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Donini, A., Hernandez, P., Lopez-Pavon, J., & Maltoni, M. (2011). Minimal models with light sterile neutrinos. J. High Energy Phys., 07(7), 105.
Abstract: We study the constraints imposed by neutrino oscillation experiments on the minimal extensions of the Standard Model (SM) with n(R) gauge singlet fermions (“right-handed neutrinos”), that can account for neutrino masses. We consider the most general coupling of the new fields to the SM fields, in particular those that break lepton number and we do not assume any a priori hierarchy in the mass parameters. We proceed to analyze these models starting from the lowest level of complexity, defined by the number of extra fermionic degrees of freedom. The simplest choice that has enough free parameters in principle (i.e. two mass differences and two angles) to explain the confirmed solar and atmospheric oscillations corresponds to n(R) = 1. This minimal choice is shown to be excluded by data. The next-to-minimal choice corresponds to n(R) = 2. We perform a systematic study of the full parameter space in the limit of degenerate Majorana masses by requiring that at least two neutrino mass differences correspond to those established by solar and atmospheric oscillations. We identify several types of spectra that can fit long-baseline reactor and accelerator neutrino oscillation data, but fail in explaining solar and/or atmospheric data. The only two solutions that survive are the expected seesaw and quasi-Dirac regions, for which we set lower and upper bounds respectively on the Majorana mass scale. Solar data from neutral current measurements provide essential information to constrain the quasi-Dirac region. The possibility to accommodate the LSND/MiniBoone and reactor anomalies, and the implications for neutrinoless double-beta decay and tritium beta decay are briefly discussed.
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Bertolini, S., Di Luzio, L., & Malinsky, M. (2011). Minimal flipped SO(10) x U(1) supersymmetric Higgs model. Phys. Rev. D, 83(3), 035002–28pp.
Abstract: We investigate the conditions on the Higgs sector that allow supersymmetric SO(10) grand unified theories to break spontaneously to the standard electroweak model at the renormalizable level. If one considers Higgs representations of dimension up to the adjoint, a supersymmetric standard model vacuum requires, in most cases, the presence of nonrenormalizable operators. The active role of Planck-induced nonrenormalizable operators in the breaking of the gauge symmetry introduces a hierarchy in the mass spectrum at the grand unified theory scale that may be an issue for gauge unification and proton decay. We show that the minimal Higgs scenario that allows for a renormalizable breaking to the standard model is obtained by considering flipped SO(10) circle times U(1) with one adjoint (45(H)) and two pairs of 16(H) circle plus (16) over bar (H) Higgs representations. We consider a nonanomalous matter content and discuss the embedding of the model in an E-6 grand unified scenario just above the flipped SO(10) scale.
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Cases, R., Ros, E., & Zuñiga, J. (2011). Measuring radon concentration in air using a diffusion cloud chamber. Am. J. Phys., 79(9), 903–908.
Abstract: Radon concentration in air is a major concern in lung cancer studies. A traditional technique used to measure radon abundance is the charcoal canister method. We propose a novel technique using a diffusion cloud chamber. This technique is simpler and can easily be used for physics demonstrations for high school and university students.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Amoros, G., Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Costa, M. J., Escobar, C., et al. (2011). Measurements of underlying-event properties using neutral and charged particles in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 900 GeV and sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Eur. Phys. J. C, 71(5), 1636–24pp.
Abstract: We present first measurements of charged and neutral particle-flow correlations in pp collisions using the ATLAS calorimeters. Data were collected in 2009 and 2010 at centre-of-mass energies of 900 GeV and 7 TeV. Events were selected using a minimum-bias trigger which required a charged particle in scintillation counters on either side of the interaction point. Particle flows, sensitive to the underlying event, are measured using clusters of energy in the ATLAS calorimeters, taking advantage of their fine granularity. No Monte Carlo generator used in this analysis can accurately describe the measurements. The results are independent of those based on charged particles measured by the ATLAS tracking systems and can be used to constrain the parameters of Monte Carlo generators.
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BABAR Collaboration(del Amo Sanchez, P. et al), Lopez-March, N., Martinez-Vidal, F., & Oyanguren, A. (2011). Measurements of branching fractions, polarizations, and direct CP-violation asymmetries in B+ -> rho K-0*(+) and B+ -> f(0)(980)K*(+) decays. Phys. Rev. D, 83(5), 051101–8pp.
Abstract: We present measurements of the branching fractions, longitudinal polarization, and direct CP-violation asymmetries for the decays B+ -> rho K-0*(+) and B+ -> f(0)(980)K*(+) with a sample of (467 +/- 5) x 10(6)B (B) over bar pairs collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy e(+)e(-) collider at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. We observe B+ -> rho K-0*(+) with a significance of 5: 3 sigma and measure the branching fraction B(B+ -> rho K-0*(+)) = (4.6 +/- 1.0 +/- 0.4) x 10(-6), the longitudinal polarization f(L) = 0.78 +/- 0.12 +/- 0.03, and the CP-violation asymmetry A(CP) = 0.31 +/- 0.13 +/- 0.03. We observe B+ -> f(0)(980)K*(+) and measure the branching fraction B(B+ -> f(0)(980)K*(+)) x B(f(0)(980) -> pi(+)pi(-)) = (4.2 +/- 0.6 +/- 0.3) x 10(-6) and the CP-violation asymmetry A(CP) = 0.15 +/- 0.12 +/- 0.03. The first uncertainty quoted is statistical and the second is systematic.
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