Search for electroweak production of charginos in final states with two tau leptons in pp collisions at root s=8 TeV

Results are presented from a search for the electroweak production of supersymmetric particles in pp collisions in final states with two T leptons. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity between 18.1 fb(-1) and 19.6 fb(-1) depending on the final state of T lepton decays, at root s = 8 TeV, collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The observed event yields in the signal regions are consistent with the expected standard model backgrounds. The results are interpreted using simplified models describing the pair production and decays of charginos or T sleptons. For models describing the pair production of the lightest chargino, exclusion regions are obtained in the plane of chargino mass vs. neutralino mass under the following assumptions: the chargino decays into third-generation sleptons, which are taken to be the lightest sleptons, and the sleptons masses lie midway between those of the chargino and the neutralino. Chargino masses below 420 GeV are excluded at a 95% confidence level in the limit of a massless neutralino, and for neutralino masses up to 100 GeV, chargino masses up to 325 GeV are excluded at 95% confidence level. Constraints are also placed on the cross section for pair production of T sleptons as a function of mass, assuming a massless neutralino.Peer reviewe

Age of the metamorphic sole of the Papuan Ultramafic Belt ophiolite, Papua New Guinea

The Papuan Ultramafic Belt (PUB) ophiolite is former oceanic crust and upper mantle emplaced onto continental crust in Papua New Guinea (PNG) in a zone of general convergence between the Pacific and Australian plates. The metamorphic sole beneath the ophiolite is best exposed in the Musa-Kumusi divide and comprises a 40- to 300-m-thick body of granulite and amphibolite facies rocks. Geochronological studies on the metamorphic sole, using amphiboles from the granulites and amphibolites, yield measured K-Ar ages ranging from 65.0±0.7 to 57.2±0.6 Ma and average 40Ar-39Ar direct total fusion ages ranging from 67.0±0.7 to 59.5±0.2 Ma. Five of the six 40Ar-39Ar plateau ages, derived from age spectra, lie between 58.6±0.2 and 57.8±0.2 Ma, with an overall mean age of 58.3±0.4 Ma. The large spread in measured K-Ar and 40Ar-39Ar total fusion ages is thought to be caused by the presence of variable amounts of excess argon. The mean plateau age for five samples of 58.3±0.4 Ma is interpreted to mark the time of cooling of the metamorphic sole following peak metamorphism. We suggest that the development of the metamorphic sole and emplacement of the PUB ophiolite onto the PNG crust occurred in a relatively short time interval in the Paleocene