Baryogenesis in the Two-Higgs Doublet Model

We consider the generation of the baryon asymmetry in the two-Higgs doublet model. Investigating the thermal potential in the presence of CP violation, as relevant for baryogenesis, we find a strong first-order phase transition if the extra Higgs states are heavier than about 300 GeV. The mass of the lightest Higgs can be as large as about 200 GeV. We compute the bubble wall properties, including the profile of the relative complex phase between the two Higgs vevs. The baryon asymmetry is generated by top transport, which we treat in the WKB approximation. We find a baryon asymmetry consistent with observations. The neutron electric dipole moment is predicted to be larger than about 10^{-27}ecm and can reach the current experimental bound. Low values of tan\beta are favored.Comment: 25 pages, 7 figure

Remnant lipoprotein cholesterol is associated with incident new onset diabetes after transplantation (NODAT) in renal transplant recipients:results of the TransplantLines Biobank and cohort Studies

BACKGROUND: New onset diabetes after transplantation (NODAT) is a frequent and serious complication of renal transplantation resulting in worse graft and patient outcomes. The pathophysiology of NODAT is incompletely understood, and no prospective biomarkers have been established to predict NODAT risk in renal transplant recipients (RTR). The present work aimed to determine whether remnant lipoprotein (RLP) cholesterol could serve as such a biomarker that would also provide a novel target for therapeutic intervention. METHODS: This longitudinal cohort study included 480 RTR free of diabetes at baseline. 53 patients (11%) were diagnosed with NODAT during a median [interquartile range, IQR] follow-up of 5.2 [4.1–5.8] years. RLP cholesterol was calculated by subtracting HDL and LDL cholesterol from total cholesterol values (all directly measured). RESULTS: Baseline remnant cholesterol values were significantly higher in RTR who subsequently developed NODAT (0.9 [0.5–1.2] mmol/L vs. 0.6 [0.4–0.9] mmol/L, p = 0.001). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that higher RLP cholesterol values were associated with an increased risk of incident NODAT (log rank test, p < 0.001). Cox regression demonstrated a significant longitudinal association between baseline RLP cholesterol levels and NODAT (HR, 2.27 [1.64–3.14] per 1 SD increase, p < 0.001) that remained after adjusting for plasma glucose and HbA1c (p = 0.002), HDL and LDL cholesterol (p = 0.008) and use of immunosuppressive medication (p < 0.001), among others. Adding baseline remnant cholesterol to the Framingham Diabetes Risk Score significantly improved NODAT prediction (change in C-statistic, p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that baseline RLP cholesterol levels strongly associate with incident NODAT independent of several other recognized risk factors

Neutral Higgs sector of the next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model with explicit CP violation

The neutral Higgs sector of the next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model (NMSSM) with explicit CP violation is investigated at the 1-loop level, using the effective potential method; not only the loops involving the third generation of quarks and scalar quarks, but also the loops involving $W$ boson, charged Higgs boson, and chargino are taken into account. It is found that for some parameter values of the NMSSM the contributions from the $W$ boson, charged Higgs boson, and chargino loops may modify the masses of the neutral Higgs bosons and the mixings among them significantly, depending on the CP phase. In $e^+e^-$ collisions, the prospects for discovering neutral Higgs bosons are investigated within the context of the NMSSM with explicit CP violation when the dominant component of the lightest neutral Higgs boson is the Higgs singlet field of the NMSSM.Comment: Latex, 23 pages, 6 figure

The Holst Action by the Spectral Action Principle

We investigate the Holst action for closed Riemannian 4-manifolds with orthogonal connections. For connections whose torsion has zero Cartan type component we show that the Holst action can be recovered from the heat asymptotics for the natural Dirac operator acting on left-handed spinor fields.Comment: We correct a sign mistake in Proposition 2.3. As a consequence the main result (Theorem 3.4) becomes more natura

Two-point function of strangeness-carrying vector-currents in two-loop Chiral Perturbation Theory

We calculate the correlator between two external vector-currents having the quantum-numbers of a charged kaon. We give the renormalized expression to two loops in standard chiral perturbation theory in the isospin limit, which, as a physical result, is finite and scale-independent. Applications include a low energy theorem, valid at two loop order, of a flavor breaking combination of vector current correlators as well as a determination of the phenomenologically relevant finite $O(p^6)$-counterterm combination $Q_V$ by means of inverse moment finite energy sum rules. This determination is less sensitive to isospin-breaking effects than previous attempts.Comment: 24 pages, revtex, 4 figures, 2 tables, revised version, one ref. adde

Regional sediment deficits in the Dutch lowlands:Implications for long-term land-use options

Background, Aim and Scope. Coastal and river plains are the surfaces of depositional systems, to which sediment input is a parameter of key-importance. Their habitation and economic development usually requires protection with dikes, quays, etc., which are effective in retaining floods but have the side effect of impeding sedimentation in their hinterlands. The flood-protected Dutch lowlands (so-called dike-ring areas) have been sediment-starved for up to about a millennium. In addition to this, peat decomposition and soil compaction, brought about by land drainage, have caused significant land subsidence. Sediment deficiency, defined as the combined effect of sediment-starvation and drainage-induced volume losses, has already been substantial in this area, and it is expected to become urgent in view of the forecasted effects of climate change (sea-level rise, intensified precipitation and run-off). We therefore explore this deficiency, compare it with natural (Holocene) and current human sediment inputs, and discuss it in terms of long-term land-use options. Materials and Methods. We use available 3D geological models to define natural sediment inputs to our study area. Recent progress in large-scale modelling of peat oxidation and compaction enables us to address volume loss associated with these processes. Human sediment inputs are based on published minerals statistics. All results are given as first-order approximations. Results. The current sediment deficit in the diked lowlands of the Netherlands is estimated at 136 ± 67 million m3/a. About 85% of this volume is the hypothetical amount of sediment required to keep up with sea-level rise, and 15% is the effect of land drainage (peat decomposition and compaction). The average Holocene sediment input to our study area (based on a total of 145 km3) is -14 million m3/a, and the maximum (millennium-averaged) input ∼26 million m3/a. Historical sediment deficiency has resulted in an unused sediment accommodation space of about 13.3 km3. Net human input of sediment material currently amounts to ∼23 million m3/a. Discussion. As sedimentary processes in the Dutch lowlands have been retarded, the depositional system's natural resilience to sea-level rise is low, and all that is left to cope is human counter-measure. Preserving some sort of status quo with water management solutions may reach its limits in the foreseeable future. The most viable long-term option therefore seems a combination of allowing for more water in open country (anything from flood-buffer zones to open water) and raising lands that are to be built up (enabling their lasting protection). As to the latter, doubling or tripling the use of filling sand in a planned and sustained effort may resolve up to one half of the Dutch sediment deficiency problems in about a century. Conclusions, Recommendations and Perspectives. We conclude that sediment deficiency - past, present and future - challenges the sustainable habitation of the Dutch lowlands. In order to explore possible solutions, we recommend the development of long-term scenarios for the changing lowland physiography, that include the effects of Global Change, compensation measures, costs and benefits, and the implications for long-term land-use options. © 2007 ecomed publishers (Verlagsgruppe Hüthig Jehle Rehm GmbH)