Observing many body effects on lepton pair production from low mass enhancement and flow at RHIC and LHC energies

The $\rho$ spectral function at finite temperature calculated using the real-time formalism of thermal field theory is used to evaluate the low mass dilepton spectra. The analytic structure of the $\rho$ propagator is studied and contributions to the dilepton yield in the region below the bare $\rho$ peak from the different cuts in the spectral function are discussed. The space-time integrated yield shows significant enhancement in the region below the bare $\rho$ peak in the invariant mass spectra. It is argued that the variation of the inverse slope of the transverse mass ($M_T$) distribution can be used as an efficient tool to predict the presence of two different phases of the matter during the evolution of the system. Sensitivity of the effective temperature obtained from the slopes of the $M_T$ spectra to the medium effects are studied

Interleukin-1β sequesters hypoxia inducible factor 2α to the primary cilium.

BACKGROUND: The primary cilium coordinates signalling in development, health and disease. Previously we have shown that the cilium is essential for the anabolic response to loading and the inflammatory response to interleukin-1β (IL-1β). We have also shown the primary cilium elongates in response to IL-1β exposure. Both anabolic phenotype and inflammatory pathology are proposed to be dependent on hypoxia-inducible factor 2 alpha (HIF-2α). The present study tests the hypothesis that an association exists between the primary cilium and HIFs in inflammatory signalling. RESULTS: Here we show, in articular chondrocytes, that IL-1β-induces primary cilia elongation with alterations to cilia trafficking of arl13b. This elongation is associated with a transient increase in HIF-2α expression and accumulation in the primary cilium. Prolyl hydroxylase inhibition results in primary cilia elongation also associated with accumulation of HIF-2α in the ciliary base and axoneme. This recruitment and the associated cilia elongation is not inhibited by blockade of HIFα transcription activity or rescue of basal HIF-2α expression. Hypomorphic mutation to intraflagellar transport protein IFT88 results in limited ciliogenesis. This is associated with increased HIF-2α expression and inhibited response to prolyl hydroxylase inhibition. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that ciliary sequestration of HIF-2α provides negative regulation of HIF-2α expression and potentially activity. This study indicates, for the first time, that the primary cilium regulates HIF signalling during inflammation

West Antarctic ice loss influenced by internal climate variability and anthropogenic forcing

Recent ice loss from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet has been caused by ocean melting of ice shelves in the Amundsen Sea. Eastward wind anomalies at the shelf break enhance the import of warm Circumpolar Deep Water onto the Amundsen Sea continental shelf, which creates transient melting anomalies with an approximately decadal period. No anthropogenic influence on this process has been established. Here, we combine observations and climate model simulations to suggest that increased greenhouse gas forcing caused shelf-break winds to transition from mean easterlies in the 1920s to the near-zero mean zonal winds of the present day. Strong internal climate variability, primarily linked to the tropical Pacific, is superimposed on this forced trend. We infer that the Amundsen Sea experienced decadal ocean ariability throughout the twentieth century, with warm anomalies gradually becoming more prevalent, offering a credible explanation for the ongoing ice loss. Existing climate model projections show that strong future greenhouse gas forcing creates persistent mean westerly shelf-break winds by 2100, suggesting a further enhancement of warm ocean anomalies. These wind changes are weaker under a scenario in which greenhouse gas concentrations are stabilized

Measurement of χ c1 and χ c2 production with s√ = 7 TeV pp collisions at ATLAS

The prompt and non-prompt production cross-sections for the χ c1 and χ c2 charmonium states are measured in pp collisions at s√ = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC using 4.5 fb−1 of integrated luminosity. The χ c states are reconstructed through the radiative decay χ c → J/ψγ (with J/ψ → μ + μ −) where photons are reconstructed from γ → e + e − conversions. The production rate of the χ c2 state relative to the χ c1 state is measured for prompt and non-prompt χ c as a function of J/ψ transverse momentum. The prompt χ c cross-sections are combined with existing measurements of prompt J/ψ production to derive the fraction of prompt J/ψ produced in feed-down from χ c decays. The fractions of χ c1 and χ c2 produced in b-hadron decays are also measured

Measurement of the production of a W boson in association with a charm quark in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The production of a W boson in association with a single charm quark is studied using 4.6 fb−1 of pp collision data at s√ = 7 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. In events in which a W boson decays to an electron or muon, the charm quark is tagged either by its semileptonic decay to a muon or by the presence of a charmed meson. The integrated and differential cross sections as a function of the pseudorapidity of the lepton from the W-boson decay are measured. Results are compared to the predictions of next-to-leading-order QCD calculations obtained from various parton distribution function parameterisations. The ratio of the strange-to-down sea-quark distributions is determined to be 0.96+0.26−0.30 at Q 2 = 1.9 GeV2, which supports the hypothesis of an SU(3)-symmetric composition of the light-quark sea. Additionally, the cross-section ratio σ(W + +c¯¯)/σ(W − + c) is compared to the predictions obtained using parton distribution function parameterisations with different assumptions about the s−s¯¯¯ quark asymmetry

Measurement of the flavour composition of dijet events in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper describes a measurement of the flavour composition of dijet events produced in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV using the ATLAS detector. The measurement uses the full 2010 data sample, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 39 pb−1. Six possible combinations of light, charm and bottom jets are identified in the dijet events, where the jet flavour is defined by the presence of bottom, charm or solely light flavour hadrons in the jet. Kinematic variables, based on the properties of displaced decay vertices and optimised for jet flavour identification, are used in a multidimensional template fit to measure the fractions of these dijet flavour states as functions of the leading jet transverse momentum in the range 40 GeV to 500 GeV and jet rapidity |y|<2.1. The fit results agree with the predictions of leading- and next-to-leading-order calculations, with the exception of the dijet fraction composed of bottom and light flavour jets, which is underestimated by all models at large transverse jet momenta. The ability to identify jets containing two b-hadrons, originating from e.g. gluon splitting, is demonstrated. The difference between bottom jet production rates in leading and subleading jets is consistent with the next-to-leading-order predictions

Observation of top-quark pair production in association with a photon and measurement of the ttγ production cross section in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV using the ATLAS detector

A search is performed for top-quark pairs (tt) produced together with a photon (γ) with transverse energy greater than 20 GeV using a sample of tt candidate events in final states with jets, missing transverse momentum, and one isolated electron or muon. The data set used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.59 fb −1 of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. In total, 140 and 222 ttγ candidate events are observed in the electron and muon channels, to be compared to the expectation of 79 +/- 26 and 120 +/- 39 non-ttγ background events, respectively. The production of ttγ events is observed with a significance of 5.3 standard deviations away from the null hypothesis. The ttγ production cross section times the branching ratio (BR) of the single-lepton decay channel is measured in a fiducial kinematic region within the ATLAS acceptance. The measured value is σ (fid/tty) × BR = 63 +/- 8(stat) (+17/-13)(syst) +/- 1 lumi fb per lepton flavor, in good agreement with the leading-order theoretical calculation normalized to the next-to-leading-order theoretical prediction of 48 +/- 10 fb

Search for a CP-odd Higgs boson decaying to Zh in pp collisions at √s=8TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for a heavy, CP-odd Higgs boson, A, decaying into a Zboson and a 125GeV Higgs boson, h, with the ATLAS detector at the LHC is presented. The search uses proton–proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 8TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3fb−1. Decays of CP-even hbosons to ττor bbpairs with the Zboson decaying to electron or muon pairs are considered, as well as h →bbdecays with the Zboson decaying to neutrinos. No evidence for the production of an Aboson in these channels is found and the 95% confidence level upper limits derived for σ(gg→A) ×BR(A →Zh) ×BR(h →f¯f)are 0.098–0.013pb for f=τand 0.57–0.014pb for f=bin a range of mA=220–1000GeV. The results are combined and interpreted in the context of two-Higgs-doublet models. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons

Search for direct production of charginos and neutralinos in events with three leptons and missing transverse momentum in √s = 8 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three leptons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is based on 20.3 fb−1 of s√ = 8 TeV proton-proton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with the Standard Model expectations and limits are set in R-parity-conserving phenomenological Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Models and in simplified supersymmetric models, significantly extending previous results. For simplified supersymmetric models of direct chargino (χ˜±1) and next-to-lightest neutralino (χ˜02) production with decays to lightest neutralino (χ˜01) via either all three generations of sleptons, staus only, gauge bosons, or Higgs bosons, (χ˜±1) and (χ˜02) masses are excluded up to 700 GeV, 380 GeV, 345 GeV, or 148 GeV respectively, for a massless (χ˜01