8,385 research outputs found
Non-thermal leptogenesis via direct inflaton decay without SU(2)(L) triplets
We present a non-thermal leptogenesis scenario following standard
supersymmetric hybrid inflation, in the case where light neutrinos acquire mass
via the usual seesaw mechanism and inflaton decay to heavy right-handed
neutrino superfields is kinematically disallowed, or the right-handed neutrinos
which can be decay products of the inflaton are unable to generate sufficient
baryon asymmetry via their subsequent decay. The primordial lepton asymmetry is
generated through the decay of the inflaton into light particles by the
interference of one-loop diagrams with exchange of different right-handed
neutrinos. The mechanism requires superpotential couplings explicitly violating
a U(1) R-symmetry and R-parity. We take into account the constraints from
neutrino masses and mixing and the preservation of the primordial asymmetry. We
consider two models, one without and one with SU(2)(R) gauge symmetry. We show
that the former is viable, whereas the latter is ruled out. Although the broken
R-parity need not have currently observable low-energy signatures, some
R-parity-violating slepton decays may be detectable in the future colliders.Comment: 22 pages including 9 figures, uses Revtex, version to appear in PR
Towards W b bbar + j at NLO with an automatized approach to one-loop computations
We present results for the O(alpha_s) virtual corrections to q g -> W b bbar
q' obtained with a new automatized approach to the evaluation of one-loop
amplitudes in terms of Feynman diagrams. Together with the O(alpha_s)
corrections to q q' -> W b bbar g, which can be obtained from our results by
crossing symmetry, this represents the bulk of the next-to-leading order
virtual QCD corrections to W b bbar + j and W b + j hadronic production,
calculated in a fixed-flavor scheme with four light flavors. Furthermore, these
corrections represent a well defined and independent subset of the 1-loop
amplitudes needed for the NNLO calculation of W b bbar. Our approach was tested
against several existing results for NLO amplitudes including selected
O(alpha_s) one-loop corrections to W + 3 j hadronic production. We discuss the
efficiency of our method both with respect to evaluation time and numerical
stability.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figure
Leptogenesis through direct inflaton decay to light particles
We present a scenario of nonthermal leptogenesis following supersymmetric
hybrid inflation, in the case where inflaton decay to both heavy right handed
neutrino and SU(2)_L triplet superfields is kinematically disallowed. Lepton
asymmetry is generated through the decay of the inflaton into light particles
by the interference of one-loop diagrams with right handed neutrino and SU(2)_L
triplet exchange respectively. We require superpotential couplings explicitly
violating a U(1) R-symmetry and R-parity. However, the broken R-parity need not
have currently observable low-energy signatures. Also, the lightest sparticle
can be stable. Some R-parity violating slepton decays may, though, be
detectable in the future colliders. We take into account the constraints from
neutrino masses and mixing and the preservation of the primordial lepton
asymmetry.Comment: 11 pages including 3 figures, uses Revtex, minor corrections,
references adde
Optically induced coherent intra-band dynamics in disordered semiconductors
On the basis of a tight-binding model for a strongly disordered semiconductor
with correlated conduction- and valence band disorder a new coherent dynamical
intra-band effect is analyzed. For systems that are excited by two, specially
designed ultrashort light-pulse sequences delayed by tau relatively to each
other echo-like phenomena are predicted to occur. In addition to the inter-band
photon echo which shows up at exactly t=2*tau relative to the first pulse, the
system responds with two spontaneous intra-band current pulses preceding and
following the appearance of the photon echo. The temporal splitting depends on
the electron-hole mass ratio. Calculating the population relaxation rate due to
Coulomb scattering, it is concluded that the predicted new dynamical effect
should be experimentally observable in an interacting and strongly disordered
system, such as the Quantum-Coulomb-Glass.Comment: to be published in Physical Review B15 February 200
Two-Loop Soft Corrections and Resummation of the Thrust Distribution in the Dijet Region
The thrust distribution in electron-positron annihilation is a classical
precision QCD observable. Using renormalization group (RG) evolution in Laplace
space, we perform the resummation of logarithmically enhanced corrections in
the dijet limit, to next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic (NNLL)
accuracy. We independently derive the two-loop soft function for the thrust
distribution and extract an analytical expression for the NNLL resummation
coefficient . To combine the resummed expressions with the fixed-order
results, we derive the -matching and -matching of the NNLL
approximation to the fixed-order NNLO distribution.Comment: 50 pages, 12 figures, 1 table. Few minor changes. Version accepted
for publication in JHE
ISA-TAB-Nano: A Specification for Sharing Nanomaterial Research Data in Spreadsheet-based Format
BACKGROUND AND MOTIVATION: The high-throughput genomics communities have been successfully using standardized spreadsheet-based formats to capture and share data within labs and among public repositories. The nanomedicine community has yet to adopt similar standards to share the diverse and multi-dimensional types of data (including metadata) pertaining to the description and characterization of nanomaterials. Owing to the lack of standardization in representing and sharing nanomaterial data, most of the data currently shared via publications and data resources are incomplete, poorly-integrated, and not suitable for meaningful interpretation and re-use of the data. Specifically, in its current state, data cannot be effectively utilized for the development of predictive models that will inform the rational design of nanomaterials. RESULTS: We have developed a specification called ISA-TAB-Nano, which comprises four spreadsheet-based file formats for representing and integrating various types of nanomaterial data. Three file formats (Investigation, Study, and Assay files) have been adapted from the established ISA-TAB specification; while the Material file format was developed de novo to more readily describe the complexity of nanomaterials and associated small molecules. In this paper, we have discussed the main features of each file format and how to use them for sharing nanomaterial descriptions and assay metadata. CONCLUSION: The ISA-TAB-Nano file formats provide a general and flexible framework to record and integrate nanomaterial descriptions, assay data (metadata and endpoint measurements) and protocol information. Like ISA-TAB, ISA-TAB-Nano supports the use of ontology terms to promote standardized descriptions and to facilitate search and integration of the data. The ISA-TAB-Nano specification has been submitted as an ASTM work item to obtain community feedback and to provide a nanotechnology data-sharing standard for public development and adoption
A Study of the PDGF Signaling Pathway with PRISM
In this paper, we apply the probabilistic model checker PRISM to the analysis
of a biological system -- the Platelet-Derived Growth Factor (PDGF) signaling
pathway, demonstrating in detail how this pathway can be analyzed in PRISM. We
show that quantitative verification can yield a better understanding of the
PDGF signaling pathway.Comment: In Proceedings CompMod 2011, arXiv:1109.104
Schmallenberg virus pathogenesis, tropism and interaction with the innate immune system of the host
Schmallenberg virus (SBV) is an emerging orthobunyavirus of ruminants associated with outbreaks of congenital malformations in aborted and stillborn animals. Since its discovery in November 2011, SBV has spread very rapidly to many European countries. Here, we developed molecular and serological tools, and an experimental in vivo model as a platform to study SBV pathogenesis, tropism and virus-host cell interactions. Using a synthetic biology approach, we developed a reverse genetics system for the rapid rescue and genetic manipulation of SBV. We showed that SBV has a wide tropism in cell culture and “synthetic” SBV replicates in vitro as efficiently as wild type virus. We developed an experimental mouse model to study SBV infection and showed that this virus replicates abundantly in neurons where it causes cerebral malacia and vacuolation of the cerebral cortex. These virus-induced acute lesions are useful in understanding the progression from vacuolation to porencephaly and extensive tissue destruction, often observed in aborted lambs and calves in naturally occurring Schmallenberg cases. Indeed, we detected high levels of SBV antigens in the neurons of the gray matter of brain and spinal cord of naturally affected lambs and calves, suggesting that muscular hypoplasia observed in SBV-infected lambs is mostly secondary to central nervous system damage. Finally, we investigated the molecular determinants of SBV virulence. Interestingly, we found a biological SBV clone that after passage in cell culture displays increased virulence in mice. We also found that a SBV deletion mutant of the non-structural NSs protein (SBVΔNSs) is less virulent in mice than wild type SBV. Attenuation of SBV virulence depends on the inability of SBVΔNSs to block IFN synthesis in virus infected cells. In conclusion, this work provides a useful experimental framework to study the biology and pathogenesis of SBV
Observation of Hadronic W Decays in t-tbar Events with the Collider Detector at Fermilab
We observe hadronic W decays in t-tbar -> W (-> l nu) + >= 4 jet events using
a 109 pb-1 data sample of p-pbar collisions at sqrt{s} = 1.8 TeV collected with
the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF). A peak in the dijet invariant mass
distribution is obtained that is consistent with W decay and inconsistent with
the background prediction by 3.3 standard deviations. From this peak we measure
the W mass to be 77.2 +- 4.6 (stat+syst) GeV/c^2. This result demonstrates the
presence of two W bosons in t-tbar candidates in the W (-> l nu) + >= 4 jet
channel.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures, submitted to PR
Measurement of the top quark mass and top-antitop production cross section from dilepton events at the Collider Detector at Fermilab
We present an analysis of dilepton events originating from top-antitop
production in proton-antiproton collisions at sqrt{s}=1.8 TeV at the Fermilab
Tevatron Collider. The sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 109+-7
pb^{-1}. We observe 9 candidate events, with an estimated background of
2.4+-0.5 events. We determine the mass of the top quark to be M_top =
161+-17(stat.)+-10(syst.) GeV/c^2. In addition we measure a top-antitop
production cross section of 8.2+4.4-3.4 pb (where M_top = 175 GeV/c^2 has been
assumed for the acceptance estimate).Comment: 6 pages of text, 3 figure
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