Spontaneous CP Violation in the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model Revisited

We re-examine spontaneous CP violation at the tree level in the context of the next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model (NMSSM) with two Higgs doublets and a gauge singlet field. We analyse the most general Higgs potential without a discrete Z_3 symmetry, and derive an upper bound on the mass of the lightest neutral Higgs boson consistent with present experimental data. We investigate, in particular, its dependence on the admixture and CP-violating phase of the gauge singlet field, as well as on tan(beta). To assess the viability of the spontaneous CP violation scenario, we estimate epsilon_K by applying the mass insertion approximation. We find that a non-trivial flavour structure in the soft-breaking A terms is required to account for the observed CP violation in the neutral kaon sector. Furthermore, combining the minimisation conditions for spontaneous CP violation with the constraints coming from K0-K0bar mixing, we find that the upper bound on the lightest Higgs-boson mass becomes stronger. We also point out that the electric dipole moments of electron and neutron are a serious challenge for SUSY models with spontaneous CP violation.Comment: 19 pages, LaTeX2e, 5 figures; matches the published versio

Phenomenology of LFV at low-energies and at the LHC: strategies to probe the SUSY seesaw

We study the impact of a type-I SUSY seesaw concerning lepton flavour violation (LFV) at low-energies and at the LHC. At the LHC, $\chi_2^0\to \tilde \ell \,\ell \to \ell \,\ell\,\chi_1^0$ decays, in combination with other observables, render feasible the reconstruction of the masses of the intermediate sleptons, and hence the study of $\ell_i - \ell_j$ mass differences. If interpreted as being due to the violation of lepton flavour, high-energy observables, such as large slepton mass splittings and flavour violating neutralino and slepton decays, are expected to be accompanied by low-energy manifestations of LFV such as radiative and three-body lepton decays. We discuss how to devise strategies based in the interplay of slepton mass splittings as might be observed at the LHC and low-energy LFV observables to derive important information on the underlying mechanism of LFV.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. To appear in the proceedings of the 11th International Workshop on Tau Lepton Physics (TAU2010), Manchester, UK, 13-17 September 201

Lepton flavour violation: physics potential of a Linear Collider

We revisit the potential of a Linear Collider concerning the study of lepton flavour violation, in view of new LHC bounds and of the (very) recent developments in lepton physics. Working in the framework of a type I supersymmetric seesaw, we evaluate the prospects of observing seesaw-induced lepton flavour violating final states of the type e \mu + missing energy, arising from e+ e- and e- e- collisions. In both cases we address the potential background from standard model and supersymmetric charged currents. We also explore the possibility of electron and positron beam polarisation. The statistical significance of the signal, even in the absence of kinematical and/or detector cuts, renders the observation of such flavour violating events feasible over large regions of the parameter space. We further consider the \mu-\mu- + E^T_miss final state in the e- e- beam option finding that, due to a very suppressed background, this process turns out to be a truly clear probe of a supersymmetric seesaw, assuming the latter to be the unique source of lepton flavour violation.Comment: 30 pages, 48 figure

Potential of a Linear Collider for Lepton Flavour Violation studies in the SUSY seesaw

We study the potential of an e+- e- Linear Collider for charged lepton flavour violation studies in a supersymmetric framework where neutrino masses and mixings are explained by a type-I seesaw. Focusing on e-mu flavour transitions, we evaluate the background from standard model and supersymmetric charged currents to the e mu + missing E_T signal. We study the energy dependence of both signal and background, and the effect of beam polarisation in increasing the signal over background significance. Finally, we consider the mu- mu- + missing E_T final state in e- e- collisions that, despite being signal suppressed by requiring two e-mu flavour transitions, is found to be a clear signature of charged lepton flavour violation due to a very reduced standard model background.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures. To appear in the proceedings of "DISCRETE 2012 - 3rd Symposium on Prospects in the Physics of Discrete Symmetries", Lisbon, Portugal, 3-7 December 201

Systematic processes of land use/land cover change to identify relevant driving forces: Implications on water quality

Land use and land cover (LULC) are driving forces that potentially exert pressures on water bodies, which are most commonly quantified by simply obtained aggregated data. However, this is insufficient to detect the drivers that arise from the landscape change itself. To achieve this objective one must distinguish between random and systematic transitions and identify the transitions that show strong signals of change, since these will make it possible to identify the transitions that have evolved due to population growth, industrial expansion and/or changes in land management policies. Our goal is to describe a method to characterize driving forces both from LULC and dominant LULC changes, recognizing that the presence of certain LULC classes as well as the processes of transition to other uses are both sources of stress with potential effects on the condition of water bodies. This paper first quantifies the driving forces from LULC and also from processes of LULC change for three nested regions within the Mondego river basin in 1990, 2000 and 2006. It then discusses the implications for the environmental water body condition and management policies. The fingerprint left on the landscape by some of the dominant changes found, such as urbanization and industrial expansion, is, as expected, low due to their proportion in the geographic regions under study, yet their magnitude of change and consistency reveal strong signals of change regarding the pressures acting in the system. Assessing dominant LULC changes is vital for a comprehensive study of driving forces with potential impacts on water condition.The present study was carried using means provided by the research projects RECONNECT (PTDC/MAR/64627/2006), WISER (FP7-ENV-2008-226273), and 3M-RECITAL (LTER/BIA-BEC/0019/ 2009). Additionally, it benefited from two grants attributed by the FCT (Portuguese National Science Foundation): SFRH/BD/74804/ 2010 and SFRH/BPD/82127/2011

SÍNDROME METABÓLICA NA GRAVIDEZ COMO FACTOR PREDITIVO DE OUTCOMES OBSTÉTRICOS E NEONATAIS ADVERSOS

O reconhecimento da Síndrome Metabólica (SM) durante a gravidez poderá ajudar a identificar um conjunto de mulheres que não só terão um risco aumentado para desenvolver complicações cardiovasculares e metabólicas mais tardiamente na vida, mas também, potencialmente, estarão em risco de desenvolver uma patologia relacionada com a gravidez. A implementação do rastreio da SM, na segunda metade da gravidez, poderá permitir identificar grávidas de alto risco e definir estratégias de intervenção adequadas. Este trabalho teve como objectivos (i) Determinar a prevalência de SM em gestações normais e complicadas; (ii) Avaliar o impacto do diagnóstico de SM na ocorrência de outcomes obstétricos e neonatais adversos

Plankton studies in a mangrove environment: VII. size fractionation of the phytoplankton: some studies on methods

A series of experiments on the different methods of measuring the relative uptake of C14, by the various size fractions of the phytoplankton, were carried out in a mangrove swamp of the estuarine type at 25º south latitude. As a complement, some factors which might influence the relative uptake of the different fractions in inshore waters, were studied. These factors are related, mainly, with the increase on the amount of labelled particulate matter during incubation period, the effect of different pressures in the filtration of the size fractions of the phytoplankton, the use of a range of volumes for the incubation of samples, and the effect of formalin on the fixation of samples, after the incubation period. Based on these results, some suggestions are made for the use of the C14 method in inshore waters.Como parte do programa de estudos do plancton, da região lagunar de Cananéia, foi levado a efeito uma série de experimentos com o método do C14, utilizado para a determinação da fixação relativa do isótopo, em cada fração do fitoplancton. Foram testados principalmente os métodos utilizados por STEEMANN-NIELSEN & JENSEN (1957) e YENTSCH & RYTHER (1959). Como complemento, foram realizados experimentos para verificação do efeito da pressão negativa sobre as diversas frações do fitoplancton, o uso de diferentes volumes para incubação das amostras, e o efeito da fixação das amostras, com formol 4% depois do período de incubação, e antes da filtração. Atenção especial foi dada ao problema de formação da matéria particulada durante o período de incubação. Com base nos resultados, são feitas sugestões para o uso do método do C14 em águas estuarinas

Future dynamics in f(R) theories

The $f(R)$ gravity theories provide an alternative way to explain the current cosmic acceleration without invoking dark energy matter component. However, the freedom in the choice of the functional forms of $f(R)$ gives rise to the problem of how to constrain and break the degeneracy among these gravity theories on theoretical and/or observational grounds. In this paper to proceed further with the investigation on the potentialities, difficulties and limitations of $f(R)$ gravity, we examine the question as to whether the future dynamics can be used to break the degeneracy between $f(R)$ gravity theories by investigating the future dynamics of spatially homogeneous and isotropic dust flat models in two $f(R)$ gravity theories, namely the well known $f(R) = R + \alpha R^{n}$ gravity and another by A. Aviles et al., whose motivation comes from the cosmographic approach to $f(R)$ gravity. To this end we perform a detailed numerical study of the future dynamic of these flat model in these theories taking into account the recent constraints on the cosmological parameters made by the Planck team. We show that besides being powerful for discriminating between $f(R)$ gravity theories, the future dynamics technique can also be used to determine the fate of the Universe in the framework of these $f(R)$ gravity theories. Moreover, there emerges from our numerical analysis that if we do not invoke a dark energy component with equation-of-state parameter $\omega < -1$ one still has dust flat FLRW solution with a big rip, if gravity deviates from general relativity via $f(R) = R + \alpha R^n$. We also show that FLRW dust solutions with $f''<0$ do not necessarily lead to singularity.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures. V2: Generality and implications of the results are emphasized, connection with the recent literature improved, typos corrected, references adde