Diphoton excess at 750 GeV: gluon-gluon fusion or quark-antiquark annihilation?

Recently, ATLAS and CMS collaboration reported an excess in the diphoton events, which can be explained by a new resonance with mass around 750 GeV. In this work, we explored the possibility of identifying if the hypothetical new resonance is produced through gluon-gluon fusion or quark-antiquark annihilation, or tagging the beam. Three different observables for beam tagging, namely the rapidity and transverse momentum distribution of the diphoton, and one tagged bottom-jet cross section, are proposed. Combining the information gained from these observables, a clear distinction of the production mechanism for the diphoton resonance is promising.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figure

Coupled Reversible and Irreversible Bistable Switches Underlying TGF-\beta-induced Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition

Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays important roles in embryonic development, tissue regeneration and cancer metastasis. While several feedback loops have been shown to regulate EMT, it remains elusive how they coordinately modulate EMT response to TGF-\beta treatment. We construct a mathematical model for the core regulatory network controlling TGF-\beta-induced EMT. Through deterministic analyses and stochastic simulations, we show that EMT is a sequential two-step program that an epithelial cell first transits to partial EMT then to the mesenchymal state, depending on the strength and duration of TGF-\beta stimulation. Mechanistically the system is governed by coupled reversible and irreversible bistable switches. The SNAIL1/miR-34 double negative feedback loop is responsible for the reversible switch and regulates the initiation of EMT, while the ZEB/miR-200 feedback loop is accountable for the irreversible switch and controls the establishment of the mesenchymal state. Furthermore, an autocrine TGF-\beta/miR-200 feedback loop makes the second switch irreversible, modulating the maintenance of EMT. Such coupled bistable switches are robust to parameter variation and molecular noise. We provide a mechanistic explanation on multiple experimental observations. The model makes several explicit predictions on hysteretic dynamic behaviors, system response to pulsed stimulation and various perturbations, which can be straightforwardly tested.Comment: 32 pages, 8 figures, accepted by Biophysical Journa

Next-to-leading order QCD corrections to the single top quark production via model-independent t-q-g flavor-changing neutral-current couplings at hadron colliders

We present the calculations of the complete next-to-leading order (NLO) QCD effects on the single top productions induced by model-independent $tqg$ flavor-changing neutral-current couplings at hadron colliders. Our results show that, for the $tcg$ coupling the NLO QCD corrections can enhance the total cross sections by about 60% and 30%, and for the $tug$ coupling by about 50% and 20% at the Tevatron and LHC, respectively, which means that the NLO corrections can increase the experimental sensitivity to the FCNC couplings by about 10%$-$30%. Moreover, the NLO corrections reduce the dependence of the total cross sections on the renormalization or factorization scale significantly, which lead to increased confidence on the theoretical predictions. Besides, we also evaluate the NLO corrections to several important kinematic distributions, and find that for most of them the NLO corrections are almost the same and do not change the shape of the distributions.Comment: minor changes, version published in PR

Threshold Resummation Effects in Neutral Higgs Boson Production by Bottom Quark Fusion at the CERN Large Hadron Collider

We investigate the QCD effects in the production of neutral Higgs bosons via bottom quark fusion in both the standard model and the minimal supersymmetric standard model at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. We include the next-to-leading order (NLO) QCD corrections (including supersymmetric QCD) and the threshold resummation effects. We use the soft-collinear effective theory to resum the large logarithms near threshold from soft gluon emission. Our results show that the resummation effects can enhance the total cross sections by about 5% compared with the NLO results.Comment: 29pages, 14 figures, version to appear in Physical Review

A multi-wavelength observation and investigation of six infrared dark clouds

Context. Infrared dark clouds (IRDCs) are ubiquitous in the Milky Way, yet they play a crucial role in breeding newly-formed stars. Aims. With the aim of further understanding the dynamics, chemistry, and evolution of IRDCs, we carried out multi-wavelength observations on a small sample. Methods. We performed new observations with the IRAM 30 m and CSO 10.4 m telescopes, with tracers ${\rm HCO^+}$, HCN, ${\rm N_2H^+}$, ${\rm C^{18}O}$, DCO$^+$, SiO, and DCN toward six IRDCs G031.97+00.07, G033.69-00.01, G034.43+00.24, G035.39-00.33, G038.95-00.47, and G053.11+00.05. Results. We investigated 44 cores including 37 cores reported in previous work and seven newly-identified cores. Toward the dense cores, we detected 6 DCO$^+$, and 5 DCN lines. Using pixel-by-pixel spectral energy distribution (SED) fits of the $\textit{Herschel}$ 70 to 500 $\mu$m, we obtained dust temperature and column density distributions of the IRDCs. We found that ${\rm N_2H^+}$ emission has a strong correlation with the dust temperature and column density distributions, while ${\rm C^{18}O}$ showed the weakest correlation. It is suggested that ${\rm N_2H^+}$ is indeed a good tracer in very dense conditions, but ${\rm C^{18}O}$ is an unreliable one, as it has a relatively low critical density and is vulnerable to freezing-out onto the surface of cold dust grains. The dynamics within IRDCs are active, with infall, outflow, and collapse; the spectra are abundant especially in deuterium species. Conclusions. We observe many blueshifted and redshifted profiles, respectively, with ${\rm HCO^+}$ and ${\rm C^{18}O}$ toward the same core. This case can be well explained by model "envelope expansion with core collapse (EECC)".Comment: 24 pages, 11 figures, 4 tables. To be published in A&A. The resolutions of the pictures are cut dow

Elliptic soliton solutions: τ\tau functions, vertex operators and bilinear identities

We establish a bilinear framework for elliptic soliton solutions which are composed by the Lam\'e-type plane wave factors. $\tau$ functions in Hirota's form are derived and vertex operators that generate such $\tau$ functions are presented. Bilinear identities are constructed and an algorithm to calculate residues and bilinear equations is formulated. These are investigated in detail for the KdV equation and sketched for the KP hierarchy. Degenerations by the periods of elliptic functions are investigated, giving rise to the bilinear framework associated with trigonometric/hyperbolic and rational functions. Reductions by dispersion relation are considered by employing the so-called elliptic $N$-th roots of the unity. $\tau$ functions, vertex operators and bilinear equations of the KdV hierarchy and Boussinesq equation are obtained from those of the KP. We also formulate two ways to calculate bilinear derivatives involved with the Lam\'e-type plane wave factors, which shows that such type of plane wave factors result in quasi-gauge property of bilinear equations.Comment: 41 page

The Lam\'e functions and elliptic soliton solutions: Bilinear approach

The Lam\'e function can be used to construct plane wave factors and solutions to the Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) and Kadomtsev-Petviashvili (KP) hierarchy. The solutions are usually called elliptic solitons. In this chapter, first, we review recent development in the Hirota bilinear method on elliptic solitons of the KdV equation and KP equation, including bilinear calculations involved with the Lam\'e type plane wave factors, expressions of $\tau$ functions and the generating vertex operators. Then, for the discrete potential KdV and KP equations, we give their bilinear forms, derive $\tau$ functions of elliptic solitons, and show that they share the same vertex operators with the KdV hierarchy and the KP hierarchy, respectively.Comment: 24 page

EVOLUTION OF THE NORTHERN ALXA BLOCK IN THE PALEOZOIC: CONSTRAINTS FROM GEOCHRONOLOGY, GEOCHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND ZIRCON HF ISOTOPES OF GRANITOIDS

The Alxa block is situated to the south of the CAOB, situated to the east of the Tarim block and west of the NCC. Voluminous intrusive and extrusive rocks outcrop in the northern Alxa block and adjacent southern CAOB. Most of them are thought to be related to the closure of the Paleo-Asia Ocean and subsequent collision [Wu, 1993; Wu et al., 1998; Zhang et al., 2013; Dan et al., 2016].The Alxa block is situated to the south of the CAOB, situated to the east of the Tarim block and west of the NCC. Voluminous intrusive and extrusive rocks outcrop in the northern Alxa block and adjacent southern CAOB. Most of them are thought to be related to the closure of the Paleo-Asia Ocean and subsequent collision [Wu, 1993; Wu et al., 1998; Zhang et al., 2013; Dan et al., 2016]