Reducing combinatorial uncertainties: A new technique based on MT2 variables

We propose a new method to resolve combinatorial ambiguities in hadron collider events involving two invisible particles in the final state. This method is based on the kinematic variable MT2 and on the MT2-assisted-on-shell reconstruction of invisible momenta, that are reformulated as `test' variables Ti of the correct combination against the incorrect ones. We show how the efficiency of the single Ti in providing the correct answer can be systematically improved by combining the different Ti and/or by introducing cuts on suitable, combination-insensitive kinematic variables. We illustrate our whole approach in the specific example of top anti-top production, followed by a leptonic decay of the W on both sides. However, by construction, our method is also directly applicable to many topologies of interest for new physics, in particular events producing a pair of undetected particles, that are potential dark-matter candidates. We finally emphasize that our method is apt to several generalizations, that we outline in the last sections of the paper.Comment: 1+23 pages, 8 figures. Main changes in v3: (1) discussion at the end of sec. 2 improved; (2) added sec. 4.2 about the method's dependence on mass information. Matches journal versio

Surface Oxide Formation during Rapid Heating of Zn-coated Press Hardening Steel

During the conventional die-quenching processing of a galvanized PHS steel, a thick ZnO layer is formed at the surface. When the heating rate is increased, the oxide at the surface is a thin Al2O3 layer. This remarkable change in surface oxide during rapid heating is due to the partial melting of the coating instead of the solidification of the coating and the formation of Fe-Zn intermetallics. In the present study, the characterization of the surface oxide formation at different heating rates is presented.X1184Ysciescopu

Emission characteristics of light-emitting diodes by confocal microscopy

Vol 9768: Light-Emitting Diodes: Materials, Devices, and Applications for Solid State Lighting XXSession 4 - Novel Technologies for LED Design and Fabrication 1: paper 9726-18SPIE OPTO - part of SPIE Photonics WestThe emission profiles of light-emitting diodes have typically be measured by goniophotometry. However this technique suffers from several drawbacks, including the inability to generate three-dimensional intensity profiles as well as poor spatial resolution. These limitations are particularly pronounced when the technique is used to compared devices whose emission patterns have been modified through surface texturing at the micrometer and nanometer scales,. In view of such limitations, confocal microscopy has been adopted for the study of emission characteristics of LEDs. This enables three-dimensional emission maps to be collected, from which two-dimensional cross-sectional emission profiles can be generated. Of course, there are limitations associated with confocal microscopy, including the range of emission angles that can be measured due to the limited acceptance angle of the objective. As an illustration, the technique has been adopted to compare the emission profiles of LEDs with different divergence angles using an objective with a numerical aperture of 0.8. It is found that the results are consistent with those obtained by goniophotometry when the divergence angle is less that the acceptance angle of the objective. © (2016) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).The 2016 SPIE Photonics West Conference, San Francisco, CA., 13-18 February 2016. In Conference Proceedings, 2016, v. 9768, paper no. 9768-1

Optical characteristics of GAN/SI micro-pixel light-emitting diode arrays

Two-dimensional arrays of emissive micro-light-emitting diodes (μ-LEDS) have been developed for a variety of applications such as high resolution micro-displays, maskless photo-lithography and multichannel visible-light optical communications amongst others. μ-LEDs have traditionally been fabricated on InGaN LED wafers grown on transparent sapphire substrates, and have suffered from optical crosstalk issues. When a single pixel is addressed, adjacent pixels and regions appear illuminated simultaneously. Such problems could result in functional failure in high-density μ-LED applications, including reduced resolution of micro-display and decreased signal-to-noise ratio in ...postprin

Bone mineral density, balance performance, balance self-efficacy and falls in breast cancer survivors with and without Qigong training: An observational study

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Aqueous Extract of Oldenlandia diffusa Suppresses LPS-Induced iNOS, COX-2 and TNF-α Expression in RAW 264.7 Cells via the NF-κB Activity

Purpose: To elucidate the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of aqueous extract of Oldenlandia diffusa (AEOD) in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells.Methods: We evaluated the mRNA and protein expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α using RT-PCR and Western blot analyses. Expressions of IκBα, phospho-IκBα and p65 were analyzed by Western blot analysis. The level of nitric oxide (NO) production was analyzed using Griess reaction. The release of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α was determined using sandwich ELISA.Results: AEOD significantly suppressed nitric oxide (NO) production in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells without direct cytotoxicity. AEOD decreased the production of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and TNF-α in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. LPS-induced mRNA and protein expression of iNOS, COX-2 and TNF-α were attenuated by treatment with AEOD. These data imply that AEOD tightly regulates the expression of these inflammatory mediators at the transcriptional level. Therefore, we determined the effects of AEOD on nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activity, which has been considered to be a potential transcriptional factor for regulating the expression of iNOS, COX-2 and TNF-α. As expected, AEOD suppressed the LPS-induced degradation and phosphorylation of IκBα and sustained the expression of p65 in the cytosol. Furthermore, AEOD substantially inhibited the LPS-induced DNA binding activity of NF-κB. These data show that AEOD may control NO, PGE2 and TNF-α production via the suppression of NF-κB activity.Conclusion: Our results suggest that AEOD has a high potential activity for regulating LPS-induced inflammation.Keywords: Oldenlandia diffusa, NO, iNOS, COX-2, PGE2, TNF-α, NF-κ

Temperature dependence of the electronic structure of the J(eff)=12 Mott insulator Sr2IrO4 studied by optical spectroscopy

We investigated the temperature-dependent evolution of the electronic structure of the J(eff)=1/2 Mott insulator Sr2IrO4 using optical spectroscopy. The optical conductivity spectra sigma(omega) of this compound has recently been found to exhibit two d-d transitions associated with the transition between the J(eff)=1/2 and J(eff)=3/2 bands due to the cooperation of the electron correlation and spin-orbit coupling. As the temperature increases, the two peaks show significant changes resulting in a decrease in the Mott gap. The experimental observations are compared with the results of first-principles calculation in consideration of increasing bandwidth. We discuss the effect of the temperature change in the electronic structure of Sr2IrO4 in terms of local lattice distortion, excitonic effect, electron-phonon coupling, and magnetic ordering.open69575

Measurements of neutral vector resonance in Higgsless models at the LHC

In Higgsless models, new vector resonances appear to restore the unitarity of the W_L W_L scattering amplitude without the Higgs boson. In the ideal delocalized three site Higgsless model, one of large prodcution cross section of the neutral vector resonance (Z') at the Large Hadron Collider is the W-associated production, pp \to Z'W \to WWW. Although the dileptonic decay channnel, l\nu l'\nu 'jj, is experimentally clean to search for the Z' signals, it is difficult to reconstruct the Z' invariant mass due to the two neutrinos in the final state. We study collider signatures of Z' using the M_{T2}-Assisted On-Shell (MAOS) reconstruction of the missing neutrino momenta. We show the prospect of the Z' mass determination in the channel, l\nu l'\nu 'jj, at the Large Hadron Collider.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures, 5 tables; v2: references added, minor corrections, version published in JHE

Phenomenological Implications of Deflected Mirage Mediation: Comparison with Mirage Mediation

We compare the collider phenomenology of mirage mediation and deflected mirage mediation, which are two recently proposed "mixed" supersymmetry breaking scenarios motivated from string compactifications. The scenarios differ in that deflected mirage mediation includes contributions from gauge mediation in addition to the contributions from gravity mediation and anomaly mediation also present in mirage mediation. The threshold effects from gauge mediation can drastically alter the low energy spectrum from that of pure mirage mediation models, resulting in some cases in a squeezed gaugino spectrum and a gluino that is much lighter than other colored superpartners. We provide several benchmark deflected mirage mediation models and construct model lines as a function of the gauge mediation contributions, and discuss their discovery potential at the LHC.Comment: 29 pages, 9 figure