Top quark physics at hadron colliders Quadt, A.
The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields,
12/2006, Letnik:
48, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The top quark, discovered at the FERMILAB TEVATRON collider in 1995, is the heaviest known elementary particle. Today, ten years later, still relatively little is known about its properties. The ...strong and weak interactions of the top quark are not nearly as well studied as those of the other quarks and leptons. The strong interaction is most directly measured in top quark pair production. The weak interaction is measured in top quark decay and single top quark production, which remains thus far unobserved. The large top-quark mass of about 175 GeV/c2 suggests that it may play a special role in nature. It behaves differently from all other quarks due to its large mass and its correspondingly short lifetime. The top quark decays before it hadronises, passing its spin information on to its decay products. Therefore, it is possible to measure observables that depend on the top quark spin, providing a unique environment for tests of the Standard Model and for searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. This report summarises the latest measurements and studies of top quark properties and rare decays from the TEVATRON in Run II. With more than 1 fb-1 of luminosity delivered to each experiment, CDF and DO, top quark physics at the TEVATRON is at a turning point from first studies to precision measurements with sensitivity to new physics. An outlook onto top quark physics at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, planned to begin operation in the year 2007, is also given.
Profilin is an actin monomer binding protein that provides ATP-actin for incorporation into actin filaments. In contrast to higher eukaryotic cells with their large filamentous actin structures, ...apicomplexan parasites typically contain only short and highly dynamic microfilaments. In apicomplexans, profilin appears to be the main monomer-sequestering protein. Compared to classical profilins, apicomplexan profilins contain an additional arm-like β-hairpin motif, which we show here to be critically involved in actin binding. Through comparative analysis using two profilin mutants, we reveal this motif to be implicated in gliding motility of Plasmodium berghei sporozoites, the rapidly migrating forms of a rodent malaria parasite transmitted by mosquitoes. Force measurements on migrating sporozoites and molecular dynamics simulations indicate that the interaction between actin and profilin fine-tunes gliding motility. Our data suggest that evolutionary pressure to achieve efficient high-speed gliding has resulted in a unique profilin-actin interface in these parasites.
The virulence of Plasmodium falciparum malaria is related to the parasite's ability to evade host immunity through clonal antigenic variation and tissue-specific adhesion of infected erythrocytes ...(IEs). The P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) family expressed on dome-shaped protrusions called knobs on the IE surface is central to both. Differences in receptor specificity and affinity of expressed PfEMP1 are important for IE adhesiveness, but it is not known whether differences in the number and size of the knobs on which the PfEMP1 proteins are expressed also play a role. Therefore, the aim of this study was to provide detailed information on isolate- and time-dependent differences in knob size and density.
We used atomic force microscopy to characterize knobs on the surface of P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes. Fourteen ex vivo isolates from Ghanaian children with malaria and 10 P. falciparum isolates selected in vitro for expression of a particular PfEMP1 protein (VAR2CSA) were examined. Knob density increased from ∼20 h to ∼35 h post-invasion, with significant variation among isolates. The knob density ex vivo, which was about five-fold higher than following long-term in vitro culture, started to decline within a few months of culture. Although knob diameter and height varied among isolates, we did not observe significant time-dependent variation in these dimensions.
The density of knobs on the P. falciparum-IE surface depends on time since invasion, but is also determined by the infecting isolate in a time-independent manner. This is the first study to quantitatively evaluate knob densities and dimensions on different P. falciparum isolates, to examine ex vivo isolates from humans, and to compare ex vivo and long-term in vitro-cultured isolates. Our findings contribute to the understanding of the interaction between P. falciparum parasites and the infected host.
Understanding the processes of differentiation of the Yellowstone–Snake River Plain (YSRP) rhyolites is typically impeded by the apparent lack of erupted intermediate compositions as well as the ...complex nature of their shallow interaction with the surrounding crust responsible for their typically low O isotopic ratios. A pair of normal-δ
18
O rhyolitic eruptions from the Heise eruptive centre in eastern Idaho, the Wolverine Creek Tuff and the Conant Creek Tuff, represent unique magmatic products of the Yellowstone hotspot preserving abundant vestiges of the intermediate differentiation steps leading to rhyolite generation. We address both shallow and deep processes of magma generation and storage in the two units by combining high-precision ID–TIMS U–Pb zircon geochronology, trace element, O and Hf isotopic studies of zircon, and Sr isotopic analyses of individual high-Mg# pyroxenes inherited from lower- to mid-crustal differentiation stages. The zircon geochronology confirms the derivation of both tuffs from the same rhyolitic magma reservoir erupted at 5.5941 ± 0.0097 Ma, preceded by at least 92 ± 14 ky of continuous or intermittent zircon saturation approximating the length of pre-eruptive magma accumulation in the upper crust. Some low-Mg# pyroxenes enclosing zircons predate the eruption by at least 45 ± 27 ky, illustrating the co-crystallisation of major and accessory phases in the near-liquidus rhyolitic melts of the YSRP over a significant period of time. Coeval zircon crystals are isotopically heterogeneous (two populations at εHf ~−5 and −13), requiring the assembly of isotopically distinct melt pockets directly prior to, or during, the eruption. The primitive Mg# 60–90 pyroxenes are out of isotopic equilibrium with the host rhyolitic melt (
87
Sr/
86
Sr
i
= 0.70889), covering a range of
87
Sr/
86
Sr
i
= 0.70705–0.70883 corresponding to ratios typical of the most radiogenic YSRP basalts to the least radiogenic YSRP rhyolites. Together with the low εHf in zircon, the Sr isotopic ratios illustrate limited assimilation dominated by radiogenic Archean crustal source materials incorporated into variably evolved YSRP melts as they progress towards rhyolitic compositions by assimilation–fractional crystallisation.
The High-Granularity Timing Detector is a detector proposed for the ATLAS Phase II upgrade. The detector, based on the Low-Gain Avalanche Detector (LGAD) technology, will cover the pseudo-rapidity ...region of 2.4<|η|<4.0 with two end caps on each side and a total area of 6.4 m2. The timing performance can be improved by implanting an internal gain layer that can produce signals with a fast rising edge. It significantly improves the signal-to-noise ratio. The required average timing resolution per track for a minimum ionizing particle is 30 ps at the start and 50 ps at the end of the HL-LHC operation. This is achieved with several layers of LGAD. The innermost region of the detector would accumulate a 1MeV neutron-equivalent fluence up to 2.5× 1015 neq/cm2 including a safety factor of 1.5 before being replaced during the scheduled shutdowns. The addition of this new detector is expected to play an important role in the mitigation of high pile-ups at the HL-LHC. The layout and performance of the various versions of LGAD prototypes produced by Hamamatsu (HPK) have been studied by the ATLAS Collaboration. The breakdown voltages, depletion voltages, inter-pad gaps, collected charge as well as the time resolution have been measured and the production yield of large size sensors has been evaluated.
Eastern Srednogorie in Bulgaria is the widest segment of an extensive magmatic arc that formed by convergence of Africa and Europe during Mesozoic to Tertiary times. Northward subduction of the ...Tethys Ocean beneath Europe in the Late Cretaceous gave rise to a broad range of basaltic to more evolved magmas with locally associated Cu–Au mineralization along this arc. We used U–Pb geochronology of single zircons to constrain the temporal evolution of the Upper Cretaceous magmatism and the age of basement rocks through which the magmas were emplaced in this arc segment. High precision isotope dilution-thermal ionization mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS) was combined with laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA–ICPMS) for spatial resolution within single zircon grains.
Three tectono-magmatic regions are distinguished from north to south within Eastern Srednogorie: East Balkan, Yambol–Burgas and Strandzha. Late Cretaceous magmatic activity started at ~92Ma in the northernmost East Balkan region, based on stratigraphic evidence and limited geochronology, with the emplacement of minor shallow intrusions and volcanic rocks onto pre-Cretaceous basement. In the southernmost Strandzha region, magmatism was initiated at ~86Ma with emplacement of gabbroic to dioritic intrusions and related dikes into metamorphic basement rocks that have previously been overprinted by Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous metamorphism. The Yambol–Burgas region is an extensional basin between the East Balkan and the Strandzha regions, which broadens and deepens toward the Black Sea further east and is filled with a thick pile of marine sediments and submarine extrusive volcanic rocks accompanied by coeval intrusions. This dominantly mafic magmatism in the intermediate Yambol–Burgas region commenced at ~81Ma and produced large volumes of potassium-rich magma until ~78Ma. These shoshonitic to ultrapotassic basaltic to intermediate magmas formed by differentiation of ankaramitic (high Ca) parental melts, produced from partial remelting of amphibole clinopyroxenites upon interaction with subduction-modified mantle wedge melts, according to earlier petrological studies. This peak of dominantly extrusive activity in the Yambol–Burgas region extended into the Strandzha region further south, in the form of numerous tholeiitic, calc-alkaline and high-K intrusions emplaced in the same time period between 81 and 78Ma.
Granitic rocks from exposed basement of Eastern Srednogorie zone are dated as Permian/Carboniferous (~275–300Ma). Zircons with similar ages occur in Upper Cretaceous rocks from the East Balkan and Strandzha regions, indicating local incorporation as xenocrysts. In contrast, magmatic rocks from the intermediate Yambol–Burgas region contain mostly Ordovician (~460Ma) or older inherited zircons, suggesting a either a different basement history or, more likely, a different level of magma storage and crustal assimilation.
Integrating these geochronological results with a synthesis of the regional geology, we propose a two-stage geodynamic evolution for the Eastern Srednogorie segment of the Tethyan arc. The earlier stage of normal arc magmatism was driven by a southward slab retreat, which formed the ~92Ma calc-alkaline to high-K shallow intrusions and volcanics in the north (East Balkan), 87–86Ma old tholeiitic and calc-alkaline intrusions in the south (Strandzha), and the voluminous 81–78Ma old gabbroic to granitic intrusions with predominantly calc-alkaline to high-K composition throughout the Strandzha region. This stage continued westward into the Central Srednogorie zone, where the southward younging of calc-alkaline magmatism correlates well with an increased input of primitive mantle melts, indicating asthenospheric incursion into a widening mantle wedge as a result of slab roll-back. The second stage proceeded in the Eastern Srednogorie zone only, where more extreme extension associated with the opening of the Black Sea back-arc basin led to the formation of an intra-arc rift in the Yambol–Burgas region, which now separates the East Balkan region from the Strandzha region. In this extensional environment, crustal thinning lead to decompression and increased heat flow, facilitating large-scale melting of lower crustal rocks and the formation of 81–78Ma magmas. The unusual calcic composition of the parent magmas, their isotopic character and distinct xenocrystic population are consistent with a component of re-melting of hydrous lower-crustal cumulates, which probably formed in part during the first stage of the evolving arc.
► We studied the Eastern Srednogorie arc in SE Europe. ► U–Pb ID-TIMS and LA-ICPMS zircon dating methods were used. ► Three Late Cretaceous pulses at ~92, 87 and 81–78Ma are defined. ► Basement granitoids are dated as Late Carboniferous to Permian. ► We present a geodynamic model involving slab rollback followed by rifting.
•Zircon trace elements by LA-ICPMS and precise U-Pb dates by CA-ID-TIMS on same grains.•Zircons from Bingham Canyon deposit allow reconstruction of local magma dynamics.•Magmas, fluids and metals ...were sourced from a long-lived (>650 kyr) magma reservoir.•Magma reservoir dominated by cooling and protracted crystallisation after rapid assembly.•Thermal modelling based on geophysical constraints permissive of upper-crustal reservoir.
Volatile-rich intermediate to silicic magmatic systems can feed devastating volcanic eruptions but also generate valuable magmatic-hydrothermal ore deposits that supply most of the world's copper. Understanding the geometry, dynamics and timescales of these magmatic systems is critical in developing models for predicting the occurrence of ore deposits and future large volcanic eruptions. Here, we use zircon petrochronology from an equigranular monzonite and successively emplaced porphyry dykes to reconstruct the time – temperature – composition evolution of the magma that sourced the giant Cu-Mo-Au deposit at Bingham Canyon (USA). Combining high-precision CA-ID-TIMS geochronology with in-situ trace element analyses by LA-ICP-MS shows the intra-grain, inter-sample and temporal geochemical changes recording the evolution of the magmatic system over 817 ± 62 kyr. Systematic variation of zircon chemistry with time indicates crystallisation from a coherent magma reservoir. After reservoir assembly its thermal and chemical state was controlled by protracted monotonous crystallisation over ∼650 kyr with rapid cooling over the first 200 kyr followed by a longer period approaching the granite solidus. Porphyry Cu-Au ore formation occurred after the early drop in magma temperature that resulted in large-scale fluid saturation and expulsion into the sub-volcanic environment but main Mo-mineralisation occurred after protracted low-temperature magma storage and the emplacement of the last porphyry. Zircons do not quantify the depth of this reservoir but integrating independent geophysical evidence with 2-D thermal modelling indicates that the time – temperature evolution recorded by the zircons is consistent with rapid incremental assembly of this large pluton (magma emplacement rate ≳ 0.0065 km3/yr) by initially zircon-undersaturated monzonitic magma into pre-heated upper crust. Our results indicate that massive fluid expulsion from rapidly-formed, large magma reservoirs containing mobile but mushy magma (>40 wt.% melt) can occur in the upper crust, favouring the formation of giant porphyry copper deposits.
We report on the results of a radiation campaign with neutrons and protons of Low Gain Avalanche Detectors (LGAD) produced by Hamamatsu (HPK) as prototypes for the High-Granularity Timing Detector ...(HGTD) in ATLAS. Sensors with an active thickness of 50μm were irradiated in steps of roughly 2× up to a fluence of 3×1015neqcm−2. As a function of the fluence, the collected charge and time resolution of the irradiated sensors will be reported for operation at −30 °C.
Data intensive ATLAS workflows in the Cloud Rzehorz, G F; Kawamura, G; Keeble, O ...
Journal of physics. Conference series,
10/2017, Letnik:
898, Številka:
6
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
This contribution reports on the feasibility of executing data intensive workflows on Cloud infrastructures. In order to assess this, the metric ETC = Events/Time/Cost is formed, which quantifies the ...different workflow and infrastructure configurations that are tested against each other. In these tests ATLAS reconstruction Jobs are run, examining the effects of overcommitting (more parallel processes running than CPU cores available), scheduling (staggered execution) and scaling (number of cores). The desirability of commissioning storage in the Cloud is evaluated, in conjunction with a simple analytical model of the system, and correlated with questions about the network bandwidth, caches and what kind of storage to utilise. In the end a cost/benefit evaluation of different infrastructure configurations and workflows is undertaken, with the goal to find the maximum of the ETC value.