139 research outputs found
Electroweak Physics
The results of high precision weak neutral current (WNC), Z-pole, and high
energy collider electroweak experiments have been the primary prediction and
test of electroweak unification. The electroweak program is briefly reviewed
from a historical perspective. Current changes, anomalies, and things to watch
are summarized, and the implications for the standard model and beyond
discussed.Comment: 12 pages, invited talk presented at the Conference on the
Intersections of Particle and Nuclear Physics (CIPANP 2003), New York, May
200
The LQG -- String: Loop Quantum Gravity Quantization of String Theory I. Flat Target Space
We combine I. background independent Loop Quantum Gravity (LQG) quantization
techniques, II. the mathematically rigorous framework of Algebraic Quantum
Field Theory (AQFT) and III. the theory of integrable systems resulting in the
invariant Pohlmeyer Charges in order to set up the general representation
theory (superselection theory) for the closed bosonic quantum string on flat
target space. While we do not solve the, expectedly, rich representation theory
completely, we present a, to the best of our knowledge new, non -- trivial
solution to the representation problem. This solution exists 1. for any target
space dimension, 2. for Minkowski signature of the target space, 3. without
tachyons, 4. manifestly ghost -- free (no negative norm states), 5. without
fixing a worldsheet or target space gauge, 6. without (Virasoro) anomalies
(zero central charge), 7. while preserving manifest target space Poincar\'e
invariance and 8. without picking up UV divergences. The existence of this
stable solution is exciting because it raises the hope that among all the
solutions to the representation problem (including fermionic degrees of
freedom) we find stable, phenomenologically acceptable ones in lower
dimensional target spaces, possibly without supersymmetry, that are much
simpler than the solutions that arise via compactification of the standard Fock
representation of the string. Moreover, these new representations could solve
some of the major puzzles of string theory such as the cosmological constant
problem. The solution presented in this paper exploits the flatness of the
target space in several important ways. In a companion paper we treat the more
complicated case of curved target spaces.Comment: 46 p., LaTex2e, no figure
Two-Loop Correction to Bhabha Scattering
We present the two-loop virtual QED corrections to e^+ e^- to mu^+ mu^- and
Bhabha scattering in dimensional regularization. The results are expressed in
terms of polylogarithms. The form of the infrared divergences agrees with
previous expectations. These results are a crucial ingredient in the complete
next-to-next-to-leading order QED corrections to these processes. A future
application will be to reduce theoretical uncertainties associated with
luminosity measurements at e^+ e^- colliders. The calculation also tests
methods that may be applied to analogous QCD processes.Comment: Latex, 22 pages, 1 figur
High-precision QCD at hadron colliders: electroweak gauge boson rapidity distributions at NNLO
We compute the rapidity distributions of W and Z bosons produced at the
Tevatron and the LHC through next-to-next-to leading order in QCD. Our results
demonstrate remarkable stability with respect to variations of the
factorization and renormalization scales for all values of rapidity accessible
in current and future experiments. These processes are therefore
``gold-plated'': current theoretical knowledge yields QCD predictions accurate
to better than one percent. These results strengthen the proposal to use W and
Z production to determine parton-parton luminosities and constrain parton
distribution functions at the LHC. For example, LHC data should easily be able
to distinguish the central parton distribution fit obtained by MRST from that
obtained by Alekhin.Comment: 47 pages, 17 figures. Minor typos, 1 reference correcte
Electroweak physics
Work on electroweak precision calculations and event generators for electroweak physics studies at current and future colliders is summarized
On the Integrand-Reduction Method for Two-Loop Scattering Amplitudes
We propose a first implementation of the integrand-reduction method for
two-loop scattering amplitudes. We show that the residues of the amplitudes on
multi-particle cuts are polynomials in the irreducible scalar products
involving the loop momenta, and that the reduction of the amplitudes in terms
of master integrals can be realized through polynomial fitting of the
integrand, without any apriori knowledge of the integral basis. We discuss how
the polynomial shapes of the residues determine the basis of master integrals
appearing in the final result. We present a four-dimensional constructive
algorithm that we apply to planar and non-planar contributions to the 4- and
5-point MHV amplitudes in N=4 SYM. The technique hereby discussed extends the
well-established analogous method holding for one-loop amplitudes, and can be
considered a preliminary study towards the systematic reduction at the
integrand-level of two-loop amplitudes in any gauge theory, suitable for their
automated semianalytic evaluation.Comment: 26 pages, 11 figure
Isolating a light Higgs boson from the di-photon background at the LHC
We compute the QCD corrections to the gluon fusion subprocess gg to gamma
gamma, which forms an important component of the background to the search for a
light Higgs boson at the LHC. We study the dependence of the improved pp to
gamma gamma X background calculation on the factorization and renormalization
scales, on various choices for photon isolation cuts, and on the rapidities of
the photons. We also investigate ways to enhance the statistical significance
of the Higgs signal in the di-photon channel.Comment: Additional reference included, 17 pages, 16 figure files, revte
German evidence-based guidelines for the treatment of Psoriasis vulgaris (short version)
Psoriasis vulgaris is a common and chronic inflammatory skin disease which has the potential to significantly reduce the quality of life in severely affected patients. The incidence of psoriasis in Western industrialized countries ranges from 1.5 to 2%. Despite the large variety of treatment options available, patient surveys have revealed insufficient satisfaction with the efficacy of available treatments and a high rate of medication non-compliance. To optimize the treatment of psoriasis in Germany, the Deutsche Dermatologische Gesellschaft and the Berufsverband Deutscher Dermatologen (BVDD) have initiated a project to develop evidence-based guidelines for the management of psoriasis. The guidelines focus on induction therapy in cases of mild, moderate, and severe plaque-type psoriasis in adults. The short version of the guidelines reported here consist of a series of therapeutic recommendations that are based on a systematic literature search and subsequent discussion with experts in the field; they have been approved by a team of dermatology experts. In addition to the therapeutic recommendations provided in this short version, the full version of the guidelines includes information on contraindications, adverse events, drug interactions, practicality, and costs as well as detailed information on how best to apply the treatments described (for full version, please see Nast et al., JDDG, Suppl 2:S1–S126, 2006; or http://www.psoriasis-leitlinie.de)
- …