Thermal response of large area high temperature superconducting YBaCuO infrared bolometer

Thermal analysis of large area high temperature superconducting infrared detector operating in the equilibrium mode (bolometer) was performed. An expression for the temperature coefficient beta=1/R(dR/dT) in terms of the thermal conductance and the thermal time constant of the detector were derived. A superconducting transition edge bolometer is a thermistor consisting of a thin film superconducting YBaCuO evaporated into a suitable thermally isolated substrate. The operating temperature of the bolometer is maintained close to the midpoint of the superconducting transition region where the resistance R has a maximum dynamic range. A detector with a strip configuration was analyzed and an expression for the temperature rise (delta T) above the ambient due to a uniform illumination with a source of power density P(sub i) was calculated. An expression for the thermal responsivity of the detector was derived using the thermal diffusion analysis with appropriate boundary conditions. It was found that the thermal responsibility depends upon the spatial modulation frequency and the angular frequency of the incoming radiation. The problem of the thermal cross talk between different detector elements was addressed. In the case of monolithic HTS detector array with a row of square elements of dimensions 2a and CCD or CID readout electronics the thermal spread function was derived for different spacing between elements. This analysis can be critical for future design and applications of large area focal plane arrays as broad band optical detectors made of granular thin films HTS YBaCuO

On the B -> X_s l^+ l^- decays in general supersymmetric models

We analyze the inclusive semileptonic decays B -> X_s l^+ l^- in the framework of the supersymmetric standard model with non-universal soft-breaking terms at GUT scale. We show that the general trend of universal and non-universal models is a decreasing of branching ratio (BR) and increasing of energy asymmetry (AS). However, only non--universal models can have chances to get very large enhancements in BR and AS, corresponding to large (negative) SUSY contributions to the b -> s \gamma amplitude.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures. References added. To appear in Phys. Lett.

On supersymmetric contributions to the CP asymmetry of the B -> phi K_S

We analyse the CP asymmetry of the B -> phi K_S process in general supersymmetric models. In the framework of the mass insertion approximation, we derive model independent limits for the mixing CP asymmetry. We show that chromomagnetic type of operator may play an important role in accounting for the deviation of the mixing CP asymmetry between B -> phi K_S and B -> J/psi K_S processes observed by Belle and BaBar experiments. A possible correlation between the direct and mixing CP asymmetry is also discussed. Finally, we apply our result in minimal supergravity model and supersymmetric models with non-universal soft terms.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figure

Constraining supersymmetric models from B_d - B-bar_d mixing and the B_d --> J/psi K_S asymmetry

We analyze the chargino contributions to B_d - B-bar_d mixing and CP asymmetry of the B_d --> J/psi K_S decay, in the framework of the mass insertion approximation. We derive model independent bounds on the relevant mass insertions. Moreover, we study these contributions in supersymmetric models with minimal flavor violation, Hermitian flavor structure, and small CP violating phases and universal strength Yukawa couplings. We show that in supersymmetric models with large flavor mixing, the observed values of sin(2 beta) may be entirely due to the chargino-up-squark loops.Comment: 22 pages, 1 figure, minor corrections, version to appear in Phys. Rev.

White matter hyperintensities are an independent predictor of cognitive decline 3 years following first-ever stroke-results from the PROSCIS-B study

Background: White matter hyperintensities (WMH) are the result of cerebral small vessel disease and may increase the risk of cognitive impairment (CI), recurrent stroke, and depression. We aimed to explore the association between selected cerebrovascular risk factors (CVRF) and WMH load as well as the effect of increased WMH burden on recurrent vascular events, CI, and depression in first-ever ischemic stroke patients.Methods: 431 from the PROSpective Cohort with Incident Stroke (PROSCIS) were included; Age-Related White Matter Changes (ARWMC) score was used to assess WMH burden on FLAIR. The presence of CVRF (defined via blood pressure, body-mass-index, and serological markers of kidney dysfunction, diabetes mellitus, and hyperlipoproteinemia) was categorized into normal, borderline, and pathological profiles based on commonly used clinical definitions. The primary outcomes included recurrent vascular events (combined endpoint of recurrent stroke, myocardial infarction and/or death), CI 3 years post-stroke, and depression 1-year post-stroke.Results: There was no clear association between CVRF profiles and WMH burden. High WMH lesion load (ARWMC score ≥ 10) was found to be associated with CI (adjusted OR 1.05 [95% CI 1.00-1.11]; p Conclusion: Higher WMH burden was associated with a significant decline in cognition 3 years post-stroke in this cohort of first-ever stroke patients

Comparative Study of CP Asymmetries in Supersymmetric Models

We systematically analyze the supersymmetric contributions to the mixing CP asymmetries and branching ratios of B -> Phi K(S) and B -> eta(prime) K(S) processes. We consider both gluino and chargino exchanges in a model independent way by using the mass insertion approximation method. While we adopt the QCD factorization approach for evaluating the corresponding hadronic matrix elements, a critical comparison with predictions in naive factorization one is also provided. We find that pure chargino contributions cannot accommodate the current experimental results on CP asymmetries, mainly due to b -> s gamma constraints. We show that charged Higgs contributions can relax these constraints making chargino responsible for large asymmetries. On the other hand, gluino exchanges can easily saturate both the constraints on B -> Phi K(S) and B -> eta(prime) K(S) CP asymmetries. Moreover, we also find that the simultaneous contributions from gluino and chargino exchanges could easily account for the present experimental results on the mentioned asymmetries. Remarkably, large experimentally allowed enhancements of B -> eta(prime) K(S) branching ratio can easily be achieved by the contribution of two mass insertions in gluino exchanges. Finally, we analyze the correlations between the CP asymmetries of these processes and the direct CP asymmetry in b -> s gamma decay. When all experimental constraints are satisfied, supersymmetry favors large and positive values of b -> s gamma asymmetry.Comment: New figures and references added, version to appear on Nucl. Phys. B, 57 pages, LaTeX, 21 eps figure

Supersymmetric contributions to Bˉs→ϕπ0\bar{B}_s \to \phi \pi^0 and Bˉs→ϕρ0\bar{B}_s \to \phi \rho^0 decays in SCET

We study the decay modes $\bar{B}_s\to \phi \pi^0$ and $\bar{B}_s\to \phi \rho^0$ using Soft Collinear Effective Theory. Within Standard Model and including the error due to the SU(3) breaking effect in the SCET parameters we find that BR $\bar{B}_s\to \phi \pi^0 =7_{-1-2}^{+1+2}\times 10^{-8}$ and BR $\bar{B}_s\to \phi \pi^0=9_{-1-4}^{+1+3}\times 10^{-8}$ corresponding to solution 1 and solution 2 of the SCET parameters respectively.For the decay mode $\bar{B}_s\to \phi \rho^0$, we find that BR $\bar{B}_s\to \phi \rho^0 = 20.2^{+1+9}_{-1-12}\times 10^{-8}$ and BR $\bar{B}_s\to \phi \rho^0 = 34.0^{+1.5 + 15}_{-1.5-22}\times 10^{-8}$ corresponding to solution 1 and solution 2 of the SCET parameters respectively. We extend our study to include supersymmetric models with non-universal A-terms where the dominant contributions arise from diagrams mediated by gluino and chargino exchanges. We show that gluino contributions can not lead to an enhancement of the branching ratios of $\bar{B}_s\to \phi \pi^0$ and $\bar{B}_s\to \phi \rho^0$. In addition, we show that SUSY contributions mediated by chargino exchange can enhance the branching ratio of $\bar{B}_s\to \phi \pi^0$ by about 14% with respect to the SM prediction. For the branching ratio of $\bar{B}_s\to \phi \rho^0$, we find that SUSY contributions can enhance its value by about 1% with respect to the SM prediction.Comment: 25 pages,5 figures, version accepted for publicatio

Analysis of Supersymmetric Effects on B -> phi K Decays in the PQCD Approach

We study the effects of the MSSM contribution on B -> phi K decays using the perturbative QCD approach. In this approach, strong phases can be calculated, so that we can predict the values of CP asymmetries with the MSSM contribution. We predict a large relative strong phase between the penguin amplitude and the chromomagnetic penguin amplitude. If there is a new CP violating phase in the chromomagnetic penguin amplitude, then the CP asymmetries may change significantly from the SM prediction. We parametrize the new physics contributions that appear in the Wilson coefficients. We maximize the new physics parameters up to the point where it is limited by experimental constraints. In the case of the LR insertion, we find that the direct CP asymmetries can reach about 85% and the indirect CP asymmetry can reach about -30%.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures, REVTeX, Minor changes, Version to appear in Phys. Rev.

Raising the Diversity of Ugi Reactions Through Selective Alkylations and Allylations of Ugi Adducts

We report here selective Tsuji-Trost type allylation of Ugi adducts using a strategy based on the enhanced nucleophilicity of amide dianions. Ugi adducts derived from aromatic aldehydes were easily allylated at their peptidyl position with allyl acetate in the presence of palladium catalysts. These substitutions were compared to more classical transition metal free allylations using allyl bromides