Two-loop SUSY QCD corrections to the chargino masses in the MSSM

We have calculated the two-loop strong interaction corrections to the chargino pole masses in the DRbar'-scheme in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) with complex parameters. We have performed a detailed numerical analysis for a particular point in the parameter space and found corrections of a few tenths of a percent. We provide a computer program which calculates chargino and neutralino masses with complex parameters including the one-loop corrections and all two-loop SQCD effects.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures, references modified, clarifications adde

Residual Cx45 and its relationship to Cx43 in murine ventricular myocardium

Gap junction channels in ventricular myocardium are required for electrical and metabolic coupling between cardiac myocytes and for normal cardiac pump function. Although much is known about expression patterns and remodeling of cardiac connexin (Cx)43, little is known about the less abundant Cx45, which is required for embryonic development and viability, is downregulated in adult hearts, and is pathophysiologically upregulated in human end-stage heart failure. We applied quantitative immunoblotting and immunoprecipitation to native myocardial extracts, immunogold electron microscopy to cardiac tissue and membrane sections, electrophysiological recordings to whole hearts, and high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry to Cx45 fusion protein, and developed two new tools, anti-Cx45 antisera and Cre(+);Cx45 floxed mice, to facilitate characterization of Cx45 in adult mammalian hearts. We found that Cx45 represents 0.3% of total Cx protein (predominantly 200 fmol Cx43 protein/µg ventricular protein) and colocalizes with Cx43 in native ventricular gap junctions, particularly in the apex and septum. Cre(+);Cx45 floxed mice express 85% less Cx45, but do not exhibit overt electrophysiologic abnormalities. Although the basal phosphorylation status of native Cx45 remains unknown, CaMKII phosphorylates eight Ser/Thr residues in Cx45 in vitro. Thus, although downregulation of Cx45 does not produce notable deficits in electrical conduction in adult, disease-free hearts, Cx45 is a target of the multifunctional kinase CaMKII, and the phosphorylation status of Cx45 and the role of Cx43/Cx45 heteromeric gap junction channels in both normal and diseased hearts merits further investigation

Spin dynamics of stripes

The spin dynamics of stripes in high-temperature superconductors and related compounds is studied in the framework of a spin-wave theory for a simple spin-only model. The magnon dispersion relation and the magnetic structure factor are calculated for diagonal and vertical stripes. Acoustical as well as optical bands are included in the analysis. The incommensurability and the $\pi$ resonance appear as complementary features of the band structure at different energy scales. The dependence of spin-wave velocities and resonance frequencies on the stripe spacing and coupling is calculated. At low doping, the resonance frequency is found to scale roughly inversely proportional to the stripe spacing. The favorable comparison of the results with experimental data suggests that the spin-only model provides a suitable and simple basis for calculating and understanding the spin dynamics of stripes.Comment: 11 page, 10 figures, pdf version with high-res.pics at http://www.thp.uni-koeln.de/~sts

Introducing a new breed of wine yeast: interspecific hybridisation between a commercial Saccharomyces cerevisiae wine yeast and Saccharomyces mikatae

Interspecific hybrids are commonplace in agriculture and horticulture; bread wheat and grapefruit are but two examples. The benefits derived from interspecific hybridisation include the potential of generating advantageous transgressive phenotypes. This paper describes the generation of a new breed of wine yeast by interspecific hybridisation between a commercial Saccharomyces cerevisiae wine yeast strain and Saccharomyces mikatae, a species hitherto not associated with industrial fermentation environs. While commercially available wine yeast strains provide consistent and reliable fermentations, wines produced using single inocula are thought to lack the sensory complexity and rounded palate structure obtained from spontaneous fermentations. In contrast, interspecific yeast hybrids have the potential to deliver increased complexity to wine sensory properties and alternative wine styles through the formation of novel, and wider ranging, yeast volatile fermentation metabolite profiles, whilst maintaining the robustness of the wine yeast parent. Screening of newly generated hybrids from a cross between a S. cerevisiae wine yeast and S. mikatae (closely-related but ecologically distant members of the Saccharomyces sensu stricto clade), has identified progeny with robust fermentation properties and winemaking potential. Chemical analysis showed that, relative to the S. cerevisiae wine yeast parent, hybrids produced wines with different concentrations of volatile metabolites that are known to contribute to wine flavour and aroma, including flavour compounds associated with non-Saccharomyces species. The new S. cerevisiae x S. mikatae hybrids have the potential to produce complex wines akin to products of spontaneous fermentation while giving winemakers the safeguard of an inoculated ferment.Jennifer R. Bellon, Frank Schmid, Dimitra L. Capone, Barbara L. Dunn, Paul J. Chamber

Light MSSM Higgs boson mass to three-loop accuracy

The light CP even Higgs boson mass, Mh, is calculated to three-loop accuracy within the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). The result is expressed in terms of DRbar parameters and implemented in the computer program H3m. The calculation is based on the proper approximations and their combination in various regions of the parameter space. The three-loop effects to Mh are typically of the order of a few hundred MeV and opposite in sign to the two-loop corrections. The remaining theory uncertainty due to higher order perturbative corrections is estimated to be less than 1 GeV.Comment: 39 pages, 13 figures. v2: minor changes, typos fixe

Gauge and Scheme Dependence of Mixing Matrix Renormalization

We revisit the issue of mixing matrix renormalization in theories that include Dirac or Majorana fermions. We show how a gauge-variant on-shell renormalized mixing matrix can be related to a manifestly gauge-independent one within a generalized ${\bar {\rm MS}}$ scheme of renormalization. This scheme-dependent relation is a consequence of the fact that in any scheme of renormalization, the gauge-dependent part of the mixing-matrix counterterm is ultra-violet safe and has a pure dispersive form. Employing the unitarity properties of the theory, we can successfully utilize the afore-mentioned scheme-dependent relation to preserve basic global or local symmetries of the bare Lagrangian through the entire process of renormalization. As an immediate application of our study, we derive the gauge-independent renormalization-group equations of mixing matrices in a minimal extension of the Standard Model with isosinglet neutrinos.Comment: 31 pages, LaTeX, uses axodraw.st

Revisiting the Higgs Mass and Dark Matter in the CMSSM

Taking into account the available accelerator and astrophysical constraints, the mass of the lightest neutral Higgs boson h in the minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model with universal soft supersymmetry-breaking masses (CMSSM) has been estimated to lie between 114 and ~ 130 GeV. Recent data from ATLAS and CMS hint that m_h ~ 125 GeV, though m_h ~ 119 GeV may still be a possibility. Here we study the consequences for the parameters of the CMSSM and direct dark matter detection if the Higgs hint is confirmed, focusing on the strips in the (m_1/2, m_0) planes for different tan beta and A_0 where the relic density of the lightest neutralino chi falls within the range of the cosmological cold dark matter density allowed by WMAP and other experiments. We find that if m_h ~ 125 GeV focus-point strips would be disfavoured, as would the low-tan beta stau-chi and stop -chi coannihilation strips, whereas the stau-chi coannihilation strip at large tan beta and A_0 > 0 would be favoured, together with its extension to a funnel where rapid annihilation via direct-channel H/A poles dominates. On the other hand, if m_h ~ 119 GeV more options would be open. We give parametrizations of WMAP strips with large tan beta and fixed A_0/m_0 > 0 that include portions compatible with m_h = 125 GeV, and present predictions for spin-independent elastic dark matter scattering along these strips. These are generally low for models compatible with m_h = 125 GeV, whereas the XENON100 experiment already excludes some portions of strips where m_h is smaller.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figure

Search for Neutral Higgs Bosons in Events with Multiple Bottom Quarks at the Tevatron

The combination of searches performed by the CDF and D0 collaborations at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider for neutral Higgs bosons produced in association with b quarks is reported. The data, corresponding to 2.6 fb-1 of integrated luminosity at CDF and 5.2 fb-1 at D0, have been collected in final states containing three or more b jets. Upper limits are set on the cross section multiplied by the branching ratio varying between 44 pb and 0.7 pb in the Higgs boson mass range 90 to 300 GeV, assuming production of a narrow scalar boson. Significant enhancements to the production of Higgs bosons can be found in theories beyond the standard model, for example in supersymmetry. The results are interpreted as upper limits in the parameter space of the minimal supersymmetric standard model in a benchmark scenario favoring this decay mode.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure