158 research outputs found
Multiple Parton Interactions in Z+jets production at the LHC. A comparison of factorized and non--factorized double parton distribution functions
We examine the contribution of Multiple Parton Interactions to Z+n-jets
production at the LHC, n=2,3,4, where the Z boson is assumed to decay
leptonically. We compare the results obtained with the correlated GS09 double
parton distribution function with those obtained with two instances of fully
factorized single parton distribution functions: MSTW2008LO and CTEQ6LO. It
appears quite feasible to measure the MPI contribution to Z+2/3/4 jets already
in the first phase of the LHC with a total luminosity of one inverse femtobarn
at 7 TeV. If as expected the trigger threshold for single photons is around 80
GeV, Z+2-jets production may well turn out to be more easily observable than
the gamma+3-jets channel. The MPI cross section is dominated by relatively soft
events with two jets balancing in transverse momentum.Comment: 15 pages, 3 plot
Electroweak corrections to Higgs-strahlung off W/Z bosons at the Tevatron and the LHC with HAWK
The associate production of Higgs bosons with W or Z bosons, known as
Higgs-strahlung, is an important search channel for Higgs bosons at the hadron
colliders Tevatron and LHC for low Higgs-boson masses. We refine a previous
calculation of next-to-leading-order electroweak corrections (and recalculate
the QCD corrections) upon including the leptonic decay of the W/Z bosons,
thereby keeping the fully differential information of the 2-lepton + Higgs
final state. The gauge invariance of the W/Z-resonance treatment is ensured by
the use of the complex-mass scheme. The electroweak corrections, which are at
the level of -(5-10)% for total cross sections, further increase in size with
increasing transverse momenta p_T in differential cross sections. For instance,
for p_T,H >~ 200GeV, which is the interesting range at the LHC, the electroweak
corrections to WH production reach about -14% for M_H = 120GeV. The described
corrections are implemented in the HAWK Monte Carlo program, which was
initially designed for the vector-boson-fusion channel, and are discussed for
various distributions in the production channels pp / p \bar p -> H + l nu_l /
l^-l^+ / nu_l \bar nu_l + X.Comment: 22 p
Implementation of electroweak corrections in the POWHEG BOX: single W production
We present a fully consistent implementation of electroweak and strong
radiative corrections to single W hadroproduction in the POWHEG BOX framework,
treating soft and collinear photon emissions on the same ground as coloured
parton emissions. This framework can be easily extended to more complex
electroweak processes. We describe how next-to-leading order (NLO) electroweak
corrections are combined with the NLO QCD calculation, and show how they are
interfaced to QCD and QED shower Monte Carlo. The resulting tool fills a gap in
the literature and allows to study comprehensively the interplay of QCD and
electroweak effects to W production using a single computational framework.
Numerical comparisons with the predictions of the electroweak generator HORACE,
as well as with existing results on the combination of electroweak and QCD
corrections to W production, are shown for the LHC energies, to validate the
reliability and accuracy of the approachComment: 31 pages, 7 figures. Minor corrections, references added and updated.
Final version to appear in JHE
Combination of electroweak and QCD corrections to single W production at the Fermilab Tevatron and the CERN LHC
Precision studies of the production of a high-transverse momentum lepton in
association with missing energy at hadron colliders require that electroweak
and QCD higher-order contributions are simultaneously taken into account in
theoretical predictions and data analysis. Here we present a detailed
phenomenological study of the impact of electroweak and strong contributions,
as well as of their combination, to all the observables relevant for the
various facets of the p\smartpap \to {\rm lepton} + X physics programme at
hadron colliders, including luminosity monitoring and Parton Distribution
Functions constraint, precision physics and search for new physics signals.
We provide a theoretical recipe to carefully combine electroweak and strong
corrections, that are mandatory in view of the challenging experimental
accuracy already reached at the Fermilab Tevatron and aimed at the CERN LHC,
and discuss the uncertainty inherent the combination. We conclude that the
theoretical accuracy of our calculation can be conservatively estimated to be
about 2% for standard event selections at the Tevatron and the LHC, and about
5% in the very high transverse mass/lepton transverse momentum tails. We
also provide arguments for a more aggressive error estimate (about 1% and 3%,
respectively) and conclude that in order to attain a one per cent accuracy: 1)
exact mixed corrections should be computed in
addition to the already available NNLO QCD contributions and two-loop
electroweak Sudakov logarithms; 2) QCD and electroweak corrections should be
coherently included into a single event generator.Comment: One reference added. Final version to appear in JHE
Predictions for Higgs production at the Tevatron and the associated uncertainties
We update the theoretical predictions for the production cross sections of
the Standard Model Higgs boson at the Fermilab Tevatron collider, focusing on
the two main search channels, the gluon-gluon fusion mechanism and
the Higgs-strahlung processes with , including all
relevant higher order QCD and electroweak corrections in perturbation theory.
We then estimate the various uncertainties affecting these predictions: the
scale uncertainties which are viewed as a measure of the unknown higher order
effects, the uncertainties from the parton distribution functions and the
related errors on the strong coupling constant, as well as the uncertainties
due to the use of an effective theory approach in the determination of the
radiative corrections in the process at next-to-next-to-leading
order. We find that while the cross sections are well under control in the
Higgs--strahlung processes, the theoretical uncertainties are rather large in
the case of the gluon-gluon fusion channel, possibly shifting the central
values of the next-to-next-to-leading order cross sections by more than
. These uncertainties are thus significantly larger than the
error assumed by the CDF and D0 experiments in their recent
analysis that has excluded the Higgs mass range 162-166 GeV at the 95%
confidence level. These exclusion limits should be, therefore, reconsidered in
the light of these large theoretical uncertainties.Comment: 40 pages, 12 figures. A few typos are corrected and some updated
numbers are provide
Graphene Photonics and Optoelectronics
The richness of optical and electronic properties of graphene attracts
enormous interest. Graphene has high mobility and optical transparency, in
addition to flexibility, robustness and environmental stability. So far, the
main focus has been on fundamental physics and electronic devices. However, we
believe its true potential to be in photonics and optoelectronics, where the
combination of its unique optical and electronic properties can be fully
exploited, even in the absence of a bandgap, and the linear dispersion of the
Dirac electrons enables ultra-wide-band tunability. The rise of graphene in
photonics and optoelectronics is shown by several recent results, ranging from
solar cells and light emitting devices, to touch screens, photodetectors and
ultrafast lasers. Here we review the state of the art in this emerging field.Comment: Review Nature Photonics, in pres
S-100B Concentrations Predict Disease-Free Survival in Stage III Melanoma Patients
Elevation of the tumor marker S-100B in melanoma patients is a highly specific indicator of recurrence. The role of S-100B in disease-free survival (DFS) was evaluated in stage III melanoma patients (staged with fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography [FDG-PET] and computed tomography [CT]) with palpable lymph node metastases who underwent therapeutic lymph node dissection. S-100B and LDH were measured on the day before surgery (d = -1) and on days 1, 2, and 7 postoperatively. Multivariate logistic regression was used to study factors associated with preoperative elevation of S-100B. Univariate (log-rank test) and multivariate (Cox regression) survival analyses were performed to identify factors associated with DFS. Between 2004 and 2008, 56 patients (median age 57, range 24-93) years, 27 males (48%) and 29 females (52%) entered the study. Preoperative S-100B elevation was found in 27 patients (48%) and elevated LDH in 20 patients (36%). No association was found between these two markers at any time. Multivariate analysis showed that elevated S-100B preoperatively (hazard ratio [HR] 2.7, P = .03) was associated with DFS. S-100B elevation was associated with increased tumor size (odds ratio [OR] 3.40; P = .03). Elevated S-100B preoperatively in patients with optimally staged clinical stage III melanoma is associated with decreased disease-free survival. S100-B could be used as a prognostic marker in the stratification of new adjuvant trials to select stage III melanoma patients for adjuvant systematic treatment
Use of S-100B to Evaluate Therapy Effects during Bevacizumab Induction Treatment in AJCC Stage III Melanoma
To investigate the feasibility of using bevacizumab to improve the survival of American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage III melanoma patients, we investigated how a single bevacizumab treatment affected nodal disease and a panel of biomarkers in clinically fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET)/computed tomography (CT)-staged, stage III melanoma patients, prior to therapeutic lymph node dissection (TLND). Four weeks before TLND, nine patients (median age 50, range 28.8-62.1 years; two male, seven female) with palpable lymph node metastases received 7.5 mg/kg bevacizumab. Before and after this treatment, all patients were assessed by measurements of the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) by FDG-PET scan, and serum S-100B and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). After TLND, the dissection specimen was analyzed for number of removed lymph nodes, number of metastatic lymph nodes, and tumor necrosis. Median follow-up was 15.5 (2.2-32.9) months. Histopathological analysis revealed tumor necrosis in six patients, of whom five had an S-100B decline and one had an unchanged S-100B level after bevacizumab. The other three patients showed an S-100B increase and no necrosis. Tumor necrosis was correlated with S-100B decrease (P = 0.048). No association was found between necrosis and the markers SUVmax and LDH. No wound healing disturbances were encountered. Tumor necrosis in dissection specimens was associated with declining S-100B levels, while elevated S-100B was only found in cases with no necrosis. Bevacizumab might be useful in treating AJCC stage III melanoma patients prior to TLND, and S100-B appears to be a useful marker for assessment of treatment effects
Asthmatics Exhibit Altered Oxylipin Profiles Compared to Healthy Individuals after Subway Air Exposure
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory lung disease that causes significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Air pollutants such as particulate matter (PM) and oxidants are important factors in causing exacerbations in asthmatics, and the source and composition of pollutants greatly affects pathological implications.This randomized crossover study investigated responses of the respiratory system to Stockholm subway air in asthmatics and healthy individuals. Eicosanoids and other oxylipins were quantified in the distal lung to provide a measure of shifts in lipid mediators in association with exposure to subway air relative to ambient air.Sixty-four oxylipins representing the cyclooxygenase (COX), lipoxygenase (LOX) and cytochrome P450 (CYP) metabolic pathways were screened using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL)-fluid. Validations through immunocytochemistry staining of BAL-cells were performed for 15-LOX-1, COX-1, COX-2 and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ). Multivariate statistics were employed to interrogate acquired oxylipin and immunocytochemistry data in combination with patient clinical information.Asthmatics and healthy individuals exhibited divergent oxylipin profiles following exposure to ambient and subway air. Significant changes were observed in 8 metabolites of linoleic- and α-linolenic acid synthesized via the 15-LOX pathway, and of the COX product prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)). Oxylipin levels were increased in healthy individuals following exposure to subway air, whereas asthmatics evidenced decreases or no change.Several of the altered oxylipins have known or suspected bronchoprotective or anti-inflammatory effects, suggesting a possible reduced anti-inflammatory response in asthmatics following exposure to subway air. These observations may have ramifications for sensitive subpopulations in urban areas
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