989 research outputs found
Flavour-Condensate-induced Breaking of Supersymmetry in Free Wess-Zumino Fluids
Recently we argued that a particular model of string-inspired quantum
space-time foam (D-foam) may induce oscillations and mixing among flavoured
particles. As a result, rather than the mass-eigenstate vacuum, the correct
ground state to describe the underlying dynamics is the flavour vacuum,
proposed some time ago by Blasone and Vitiello as a description of quantum
field theories with mixing. At the microscopic level, the breaking of
target-space supersymmetry is induced in our space-time foam model by the
relative transverse motion of brane defects. Motivated by these results, we
show that the flavour vacuum, introduced through an inequivalent representation
of the canonical (anti-) commutation relations, provides a vehicle for the
breaking of supersymmetry (SUSY) at a low-energy effective field theory level;
on considering the flavour-vacuum expectation value of the energy-momentum
tensor and comparing with the form of a perfect relativistic fluid, it is found
that the bosonic sector contributes as dark energy while the fermion
contribution is like dust. This indicates a strong and novel breaking of SUSY,
of a non-perturbative nature, which may characterize the low energy field
theory of certain quantum gravity models.Comment: Discussion added in sections II and IV on quantum-gravity induced
flavour mixing, references added, conclusions unchange
semileptonic form factors with Twisted Mass fermions
We present a lattice QCD determination of the vector and scalar form factors
of the semileptonic decay which are relevant for the
extraction of the CKM matrix element from experimental data. Our
results are based on the gauge configurations produced by the European Twisted
Mass Collaboration with dynamical fermions, which include in the
sea, besides two light mass degenerate quarks, also the strange and the charm
quarks. We use data simulated at three different values of the lattice spacing
and with pion masses as small as MeV. Our final result for the vector
form factor at zero momentum transfer is , where the
uncertainty is both statistical and systematic combined in quadrature. Using
the latest experimental value of from decays, we
obtain , which allows to test the unitarity constraint
of the Standard Model below the permille level once the determination of
from superallowed nuclear decays is adopted. A slight
tension with unitarity at the level of standard deviations is
observed. Moreover we present our results for the semileptonic scalar
and vector form factors in the whole range of values of
the squared four-momentum transfer measured in decays,
obtaining a very good agreement with the momentum dependence of the
experimental data. We provide a set of synthetic data points representing our
results for the vector and scalar form factors at the physical point for
several selected values of .Comment: 37 pages, 5 tables, 9 figures; version to appear in PR
Leading isospin-breaking corrections to pion, kaon and charmed-meson masses with Twisted-Mass fermions
We present a lattice computation of the isospin-breaking corrections to
pseudoscalar meson masses using the gauge configurations produced by the
European Twisted Mass collaboration with dynamical quarks at
three values of the lattice spacing ( and fm)
with pion masses in the range MeV. The strange and
charm quark masses are tuned at their physical values. We adopt the RM123
method based on the combined expansion of the path integral in powers of the
- and -quark mass difference () and of the
electromagnetic coupling . Within the quenched QED approximation,
which neglects the effects of the sea-quark charges, and after the
extrapolations to the physical pion mass and to the continuum and infinite
volume limits, we provide results for the pion, kaon and (for the first time)
charmed-meson mass splittings, for the prescription-dependent parameters
, \epsilon_\gamma(\overline{MS}, 2~\mbox{GeV}),
\epsilon_{K^0}(\overline{MS}, 2~\mbox{GeV}), related to the violations of the
Dashen's theorem, and for the light quark mass difference (\widehat{m}_d -
\widehat{m}_u)(\overline{MS}, 2~\mbox{GeV}).Comment: 47 pages, 20 figures, 4 tables; comments on QED and QCD splitting
prescriptions added; version to appear in PR
\Delta S=2 and \Delta C=2 bag parameters in the SM and beyond from Nf=2+1+1 twisted-mass LQCD
We present unquenched lattice QCD results for the matrix elements of
four-fermion operators relevant to the description of the neutral K and D
mixing in the Standard Model and its extensions. We have employed simulations
with Nf = 2 + 1 + 1 dynamical sea quarks at three values of the lattice
spacings in the interval 0.06 - 0.09 fm and pseudoscalar meson masses in the
range 210 - 450 MeV. Our results are extrapolated to the continuum limit and to
the physical pion mass. Renormalization constants have been determined
non-perturbatively in the RI-MOM scheme. In particular, for the Kaon
bag-parameter, which is relevant for the \overline{K}^0-K^0 mixing in the
Standard Model, we obtain B_K^{RGI} = 0.717(24).Comment: Added comments to error budget discussion; fig.19 corrected. Version
to appear in PR
First lattice calculation of the QED corrections to leptonic decay rates
The leading-order electromagnetic and strong isospin-breaking corrections to
the ratio of and decay rates are evaluated for the
first time on the lattice, following a method recently proposed. The lattice
results are obtained using the gauge ensembles produced by the European Twisted
Mass Collaboration with dynamical quarks. Systematics effects
are evaluated and the impact of the quenched QED approximation is estimated.
Our result for the correction to the tree-level decay
ratio is to be compared to the estimate based
on Chiral Perturbation Theory and adopted by the Particle Data Group.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures; extended supplemental material with 1 table and 1
figure, results unchange
Therapeutic Targets in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Focus on Ion Channels and Skeletal Muscle
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is a neurodegenerative disease caused by progressive loss of motor neurons, which severely compromises skeletal muscle function. Evidence shows that muscle may act as a molecular powerhouse, whose final signals generate in patients a progressive loss of voluntary muscle function and weakness leading to paralysis. This pathology is the result of a complex cascade of events that involves a crosstalk among motor neurons, glia, and muscles, and evolves through the action of converging toxic mechanisms. In fact, mitochondrial dysfunction, which leads to oxidative stress, is one of the mechanisms causing cell death. It is a common denominator for the two existing forms of the disease: sporadic and familial. Other factors include excitotoxicity, inflammation, and protein aggregation. Currently, there are limited cures. The only approved drug for therapy is riluzole, that modestly prolongs survival, with edaravone now waiting for new clinical trial aimed to clarify its efficacy. Thus, there is a need of effective treatments to reverse the damage in this devastating pathology. Many drugs have been already tested in clinical trials and are currently under investigation. This review summarizes the already tested drugs aimed at restoring muscle-nerve cross-talk and on new treatment options targeting this tissue
Genetics in orthopaedic practice
DNA holds genetic information in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells; and has three different functions: replication, storage of hereditary information, and regulation of cell division. Most studies described the association of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) to common orthopaedics diseases and the susceptibility to develop musculoskeletal injuries. Several mutations are associated with osteoporosis, musculoskeletal ailments and other musculoskeletal deformity and conditions. Several strategies, including gene therapy and tissue engineering with mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), have been proposed to enhance healing of musculoskeletal tissues. Furthermore, a recent technique has revolutionized gene editing: clustered regulatory interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) technology is characterized by simplicity in target design, affordability, versatility, and high efficiency, but needs more studies to become the preferred platform for genome editing. Predictive genomics DNA profiling allows to understand which genetic advantage, if any, may be exploited, and why a given rehabilitation protocol can be more effective in some individual than others. In conclusion, a better understanding of the genetic influence on the function of the musculoskeletal system and healing of its ailments is needed to plan and develop patient specific management strategies
Mass of the b-quark and B-decay constants from Nf=2+1+1 twisted-mass Lattice QCD
We present precise lattice computations for the b-quark mass, the quark mass
ratios mb/mc and mb/ms as well as the leptonic B-decay constants. We employ
gauge configurations with four dynamical quark flavors, up/down, strange and
charm, at three values of the lattice spacing (a ~ 0.06 - 0.09 fm) and for pion
masses as low as 210 MeV. Interpolation in the heavy quark mass to the bottom
quark point is performed using ratios of physical quantities computed at nearby
quark masses exploiting the fact that these ratios are exactly known in the
static quark mass limit. Our results are also extrapolated to the physical pion
mass and to the continuum limit and read: mb(MSbar, mb) = 4.26(10) GeV, mb/mc =
4.42(8), mb/ms = 51.4(1.4), fBs = 229(5) MeV, fB = 193(6) MeV, fBs/fB =
1.184(25) and (fBs/fB)/(fK/fpi) = 0.997(17).Comment: Version to appear in PRD. Added comments to simulation setup and
error budget discussion. 1+20 pages, 9 figure
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