1. |
- Schael, S, et al.
(author)
-
Precision electroweak measurements on the Z resonance
- 2006
-
In: Physics Reports. - : Elsevier BV. - 0370-1573 .- 1873-6270. ; 427:5-6, s. 257-454
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report on the final electroweak measurements performed with data taken at the Z resonance by the experiments operating at the electron-positron colliders SLC and LEP. The data consist of 17 million Z decays accumulated by the ALEPH, DELPHI, L3 and OPAL experiments at LEP, and 600 thousand Z decays by the SLID experiment using a polarised beam at SLC. The measurements include cross-sections, forward-backward asymmetries and polarised asymmetries. The mass and width of the Z boson, m(Z) and Gamma(Z), and its couplings to fermions, for example the p parameter and the effective electroweak mixing angle for leptons, are precisely measured: m(Z) = 91.1875 +/- 0.0021 GeV, Gamma(Z) = 2.4952 +/- 0.0023 GeV, rho(l) = 1.0050 +/- 0.0010, sin(2)theta(eff)(lept) = 0.23153 +/- 0.00016. The number of light neutrino species is determined to be 2.9840 +/- 0.0082, in agreement with the three observed generations of fundamental fermions. The results are compared to the predictions of the Standard Model (SM). At the Z-pole, electroweak radiative corrections beyond the running of the QED and QCD coupling constants are observed with a significance of five standard deviations, and in agreement with the Standard Model. Of the many Z-pole measurements, the forward-backward asymmetry in b-quark production shows the largest difference with respect to its SM expectation, at the level of 2.8 standard deviations. Through radiative corrections evaluated in the framework of the Standard Model, the Z-pole data are also used to predict the mass of the top quark, m(t) = 173(+10)(+13) GeV, and the mass of the W boson, m(W) = 80.363 +/- 0.032 GeV. These indirect constraints are compared to the direct measurements, providing a stringent test of the SM. Using in addition the direct measurements of m(t) and m(W), the mass of the as yet unobserved SM Higgs boson is predicted with a relative uncertainty of about 50% and found to be less than 285 GeV at 95% confidence level. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
|
|
2. |
- Abdallah, J., et al.
(author)
-
Measurement of the mass and width of the W boson in e(+) e(-) collisions at root s=161-209 GeV
- 2008
-
In: European Physical Journal C. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1434-6044 .- 1434-6052. ; C:55, s. 1-38
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A measurement of the W boson mass and width has been performed by the DELPHI collaboration using the data collected during the full LEP2 programme (1996-2000). The data sample has an integrated luminosity of 660 pb(-1) and was collected over a range of centre-of-mass energies from 161 to 209 GeV. Results are obtained by applying the method of direct reconstruction of the mass of the W from its decay products in both the W+W- -> l (nu) over bar (l) and W+W- -> q (q) over bar'(q) over barq'channels. The W mass result for the combined data set is M-W = 80.336 +/- 0.055(Stat.) +/- 0.028(Syst.) +/- 0.025(FSI) +/- 0.009(LEP) GeV/c(2) , where FSI represents the uncertainty due to final state interaction effects in the q (q) over bar'(q) over barq' channel, and LEP represents that arising from the knowledge of the collision energy of the accelerator. The combined value for the W width is Gamma(W) = 2.404 +/- 0.140(Stat.) +/- 0.077(Syst.) +/- 0.065(FSI) GeV/c(2). These results supersede all values previously published by the DELPHI collaboration.
|
|
3. |
- Elsik, Christine G., et al.
(author)
-
The Genome Sequence of Taurine Cattle : A Window to Ruminant Biology and Evolution
- 2009
-
In: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 324:5926, s. 522-528
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- To understand the biology and evolution of ruminants, the cattle genome was sequenced to about sevenfold coverage. The cattle genome contains a minimum of 22,000 genes, with a core set of 14,345 orthologs shared among seven mammalian species of which 1217 are absent or undetected in noneutherian (marsupial or monotreme) genomes. Cattle-specific evolutionary breakpoint regions in chromosomes have a higher density of segmental duplications, enrichment of repetitive elements, and species-specific variations in genes associated with lactation and immune responsiveness. Genes involved in metabolism are generally highly conserved, although five metabolic genes are deleted or extensively diverged from their human orthologs. The cattle genome sequence thus provides a resource for understanding mammalian evolution and accelerating livestock genetic improvement for milk and meat production.
|
|
4. |
- Olesen, JE, et al.
(author)
-
Uncertainties in projected impacts of climate change on European agriculture and terrestrial ecosystems based on scenarios from regional climate models
- 2007
-
In: Climatic Change. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0165-0009 .- 1573-1480. ; 81:Suppl. 1, s. 123-143
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The uncertainties and sources of variation in projected impacts of climate change on agriculture and terrestrial ecosystems depend not only on the emission scenarios and climate models used for projecting future climates, but also on the impact models used, and the local soil and climatic conditions of the managed or unmanaged ecosystems under study. We addressed these uncertainties by applying different impact models at site, regional and continental scales, and by separating the variation in simulated relative changes in ecosystem performance into the different sources of uncertainty and variation using analyses of variance. The crop and ecosystem models used output from a range of global and regional climate models (GCMs and RCMs) projecting climate change over Europe between 1961-1990 and 2071-2 100 under the IPCC SIZES scenarios. The projected impacts on productivity of crops and ecosystems included the direct effects of increased CO2 concentration on photosynthesis. The variation in simulated results attributed to differences between the climate models were, in all cases, smaller than the variation attributed to either emission scenarios or local conditions. The methods used for applying the climate model outputs played a larger role than the choice of the GCM or RCM. The thermal suitability for grain maize cultivation in Europe was estimated to expand by 30-50% across all SRES emissions scenarios. Strong increases in net primary productivity (NPP) (35-54%) were projected in Dorthem European ecosystems as a result of a longer growing season and higher CO2 concentrations. Changing water balance dominated the projected responses of southern European ecosystems, with NPP declining or increasing only slightly relative to preserit-day conditions. Both site and continental scale models showed large increases in yield of rain-fed winter wheat for northern Europe, with smaller increases or even decreases in southern Europe. Site-based, regional and continental scale models showed large spatial variations in the response of nitrate leaching from winter wheat cultivation to projected climate change due to strong interactions with soils and climate. The variation in simulated impacts was smaller between scenarios based on RCMs nested within the same GCM than between scenarios based on different GCMs or between emission scenarios.
|
|
5. |
- Shah, D S, et al.
(author)
-
Self-assembling layers created by membrane proteins on gold
- 2007
-
In: Biochemical Society Transactions. - 0300-5127 .- 1470-8752. ; 35:3, s. 522-526
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Membrane systems are based on several types of organization. First, amphiphilic lipids are able to create monolayer and bilayer structures which may be flat, vesicular or micellar. Into these structures membrane proteins can be inserted which use the membrane to provide signals for lateral and orientational organization. Furthermore, the proteins are the product of highly specific self-assembly otherwise known as folding, which mostly places individual atoms at precise places in three dimensions. These structures all have dimensions in the nanoscale, except for the size of membrane planes which may extend for millimetres in large liposomes or centimetres on planar surfaces such as monolayers at the air/water interface. Membrane systems can be assembled on to surfaces to create supported bilayers and these have uses in biosensors and in electrical measurements using modified ion channels. The supported systems also allow for measurements using spectroscopy, surface plasmon resonance and atomic force microscopy. By combining the roles of lipids and proteins, highly ordered and specific structures can be self-assembled in aqueous solution at the nanoscale.
|
|