884 research outputs found
Kaon decays and the flavour problem
After a brief introduction to the so-called flavour problem, we discuss the
role of rare K decays in probing the mechanism of quark-flavour mixing.
Particular attention is devoted to the formulation of the Minimal Flavour
Violation hypothesis, as a general and natural solution to the flavour problem,
and to the fundamental role of K -> pi nu nu-bar decays in testing this
scenario.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, contribution to TH 2002 (Paris, July 2002
Implications of large dimuon CP asymmetry in B_{d,s} decays on minimal flavor violation with low tan beta
The D0 collaboration has recently announced evidence for a dimuon CP
asymmetry in B_{d,s} decays of order one percent. If confirmed, this asymmetry
requires new physics. We argue that for minimally flavor violating (MFV) new
physics, and at low tan beta=v_u/v_d, there are only two four-quark operators
(Q_{2,3}) that can provide the required CP violating effect. The scale of such
new physics must lie below 260 GeV sqrt{tan beta}. The effect is universal in
the B_s and B_d systems, leading to S_{psi K}~sin(2beta)-0.15 and S_{psi
phi}~0.25. The effects on epsilon_K and on electric dipole moments are
negligible. The most plausible mechanism is tree-level scalar exchange. MFV
supersymmetry with low tan beta will be excluded. Finally, we explain how a
pattern of deviations from the Standard Model predictions for S_{psi phi},
S_{psi K} and epsilon_K can be used to test MFV and, if MFV holds, to probe its
structure in detail.Comment: 11 pages. v2: References adde
Predicting disease progression in progressive supranuclear palsy in multicenter clinical trials
INTRODUCTION: Clinical and MRI measurements can track disease progression in PSP, but many have not been extensively evaluated in multicenter clinical trials. We identified optimal measures to capture clinical decline and predict disease progression in multicenter PSP trials. METHODS: Longitudinal clinical rating scales, neuropsychological test scores, and volumetric MRI data from an international, phase 2/3 clinical trial of davunetide for PSP (intent to treat population, n = 303) were used to identify measurements with largest effect size, strongest correlation with clinical change, and best ability to predict dropout or clinical decline over one year as measured by PSP Rating Scale (PSPRS). RESULTS: Baseline cognition as measured by Repeatable Battery for Assessing Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) was associated with attrition, but had only a small effect. PSPRS and Clinical Global Impression (CGI) had the largest effect size for measuring change. Annual change in CGI, RBANS, color trails, and MRI midbrain and ventricular volumes were most strongly correlated with annual PSPRS and had the largest effect sizes for detecting annual change. At baseline, shorter disease duration, more severe depression, and lower performance on RBANS and executive function tests were associated with faster worsening of the PSPRS in completers. With dropouts included, SEADL, RBANS, and executive function tests had significant effect on PSPRS trajectory of change. CONCLUSION: Baseline cognitive status and mood influence the rate of disease progression in PSP. Multiple clinical, neuropsychological, and volumetric MRI measurements are sensitive to change over one year in PSP and appropriate for use in multicenter clinical trials
Mass-Matching in Higgsless
Modern extra-dimensional Higgsless scenarios rely on a mass-matching between
fermionic and bosonic KK resonances to evade constraints from precision
electroweak measurements. After analyzing all of the Tevatron and LEP bounds on
these so-called Cured Higgsless scenarios, we study their LHC signatures and
explore how to identify the mass-matching mechanism, the key to their
viability. We find singly and pair produced fermionic resonances show up as
clean signals with 2 or 4 leptons and 2 hard jets, while neutral and charged
bosonic resonances are visible in the dilepton and leptonic WZ channels,
respectively. A measurement of the resonance masses from these channels shows
the matching necessary to achieve . Moreover, a large single
production of KK-fermion resonances is a clear indication of compositeness of
SM quarks. Discovery reach is below 10 fb of luminosity for resonances
in the 700 GeV range.Comment: 28 pages, 18 figure
Color & Weak triplet scalars, the dimuon asymmetry in decay, the top forward-backward asymmetry, and the CDF dijet excess
The new physics required to explain the anomalies recently reported by the D0
and CDF collaborations, namely the top forward-backward asymmetry (FBA), the
like-sign dimuon charge asymmetry in semileptonic b decay, and the CDF dijet
excess, has to feature an amount of flavor symmetry in order to satisfy the
severe constrains arising from flavor violation. In this paper we show that,
once baryon number conservation is imposed, color & weak triplet scalars with
hypercharge can feature the required flavor structure as a consequence
of standard model gauge invariance. The color & weak triplet model can
simultaneously explain the top FBA and the dimuon charge asymmetry or the
dimuon charge asymmetry and the CDF dijet excess. However, the CDF dijet excess
appears to be incompatible with the top FBA in the minimal framework. Our model
for the dimuon asymmetry predicts the observed pattern in the
region of parameter space required to explain the top FBA, whereas our model
for the CDF dijet anomaly is characterized by the absence of beyond the SM
b-quark jets in the excess region. Compatibility of the color & weak triplet
with the electroweak constraints is also discussed. We show that a Higgs boson
mass exceeding the LEP bound is typically favored in this scenario, and that
both Higgs production and decay can be significantly altered by the triplet.
The most promising collider signature is found if the splitting among the
components of the triplet is of weak scale magnitude.Comment: references added, published versio
On theories of enhanced CP violation in B_s,d meson mixing
The DO collaboration has measured a deviation from the standard model (SM)
prediction in the like sign dimuon asymmetry in semileptonic b decay with a
significance of 3.2 sigma. We discuss how minimal flavour violating (MFV)
models with multiple scalar representations can lead to this deviation through
tree level exchanges of new MFV scalars. We review how the two scalar doublet
model can accommodate this result and discuss some of its phenomenology. Limits
on electric dipole moments suggest that in this model the coupling of the
charged scalar to the right handed u-type quarks is suppressed while its
coupling to the d-type right handed quarks must be enhanced. We construct an
extension of the MFV two scalar doublet model where this occurs naturally.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, v3 final JHEP versio
Probing Colored Particles with Photons, Leptons, and Jets
If pairs of new colored particles are produced at the Large Hadron Collider,
determining their quantum numbers, and even discovering them, can be
non-trivial. We suggest that valuable information can be obtained by measuring
the resonant signals of their near-threshold QCD bound states. If the particles
are charged, the resulting signatures include photons and leptons and are
sufficiently rich for unambiguously determining their various quantum numbers,
including the charge, color representation and spin, and obtaining a precise
mass measurement. These signals provide well-motivated benchmark models for
resonance searches in the dijet, photon+jet, diphoton and dilepton channels.
While these measurements require that the lifetime of the new particles be not
too short, the resulting limits, unlike those from direct searches for pair
production above threshold, do not depend on the particles' decay modes. These
limits may be competitive with more direct searches if the particles decay in
an obscure way.Comment: 39 pages, 9 figures; v2: more recent searches include
Mindfulness-based interventions for young offenders: a scoping review
Youth offending is a problem worldwide. Young people in the criminal justice system have frequently experienced adverse childhood circumstances, mental health problems, difficulties regulating emotions and poor quality of life. Mindfulness-based interventions can help people manage problems resulting from these experiences, but their usefulness for youth offending populations is not clear. This review evaluated existing evidence for mindfulness-based interventions among such populations. To be included, each study used an intervention with at least one of the three core components of mindfulness-based stress reduction (breath awareness, body awareness, mindful movement) that was delivered to young people in prison or community rehabilitation programs. No restrictions were placed on methods used. Thirteen studies were included: three randomized controlled trials, one controlled trial, three pre-post study designs, three mixed-methods approaches and three qualitative studies. Pooled numbers (nâ=â842) comprised 99% males aged between 14 and 23. Interventions varied so it was not possible to identify an optimal approach in terms of content, dose or intensity. Studies found some improvement in various measures of mental health, self-regulation, problematic behaviour, substance use, quality of life and criminal propensity. In those studies measuring mindfulness, changes did not reach statistical significance. Qualitative studies reported participants feeling less stressed, better able to concentrate, manage emotions and behaviour, improved social skills and that the interventions were acceptable. Generally low study quality limits the generalizability of these findings. Greater clarity on intervention components and robust mixed-methods evaluation would improve clarity of reporting and better guide future youth offending prevention programs
Radiative contribution to neutrino masses and mixing in SSM
In an extension of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (popularly known
as the SSM), three right handed neutrino superfields are introduced to
solve the -problem and to accommodate the non-vanishing neutrino masses
and mixing. Neutrino masses at the tree level are generated through parity
violation and seesaw mechanism. We have analyzed the full effect of one-loop
contributions to the neutrino mass matrix. We show that the current three
flavour global neutrino data can be accommodated in the SSM, for both
the tree level and one-loop corrected analyses. We find that it is relatively
easier to accommodate the normal hierarchical mass pattern compared to the
inverted hierarchical or quasi-degenerate case, when one-loop corrections are
included.Comment: 51 pages, 14 figures (58 .eps files), expanded introduction, other
minor changes, references adde
Covariant Description of Flavor Conversion in the LHC Era
A simple covariant formalism to describe flavor and CP violation in the
left-handed quark sector in a model independent way is provided. The
introduction of a covariant basis, which makes the standard model approximate
symmetry structure manifest, leads to a physical and transparent picture of
flavor conversion processes. Our method is particularly useful to derive robust
bounds on models with arbitrary mechanisms of alignment. Known constraints on
flavor violation in the K and D systems are reproduced in a straightforward
manner. Assumptions-free limits, based on top flavor violation at the LHC, are
then obtained. In the absence of signal, with 100 fb^{-1} of data, the LHC will
exclude weakly coupled (strongly coupled) new physics up to a scale of 0.6 TeV
(7.6 TeV), while at present no general constraint can be set related to Delta
t=1 processes. LHC data will constrain Delta F=2 contributions via same-sign
tops signal, with a model independent exclusion region of 0.08 TeV (1.0 TeV).
However, in this case, stronger bounds are found from the study of CP violation
in D-bar D mixing with a scale of 0.57 TeV (7.2 TeV). In addition, we apply our
analysis to models of supersymmetry and warped extra dimension. The minimal
flavor violation framework is also discussed, where the formalism allows to
distinguish between the linear and generic non-linear limits within this class
of models.Comment: 24 pages, 6 figures. Some corrections and clarifications; references
added. Matches published versio
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