94 research outputs found
Strongly Coupled Grand Unification in Higher Dimensions
We consider the scenario where all the couplings in the theory are strong at
the cut-off scale, in the context of higher dimensional grand unified field
theories where the unified gauge symmetry is broken by an orbifold
compactification. In this scenario, the non-calculable correction to gauge
unification from unknown ultraviolet physics is naturally suppressed by the
large volume of the extra dimension, and the threshold correction is dominated
by a calculable contribution from Kaluza-Klein towers that gives the values for
\sin^2\theta_w and \alpha_s in good agreement with low-energy data. The
threshold correction is reliably estimated despite the fact that the theory is
strongly coupled at the cut-off scale. A realistic 5d supersymmetric SU(5)
model is presented as an example, where rapid d=6 proton decay is avoided by
putting the first generation matter in the 5d bulk.Comment: 17 pages, latex, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Threshold Corrections and Gauge Symmetry in Twisted Superstring Models
Threshold corrections to the running of gauge couplings are calculated for
superstring models with free complex world sheet fermions. For two N=1
models, the threshold corrections lead to a small increase
in the unification scale. Examples are given to illustrate how a given particle
spectrum can be described by models with different boundary conditions on the
internal fermions. We also discuss how complex twisted fermions can enhance the
symmetry group of an N=4 model to the gauge group
. It is then shown how a mixing angle analogous
to the Weinberg angle depends on the boundary conditions of the internal
fermions.Comment: easier to Tex version, figures to be sent separatel
A Detailed Analysis of One-loop Neutrino Masses from the Generic Supersymmetric Standard Model
In the generic supersymmetric standard model which had no global symmetry
enforced by hand, lepton number violation is a natural consequence.
Supersymmetry, hence, can be considered the source of experimentally demanded
beyond standard model properties for the neutrinos. With an efficient
formulation of the model, we perform a comprehensive detailed analysis of all
one-loop contributions to neutrino masses.Comment: 27 pages Revtex, no figur
Bottom-Tau Unification in SUSY SU(5) GUT and Constraints from b to s gamma and Muon g-2
An analysis is made on bottom-tau Yukawa unification in supersymmetric (SUSY)
SU(5) grand unified theory (GUT) in the framework of minimal supergravity, in
which the parameter space is restricted by some experimental constraints
including Br(b to s gamma) and muon g-2. The bottom-tau unification can be
accommodated to the measured branching ratio Br(b to s gamma) if superparticle
masses are relatively heavy and higgsino mass parameter \mu is negative. On the
other hand, if we take the latest muon g-2 data to require positive SUSY
contributions, then wrong-sign threshold corrections at SUSY scale upset the
Yukawa unification with more than 20 percent discrepancy. It has to be
compensated by superheavy threshold corrections around the GUT scale, which
constrains models of flavor in SUSY GUT. A pattern of the superparticle masses
preferred by the three requirements is also commented.Comment: 21pages, 6figure
Yukawa coupling unification and non-universal gaugino mediation of supersymmetry breaking
The requirement of Yukawa coupling unification highly constrains the SUSY
parameter space. In several SUSY breaking scenarios it is hard to reconcile
Yukawa coupling unification with experimental constraints from B(b->s gamma)
and the muon anomalous magnetic moment a_mu. We show that b-tau or even t-b-tau
Yukawa unification can be satisfied simultaneously with b->s gamma and a_mu in
the non-universal gaugino mediation scenario. Non-universal gaugino masses
naturally appear in higher dimensional grand unified models in which gauge
symmetry is broken by orbifold compactification. Relations between SUSY
contributions to fermion masses, b->s gamma and a_mu which are typical for
models with universal gaugino masses are relaxed. Consequently, these
phenomenological constraints can be satisfied simultaneously with a relatively
light SUSY spectrum, compared to models with universal gaugino masses.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures. References added. A copy of the paper with
better resolution figures can be found at
http://www.hep.fsu.edu/~balazs/Physics/Papers/2003
Broad-spectrum in vitro activity of macrophage infectivity potentiator inhibitors against Gram-negative bacteria and Leishmania major
Background
The macrophage infectivity potentiator (Mip) protein, which belongs to the immunophilin superfamily, is a peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase (PPIase) enzyme. Mip has been shown to be important for virulence in a wide range of pathogenic microorganisms. It has previously been demonstrated that small-molecule compounds designed to target Mip from the Gram-negative bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei bind at the site of enzymatic activity of the protein, inhibiting the in vitro activity of Mip.
Objectives
In this study, co-crystallography experiments with recombinant B. pseudomallei Mip (BpMip) protein and Mip inhibitors, biochemical analysis and computational modelling were used to predict the efficacy of lead compounds for broad-spectrum activity against other pathogens.
Methods
Binding activity of three lead compounds targeting BpMip was verified using surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy. The determination of crystal structures of BpMip in complex with these compounds, together with molecular modelling and in vitro assays, was used to determine whether the compounds have broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against pathogens.
Results
Of the three lead small-molecule compounds, two were effective in inhibiting the PPIase activity of Mip proteins from Neisseria meningitidis, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Leishmania major. The compounds also reduced the intracellular burden of these pathogens using in vitro cell infection assays.
Conclusions
These results indicate that Mip is a novel antivirulence target that can be inhibited using small-molecule compounds that prove to be promising broad-spectrum drug candidates in vitro. Further optimization of compounds is required for in vivo evaluation and future clinical applications
Neutralino Dark Matter, b-tau Yukawa Unification and Non-Universal Sfermion Masses
We study the implications of minimal non-Universal Boundary Conditions in the
sfermion Soft SUSY Breaking (SSB) masses of mSUGRA. We impose asymptotic b-tau
Yukawa coupling Unification and we resort to a parameterization of the
deviation from Universality in the SSB motivated by the multiplet structure of
SU(5) GUT. A set of cosmo-phenomenological constraints, including the recent
results from WMAP, determines the allowed parameter space of the models under
consideration. We highlight a new coannihilation corridor where
neutralino-sbottom and neutralino-tau sneutrino-stau coannihilations
significantly contribute to the reduction of the neutralino relic density.Comment: 38 pages, 27 Figures, Latex; Version accepted for publication in PR
Colliders and Cosmology
Dark matter in variations of constrained minimal supersymmetric standard
models will be discussed. Particular attention will be given to the comparison
between accelerator and direct detection constraints.Comment: Submitted for the SUSY07 proceedings, 15 pages, LaTex, 26 eps figure
CP Violation in Supersymmetric U(1)' Models
The supersymmetric CP problem is studied within superstring-motivated
extensions of the MSSM with an additional U(1)' gauge symmetry broken at the
TeV scale. This class of models offers an attractive solution to the mu problem
of the MSSM, in which U(1)' gauge invariance forbids the bare mu term, but an
effective mu parameter is generated by the vacuum expectation value of a
Standard Model singlet S which has superpotential coupling of the form SH_uH_d
to the electroweak Higgs doublets. The effective mu parameter is thus
dynamically determined as a function of the soft supersymmetry breaking
parameters, and can be complex if the soft parameters have nontrivial
CP-violating phases. We examine the phenomenological constraints on the
reparameterization invariant phase combinations within this framework, and find
that the supersymmetric CP problem can be greatly alleviated in models in which
the phase of the SU(2) gaugino mass parameter is aligned with the soft
trilinear scalar mass parameter associated with the SH_uH_d coupling. We also
study how the phases filter into the Higgs sector, and find that while the
Higgs sector conserves CP at the renormalizable level to all orders of
perturbation theory, CP violation can enter at the nonrenormalizable level at
one-loop order. In the majority of the parameter space, the lightest Higgs
boson remains essentially CP even but the heavier Higgs bosons can exhibit
large CP-violating mixings, similar to the CP-violating MSSM with large mu
parameter.Comment: 29 pp, 3 figs, 2 table
Designing and implementing sample and data collection for an international genetics study: the Type 1 Diabetes Genetics Consortium (T1DGC)
Background and Purpose The Type 1 Diabetes Genetics Consortium (T1DGC) is an
international project whose primary aims are to: (a) discover genes that modify
type 1 diabetes risk; and (b) expand upon the existing genetic resources for
type 1 diabetes research. The initial goal was to collect 2500 affected sibling
pair (ASP) families worldwide
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