1. |
- Schael, S, et al.
(author)
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Precision electroweak measurements on the Z resonance
- 2006
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In: Physics Reports. - : Elsevier BV. - 0370-1573 .- 1873-6270. ; 427:5-6, s. 257-454
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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.
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2. |
- Aamodt, K., et al.
(author)
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The ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC
- 2008
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In: Journal of Instrumentation. - 1748-0221. ; 3:S08002
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is a general-purpose, heavy-ion detector at the CERN LHC which focuses on QCD, the strong-interaction sector of the Standard Model. It is designed to address the physics of strongly interacting matter and the quark-gluon plasma at extreme values of energy density and temperature in nucleus-nucleus collisions. Besides running with Pb ions, the physics programme includes collisions with lighter ions, lower energy running and dedicated proton-nucleus runs. ALICE will also take data with proton beams at the top LHC energy to collect reference data for the heavy-ion programme and to address several QCD topics for which ALICE is complementary to the other LHC detectors. The ALICE detector has been built by a collaboration including currently over 1000 physicists and engineers from 105 Institutes in 30 countries, Its overall dimensions are 16 x 16 x 26 m(3) with a total weight of approximately 10 000 t. The experiment consists of 18 different detector systems each with its own specific technology choice and design constraints, driven both by the physics requirements and the experimental conditions expected at LHC. The most stringent design constraint is to cope with the extreme particle multiplicity anticipated in central Pb-Pb collisions. The different subsystems were optimized to provide high-momentum resolution as well as excellent Particle Identification (PID) over a broad range in momentum, up to the highest multiplicities predicted for LHC. This will allow for comprehensive studies of hadrons, electrons, muons, and photons produced in the collision of heavy nuclei. Most detector systems are scheduled to be installed and ready for data taking by mid-2008 when the LHC is scheduled to start operation, with the exception of parts of the Photon Spectrometer (PHOS), Transition Radiation Detector (TRD) and Electro Magnetic Calorimeter (EMCal). These detectors will be completed for the high-luminosity ion run expected in 2010. This paper describes in detail the detector components as installed for the first data taking in the summer of 2008.
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3. |
- Birney, Ewan, et al.
(author)
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Identification and analysis of functional elements in 1% of the human genome by the ENCODE pilot project
- 2007
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 447:7146, s. 799-816
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report the generation and analysis of functional data from multiple, diverse experiments performed on a targeted 1% of the human genome as part of the pilot phase of the ENCODE Project. These data have been further integrated and augmented by a number of evolutionary and computational analyses. Together, our results advance the collective knowledge about human genome function in several major areas. First, our studies provide convincing evidence that the genome is pervasively transcribed, such that the majority of its bases can be found in primary transcripts, including non-protein-coding transcripts, and those that extensively overlap one another. Second, systematic examination of transcriptional regulation has yielded new understanding about transcription start sites, including their relationship to specific regulatory sequences and features of chromatin accessibility and histone modification. Third, a more sophisticated view of chromatin structure has emerged, including its inter-relationship with DNA replication and transcriptional regulation. Finally, integration of these new sources of information, in particular with respect to mammalian evolution based on inter- and intra-species sequence comparisons, has yielded new mechanistic and evolutionary insights concerning the functional landscape of the human genome. Together, these studies are defining a path for pursuit of a more comprehensive characterization of human genome function.
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4. |
- Clark, Andrew G., et al.
(author)
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Evolution of genes and genomes on the Drosophila phylogeny
- 2007
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 450:7167, s. 203-218
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Comparative analysis of multiple genomes in a phylogenetic framework dramatically improves the precision and sensitivity of evolutionary inference, producing more robust results than single-genome analyses can provide. The genomes of 12 Drosophila species, ten of which are presented here for the first time (sechellia, simulans, yakuba, erecta, ananassae, persimilis, willistoni, mojavensis, virilis and grimshawi), illustrate how rates and patterns of sequence divergence across taxa can illuminate evolutionary processes on a genomic scale. These genome sequences augment the formidable genetic tools that have made Drosophila melanogaster a pre-eminent model for animal genetics, and will further catalyse fundamental research on mechanisms of development, cell biology, genetics, disease, neurobiology, behaviour, physiology and evolution. Despite remarkable similarities among these Drosophila species, we identified many putatively non-neutral changes in protein-coding genes, non-coding RNA genes, and cis-regulatory regions. These may prove to underlie differences in the ecology and behaviour of these diverse species.
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5. |
- Gaffney, K J, et al.
(author)
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Observation of structural anisotropy and the onset of liquidlike motion during the nonthermal melting of InSb
- 2005
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In: Physical Review Letters. - : American Physical Society. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 95:12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The melting dynamics of laser excited InSb have been studied with femtosecond x-ray diffraction. These measurements observe the delayed onset of diffusive atomic motion, signaling the appearance of liquidlike dynamics. They also demonstrate that the root-mean-squared displacement in the [111] direction increases faster than in the [110] direction after the first 500 fs. This structural anisotropy indicates that the initially generated fluid differs significantly from the equilibrium liquid.
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6. |
- Monier-Garbet, P, et al.
(author)
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Impurity-seeded ELMy H-modes in JET, with high density and reduced heat load
- 2005
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In: Nuclear Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 0029-5515 .- 1741-4326. ; 45:11, s. 1404-1410
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Experiments performed at JET during the past two years show that, in high triangularity H-mode plasmas with I-p = 2.5 MA, n(e)/n(Gr) approximate to 1.0, it is possible to radiate separately up to approximate to 40% of the total injected power on closed flux surfaces in the pedestal region (argon seeding) and up to approximate to 50% of the injected power in the divertor region (nitrogen seeding), while maintaining the confinement improvement factor at the value required for ITER, H98(y, 2) 1.0. The total radiated power fraction achieved in both cases (65-70%) is close to that required for ITER. However, Type I ELMS observed with impurity seeding have the same characteristics as that observed in reference pulses without seeding: decreasing plasma energy loss per ELM with increasing pedestal collisionality. One has to reach the Type III ELM regime to decrease the transient heat load to the divertor to acceptable values for ITER, although at the expense of confinement. The feasibility of an integrated scenario with Type-III ELMS, and q(95) = 2.6 to compensate for the low H factor, has been demonstrated on JET. This scenario would meet ITER requirements at 17 MA provided that the IPB98 scaling for energy content is accurate enough, and provided that a lower dilution is obtained when operating at higher absolute electron density.
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7. |
- Lindenberg, AM, et al.
(author)
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Atomic-scale visualization of inertial dynamics
- 2005
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In: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 1095-9203 .- 0036-8075. ; 308:5720, s. 392-395
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The motion of atoms on interatomic potential energy surfaces is fundamental to the dynamics of liquids and solids. An accelerator-based source of femtosecond x-ray pulses allowed us to follow directly atomic displacements on an optically modified energy landscape, leading eventually to the transition from crystalline solid to disordered liquid. We show that, to first order in time, the dynamics are inertial, and we place constraints on the shape and curvature of the transition-state potential energy surface. Our measurements point toward analogies between this nonequilibrium phase transition and the short-time dynamics intrinsic to equilibrium liquids.
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8. |
- Pitts, R. A., et al.
(author)
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Material erosion and migration in tokamaks
- 2005
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In: Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. - 0741-3335 .- 1361-6587. ; 47, s. B303-B322
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The issue of first wall and divertor target lifetime represents one of the greatest challenges facing the successful demonstration of integrated tokamak burning plasma operation, even in the case of the planned next step device, ITER, which will run at a relatively low duty cycle in comparison to future fusion power plants. Material erosion by continuous or transient plasma ion and neutral impact, the susbsequent transport of the released impurities through and by the plasma and their deposition and/or eventual re-erosion constitute the process of migration. Its importance is now recognized by a concerted research effort throughout the international tokamak community, comprising a wide variety of devices with differing plasma configurations, sizes and plasmafacing component material. No single device, however, operates with the first wall material mix currently envisaged for ITER, and all are far from the ITER energy throughput and divertor particle fluxes and fluences. This paper aims to review the basic components of material erosion and migration in tokamaks, illustrating each by way of examples from current research and attempting to place them in the context of the next step device. Plans for testing an ITER-like first wall material mix on the JET tokamak will also be briefly outlined.
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9. |
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10. |
- Strachan, J. D., et al.
(author)
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Modelling of carbon migration during JET C-13 injection experiments
- 2008
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In: Nuclear Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 0029-5515 .- 1741-4326. ; 48:10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- JET has performed two dedicated carbon migration experiments on the final run day of separate campaigns ( 2001 and 2004) using (CH4)-C-13 methane injected into repeated discharges. The EDGE2D/NIMBUS code modelled the carbon migration in both experiments. This paper describes this modelling and identifies a number of important migration pathways: ( 1) deposition and erosion near the injection location, ( 2) migration through the main chamber SOL, (3) migration through the private flux region (PFR) aided by E x B drifts and ( 4) neutral migration originating near the strike points. In H-Mode, type I ELMs are calculated to influence the migration by enhancing erosion during the ELM peak and increasing the long-range migration immediately following the ELM. The erosion/re-deposition cycle along the outer target leads to a multistep migration of C-13 towards the separatrix which is called 'walking'. This walking created carbon neutrals at the outer strike point and led to 13C deposition in the PFR. Although several migration pathways have been identified, quantitative analyses are hindered by experimental uncertainty in divertor leakage, and the lack of measurements at locations such as gaps and shadowed regions.
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