725 research outputs found
The 2004 UTfit Collaboration Report on the Status of the Unitarity Triangle in the Standard Model
Using the latest determinations of several theoretical and experimental
parameters, we update the Unitarity Triangle analysis in the Standard Model.
The basic experimental constraints come from the measurements of |V_ub/V_cb|,
Delta M_d, the lower limit on Delta M_s, epsilon_k, and the measurement of the
phase of the B_d - anti B_d mixing amplitude through the time-dependent CP
asymmetry in B^0 to J/psi K^0 decays. In addition, we consider the direct
determination of alpha, gamma, 2 beta + gamma and cos(2 beta) from the
measurements of new CP-violating quantities, recently performed at the B
factories. We also discuss the opportunities offered by improving the precision
of the various physical quantities entering in the determination of the
Unitarity Triangle parameters. The results and the plots presented in this
paper can also be found at http://www.utfit.org, where they are continuously
updated with the newest experimental and theoretical results.Comment: 32 pages, 17 figures. High resolution figures and updates can be
found at http://www.utfit.org v2: misprints correcte
The UTfit Collaboration Report on the Status of the Unitarity Triangle beyond the Standard Model I. Model-independent Analysis and Minimal Flavour Violation
Starting from a (new physics independent) tree level determination of rhobar
and etabar, we perform the Unitarity Triangle analysis in general extensions of
the Standard Model with arbitrary new physics contributions to loop-mediated
processes. Using a simple parameterization, we determine the allowed ranges of
non-standard contributions to |Delta F|=2 processes. Remarkably, the recent
measurements from B factories allow us to determine with good precision the
shape of the Unitarity Triangle even in the presence of new physics, and to
derive stringent constraints on non-standard contributions to |Delta F|=2
processes. Since the present experimental constraints favour models with
Minimal Flavour Violation, we present the determination of the Universal
Unitarity Triangle that can be defined in this class of extensions of the
Standard Model. Finally, we perform a combined fit of the Unitarity Triangle
and of new physics contributions in Minimal Flavour Violation, reaching a
sensitivity to a new physics scale of about 5 TeV. We also extrapolate all
these analyses into a "year 2010" scenario for experimental and theoretical
inputs in the flavour sector. All the results presented in this paper are also
available at the URL http://www.utfit.org, where they are continuously updated.Comment: 29 pages, 56 figure
The CKM Matrix and The Unitarity Triangle: Another Look
The unitarity triangle can be determined by means of two measurements of its
sides or angles. Assuming the same relative errors on the angles
and the sides , we find that the pairs
and are most efficient in determining
that describe the apex of the unitarity triangle. They
are followed by , , ,
and . As the set \vus, \vcb, and appears to be
the best candidate for the fundamental set of flavour violating parameters in
the coming years, we show various constraints on the CKM matrix in the
plane. Using the best available input we determine the universal
unitarity triangle for models with minimal flavour violation (MFV) and compare
it with the one in the Standard Model. We present allowed ranges for , , , , and within the
Standard Model and MFV models. We also update the allowed range for the
function that parametrizes various MFV-models.Comment: "published version. few typos corrected, results unchanged
Dynamic acetylation profile during mammalian neurulation
Neural tube defects (NTDs) result from failure of neural tube closure during embryogenesis. These severe birth defects of the central nervous system include anencephaly and spina bifida, and affect 0.5-2 per 1,000 pregnancies worldwide in humans. It has been demonstrated that acetylation plays a pivotal role during neural tube closure, as animal models for defective histone acetyltransferase proteins display NTDs. Acetylation represents an important component of the complex network of posttranslational regulatory interactions, suggesting a possible fundamental role during primary neurulation events. This study aimed to assess protein acetylation contribution to early patterning of the central nervous system both in human and murine specimens
Fluorescent mannosides serve as acceptor substrates for glycosyltransferase and sugar-1-phosphate transferase activities in <i>Euglena gracilis</i> membranes
Synthetic hexynyl α-D-mannopyranoside and its α-1,6-linked disaccharide counterpart were fluorescently labelled through CuAAC click chemistry with 3-azido-7-hydroxycoumarin. The resulting triazolyl-coumarin adducts, which were amenable to analysis by TLC, HPLC and mass spectrometry, proved to be acceptor substrates for α-1,6-ManT activities in mycobacterial membranes, as well as α- and β-GalT activities in trypanosomal membranes, benchmarking the potential of the fluorescent acceptor approach against earlier radiochemical assays. Following on to explore the glycobiology of the benign protozoan alga Euglena gracilis, α-1,3- and α-1,2-ManT activities were detected in membrane preparations, along with GlcT, Glc-P-T and GlcNAc-P-T activities. These studies serve to demonstrate the potential of readily accessible fluorescent glycans as substrates for exploring carbohydrate active enzymes
Fermion Masses and Mixing in Extended Technicolor Models
We study fermion masses and mixing angles, including the generation of a
seesaw mechanism for the neutrinos, in extended technicolor (ETC) theories. We
formulate an approach to these problems that relies on assigning right-handed
quarks and charged leptons to ETC representations that are conjugates
of those of the corresponding left-handed fermions. This leads to a natural
suppression of these masses relative to the quarks, as well as the
generation of quark mixing angles, both long-standing challenges for ETC
theories. Standard-model-singlet neutrinos are assigned to ETC representations
that provide a similar suppression of neutrino Dirac masses, as well as the
possibility of a realistic seesaw mechanism with no mass scale above the
highest ETC scale of roughly TeV. A simple model based on the ETC group
SU(5) is constructed and analyzed. This model leads to non-trivial, but not
realistic mixing angles in the quark and lepton sectors. It can also produce
sufficiently light neutrinos, although not simultaneously with a realistic
quark spectrum. We discuss several aspects of the phenomenology of this class
of models.Comment: 74 pages, revtex with embedded figure
Study of Tau-pair Production in Photon-Photon Collisions at LEP and Limits on the Anomalous Electromagnetic Moments of the Tau Lepton
Tau-pair production in the process e+e- -> e+e-tau+tau- was studied using
data collected by the DELPHI experiment at LEP2 during the years 1997 - 2000.
The corresponding integrated luminosity is 650 pb^{-1}. The values of the
cross-section obtained are found to be in agreement with QED predictions.
Limits on the anomalous magnetic and electric dipole moments of the tau lepton
are deduced.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures, Accepted by Eur. Phys. J.
Evidence for an Excess of Soft Photons in Hadronic Decays of Z^0
Soft photons inside hadronic jets converted in front of the DELPHI main
tracker (TPC) in events of qqbar disintegrations of the Z^0 were studied in the
kinematic range 0.2 < E_gamma < 1 GeV and transverse momentum with respect to
the closest jet direction p_T < 80 MeV/c. A clear excess of photons in the
experimental data as compared to the Monte Carlo predictions is observed. This
excess (uncorrected for the photon detection efficiency) is (1.17 +/- 0.06 +/-
0.27) x 10^{-3} gamma/jet in the specified kinematic region, while the expected
level of the inner hadronic bremsstrahlung (which is not included in the Monte
Carlo) is (0.340 +/- 0.001 +/- 0.038) x 10^{-3} gamma/jet. The ratio of the
excess to the predicted bremsstrahlung rate is then (3.4 +/- 0.2 +/- 0.8),
which is similar in strength to the anomalous soft photon signal observed in
fixed target experiments with hadronic beams.Comment: 37 pages, 9 figures, Accepted by Eur. Phys. J.
Study of Inclusive J/psi Production in Two-Photon Collisions at LEP II with the DELPHI Detector
Inclusive J/psi production in photon-photon collisions has been observed at
LEP II beam energies. A clear signal from the reaction gamma gamma -> J/psi+X
is seen. The number of observed N(J/psi -> mu+mu-) events is 36 +/- 7 for an
integrated luminosity of 617 pb^{-1}, yielding a cross-section of
sigma(J/psi+X) = 45 +/- 9 (stat) +/- 17 (syst) pb. Based on a study of the
event shapes of different types of gamma gamma processes in the PYTHIA program,
we conclude that (74 +/- 22)% of the observed J/psi events are due to
`resolved' photons, the dominant contribution of which is most probably due to
the gluon content of the photon.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, Accepted by Phys. Lett.
CP asymmetry in in a general two-Higgs-doublet model with fourth-generation quarks
We discuss the time-dependent CP asymmetry of decay in an
extension of the Standard Model with both two Higgs doublets and additional
fourth-generation quarks. We show that although the Standard Model with
two-Higgs-doublet and the Standard model with fourth generation quarks alone
are not likely to largely change the effective from the decay of
, the model with both additional Higgs doublet and
fourth-generation quarks can easily account for the possible large negative
value of without conflicting with other experimental
constraints. In this model, additional large CP violating effects may arise
from the flavor changing Yukawa interactions between neutral Higgs bosons and
the heavy fourth generation down type quark, which can modify the QCD penguin
contributions. With the constraints obtained from processes
such as and , this model can lead to the
effective to be as large as in the CP asymmetry of .Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, references added, to appear in Eur.Phys.J.
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