Pierre Auger Collaboration(Aab, A. et al), & Pastor, S. (2014). A search for point sources of EeV photons. Astrophys. J., 789(2), 160–12pp.
Abstract: Measurements of air showers made using the hybrid technique developed with the fluorescence and surface detectors of the Pierre Auger Observatory allow a sensitive search for point sources of EeV photons anywhere in the exposed sky. A multivariate analysis reduces the background of hadronic cosmic rays. The search is sensitive to a declination band from -85 degrees to +20 degrees, in an energy range from 10(17.3) eV to 10(18.5) eV. No photon point source has been detected. An upper limit on the photon flux has been derived for every direction. The mean value of the energy flux limit that results from this, assuming a photon spectral index of -2, is 0.06 eV cm(-2) s(-1), and no celestial direction exceeds 0.25 eV cm(-2) s(-1). These upper limits constrain scenarios in which EeV cosmic ray protons are emitted by non-transient sources in the Galaxy.
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Hernandez, P., Kekic, M., & Lopez-Pavon, J. (2014). N_eff in low-scale seesaw models versus the lightest neutrino mass. Phys. Rev. D, 90(6), 065033–12pp.
Abstract: We evaluate the contribution to N_eff of the extra sterile states in low-scale type I seesaw models (with three extra sterile states). We explore the full parameter space and find that at least two of the heavy states always reach thermalization in the early Universe, while the third one might not thermalize provided the lightest neutrino mass is below O(10(-3) eV). Constraints from cosmology therefore severely restrict the spectra of heavy states in the range 1 eV-100 MeV. The implications for neutrinoless double beta decay are also discussed.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Costa, M. J., Fassi, F., Ferrer, A., et al. (2014). Measurement of inclusive jet charged-particle fragmentation functions in Pb plus Pb collisions at root S-NN=2.76 TeV with the ATLAS detector. Phys. Lett. B, 739, 320–342.
Abstract: Measurements of charged-particle fragmentation functions of jets produced in ultra-relativistic nuclear collisions can provide insight into the modification of parton showers in the hot, dense medium created in the collisions. ATLAS has measured jets in root S-NN = 2.76 TeV Pb+Pb collisions at the LHC using a data set recorded in 2011 with an integrated luminosity of 0.14 nb(-1). Jets were reconstructed using the anti-k(t) algorithm with distance parameter values R = 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4. Distributions of charged-particle transverse momentum and longitudinal momentum fraction are reported for seven bins in collision centrality for R = 0.4 jets with p(T)(jet) > 100 GeV. Commensurate minimum p(T) values are used for the other radii. Ratios of fragment distributions in each centrality bin to those measured in the most peripheral bin are presented. These ratios show a reduction of fragment yield in central collisions relative to peripheral collisions at intermediate z values, 0.04 less than or similar to z less than or similar to 0.2, and an enhancement in fragment yield for z less than or similar to 0.04. A smaller, less significant enhancement is observed at large z and large p(T) in central collisions.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Costa, M. J., Fassi, F., Ferrer, A., et al. (2014). Search for WZ resonances in the fully leptonic channel using pp collisions at root s=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector. Phys. Lett. B, 737, 223–243.
Abstract: A search for resonant WZ production in the l nu l'l' (l, l' = e, mu) decay channel using 20.3 fb(-1) of root s = 8 TeV pp collision data collected by the ATLAS experiment at LHC is presented. No significant deviation from the Standard Model prediction is observed and upper limits on the production cross sections of WZ resonances from an extended gauge model W' and from a simplified model of heavy vector triplets are derived. A corresponding observed (expected) lower mass limit of 1.52 (1.49) TeV is derived for the W' at the 95% confidence level. (C) 2014 CERN for the benefit of the ATLAS Collaboration.
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LHCb Collaboration(Aaij, R. et al), Martinez-Vidal, F., Oyanguren, A., Ruiz Valls, P., & Sanchez Mayordomo, C. (2014). First Measurement of the Charge Asymmetry in Beauty-Quark Pair Production. Phys. Rev. Lett., 113(8), 082003–9pp.
Abstract: The difference in the angular distributions between beauty quarks and antiquarks, referred to as the charge asymmetry, is measured for the first time in b (b) over bar pair production at a hadron collider. The data used correspond to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb(-1) collected at 7 TeV center-of-mass energy in proton-proton collisions with the LHCb detector. The measurement is performed in three regions of the invariant mass of the b (b) over bar system. The results obtained are A(C)(b (b) over bar) (40 < M-b<(b)over bar> < 75 GeV/c(2)) = 0.4 +/- 0.4 +/- 0.3%, A(C)(b (b) over bar) (75 < M-b<(b)over bar> < 105 GeV/c(2)) = 2.0 +/- 0.9 +/- 0.6%, A(C)(b (b) over bar) (M-b (b) over bar > 10(5) GeV/c(2)) = 1.6 +/- 1.7 +/- 0.6%,where A(C)(b (b) over bar) is defined as the asymmetry in the difference in rapidity between jets formed from the beauty quark and antiquark, where in each case the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The beauty jets are required to satisfy 2 < eta < 4, E-T > 20 GeV, and have an opening angle in the transverse plane Delta phi > 2.6 rad. These measurements are consistent with the predictions of the standard model.
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