2,237 research outputs found
The Heavy-Flavour Contribution to Proton Structure
We present theoretical and experimental considerations pertaining to deeply
inelastic heavy-flavour production at HERA. The various theoretical
uncertainties in the cross section calculation are discussed. Cuts are imposed
to determine the fraction of charm production accessible to the detectors. The
production of charm at asymptotic and bottom production are also covered.
Experimental aspects include current charm production data analysis and
prospects for future analyses including anticipated high precision and
distinguishing photon-gluon fusion charm events from excitation from the charm
parton density. The feasibility of measuring is
investigated.Comment: 22 total pages with 16 figures. To appear in abbreviated form in the
proceedings of the workshop ``Future Physics at HERA'', DESY, Hamburg, 199
Solid deuterium surface degradation at ultracold neutron sources
Solid deuterium (sD_2) is used as an efficient converter to produce ultracold
neutrons (UCN). It is known that the sD_2 must be sufficiently cold, of high
purity and mostly in its ortho-state in order to guarantee long lifetimes of
UCN in the solid from which they are extracted into vacuum. Also the UCN
transparency of the bulk sD_2 material must be high because crystal
inhomogeneities limit the mean free path for elastic scattering and reduce the
extraction efficiency. Observations at the UCN sources at Paul Scherrer
Institute and at Los Alamos National Laboratory consistently show a decrease of
the UCN yield with time of operation after initial preparation or later
treatment (`conditioning') of the sD_2. We show that, in addition to the
quality of the bulk sD_2, the quality of its surface is essential. Our
observations and simulations support the view that the surface is deteriorating
due to a build-up of D_2 frost-layers under pulsed operation which leads to
strong albedo reflections of UCN and subsequent loss. We report results of UCN
yield measurements, temperature and pressure behavior of deuterium during
source operation and conditioning, and UCN transport simulations. This,
together with optical observations of sD_2 frost formation on initially
transparent sD_2 in offline studies with pulsed heat input at the North
Carolina State University UCN source results in a consistent description of the
UCN yield decrease.Comment: 15 pages, 22 figures, accepted by EPJ-
The KARMEN Time Anomaly: Search for a Neutral Particle of Mass 33.9 MeV in Pion Decay
We have searched for the pion decay pi^+ --> mu^+ X, where X is a neutral
particle of mass 33.905 MeV. This process was suggested by the KARMEN
Collaboration to explain an anomaly in their observed time distribution of
neutrino induced reactions. Having measured the muon momentum spectrum of
charged pions decaying in flight, we find no evidence for this process and
place an upper limit on the branching fraction eta leq 6.0 * 10^{-10} of such a
decay at a 95% confidence level.Comment: 17 pages including 4 for figure
101 Dothideomycetes genomes: A test case for predicting lifestyles and emergence of pathogens.
Dothideomycetes is the largest class of kingdom Fungi and comprises an incredible diversity of lifestyles, many of which have evolved multiple times. Plant pathogens represent a major ecological niche of the class Dothideomycetes and they are known to infect most major food crops and feedstocks for biomass and biofuel production. Studying the ecology and evolution of Dothideomycetes has significant implications for our fundamental understanding of fungal evolution, their adaptation to stress and host specificity, and practical implications with regard to the effects of climate change and on the food, feed, and livestock elements of the agro-economy. In this study, we present the first large-scale, whole-genome comparison of 101 Dothideomycetes introducing 55 newly sequenced species. The availability of whole-genome data produced a high-confidence phylogeny leading to reclassification of 25 organisms, provided a clearer picture of the relationships among the various families, and indicated that pathogenicity evolved multiple times within this class. We also identified gene family expansions and contractions across the Dothideomycetes phylogeny linked to ecological niches providing insights into genome evolution and adaptation across this group. Using machine-learning methods we classified fungi into lifestyle classes with >95 % accuracy and identified a small number of gene families that positively correlated with these distinctions. This can become a valuable tool for genome-based prediction of species lifestyle, especially for rarely seen and poorly studied species
Cryo-electron microscopy reveals two distinct type IV pili assembled by the same bacterium
This is the final version. Available on open access from Nature Research via the DOI in this recordData availability:
EM maps have been deposited in the Electron Microscopy Data Bank (EMDB, https://www.ebi.ac.uk/pdbe/emdb/) with accession codes EMD-10647 (wide pilus, PilA4) and EMD-10648 (narrow pilus, PilA5). Models have been deposited in the Protein Data Bank (PDB, https://www.rcsb.org/) with accession codes 6XXD (PilA4) and 6XXE (PilA5). The MS proteomics data have been deposited to the ProteomeXchange Consortium via the PRIDE75 partner repository (https://www.ebi.ac.uk/pride/) with dataset identifier PXD017353. The source data underlying Figs. 5câe and 6, Supplementary Figs. 2, 3b, c, 4aâc, 5e and 6e, f, and Supplementary Table 4 are provided in the Source Data file. Uncropped versions of gels and blots (for Fig. 5c, d, and Supplementary Figs. 2b and 4aâc) and twitching images (for Fig. 6a) are also shown in Supplementary Fig. 10.Type IV pili are flexible filaments on the surface of bacteria, consisting of a helical assembly of pilin proteins. They are involved in bacterial motility (twitching), surface adhesion, biofilm formation and DNA uptake (natural transformation). Here, we use cryo-electron microscopy and mass spectrometry to show that the bacterium Thermus thermophilus produces two forms of type IV pilus (âwideâ and ânarrowâ), differing in structure and protein composition. Wide pili are composed of the major pilin PilA4, while narrow pili are composed of a so-far uncharacterized pilin which we name PilA5. Functional experiments indicate that PilA4 is required for natural transformation, while PilA5 is important for twitching motility.Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)Max-Planck-SocietyUniversity of ExeterDeutsche Forschungsgemeinschaf
Constraining interactions mediated by axion-like particles with ultracold neutrons
We report a new limit on a possible short range spin-dependent interaction
from the precise measurement of the ratio of Larmor precession frequencies of
stored ultracold neutrons and Hg atoms confined in the same volume. The
measurement was performed in a 1 T vertical magnetic holding field
with the apparatus searching for a permanent electric dipole moment of the
neutron at the Paul Scherrer Institute. A possible coupling between freely
precessing polarized neutron spins and unpolarized nucleons of the wall
material can be investigated by searching for a tiny change of the precession
frequencies of neutron and mercury spins. Such a frequency change can be
interpreted as a consequence of a short range spin-dependent interaction that
could possibly be mediated by axions or axion-like particles. The interaction
strength is proportional to the CP violating product of scalar and pseudoscalar
coupling constants . Our result confirms limits from complementary
experiments with spin-polarized nuclei in a model-independent way. Limits from
other neutron experiments are improved by up to two orders of magnitude in the
interaction range of m
Photon polarization in radiative B decays
We study decay distributions in B -> K pi pi gamma, combining contributions
from several overlapping resonances in a K pi pi mass range near 1400 MeV,
(1^+) K_1(1400), (2^+) K^*_2(1430) and (1^-) K^*(1410). A method is proposed
for using these distributions to determine a photon polarization parameter in
the effective radiative weak Hamiltonian. This parameter is measured through an
up-down asymmetry of the photon direction relative to the K pi pi decay plane.
We calculate a dominant up-down asymmetry of 0.33 +- 0.05 from the K1(1400)
resonance, which can be measured with about 10^8 B B-bar pairs, thus providing
a new test for the Standard Model and a probe for some of its extensions.Comment: 22 pages, 3 figures, version to appear in Phys. Rev.
Quantum Einstein Gravity
We give a pedagogical introduction to the basic ideas and concepts of the
Asymptotic Safety program in Quantum Einstein Gravity. Using the continuum
approach based upon the effective average action, we summarize the state of the
art of the field with a particular focus on the evidence supporting the
existence of the non-trivial renormalization group fixed point at the heart of
the construction. As an application, the multifractal structure of the emerging
space-times is discussed in detail. In particular, we compare the continuum
prediction for their spectral dimension with Monte Carlo data from the Causal
Dynamical Triangulation approach.Comment: 87 pages, 13 figures, review article prepared for the New Journal of
Physics focus issue on Quantum Einstein Gravit
An Improved Neutron Electric Dipole Moment Experiment
A new measurement of the neutron EDM, using Ramsey's method of separated
oscillatory fields, is in preparation at the new high intensity source of
ultra-cold neutrons (UCN) at the Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland
(PSI). The existence of a non-zero nEDM would violate both parity and time
reversal symmetry and, given the CPT theorem, might lead to a discovery of new
CP violating mechanisms. Already the current upper limit for the nEDM
(|d_n|<2.9E-26 e.cm) constrains some extensions of the Standard Model.
The new experiment aims at a two orders of magnitude reduction of the
experimental uncertainty, to be achieved mainly by (1) the higher UCN flux
provided by the new PSI source, (2) better magnetic field control with improved
magnetometry and (3) a double chamber configuration with opposite electric
field directions.
The first stage of the experiment will use an upgrade of the RAL/Sussex/ILL
group's apparatus (which has produced the current best result) moved from
Institut Laue-Langevin to PSI. The final accuracy will be achieved in a further
step with a new spectrometer, presently in the design phase.Comment: Flavor Physics & CP Violation Conference, Taipei, 200
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