Showing papers by "Bulgarian Academy of Sciences published in 2012"

Combined results of searches for the standard model Higgs boson in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Abstract: Combined results are reported from searches for the standard model Higgs boson in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV in five Higgs boson decay modes: gamma pair, b-quark pair, tau lepton pair, W pair, and Z pair. The explored Higgs boson mass range is 110-600 GeV. The analysed data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.6-4.8 inverse femtobarns. The expected excluded mass range in the absence of the standard model Higgs boson is 118-543 GeV at 95% CL. The observed results exclude the standard model Higgs boson in the mass range 127-600 GeV at 95% CL, and in the mass range 129-525 GeV at 99% CL. An excess of events above the expected standard model background is observed at the low end of the explored mass range making the observed limits weaker than expected in the absence of a signal. The largest excess, with a local significance of 3.1 sigma, is observed for a Higgs boson mass hypothesis of 124 GeV. The global significance of observing an excess with a local significance greater than 3.1 sigma anywhere in the search range 110-600 (110-145) GeV is estimated to be 1.5 sigma (2.1 sigma). More data are required to ascertain the origin of this excess.

Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

Abstract: The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined. For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta)<2.4, while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than 90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.

Network physiology reveals relations between network topology and physiological function

Abstract: �Received 8 nov 2011 | Accepted 24 Jan 2012 | Published 28 Feb 2012 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1705 The human organism is an integrated network where complex physiological systems, each with its own regulatory mechanisms, continuously interact, and where failure of one system can trigger a breakdown of the entire network. Identifying and quantifying dynamical networks of diverse systems with different types of interactions is a challenge. Here we develop a framework to probe interactions among diverse systems, and we identify a physiological network. We find that each physiological state is characterized by a specific network structure, demonstrating a robust interplay between network topology and function. Across physiological states, the network undergoes topological transitions associated with fast reorganization of physiological interactions on time scales of a few minutes, indicating high network flexibility in response to perturbations. The proposed system-wide integrative approach may facilitate the development of a new field, network Physiology.

Study of high-p(T) charged particle suppression in PbPb compared to pp collisions at root s(NN)=2.76 TeV

Abstract: The transverse momentum spectra of charged particles have been measured in pp and PbPb collisions at sqrt(sNN) = 2.76 TeV by the CMS experiment at the LHC. In the transverse momentum range pt = 5-10 GeV/c, the charged particle yield in the most central PbPb collisions is suppressed by up to a factor of 5 compared to the pp yield scaled by the number of incoherent nucleon-nucleon collisions. At higher pt, this suppression is significantly reduced, approaching roughly a factor of 2 for particles with pt in the range pt=40-100 GeV/c.

AGATA - Advanced GAmma Tracking Array

Abstract: The Advanced GAmma Tracking Array (AGATA) is a European project to develop and operate the next generation gamma-ray spectrometer. AGATA is based on the technique of gamma-ray energy tracking in electrically segmented high-purity germanium crystals. This technique requires the accurate determination of the energy, time and position of every interaction as a gamma ray deposits its energy within the detector volume. Reconstruction of the full interaction path results in a detector with very high efficiency and excellent spectral response. The realisation of gamma-ray tracking and AGATA is a result of many technical advances. These include the development of encapsulated highly segmented germanium detectors assembled in a triple cluster detector cryostat, an electronics system with fast digital sampling and a data acquisition system to process the data at a high rate. The full characterisation of the crystals was measured and compared with detector-response simulations. This enabled pulse-shape analysis algorithms, to extract energy, time and position, to be employed. In addition, tracking algorithms for event reconstruction were developed. The first phase of AGATA is now complete and operational in its first physics campaign. In the future AGATA will be moved between laboratories in Europe and operated in a series of campaigns to take advantage of the different beams and facilities available to maximise its science output. The paper reviews all the achievements made in the AGATA project including all the necessary infrastructure to operate and support the spectrometer.

Observation of sequential Υ suppression in PbPb collisions

Abstract: The suppression of the individual Υ(nS) states in PbPb collisions with respect to their yields in pp data has been measured. The PbPb and pp data sets used in the analysis correspond to integrated luminosities of 150 μb^(-1) and 230 nb^(-1), respectively, collected in 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC, at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of 2.76 TeV. The Υ(nS) yields are measured from the dimuon invariant mass spectra. The suppression of the Υ(nS) yields in PbPb relative to the yields in pp, scaled by the number of nucleon-nucleon collisions, R_(AA), is measured as a function of the collision centrality. Integrated over centrality, the R_(AA) values are 0.56±0.08(stat)±0.07(syst), 0.12±0.04(stat)±0.02(syst), and lower than 0.10 (at 95% confidence level), for the Υ(1S), Υ(2S), and Υ(3S) states, respectively. The results demonstrate the sequential suppression of the Υ(nS) states in PbPb collisions at LHC energies.

Jet momentum dependence of jet quenching in PbPb collisions at sNN=2.76 TeV

Abstract: Dijet production in PbPb collisions at a nucleon–nucleon center-of-mass energy of 276 TeV is studied with the CMS detector at the LHC A data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 150 μb−1 is analyzed Jets are reconstructed using combined information from tracking and calorimetry, using the anti-kT algorithm with R=03 The dijet momentum balance and angular correlations are studied as a function of collision centrality and leading jet transverse momentum For the most peripheral PbPb collisions, good agreement of the dijet momentum balance distributions with pp data and reference calculations at the same collision energy is found, while more central collisions show a strong imbalance of leading and subleading jet transverse momenta attributed to the jet-quenching effect The dijets in central collisions are found to be more unbalanced than the reference, for leading jet transverse momenta up to the highest values studied

Suppression of non-prompt J/ψ, prompt J/ψ, and Y(1S) in PbPb collisions at √s NN = 2.76 TeV

Abstract: Yields of prompt and non-prompt J/psi, as well as Y(1S) mesons, are measured by the CMS experiment via their dimuon decays in PbPb and pp collisions at sqrt(sNN) = 2.76 TeV for quarkonium rapidity |y|<2.4. Differential cross sections and nuclear modification factors are reported as functions of y and transverse momentum pt, as well as collision centrality. For prompt J/psi with relatively high pt (6.5

Search for dark matter and large extra dimensions in monojet events in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Abstract: A search has been made for events containing an energetic jet and an imbalance in transverse momentum using a data sample of pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. This signature is common to both dark matter and extra dimensions models. The data were collected by the CMS detector at the LHC and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 inverse femtobarns. The number of observed events is consistent with the standard model expectation. Constraints on the dark matter-nucleon scattering cross sections are determined for both spin-independent and spin-dependent interaction models. For the spin-independent model, these are the most constraining limits for a dark matter particle with mass below 3.5 GeV, a region unexplored by direct detection experiments. For the spin-dependent model, these are the most stringent constraints over the 0.1-200 GeV mass range. The constraints on the Arkani-Hamed, Dimopoulos, and Dvali model parameter MD determined as a function of the number of extra dimensions are also an improvement over the previous results.

Search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in pp collisions at s=7TeV

Abstract: A search for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons is described. The analysis is performed using a dataset recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC from pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, which corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 inverse femtobarns. Limits are set on the cross section of the standard model Higgs boson decaying to two photons. The expected exclusion limit at 95% confidence level is between 1.4 and 2.4 times the standard model cross section in the mass range between 110 and 150 GeV. The analysis of the data excludes, at 95% confidence level, the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in the mass range 128 to 132 GeV. The largest excess of events above the expected standard model background is observed for a Higgs boson mass hypothesis of 124 GeV with a local significance of 3.1 sigma. The global significance of observing an excess with a local significance greater than 3.1 sigma anywhere in the search range 110-150 GeV is estimated to be 1.8 sigma. More data are required to ascertain the origin of this excess.

Vibration-based methods for structural and machinery fault diagnosis based on nonlinear dynamics tools

Abstract: This study explains and demonstrates the utilisation of different nonlinear-dynamics-based procedures for the purposes of structural health monitoring as well as for monitoring of robot joints.

The Neuron-Astrocyte-Microglia Triad in Normal Brain Ageing and in a Model of Neuroinflammation in the Rat Hippocampus

Abstract: Ageing is accompanied by a decline in cognitive functions; along with a variety of neurobiological changes. The association between inflammation and ageing is based on complex molecular and cellular changes that we are only just beginning to understand. The hippocampus is one of the structures more closely related to electrophysiological, structural and morphological changes during ageing. In the present study we examined the effect of normal ageing and LPS-induced inflammation on astroglia-neuron interaction in the rat hippocampus of adult, normal aged and LPS-treated adult rats. Astrocytes were smaller, with thicker and shorter branches and less numerous in CA1 Str. radiatum of aged rats in comparison to adult and LPS-treated rats. Astrocyte branches infiltrated apoptotic neurons of aged and LPS-treated rats. Cellular debris, which were more numerous in CA1 of aged and LPS-treated rats, could be found apposed to astrocytes processes and were phagocytated by reactive microglia. Reactive microglia were present in the CA1 Str. Radiatum, often in association with apoptotic cells. Significant differences were found in the fraction of reactive microglia which was 40% of total in adult, 33% in aged and 50% in LPS-treated rats. Fractalkine (CX3CL1) increased significantly in hippocampus homogenates of aged and LPS-treated rats. The number of CA1 neurons decreased in aged rats. In the hippocampus of aged and LPS-treated rats astrocytes and microglia may help clearing apoptotic cellular debris possibly through CX3CL1 signalling. Our results indicate that astrocytes and microglia in the hippocampus of aged and LPS-infused rats possibly participate in the clearance of cellular debris associated with programmed cell death. The actions of astrocytes may represent either protective mechanisms to control inflammatory processes and the spread of further cellular damage to neighboring tissue, or they may contribute to neuronal damage in pathological conditions.

Study of the inclusive production of charged pions, kaons, and protons in pp collisions at √s = 0.9,2.76 and 7 TeV

Abstract: Spectra of identified charged hadrons are measured in pp collisions at the LHC for sqrt(s) = 0.9, 2.76, and 7 TeV. Charged pions, kaons, and protons in the transverse-momentum range pt approximately 0.1-1.7 GeV and for rapidities abs(y) < 1 are identified via their energy loss in the CMS silicon tracker. The average pt increases rapidly with the mass of the hadron and the event charged-particle multiplicity, independently of the center-of-mass energy. The fully corrected pt spectra and integrated yields are compared to various tunes of the PYTHIA6 and PYTHIA8 event generators.

Search for a light charged Higgs boson in top quark decays in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Abstract: Results are presented on a search for a light charged Higgs boson that can be produced in the decay of the top quark to charged H and b quark and which, in turn, decays into tau and tau neutrino. The analysed data correspond to an integrated luminosity of about 2 inverse femtobarns recorded in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The search is sensitive to the decays of the top quark pairs t anti-t to charged Higgs W b anti-b and t anti-t to charged Higgs b anti-b. Various final states have been studied separately, all requiring presence of a tau lepton from charged Higgs decays, missing transverse energy, and multiple jets. Upper limits on the branching fraction B(t to charged Higgs b) in the range of 2-3% are established for charged Higgs boson masses between 80 and 160 GeV, under the assumption that B(charged Higgs to tau anti-tau neutrino) = 1.

Polymer brushes on flat and curved surfaces: How computer simulations can help to test theories and to interpret experiments

Abstract: Theoretical descriptions of static properties of polymer brushes are reviewed, with an emphasis on monodisperse macromolecules grafted to planar, cylindrical, or spherical substrates. Blob concepts and resulting scaling relations are outlined, and various versions of the self-consistent field theory are summarized: the classical approximation and the strong stretching limit, as well as the lattice formulation. The physical justification of various inherent assumptions is discussed, and computer simulation results addressing the test of the validity of these approximations are reviewed. Also, alternative theories, such as the single chain mean field theory and the density functional theory, are briefly mentioned, and the main facts about the models used in the computer simulations are summarized. Both molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations are described, the latter including lattice models and bead-spring models in the continuum. Also extensions such as brush–brush interactions or nanoparticles inside of brushes as well as the solubility of free chains in brushes are briefly mentioned. Pertinent experimental results, though still somewhat scarce, are mentioned throughout and their consequences on the status of the theoretical understanding of polymer brushes is emphasized. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2012

Measurement of the single-top-quark t-channel cross section in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

Abstract: A measurement of the single-top-quark t-channel production cross section in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC is presented. Two different and complementary approaches have been followed. The first approach exploits the distributions of the pseudorapidity of the recoil jet and reconstructed top-quark mass using background estimates determined from control samples in data. The second approach is based on multivariate analysis techniques that probe the compatibility of the candidate events with the signal. Data have been collected for the muon and electron final states, corresponding to integrated luminosities of 1.17 and 1.56 fb^(−1), respectively. The single-top-quark production cross section in the t-channel is measured to be 67.2±6.1 pb, in agreement with the approximate next-to-next-to-leading-order standard model prediction. Using the standard model electroweak couplings, the CKM matrix element |V_(tb)| is measured to be 1.020 ± 0.046 (meas.) ± 0.017 (theor.).

Phase transitions in physiologic coupling.

Abstract: Integrated physiological systems, such as the cardiac and the respiratory system, exhibit complex dynamics that are further influenced by intrinsic feedback mechanisms controlling their interaction. To probe how the cardiac and the respiratory system adjust their rhythms, despite continuous fluctuations in their dynamics, we study the phase synchronization of heartbeat intervals and respiratory cycles. The nature of this interaction, its physiological and clinical relevance, and its relation to mechanisms of neural control is not well understood. We investigate whether and how cardiorespiratory phase synchronization (CRPS) responds to changes in physiological states and conditions. We find that the degree of CRPS in healthy subjects dramatically changes with sleep-stage transitions and exhibits a pronounced stratification pattern with a 400% increase from rapid eye movement sleep and wake, to light and deep sleep, indicating that sympatho-vagal balance strongly influences CRPS. For elderly subjects, we find that the overall degree of CRPS is reduced by approximately 40%, which has important clinical implications. However, the sleep-stage stratification pattern we uncover in CRPS does not break down with advanced age, and surprisingly, remains stable across subjects. Our results show that the difference in CRPS between sleep stages exceeds the difference between young and elderly, suggesting that sleep regulation has a significantly stronger effect on cardiorespiratory coupling than healthy aging. We demonstrate that CRPS and the traditionally studied respiratory sinus arrhythmia represent different aspects of the cardiorespiratory interaction, and that key physiologic variables, related to regulatory mechanisms of the cardiac and respiratory systems, which influence respiratory sinus arrhythmia, do not affect CRPS.

Search for neutral Higgs bosons decaying to tau pairs in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Abstract: A search for neutral Higgs bosons decaying to tau pairs at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is performed using a dataset corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 fb^(−1) recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The search is sensitive to both the standard model Higgs boson and to the neutral Higgs bosons predicted by the minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model (MSSM). No excess of events is observed in the tau-pair invariant-mass spectrum. For a standard model Higgs boson in the mass range of 110–145 GeV upper limits at 95% confidence level (CL) on the production cross section are determined. We exclude a Higgs boson with m_H=115 GeV with a production cross section 3.2 times of that predicted by the standard model. In the MSSM, upper limits on the neutral Higgs boson production cross section times branching fraction to tau pairs, as a function of the pseudoscalar Higgs boson mass, m_A, sets stringent new bounds in the parameter space, excluding at 95% CL values of tan β as low as 7.1 at m_A=160 GeV in the m^(max)_h benchmark scenario.

Response of migrating tides to the stratospheric sudden warming in 2009 and their effects on the ionosphere studied by a whole atmosphere-ionosphere model GAIA with COSMIC and TIMED/SABER observations

Abstract: [1] This paper compares results from a whole atmosphere-ionosphere coupled model, GAIA, with the COSMIC and TIMED/SABER observations during the 2008/2009 northern winter season. The GAIA model has assimilated meteorological reanalysis data by a nudging method. The comparison shows general agreement in the major features from the stratosphere to the ionosphere including the growth and decay of the major stratospheric sudden warming (SSW) event in 2009. During this period, a pronounced semidiurnal variation in the F region electron density and its local-time phase shift similar to the previous observations are reproduced by the model and COSMIC observation. The model suggests that the electron density variation is caused by an enhanced semidiurnal variation in the E × B drift, which is probably related to an amplified semidiurnal migrating tide (SW2) in the lower thermosphere. The model and TIMED/SABER observation show that the SW2 tide amplifies at low latitudes from the stratosphere to the thermosphere as well as the phase variation. Possible mechanisms for the SW2 variability in the low latitude stratosphere could be the change of its propagation condition, especially the (2, 2) mode, due to changing zonal background wind and meridional temperature gradient, and/or an enhancement of its source due to redistribution of stratospheric ozone. Present results also show a prominent long-term variation of the terdiurnal migrating component (TW3) in the ionosphere and atmosphere.

The 2010 very high energy gamma-ray flare and 10 years of multi-wavelength observations of M 87

Abstract: The giant radio galaxy M 87 with its proximity (16 Mpc), famous jet, and very massive black hole ((3-6) x 10(9) M-circle dot) provides a unique opportunity to investigate the origin of very high energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) gamma-ray emission generated in relativistic outflows and the surroundings of supermassive black holes. M 87 has been established as a VHE gamma-ray emitter since 2006. The VHE gamma-ray emission displays strong variability on timescales as short as a day. In this paper, results from a joint VHE monitoring campaign on M 87 by the MAGIC and VERITAS instruments in 2010 are reported. During the campaign, a flare at VHE was detected triggering further observations at VHE (H.E.S.S.), X-rays (Chandra), and radio (43 GHz Very Long Baseline Array, VLBA). The excellent sampling of the VHE gamma-ray light curve enables one to derive a precise temporal characterization of the flare: the single, isolated flare is well described by a two-sided exponential function with significantly different flux rise and decay times of tau(rise)(d) = (1.69 +/- 0.30) days and tau(decay)(d) = (0.611 +/- 0.080) days, respectively. While the overall variability pattern of the 2010 flare appears somewhat different from that of previous VHE flares in 2005 and 2008, they share very similar timescales (similar to day), peak fluxes (Phi(>0.35 TeV) similar or equal to (1-3) x 10(-11) photons cm(-2) s(-1)), and VHE spectra. VLBA radio observations of 43 GHz of the inner jet regions indicate no enhanced flux in 2010 in contrast to observations in 2008, where an increase of the radio flux of the innermost core regions coincided with a VHE flare. On the other hand, Chandra X-ray observations taken similar to 3 days after the peak of the VHE gamma-ray emission reveal an enhanced flux from the core (flux increased by factor similar to 2; variability timescale <2 days). The long-term (2001-2010) multi-wavelength (MWL) light curve of M 87, spanning from radio to VHE and including data from Hubble Space Telescope, Liverpool Telescope, Very Large Array, and European VLBI Network, is used to further investigate the origin of the VHE gamma-ray emission. No unique, common MWL signature of the three VHE flares has been identified. In the outer kiloparsec jet region, in particular in HST-1, no enhanced MWL activity was detected in 2008 and 2010, disfavoring it as the origin of the VHE flares during these years. Shortly after two of the three flares (2008 and 2010), the X-ray core was observed to be at a higher flux level than its characteristic range (determined from more than 60 monitoring observations: 2002-2009). In 2005, the strong flux dominance of HST-1 could have suppressed the detection of such a feature. Published models for VHE gamma-ray emission from M 87 are reviewed in the light of the new data.

Centrality dependence of dihadron correlations and azimuthal anisotropy harmonics in PbPb collisions at √SNN = 2.76 Tev

Abstract: Measurements from the CMS experiment at the LHC of dihadron correlations for charged particles produced in PbPb collisions at a nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energy of 2.76 TeV are presented. The results are reported as a function of the particle transverse momenta (pt) and collision centrality over a broad range in relative pseudorapidity [Delta(eta)] and the full range of relative azimuthal angle [Delta(phi)]. The observed two-dimensional correlation structure in Delta(eta) and Delta(phi) is characterised by a narrow peak at Delta(eta), Delta(phi) approximately (0, 0) from jet-like correlations and a long-range structure that persists up to at least |Delta(eta)| = 4. An enhancement of the magnitude of the short-range jet peak is observed with increasing centrality, especially for particles of pt around 1-2 GeV/c. The long-range azimuthal dihadron correlations are extensively studied using a Fourier decomposition analysis. The extracted Fourier coefficients are found to factorise into a product of single-particle azimuthal anisotropies up to pt approximately 3-3.5 GeV/c for at least one particle from each pair, except for the second-order harmonics in the most central PbPb events. Various orders of the single-particle azimuthal anisotropy harmonics are extracted for associated particle pt of 1-3 GeV/c, as a function of the trigger particle pt up to 20 GeV/c and over the full centrality range.

Measurement of the rapidity and transverse momentum distributions of Z bosons in pp collisions at √(s)=7TeV

Abstract: Measurements of the normalized rapidity (y) and transverse momentum (qT) distributions of Drell-Yan muon and electron pairs in the Z-boson mass region (60

Performance of τ-lepton reconstruction and identification in CMS

Abstract: The performance of tau-lepton reconstruction and identification algorithms is studied using a data sample of proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36 inverse picobarns collected with the CMS detector at the LHC. The tau leptons that decay into one or three charged hadrons, zero or more short-lived neutral hadrons, and a neutrino are identified using final-state particles reconstructed in the CMS tracker and electromagnetic calorimeter. The reconstruction efficiency of the algorithms is measured using tau leptons produced in Z-boson decays. The tau-lepton misidentification rates for jets and electrons are determined.