Measurement of the fraction of t-tbar production via gluon-gluon fusion in p-pbar collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV

We present a measurement of the ratio of t-tbar production cross section via gluon-gluon fusion to the total t-tbar production cross section in p-pbar collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV at the Tevatron. Using a data sample with an integrated luminosity of 955/pb recorded by the CDF II detector at Fermilab, we select events based on the t-tbar decay to lepton+jets. Using an artificial neural network technique we discriminate between t-tbar events produced via q-qbar annihilation and gluon-gluon fusion, and find Cf=(gg->ttbar)/(pp->ttbar)<0.33 at the 68% confidence level. This result is combined with a previous measurement to obtain the most precise measurement of this quantity, Cf=0.07+0.15-0.07.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev.

Measurement of Resonance Parameters of Orbitally Excited Narrow B^0 Mesons

We report a measurement of resonance parameters of the orbitally excited (L=1) narrow B^0 mesons in decays to B^{(*)+}\pi^- using 1.7/fb of data collected by the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. The mass and width of the B^{*0}_2 state are measured to be m(B^{*0}_2) = 5740.2^{+1.7}_{-1.8}(stat.) ^{+0.9}_{-0.8}(syst.) MeV/c^2 and \Gamma(B^{*0}_2) = 22.7^{+3.8}_{-3.2}(stat.) ^{+3.2}_{-10.2}(syst.) MeV/c^2. The mass difference between the B^{*0}_2 and B^0_1 states is measured to be 14.9^{+2.2}_{-2.5}(stat.) ^{+1.2}_{-1.4}(syst.) MeV/c^2, resulting in a B^0_1 mass of 5725.3^{+1.6}_{-2.2}(stat.) ^{+1.4}_{-1.5}(syst.) MeV/c^2. This is currently the most precise measurement of the masses of these states and the first measurement of the B^{*0}_2 width.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, 1 table. Submitted to Phys.Rev.Let

Search for lepton flavor violating decays of a heavy neutral particle in p-pbar collisions at root(s)=1.8 TeV

We report on a search for a high mass, narrow width particle that decays directly to e+mu, e+tau, or mu+tau. We use approximately 110 pb^-1 of data collected with the Collider Detector at Fermilab from 1992 to 1995. No evidence of lepton flavor violating decays is found. Limits are set on the production and decay of sneutrinos with R-parity violating interactions.Comment: Figure 2 fixed. Reference 4 fixed. Minor changes to tex

Mechanisms of organelle division and inheritance and their implications regarding the origin of eukaryotic cells

Mitochondria and plastids have their own DNAs and are regarded as descendants of endosymbiotic prokaryotes. Organellar DNAs are not naked in vivo but are associated with basic proteins to form DNA-protein complexes (called organelle nuclei). The concept of organelle nuclei provides a new approach to explain the origin, division, and inheritance of organelles. Organelles divide using organelle division rings (machineries) after organelle-nuclear division. Organelle division machineries are a chimera of the FtsZ (filamentous temperature sensitive Z) ring of bacterial origin and the eukaryotic mechanochemical dynamin ring. Thus, organelle division machineries contain a key to solve the origin of organelles (eukaryotes). The maternal inheritance of organelles developed during sexual reproduction and it is also probably intimately related to the origin of organelles. The aims of this review are to describe the strategies used to reveal the dynamics of organelle division machineries, and the significance of the division machineries and maternal inheritance in the origin and evolution of eukaryotes

Top Quark Mass Measurement in the Lepton plus Jets Channel Using a Modified Matrix Element Method

46 pages, 16 figures. Edited in response to referee comments and resubmitted to Phys. Rev. DWe report a measurement of the top quark mass, m_t, obtained from ppbar collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV at the Fermilab Tevatron using the CDF II detector. We analyze a sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.9 fb^-1. We select events with an electron or muon, large missing transverse energy, and exactly four high-energy jets in the central region of the detector, at least one of which is tagged as coming from a b quark. We calculate a signal likelihood using a matrix element integration method, with effective propagators to take into account assumptions on event kinematics. Our event likelihood is a function of m_t and a parameter JES that determines /in situ/ the calibration of the jet energies. We use a neural network discriminant to distinguish signal from background events. We also apply a cut on the peak value of each event likelihood curve to reduce the contribution of background and badly reconstructed events. Using the 318 events that pass all selection criteria, we find m_t = 172.7 +/- 1.8 (stat. + JES) +/- 1.2 (syst.) GeV/c^2.We report a measurement of the top quark mass, mt, obtained from pp̅ collisions at √s=1.96  TeV at the Fermilab Tevatron using the CDF II detector. We analyze a sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.9  fb-1. We select events with an electron or muon, large missing transverse energy, and exactly four high-energy jets in the central region of the detector, at least one of which is tagged as coming from a b quark. We calculate a signal likelihood using a matrix element integration method, where the matrix element is modified by using effective propagators to take into account assumptions on event kinematics. Our event likelihood is a function of mt and a parameter JES (jet energy scale) that determines in situ the calibration of the jet energies. We use a neural network discriminant to distinguish signal from background events. We also apply a cut on the peak value of each event likelihood curve to reduce the contribution of background and badly reconstructed events. Using the 318 events that pass all selection criteria, we find mt=172.7±1.8(stat+JES)±1.2(syst)  GeV/c2.Peer reviewe

Search for a Higgs Boson Decaying to Two W Bosons at CDF

We present a search for a Higgs boson decaying to two W bosons in ppbar collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV center-of-mass energy. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb-1 collected with the CDF II detector. We find no evidence for production of a Higgs boson with mass between 110 and 200 GeV/c^2, and determine upper limits on the production cross section. For the mass of 160 GeV/c^2, where the analysis is most sensitive, the observed (expected) limit is 0.7 pb (0.9 pb) at 95% Bayesian credibility level which is 1.7 (2.2) times the standard model cross section

Search for Long-Lived Massive Charged Particles in 1.96 TeV \bar{p}p} Collisions

16 pages, 2 figures; Revision to fix PDF errors on some displays/printersWe performed a signature-based search for long-lived charged massive particles (CHAMPs) produced in 1.0 $\rm{fb}^{-1}$ of $\bar{p}p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=1.96$ TeV, collected with the CDF II detector using a high transverse-momentum ($p_T$) muon trigger. The search used time-of-flight to isolate slowly moving, high-$p_T$ particles. One event passed our selection cuts with an expected background of $1.9 \pm 0.2$ events. We set an upper bound on the production cross section, and, interpreting this result within the context of a stable scalar top quark model, set a lower limit on the particle mass of 249 GeV/$c^2$ at 95% C.L.We performed a signature-based search for long-lived charged massive particles produced in 1.0  fb-1 of pp̅ collisions at √s=1.96  TeV, collected with the CDF II detector using a high transverse-momentum (pT) muon trigger. The search used time of flight to isolate slowly moving, high-pT particles. One event passed our selection cuts with an expected background of 1.9±0.2 events. We set an upper bound on the production cross section and, interpreting this result within the context of a stable scalar top-quark model, set a lower limit on the particle mass of 249  GeV/c2 at 95% C.L.Peer reviewe

Search for WW and WZ production in lepton plus jets final state at CDF

submitted to Phys. Rev. D (RC)We present a search for WW and WZ production in final states that contain a charged lepton (electron or muon) and at least two jets, produced in sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV ppbar collisions at the Fermilab Tevatron, using data corresponding to 1.2 fb-1 of integrated luminosity collected with the CDF II detector. Diboson production in this decay channel has yet to be observed at hadron colliders due to the large single W plus jets background. An artificial neural network has been developed to increase signal sensitivity, as compared with an event selection based on conventional cuts. We set a 95% confidence level upper limit of sigma_{WW}* BR(W->lnu,W->jets)+ sigma_{WZ}*BR(W->lnu,Z->jets)We present a search for WW and WZ production in final states that contain a charged lepton (electron or muon) and at least two jets, produced in √s=1.96  TeV pp̅ collisions at the Fermilab Tevatron, using data corresponding to 1.2  fb-1 of integrated luminosity collected with the CDF II detector. Diboson production in this decay channel has yet to be observed at hadron colliders due to the large single W plus jets background. An artificial neural network has been developed to increase signal sensitivity, as compared with an event selection based on conventional cuts. We set a 95% confidence level upper limit of σWW×BR(W→ℓνℓ,W→jets)+σWZ×BR(W→ℓνℓ,Z→jets)<2.88  pb, which is consistent with the standard model next-to-leading-order cross section calculation for this decay channel of 2.09±0.12  pb.Peer reviewe

A search for high-mass resonances decaying to dimuons at CDF

We present a search for high-mass neutral resonances using dimuon data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.3 fb$^{-1}$ collected in {$p\bar p$} collisions at {$\sqrt{s}$ = 1.96 TeV} by the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. No significant excess above the standard model expectation is observed in the dimuon invariant-mass spectrum. We set 95% confidence level upper limits on $\sigma \cdot BR (p \bar{p} \to X \to \mu \bar{\mu})$, where $X$ is a boson with spin 0, 1, or 2. Using these cross section limits, we determine lower mass limits on sneutrinos in R-parity-violating supersymmetric models, $Z'$ bosons, and Kaluza-Klein gravitons in the Randall-Sundrum model.We present a search for high-mass neutral resonances using dimuon data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.3  fb-1 collected in pp̅ collisions at √s=1.96  TeV by the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. No significant excess above the standard model expectation is observed in the dimuon invariant-mass spectrum. We set 95% confidence level upper limits on σBR(pp̅ →X→μμ̅ ), where X is a boson with spin-0, 1, or 2. Using these cross section limits, we determine lower mass limits on sneutrinos in R-parity-violating supersymmetric models, Z′ bosons, and Kaluza-Klein gravitons in the Randall-Sundrum model.Peer reviewe

ATP synthase: from single molecule to human bioenergetics

ATP synthase (FoF1) consists of an ATP-driven motor (F1) and a H+-driven motor (Fo), which rotate in opposite directions. FoF1 reconstituted into a lipid membrane is capable of ATP synthesis driven by H+ flux. As the basic structures of F1 (α3β3γδε) and Fo (ab2c10) are ubiquitous, stable thermophilic FoF1 (TFoF1) has been used to elucidate molecular mechanisms, while human F1Fo (HF1Fo) has been used to study biomedical significance. Among F1s, only thermophilic F1 (TF1) can be analyzed simultaneously by reconstitution, crystallography, mutagenesis and nanotechnology for torque-driven ATP synthesis using elastic coupling mechanisms. In contrast to the single operon of TFoF1, HFoF1 is encoded by both nuclear DNA with introns and mitochondrial DNA. The regulatory mechanism, tissue specificity and physiopathology of HFoF1 were elucidated by proteomics, RNA interference, cytoplasts and transgenic mice. The ATP synthesized daily by HFoF1 is in the order of tens of kilograms, and is primarily controlled by the brain in response to fluctuations in activity