Experimental limits on New Physics from charm decay

Recent measurements in the charm sector are reviewed, concentrating on results which are sensitive to New Physics effects. The scope of the presentation includes D0-D0bar mixing searches, a CPT / Lorentz invariance study, and a range of searches for rare and forbidden decays. Results from the BaBar, Belle, CDF, CLEO, and FOCUS collaborations are presented, including an important first observation.Comment: 14 pages, 5 tables, 17 figures. Invited talk presented at the 21st International Symposium On Lepton And Photon Interactions At High Energies (LP03) 11-16 August 2003, Batavia, Illinois. To appear in the proceedings of the symposiu

Hemotropic mycoplasmas in little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus).

BackgroundHemotropic mycoplasmas are epicellular erythrocytic bacteria that can cause infectious anemia in some mammalian species. Worldwide, hemotropic mycoplasmas are emerging or re-emerging zoonotic pathogens potentially causing serious and significant health problems in wildlife. The objective of this study was to determine the molecular prevalence of hemotropic Mycoplasma species in little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) with and without Pseudogymnoascus (Geomyces) destrucans, the causative agent of white nose syndrome (WNS) that causes significant mortality events in bats.MethodsIn order to establish the prevalence of hemotropic Mycoplasma species in a population of 68 little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) with (n = 53) and without (n = 15) white-nose syndrome (WNS), PCR was performed targeting the 16S rRNA gene.ResultsThe overall prevalence of hemotropic Mycoplasmas in bats was 47%, with similar (p = 0.5725) prevalence between bats with WNS (49%) and without WNS (40%). 16S rDNA sequence analysis (~1,200 bp) supports the presence of a novel hemotropic Mycoplasma species with 91.75% sequence homology with Mycoplasma haemomuris. No differences were found in gene sequences generated from WNS and non-WNS animals.ConclusionsGene sequences generated from WNS and non-WNS animals suggest that little brown bats could serve as a natural reservoir for this potentially novel Mycoplasma species. Currently, there is minimal information about the prevalence, host-specificity, or the route of transmission of hemotropic Mycoplasma spp. among bats. Finally, the potential role of hemotropic Mycoplasma spp. as co-factors in the development of disease manifestations in bats, including WNS in Myotis lucifugus, remains to be elucidated

Factors associated with Anaplasma spp. seroprevalence among dogs in the United States

Background Dogs in the United States are hosts to a diverse range of ticks and tick-borne pathogens, including A. phagocytophilum, an important emerging canine and human pathogen. Previously, a Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC)-sponsored workshop proposed factors purported to be associated with the infection risk for tick-transmitted pathogens in dogs in the United States, including climate conditions, socioeconomic characteristics, local topography, and vector distribution. Methods Approximately four million test results from routine veterinary diagnostic tests from 2011–2013, which were collected on a county level across the contiguous United States, are statistically analyzed with the proposed factors via logistic regression and generalized estimating equations. Spatial prevalence maps of baseline Anaplasma spp. prevalence are constructed from Kriging and head-banging smoothing methods. Results All of the examined factors, with the exception of surface water coverage, were significantly associated with Anaplasma spp. prevalence. Overall, Anaplasma spp. prevalence increases with increasing precipitation and forestation coverage and decreases with increasing temperature, population density, relative humidity, and elevation. Interestingly, socioeconomic status and deer/vehicle collisions were positively and negatively correlated with canine Anaplasma seroprevalence, respectively. A spatial map of the canine Anaplasma hazard is an auxiliary product of the analysis. Anaplasma spp. prevalence is highest in New England and the Upper Midwest. Conclusions The results from the two posited statistical models (one that contains an endemic areas assumption and one that does not) are in general agreement, with the major difference being that the endemic areas model estimates a larger prevalence in Western Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado. As A. phagocytophilum is zoonotic, the results of this analysis could also help predict areas of high risk for human exposure to this pathogen

Search for CP Violation in D Meson Decays to phi pi+

We search for CP violation in Cabibbo-suppressed charged D meson decays by measuring the difference between the CP violating asymmetries for the Cabibbo-suppressed decays D+ -> K+K-pi+ and the Cabibbo-favored decays Ds -> K+K-pi+ in the K+K- mass region of the phi resonance. Using 955/fb of data collected with the Belle detector we obtain A_CP(D+ -> phi pi+) = (+0.51 +- 0.28 +- 0.05)%. The measurement improves the sensitivity of previous searches by more than a factor of five. We find no evidence for direct CP violation.Comment: submitted to PR

Measurements of time-dependent CP asymmetries in B→D∗∓π±B \to D^{*\mp} \pi^{\pm} decays using a partial reconstruction technique

We report results on time-dependent CP asymmetries in $B \to D^{*\mp}\pi^{\pm}$ decays based on a data sample containing 657 {\times} $10^6$ $B\bar{B}$ pairs collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+ e^-$ collider at the $\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance. We use a partial reconstruction technique, wherein signal $B \to D^{*\mp}\pi^{\pm}$ events are identified using information only from the fast pion from the B decay and the slow pion from the subsequent decay of the $D^{*\mp}$, where the former (latter) corresponds to $D^{*+} (D^{*-})$ final states. We obtain CP violation parameters $S^+ = +0.061 \pm 0.018(\mathrm{stat}) \pm 0.012(\mathrm{syst})$ and $S^- = +0.031 \pm 0.019(\mathrm{stat}) \pm 0.015(\mathrm{syst})$.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, submitted to Physical Review D (RC

Observation of X(3872)→J/ψγX(3872)\to J/\psi \gamma and search for X(3872)→ψ′γX(3872)\to\psi'\gamma in B decays

We report a study of $B\to (J/\psi \gamma) K$ and $B\to (\psi' \gamma)K$ decay modes using $772\times 10^{6}$ $B\bar{B}$ events collected at the \Upsilon(4S)$resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB energy-asymmetric$e^+ e^-$collider. We observe$X(3872) \to J/\psi \gamma$and report the first evidence for$\chi_{c2} \to J/\psi \gamma$in$B\to (X_{c\bar{c}}\gamma) K$decays, while in a search for$X(3872) \to \psi' \gamma$no significant signal is found. We measure the branching fractions,$\mathcal{B}(B^{\pm} \to X(3872) K^{\pm}) \mathcal{B}(X(3872) \to J/\psi\gamma)$$=$$(1.78^{+0.48}_{-0.44}\pm 0.12)\times 10^{-6}$,$\mathcal{B} (B^{\pm} \to\chi_{c2} K^{\pm})$$=$$(1.11^{+0.36}_{-0.34} \pm 0.09) \times 10^{-5}$,$\mathcal{B}(B^{\pm} \to X(3872) K^{\pm}) \mathcal{B}(X(3872) \to \psi'\gamma)$$<$$3.45\times 10^{-6}$ (upper limit at 90% C.L.) and also provide upper limits for other searches.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Evidence for a new resonance and search for the Y(4140) in γγ→ϕJ/ψ\gamma \gamma \to \phi J/\psi

The process \gamma \gamma \to \phi \jpsi is measured for \phi \jpsi masses between threshold and 5 GeV/${\it c}^2$, using a data sample of 825 fb$^{-1}$ collected with the Belle detector. A narrow peak of $8.8^{+4.2}_{-3.2}$ events, with a significance of 3.2 standard deviations including systematic uncertainty, is observed. The mass and natural width of the structure (named X(4350)) are measured to be $(4350.6^{+4.6}_{-5.1}(\rm{stat})\pm 0.7(\rm{syst})) \hbox{MeV}/{\it c}^2$ and $(13^{+18}_{-9}(\rm{stat})\pm 4(\rm{syst})) \hbox{MeV}$, respectively. The product of its two-photon decay width and branching fraction to \phi\jpsi is $(6.7^{+3.2}_{-2.4}(\rm{stat}) \pm 1.1(\rm{syst})) \hbox{eV}$ for $J^P=0^+$, or $(1.5^{+0.7}_{-0.6}(\rm{stat}) \pm 0.3(\rm{syst})) \hbox{eV}$ for $J^P=2^+$. No signal for the Y(4140)\to \phi \jpsi structure reported by the CDF Collaboration in B\to K^+ \phi \jpsi decays is observed, and limits of \Gamma_{\gamma \gamma}(Y(4140)) \BR(Y(4140)\to\phi \jpsi)<41 \hbox{eV} for $J^P=0^+$ or $<6.0 \hbox{eV}$ for $J^P=2^+$ are determined at the 90% C.L. This disfavors the scenario in which the Y(4140) is a $D_{s}^{\ast+} {D}_{s}^{\ast-}$ molecule.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, publication in Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 112004, 201