Fast CP Violation

$B$ flavor tagging will be extensively studied at the asymmetric $B$ factories due to its importance in CP asymmetry measurements. The primary tagging modes are the semileptonic decays of the $b$ (lepton tag), or the hadronic $b \to c (\to s)$ decays (kaon tag). We suggest that looking for time dependent CP asymmetries in events where one $B$ is tagged leptonically and the other one is tagged with a kaon could result in an early detection of CP violation. Although in the Standard Model these asymmetries are expected to be small, $\sim 1$, they could be measured with about the same amount of data as in the ``gold-plated'' decay $B_d \to \psi K_S$. In the presence of physics beyond the Standard Model, these asymmetries could be as large as $\sim 5$, and the first CP violation signal in the $B$ system may show up in these events. We give explicit examples of new physics scenarios where this occurs.Comment: 9 pages, revtex, no figures. Discussion of new physics effects on CP violation with two lepton tags expanded. Factors of 2 correcte

Genome-wide linkage scan for loci associated with epilepsy in Belgian shepherd dogs.

BackgroundIdiopathic epilepsy in the Belgian shepherd dog is known to have a substantial genetic component. The objective of this study was to identify genomic regions associated with the expression of generalized seizures in the Belgian Tervuren and Sheepdog.ResultsDNA from 366 dogs, of which 74 were classified as epileptic, representing two extended families were subjected to a genome-wide linkage scan using 410 microsatellite markers yielding informative coverage averaging 5.95 +/- 0.21 Mb. Though previous studies based on pedigree analyses proposed a major gene of influence, the present study demonstrated the trait to be highly polygenic. Studies of complex disorders in humans indicate that a liberal composite evaluation of genetic linkage is needed to identify underlying quantitative trait loci (QTLs). Four chromosomes yielded tentative linkage based upon LOD scores in excess of 1.0. Possible QTLs within these regions were supported also by analyses of multipoint linkage, allele frequency, TDT, and transmission of haplotype blocks.ConclusionsTaken together the data tentatively indicate six QTLs, three on CFA 2, and one on each of CFA 6, 12, and 37, that support fine mapping for mutations associated with epilepsy in the Belgian shepherd. The study also underscores the complexity of genomic linkage studies for polygenic disorders

A non-associative quantum mechanics

A non-associative quantum mechanics is proposed in which the product of three and more operators can be non-associative one. The multiplication rules of the octonions define the multiplication rules of the corresponding operators with quantum corrections. The self-consistency of the operator algebra is proved for the product of three operators. Some properties of the non-associative quantum mechanics are considered. It is proposed that some generalization of the non-associative algebra of quantum operators can be helpful for understanding of the algebra of field operators with a strong interaction.Comment: one typo in Eq. (23) is correcte

B-Decay CP Asymmetries, Discrete Ambiguities and New Physics

The first measurements of CP violation in the $B$ system will likely probe $\sin 2\alpha$, $\sin 2\beta$ and $\cos 2\gamma$. Assuming that the CP angles $\alpha$, $\beta$ and $\gamma$ are the interior angles of the unitarity triangle, these measurements determine the angle set $(\alpha,\beta,\gamma)$ except for a twofold discrete ambiguity. If one allows for the possibility of new physics, the presence of this discrete ambiguity can make its discovery difficult: if only one of the two candidate solutions is consistent with constraints from other measurements in the $B$ and $K$ systems, one is not sure whether new physics is present or not. We review the methods used to resolve the discrete ambiguity and show that, even in the presence of new physics, they can usually be used to uncover this new physics. There are some exceptions, which we describe in detail. We systematically scan the parameter space and present examples of values of $(\alpha,\beta,\gamma)$ and the new-physics parameters which correspond to all possibilities. Finally, we show that if one relaxes the assumption that the bag parameters \BBd and \BK are positive, one can no longer definitively establish the presence of new physics.Comment: 29 pages, LaTeX, 1 figures, presentation substantially reworked, physics conclusions unchanged. This version will be published in Phys. Rev.

New Physics and CP Violation in Singly Cabibbo Suppressed D Decays

We analyze various theoretical aspects of CP violation in singly Cabibbo suppressed (SCS) D-meson decays, such as $D \to K K,\pi \pi$. In particular, we explore the possibility that CP asymmetries will be measured close to the present level of experimental sensitivity of $O(10^{-2})$. Such measurements would signal new physics. We make the following points: (i) The mechanism at work in neutral D decays could be indirect or direct CP violation (or both). (ii) One can experimentally distinguish between these possibilities. (iii) If the dominant CP violation is indirect, then there are clear predictions for other modes. (iv) Tree-level direct CP violation in various known models is constrained to be much smaller than $10^{-2}$. (v) SCS decays, unlike Cabibbo favored or doubly Cabibbo suppressed decays, are sensitive to new contributions from QCD penguin operators and especially from chromomagnetic dipole operators. This point is illustrated with supersymmetric gluino-squark loops, which can yield direct CP violating effects of $O(10^{-2})$.Comment: 36 pages, 5 figure

Locally Localized Gravity Models in Higher Dimensions

We explore the possibility of generalizing the locally localized gravity model in five space-time dimensions to arbitrary higher dimensions. In a space-time with negative cosmological constant, there are essentially two kinds of higher-dimensional cousins which not only take an analytic form but also are free from the naked curvature singularity in a whole bulk space-time. One cousin is a trivial extension of five-dimensional model, while the other one is in essence in higher dimensions. One interesting observation is that in the latter model, only anti-de Sitter ($AdS_p$) brane is physically meaningful whereas de Sitter ($dS_p$) and Minkowski ($M_p$) branes are dismissed. Moreover, for $AdS_p$ brane in the latter model, we study the property of localization of various bulk fields on a single brane. In particular, it is shown that the presence of the brane cosmological constant enables bulk gauge field and massless fermions to confine to the brane only by a gravitational interaction. We find a novel relation between mass of brane gauge field and the brane cosmological constant.Comment: 20 pages, LaTex 2e, revised version (to appear in Phys. Rev. D

Removing Discrete Ambiguities in CP Asymmetry Measurements

We discuss methods to resolve the ambiguities in CP violating phase angles $\phi$ that are left when a measurement of $\sin 2 \phi$ is made. We show what knowledge of hadronic quantities will be needed to fully resolve all such ambiguities.Comment: 23 pages, revtex, no figure

Turbulent convection: comparing the moment equations to numerical simulations

The non-local hydrodynamic moment equations for compressible convection are compared to numerical simulations. Convective and radiative flux typically deviate less than 20% from the 3D simulations, while mean thermodynamic quantities are accurate to at least 2% for the cases we have investigated. The moment equations are solved in minutes rather than days on standard workstations. We conclude that this convection model has the potential to considerably improve the modelling of convection zones in stellar envelopes and cores, in particular of A and F stars.Comment: 10 pages (6 pages of text including figure captions + 4 figures), Latex 2e with AAS Latex 5.0 macros, accepted for publication in ApJ

Monopoles and Instantons in String Theory

In recent work, several classes of solitonic solutions of string theory with higher-membrane structure have been obtained. These solutions can be classified according to the symmetry possessed by the solitons in the subspace of the spacetime transverse to the membrane. Solitons with four-dimensional spherical symmetry represent instanton solutions in string theory, while those with three-dimensional spherical symmetry represent magnetic monopole-type solutions. For both of these classes, we discuss bosonic as well as heterotic solutions.Comment: 16 page

Imaging the Effects of Oxygen Saturation Changes in Voluntary Apnea and Hyperventilation on Susceptibility-Weighted Imaging

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Cerebrovascular oxygenation changes during respiratory challenges have clinically important implications for brain function, including cerebral autoregulation and the rate of brain metabolism. SWI is sensitive to venous oxygenation level by exploitation of the magnetic susceptibility of deoxygenated blood. We assessed cerebral venous blood oxygenation changes during simple voluntary breath-holding (apnea) and hyperventilation by use of SWI at 3T. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed SWI scans (3T; acquisition time of 1 minute, 28 seconds; centered on the anterior commissure and the posterior commissure) on 10 healthy male volunteers during baseline breathing as well as during simple voluntary hyperventilation and apnea challenges. The hyperventilation and apnea tasks were separated by a 5-minute resting period. SWI venograms were generated, and the signal changes on SWI before and after the respiratory stress tasks were compared by means of a paired Student t test. RESULTS: Changes in venous vasculature visibility caused by the respiratory challenges were directly visualized on the SWI venograms. The venogram segmentation results showed that voluntary apnea decreased the mean venous blood voxel number by 1.6% (P < .0001), and hyperventilation increased the mean venous blood voxel number by 2.7% (P < .0001). These results can be explained by blood CO2 changes secondary to the respiratory challenges, which can alter cerebrovascular tone and cerebral blood flow and ultimately affect venous oxygen levels. CONCLUSIONS: These results highlight the sensitivity of SWI to simple and noninvasive respiratory challenges and its potential utility in assessing cerebral hemodynamics and vasomotor responses