79 research outputs found
The Milky Way Bulge: Observed properties and a comparison to external galaxies
The Milky Way bulge offers a unique opportunity to investigate in detail the
role that different processes such as dynamical instabilities, hierarchical
merging, and dissipational collapse may have played in the history of the
Galaxy formation and evolution based on its resolved stellar population
properties. Large observation programmes and surveys of the bulge are providing
for the first time a look into the global view of the Milky Way bulge that can
be compared with the bulges of other galaxies, and be used as a template for
detailed comparison with models. The Milky Way has been shown to have a
box/peanut (B/P) bulge and recent evidence seems to suggest the presence of an
additional spheroidal component. In this review we summarise the global
chemical abundances, kinematics and structural properties that allow us to
disentangle these multiple components and provide constraints to understand
their origin. The investigation of both detailed and global properties of the
bulge now provide us with the opportunity to characterise the bulge as observed
in models, and to place the mixed component bulge scenario in the general
context of external galaxies. When writing this review, we considered the
perspectives of researchers working with the Milky Way and researchers working
with external galaxies. It is an attempt to approach both communities for a
fruitful exchange of ideas.Comment: Review article to appear in "Galactic Bulges", Editors: Laurikainen
E., Peletier R., Gadotti D., Springer Publishing. 36 pages, 10 figure
WNT signalling in prostate cancer
Genome sequencing and gene expression analyses of prostate tumours have highlighted the potential importance of genetic and epigenetic changes observed in WNT signalling pathway components in prostate tumours-particularly in the development of castration-resistant prostate cancer. WNT signalling is also important in the prostate tumour microenvironment, in which WNT proteins secreted by the tumour stroma promote resistance to therapy, and in prostate cancer stem or progenitor cells, in which WNT-β-catenin signals promote self-renewal or expansion. Preclinical studies have demonstrated the potential of inhibitors that target WNT receptor complexes at the cell membrane or that block the interaction of β-catenin with lymphoid enhancer-binding factor 1 and the androgen receptor, in preventing prostate cancer progression. Some WNT signalling inhibitors are in phase I trials, but they have yet to be tested in patients with prostate cancer
Double parton interactions in photon+3 jet events in ppbar collisions sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV
We have used a sample of photon+3 jets events collected by the D0 experiment
with an integrated luminosity of about 1 fb^-1 to determine the fraction of
events with double parton scattering (f_DP) in a single ppbar collision at
sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV. The DP fraction and effective cross section (sigma_eff), a
process-independent scale parameter related to the parton density inside the
nucleon, are measured in three intervals of the second (ordered in pT) jet
transverse momentum pT_jet2 within the range 15 < pT_jet2 < 30 GeV. In this
range, f_DP varies between 0.23 < f_DP < 0.47, while sigma_eff has the average
value sigma_eff_ave = 16.4 +- 0.3(stat) +- 2.3(syst) mb.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figure
Zgamma production and limits on anomalous ZZgamma and Zgammagamma couplings in ppbar collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV
We present a measurement of ppbar->Zgamma->ll+gamma (l = e, mu) production
with a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 6.2 fb^{-1}
collected by the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron ppbar Collider. The
results of the electron and muon channels are combined, and we measure the
total production cross section and the differential cross section
dsigma/dp_T^gamma, where p_T^gamma is the momentum of the photon in the plane
transverse to the beamline. The results obtained are consistent with the
standard model predictions from next-to-leading order calculations. We use the
transverse momentum spectrum of the photon to place limits on anomalous ZZgamma
and Zgammagamma couplings
Search for first generation leptoquark pair production in the electron + missing energy + jets final state
We present a search for the pair production of first generation scalar
leptoquarks (LQ) in data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.4
fb collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider in
ppbar collisions at TeV. In the channel , where q, q' are u or d quarks, no significant excess
of data over background is observed, and we set a 95% C.L. lower limit of 326
GeV on the leptoquark mass, assuming equal probabilities of leptoquark decays
to eq and .Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, submitted to PRD-R
Search for the standard model and a fermiophobic Higgs boson in diphoton final states
We present a search for the standard model Higgs boson and a fermiophobic
Higgs boson in the diphoton final states based on 8.2 fb-1 of ppbar collisions
collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. No excess of
data above background predictions is observed and upper limits at the 95% C.L.
on the cross section multiplied by the branching fraction are set which are the
most restrictive to date. A fermiophobic Higgs boson with a mass below 112.9
GeV is excluded at the 95% C.L.Comment: 12 pages, 21 figures, submitted to PR
Search for a Narrow ttbar Resonance in ppbar Collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV
We report a search for a narrow ttbar resonance that decays into a
lepton+jets final state based on an integrated luminosity of 5.3/fb of
proton-antiproton collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV collected by the D0
Collaboration at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. We set upper limits on the
production cross section of such a resonance multiplied by its branching
fraction to ttbar which we compare to predictions for a leptophobic topcolor Z'
boson. We exclude such a resonance at the 95% confidence level for masses below
835 GeV.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter
Dependence of the production cross section on the transverse momentum of the top quark
We present a measurement of the differential cross section for
events produced in collisions at TeV as a function
of the transverse momentum () of the top quark. The selected events
contain a high- lepton (), four or more jets, and a large imbalance
in , and correspond to 1 fb of integrated luminosity recorded
with the D0 detector. Each event must have at least one candidate for a
jet. Objects in the event are associated through a constrained kinematic fit to
the process. Results
from next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD calculations agree with the
measured differential cross section. Comparisons are also provided to
predictions from Monte Carlo event generators using QCD calculations at
different levels of precision.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, 4 tables, updated to reflect the published
versio
Determination of the width of the top quark
We extract the total width of the top quark, Gamma_t, from the partial decay width Gamma(t -> W b) measured using the t-channel cross section for single top quark production and from the branching fraction B(t -> W b) measured in ttbar events using up to 2.3 fb^-1 of integrated luminosity collected by the D0 Collaboration at the Tevatron ppbar Collider. The result is Gamma_t = 1.99 +0.69 -0.55 GeV, which translates to a top-quark lifetime of tau_t = (3.3 +1.3 -0.9) x 10^-25 s. Assuming a high mass fourth generation b' quark and unitarity of the four-generation quark-mixing matrix, we set the first upper limit on |Vtb'
The emergence of Vibrio pathogens in Europe: ecology, evolution, and pathogenesis
Global change has caused a worldwide increase in reports of Vibrio-associated diseases with ecosystem-wide impacts on humans and marine animals. In Europe, higher prevalence of human infections followed regional climatic trends with outbreaks occurring during episodes of unusually warm weather. Similar patterns were also observed in Vibrio-associated diseases affecting marine organisms such as fish, bivalves and corals. Basic knowledge is still lacking on the ecology and evolutionary biology of these bacteria as well as on their virulence mechanisms. Current limitations in experimental systems to study infection and the lack of diagnostic tools still prevent a better understanding of Vibrio emergence. A major challenge is to foster cooperation between fundamental and applied research in order to investigate the consequences of pathogen emergence in natural Vibrio populations and answer federative questions that meet societal needs. Here we report the proceedings of the first European workshop dedicated to these specific goals of the Vibrio research community by connecting current knowledge to societal issues related to ocean health and food security
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