In a study of B+ --> J/psi gamma K+ decays, we find evidence for the radiative decay X(3872) --> J/psi gamma with a statistical significance of 3.4 sigma. We measure the product of branching ...fractions BF(B+ --> X(3872) K+).BF(X(3872) --> J/psi gamma) = (3.3 +/- 1.0 +/- 0.3) x 10^-6, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. We also measure the branching fraction BF(B+ --> chi_c1 K+) = (4.9 +/- 0.2 +/- 0.4) x 10^-4. These results are obtained from (287+/-3) million BBar decays collected at the Y(4S) resonance with the BaBar detector at the PEP-II B Factory at SLAC.
We present updated results on time-dependent CP asymmetries in fully reconstructed B0->D(*)+-pi-+ and B0->D+-rho-+ decays in approximately 232 million Y(4S)->BBbar events collected with the BaBar ...detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy B factory at SLAC. From a time-dependent maximum likelihood fit we obtain for the parameters related to the CP violation angle 2beta+gamma: a^{D\pi} = -0.010 +/- 0.023 +/- 0.007, c_{\rm lep}^{D\pi} = -0.033 +/- 0.042 +/- 0.012, a^{D^*\pi} = -0.040 +/- 0.023 +/- 0.010, c_{\rm lep}^{D^*\pi} = 0.049 +/- 0.042 +/- 0.015, a^{D\rho} = -0.024 +/- 0.031 +/- 0.009, c_{\rm lep}^{D\rho} = -0.098 +/- 0.055 +/- 0.018, where the first error is statistical and the second is systematic. Using other measurements and theoretical assumptions, we interpret the results in terms of the angles of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa unitarity triangle and find |sin(2beta+gamma)| > 0.64 (0.40) at 68% (90%) confidence level.
Using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 342 fb − 1 collected with the BABAR detector at the SLAC PEP-II electron-positron storage ring operating at a center-of-mass ...energy near 10.58 GeV, we measure B ( τ − → π − π − π + ν τ ( ex . K 0 S ) ) = ( 8.83 ± 0.01 ± 0.13 ) % , B ( τ − → K − π − π + ν τ ( ex . K 0 S ) ) = ( 0.273 ± 0.002 ± 0.009 ) % , B ( τ − → K − π − K + ν τ ) = ( 0.1346 ± 0.0010 ± 0.0036 ) % , and B ( τ − → K − K − K + ν τ ) = ( 1.58 ± 0.13 ± 0.12 ) × 10 − 5 , where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. These include significant improvements over previous measurements and a first measurement of B ( τ − → K − K − K + ν τ ) in which no resonance structure is assumed. We also report a first measurement of B ( τ − → ϕ π − ν τ ) = ( 3.42 ± 0.55 ± 0.25 ) × 10 − 5 , a new measurement of B ( τ − → ϕ K − ν τ ) = ( 3.39 ± 0.20 ± 0.28 ) × 10 − 5 and a first upper limit on B ( τ − → K − K − K + ν τ ( ex . ϕ ) ) .
A search for lepton flavor violating decays of the τ lepton to a lighter mass lepton and a pseudoscalar meson has been performed using 339 fb − 1 of e + e − annihilation data collected at a ...center-of-mass energy near 10.58 GeV by the BABAR detector at the SLAC PEP-II storage ring. No evidence of a signal has been found, and upper limits on the branching fractions are set at the 10 − 7 level.
We report searches for B -meson decays to the charmless final states ρ K ∗ and f 0 ( 980 ) K ∗ with a sample of 232 × 10 6 B ¯¯¯ B pairs collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II e + e − ...collider. We measure in units of 10 − 6 the following branching fractions, where the first error quoted is statistical and the second systematic, or upper limits are given at the 90% confidence level : B ( B + → ρ 0 K * + ) < 6.1 , B ( B + → ρ + K * 0 ) = 9.6 ± 1.7 ± 1.5 , B ( B 0 → ρ − K * + ) < 12.0 , B ( B 0 → ρ 0 K * 0 ) = 5.6 ± 0.9 ± 1.3 , B ( B + → f 0 ( 980 ) K * + ) = 5.2 ± 1.2 ± 0.5 , and B ( B 0 → f 0 ( 980 ) K * 0 ) < 4.3 . For the significant modes, we also measure the fraction of longitudinal polarization and the charge asymmetry: f L ( B + → ρ + K * 0 ) = 0.52 ± 0.10 ± 0.04 , f L ( B 0 → ρ 0 K * 0 ) = 0.57 ± 0.09 ± 0.08 , A C P ( B + → ρ + K * 0 ) = − 0.01 ± 0.16 ± 0.02 , A C P ( B 0 → ρ 0 K * 0 ) = 0.09 ± 0.19 ± 0.02 , and A C P ( B + → f 0 ( 980 ) K * + ) = − 0.34 ± 0.21 ± 0.03 .
Food webs depict who eats whom in communities. Ecologists have examined statistical metrics and other properties of food webs, but mainly due to the uneven quality of the data, the results have ...proved controversial. The qualitative data on which those efforts rested treat trophic interactions as present or absent and disregard potentially huge variation in their magnitude, an approach similar to analyzing traffic without differentiating between highways and side roads. More appropriate data are now available and were used here to analyze the relationship between trophic complexity and diversity in 59 quantitative food webs from seven studies (14-202 species) based on recently developed quantitative descriptors. Our results shed new light on food-web structure. First, webs are much simpler when considered quantitatively, and link density exhibits scale invariance or weak dependence on food-web size. Second, the "constant connectance" hypothesis is not supported: connectance decreases with web size in both qualitative and quantitative data. Complexity has occupied a central role in the discussion of food-web stability, and we explore the implications for this debate. Our findings indicate that larger webs are more richly endowed with the weak trophic interactions that recent theories show to be responsible for food-web stability.
We perform an amplitude analysis of the decays B 0 → ϕ K ∗ 2 ( 1430 ) 0 , ϕ K ∗ ( 892 ) 0 , and ϕ ( K π ) 0 S − wave with a sample of about 384 × 10 6 B ¯¯¯ B pairs recorded with the BABAR detector. ...The fractions of longitudinal polarization f L of the vector-tensor and vector-vector decay modes are measured to be 0.853 + 0.061 − 0.069 ± 0.036 and 0.506 ± 0.040 ± 0.015 , respectively. Overall, twelve parameters are measured for the vector-vector decay and seven parameters for the vector-tensor decay, including the branching fractions and parameters sensitive to C P violation.
Hybridization can generate novel phenotypes distinct from those of parental lineages, a phenomenon known as transgressive trait variation. Transgressive phenotypes might negatively or positively ...affect hybrid fitness, and increase available variation. Closely related species of Heliconius butterflies regularly produce hybrids in nature, and hybridization is thought to play a role in the diversification of novel wing colour patterns despite strong stabilizing selection due to interspecific mimicry. Here, we studied wing phenotypes in first‐ and second‐generation hybrids produced by controlled crosses between either two co‐mimetic species of Heliconius or between two nonmimetic species. We quantified wing size, shape and colour pattern variation and asked whether hybrids displayed transgressive wing phenotypes. Discrete traits underlain by major‐effect loci, such as the presence or absence of colour patches, generate novel phenotypes. For quantitative traits, such as wing shape or subtle colour pattern characters, hybrids only exceed the parental range in specific dimensions of the morphological space. Overall, our study addresses some of the challenges in defining and measuring phenotypic transgression for multivariate traits and our data suggest that the extent to which transgressive trait variation in hybrids contributes to phenotypic diversity depends on the complexity and the genetic architecture of the traits.
Hybrids between Heliconius melpomene amaryllis and Heliconius timareta thelxinoe (Peru). Quantifying wing phenotypes in 1st and 2nd generation hybrid butterflies suggests that hybridization contributes to phenotypic diversification, both for traits controlled by large‐effect genes such as wing pattern and, to a lesser extent, for polygenic traits such as wing shape.
The photon spectrum in B -> X_s gamma decay, where X_s is any strange hadronic state, is studied using a data sample of 88.5 million e+e- -> Upsilon(4S) -> BBbar decays collected by the BaBar ...experiment at SLAC. The partial branching fraction, Delta B(B -> X_s gamma)=(3.67 +- 0.29(stat.) +- 0.34(sys.) +- 0.29(model)) times 10^-4, the first moment =2.288 +- 0.025 +- 0.017 +- 0.015 GeV and the second moment - ^2 =0.0328 +- 0.0040 +- 0.0023 +- 0.0036 GeV^2 are measured for the photon energy range 1.9 GeV < E_gamma < 2.7 GeV. They are also measured for narrower E_gamma ranges. The moments are then fit to recent theoretical calculations to extract the Heavy Quark Expansion parameters, m_b and mu_pi^2, and to extrapolate the partial branching fraction to E_gamma>1.6 GeV. In addition, the direct CP asymmetry A_CP(B -> X_(s+d) gamma) is measured to be -0.110 +- 0.115(stat.) +- 0.017(sys.).
Shifts in host‐plant use by phytophagous insects have played a central role in their diversification. Evolving host‐use strategies will reflect a trade‐off between selection pressures. The ecological ...niche of herbivorous insects is partitioned along several dimensions, and if populations remain in contact, recombination will break down associations between relevant loci. As such, genetic architecture can profoundly affect the coordinated divergence of traits and subsequently the ability to exploit novel habitats. The closely related species Heliconius cydno and H. melpomene differ in mimetic colour pattern, habitat and host‐plant use. We investigate the selection pressures and genetic basis underlying host‐use differences in these two species. Host‐plant surveys reveal that H. melpomene specializes on a single species of Passiflora. This is also true for the majority of other Heliconius species in secondary growth forest at our study site, as expected under a model of interspecific competition. In contrast, H. cydno, which uses closed‐forest habitats where both Heliconius and Passiflora are less common, appears not to be restricted by competition and uses a broad selection of the available Passiflora. However, other selection pressures are likely involved, and field experiments reveal that early larval survival of both butterfly species is highest on Passiflora menispermifolia, but most markedly so for H. melpomene, the specialist on that host. Finally, we demonstrate an association between host‐plant acceptance and colour pattern amongst interspecific hybrids, suggesting that major loci underlying these important ecological traits are physically linked in the genome. Together, our results reveal ecological and genetic associations between shifts in habitat, host use and mimetic colour pattern that have likely facilitated both speciation and coexistence.
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