Searching the inclusive l γe T+b-quark signature for radiative top quark decay and non-standard-model processes

Physical Review D - Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology 80:1 (2009)

Authors:

T Aaltonen, J Adelman, T Akimoto, B Álvarez González, S Amerio, D Amidei, A Anastassov, A Annovi, J Antos, G Apollinari, A Apresyan, T Arisawa, A Artikov, W Ashmanskas, A Attal, A Aurisano, F Azfar, W Badgett, A Barbaro-Galtieri, VE Barnes, BA Barnett, P Barria, V Bartsch, G Bauer, PH Beauchemin, F Bedeschi, D Beecher, S Behari, G Bellettini, J Bellinger, D Benjamin, A Beretvas, J Beringer, A Bhatti, M Binkley, D Bisello, I Bizjak, RE Blair, C Blocker, B Blumenfeld, A Bocci, A Bodek, V Boisvert, G Bolla, D Bortoletto, J Boudreau, A Boveia, B Brau, A Bridgeman, L Brigliadori, C Bromberg, E Brubaker, J Budagov, HS Budd, S Budd, S Burke, K Burkett, G Busetto, P Bussey, A Buzatu, KL Byrum, S Cabrera, C Calancha, M Campanelli, M Campbell, F Canelli, A Canepa, B Carls, D Carlsmith, R Carosi, S Carrillo, S Carron, B Casal, M Casarsa, A Castro, P Catastini, D Cauz, V Cavaliere, M Cavalli-Sforza, A Cerri, L Cerrito, SH Chang, YC Chen, M Chertok, G Chiarelli, G Chlachidze, F Chlebana, K Cho, D Chokheli, JP Chou, G Choudalakis, SH Chuang, K Chung, WH Chung, YS Chung, T Chwalek, CI Ciobanu, MA Ciocci, A Clark, D Clark

Abstract:

We compare the inclusive production of events containing a lepton (á), a photon (γ), significant transverse momentum imbalance (E T), and a jet identified as containing a b-quark, to SM predictions. The search uses data produced in proton-antiproton collisions at s=1.96TeV corresponding to 1.9fb-1 of integrated luminosity taken with the CDF detector. We find 28 áγbET events versus an expectation of 31.0-3.5+4.1 events. If we further require events to contain at least three jets and large total transverse energy, the largest SM source is radiative top-quark pair production, tt̄+γ. In the data we observe 16 tt̄γ candidate events versus an expectation from SM sources of 11.2-2.1+2.3. Assuming the difference between the observed number and the predicted non-top-quark total of 6.8-2.0+2.2 is due to SM top-quark production, we estimate the tt̄γ cross section to be 0.15±0.08pb. © 2009 The American Physical Society.

Progenitors of core-collapse supernovae

(2009)

A new perspective on GCRT J1745-3009

Astronomy and Astrophysics 502:2 (2009) 549-558

Authors:

H Spieeuw, B Scheers, R Braun, RAMJ Wijers, JCA Miller-Jones, BW Stappers, RP Fender

Abstract:

Context. Reports on a transient source about 1.25° south of the Galactic Centre motivated these follow-up observations with the WSRT and the reinvestigation of archival VLA data. The source GCRT J1745-3009 was detected during a 2002 Galactic Centre monitoring programme with the VLA at 92 cm by five powerful 10-min bursts with a 77-min recurrence while apparently lacking any interburst emission. Aims. The WSRT observations were performed and archival VLA data reduced to detect GCRT J1745-3009 again at different epochs and frequencies, to constrain its distance, and to determine its nature. We attempted to extract a more accurate lightcurve from the discovery dataset of GCRT J1745-3009 to rule out some of the models that have been suggested. We also investigated the transient behaviour of a nearby source. Methods. The WSRT data were taken in the "maxi-short" configuration, using 10 s integrations, on 2005 March 24 at 92 cm and on 2005 May 14/15 at 21 cm. Five of the six VLA observations we reduced are the oldest of this field in this band. Results. GCRT J1745-3009 was not redetected. With the WSRT we reached an rms sensitivity of 0.21 mJy beam-1 at 21 cm and 3.7 mJy beam-1 at 92 cm. Reanalysis of the discovery observation data resulted in a more accurate and more complete lightcurve. The five bursts appear to have the same shape: a steep rise, a more gradual brightening, and a steep decay. We found variations in burst duration of order =3% We improved the accuracy of the recurrence period of the bursts by an order of magnitude: 77.012 ± 0.021 min. We found no evidence of aperiodicity. We derived a very steep spectral index: a = -6.5 ± 3.4. We improved the 5er upper limits for interburst emission and fractional circular polarisation to 31 mJy beam-1 and 8%, respectively. Any transient behaviour of a nearby source could not be established. Conclusions. Models that predict symmetric bursts can be ruled out, but rotating systems are favoured, because their periodicity is precise. Scattering constraints imply that GCRT J1745-3009 cannot be located far beyond the GC. If this source is an incoherent emitter and not moving at a relativistic velocity, it must be closer than 14 pc. © ESO 2009.

The VLT–FLAMES Tarantula Survey

Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union Cambridge University Press (CUP) 5:S266 (2009) 35-40

Authors:

CJ Evans, N Bastian, Y Beletsky, I Brott, M Cantiello, JS Clark, PA Crowther, A de Koter, SE de Mink, PL Dufton, P Dunstall, M Gieles, G Gräfener, V Hénault-Brunet, A Herrero, ID Howarth, N Langer, DJ Lennon, J Maíz Apellániz, N Markova, F Najarro, J Puls, H Sana, S Simón-Díaz, SJ Smartt, VE Stroud, WD Taylor, C Trundle, J Th van Loon, JS Vink, NR Walborn

Flavor Physics in the Quark Sector

ArXiv 0907.5386 (2009)

Authors:

M Antonelli, DM Asner, D Bauer, T Becher, M Beneke, AJ Bevan, M Blanke, C Bloise, M Bona, A Bondar, C Bozzi, J Brod, AJ Buras, N Cabibbo, A Carbone, G Cavoto, V Cirigliano, M Ciuchini, JP Coleman, DP Cronin-Hennessy, JP Dalseno, CH Davies, F DiLodovico, J Dingfelder, Z Dolezal, S Donati, W Dungel, U Egede, G Eigen, R Faccini, T Feldmann, F Ferroni, JM Flynn, E Franco, M Fujikawa, IK Furic, P Gambino, E Gardi, TJ Gershon, S Giagu, E Golowich, T Goto, C Greub, C Grojean, D Guadagnoli, UA Haisch, RF Harr, AH Hoang, T Hurth, G Isidori, DE Jaffe, A Jüttner, S Jäger, A Khodjamirian, P Koppenburg, RV Kowalewski, P Krokovny, AS Kronfeld, J Laiho, G Lanfranchi, TE Latham, J Libby, A Limosani, D Lopes Pegna, CD Lu, V Lubicz, E Lunghi, VG Lüth, K Maltman, WJ Marciano, EC Martin, G Martinelli, F Martinez-Vidal, A Masiero, V Mateu, F Mescia, G Mohanty, M Moulson, M Neubert, H Neufeld, S Nishida, N Offen, M Palutan, P Paradisi, Z Parsa, E Passemar, M Patel, BD Pecjak, AA Petrov, A Pich, M Pierini, B Plaster, A Powell, S Prell, J Rademaker, M Rescigno, S Ricciardi, P Robbe, E Rodrigues, M Rotondo, R Sacco, CJ Schilling, O Schneider, EE Scholz, BA Schumm, C Schwanda, AJ Schwartz, B Sciascia, J Serrano, J Shigemitsu, IJ Shipsey, A Sibidanov, L Silvestrini, F Simonetto, S Simula, C Smith, A Soni, L Sonnenschein, V Sordini, M Sozzi, T Spadaro, P Spradlin, A Stocchi, N Tantalo, C Tarantino, AV Telnov, D Tonelli, IS Towner, K Trabelsi, P Urquijo, RS Van de Water, RJ Van Kooten, J Virto, G Volpi, R Wanke, S Westhoff, G Wilkinson, M Wingate, Y Xie, J Zupan

Abstract:

One of the major challenges of particle physics has been to gain an in-depth understanding of the role of quark flavor and measurements and theoretical interpretations of their results have advanced tremendously: apart from masses and quantum numbers of flavor particles, there now exist detailed measurements of the characteristics of their interactions allowing stringent tests of Standard Model predictions. Among the most interesting phenomena of flavor physics is the violation of the CP symmetry that has been subtle and difficult to explore. Till early 1990s observations of CP violation were confined to neutral $K$ mesons, but since then a large number of CP-violating processes have been studied in detail in neutral $B$ mesons. In parallel, measurements of the couplings of the heavy quarks and the dynamics for their decays in large samples of $K, D$, and $B$ mesons have been greatly improved in accuracy and the results are being used as probes in the search for deviations from the Standard Model. In the near future, there will be a transition from the current to a new generation of experiments, thus a review of the status of quark flavor physics is timely. This report summarizes the results of the current generation of experiments that is about to be completed and it confronts these results with the theoretical understanding of the field.