Beyond the Standard Model searches with top quarks at D0

Due to its high mass and short lifetime, the top quark plays an important role in checking the Standard Model of particle physics. In this report, we pr\ esent a variety of searches for physics beyond the Standard Model, involving top quarks, at the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. Specifically, we present searches in top quark pair production, single top quark production and top quark decays. The search spectra discussed here involve a search for $t\bar{t}$ resonances, associated production of Higgs bosons and $t\bar{t}$, charged Higgs bosons and heavy gauge $W^{'}$ bosons. Furthermore, we measure the forward-backward charge asymmetry and a ratio of branching fractions.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of 2009 Europhysics Conference on High Energy Physics: HEP 2009 (EPS-HEP 2009), Cracow, Poland, 16-22 Jul 2009. 5 pages, 2 figures

Top Quark Properties at the TeVatron

Discovered in 1995 by CDF and D0 at the Fermilab Tevatron collider, the top quark remains interesting to test the Standard Model. Having collected more than 7 fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity with both experiments until today, several top quark properties have been measured with increasing precision, while other properties have been investigated for the first time. In this article recent measurements of top quark properties from CDF and D0 are presented, using between 1 fb$^{-1}$ and 4.8 fb$^{-1}$ of data. In particular, the measurement of the top quark mass, the top quark width, the top antitop mass difference, a check of the electric charge of the top quark, measurements of the top antitop quark spin correlation and W helicity as well as a search for charged Higgs bosons are discussed.Comment: 6 pages, Presented at the 2010 Rencontres de Moriond EW, La Thuile, Aosta Valley, Italy, 06-13 Mar 201

Particle Identification with the ALICE Transition Radiation Detector

The Transition Radiation Detector (TRD) provides particle identification in the ALICE central barrel. In particular, it allows electron identification via the measurement of transition radiation for $\rm p >$ 1 GeV/$c$, where pions can no longer be rejected sufficiently via specific energy loss in the ALICE Time Projection Chamber. The ALICE TRD is uniquely designed to record the time evolution of the signal, which allows even better electron/pion separation. In addition, the electron identification capability of the TRD can be used on-line to trigger at level 1. The particle identification and its performance in pp, p-Pb and Pb-Pb collisions employing various methods, such as truncated mean signal, one- and two-dimensional likelihood on integrated charge and neural network, will be presented. The measurement of J/$\psi$ mesons in Pb-Pb collisions is given as a case study to show how well the TRD contributes to physics analyses due to its excellent pion suppression.Comment: 4 pages; 7 figures, Proceedings of RICH2013 Conference, 2-6 Dec 201

Kurdistan: The Taiwan of the Middle East?

Taiwan and Kurdistan appear to have little in common, but the progressive values of these two societies embedded within hostile regions make them both natural allies and important strategic assets in the U.S.’s and international community’s long-term fight against authoritarianism and radical religious theocracies. Instead, they have been ignored and/or exploited in the pursuit of short-term geopolitical and economic interests in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions, which comes at great cost to American and international values as well as long-term strategic interests, so both citizens and policymakers must consider new approaches

Top Quark Properties

Since its discovery in 1995 by the CDF and D0 collaborations at the Fermilab Tevatron collider, the top quark has undergone intensive studies. Besides the Tevatron experiments, with the start of the LHC in 2010 a top quark factory started its operation. It is now possible to measure top quark properties simultaneously at four different experiments, namely ATLAS and CMS at LHC and CDF and D0 at Tevatron. Having collected thousands of top quarks each, several top quark properties have been measured precisely, while others are being measured for the first time. In this article, recent measurements of top quark properties from ATLAS, CDF, CMS and D0 are presented, using up to 5.4 fb-1 of integrated luminosity at the Tevatron and 1.1 fb^-1 at the LHC. In particular, measurements of the top quark mass, mass difference, forward backward charge asymmetry, tt - spin correlations, the ratio of branching fractions, W helicity, anomalous couplings, color flow and the search for flavor changing neutral currents are discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, proceedings for the PIC2011 conference, Vancouver, BC, Canad

Physics with the ALICE Transition Radiation Detector

The ALICE Transition Radiation Detector (TRD) significantly enlarges the scope of physics observables studied in ALICE, because it allows due to its electron identification capability to measure open heavy-flavour production and quarkonium states, which are essential probes to characterize the Quark-Gluon-Plasma created in nucleus-nucleus collisions at LHC. In addition the TRD enables to enhance rare probes due to its trigger contributions. We report on the first results of the electron identification capability of the ALICE Transition Radiation Detector (TRD) in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 7 TeV using a one-dimensional likelihood method on integrated charge measured in each TRD chamber. The analysis of heavy flavour production in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 7 TeV with this particle identification method, which extends the $p_{t}$ range of the existing measurement from $p_{t}$ = 4 GeV/c to 10 GeV/c and reduces the systematic uncertainty due to particle identification, is presented. The performance of the application of the TRD electron identification in the context of J/\psi measurements in Pb-Pb collisions is also shown.Comment: 6 pages; 9 figures; conference proceedings: TRDs for the third Millennium 4th Workshop on Advanced Transition Radiation Detectors for Accelerator and Space Application

Healthcare professionals should be mindful that victims and victim-bullies may have additional health needs associated with risk-taking behaviour

Commentary on: Kritsotakis G, Papanikolaou M, Androulakis E, et al. Associations of bullying and cyberbullying with substance use and sexual risk taking in young adults. J Nurs Scholarsh 2017;49:360–70. • The effects of bullying and cyberbullying can be linked to a number of health risk behaviours, education and healthcare professionals need to include prevention and intervention strategies within educational curricula, building on replacing maladaptive coping strategies with adaptive responses. • Future research should explore the adaptive and maladaptive coping mechanisms employed by victims and victim-bullies during the transition to adulthood and how this impacts on their relationships

‘Ichthyologue’: Freshwater Biology in the Poetry of Ted Hughes

An ecocritical analysis of Ted Hughes's knowledge of freshwater biology and environmental science, especially the work of his son, Nicholas Hughes. Contains previously unpublished poetry drafts by Ted Hughes