We report a measurement of the top quark mass, M{sub t}, in the dilepton decay channel of t{bar t} {yields} b{ell}{prime}{sup +} {nu}{sub {ell}}, {bar b}{ell}{sup -}{bar {nu}}{sub {ell}} using an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb{sup -1} of p{bar p} collisions collected with the CDF II detector. We apply a method that convolutes a leading-order matrix element with detector resolution functions to form event-by-event likelihoods; we have enhanced the leading-order description to describe the effects of initial-state radiation. The joint likelihood is the product of the likelihoods from 78 candidate events in this sample, which yields a measurement of M{sub t} = 164.5 {+-} 3.9(stat.) {+-} 3.9(syst.) GeV/c{sup 2}, the most precise measurement of M{sub t} in the dilepton channel.

A search for a manifestly exotic S = -2 baryon state decaying to {Xi}{sup -}{pi}{sup -}, and its neutral partner decaying to {Xi}{sup -}{pi}{sup +}, has been performed using 220 pb{sup -1} of p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV collected by the Collider Detector at Fermilab. The {Xi}{sup -} trajectories were measured in a silicon tracker before their decay, resulting in a sample with low background and excellent position resolution. No evidence was found for S = -2 pentaquark candidates in the invariant mass range of 1600-2100 MeV/c{sup 2}. Upper limits on the product of pentaquark production cross section times its branching fraction to {Xi}{sup -}{pi}{sup +,-}, relative to the cross section of the well established {Xi}(1530) resonance, are presented for neutral and doubly negative candidates with p{sub T} > 2 GeV/c and |y| < 1 as a function of pentaquark mass. At 1862 MeV/c{sup 2}, these upper limits for neutral and doubly negative final states were found to be 3.2% and 1.7% at the 90% confidence level, respectively.

The authors report an upper limit on the fraction of V + A current, f{sub V+A}, in top quark decays, using approximately 700 pb{sup -1} of p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV acquired by the upgraded Collider Detector at Fermilab. For the decay t {yields} wb {yields} {ell}vb (where {ell} = e or {mu}), the invariant mass of the charged lepton and the bottom quark jet is sensitive to the polarization of the W boson. They determine f{sub V+A} = -0.06 {+-} 0.25 given a top quark mass of 175 GeV/c{sup 2}. They set an upper limit on f{sub V+A} of 0.29 at the 95% confidence level, which represents an improvement by a factor of two on the previous best direct limit.

The authors report an upper limit on the fraction of V + A current, f{sub V+A}, in top quark decays, using approximately 700 pb{sup -1} of p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV acquired by the upgraded Collider Detector at Fermilab. For the decay t {yields} Wb {yields} {ell}{nu}b (where {ell} = e or {mu}), the invariant mass of the charged lepton and the bottom quark jet is sensitive to the polarization of the W boson. They determine f{sub V+A} = -0.06 {+-} 0.25 given a top quark mass of 175 GeV/c{sup 2}. They set an upper limit on f{sub V+A} of 0.29 at the 95% confidence level, which represents an improvement by a factor of two on the previous best direct limit.

The authors present the results of a search for W{prime} boson decaying to electron-neutrino pairs in p{bar p} collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV, using a data sample corresponding to 205 pb{sup -1} of integrated luminosity collected by the CDF II detector at Fermilab. They observe no evidence for this decay mode and set limits on the production cross section times branching fraction, assuming the neutrinos from W{prime} boson decays to be light. If they assume the manifest left-right symmetric model, they exclude a W{prime} boson with mass less than 788 GeV/c{sup 2} at the 95% confidence level.

The authors report a measurement of the t{bar t} production cross section using the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. The analysis is performed using 311 pb{sup -1} of p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV. The data consist of events selected with six or more hadronic jets with additional kinematic requirements. At least one of these jets must be identified as a b-quark jet by the reconstruction of a secondary vertex. The cross section is measured to be {sigma}{sub t{bar t}} = 7.5 {+-} 2.1(stat.){sub -2.2}{sup +3.3}(syst.){sub -0.4}{sup +0.5}(lumi.) pb, which is consistent with the standard model prediction.

The authors report the observation of B{sub s}{sup 0}-{bar B}{sub s}{sup 0} oscillations from a time-dependent measurement of the B{sub s}{sup 0}-{bar B}{sub s}{sup 0} oscillation frequency {Delta}m{sub s}. Using a data sample of 1 fb{sup -1} of p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV collected with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron, they find signals of 5600 fully reconstructed hadronic B{sub s} decays, 3100 partially reconstructed hadronic B{sub s} decays, and 61,500 partially reconstructed semileptonic B{sub s} decays. They measure the probability as a function of proper decay time that the B{sub s} decays with the same, or opposite, flavor as the flavor at production, and they find a signal for B{sub s}{sup 0}-{bar B}{sub s}{sup 0} oscillations. The probability that random fluctuations could produce a comparable signal is 8 x 10{sup -8}, which exceeds 5{sigma} significance. They measure {Delta}m{sub s} = 17.77 {+-} 0.10(stat) {+-} 0.07(syst) ps{sup -1} and extract |V{sub td}/V{sub ts}| = 0.2050 {+-} 0.0007(exp{sub -0.0060}{sup +0.0081})(theor).

The CDF II Extremely Fast Tracker is the trigger track processor which reconstructs charged particle tracks in the transverse plane of the CDF II central outer tracking chamber. The system is now being upgraded to perform a three dimensional track reconstruction. A review of the upgrade is presented here.

We have developed an artificial neural network (ANN) based combustion model and have integrated it into a fluid mechanics code (KIVA3V) to produce a new analysis tool (titled KIVA3V-ANN) that can yield accurate HCCI predictions at very low computational cost. The neural network predicts ignition delay as a function of operating parameters (temperature, pressure, equivalence ratio and residual gas fraction). KIVA3V-ANN keeps track of the time history of the ignition delay during the engine cycle to evaluate the ignition integral and predict ignition for each computational cell. After a cell ignites, chemistry becomes active, and a two-step chemical kinetic mechanism predicts composition and heat generation in the ignited cells. KIVA3V-ANN has been validated by comparison with isooctane HCCI experiments in two different engines. The neural network provides reasonable predictions for HCCI combustion and emissions that, although typically not as good as obtained with the more physically representative multi-zone model, are obtained at a much reduced computational cost. KIVA3V-ANN can perform reasonably accurate HCCI calculations while requiring only 10% more computational effort than a motored KIVA3V run. It is therefore considered a valuable tool for evaluation of engine maps or other performance analysis tasks requiring multiple individual runs.

Article on phase change enthalpies and entropies of liquid crystals.

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We present the scaling properties of Lambda, Xi, and their anti-particles produced at mid-rapidity in Au+Au collisions at RHIC at psNN = 200 GeV. The yield of multi-strange baryons per participant nucleon increases from peripheral to central collisions more rapidly than the Lambda yield, which appears to correspond to an increasing strange quark density of matter produced. The value of the strange phase space occupancy factor gamma s, obtained from a thermal model fit to the data, approaches unity for the most central collisions. We also show that the nuclear modification factors, RCP, of Lambda and Xi are consistent with each other and with that of protons in the transverse momentum range2.0< pT< 5.0 GeV/c. This scaling behaviour is consistent with a scenario of hadron formation from constituent quark degrees of freedom through quark recombination or coalescence.

Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) performed pilot-scale hydraulic/chemical testing of spherical resorcinol formaldehyde (RF) ion exchange (IX) resin for the River Protection Project-Hanford Tank Waste Treatment & Immobilization Plant (WTP) Project. The RF resin cycle testing was conducted in two pilot-scale IX columns, 1/4 and 1/2 scale. A total of twenty-three hydraulic/chemical cycles were successfully completed on the spherical RF resin. Seven of the cycles were completed in the 12 inch IX Column and sixteen cycles were completed in the 24 inch IX Column. Hydraulic testing showed that the permeability of the RF resin remained essentially constant, with no observed trend in the reduction of the permeability as the number of cycles increased. The permeability during the pilot-scale testing was 2 1/2 times better than the design requirements of the WTP full-scale system. The permeability of the resin bed was uniform with respect to changes in bed depth. Upflow Regeneration and Simulant Introduction in the IX columns revealed another RF resin benefit; negligible radial pressures to the column walls from the swelling of resin beads. In downflow of the Regeneration and Simulant Introduction steps, the resin bed particles pack tightly together and produce higher hydraulic pressures than that found in …

Since the ITRP recommendation in August 2004 to use superconducting rf technology for a next generation linear collider, the former NLC Group at SLAC has been actively pursuing a broad range of R&D for this collider (the ILC). In this paper, the programs concerning linac technology are reviewed. Current activities include the development of a Marx-style modulator and a 10 MW sheet-beam klystron, operation of an L-band (1.3 GHz) rf source using an SNS HVCM modulator and commercial klystrons, design of a more efficient and less costly rf distribution system, construction of a coupler component test stand, fabrication of a prototype positron capture cavity, beam tests of prototype S-band linac beam position monitors and preparations for magnetic center stability measurements of a prototype SC linac quad.

We construct metastable configurations of branes and anti-branes wrapping 2-spheres inside local Calabi-Yau manifolds and study their large N duals. These duals are Calabi-Yau manifolds in which the wrapped 2-spheres have been replaced by 3-spheres with flux through them, and supersymmetry is spontaneously broken. The geometry of the non-supersymmetric vacuum is exactly calculable to all orders of the't Hooft parameter, and to the leading order in 1/N. The computation utilizes the same matrix model techniques that were used in the supersymmetric context. This provides a novel mechanism for breaking supersymmetry in the context of flux compactifications.

We study production of Kaluza-Klein gluons (KKG) at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in the framework of a warped extra dimension with the Standard Model (SM) fields propagating in the bulk. We show that the detection of KK gluon is challenging since its production is suppressed by small couplings to the proton's constituents. Moreover, the KK gluon decaysmostly to top pairs due to an enhanced coupling and hence is broad. Nevertheless, we demonstrate that for MKKG<~;; 4 TeV, 100 fb-1 of data at the LHC can provide discovery of the KK gluon. We utilize a sizeable left-right polarization asymmetry from the KK gluon resonance to maximize the signal significance, and we explore the novel feature of extremely highly energetic"top-jets." We briefly discuss how the detection of electroweak gauge KK states (Z/W) faces a similar challenge since their leptonic decays ("golden" modes) are suppressed. Our analysis suggests that other frameworks, for example little Higgs, which rely on UV completion via strong dynamics might face similar challenges, namely (1) Suppressed production rates for the new particles (such as Z'), due to their"lightfermion-phobic" nature, and (2) Difficulties in detection since the new particles are broad and decay predominantly to third generation quarks and …

We study top quark flavor violation in the framework of a warped extra dimension with the Standard Model (SM) fields propagating in the bulk. Such a scenario provides solutions to both the Planck-weak hierarchy problem and the flavor puzzle of the SM without inducing a flavor problem. We find that, generically, tcZ couplings receive a huge enhancement, in particular the right handed ones can be {Omicron}(1%). This results in BR (t {yields} cZ) at or above the sensitivity of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). At the International Linear Collider (ILC), single top production, via e{sup +}e{sup -} {yields} t{bar c}, can be a striking signal for this scenario. In particular, it represents a physics topic of critical importance that can be explored even with a relatively low energy option, close to the tc threshold. At both the LHC and the ILC, angular distributions can probe the above prediction of dominance of right-handed couplings.

Ultraviolet resonance Raman spectroscopy (UVRRS) using 244nm excitation was used to investigate the impact of aging on humandentin. The intensity of a spectroscopic feature from the peptide bondsin the collagen increases with tissue age, similar to a finding reportedpreviously for human cortical bone.

From a public health perspective, developing a detailed mechanistic understanding of the well-known increase in fracture risk of human bone with age is essential. This also represents a challenge from materials science and fracture mechanics viewpoints. Bone has a complex, hierarchical structure with characteristic features ranging from nanometer to macroscopic dimensions; it is therefore significantly more complex than most engineering materials. Nevertheless, by examining the micro-/nano-structural changes accompanying the process of aging using appropriate multiscale experimental methods and relating them to fracture mechanics data, it is possible to obtain a quantitative picture of how bone resists fracture. As human cortical bone exhibits rising ex vivo crack-growth resistance with crack extension, its fracture toughness must be evaluated in terms of resistance-curve (R-curve) behavior. While the crack initiation toughness declines with age, the more striking finding is that the crack-growth toughness declines even more significantly and is essentially absent in bone from donors exceeding 85 years in age. To explain such an age-induced deterioration in the toughness of bone, we evaluate its fracture properties at multiple length scales, specifically at the molecular and nanodimensions using pico-force atomic-force microscopy, nanoindentation and vibrational spectroscopies, at the microscale using electron microscopy and hard/soft x-ray computed …

Data from the Pierre Auger Observatory are analyzed to search for anisotropies near the direction of the Galactic Centre at EeV energies. The exposure of the surface array in this part of the sky is already significantly larger than that of the fore-runner experiments. Our results do not support previous findings of localized excesses in the AGASA and SUGAR data. We set an upper bound on a point-like flux of cosmic rays arriving from the Galactic Centre which excludes several scenarios predicting sources of EeV neutrons from Sagittarius A. Also the events detected simultaneously by the surface and fluorescence detectors (the ''hybrid'' data set), which have better pointing accuracy but are less numerous than those of the surface array alone, do not show any significant localized excess from this direction.

We present a combined analysis of all publicly available, visible HST observations of transits of the planet HD 209458b. We derive the times of transit, planet radius, inclination, period, and ephemeris. The transit times are then used to constrain the existence of secondary planets in the system. We show that planets near an Earth mass can be ruled out in low-order mean-motion resonance, while planets less than an Earth mass are ruled out in interior, 2:1 resonance. We also present a combined analysis of the transit times and 68 high precision radial velocity measurements of the system. These results are compared to theoretical predictions for the constraints that can be placed on secondary planets.

The accurate measurement of neutron-capture cross sections of the Eu isotopes is important for many reasons including nuclear astrophysics and nuclear diagnostics. Neutron capture excitation functions of {sup 151,153}Eu targets were measured recently using a 4{pi} {gamma}-ray calorimeter array DANCE located at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center for E{sub n} = 0.1-100 keV. The progress on the data analysis efforts is given in the present paper. The {gamma}-ray multiplicity distributions for the Eu targets and Be backing are significantly different. The {gamma}-ray multiplicity distribution is found to be the same for different neutron energies for both {sup 151}Eu and {sup 153}Eu. The statistical simulation to model the {gamma}-ray decay cascade is summarized.

A search has been made for neutrinos from the hep reactionin the Sun and from the diffuse supernova neutrino background (DSNB)using data collected during the first operational phase of the SudburyNeutrino Observatory, with an exposure of 0.65 kilotonne-years. For thehep neutrino search, two events are observed in the effective electronenergy range of 14.3 MeV<Teff<20 MeV where 3.1 backgroundevents are expected. After accounting for neutrino oscillations, an upperlimit of 2.3 x 104 cm-2s-1 at the 90 percent confidence level is inferredon the integral total flux of hep neutrinos. For DSNB neutrinos, noevents are observed in the effective electron energy range of 21 MeV<Teff<35 MeV and, consequently, an upper limit on the nu e componentof the DSNB fluxin the neutrino energy range of 22.9 MeV<E nu<36.9 MeV of 70 cm-2-1 is inferred at the 90 percent confidence level.This is an improvement by a factor of 6.5 on the previous best upperlimit on the hep neutrino flux and by two orders of magnitude on theprevious upper limit on the nu e component of the DSNB flux.

Increased plasma triglycerides concentrations are an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Numerous studies support a reproducible genetic association between two minor haplotypes in the human apolipoprotein A5 gene (APOA5) and increased plasma triglyceride concentrations. We thus sought to investigate the effect of these minor haplotypes (APOA5*2 and APOA5*3) on ApoAV plasma levels through the precise insertion of single-copy intact APOA5 haplotypes at a targeted location in the mouse genome. While we found no difference in the amount of human plasma ApoAV in mice containing the common APOA5*1 and minor APOA5*2 haplotype, the introduction of the single APOA5*3 defining allele (19W) resulted in 3-fold lower ApoAV plasma levels consistent with existing genetic association studies. These results indicate that S19W polymorphism is likely to be functional and explain the strong association of this variant with plasma triglycerides supporting the value of sensitive in vivo assays to define the functional nature of human haplotypes.