Two-Pion Decay Widths of Excited Charm Mesons

The widths for $\pi\pi$ decay of the L=1 charm mesons are calculated by describing the pion coupling to light constituents quarks by the lowest order chiral interaction. The wavefunctions of the charm mesons are obtained as solutions to the covariant Blankenbecler-Sugar equation. These solutions correspond to an interaction Hamiltonian modeled as the sum of a linear scalar confining and a screened one-gluon exchange (OGE) interaction. This interaction induces a two-quark contribution to the amplitude for two-pion decay, which is found to interfere destructively with the single quark amplitude. For the currently known L=1 $D$ mesons, the total $\pi\pi$ decay widths are found to be $\sim 1$ MeV for the $D_1(2420)$ and $\sim 3$ MeV for the $D^*_2(2460)$ if the axial coupling of the constituent quark is taken to be $g_A^q=1$. The as yet undiscovered spin singlet $D_1^*$ state is predicted to have a larger width of 7 - 10 MeV for $\pi\pi$ decay.Comment: 20 pages, uses Feynmf Submitted to Nuclear Physics A, published versio

Understanding person acquisition using an interactive activation and competition network

Face perception is one of the most developed visual skills that humans display, and recent work has attempted to examine the mechanisms involved in face perception through noting how neural networks achieve the same performance. The purpose of the present paper is to extend this approach to look not just at human face recognition, but also at human face acquisition. Experiment 1 presents empirical data to describe the acquisition over time of appropriate representations for newly encountered faces. These results are compared with those of Simulation 1, in which a modified IAC network capable of modelling the acquisition process is generated. Experiment 2 and Simulation 2 explore the mechanisms of learning further, and it is demonstrated that the acquisition of a set of associated new facts is easier than the acquisition of individual facts in isolation of one another. This is explained in terms of the advantage gained from additional inputs and mutual reinforcement of developing links within an interactive neural network system. <br/

Crystallographic texture determinations from inverse susceptibility measurements

Determination of the quantitative relationship between crystallographic texture and magnetic properties in advanced permanent magnets may be hampered by complex microstructures, which complicate methods that rely on diffraction, or by interparticulate interactions, which adversely affect methods based on magnetic remanence measurements. To this end, new techniques in the determination of texture of bulk permanent magnets are being explored to overcome these inherent experimental difficulties. The analysis of inverse paramagnetic susceptibility measurements constitutes a new method to investigate crystallographic texture. Such measurements also provide Curie temperature data, which is sensitive to chemical changes that may have occurred in the magnetic phase during processing. The mathematical formalism underlying the analysis of inverse susceptibility measurements is outlined, and is used to evaluate magnetic measurements taken from a series of Nd{sub 2}Fe{sub 14}B magnets that have been processed by different means, and thus contain different degrees of texture. While this method does provide qualitative information concerning the relative crystallographic alignment of magnet samples, it needs calibration to obtain an explicit value for a texture order parameter

An Integrated TCGA Pan-Cancer Clinical Data Resource to Drive High-Quality Survival Outcome Analytics

For a decade, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) program collected clinicopathologic annotation data along with multi-platform molecular profiles of more than 11,000 human tumors across 33 different cancer types. TCGA clinical data contain key features representing the democratized nature of the data collection process. To ensure proper use of this large clinical dataset associated with genomic features, we developed a standardized dataset named the TCGA Pan-Cancer Clinical Data Resource (TCGA-CDR), which includes four major clinical outcome endpoints. In addition to detailing major challenges and statistical limitations encountered during the effort of integrating the acquired clinical data, we present a summary that includes endpoint usage recommendations for each cancer type. These TCGA-CDR findings appear to be consistent with cancer genomics studies independent of the TCGA effort and provide opportunities for investigating cancer biology using clinical correlates at an unprecedented scale. Analysis of clinicopathologic annotations for over 11,000 cancer patients in the TCGA program leads to the generation of TCGA Clinical Data Resource, which provides recommendations of clinical outcome endpoint usage for 33 cancer types

Search for direct production of charginos and neutralinos in events with three leptons and missing transverse momentum in √s = 7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three electrons or muons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is based on 4.7 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations in three signal regions that are either depleted or enriched in Z-boson decays. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set in R-parity conserving phenomenological minimal supersymmetric models and in simplified models, significantly extending previous results

Texture determinations in rare-earth-based permanent magnets

Quantifying the relationship between crystallographic texture and magnetic properties is highly desirable for the engineering high (BH){sub max} magnets. Existing techniques for the evaluation of texture in permanent magnets often rely upon magnetic remanence measurements. However, such determinations are strictly applicable only to assemblies of non-interacting particles, which nullifies the use of the Stoner-Wohlfarth criteria in texture determinations of ``exchange-spring`` magnets. New techniques in the determination of texture of bulk permanent magnets are being developed to overcome these inherent experimental difficulties. Crystallographic alignment studied by transmission synchrotron x-ray diffraction as a function of position within the sample reveals insights into the development of texture with deformation level in thermomechanically-processed magnets. Information concerning texture may also be obtained by a different method based on paramagnetic susceptibility measurements. Such measurements also provide Curie temperature data, which is sensitive to chemical changes that may have occurred in the magnetic phase during processing

Preparing for Pandemics: Lesson Plan Design for Children in Elementary School

Context: The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated distance learning to attenuate the spread of the virus, and school-aged children were particularly affected by this change. Because of their age and education level, children generally lacked understanding about the pandemic and the preventive measures necessary to prevent the spread of this and other infectious diseases. It is unknown how many schools nationwide incorporated disease-prevention education in their curriculums during the pandemic. Therefore, developing distance learning interventions that convey these topics at their level of understanding is important to improve health literacy and raise their awareness of factors that positively influence health. Objective: To implement a distance learning intervention that teaches elementary-aged children about infectious diseases and pandemics and to evaluate their understanding of the material. Methods: A four-week program with weekly lessons was developed to teach fifth grade students about infectious diseases and pandemics. Weekly lessons involved one or two instructional videos, preintervention and postintervention quiz, live online interactive session. Participants also completed a survey before (Presurvey) and after (Postsurvey) the entire 4-week program to evaluate their understanding of the material. Results: 61 fifth graders (ages 10-11) participated in the project. Quiz scores improved from preintervention to postintervention for week 1 (74% [3.0] vs 86% [2.2], PP=.34), and week 3 (78% vs 83%, P=.20). Scores were the same in week 4 (95%,P=.86). Survey responses before and after the program also improved, particularly for questions related to understanding what it means to be in a pandemic (33% [18/54] vs 55% [24/44], P=.008) and that SARS-CoV-2 is a virus and causes COVID-19 (4% [2/54] vs 27% [12/44], P Conclusion: Project results suggested that our distance learning intervention improved fifth grade students’ knowledge about infectious diseases and pandemics. Although it was difficult to maintain the same response rate for weekly quizzes or to fully engage participants during the virtual lessons, the live interactive sessions were well received and seemed to improve their understanding of these topics. Because our project intervention seemed to provide participants with greater health literacy, similar interventions should be considered for other grade levels at elementary schools across the country to promote awareness about infectious diseases or other global health issues

Measurement of the Bottom-Strange Meson Mixing Phase in the Full CDF Data Set

We report a measurement of the bottom-strange meson mixing phase \beta_s using the time evolution of B0_s -> J/\psi (->\mu+\mu-) \phi (-> K+ K-) decays in which the quark-flavor content of the bottom-strange meson is identified at production. This measurement uses the full data set of proton-antiproton collisions at sqrt(s)= 1.96 TeV collected by the Collider Detector experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron, corresponding to 9.6 fb-1 of integrated luminosity. We report confidence regions in the two-dimensional space of \beta_s and the B0_s decay-width difference \Delta\Gamma_s, and measure \beta_s in [-\pi/2, -1.51] U [-0.06, 0.30] U [1.26, \pi/2] at the 68% confidence level, in agreement with the standard model expectation. Assuming the standard model value of \beta_s, we also determine \Delta\Gamma_s = 0.068 +- 0.026 (stat) +- 0.009 (syst) ps-1 and the mean B0_s lifetime, \tau_s = 1.528 +- 0.019 (stat) +- 0.009 (syst) ps, which are consistent and competitive with determinations by other experiments.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, Phys. Rev. Lett 109, 171802 (2012

Search for W′→tb→qqbb decays in pp collisions at √s=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for a massive W′ gauge boson decaying to a top quark and a bottom quark is performed with the ATLAS detector in pp collisions at the LHC. The dataset was taken at a centre-of-mass energy of √s=8 TeV and corresponds to 20.3 fb−1 of integrated luminosity. This analysis is done in the hadronic decay mode of the top quark, where novel jet substructure techniques are used to identify jets from high-momentum top quarks. This allows for a search for high-mass W′ bosons in the range 1.5–3.0 TeV. b-tagging is used to identify jets originating from b-quarks. The data are consistent with Standard Model background-only expectations, and upper limits at 95 % confidence level are set on the W′→tb cross section times branching ratio ranging from 0.16pb to 0.33pb for left-handed W′ bosons, and ranging from 0.10pb to 0.21pb for W′ bosons with purely right-handed couplings. Upper limits at 95 % confidence level are set on the W′-boson coupling to tb as a function of the W′ mass using an effective field theory approach, which is independent of details of particular models predicting a W′boson

Measurement of the correlation between flow harmonics of different order in lead-lead collisions at √sNN = 2.76 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Correlations between the elliptic or triangular flow coefficients vm (m=2 or 3) and other flow harmonics vn (n=2 to 5) are measured using √sNN=2.76 TeV Pb+Pb collision data collected in 2010 by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 7 μb−1. The vm−vn correlations are measured in midrapidity as a function of centrality, and, for events within the same centrality interval, as a function of event ellipticity or triangularity defined in a forward rapidity region. For events within the same centrality interval, v3 is found to be anticorrelated with v2 and this anticorrelation is consistent with similar anticorrelations between the corresponding eccentricities, ε2 and ε3. However, it is observed that v4 increases strongly with v2, and v5 increases strongly with both v2 and v3. The trend and strength of the vm−vn correlations for n=4 and 5 are found to disagree with εm−εn correlations predicted by initial-geometry models. Instead, these correlations are found to be consistent with the combined effects of a linear contribution to vn and a nonlinear term that is a function of v22 or of v2v3, as predicted by hydrodynamic models. A simple two-component fit is used to separate these two contributions. The extracted linear and nonlinear contributions to v4 and v5 are found to be consistent with previously measured event-plane correlations