Discovery Prospects for NMSSM Higgs Bosons at the High-Energy Large Hadron Collider

We investigate the discovery prospects for NMSSM Higgs bosons during the 13~TeV run of the LHC. While one of the neutral Higgs bosons is demanded to have a mass around 125~GeV and Standard Model (SM)-like properties, there can be substantially lighter, nearby or heavier Higgs bosons, that have not been excluded yet by LEP, Tevatron or the 8~TeV run of the LHC. The challenge consists in discovering the whole NMSSM Higgs mass spectrum. We present the rates for production and subsequent decay of the neutral NMSSM Higgs bosons in the most promising final states and discuss their possible discovery. The prospects for pinning down the Higgs sector of the Natural NMSSM will be analysed taking into account alternative search channels. We give a series of benchmark scenarios compatible with the experimental constraints, that feature Higgs-to-Higgs decays and entail (exotic) signatures with multi-fermion and/or multi-photon final states. These decay chains furthermore give access to the trilinear Higgs self-couplings. We briefly discuss the possibility of exploiting coupling sum rules in case not all the NMSSM Higgs bosons are discovered

Next-to-Leading Order NMSSM Decays with CP-odd Higgs Bosons and Stops

We compute the full next-to-leading order supersymmetric (SUSY) electroweak (EW) and SUSY-QCD corrections to the decays of CP-odd NMSSM Higgs bosons into stop pairs. In our numerical analysis we also present the decay of the heavier stop into the lighter stop and an NMSSM CP-odd Higgs boson. Both the EW and the SUSY-QCD corrections are found to be significant and have to be taken into account for a proper prediction of the decay widths.Comment: 28 pages, 10 figure

Dynamic response of a flexible space beam

Dynamic response of a candidate flexible beam for a space experiment on control of flexible structures is investigated. Studies of natural frequencies reveal a beam length in which torsion and bending frequencies virtually coincide. Eccentric tip mass causes small shifts in natural frequencies but introduces coupled torsional/bending mode shapes. Transient response studies indicate significant effects on tip responses of low damping and first bending mode excitation at higher frequencies. Steady state response suggest displacement and acceleration measurements could be made up to 5 to 12 Hz for the actuator forces/torques assumed

Precision Measurements of Higgs Couplings: Implications for New Physics Scales

The measured properties of the recently discovered Higgs boson are in good agreement with predictions from the Standard Model. However, small deviations in the Higgs couplings may manifest themselves once the currently large uncertainties will be improved as part of the LHC program and at a future Higgs factory. We review typical new physics scenarios that lead to observable modifications of the Higgs interactions. They can be divided into two broad categories: mixing effects as in portal models or extended Higgs sectors, and vertex loop effects from new matter or gauge fields. In each model we relate coupling deviations to their effective new physics scale. It turns out that with percent level precision the Higgs couplings will be sensitive to the multi-TeV regime.Comment: Invited review for Journal of Physics G, 33pp; v2: references added and improved discussion of operator basis in section 2.

Marriage: Passion, Friendship & Vocation

The question that drives this essay is whether friendship is necessary for the spousal relationship, or if romantic passion alone is sufficient. It is divided into three sections. The first examines why relationships based upon romantic passion alone cannot sustain the spousal relationship. Since spousal relationships based upon romantic passion alone tend toward the disintegration of the relationship and the reduction of the other person to mere means alone (and not as an end in himself), it becomes clear that some other kind of relationship is needed. The second section of the essay explores the nature of friendship and argues that it is the proper context for a flourishing marital relationship. Friendship is necessary for marriage, among other reasons, as the love of benevolence is the only kind of love by which persons can be loved according to their dignity. Spousal friendship prevents the harms raised in the first section of this essay and facilitates the context for the expression of betrothed love. The third section of the essay explores how friendship with God helps to sustain spousal friendship. This essay relies largely upon the writings of Aristotle, Saint Augustine, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint John Paul II, and numerous others. Rooted largely within the Catholic theological and sacramental tradition, this essay rests upon a way of a deeply personalistic anthropology that has matured over several centuries’ worth of collective data of human experience. Human creatures are made by God and are ordered to Him—they are made by love for love—and the human heart will ever remain restless until it finds itself in a total gift of self to the Lord

Clinical relevance of circulating tumour cells in the bone marrow of patients with SCCHN

Background: Clinical outcome of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCCHN) depends on several risk factors like the presence of locoregional lymph node or distant metastases, stage, localisation and histologic differentiation of the tumour. Circulating tumour cells in the bone marrow indicate a poor prognosis for patients with various kinds of malignoma. The present study examines the clinical relevance of occult tumour cells in patients suffering from SCCHN. Patients and Methods: Bone marrow aspirates of 176 patients suffering from SCCHN were obtained prior to surgery and stained for the presence of disseminated tumour cells. Antibodies for cytokeratin 19 were used for immunohistochemical detection with APAAP on cytospin slides. Within a clinical follow-up protocol over a period of 60 months, the prognostic relevance of several clinicopathological parameters and occult tumour cells was evaluated. Results: Single CK19-expressing tumour cells could be detected in the bone marrow of 30.7% of the patients. There is a significant correlation between occult tumour cells in the bone marrow and relapse. Uni- and multivariate analysis of all clinical data showed the metastases in the locoregional lymph system and detection of disseminated tumour cells in the bone marrow to be statistically highly significant for clinical prognosis. Conclusion: The detection of minimal residual disease underlines the understanding of SCCHN as a systemic disease. Further examination of such cells will lead to a better understanding of the tumour biology, as well as to improvement of diagnostic and therapeutic strategies

Physics at CERN's Antiproton Decelerator

The Antiproton Decelerator of CERN began operation in 1999 to serve experiments for studies of CPT invariance by precision laser and microwave spectroscopy of antihydrogen ($\bar{\rm H}$) and antiprotonic helium ($\bar{p}{\rm He}^+$). The first 12 years of operation saw cold $\bar{\rm H}$ synthesized by overlapping clouds of positrons ($e^+$) and antiprotons ($\bar{p}$) confined in magnetic Penning traps. Cold $\bar{\rm H}$ was also produced in collisions between Rydberg positronium atoms and $\bar{p}$. Ground-state $\bar{\rm H}$ was later trapped for up to $\sim 1000$ s in a magnetic bottle trap, and microwave transitions excited between its hyperfine levels. In the $\bar{p}{\rm He}^+$ atom, UV transitions were measured to a precision of (2.3-5) $\times$ $10^{-9}$ by sub-Doppler two-photon laser spectroscopy. From this the antiproton-to-electron mass ratio was determined as $M_{\bar{p}}/m_e=$1836.1526736(23), which agrees with the p value. Microwave spectroscopy of $\bar{p}{\rm He}^+$ yielded a measurement of the $\bar{p}$ magnetic moment with a precision of 0.3%. More recently the magnetic moment of a single $\bar{p}$ confined in a Penning trap was measured with a higher precision, as $\mu_{\bar{p}}=-2.792845(12)$$\mu_{\rm nucl}$ in nuclear magnetons. Other measurements include the energy loss of 1-100 keV $\bar{p}$ traversing conductor and insulator targets; the cross sections of <10 keV $\bar{p}$ ionizing gas targets; and the cross sections of 5-MeV $\bar{p}$ annihilating on target foils via nuclear collisions. The biological effectiveness of $\bar{p}$ beams destroying cancer cells was measured as a possible method for radiological therapy. New experiments under preparation attempt to measure the gravitational acceleration of $\bar{\rm H}$ or synthesize \obar{\rm H}^+.Comment: To be published in Progress in Particle and Nuclear Physic

Enhancement in Motor Learning through Genetic Manipulation of the Lynx1 Gene

The cholinergic system is a neuromodulatory neurotransmitter system involved in a variety of brain processes, including learning and memory, attention, and motor processes, among others. The influence of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors of the cholinergic system are moderated by lynx proteins, which are GPI-anchored membrane proteins forming tight associations with nicotinic receptors. Previous studies indicate lynx1 inhibits nicotinic receptor function and limits neuronal plasticity. We sought to investigate the mechanism of action of lynx1 on nicotinic receptor function, through the generation of lynx mouse models, expressing a soluble version of lynx and comparing results to the full length overexpression. Using rotarod as a test for motor learning, we found that expressing a secreted variant of lynx leads to motor learning enhancements whereas overexpression of full-length lynx had no effect. Further, adult lynx1KO mice demonstrated comparable motor learning enhancements as the soluble transgenic lines, whereas previously, aged lynx1KO mice showed performance augmentation only with nicotine treatment. From this we conclude the motor learning is more sensitive to loss of lynx function, and that the GPI anchor plays a role in the normal function of the lynx protein. In addition, our data suggests that the lynx gene plays a modulatory role in the brain during aging, and that a soluble version of lynx has potential as a tool for adjusting cholinergic-dependent plasticity and learning mechanisms in the brain

Rydberg excitation of a single trapped ion

We demonstrate excitation of a single trapped cold $^{40}$Ca$^+$ ion to Rydberg levels by laser radiation in the vacuum-ultraviolet at 122 nm wavelength. Observed resonances are identified as 3d$^2$D$_{3/2}$ to 51 F, 52 F and 3d$^2$D$_{5/2}$ to 64F. We model the lineshape and our results imply a large state-dependent coupling to the trapping potential. Rydberg ions are of great interest for future applications in quantum computing and simulation, in which large dipolar interactions are combined with the superb experimental control offered by Paul traps.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure