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Pierre Auger Collaboration(Abreu, P. et al), & Pastor, S. (2012). Search for Point-like Sources of Ultra-high Energy Neutrinos at the Pierre Auger Observatory and Improved Limit on the Diffuse Flux of Tau Neutrinos. Astrophys. J. Lett., 755(1), L4–7pp.
Abstract: The surface detector array of the Pierre Auger Observatory can detect neutrinos with energy E-nu between 10(17) eV and 10(20) eV from point-like sources across the sky south of +55 degrees and north of -65 degrees declinations. A search has been performed for highly inclined extensive air showers produced by the interaction of neutrinos of all flavors in the atmosphere (downward-going neutrinos), and by the decay of tau leptons originating from tau neutrino interactions in Earth's crust (Earth-skimming neutrinos). No candidate neutrinos have been found in data up to 2010 May 31. This corresponds to an equivalent exposure of similar to 3.5 years of a full surface detector array for the Earth-skimming channel and similar to 2 years for the downward-going channel. An improved upper limit on the diffuse flux of tau neutrinos has been derived. Upper limits on the neutrino flux from point-like sources have been derived as a function of the source declination. Assuming a differential neutrino flux k(PS) . E-nu(-2). from a point-like source, 90% confidence level upper limits for k(PS) at the level of approximate to 5x10(-7) and 2.5x10(-6) GeV cm(-2) s(-1) have been obtained over a broad range of declinations from the searches for Earth-skimming and downward-going neutrinos, respectively.
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Archidiacono, M., Giusarma, E., Melchiorri, A., & Mena, O. (2012). Dark radiation in extended cosmological scenarios. Phys. Rev. D, 86(4), 043509–7pp.
Abstract: Recent cosmological data have provided evidence for a “dark” relativistic background at high statistical significance. Parameterized in terms of the number of relativistic degrees of freedom N-eff, however, the current data seem to indicate a higher value than the one expected in the standard scenario based on three active neutrinos. This dark radiation component can be characterized not only by its abundance but also by its clustering properties, as its effective sound speed and its viscosity parameter. It is therefore crucial to study the correlations among the dark radiation properties and key cosmological parameters, as the dark energy equation of state or the running of the scalar spectral index, with current and future cosmic microwave background data. We find that dark radiation with viscosity parameters different from their standard values may be misinterpreted as an evolving dark energy component or as a running spectral index in the power spectrum of primordial fluctuations.
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BABAR Collaboration(Lees, J. P. et al), Azzolini, V., Martinez-Vidal, F., & Oyanguren, A. (2012). Study of (B)over-bar -> X(u)l(v)over-bar decays in B(B)over-bar events tagged by a fully reconstructed B-meson decay and determination of vertical bar V-ub vertical bar. Phys. Rev. D, 86(3), 032004–23pp.
Abstract: We report measurements of partial branching fractions for inclusive charmless semileptonic B decays (B) over bar -> X(u)l (v) over bar and the determination of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix element vertical bar V-ub vertical bar. The analysis is based on a sample of 467 x 10(6) Y(4S) -> B (B) over bar decays recorded with the BABAR detector at the PEP- II e(+)e(-) storage rings. We select events in which the decay of one of the B mesons is fully reconstructed and an electron or a muon signals the semileptonic decay of the other B meson. We measure partial branching fractions Delta B in several restricted regions of phase space and determine the CKM element vertical bar V-ub vertical bar based on different QCD predictions. For decays with a charged lepton momentum p(l)* > 1.0 GeV in the B meson rest frame, we obtain Delta B = (1.80 +/- 0.13(stat) +/- 0.15(sys) +/- 0.02(theo)) x 10(-3) from a fit to the two-dimensional M-X – q(2) distribution. Here, M-X refers to the invariant mass of the final state hadron X and q(2) is the invariant mass squared of the charged lepton and neutrino. From this measurement we extract vertical bar V-ub vertical bar = (4.33 +/- 0.24(exp) +/- 0.15(theo)) x 10(-3) as the arithmetic average of four results obtained from four different QCD predictions of the partial rate. We separately determine partial branching fractions for (B) over bar (0) and B- decays and derive a limit on the isospin breaking in (B) over bar -> X(u)l (v) over bar decays.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Amoros, G., Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Costa, M. J., Ferrer, A., et al. (2012). Measurement of the azimuthal anisotropy for charged particle production in root s(NN)=2.76 TeV lead-lead collisions with the ATLAS detector. Phys. Rev. C, 86(1), 014907–41pp.
Abstract: Differential measurements of charged particle azimuthal anisotropy are presented for lead-lead collisions at root sNN = 2.76 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC, based on an integrated luminosity of approximately 8 μb(-1). This anisotropy is characterized via a Fourier expansion of the distribution of charged particles in azimuthal angle relative to the reaction plane, with the coefficients v(n) denoting the magnitude of the anisotropy. Significant v(2)-v(6) values are obtained as a function of transverse momentum (0.5 < p(T) < 20 GeV), pseudorapidity (|eta| < 2.5), and centrality using an event plane method. The v(n) values for n >= 3 are found to vary weakly with both eta and centrality, and their p(T) dependencies are found to follow an approximate scaling relation, v(n)(1/n)(p(T)) proportional to v(2)(1/2)(p(T)), except in the top 5% most central collisions. A Fourier analysis of the charged particle pair distribution in relative azimuthal angle (Delta phi = phi(a)-phi(b)) is performed to extract the coefficients v(n,n) = < cos n Delta phi >. For pairs of charged particles with a large pseudorapidity gap (|Delta eta = eta(a) – eta(b)| > 2) and one particle with p(T) < 3 GeV, the v(2,2)-v(6,6) values are found to factorize as v(n,n)(p(T)(a), p(T)(b)) approximate to v(n) (p(T)(a))v(n)(p(T)(b)) in central and midcentral events. Such factorization suggests that these values of v(2,2)-v(6,6) are primarily attributable to the response of the created matter to the fluctuations in the geometry of the initial state. A detailed study shows that the v(1,1)(p(T)(a), p(T)(b)) data are consistent with the combined contributions from a rapidity-even v(1) and global momentum conservation. A two-component fit is used to extract the v(1) contribution. The extracted v(1) isobserved to cross zero at pT approximate to 1.0 GeV, reaches a maximum at 4-5 GeV with a value comparable to that for v(3), and decreases at higher p(T).
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BABAR Collaboration(Lees, J. P. et al), Martinez-Vidal, F., & Oyanguren, A. (2012). Search for the decay modes D-0 -> e(+) e(-), D-0 -> mu(+) mu(-), and D-0 -> e(+/-) μ-/+. Phys. Rev. D, 86(3), 032001–10pp.
Abstract: We present searches for the rare decay modes D-0 -> e(+) e(-), D-0 -> mu(+) mu(-), and D-0 -> e(+/-) mu(-/+) in continuum e(+) e(-) -> c (c) over bar events recorded by the BABAR detector in a data sample that corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 468 fb(-1). These decays are highly Glashow-Iliopoulos-Maiani suppressed but may be enhanced in several extensions of the standard model. Our observed event yields are consistent with the expected backgrounds. An excess is seen in the D-0 -> mu(+) mu(-) channel, although the observed yield is consistent with an upward background fluctuation at the 5% level. Using the Feldman-Cousins method, we set the following 90% confidence level intervals on the branching fractions: B(D-0 -> e(+) e(-)) < 1.7 x 10(-7), B(D-0 -> mu(+) mu(-)) within [0.6,8.1] x 10(-7), and B(D-0 -> e(+/-) mu(-/+)) < 3.3 x 10(-7).
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