University of Los Andes

About: University of Los Andes is a education organization based out in Bogotá, Colombia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Large Hadron Collider. The organization has 17616 authors who have published 25555 publications receiving 413463 citations.

Hyperdominance in Amazonian forest carbon cycling

Abstract: While Amazonian forests are extraordinarily diverse, the abundance of trees is skewed strongly towards relatively few 'hyperdominant' species. In addition to their diversity, Amazonian trees are a key component of the global carbon cycle, assimilating and storing more carbon than any other ecosystem on Earth. Here we ask, using a unique data set of 530 forest plots, if the functions of storing and producing woody carbon are concentrated in a small number of tree species, whether the most abundant species also dominate carbon cycling, and whether dominant species are characterized by specific functional traits. We find that dominance of forest function is even more concentrated in a few species than is dominance of tree abundance, with only ≈1% of Amazon tree species responsible for 50% of carbon storage and productivity. Although those species that contribute most to biomass and productivity are often abundant, species maximum size is also influential, while the identity and ranking of dominant species varies by function and by region.

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.

Measurement of the inclusive W and Z production cross sections in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the CMS experiment

Abstract: A measurement of inclusive W and Z production cross sections in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV is presented. The electron and muon decay channels are analyzed in a data sample collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36 inverse picobarns. The measured inclusive cross sections are sigma(pp-> WX) B(W-> l nu) = 10.30 +/- 0.02 (stat.) +/- 0.10 (syst.) +/- 0.10 (th.) +/- 0.41 (lumi.) nb and sigma(pp -> ZX) B(Z-> l^+l^-) = 0.974 +/- 0.007 (stat.) +/- 0.007 (syst.) +/- 0.018 (th.) +/- 0.039 (lumi.) nb, limited to the dilepton invariant mass range 60 to 120 GeV. The luminosity-independent cross section ratios are [sigma(pp->WX) B(W-> l nu)]/[sigma(pp-> ZX) B(Z->l^+l^-)] = 10.54 +/- 0.07 (stat.) +/- 0.08 (syst.) +/- 0.16 (th.) and [sigma(pp->W^+X) B(W^+ -> l^+nu)] / [sigma(pp->W^- X) B(W^- -> l^- nu)] = 1.421 +/- 0.006 (stat.) +/- 0.014 (syst.) +/- 0.029 (th.). The measured values agree with next-to-next-to-leading order QCD cross section calculations based on recent parton distribution functions.

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.

Y-Chromosome Evidence for Differing Ancient Demographic Histories in the Americas

Abstract: To scrutinize the male ancestry of extant Native American populations, we examined eight biallelic and six microsatellite polymorphisms from the nonrecombining portion of the Y chromosome, in 438 individuals from 24 Native American populations (1 Na Dene and 23 South Amerinds) and in 404 Mongolians. One of the biallelic markers typed is a recently identified mutation (M242) characterizing a novel founder Native American haplogroup. The distribution, relatedness, and diversity of Y lineages in Native Americans indicate a differentiated male ancestry for populations from North and South America, strongly supporting a diverse demographic history for populations from these areas. These data are consistent with the occurrence of two major male migrations from southern/central Siberia to the Americas (with the second migration being restricted to North America) and a shared ancestry in central Asia for some of the initial migrants to Europe and the Americas. The microsatellite diversity and distribution of a Y lineage specific to South America (Q-M19) indicates that certain Amerind populations have been isolated since the initial colonization of the region, suggesting an early onset for tribalization of Native Americans. Age estimates based on Y-chromosome microsatellite diversity place the initial settlement of the American continent at ∼14,000 years ago, in relative agreement with the age of well-established archaeological evidence.