129 research outputs found
Status of a Supersymmetric Flavour Violating Solution to the Solar Neutrino Puzzle with Three Generations
We present a general study of a three neutrino flavour transition model based
on the supersymmetric interactions which violate R-parity. These interactions
induce flavour violating scattering reactions between solar matter and
neutrinos. The model does not contain any vacuum mass or mixing angle for the
first generation neutrino. Instead, the effective mixing in the first
generation is induced via the new interactions. The model provides a natural
interpretation of the atmospheric neutrino anomaly, and is consistent with
reactor experiments. We determine all R-parity violating couplings which can
contribute to the effective neutrino oscillations, and summarize the present
laboratory bounds. Independent of the specific nature of the (supersymmetric)
flavour violating model, the experimental data on the solar neutrino rates and
the recoil electron energy spectrum are inconsistent with the theoretical
predictions. The confidence level of the -analysis ranges between and . The incompatibility, is due to the new SNO
results, and excludes the present model. We conclude that a non-vanishing
vacuum mixing angle for the first generation neutrino is necessary in our
model. We expect this also to apply to the solutions based on other flavour
violating interactions having constraints of the same order of magnitude.Comment: 17 pages, Latex fil
Focus Point SUSY at the LHC Revisited
The estimation of the backgrounds for gluino signals in focus point
supersymmetry is extended by including the backgrounds from the production of
four third generation quarks in the analysis. We find that these backgrounds
are negligible if one uses the strong selection criteria proposed in the
literature (including this analysis) for heavy gluino searches. Softer
selection criteria often recommended for lighter gluino searches yield
backgrounds which are small but numerically significant. We have also repeated
the more conventional background calculations and compared our results with the
other groups. We find that the size of the total residual background estimated
by different groups using different event generators and hard kinematical cuts
agree approximately. In view of the theoretical uncertainties in the leading
order signal and background cross sections mainly due to the choice of the QCD
scale, the gluino mass reach at the LHC cannot be pinpointed. However,
requiring a signal with tagged b-jets (instead of the standard
choice of ) it is shown that gluino masses close to 2 TeV can be
probed at the LHC for a range of reasonable choices of the QCD scale for an
integrated luminosity of 300 fb.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, minor typos correctio
Virtual LSPs at e+ e- Colliders
Currently popular search strategies for supersymmetric particles may be
significantly affected due to relatively light sneutrinos which decay
dominantly into invisible channels. In certain cases the second lightest
neutralino may also decay invisibly leading to two extra carriers of missing
energy (in addition to the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP)) -- the
virtual LSPs (VLSPs). It is shown that if the sneutrino masses happen to be in
the small but experimentally allowed range ~ 45 - 55 GeV, these particles
together with neutralino pairs may contribute significantly to the missing
energy in the process e+ e- ---> \gamma + missing energy at LEP-2 energies as
an enhancement over the Standard Model or the conventional MSSM predictions. It
is further shown that a much larger region of the parameter space can be
scanned at a high luminosity e+ e- collider at 500 GeV like the proposed NLC
machine. Moreover this process can play a complementary role to direct chargino
searches at LEP-2 and NLC which may fail due to a near mass degeneracy of the
chargino and the sneutrino. Formulae for the cross sections taking into account
full mixings of the charginos and the neutralinos are derived. The signal
remains observable even in the context of more restricted models based on N=1
SUGRA with common scalar and gaugino masses. The effect of soft photon
brehmsstrahlung on the signal is also discussed briefly.Comment: 51 pages, LaTeX plus 13 postscript figures included using epsfig in
uuencoded and compressed form, minor comments adde
Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay from Singlet Neutrinos in Extra Dimensions
We study the model-building conditions under which a sizeable
-decay signal to the recently reported level of~0.4 eV is due
to Kaluza--Klein singlet neutrinos in theories with large extra dimensions. Our
analysis is based on 5-dimensional singlet-neutrino models compactified on an
orbifold, where the Standard--Model fields are localized on a
3-brane. We show that a successful interpretation of a positive signal within
the above minimal 5-dimensional framework would require a non-vanishing shift
of the 3-brane from the orbifold fixed points by an amount smaller than the
typical scale (100 MeV) characterizing the Fermi nuclear momentum. The
resulting 5-dimensional models predict a sizeable effective Majorana-neutrino
mass that could be several orders of magnitude larger than the light neutrino
masses. Most interestingly, the brane-shifted models with only one bulk sterile
neutrino also predict novel trigonometric textures leading to mass scenarios
with hierarchical active neutrinos and large - and
- mixings that can fully explain the current atmospheric and
solar neutrino data.Comment: 33 pages, LaTeX, minor rewordings, references adde
A new approach in modeling the response of RPC detectors
The response of RPC detectors is highly sensitive to environmental variables.
A novel approach is presented to model the response of RPC detectors in a
variety of experimental conditions. The algorithm, based on Artificial Neural
Networks, has been developed and tested on the CMS RPC gas gain monitoring
system during commissioning
Gauge and Scheme Dependence of Mixing Matrix Renormalization
We revisit the issue of mixing matrix renormalization in theories that
include Dirac or Majorana fermions. We show how a gauge-variant on-shell
renormalized mixing matrix can be related to a manifestly gauge-independent one
within a generalized scheme of renormalization. This
scheme-dependent relation is a consequence of the fact that in any scheme of
renormalization, the gauge-dependent part of the mixing-matrix counterterm is
ultra-violet safe and has a pure dispersive form. Employing the unitarity
properties of the theory, we can successfully utilize the afore-mentioned
scheme-dependent relation to preserve basic global or local symmetries of the
bare Lagrangian through the entire process of renormalization. As an immediate
application of our study, we derive the gauge-independent renormalization-group
equations of mixing matrices in a minimal extension of the Standard Model with
isosinglet neutrinos.Comment: 31 pages, LaTeX, uses axodraw.st
Big GABA II: Water-referenced edited MR spectroscopy at 25 research sites
Accurate and reliable quantification of brain metabolites measured in vivo using 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is a topic of continued interest. Aside from differences in the basic approach to quantification, the quantification of metabolite data acquired at different sites and on different platforms poses an additional methodological challenge. In this study, spectrally edited γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) MRS data were analyzed and GABA levels were quantified relative to an internal tissue water reference. Data from 284 volunteers scanned across 25 research sites were collected using GABA+ (GABA + co-edited macromolecules (MM)) and MM-suppressed GABA editing. The unsuppressed water signal from the volume of interest was acquired for concentration referencing. Whole-brain T1-weighted structural images were acquired and segmented to determine gray matter, white matter and cerebrospinal fluid voxel tissue fractions. Water-referenced GABA measurements were fully corrected for tissue-dependent signal relaxation and water visibility effects. The cohort-wide coefficient of variation was 17% for the GABA + data and 29% for the MM-suppressed GABA data. The mean within-site coefficient of variation was 10% for the GABA + data and 19% for the MM-suppressed GABA data. Vendor differences contributed 53% to the total variance in the GABA + data, while the remaining variance was attributed to site- (11%) and participant-level (36%) effects. For the MM-suppressed data, 54% of the variance was attributed to site differences, while the remaining 46% was attributed to participant differences. Results from an exploratory analysis suggested that the vendor differences were related to the unsuppressed water signal acquisition. Discounting the observed vendor-specific effects, water-referenced GABA measurements exhibit similar levels of variance to creatine-referenced GABA measurements. It is concluded that quantification using internal tissue water referencing is a viable and reliable method for the quantification of in vivo GABA levels
Phylogenomic analysis of a 55.1 kb 19-gene dataset resolves a monophyletic Fusarium that includes the Fusarium solani Species Complex
Scientific communication is facilitated by a data-driven, scientifically sound taxonomy that considers the end-user¿s needs and established successful practice. In 2013, the Fusarium community voiced near unanimous support for a concept of Fusarium that represented a clade comprising all agriculturally and clinically important Fusarium species, including the F. solani species complex (FSSC). Subsequently, this concept was challenged in 2015 by one research group who proposed dividing the genus Fusarium into seven genera, including the FSSC described as members of the genus Neocosmospora, with subsequent justification in 2018 based on claims that the 2013 concept of Fusarium is polyphyletic. Here, we test this claim and provide a phylogeny based on exonic nucleotide sequences of 19 orthologous protein-coding genes that strongly support the monophyly of Fusarium including the FSSC. We reassert the practical and scientific argument in support of a genus Fusarium that includes the FSSC and several other basal lineages, consistent with the longstanding use of this name among plant pathologists, medical mycologists, quarantine officials, regulatory agencies, students, and researchers with a stake in its taxonomy. In recognition of this monophyly, 40 species described as genus Neocosmospora were recombined in genus Fusarium, and nine others were renamed Fusarium. Here the global Fusarium community voices strong support for the inclusion of the FSSC in Fusarium, as it remains the best scientific, nomenclatural, and practical taxonomic option availabl
Anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2018
Anemia is a globally widespread condition in women and is associated with reduced economic productivity and increased mortality worldwide. Here we map annual 2000–2018 geospatial estimates of anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age (15–49 years) across 82 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), stratify anemia by severity and aggregate results to policy-relevant administrative and national levels. Additionally, we provide subnational disparity analyses to provide a comprehensive overview of anemia prevalence inequalities within these countries and predict progress toward the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target (WHO GNT) to reduce anemia by half by 2030. Our results demonstrate widespread moderate improvements in overall anemia prevalence but identify only three LMICs with a high probability of achieving the WHO GNT by 2030 at a national scale, and no LMIC is expected to achieve the target in all their subnational administrative units. Our maps show where large within-country disparities occur, as well as areas likely to fall short of the WHO GNT, offering precision public health tools so that adequate resource allocation and subsequent interventions can be targeted to the most vulnerable populations.Peer reviewe
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