Combined Forward-Backward Asymmetry Measurements in Top-Antitop Quark Production at the Tevatron

The CDF and D0 experiments at the Fermilab Tevatron have measured the asymmetry between yields of forward- and backward-produced top and antitop quarks based on their rapidity difference and the asymmetry between their decay leptons. These measurements use the full data sets collected in proton-antiproton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of root s = 1.96 TeV. We report the results of combinations of the inclusive asymmetries and their differential dependencies on relevant kinematic quantities. The combined inclusive asymmetry is A(FB)(t (t) over bar) = 0.128 +/- 0.025. The combined inclusive and differential asymmetries are consistent with recent standard model predictions.Peer reviewe

Measurement of sin(2) theta(lept)(eff) using e(+)e(-) pairs from gamma*/Z bosons produced in p(p)over-bar collisions at a center- of- momentum energy of 1.96 TeV

At the Fermilab Tevatron proton-antiproton (p (p) over bar) collider, Drell-Yan lepton pairs are produced in the process p (p) over bar -> e(+)e(-) + X through an intermediate gamma*/Z boson. The forward-backward asymmetry in the polar-angle distribution of the e(-) as a function of the e(+)e(-)-pair mass is used to obtain sin(2) theta(lept)(eff), the effective leptonic determination of the electroweak-mixing parameter sin(2) theta(W). The measurement sample, recorded by the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF), corresponds to 9.4 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity from p (p) over bar collisions at a center-of-momentum energy of 1.96 TeV, and is the full CDF Run II data set. The value of sin(2) theta(lept)(eff) is found to be 0.23248 +/- 0.00053. The combination with the previous CDF measurement based on mu(+)mu(-) pairs yields sin(2) theta(lept)(eff) = 0.23221 +/- 0.00046. This result, when interpreted within the specified context of the standard model assuming sin(2) theta(W) = 1 - M-W(2)/M-Z(2) and that the W- and Z-boson masses are on-shell, yields sin(2) theta(W) = 0.22400 +/- 0.00045, or equivalently a W-boson mass of 80.328 +/- 0.024 GeV/c(2).Peer reviewe

Biodiversity on Broadway - Enigmatic Diversity of the Societies of Ants (Formicidae) on the Streets of New York City

Each year, a larger proportion of the Earth's surface is urbanized, and a larger proportion of the people on Earth lives in those urban areas. The everyday nature, however, that humans encounter in cities remains poorly understood. Here, we consider perhaps the most urban green habitat, street medians. We sampled ants from forty-four medians along three boulevards in New York City and examined how median properties affect the abundance and species richness of native and introduced ants found on them. Ant species richness varied among streets and increased with area but was independent of the other median attributes measured. Ant assemblages were highly nested, with three numerically dominant species present at all medians and additional species present at a subset of medians. The most common ant species were the introduced Pavement ant (Tetramorium caespitum) and the native Thief ant (Solenopsis molesta) and Cornfield ant (Lasius neoniger). The common introduced species on the medians responded differently to natural and disturbed elements of medians. Tetramorium caespitum was most abundant in small medians, with the greatest edge/area ratio, particularly if those medians had few trees, whereas Nylanderia flavipes was most abundant in the largest medians, particularly if they had more trees. Many of the species encountered in Manhattan were similar to those found in other large North American cities, such that a relatively small subset of ant species probably represent most of the encounters humans have with ants in North America

Tevatron Run II combination of the effective leptonic electroweak mixing angle

Drell-Yan lepton pairs produced in the process p (p) over bar -> l(+)l(-) + X through an intermediate gamma*/Z boson have an asymmetry in their angular distribution related to the spontaneous symmetry breaking of the electroweak force and the associated mixing of its neutral gauge bosons. The CDF and D0 experiments have measured the effective-leptonic electroweak mixing parameter sin(2) theta(lept)(eff) using electron and muon pairs selected from the full Tevatron proton-antiproton data sets collected in 2001-2011, corresponding to 9-10 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity. The combination of these measurements yields the most precise result from hadron colliders, sin(2)theta(lept)(eff) = 0.23148 +/- 0.00033. This result is consistent with, and approaches in precision, the best measurements from electron-positron colliders. The standard model inference of the on-shell electroweak mixing parameter sin(2) theta(W), or equivalently the W-boson mass M-W, using the ZFITTER software package yields sin(2) theta(W) = 0.22324 +/- 0.00033 or equivalently, M-W = 80.367 +/- 0.017 GeV/c(2).Peer reviewe

Landscape trajectory of natural boreal forest loss as an impediment to green infrastructure

Loss of natural forests by forest clearcutting has been identified as a critical conservation challenge worldwide. This study addressed forest fragmentation and loss in the context of the establishment of a functional green infrastructure as a spatiotemporally connected landscape-scale network of habitats enhancing biodiversity, favorable conservation status, and ecosystem services. Through retrospective analysis of satellite images, we assessed a 50- to 60-year spatiotemporal clearcutting impact trajectory on natural and near-natural boreal forests across a sizable and representative region from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Scandinavian Mountain Range in northern Fennoscandia. This period broadly covers the whole forest clearcutting period; thus, our approach and results can be applied to comprehensive impact assessment of industrial forest management. The entire study region covers close to 46,000 km2 of forest-dominated landscape in a late phase of transition from a natural or near-natural to a land-use modified state. We found a substantial loss of intact forest, in particular of large, contiguous areas, a spatial polarization of remaining forest on regional scale where the inland has been more severely affected than the mountain and coastal zones, and a pronounced impact on interior forest core areas. Salient results were a decrease in area of the largest intact forest patch from 225,853 to 68,714 ha in the mountain zone and from 257,715 to 38,668 ha in the foothills zone, a decrease from 75% to 38% intact forest in the inland zones, a decrease in largest patch core area (assessed by considering 100-m patch edge disturbance) from 6114 to 351 ha in the coastal zone, and a geographic imbalance in protected forest with an evident predominance in the mountain zone. These results demonstrate profound disturbance of configuration of the natural forest landscape and disrupted connectivity, which challenges the establishment of functional green infrastructure. Our approach supports the identification of forests for expanded protection and conservation-oriented forest landscape restoration.