1,962 research outputs found
Fermion masses in SUSY SO(10) with type II seesaw: a non-minimal predictive scenario
A predictive framework for fermion masses and mixing is given by the
supersymmetric SO(10) model with one 10, one bar126, one 126 and one 210 Higgs
representations, and type II seesaw dominating the neutrino mass matrix. We
investigate the origin of the tension between this model and lepton mixing data
and refine previous numerical analyses. We discuss an extension of the minimal
model that includes one 120 Higgs chiral superfield representation. This
exhausts the possible renormalizable contributions to the Yukawa sector. In
spite of the increase in the number of parameters the predictivity of the
minimal setting is not spoiled. We argue that the contributions to fermion
masses due to the doublet components of 120 can be naturally small compared to
those of 10 and 126, thus acting as a perturbation in the fermion mass
generation. The antisymmetric nature of the 120 Yukawa coupling affects at
leading order the determination of the mixing angles and it allows to remove
the inconsistencies between predictions and data on the neutrino parameters. An
improvement in the experimental bound on |Ue3| can tell this scenario from the
minimal model.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures; Note and references added on new KamLAND dat
Blocked All-Pairs Shortest Paths Algorithm on Intel Xeon Phi KNL Processor: A Case Study
Manycores are consolidating in HPC community as a way of improving
performance while keeping power efficiency. Knights Landing is the recently
released second generation of Intel Xeon Phi architecture. While optimizing
applications on CPUs, GPUs and first Xeon Phi's has been largely studied in the
last years, the new features in Knights Landing processors require the revision
of programming and optimization techniques for these devices. In this work, we
selected the Floyd-Warshall algorithm as a representative case study of graph
and memory-bound applications. Starting from the default serial version, we
show how data, thread and compiler level optimizations help the parallel
implementation to reach 338 GFLOPS.Comment: Computer Science - CACIC 2017. Springer Communications in Computer
and Information Science, vol 79
Numerical computations of facetted pattern formation in snow crystal growth
Facetted growth of snow crystals leads to a rich diversity of forms, and
exhibits a remarkable sixfold symmetry. Snow crystal structures result from
diffusion limited crystal growth in the presence of anisotropic surface energy
and anisotropic attachment kinetics. It is by now well understood that the
morphological stability of ice crystals strongly depends on supersaturation,
crystal size and temperature. Until very recently it was very difficult to
perform numerical simulations of this highly anisotropic crystal growth. In
particular, obtaining facet growth in combination with dendritic branching is a
challenging task. We present numerical simulations of snow crystal growth in
two and three space dimensions using a new computational method recently
introduced by the authors. We present both qualitative and quantitative
computations. In particular, a linear relationship between tip velocity and
supersaturation is observed. The computations also suggest that surface energy
effects, although small, have a larger effect on crystal growth than previously
expected. We compute solid plates, solid prisms, hollow columns, needles,
dendrites, capped columns and scrolls on plates. Although all these forms
appear in nature, most of these forms are computed here for the first time in
numerical simulations for a continuum model.Comment: 12 pages, 28 figure
The importance of scale in spatially varying coefficient modelling
While spatially varying coefficient (SVC) models have attracted considerable attention in applied science, they have been criticized as being unstable. The objective of this study is to show that capturing the “spatial scale” of each data relationship is crucially important to make SVC modeling more stable, and in doing so, adds flexibility. Here, the analytical properties of six SVC models are summarized in terms of their characterization of scale. Models are examined through a series of Monte Carlo simulation experiments to assess the extent to which spatial scale influences model stability and the accuracy of their SVC estimates. The following models are studied: (i) geographically weighted regression (GWR) with a fixed distance or (ii) an adaptive distance bandwidth (GWRa),(iii) flexible bandwidth GWR (FB-GWR) with fixed distance or (iv) adaptive distance bandwidths (FB-GWRa), (v) eigenvector spatial filtering (ESF), and (vi) random effects ESF (RE-ESF). Results reveal that the SVC models designed to capture scale dependencies in local relationships (FB-GWR, FB-GWRa and RE-ESF) most accurately estimate the simulated SVCs, where RE-ESF is the most computationally efficient. Conversely GWR and ESF, where SVC estimates are naively assumed to operate at the same spatial scale for each relationship, perform poorly. Results also confirm that the adaptive bandwidth GWR models (GWRa and FB-GWRa) are superior to their fixedbandwidth counterparts (GWR and FB-GWR)
Expression of epithelial calcium transport system in rat cochlea and vestibular labyrinth
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The low luminal Ca<sup>2+ </sup>concentration of mammalian endolymph in the inner ear is required for normal hearing and balance. We recently reported the expression of mRNA for a Ca<sup>2+</sup>-absorptive transport system in primary cultures of semicircular canal duct (SCCD) epithelium.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We now identify this system in native vestibular and cochlear tissues by qRT-PCR, immunoblots and confocal immunolocalization. Transcripts were found and quantified for several isoforms of epithelial calcium channels (TRPV5, TRPV6), calcium buffer proteins (calbindin-D9K, calbindin-D28K), sodium-calcium exchangers (NCX1, NCX2, NCX3) and plasma membrane Ca<sup>2+</sup>-ATPase (PMCA1, PMCA2, PMCA3, and PMCA4) in native SCCD, cochlear lateral wall (LW) and stria vascularis (SV) of adult rat as well as Ca<sup>2+ </sup>channels in neonatal SCCD. All components were expressed except TRPV6 in SV and PMCA2 in SCCD. 1,25-(OH)<sub>2</sub>vitamin D<sub>3 </sub>(VitD) significantly up-regulated transcripts of TRPV5 in SCCD, calbindin-D9K in SCCD and LW, NCX2 in LW, while PMCA4 in SCCD and PMCA3 in LW were down-regulated. The expression of TRPV5 relative to TRPV6 was in the sequence SV > Neonatal SCCD > Adult SCCD > LW > primary culture SCCD. Expression of TRPV5 protein from primary culture of SCCD did not increase significantly when cells were incubated with VitD (1.2 times control; P > 0.05). Immunolocalization showed the distribution of TRPV5 and TRPV6. TRPV5 was found near the apical membrane of strial marginal cells and both TRPV5 and TRPV6 in outer and inner sulcus cells of the cochlea and in the SCCD of the vestibular system.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These findings demonstrate for the first time the expression of a complete Ca<sup>2+ </sup>absorptive system in native cochlear and vestibular tissues. Regulation by vitamin D remains equivocal since the results support the regulation of this system at the transcript level but evidence for control of the TRPV5 channel protein was lacking.</p
Earth Matter Effects at Very Long Baselines and the Neutrino Mass Hierarchy
We study matter effects which arise in the muon neutrino oscillation and
survival probabilities relevant to atmospheric neutrino and very long baseline
beam experiments. The inter-relations between the three probabilities P_{\mu
e}, P_{\mu \tau} and P_{\mu \mu} are examined. It is shown that large and
observable sensitivity to the neutrino mass hierarchy can be present in P_{\mu
\mu} and P_{\mu \tau}. We emphasize that at baselines of > 7000 Km, matter
effects in P_{\mu \tau} can be large under certain conditions. The muon
survival rates in experiments with very long baselines thus depend on matter
effects in both P_{\mu \tau} and P_{\mu e}. We indicate where these effects are
sensitive to \theta_{13}, and identify ranges of E and L where the event rates
increase with decreasing \theta_{13}, providing a handle to probe small
\theta_{13}. The effect of parameter degeneracies in the three probabilities at
these baselines and energies is studied in detail. Realistic event rate
calculations are performed for a charge discriminating 100 kT iron calorimeter
which demonstrate the possibility of realising the goal of determining the
neutrino mass hierarchy using atmospheric neutrinos. It is shown that a careful
selection of energy and baseline ranges is necessary in order to obtain a
statistically significant signal, and that the effects are largest in bins
where matter effects in both P_{\mu e} and P_{\mu \tau} combine constructively.
Under these conditions, upto a 4\sigma signal for matter effects is possible
(for \Delta_{31}>0) within a timescale appreciably shorter than the one
anticipated for neutrino factories.Comment: 40 pages, 27 figures, version to match the published versio
Design and performance of the muon monitor for the T2K neutrino oscillation experiment
This article describes the design and performance of the muon monitor for the
T2K (Tokaito-Kamioka) long baseline neutrino oscillation experiment. The muon
monitor consists of two types of detector arrays: ionization chambers and
silicon PIN photodiodes. It measures the intensity and profile of muons
produced, along with neutrinos, in the decay of pions. The measurement is
sensitive to the intensity and direction of the neutrino beam. The linearity
and stability of the detectors were measured in beam tests to be within 2.4%
and 1.5%, respectively. Based on the test results, the precision of the beam
direction measured by the muon monitor is expected to be 0.25 mrad.Comment: 22 page
On the possible generation of the young massive open clusters Stephenson2 and BDSB122 by Omega Centauri
A massive objects such as a globular cluster passing through the disk of a
galaxy can trigger star formation. We test the hypothesis that the most massive
globular cluster in the Galaxy, Centauri, which crossed the disk
approximately Myr ago, may have triggered the formation of the open
clusters Stephenson 2 and BDSB 122. The orbits of Centauri, Stephenson
2 and BDSB 122 are computed for the three-component model of Johnston,
Hernquist & Bolte, which considers the disk, spheroidal and halo gravitational
potentials. With the re-constructed orbit of Centauri, we show that
the latest impact site is consistent, within important uncertainties, with the
birth-site of the young massive open clusters BDSB 122 and Stephenson 2. Within
uncertainties, this scenario is consistent with the time-scale of their
backwards motion in the disk, shock wave propagation and delay for star
formation. Together with open cluster formation associated to density waves in
spiral arms, the present results are consistent with the idea that massive
globular clusters as additional progenitors of open clusters, the massive ones
in particular.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures; accepted by A&
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