An Investigation of Equivalence Principle Violations Using Solar Neutrino Oscillations in a Constant Gravitational Potential

Neutrino oscillations induced by a flavor-dependent violation of the Einstein Equivalence Principle (VEP) have been recently considered as a suitable explanation of the solar electron-neutrino deficiency. Unlike the MSW oscillation mechanism, the VEP mechanism is dependent on a coupling to the local background gravitational potential $\Phi$. We investigate the differences which arise by considering three-flavor VEP neutrinos oscillating against fixed background potentials, and against the radially-dependent solar potential. This can help determine the sensitivity of the gravitationally-induced oscillations to both constancy and size (order of magnitude) of $\Phi$. In particular, we consider the potential of the local superculster, $|\Phi|=3\times 10^{-5}$, in light of recent work suggesting that the varying solar potential has no effect on the oscillations. The possibility for arbitrarily large background potentials in different cosmologies is discussed, and the effects of one such potential ($\Phi = 10^{-3}$) are considered.Comment: 12pp, LaTeX; 12 figures (bitmapped postscript); Submitted to Phys Rev

Broadly reactive human CD8 T cells that recognize an epitope conserved between VZV, HSV and EBV

Human herpesviruses are important causes of potentially severe chronic infections for which T cells are believed to be necessary for control. In order to examine the role of virus-specific CD8 T cells against Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV), we generated a comprehensive panel of potential epitopes predicted in silico and screened for T cell responses in healthy VZV seropositive donors. We identified a dominant HLA-A*0201-restricted epitope in the VZV ribonucleotide reductase subunit 2 and used a tetramer to analyze the phenotype and function of epitope-specific CD8 T cells. Interestingly, CD8 T cells responding to this VZV epitope also recognized homologous epitopes, not only in the other α-herpesviruses, HSV-1 and HSV-2, but also the γ-herpesvirus, EBV. Responses against these epitopes did not depend on previous infection with the originating virus, thus indicating the cross-reactive nature of this T cell population. Between individuals, the cells demonstrated marked phenotypic heterogeneity. This was associated with differences in functional capacity related to increased inhibitory receptor expression (including PD-1) along with decreased expression of co-stimulatory molecules that potentially reflected their stimulation history. Vaccination with the live attenuated Zostavax vaccine did not efficiently stimulate a proliferative response in this epitope-specific population. Thus, we identified a human CD8 T cell epitope that is conserved in four clinically important herpesviruses but that was poorly boosted by the current adult VZV vaccine. We discuss the concept of a “pan-herpesvirus” vaccine that this discovery raises and the hurdles that may need to be overcome in order to achieve this

University of California Radiation Laboratory Report UCRL-4146

Abstract: A device is proposed for confining charged particles to a localized region of space by means of the alternating electric field of a resonant cavity. The motion of single electrons in the field is stable. The limitations to particle density and temperature are discussed, and found to be too severe to allow the device to serve as a reactor, although it might be a useful laboratory tool

A Separated 1.17-Bev/c K- Meson Beam

This report describes the design and testing of a 1.17-Bev/c separated K{sup -} beam designed in the fall of 1958 in connection with a 15-in. hydrogen bubble chamber experiment. At the target the K{sup -}/{pi}{sup -} ratio was 1/140. At the chamber, after two stages of electromagnetic separation and 4.0 K{sup -}-meson decay lengths, the K{sup -}/{pi}{sup -} ratio was 12.5, corresponding to a total pion suppression by a factor of about 10{sup 5}. The K flux at the chamber was 0.87 K{sup -} per 10 protons on the target

A Separated 1.17-Bev/c K- Meson Beam

This report describes the design and testing of a 1.17-Bev/c separated K{sup -} beam designed in the fall of 1958 in connection with a 15-in. hydrogen bubble chamber experiment. At the target the K{sup -}/{pi}{sup -} ratio was 1/140. At the chamber, 4.0 K{sup -}-meson decay lengths from the target, and after two stages of electromagnetic separation, the K{sup -}/{pi}{sup -} ratio was 12.5, corresponding to a total pion suppression by a factor of about 10{sup 5}. The K{sup -} flux at the chamber was 0.87 K{sup -} mesons per 10{sup 10} protons impinging on the target

University of California Radiation Laboratory Report UCRL-8878

This report describes the design and testing of a 1.17-Bev/c separated K{sup -} beam designed in the fall of 1958 in connection with a 15-in. hydrogen bubble chamber experiment