101 research outputs found
Classification of Inflationary Einstein--Scalar--Field--Models via Catastrophe Theory
Various scenarios of the initial inflation of the universe are distinguished
by the choice of a scalar field {\em potential} which simulates a
{\it temporarily} non--vanishing {\em cosmological term}. Our new method, which
involves a reparametrization in terms of the Hubble expansion parameter ,
provides a classification of allowed inflationary potentials and of the
stability of the critical points. It is broad enough to embody all known {\it
exact} solutions involving one scalar field as special cases. Inflation
corresponds to the evolution of critical points of some catastrophe manifold.
The coalescence of its nondegenerate critical points with the creation of a
degenerate critical point corresponds the reheating phase of the universe. This
is illustrated by several examples.Comment: 12 pages, REVTeX, no figure
Study of Lambda/c+ Cabibbo Favored Decays Containing a Lambda Baryon in the Final State
Using data from the FOCUS experiment (FNAL-E831), we study the decay of
baryons into final states containing a hyperon. The
branching fractions of into , and relative to that into are
measured to be , and
, respectively. We also report new measurements of
, and . Further, an analysis of the subresonant structure for the
decay mode is presented.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables, Submitted to Physics Letter
Mass Splitting and Production of and Measured in N Interactions
From a sample of decaying to the
final state, we have observed, in the hadroproduction experiment E791 at
Fermilab, and through
their decays to . The mass difference ) is measured to be ; for
, we find .
The rate of production from decays of the triplet is
(22\pm 2\pm 3) {%} of the total production assuming equal rate
of production from all three, as measured for and .
We do not observe a statistically significant baryon-antibaryon
production asymmetry. The and spectra of from
decays are observed to be similar to those for all 's
produced.Comment: 15 pages, uuencoded postscript 3 figures uuencoded, tar-compressed
fil
Study of the decay asymmetry parameter and CP violation parameter in the Lambdac+ --> Lambda pi+ decay
Using data from the FOCUS (E831) experiment at Fermilab, we present a new
measurement of the weak decay-asymmetry parameter alpha(Lambdac) in Lambdac -->
Lambda pi decay. Comparing particle with antiparticle decays, we obtain the
first measurement of the CP violation parameter : A =
[alpha(Lambdac)+alpha(antiLambda_c)]/[alpha(Lambdac)-alpha(antiLambda_c)]. We
obtain alpha(Lambdac)=-0.78+-0.16+-0.13 and A = -0.07+-0.19+-0.12 where errors
are statistical and systematic.Comment: 18 pages, to be submitted to Phys. Lett. B For a list of the FOCUS
collaboration, see http://www-focus.fnal.gov/authors.htm
Measurements of the Sigma_c^0 and Sigma_c^{++} Mass Splittings
Using a high statistics sample of photoproduced charmed particles from the
FOCUS experiment at Fermilab (FNAL-E831), we measure the mass splittings of the
charmed baryons Sigma_c^0 and Sigma_c^{++}. We find M(Sigma_c^0 - Lambda_c^+) =
167.38 +/- 0.21 +/- 0.13 MeV/c^2 and M(Sigma_c^++ - Lambda_c^+) = 167.35 +/-
0.19 +/- 0.12 MeV/c^2 with samples of 362 +/- 36 and 461 +/- 39 events,
respectively. We measure the isospin mass splitting M(Sigma_c^++ - Sigma_c^0)
to be -0.03 +/- 0.28 +/- 0.11 Mev/c^2. The first errors are statistical and the
second are systematic.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure
Study of Hadronic Five-Body Decays of Charmed Mesons Involving
We study the decay of and mesons into five-body final states
including a and report the discovery of the decay mode . The branching ratio for the new mode is
{} = 0.1020.029.
We also determine the branching ratio of {} =
0.0950.007 as well as an upper limit for {}
0.054 (90% CL). An analysis of the resonant substructure for is also performed
Experimental evidence for a light and broad scalar resonance in decay
From a sample of decay, we find
. Using a coherent amplitude analysis
to fit the Dalitz plot of this decays, we find strong evidence that a scalar
resonance of mass MeV/ and width MeV/ accounts for approximately half of all decays.Comment: 10 pages, 3 eps figure
Dalitz Plot Analysis of the Decay D^+ --> K^- pi^+ pi^+ and Indication of a Low-Mass Scalar K pi Resonance
We study the Dalitz plot of the decay D^+ --> K^- pi^+ pi^+ with a sample of
15090 events from Fermilab experiment E791. Modeling the decay amplitude as the
coherent sum of known K pi resonances and a uniform nonresonant term, we do not
obtain an acceptable fit. If we allow the mass and width of the K^*_0(1430) to
float, we obtain values consistent with those from PDG but the chi^2 per degree
of freedom of the fit is still unsatisfactory. A good fit is found when we
allow for the presence of an additional scalar resonance, with mass 797 +/- 19
+/- 43 MeV/c^2 and width 410 +/- 43 +/- 87 MeV/c^2. The mass and width of the
K^*_0(1430) become 1459 +/- 7 +/- 5 MeV/c^2 and 175 +/- 12 +/- 12 MeV/c^2,
respectively. Our results provide new information on the scalar sector in
hadron spectroscopy.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter
A measurement of branching ratios of and hadronic decays to four-body final states containing a
We have studied hadronic four-body decays of and mesons with a
in the final state using data recorded during the 1996-1997 fixed-target
run at Fermilab high energy photoproduction experiment FOCUS. We report a new
branching ratio measurement of . We make the first observation
of three new decay modes with branching ratios ,
\Gamma(D^+\to\K_S K^+ K^-\pi^+)/\Gamma(D^+\to K_S
\pi^+\pi^+\pi^-)=0.0077\pm0.0015\pm0.0009, and , where
in each case the first error is statistical and the second error is systematic.Comment: 4 pages, 1 table, 2 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter
Human Immunodeficiency Virus Impairs Reverse Cholesterol Transport from Macrophages
Several steps of HIV-1 replication critically depend on cholesterol. HIV infection is associated with profound changes in lipid and lipoprotein metabolism and an increased risk of coronary artery disease. Whereas numerous studies have investigated the role of anti-HIV drugs in lipodystrophy and dyslipidemia, the effects of HIV infection on cellular cholesterol metabolism remain uncharacterized. Here, we demonstrate that HIV-1 impairs ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1)-dependent cholesterol efflux from human macrophages, a condition previously shown to be highly atherogenic. In HIV-1–infected cells, this effect was mediated by Nef. Transfection of murine macrophages with Nef impaired cholesterol efflux from these cells. At least two mechanisms were found to be responsible for this phenomenon: first, HIV infection and transfection with Nef induced post-transcriptional down-regulation of ABCA1; and second, Nef caused redistribution of ABCA1 to the plasma membrane and inhibited internalization of apolipoprotein A-I. Binding of Nef to ABCA1 was required for down-regulation and redistribution of ABCA1. HIV-infected and Nef-transfected macrophages accumulated substantial amounts of lipids, thus resembling foam cells. The contribution of HIV-infected macrophages to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis was supported by the presence of HIV-positive foam cells in atherosclerotic plaques of HIV-infected patients. Stimulation of cholesterol efflux from macrophages significantly reduced infectivity of the virions produced by these cells, and this effect correlated with a decreased amount of virion-associated cholesterol, suggesting that impairment of cholesterol efflux is essential to ensure proper cholesterol content in nascent HIV particles. These results reveal a previously unrecognized dysregulation of intracellular lipid metabolism in HIV-infected macrophages and identify Nef and ABCA1 as the key players responsible for this effect. Our findings have implications for pathogenesis of both HIV disease and atherosclerosis, because they reveal the role of cholesterol efflux impairment in HIV infectivity and suggest a possible mechanism by which HIV infection of macrophages may contribute to increased risk of atherosclerosis in HIV-infected patients
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