822 research outputs found
On the Corner Elements of the CKM and PMNS Matrices
Recent experiments show that the top-right corner element () of the
PMNS, like that () of the CKM, matrix is small but nonzero, and suggest
further via unitarity that it is smaller than the bottom-left corner element
(), again as in the CKM case (). An attempt in
explaining these facts would seem an excellent test for any model of the mixing
phenomenon. Here, it is shown that if to the assumption of a universal rank-one
mass matrix, long favoured by phenomenologists, one adds that this matrix
rotates with scale, then it follows that (A) by inputting the mass ratios
, and , (i) the corner elements are
small but nonzero, (ii) , , (iii)
estimates result for the ratios and , and
(B) by inputting further the experimental values of and
, (iv) estimates result for the values of the corner elements
themselves. All the inequalities and estimates obtained are consistent with
present data to within expectation for the approximations made.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, updated with new experimental data and more
detail
Charm-quark mass from weighted finite energy QCD sum rules
The running charm-quark mass in the scheme is determined from
weighted finite energy QCD sum rules (FESR) involving the vector current
correlator. Only the short distance expansion of this correlator is used,
together with integration kernels (weights) involving positive powers of ,
the squared energy. The optimal kernels are found to be a simple {\it pinched}
kernel, and polynomials of the Legendre type. The former kernel reduces
potential duality violations near the real axis in the complex s-plane, and the
latter allows to extend the analysis to energy regions beyond the end point of
the data. These kernels, together with the high energy expansion of the
correlator, weigh the experimental and theoretical information differently from
e.g. inverse moments FESR. Current, state of the art results for the vector
correlator up to four-loop order in perturbative QCD are used in the FESR,
together with the latest experimental data. The integration in the complex
s-plane is performed using three different methods, fixed order perturbation
theory (FOPT), contour improved perturbation theory (CIPT), and a fixed
renormalization scale (FMUPT). The final result is , in a wide region of stability against changes in the
integration radius in the complex s-plane.Comment: A short discussion on convergence issues has been added at the end of
the pape
Usefulness of routine preoperative testing in a developing country: a prospective study
Introduction: The assessment of anesthetic risks is an essential component of preoperative evaluation. In developing world, preanesthesia evaluation may be challenging because patient's medical history and records are scare, and language barrier limits physical examination. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of routine preoperative testing in a low-resources setting. Methods: Prospective observational study performed in a French forward surgical unit in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. 201 patients who were scheduled for non urgent surgery were screened with routine laboratory exams during preoperative evaluation. Changes in surgery were assessed (delayed or scheduled). Results: Abnormal hemoglobin findings were reported in 35% of patients, abnormal WBC count in 11,1% of patients, abnormal platelets in 15,3% of patients. Positive HIV results were found in 8,3% of cases. Routine tests represented 43,6% of changes causes. Conclusion: Our study showed that in a developing country, routine preoperative tests showed abnormal results up to 35% of cases, and represented 43,6% of delayed surgery causes. The rate of tests leading to management changes varied widely, from 0% to 8,3%. These results suggested that selected tests would be useful to diagnose diseases that required treatment before non urgent surgery. However, larger studies are needeed to evaluate the cost/benefit ratio and the clinical impact of such a strategy
Mass Hierarchy, Mixing, CP-Violation and Higgs Decay---or Why Rotation is Good for Us
The idea of a rank-one rotating mass matrix (R2M2) is reviewed detailing how
it leads to ready explanations both for the fermion mass hierarchy and for the
distinctive mixing patterns between up and down fermion states, which can be
and have been tested against experiment and shown to be fully consistent with
existing data. Further, R2M2 is seen to offer, as by-products: (i) a new
solution of the strong CP problem in QCD by linking the theta-angle there to
the Kobayashi-Maskawa CP-violating phase in the CKM matrix, and (ii) some novel
predictions of possible anomalies in Higgs decay observable in principle at the
LHC. A special effort is made to answer some questions raised.Comment: 47 pages, 9 figure
Chiral corrections to the Gell-Mann-Oakes-Renner relation
The next to leading order chiral corrections to the
Gell-Mann-Oakes-Renner (GMOR) relation are obtained using the pseudoscalar
correlator to five-loop order in perturbative QCD, together with new finite
energy sum rules (FESR) incorporating polynomial, Legendre type, integration
kernels. The purpose of these kernels is to suppress hadronic contributions in
the region where they are least known. This reduces considerably the systematic
uncertainties arising from the lack of direct experimental information on the
hadronic resonance spectral function. Three different methods are used to
compute the FESR contour integral in the complex energy (squared) s-plane, i.e.
Fixed Order Perturbation Theory, Contour Improved Perturbation Theory, and a
fixed renormalization scale scheme. We obtain for the corrections to the GMOR
relation, , the value . This result
is substantially more accurate than previous determinations based on QCD sum
rules; it is also more reliable as it is basically free of systematic
uncertainties. It implies a light quark condensate . As a byproduct, the chiral perturbation theory (unphysical) low energy
constant is predicted to be , or .Comment: A comment about the value of the strong coupling has been added at
the end of Section 4. No change in results or conslusion
A Comprehensive Mechanism Reproducing the Mass and Mixing Parameters of Quarks and Leptons
It is shown that if, from the starting point of a universal rank-one mass
matrix long favoured by phenomenologists, one adds the assumption that it
rotates (changes its orientation in generation space) with changing scale, one
can reproduce, in terms of only 6 real parameters, all the 16 mass ratios and
mixing parameters of quarks and leptons. Of these 16 quantities so reproduced,
10 for which data exist for direct comparison (i.e. the CKM elements including
the CP-violating phase, the angles in
-oscillation, and the masses ) agree well with
experiment, mostly to within experimental errors; 4 others (), the experimental values for which can only be inferred, agree
reasonably well; while 2 others ( for leptons), not yet
measured experimentally, remain as predictions. In addition, one gets as
bonuses, estimates for (i) the right-handed neutrino mass and (ii)
the strong CP angle inherent in QCD. One notes in particular that the
output value for from the fit agrees very well with
recent experiments. By inputting the current experimental value with its error,
one obtains further from the fit 2 new testable constraints: (i) that
must depart from its "maximal" value: , (ii) that the CP-violating (Dirac) phase in the PMNS would be
smaller than in the CKM matrix: of order only if
not vanishing altogether.Comment: 37 pages, 1 figur
Impact of water saturation on seismoelectric transfer functions: a laboratory study of coseismic phenomenon
Seismic waves propagating in a porous medium, under favourable conditions, generate measurable electromagnetic fields due to electrokinetic effects. It has been proposed, following experimental and numerical studies, that these so-called ‘seismoelectromagnetic' couplings depend on pore fluid properties. The theoretical frame describing these phenomena are based on the original Biot's theory, assuming that pores are fluid-filled. We study here the impact of a partially saturated medium on amplitudes of those seismoelectric couplings by comparing experimental data to an effective fluid model. We have built a 1-m-length-scale experiment designed for imbibition and drainage of an homogeneous silica sand; the experimental set-up includes a seismic source, accelerometers, electric dipoles and capacitance probes in order to monitor seismic and seismoelectric fields during water saturation. Apparent velocities and frequency spectra (in the kiloHertz range) are derived from seismic and electrical measurements during experiments in varying saturation conditions. Amplitudes of seismic and seismoelectric waves and their ratios (i.e. transfer functions) are discussed using a spectral analysis performed by continuous wavelet transform. The experiments reveal that amplitude ratios of seismic to coseismic electric signals remain rather constant as a function of the water saturation in the Sw=[0.2-0.9] range, consistently with theoretically predicted transfer function
Electrospinning of 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin aqueous solutions with added salts
It has been proposed that hydrogen bonding plays a role in promoting the electrospinnability of some materials. In this study, the role of non-covalent interactions in the electrospinnability of 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (2HP-β-CD) was investigated by varying the physical-chemical properties the solvents. The rheological behaviour of a peroxide-aqueous/acetone-ethanol/NaHCO3 solution and an aqueous urea solution, as a function of aqueous 2HP-β-CD concentration, was compared. The rheological behaviour of 2HP-β-CD solutions was characterized by a frequency-independent stress relaxation plateau such as that observed in cross-linked polymer networks and reversible polymer gels with non-linear viscoelasticity. We conclude that the electrospinnability of 2HP-β-CD is, as evidenced by the changes in the morphology of the electrospun 2HP-β-CD materials, in agreement with other related studies on the electrospinning of Cyclodextrins. Also, the electrospinnability of 2HP-β-CD does appear to be related to the physical-chemical properties of the solvent systems
The t W- Mode of Single Top Production
The t W- mode of single top production is proposed as an important means to
study the weak interactions of the top quark. While the rate of this mode is
most likely too small to be observed at Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron, it is
expected to be considerably larger at the CERN LHC. In this article the
inclusive t W- rate is computed, including O(1 / log (m_t^2 / m_b^2))
corrections, and when combined with detailed Monte Carlo simulations including
the top and W decay products, indicate that the t W- single top process may be
extracted from the considerable t tbar and W+ W- j backgrounds at low
luminosity runs of the LHC.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure
Towards Vacuum Superstring Field Theory: The Supersliver
We extend some aspects of vacuum string field theory to superstring field
theory in Berkovits' formulation, and we study the star algebra in the
fermionic matter sector. After clarifying the structure of the interaction
vertex in the operator formalism of Gross and Jevicki, we provide an algebraic
construction of the supersliver state in terms of infinite-dimensional
matrices. This state is an idempotent string field and solves the matter part
of the equation of motion of superstring field theory with a pure ghost BRST
operator. We determine the spectrum of eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the
infinite-dimensional matrices of Neumann coefficients in the fermionic matter
sector. We then analyze coherent states based on the supersliver and use them
in order to construct higher-rank projector solutions, as well as to construct
closed subalgebras of the star algebra in the fermionic matter sector. Finally,
we show that the geometric supersliver is a solution to the superstring field
theory equations of motion, including the (super)ghost sector, with the
canonical choice of vacuum BRST operator recently proposed by Gaiotto,
Rastelli, Sen and Zwiebach.Comment: 45 pages, JHEP styl
- …