52 research outputs found
Matter-Antimatter Asymmetry in the Large Hadron Collider
The matter-antimatter asymmetry is one of the greatest challenges in the
modern physics. The universe including this paper and even the reader
him(her)self seems to be built up of ordinary matter only. Theoretically, the
well-known Sakharov's conditions remain the solid framework explaining the
circumstances that matter became dominant against the antimatter while the
universe cools down and/or expands. On the other hand, the standard model for
elementary particles apparently prevents at least two conditions out of them.
In this work, we introduce a systematic study of the antiparticle-to-particle
ratios measured in various and collisions over the last three
decades. It is obvious that the available experimental facilities turn to be
able to perform nuclear collisions, in which the matter-antimatter asymmetry
raises from at AGS to at LHC. Assuming that the final
state of hadronization in the nuclear collisions takes place along the
freezeout line, which is defined by a constant entropy density, various
antiparticle-to-particle ratios are studied in framework of the hadron
resonance gas (HRG) model. Implementing modified phase space and distribution
function in the grand-canonical ensemble and taking into account the
experimental acceptance, the ratios of antiparticle-to-particle over the whole
range of center-of-mass-energies are very well reproduced by the HRG model.
Furthermore, the antiproton-to-proton ratios measured by ALICE in
collisions is also very well described by the HRG model. It is likely to
conclude that the LHC heavy-ion program will produce the same particle ratios
as the program implying the dynamics and evolution of the system would not
depend on the initial conditions. The ratios of bosons and baryons get very
close to unity indicating that the matter-antimatter asymmetry nearly vanishes
at LHC.Comment: 9 pages, 5 eps-figures, revtex4-styl
Comparative Genomics of 2009 Seasonal Plague (Yersinia pestis) in New Mexico
Plague disease caused by the Gram-negative bacterium Yersinia pestis routinely affects animals and occasionally humans, in the western United States. The strains native to the North American continent are thought to be derived from a single introduction in the late 19th century. The degree to which these isolates have diverged genetically since their introduction is not clear, and new genomic markers to assay the diversity of North American plague are highly desired. To assay genetic diversity of plague isolates within confined geographic areas, draft genome sequences were generated by 454 pyrosequencing from nine environmental and clinical plague isolates. In silico assemblies of Variable Number Tandem Repeat (VNTR) loci were compared to laboratory-generated profiles for seven markers. High-confidence SNPs and small Insertion/Deletions (Indels) were compared to previously sequenced Y. pestis isolates. The resulting panel of mutations allowed clustering of the strains and tracing of the most likely evolutionary trajectory of the plague strains. The sequences also allowed the identification of new putative SNPs that differentiate the 2009 isolates from previously sequenced plague strains and from each other. In addition, new insertion points for the abundant insertion sequences (IS) of Y. pestis are present that allow additional discrimination of strains; several of these new insertions potentially inactivate genes implicated in virulence. These sequences enable whole-genome phylogenetic analysis and allow the unbiased comparison of closely related isolates of a genetically monomorphic pathogen
Rapidity dependence of antiproton to proton ratios in Au+Au collisions at sqrt{s_{NN}}=130 GeV
Measurements, with the BRAHMS detector, of the antiproton to proton ratio at
central and forward rapidities are presented for Au+Au reactions at
sqrt{s_{NN}}=130 GeV, and for three different collision centralities. For
collisions in the 0-40% centrality range we find $N(\bar{{\rm p}})/N({\rm p}) =
0.64 +- 0.04 (stat.) +- 0.06 (syst.) at y ~0, 0.66 +- 0.03 +- 0.06 at y ~ 0.7,
and 0.41 +- 0.04 +- 0.06 at y ~ 2. The ratios are found to be nearly
independent of collision centrality and transverse momentum. The measurements
demonstrate that the antiproton and proton rapidity densities vary differently
with rapidity, and indicate that a net-baryon free midrapidity plateau (Bjorken
limit) is not reached at this RHIC energy.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure
Plant Science Decadal Vision 2020-2030: Reimagining the Potential of Plants for a Healthy and Sustainable Future
Plants, and the biological systems around them, are key to the future health of the planet and its inhabitants. The Plant Science Decadal Vision 2020â2030 frames our ability to perform vital and farâreaching research in plant systems sciences, essential to how we value participants and apply emerging technologies. We outline a comprehensive vision for addressing some of our most pressing global problems through discovery, practical applications, and education. The Decadal Vision was developed by the participants at the Plant Summit 2019, a community event organized by the Plant Science Research Network. The Decadal Vision describes a holistic vision for the next decade of plant science that blends recommendations for research, people, and technology. Going beyond discoveries and applications, we, the plant science community, must implement bold, innovative changes to research cultures and training paradigms in this era of automation, virtualization, and the looming shadow of climate change. Our vision and hopes for the next decade are encapsulated in the phrase reimagining the potential of plants for a healthy and sustainable future. The Decadal Vision recognizes the vital intersection of human and scientific elements and demands an integrated implementation of strategies for research (Goals 1â4), people (Goals 5 and 6), and technology (Goals 7 and 8). This report is intended to help inspire and guide the research community, scientific societies, federal funding agencies, private philanthropies, corporations, educators, entrepreneurs, and early career researchers over the next 10 years. The research encompass experimental and computational approaches to understanding and predicting ecosystem behavior; novel production systems for food, feed, and fiber with greater crop diversity, efficiency, productivity, and resilience that improve ecosystem health; approaches to realize the potential for advances in nutrition, discovery and engineering of plantâbased medicines, and "green infrastructure." Launching the Transparent Plant will use experimental and computational approaches to break down the phytobiome into a "parts store" that supports tinkering and supports query, prediction, and rapidâresponse problem solving. Equity, diversity, and inclusion are indispensable cornerstones of realizing our vision. We make recommendations around funding and systems that support customized professional development. Plant systems are frequently taken for granted therefore we make recommendations to improve plant awareness and community science programs to increase understanding of scientific research. We prioritize emerging technologies, focusing on nonâinvasive imaging, sensors, and plugâandâplay portable lab technologies, coupled with enabling computational advances. Plant systems science will benefit from data management and future advances in automation, machine learning, natural language processing, and artificial intelligenceâassisted data integration, pattern identification, and decision making. Implementation of this vision will transform plant systems science and ripple outwards through society and across the globe. Beyond deepening our biological understanding, we envision entirely new applications. We further anticipate a wave of diversification of plant systems practitioners while stimulating community engagement, underpinning increasing entrepreneurship. This surge of engagement and knowledge will help satisfy and stoke people's natural curiosity about the future, and their desire to prepare for it, as they seek fuller information about food, health, climate and ecological systems
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