Testing SUSY models of lepton flavor violation at a photon collider

The loop level lepton flavor violating signals $\gamma \gamma \to \ell \ell' (\ell=e,\mu,\tau, \ell \neq \ell^\prime)$ are studied in a scenario of low-energy, R-parity conserving, supersymmetric seesaw mechanism within the context of a high energy photon collider. Lepton flavor violation is due to off diagonal elements in the left s-lepton mass matrix induced by renormalization group equations. The average slepton masses ${\widetilde{m}}$ and the off diagonal matrix elements $\Delta m$ are treated as model independent free phenomenological parameters in order to discover regions in the parameter space where the signal cross section may be observable. At the energies of the $\gamma \gamma$ option of the future high-energy linear collider the signal has a potentially large standard model background, and therefore particular attention is paid to the study of kinematical cuts in order to reduce the latter at an acceptable level. We find, for the ($e\tau$) channel, non-negligible fractions of the parameter space ($\delta_{LL}=\Delta m^2/\widetilde{m}^2 \gtrsim 10^{-1}$) where the statistical significance ($SS$) is $SS \gtrsim 3$.Comment: 26 pages, 12 figures, Revtex

Experimental Study on the Flow Patterns and Two-phase Pressure Drops in a Horizontal Impacting T- Junction

The present paper analyzes the experimental results concerning the flow patterns and pressure drops in two-phase flow through an horizontal impacting T-junction, whose outlet pipes are aligned and perpendicular to the inlet pipe. The test section consists of plexiglass pipes with inner diameter of 10 mm. A mixture of water and air at ambient temperature and pressures up to 2.4 bar flows through the T-junction, with different splitting of flow rates in the two outlet branches; superficial velocities of air and water in the inlet pipe are varied up to a maximum of 35 m/s and 3.5 m/s respectively. The flow patterns occurring in the inlet and branch pipes were compared with the predictions of Baker’s and Taitel – Dukler’s maps. The pressure drops along the branches have been measured relatively to different splitting of the flow rate through the two branches and the pressure loss coefficients in the junction have been evaluated. Friction pressure drops have allowed us to evaluate two-phase friction multipliers, which have then been compared to the predictions of Lockhart-Martinelli, and Friedel correlations. Local pressure drops were extrapolated at the junction centre and analyzed; the two-phase multiplier has been evaluated and compared with the predictions of Chisholm correlation; the value of the empirical coefficient that minimizes the discrepancies has also been evaluated

Production of Like Sign Di-Leptons in p-p Collisions Through Composite Majorana Neutrinos

The production of Like-Sign-Di-leptons (LSD), in the high energy lepton number violating ($\Delta L = +2$) reaction, p p --> 2jets + l+l+ (l=e,\mu,\tau) of interest for the experiments to be performed at the forthcoming Large Hadron Collider (LHC), is investigated in detail, taking up a composite model scenario in which the exchanged virtual composite neutrino is assumed to be a Majorana particle that couples to the light leptons via the $SU(2)\times U(1)$ gauge bosons through a magnetic type coupling ($\sigma_{\mu\nu}$). An helicity projection method is used to evaluate exactly the tree-level amplitudes of the contributing parton subprocesses ($2\to 4$), which allows to take into account all exchange diagrams and occurring interferences. Numerical estimates of the corresponding signal cross-section that implement kinematical cuts needed to suppress the Standard Model background, are presented which show that in some regions of the parameter space the total number of LSD events is well above the background. Assuming non-observation of the LSD signal it is found that LHC would exclude a composite Majorana neutrino up to 850 GeV (if one requires 10 events for discovery). The sensitivity of LHC experiments to the parameter space is then compared to that of the next generation of neutrinoless double beta decay ($\beta\beta_{0\nu}$) experiment, GENIUS, and it is shown that they will provide constraints of the same order of magnitude and will play a complementary role.Comment: Revtex style, 31 pages, 8 postscript figures. Few typos correcte

Casimir-Polder intermolecular forces in minimal length theories

Generalized uncertainty relations are known to provide a minimal length $\hbar\sqrt{\beta}$. The effect of such minimal length in the Casimir-Polder interactions between neutral atoms (molecules) is studied. The first order correction term in the minimal uncertainty parameter is derived and found to describe an attractive potential scaling as $r^{-9}$ as opposed to the well known $r^{-7}$ long range retarded potential.Comment: 1 Figure. Version published by Physical Review D. Few references added, typos correcte

Cell proliferation and oncogene expression after bile duct ligation in the rat: Evidence of a specific growth effect on bile duct cells

The proliferative response of the rat liver was measured after temporary or permanent total biliary obstruction (BDO) and in different regions after selective ligation of the lobar ducts draining the right 60% of the hepatic mass. The results were compared with those after 70% partial hepatectomy (PH). Cell proliferation was assessed globally by measuring DNA synthesis and stratified to the separate cell populations with cytostaining techniques that allowed distinction of hepatocytes, duct cells, and nonparenchymal cells (NPCs). In selected experimental groups, gene expression was determined of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGFβ-1), prothrombin, c-erb-B2, transforming growth factor alpha (TGFα), human Cyclophilin (CyP), and 28S ribosomal RNA. The stimulation of a proliferative response to total BDO required obstruction for longer than 24 hours, but after this deligation did not switch off regeneration. In the first week after permanent BDO, there was progressive infiltration of NPCs, fibrous linkage of some portal areas, and a crescendo of DNA synthesis that was obvious at 24 hours, maximal at 48 hours, and back nearly to baseline at 6 days. At the 2-day mark, the bile duct cells had a 17-fold increase in proliferation, accompanied by a threefold to fourfold increase in hepatocyte renewal. Little or no increase in expression of TGFα or the hepatocyte-specific prothrombin gene was detectable in the first 48 hours, whereas levels of the oncogene c-erb-B2 that is associated with cholangiocarcinoma were expressed from 48 to 96 hours. Livers subjected to regional BDO with or without immunosuppressive treatment with FK 506 and cyclosporine had an inflammatory reaction only on the side with ligated ducts. DNA synthesis increased in both the obstructed and freely draining lobes to approximately half the level that occurred after total BDO. The proliferation of the obstructed side was similar to the mixed duct cell/hepatocyte response after total BDO, but this almost exclusively involved duct cells on the freely draining side. In contrast to the findings after BDO, livers after PH regenerated maximally at 24 hours rather than 48 hours, had a predominantly noninflammatory hepatocyte as opposed to duct cell response, and had marked expression of the prothrombin and TGFα genes but only weakly and late of c-erb-B2 messenger RNA. The results show that the liver responds as a whole and in a biologically intelligent way to the nature of the injury inflicted on any part of it. It further implies the presence of humoral communications and control networks that assure organ homeostasis and relate this to total body homeostasis. © 1995

Sex Hormone-Related Functions in Regenerating Male Rat Liver

Sex hormone receptors were quantitated in normal male rat liver and in regenerating liver at several different times after partial (70%) hepatectomy. Both estrogen and androgen receptor content were altered dramatically by partial hepatectomy. Total hepatic content and nuclear retention of estrogen receptors increased, with the zenith evident 2 days after partial hepatectomy, corresponding to the zenith of mitotic index. Serum estradiol increased after 1 day, and reached a maximum at 3 days after surgery. In contrast, total and nuclear androgen receptor content demonstrated a massive decline at 1, 2, and 3 days after resection. Serum testosterone displayed a parallel decline. In addition, hepatic content of two androgen-responsive proteins was reduced to 15% and 13% of normal values during this period. The activity of these various proteins during regeneration of male rat liver is comparable to that observed in the liver of normal female rats. Taken together, these results indicate that partial hepatectomy induces a feminization of certain sexually dimorphic aspects of liver function in male rats. Furthermore, these data provide evidence that estrogens, but not androgens, may have an important role in the process of liver regeneration. © 1986, American Gastroenterological Association. All rights reserved

Electric Dipole Moments and Polarizability in the Quark-Diquark Model of the Neutron

For a bound state internal wave function respecting parity symmetry, it can be rigorously argued that the mean electric dipole moment must be strictly zero. Thus, both the neutron, viewed as a bound state of three quarks, and the water molecule, viewed as a bound state of ten electrons two protons and an oxygen nucleus, both have zero mean electric dipole moments. Yet, the water molecule is said to have a nonzero dipole moment strength $d=e\Lambda$ with $\Lambda_{H_2O} \approx 0.385\ \dot{A}$. The neutron may also be said to have an electric dipole moment strength with $\Lambda_{neutron} \approx 0.612\ fm$. The neutron analysis can be made experimentally consistent, if one employs a quark-diquark model of neutron structure.Comment: four pages, two figure

Neutrinoless Double β\beta Decay with Composite Neutrinos

We study in detail the contribution of heavy composite Majorana neutrinos to neutrino-less double beta decay. Our analysis confirms the result of a previous estimate by two of the authors. Excited neutrinos couple to the electroweak gauge bosons through a magnetic type effective Lagrangian. The relevant nuclear matrix element is related to matrix elements available in the literature and current bounds on the half-life of neutrino-less double beta decay are converted into bounds on the compositeness scale and/or the heavy neutrino mass. Our bounds are of the same order of magnitude as those available from accelerator experiments