1,287 research outputs found
Sensitive CO and 13CO survey of water fountain stars Detections towards IRAS 18460-0151 and IRAS 18596+0315
 This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from EDP Sciences via the DOI in this recordContext. Water fountain stars represent a stage between the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) and planetary nebulae phases, when the mass loss changes from spherical to bipolar. These types of evolved objects are characterized by high-velocity jets in the 22 GHz water maser emission. Aims. The objective of this work is to detect and study in detail the circumstellar gas in which the bipolar outflows are emerging. The detection and study of thermal lines may help in understanding the nature and physics of the envelopes in which the jets are developing. Methods. We surveyed the CO and 13CO line emission towards a sample of ten water fountain stars through observing the J = 1 → 0 and 2 → 1 lines of CO and 13CO, using the 30 m IRAM radio-telescope at Pico Veleta. All the water fountains visible from the observatory were surveyed. Results. Most of the line emission arises from foreground or background Galactic clouds, and we had to thoroughly analyse the spectra to unveil the velocity components related to the stars. In two sources, IRAS 18460-0151 and IRAS 18596+0315, we identified wide velocity components with a width of 35 - 40 km s-1 that are centred at the stellar velocities. These wide components can be associated with the former AGB envelope of the progenitor star. A third case, IRAS 18286-0959, is reported as tentative; in this case a pair of narrow velocity components, symmetrically located with respect to the stellar velocity, have been discovered. We also modelled the line emission using an LVG code and derived some global physical parameters, which allowed us to discuss the possible origin of this gas in relation to the known bipolar outflows. For IRAS 18460-0151 and IRAS 18596+0315, we derived molecular masses close to 0.2 M⊙, mean densities of 104 cm-3, and mass-loss rates of 10 -4 M⊙ yr-1. The kinetic temperatures are rather low, between 10 and 50 K in both cases, which suggests that the CO emission is arising from the outer and cooler regions of the envelopes. No fitting was possible for IRAS 18286-0959, because line contamination can not be discarded in this case. Conclusions. The molecular masses, mean densities, and mass-loss rates estimated for the circumstellar material associated with IRAS 18460-0151 and IRAS 18596+0315 confirm that these sources are at the end of the AGB or the beginning of the post-AGB evolutionary stages. The computed mass-loss rates are among the highest ones possible according to current evolutionary models, which leads us to propose that the progenitors of these water fountains had masses in the range from 4 to 8 M ⊙. We speculate that CO emission is detected in water fountains as a result of a CO abundance enhancement caused by current episodes of low-collimation mass-loss. © ESO, 2013.MICINNJunta de AndalucÃ
Revealing the electroweak properties of a new scalar resonance
One or more new heavy resonances may be discovered in experiments at the CERN
Large Hadron Collider. In order to determine if such a resonance is the
long-awaited Higgs boson, it is essential to pin down its spin, CP, and
electroweak quantum numbers. Here we describe how to determine what role a
newly-discovered neutral CP-even scalar plays in electroweak symmetry breaking,
by measuring its relative decay rates into pairs of electroweak vector bosons:
WW, ZZ, \gamma\gamma, and Z\gamma. With the data-driven assumption that
electroweak symmetry breaking respects a remnant custodial symmetry, we perform
a general analysis with operators up to dimension five. Remarkably, only three
pure cases and one nontrivial mixed case need to be disambiguated, which can
always be done if all four decay modes to electroweak vector bosons can be
observed or constrained. We exhibit interesting special cases of Higgs
look-alikes with nonstandard decay patterns, including a very suppressed
branching to WW or very enhanced branchings to \gamma\gamma and Z\gamma. Even
if two vector boson branching fractions conform to Standard Model expectations
for a Higgs doublet, measurements of the other two decay modes could unmask a
Higgs imposter.Comment: 23 pages, two figures; v2: minor revision and version to appear in
JHE
Deciphering Universal Extra Dimension from the top quark signals at the CERN LHC
Models based on Universal Extra Dimensions predict Kaluza-Klein (KK)
excitations of all Standard Model (SM) particles. We examine the pair
production of KK excitations of top- and bottom-quarks at the Large Hadron
Collider. Once produced, the KK top/bottom quarks can decay to -quarks,
leptons and the lightest KK-particle, , resulting in 2 -jets, two
opposite sign leptons and missing transverse momentum, thereby mimicing
top-pair production. We show that, with a proper choice of kinematic cuts, an
integrated luminosity of 100 fb would allow a discovery for an inverse
radius upto GeV.Comment: 18 pages, 14 figures, Accepted for publication in JHE
Higgs boson decay into 2 photons in the type~II Seesaw Model
We study the two photon decay channel of the Standard Model-like component of
the CP-even Higgs bosons present in the type II Seesaw Model. The corresponding
cross-section is found to be significantly enhanced in parts of the parameter
space, due to the (doubly-)charged Higgs bosons' virtual
contributions, while all the other Higgs decay channels remain Standard
Model(SM)-like. In other parts of the parameter space (and
) interfere destructively, reducing the two photon branching ratio
tremendously below the SM prediction. Such properties allow to account for any
excess such as the one reported by ATLAS/CMS at GeV if confirmed
by future data; if not, for the fact that a SM-like Higgs exclusion in the
diphoton channel around 114-115 GeV as reported by ATLAS, does not contradict a
SM-like Higgs at LEP(!), and at any rate, for the fact that ATLAS/CMS exclusion
limits put stringent lower bounds on the mass, particularly in
the parameter space regions where the direct limits from same-sign leptonic
decays of do not apply.Comment: 26 pages, 7 figure
The predictive and prognostic potential of plasma telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) RNA in rectal cancer patients
Background: Preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) followed by surgery is the standard care for locally advanced rectal cancer,
but tumour response to CRT and disease outcome are variable. The current study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of plasma
telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) levels in predicting tumour response and clinical outcome.
Methods: 176 rectal cancer patients were included. Plasma samples were collected at baseline (before CRT\ubcT0), 2 weeks after
CRT was initiated (T1), post-CRT and before surgery (T2), and 4\u20138 months after surgery (T3) time points. Plasma TERT mRNA levels
and total cell-free RNA were determined using real-time PCR.
Results: Plasma levels of TERT were significantly lower at T2 (Po0.0001) in responders than in non-responders. Post-CRT TERT
levels and the differences between pre- and post-CRT TERT levels independently predicted tumour response, and the prediction
model had an area under curve of 0.80 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.73\u20130.87). Multiple analysis demonstrated that patients with
detectable TERT levels at T2 and T3 time points had a risk of disease progression 2.13 (95% CI 1.10\u20134.11)-fold and 4.55 (95% CI
1.48\u201313.95)-fold higher, respectively, than those with undetectable plasma TERT levels.
Conclusions: Plasma TERT levels are independent markers of tumour response and are prognostic of disease progression in rectal
cancer patients who undergo neoadjuvant therapy
A Full Suite of Histone and Histone Modifying Genes Are Transcribed in the Dinoflagellate Lingulodinium
BACKGROUND: Dinoflagellates typically lack histones and nucleosomes are not observed in DNA spreads. However, recent studies have shown the presence of core histone mRNA sequences scattered among different dinoflagellate species. To date, the presence of all components required for manufacturing and modifying nucleosomes in a single dinoflagellate species has not been confirmed. METHODOLOGY AND RESULTS: Analysis of a Lingulodinium transcriptome obtained by Illumina sequencing of mRNA shows several different copies of each of the four core histones as well as a suite of histone modifying enzymes and histone chaperone proteins. Phylogenetic analysis shows one of each Lingulodinium histone copies belongs to the dinoflagellate clade while the second is more divergent and does not share a common ancestor. All histone mRNAs are in low abundance (roughly 25 times lower than higher plants) and transcript levels do not vary over the cell cycle. We also tested Lingulodinium extracts for histone proteins using immunoblotting and LC-MS/MS, but were unable to confirm histone expression at the protein level. CONCLUSION: We show that all core histone sequences are present in the Lingulodinium transcriptome. The conservation of these sequences, even though histone protein accumulation remains below currently detectable levels, strongly suggests dinoflagellates possess histones
Cosmic Ray Anomalies from the MSSM?
The recent positron excess in cosmic rays (CR) observed by the PAMELA
satellite may be a signal for dark matter (DM) annihilation. When these
measurements are combined with those from FERMI on the total () flux
and from PAMELA itself on the ratio, these and other results are
difficult to reconcile with traditional models of DM, including the
conventional mSUGRA version of Supersymmetry even if boosts as large as
are allowed. In this paper, we combine the results of a previously
obtained scan over a more general 19-parameter subspace of the MSSM with a
corresponding scan over astrophysical parameters that describe the propagation
of CR. We then ascertain whether or not a good fit to this CR data can be
obtained with relatively small boost factors while simultaneously satisfying
the additional constraints arising from gamma ray data. We find that a specific
subclass of MSSM models where the LSP is mostly pure bino and annihilates
almost exclusively into pairs comes very close to satisfying these
requirements. The lightest in this set of models is found to be
relatively close in mass to the LSP and is in some cases the nLSP. These models
lead to a significant improvement in the overall fit to the data by an amount
dof in comparison to the best fit without Supersymmetry
while employing boosts . The implications of these models for future
experiments are discussed.Comment: 57 pages, 31 figures, references adde
Search for Higgs bosons of the Universal Extra Dimensions at the Large Hadron Collider
The Higgs sector of the Universal Extra Dimensions (UED) has a rather
involved setup. With one extra space dimension, the main ingredients to the
construct are the higher Kaluza-Klein (KK) excitations of the Standard Model
Higgs boson and the fifth components of the gauge fields which on
compactification appear as scalar degrees of freedom and can mix with the
former thus leading to physical KK-Higgs states of the scenario. In this work,
we explore in detail the phenomenology of such a Higgs sector of the UED with
the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in focus. We work out relevant decay branching
fractions involving the KK-Higgs excitations. Possible production modes of the
KK-Higgs bosons are then discussed with an emphasis on their associated
production with the third generation KK-quarks and that under the cascade
decays of strongly interacting UED excitations which turn out to be the only
phenomenologically significant modes. It is pointed out that the collider
searches of such Higgs bosons face generic hardship due to soft end-products
which result from severe degeneracies in the masses of the involved excitations
in the minimal version of the UED (MUED). Generic implications of either
observing some or all of the KK-Higgs bosons at the LHC are discussed.Comment: 25 pages, 9 figures and 1 tabl
Higgs production as a probe of anomalous top couplings
The LHC may be currently seeing the first hints of the Higgs boson. The
dominant production mode for the Higgs at the LHC involves a top-quark loop. An
accurate measurement of Higgs production cross-sections and decay widths can
thus be used to obtain limits on anomalous top couplings. We find that such an
exercise could potentially yield constraints that are stronger than those
derived from low-energy observables as well as direct bounds expected from the
top pair-production process.Comment: Version published in JHE
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