We present a search for decays of B mesons to final states with a b{sub 1} meson and a {rho} or K*(892) meson. The search is based on a data sample consisting of 465 million B{bar B} pairs collected by the BABAR detector at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. We do not observe any statistically significant signal. The upper limits we set on the branching fractions range from 1.4 to 8.0 x 10{sup -6} at the 90% confidence level (C.L.), including systematic uncertainties.

Searches for lepton-flavor-violating decays of a {tau} lepton to a lighter mass lepton and a photon have been performed with the entire dataset of (963 {+-} 7) x 10{sup 6} {tau} decays collected by the BABAR detector near the {Upsilon}(4S), {Upsilon}(3S) and {Upsilon}(2S) resonances. The searches yield no evidence of signals and they set upper limits on the branching fractions of {Beta}({tau}{sup {+-}} {yields} e{sup {+-}}{gamma}) < 3.3 x 10{sup -8} and {Beta}({tau}{sup {+-}} {yields} {mu}{sup {+-}}{gamma}) < 4.4 x 10{sup -8} at 90% confidence level.

SLAC recently commissioned forty high availability (HA) magnet power supplies for Japan's ATF2 project. SLAC is now developing a next-generation N+1 modular power supply with even better availability and versatility. The goal is to have unipolar and bipolar output capability. It has novel topology and components to achieve very low output voltage to drive superconducting magnets. A redundant, embedded, digital controller in each module provides increased bandwidth for use in beam-based alignment, and orbit correction systems. The controllers have independent inputs for connection to two external control nodes. Under fault conditions, they sense failures and isolate the modules. Power supply speed mitigates the effects of fault transients and obviates subsequent magnet standardization. Hot swap capability promises higher availability and other exciting benefits for future, more complex, accelerators, and eventually the International Linear Collider project.

An IGBT based over-current protection system has been developed to detect faults and limit the damage caused by faults in high voltage converter modulators. During normal operation, an IGBT enables energy to be transferred from storage capacitors to a H-bridge. When a fault occurs, the over-current protection system detects the fault, limits the fault current and opens the IGBT to isolate the remaining stored energy from the fault. This paper presents an experimental verification of the over-current protection system under applicable conditions.

Fixed-target experiments are ideally suited for discovering new MeV-GeV mass U(1) gauge bosons through their kinetic mixing with the photon. In this paper, we identify the production and decay properties of new light gauge bosons that dictate fixed-target search strategies. We summarize existing limits and suggest five new experimental approaches that we anticipate can cover most of the natural parameter space, using currently operating GeV-energy beams and well-established detection methods. Such experiments are particularly timely in light of recent terrestrial and astrophysical anomalies (PAMELA, FERMI, DAMA/LIBRA, etc.) consistent with dark matter charged under a new gauge force.

Single-pulse coherent diffraction patterns have been collected from randomly injected single particles with a soft X-ray free-electron laser (FEL). The intense focused FEL pulse gives a high-resolution low-noise coherent diffraction pattern of the object before that object turns into a plasma and explodes. A diffraction pattern of a single particle will only be recorded when the particle arrival into the FEL interaction region coincides with FEL pulse arrival and detector integration. The properties of the experimental apparatus coinciding with these three events set the data acquisition rate. For our single particle FLASH diffraction imaging experiments: (1) an aerodynamic lens stack prepared a particle beam that consisted of particles moving at 150-200 m/s positioned randomly in space and time, (2) the 10 fs long FEL pulses were delivered at a fixed rate, and (3) the detector was set to integrate and readout once every two seconds. The effect of these experimental parameters on the rate of data acquisition using randomly injected particles will be discussed. Overall, the ultrashort FEL pulses do not set the limit of the data acquisition, more important is the effective interaction time of the particle crossing the FEL focus, the pulse sequence structure and the detector readout …

INSPIRE is a new community resource for HEP literature and associated information. It is based on the combination of SPIRES content and features and the powerful Invenio software developed at CERN. The INSPIRE service will come online in fall of 2009, and be run by CERN, DESY, Fermilab and SLAC. Data preservation, to be successful, must not only preserve the data, but must also organize it and allow it to be found by those who would make use of it, and resources such as INSPIRE are ideally positioned and ready to provide this organization and context. In addition, INSPIRE will soon be ready to provide storage of smaller datasets, such as high-level analysis objects, as stand-alone objects placed in the repository or as objects associated with an analysis paper. This small project could pave the way towards the context and organization which is one piece of the infrastructure needed for all levels of data preservation.

The organization of this thesis consists of three main ideas: the first presents the theoretical framework and experimental, as well as objects used in the analysis and the second relates to the various work tasks of service that I performed on the calorimeter, and the third is the search for the Higgs boson in the channel ZH → e⁺e^-b$\bar{b}$. Thus, this thesis has the following structure: Chapter 1 is an introduction to the standard model of particle physics and the Higgs mechanism; Chapter 2 is an overview of the complex and the acceleration of the Tevatron at Fermilab DØ detector; Chapter 3 is an introduction to physical objects used in this thesis; Chapter 4 presents the study made on correcting the energy measured in the calorimeter; Chapter 5 describes the study of certification of electrons in the calorimeter; Chapter 6 describes the study of certification of electrons in the intercryostat region of calorimeter; Chapter 7 Detailed analysis on the search for Higgs production in the channel ZH → e⁺e^-b$\bar{b}$; and Chapter 8 presents the final results of the calculations of upper limits to the production cross section of the Higgs boson on a range of low masses.

The authors present a search for the decay B{sup +} {yields} {ell}{sup +}{nu}{sub {ell}} ({ell} = {tau}, {mu}, or e) in (458.9 {+-} 5.1) x 10{sup 6} {Upsilon}(4S) decays recorded with the BABAR detector at the SLAC PEP-II B-Factory. A sample of events with one reconstructed exclusive semi-leptonic B decay (B{sup -} {yields} D{sup 0}{ell}{sup -}{bar {nu}}X) is selected, and in the recoil a search for B{sup +} {yields} {ell}{sup +}{nu}{sub {ell}} signal is performed. The {tau} is identified in the following channels: {tau}{sup +} {yields} e{sup +}{nu}{sub e}{bar {nu}}{sub {tau}}, {tau}{sup +} {yields} {mu}{sup +}{nu}{sub {mu}}{bar {nu}}{sub {tau}}, {tau}{sup +} {yields} {pi}{sup +}{bar {nu}}{sub {tau}}, and {tau}{sup +} {yields} {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup 0}{bar {nu}}{sub {tau}}. The analysis strategy and the statistical procedure is set up for branching fraction extraction or upper limit determination. They determine from the dataset a preliminary measurement of {Beta}(B{sup +} {yields} {tau}{sup +}{nu}{sub {tau}}) = (1.8 {+-} 0.8 {+-} 0.1) x 10{sup -4}, which excludes zero at 2.4{sigma}, and f{sub B} = 255 {+-} 58 MeV. Combination with the hadronically tagged measurement yields {Beta}(B{sup +} {yields} {tau}{sup +}{nu}{sub {tau}}) = (1.8 {+-} 0.6) x 10{sup -4}. They also set preliminary limits on the branching fractions at …

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Discoveries at the LHC will soon set the physics agenda for future colliders. This report of a CERN Theory Institute includes the summaries of Working Groups that reviewed the physics goals and prospects of LHC running with 10 to 300 fb{sup -1} of integrated luminosity, of the proposed sLHC luminosity upgrade, of the ILC, of CLIC, of the LHeC and of a muon collider. The four Working Groups considered possible scenarios for the first 10 fb{sup -1} of data at the LHC in which (i) a state with properties that are compatible with a Higgs boson is discovered, (ii) no such state is discovered either because the Higgs properties are such that it is difficult to detect or because no Higgs boson exists, (iii) a missing-energy signal beyond the Standard Model is discovered as in some supersymmetric models, and (iv) some other exotic signature of new physics is discovered. In the contexts of these scenarios, theWorking Groups reviewed the capabilities of the future colliders to study in more detail whatever new physics may be discovered by the LHC. Their reports provide the particle physics community with some tools for reviewing the scientific priorities for future colliders after the LHC produces …

This presentation summarizes Effect of System and Air Contaminants on PEMFC Performance and Durability.

This presentation is a summary of a Novel Approach to Advanced Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Anode Catalysts.

We describe an experiment to search for a new vector boson A' with weak coupling {alpha}' {approx}> 6 x 10{sup -8} {alpha} to electrons ({alpha} = e{sup 2}/4{pi}) in the mass range 65 MeV < m{sub A'} < 550 MeV. New vector bosons with such small couplings arise naturally from a small kinetic mixing of the 'dark photon' A' with the photon - one of the very few ways in which new forces can couple to the Standard Model - and have received considerable attention as an explanation of various dark matter related anomalies. A' bosons are produced by radiation off an electron beam, and could appear as narrow resonances with small production cross-section in the trident e{sup +}e{sup -} spectrum. We summarize the experimental approach described in a proposal submitted to Jefferson Laboratory's PAC35, PR-10-009. This experiment, the A' Experiment (APEX), uses the electron beam of the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility at Jefferson Laboratory (CEBAF) at energies of {approx} 1-4 GeV incident on 0.5-10% radiation length Tungsten wire mesh targets, and measures the resulting e{sup +}e{sup -} pairs to search for the A' using the High Resolution Spectrometer and the septum magnet in Hall A. With a {approx} …

The Gordon Research Conference on Multiphoton Processes will be held for the 15th time in 2010. The meeting continues to evolve as it embraces both the rapid technological and intellectual growth in the field as well as the multi-disciplinary expertise of the participants. This time the sessions will focus on: (1) Ultrafast coherent control; (2) Free-electron laser experiments and theory; (3) Generation of harmonics and attosecond pulses; (4) Ultrafast imaging; (5) Applications of very high intensity laser fields; (6) Strong-field processes in molecules and solids; (7) Attosecond science; and (8) Controlling light. The scientific program will blur traditional disciplinary boundaries as the presenters and discussion leaders involve chemists, physicists, and optical engineers, representing both experiment and theory. The broad range of expertise and different perspectives of attendees should provide a stimulating and unique environment for solving problems and developing new ideas in this rapidly evolving field.

Iron-sulfur (FeS) centers are essential for biology and inspirational in chemistry. These protein cofactors are broadly defined as active sites in which Fe is coordinated by S-donor ligands, often in combination with extra non-protein components, for example, additional metal atoms such as Mo and Ni, and soft ligands such as CN{sup -} and CO. Iron-sulfur centers are inherently air sensitive: they are found in essentially all organisms and it is possible that they were integral components of the earliest forms of life, well before oxygen (O{sub 2}) appeared. Proteins containing FeS cofactors perform a variety of biological functions ranging across electron transfer, acid-base catalysis, and sensing where they are agents for cell regulation through transcription (DNA) or translation (RNA). They are redox catalysts for radical-based reactions and the activation of H{sub 2}, N{sub 2} and CO{sub 2}, processes that offer scientific and economic challenges for industry. Iron-sulfur centers provide the focus for fundamental investigations of chemical bonding, spectroscopy and paramagnetism, and their functions have numerous implications for health and medicine and applications for technology, including renewable energy. The 2010 Iron-Sulfur Enzymes GRC will bring together researchers from different disciplines for in-depth discussions and presentations of the latest developments. There will …

A stable Dirac fermion with four-fermion interactions to leptons suppressed by a scale {Lambda} {approx} 1 TeV is shown to provide a viable candidate for dark matter. The thermal relic abundance matches cosmology, while nuclear recoil direct detection bounds are automatically avoided in the absence of (large) couplings to quarks. The annihilation cross section in the early Universe is the same as the annihilation in our galactic neighborhood. This allows Dirac fermion dark matter to naturally explain the positron ratio excess observed by PAMELA with a minimal boost factor, given present astrophysical uncertainties. We use the Galprop program for propagation of signal and background; we discuss in detail the uncertainties resulting from the propagation parameters and, more importantly, the injected spectra. Fermi/GLAST has an opportunity to see a feature in the gamma-ray spectrum at the mass of the Dirac fermion. The excess observed by ATIC/PPB-BETS may also be explained with Dirac dark matter that is heavy. A supersymmetric model with a Dirac bino provides a viable UV model of the effective theory. The dominance of the leptonic operators, and thus the observation of an excess in positrons and not in anti-protons, is naturally explained by the large hypercharge and low …

LHC searches for new physics focus on combinations of hard physics objects. In this work we propose a qualitatively different soft signal for new physics at the LHC - the 'anomalous underlying event'. Every hard LHC event will be accompanied by a soft underlying event due to QCD and pile-up effects. Though it is often used for QCD and monte carlo studies, here we propose the incorporation of an underlying event analysis in some searches for new physics. An excess of anomalous underlying events may be a smoking-gun signal for particular new physics scenarios such as 'quirks' or 'hidden valleys' in which large amounts of energy may be emitted by a large multiplicity of soft particles. We discuss possible search strategies for such soft diffuse signals in the tracking system and calorimetry of the LHC experiments. We present a detailed study of the calorimetric signal in a concrete example, a simple quirk model motivated by folded supersymmetry. In these models the production and radiative decay of highly excited quirk bound states leads to an 'antenna pattern' of soft unclustered energy. Using a dedicated simulation of a toy detector and a 'CMB-like' multipole analysis we compare the signal to the expected …

The authors present theoretical and experimental preparations for an indirect search for new physics (NP) using the rare decay {bar B}{sub d} {yields} {bar K}*{sup 0}{mu}{sup +}{mu}{sup -}. They design new observables with very small theoretical uncertainties and good experimental resolution.

We consider scenarios with large flavour violating entries in the squark mass matrices focusing on the mixing between second and third generation squarks. These entries govern both, flavour violating low energy observables on the one hand and squark and gluino decays on the other hand. We first discuss the constraints on the parameter space due to the recent data on B mesons from the B factories and Tevatron. We then consider flavour violating squark and gluino decays and show that they can still be typically of order 10% despite the stringent constraints from low energy data. Finally we briefly comment on the impact for searches and parameter determinations at future collider experiments such as the upcoming LHC or a future International Linear Collider.

We study gaugino mass generation in the context of semi-direct gauge mediation models, where the messengers are charged under both the hidden sector and the standard model gauge groups while they do not play important roles in dynamical supersymmetry breaking. We clarify the cancellation of the leading contributions of the supersymmetry breaking effects to the gaugino mass in this class of models in terms of the macroscopic effective theory of the hidden sector dynamics. We also consider how to retrofit the model so that we obtain the non-vanishing leading contribution to the gaugino mass.

We consider a small extension of the standard model by adding two Majorana fermions; those are adjoint representations of the SU(2){sub L} and SU(3){sub c} gauge groups of the standard model. In this extension, the gauge coupling unification at an energy scale higher than 10{sup 15} GeV is realized when the masses of the triplet and the octet fermions are smaller than 10{sup 4} GeV and 10{sup 12} GeV, respectively. We also show that an appropriate symmetry ensures a long lifetime of the neutral component of the triplet fermion whose thermal relic density naturally explains the observed dark matter density. The electron/positron excesses observed in recent cosmic-ray experiments can be also explained by the decay of the triplet fermion.

We discuss the cosmic ray spectra in annihilating/decaying Nambu-Goldstone dark matter models. The recent observed positron/electron excesses at PAMELA and Fermi experiments are well fitted by the dark matter with a mass of 3TeV for the annihilating model, while with a mass of 6TeV for the decaying model. We also show that the Nambu-Goldstone dark matter models predict a distinctive gamma-ray spectrum in a certain parameter space.

The mechanism for hydrogen bond (H-bond) switching in solution has remained subject to debate despite extensive experimental and theoretical studies. We have applied polarization-selective multidimensional vibrational spectroscopy to investigate the H-bond exchange mechanism in aqueous NaClO{sub 4} solution. The results show that a water molecule shifts its donated H-bonds between water and perchlorate acceptors by means of large, prompt angular rotation. Using a jump-exchange kinetic model, we extract an average jump angle of 49 {+-} 4{sup o}, in qualitative agreement with the jump angle observed in molecular dynamics simulations of the same aqueous NaClO{sub 4} solution.