0000000000082571
AUTHOR
S. Bertolini
The strong CP problem and the solar neutrino puzzle: Are they related?
We discuss the possibility that a solution of the strong CP problem via the introduction of a chiral U(1), a la Peccei-Quinn, may also provide a natural scenario for explaining the apparent depletion of the solar neutrino flux through matter enhanced neutrino oscillations. The smallness of the neutrino masses is related to the scale at which the U(1)PQ symmetry is spontaneously broken, without introducing right-handed neutrino fields and invoking the see-saw mechanism. The model is consistent with all present experimental results. In particular, the phenomenology associated to the presence of an “invisible” axion is the same as in the Dine-Fischler-Srednicki-Zhitnisky model with the excepti…
Stability of the VEV hierarchy and Higgs boson invisibility in majoron models
Abstract We study the stability of the lepton-number breaking VEV under radiative corrections in the doublet and triplet majoron models, including the effects of a heavy top quark. We find that it is possible to maintain the hierarchy between the VEV's, at the one-loop level, by fine tuning the ratio of two coupling constants in the Higgs potential. For a top quark heavier than 50–60 GeV the required relation depends strongly on the top mass. We use this relation to show that the decay mode of the neutral Higgs boson to majorons may be the dominant one for a wide range of the Higgs mass, thus making its detection, in this class of models, more problematic.
Astrophysical bound on the majoron-Higgs-boson coupling
Abstract We show that the coupling of the “standard” Higgs boson to majorons, that could lead to a very fast decay of the neutral Higgs scalar to invisible modes, can be bounded using astrophysical arguments. We discuss the relevance of this bound for low-energy phenomenology related to majoron production. The bound so obtained may also jeopardize the stability of the VEV hierarchy in the doublet and triplet majoron models if the mass of the top quark is less than the W mass. A similar analysis may be applied to other models which exhibit Goldstone-or pseudo-Goldstone-bosons in the spectrum.
Majoron effects in rare kaon decays
Abstract We analyze, in the framework of the recently introduced doublet majoron model, the contribution from the emission of a pair of light scalars to the decay K + → π + + nothing . We find that, for reasonable choices of the parameters, the new scalar contribution may be as large as one additional neutrino-antineutrino mode and provide a substantial modification of the pion spectrum. The effect may be a few times larger in the triplet majoron model.
Effectiveness of screening for known mutations in Sicilian patients with "probable" familial hypercholesterolemia.
Background and Aim: More than 750 mutations in the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor gene are currently known to cause familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), but the array of mutations varies considerably in different populations. The definition of essentially all the LDL receptor gene mutations in a population is therefore a prerequisite for the implementation of nation-wide genetic testing for FH. Methods and Results: In this study, a screening strategy based on PCR-enzymatic digestion and PCR-allele specific hybridisation procedures was used to evaluate the frequency distributions of 11 known mutations in a cohort of 214 unrelated subjects meeting the diagnostic criteria of "probable" …
Permeability of the bladder mucosa to thiotepa, adriamycin, and daunomycin in men and rabbits.
The permeability of the bladder mucosa to thiotepa and to the anthraquinonic antibiotics, adriamycin and daunomycin, was investigated both in humans and in experimental animals. Instillations in rabbits were performed either in intact males or in animals with ligated ureters. Absorption of thiotepa was significantly higher than that of the antibiotics both in men and in rabbits. Furthermore, a qualitative difference was observed in rabbits in relation to time and with regard to fixation to vesical tissues. In man, absorption was highest after transurethral surgery. It was also increased in cases with extensive anaplastic tumours or in the presence of acute inflammatory reactions.
Light color octet scalars in the minimal SO(10) grand unification
We analyze the relation between the present (and foreseen) bounds on matter stability and the presence of TeV-scale color octet scalar states in nonsupersymmetric SO(10) grand unification with one adjoint Higgs representation triggering the symmetry breaking. This scenario, discarded long ago due to tree-level tachyonic instabilities appearing in all phenomenologically viable breaking patterns, has been recently revived at the quantum level. By including the relevant two-loop corrections we find a tight correlation between the octet mass and the unification scale which either requires a light color octet scalar within the reach of the LHC or, alternatively, a proton lifetime accessible to t…