Enhancement of lepton flavor violation in a model with bi-maximal mixing at the grand unification scale

We study phenomenological predictions in the scenario with the quasi-degenerate relation among neutrino Dirac masses, m_D1 simeq m_D2 < m_D3, assuming the bi-maximal mixing at the grand unification scale in supersymmetric standard models with right-handed neutrinos. A sufficient lepton number asymmetry can be produced for successful leptogenesis. The lepton flavor violating process mu to e gamma can be enhanced due to the Majorana phase, so that it can be detectable at forthcoming experiments. The processes tau to e gamma and tau to mu gamma are suppressed because of the structure of neutrino Dirac masses, and their branching ratios are smaller than that of mu to e gamma.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure

Phase effects from the general neutrino Yukawa matrix on lepton flavor violation

We examine contributions from Majorana phases to lepton flavor violating processes in the framework of the minimal supersymmetric standard model with heavy right-handed neutrinos. All phases in the complex neutrino Yukawa matrix are taken into account in our study. We find that in the scenario with universal soft-breaking terms sizable phase effects can appear on the lepton flavor violating processes such as $\mu \to e \gamma$, $\tau \to e \gamma$, and $\tau \to \mu \gamma$. In particular, the branching ratio of $\mu \to e \gamma$ can be considerably enhanced due to the Majorana phases, so that it can be much greater than that of $\tau \to \mu \gamma$.Comment: 14 pages, 4 eps figures, revtex

Search for Lepton Flavor Violation in the Higgs Boson Decay at a Linear Collider

We discuss possibility of direct search for lepton flavor violation (LFV) in Yukawa interaction by measuring the branching ratio for the decay of the lightest Higgs boson ($h^0$) into a $\tau$-$\mu$ pair at a linear collider. We study the significance of the signal process, $e^+e^- \to Z^\ast \to Z h^0 \to Z \tau^\pm \mu^\mp$, against the backgrounds such as $e^{+}e^{-} \to Z \tau^{+}\tau^{-} \to Z \tau^{\pm}\mu^{\mp}+$ missings. After taking appropriate kinematic cuts, the number of the background event is considerably reduced, so that the signal can be visible when the branching ratio of $h^0 \to \tau^\pm \mu^\mp$ is larger than about $10^{-4}$. In a Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model scenario, the effective coupling of $h^0 \tau^\pm \mu^\mp$ can be generated at loop level due to the slepton mixing. When supersymmetric mass parameters are larger than TeV scales, the branching ratio can be as large as several times $10^{-4}$. Therefore, the signal can be marginally visible at a LC. In the general two Higgs doublet model, the possible maximal value for the branching ratio of $h^0 \to \tau^\pm \mu^\mp$ can reach to a few times $10^{-3}$ within the available experimental bound, so that we can obtain larger significance.Comment: 14 pages 3 figures, REVTEX4, version accepted for publication in Physics Letters

Fast WDM provisioning with minimal probing: the first field experiments for DC exchanges

We propose an approach to estimate the end-to-end GSNR accurately in a short time when a data center interconnect (DCI) network operator receives a service request from users, not by measuring the GSNR at the operational route and wavelength for the End-End optical path but by simply applying a QoT probe channel link by link, at a convenient wavelength/modulation-format for measurement. Assuming connections between coherent transceivers of various frequency ranges, modulators, and modulation formats, we propose a new device software architecture in which the DCI network operator optimizes the transmission mode between user transceivers with high accuracy using only standard parameters such as Bit Error Rate. In this paper, we first experimentally built three different routes of 32 km/72 km/122 km in the C-band to confirm the accuracy of this approach. For the operational end-to-end GSNR measurements, the accuracy estimated from the sum of the measurements for each link was 0.6 dB, and the wavelength-dependent error was about 0.2 dB. Then, using field fibers deployed in the NSF COSMOS testbed (deployed in an urban area), a Linux-based transmission device software architecture, and coherent transceivers with different optical frequency ranges, modulators, and modulation formats, the fast WDM provisioning of an optical path was completed within 6 minutes (with a Q-factor error of about 0.7 dB).Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures, 3 table

Increased Expression of PS1 Is Sufficient to Elevate the Level and Activity of γ-Secretase In Vivo

Increase in the generation and deposition of amyloid-β (Aβ) plays a central role in the development of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Elevation of the activity of γ-secretase, a key enzyme required for the generation for Aβ, can thus be a potential risk factor in AD. However, it is not known whether γ-secretase can be upregulated in vivo. While in vitro studies showed that expression of all four components of γ-secretase (Nicastrin, Presenilin, Pen-2 and Aph-1) are required for upregulation of γ-secretase, it remains to be established as to whether this is true in vivo. To investigate whether overexpressing a single component of the γ-secretase complex is sufficient to elevate its level and activity in the brain, we analyzed transgenic mice expressing either wild type or familial AD (fAD) associated mutant PS1. In contrast to cell culture studies, overexpression of either wild type or mutant PS1 is sufficient to increase levels of Nicastrin and Pen-2, and elevate the level of active γ-secretase complex, enzymatic activity of γ-secretase and the deposition of Aβ in brains of mice. Importantly, γ-secretase comprised of mutant PS1 is less active than that of wild type PS1-containing γ-secretase; however, γ-secretase comprised of mutant PS1 cleaves at the Aβ42 site of APP-CTFs more efficiently than at the Aβ40 site, resulting in greater accumulation of Aβ deposits in the brain. Our data suggest that whereas fAD-linked PS1 mutants cause early onset disease, upregulation of PS1/γ-secretase activity may be a risk factor for late onset sporadic AD

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Role of tube size and intranasal compression of the nasotracheal tube in respiratory pressure loss during nasotracheal intubation: a laboratory study

Abstract Background Small nasotracheal tubes (NTTs) and intranasal compression of the NTT in the nasal cavity may contribute to increasing airway resistance. Since the effects of size, shape, and partial compression of the NTT on airway resistance have not been investigated, values of airway resistance with partial compression of preformed NTTs of various sizes were determined. Methods To determine the factors affecting the respiratory pressure loss during the nasotracheal intubation, physical and fluid dynamics simulations were used. The internal minor axes of NTTs in the nasal cavity of intubated patients were measured using dial calipers. In physical and fluid dynamics simulations, pressure losses through the tubular parts, compressed parts, and slip joints of NTTs with internal diameters (IDs) of 6.0, 6.5, 7.0, 7.5, and 8.0 mm were estimated under partial compression. Results The median internal minor axes of the 7.0- and 7.5-mm ID NTTs in the nasal cavity were 5.2 (4.3–5.6) mm and 6.0 (4.2–7.0) mm, respectively. With a volumetric air flow rate of 30 L/min, pressure losses through uncompressed NTTs with IDs of 6.0-, 6.5-, 7.0-, 7.5- and 8.0-mm were 651.6 ± 5.7 (6.64 ± 0.06), 453.4 ± 3.9 (4.62 ± 0.04), 336.5 ± 2.2 (3.43 ± 0.02), 225.2 ± 0.2 (2.30 ± 0.00), and 179.0 ± 1.1 Pa (1.82 ± 0.01 cmH2O), respectively; the pressure losses through the slip joints were 220.3 (2.25), 131.1 (1.33), 86.8 (0.88), 57.1 (0.58), and 36.1 Pa (0.37 cmH2O), respectively; and the pressure losses through the curvature of the NTT were 71.6 (0.73), 69.0 (0.70), 64.8 (0.66), 32.5 (0.33), and 41.6 Pa (0.42 cmH2O), respectively. A maximum compression force of 34.1 N increased the pressure losses by 82.0 (0.84), 38.0 (0.39), 23.5 (0.24), 16.6 (0.17), and 9.3 Pa (0.09 cmH2O), respectively. Conclusion Pressure losses through NTTs are in inverse proportion to the tubes’ IDs; greater pressure losses due to slip joints, acute bending, and partial compression of the NTT were obvious in small NTTs. Pressure losses through NTTs, especially in small NTTs, could increase the work of breathing to a greater extent than that through standard tubes; intranasal compression further increases the pressure loss