity. These
measurements are sensitive to the gluon polarization in the proton, and exclude
maximal values for the gluon polarization.Comment: 375 authors, 7 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. D, Rapid
Communications. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for
this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at
http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm
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