Light axigluon and single top production at the LHC

The light axigluon model can explain the Tevatron $t\overline{t}$ forward-backward asymmetry and at the same time satisfy the constraints from the electroweak precision measurement and the $ATLAS$ and $CMS$ data, which induces the flavor changing ($FC$) couplings of axigluon with the $SM$ and new quarks. We investigate the effects of these $FC$ couplings on the s- and t-channel single top productions at the $LHC$ and the $FC$ decays $Z\rightarrow \overline{b}s+b\overline{s}$, $t\rightarrow c\gamma$ and $cg$. Our numerical results show that the light axigluon can give significantly contributions to single top production and the rare top decays $t\rightarrow c\gamma$ and $cg$.Comment: 22 pages, 8 figures; references added, contributions of new quarks to rare decay processes adde

An IL-4-dependent macrophage-iNKT cell circuit resolves sterile inflammation and is defective in mice with chronic granulomatous disease

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)The immune system initiates tissue repair following injury. In response to sterile tissue injury, neutrophils infiltrate the tissue to remove tissue debris and subsequently undergo apoptosis. Proper clearance of apoptotic neutrophils in the tissue by recruited macrophages, in a process termed efferocytosis, is critical to facilitate the resolution of inflammation and tissue repair. However, the events leading to suppression of sterile inflammation following efferocytosis, and the contribution of other innate cell types are not clearly defined in an in vivo setting. Using a sterile mouse peritonitis model, we identified IL-4 production from efferocytosing macrophages in the peritoneum that activate invariant NKT cells to produce cytokines including IL-4 and IL-13. Importantly, IL-4 from macrophages functions in autocrine and paracrine circuits to promote alternative activation of peritoneal exudate macrophages and augment type-2 cytokine production from NKT cells to suppress inflammation. The increased peritonitis in mice deficient in IL-4, NKT cells, or IL-4Ra expression on myeloid cells suggested that each is a key component for resolution of sterile inflammation. The phagocyte NADPH oxidase, a multi-subunit enzyme complex we demonstrated to require a physical interaction between the Rac GTPase and the oxidase subunit gp91phox for generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), is required for production of ROS within macrophage phagosomes containing ingested apoptotic cells. In mice with X-linked chronic granulomatous disease (X-CGD) that lack gp91phox, efferocytosing macrophages were unable to produce ROS and were defective in activating iNKT during sterile peritonitis, resulting in enhanced and prolonged inflammation. Thus, efferocytosis-induced IL-4 production and activation of IL-4-producing iNKT cells by macrophages are immunomodulatory events in an innate immune circuit required to resolve sterile inflammation and promote tissue repair

Combining Subgoal Graphs with Reinforcement Learning to Build a Rational Pathfinder

In this paper, we present a hierarchical path planning framework called SG-RL (subgoal graphs-reinforcement learning), to plan rational paths for agents maneuvering in continuous and uncertain environments. By "rational", we mean (1) efficient path planning to eliminate first-move lags; (2) collision-free and smooth for agents with kinematic constraints satisfied. SG-RL works in a two-level manner. At the first level, SG-RL uses a geometric path-planning method, i.e., Simple Subgoal Graphs (SSG), to efficiently find optimal abstract paths, also called subgoal sequences. At the second level, SG-RL uses an RL method, i.e., Least-Squares Policy Iteration (LSPI), to learn near-optimal motion-planning policies which can generate kinematically feasible and collision-free trajectories between adjacent subgoals. The first advantage of the proposed method is that SSG can solve the limitations of sparse reward and local minima trap for RL agents; thus, LSPI can be used to generate paths in complex environments. The second advantage is that, when the environment changes slightly (i.e., unexpected obstacles appearing), SG-RL does not need to reconstruct subgoal graphs and replan subgoal sequences using SSG, since LSPI can deal with uncertainties by exploiting its generalization ability to handle changes in environments. Simulation experiments in representative scenarios demonstrate that, compared with existing methods, SG-RL can work well on large-scale maps with relatively low action-switching frequencies and shorter path lengths, and SG-RL can deal with small changes in environments. We further demonstrate that the design of reward functions and the types of training environments are important factors for learning feasible policies.Comment: 20 page

Associated production of the heavy charged gauge boson WH{W_{H}} and a top quark at LHC

In the context of topflavor seesaw model, we study the production of the heavy charged gauge boson ${W_{H}}$ associated with a top quark at the LHC. Focusing on the searching channel $pp\rightarrow tW_H\rightarrow t\bar{t}b \rightarrow l\nu jjbbb$, we carry out a full simulation of the signal and the relevant standard model backgrounds. The kinematical distributions of final states are presented. It is found that the backgrounds can be significantly suppressed by sets of kinematic cuts, and the signal of the heavy charged boson might be detected at the LHC with $\sqrt{s}=14$ TeV. With a integrated luminosity of \LL= 100 $fb^{-1}$, a $8.3 \sigma$ signal significance can be achieved for $m_{W_H}=1.6$ TeV.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figure

Bottom partner B' and Zb production at the LHC

Some new physics models, such as "beautiful mirrors" scenario, predict the existence of the bottom partner $B'$. Considering the constraints from the data for the $Z\rightarrow b\bar{b}$ branching ratio $R_{b}$ and the $FB$ asymmetry $A_{FB}^{b}$ on the relevant free parameters, we calculate the contributions of $B'$ to the cross section $\sigma(Zb)$ and the $Z$ polarization asymmetry $A_{Z}$ for $Zb$ production at the $LHC$. We find that the bottom partner $B'$ can generate significant corrections to $\sigma(Zb)$ and $A_{Z}$, which might be detected in near future.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures. Version published in Phys. Lett.