Measurement of $d\sigma/dy$ of Drell-Yan $e^+e^-$ pairs in the $Z$ Mass Region from $p\bar{p}$ Collisions at $\sqrt{s}=1.96$ TeV

We report on a CDF measurement of the total cross section and rapidity distribution, $d\sigma/dy$, for $q\bar{q}\to \gamma^{*}/Z\to e^{+}e^{-}$ events in the $Z$ boson mass region ($66M_{ee}

Expression Analysis of Host-Induced Genes and Proteins of Potato Pathogen Pectobacterium atrosepticum

Pectobacterium atrosepticum on Gram-negatiivinen bakteeri, joka aiheuttaa perunan tyvi- ja märkämätää. P. atrosepticum bakteerin optimilämpötila on melko alhainen ja se on yleinen lauhkeilla alueilla. Tyvimätä leviää pääasiassa siemenperunan välityksellä ja siksi se on ongelma erityisesti siemenperunan tuotannossa. P. atrosepticum kannan SCRI1043 genomi on julkaistu ja sitä tutkitaan malliorganismina märkä- ja tyvimädän taudinaiheuttamisen ymmärtämiseksi. Tämä opportunistinen taudinaiheuttaja voi elää isäntäkasvissa kuukausia piilevänä, aiheuttamatta näkyviä oireita. Suotuisissa olosuhteissa bakteerit alkavat jakautua ja tuottaa kasvin kudoksia hajottavia entsyymejä. Mädäntyvä kasvimassa tarjoaa ravinteita bakteerien kasvuun ja mahdollistaa isäntäkasvin asuttamisen. Soluseiniä hajottavien entsyymien merkitys taudinaiheuttamisessa on hyvin tunnettu, mutta oireettomasta jaksosta ja taudin alkuvaiheista tiedätään vain vähän. Bakteerin genomi sisältää monia toksiineja, adhesiineja, hemolysiineja ja muita proteiineja, joilla saattaa olla merkitys taudinaiheuttamisessa. Tässä työssä käytettiin proteomiikkaa ja mikrosiruanalysiä P. atrosepticum bakteerin erittyvien proteiinien ja geeniekspression tutkimiseen. Proteiinit, jotka eritetään ulos bakteerista, toimivat todennäköisesti taudinaiheuttamisessa, koska ne ovat suorassa kontaktissa isäntäkasvin kanssa. Analyysit suoritettiin olosuhteissa, jotka muistuttavat kasvin soluvälitilaa: matala pH, vähän ravinteita ja matala lämpötila. Isäntäkasvin läsnäolon vaikutusta proteiinien tuottoon ja geeniekspressioon tutkittiin lisäämällä perunauutetta kasvatusalustaan. Tutkimuksessa tunnistettiin P. atrosepticum bakteerin monia jo tunnettuja ja mahdollisesti taudinaiheuttamiseen liittyviä proteiineja. Perunauute lisäsi hiljattain tunnistetun, proteiinien eritysreittiä (tyyppi VI sekreetio, T6SS) koodaavien geenien ilmentymistä. Lisäksi bakteerin havaittiin erittävän useita T6SS:n liittyviä proteiineja kasvualustaan, johon oli lisätty perunauutetta. T6SS:n merkitys bakteereille on vielä epäselvä ja sen vaikutuksesta taudinaiheuttamiseen on julkaistu ristiriitaisia tuloksia. Märkä- ja tyvimädän ymmärtäminen molekulaarisella tasolla luo pohjan tautien kontrollointiin tähtäävään soveltavaan tutkimukseen. Tämä tutkimus lisää tietoa kasvi-patogeeni- interaktiosta ja sitä voidaan tulevaisuudessa käyttää hyväksi esimerkiksi diagnostiikassa, resistenttien perunalajikkeiden jalostuksessa tai viljely- ja varastointiolosuhteiden parantamisessa.

Shokkikiihdytys Auringon koronassa

Planeettainvälisessä avaruudessa havaitaan runsaasti Auringosta peräisin olevia korkeaenergiaisia hiukkasia. Havainnot voidaan jakaa karkeasti lyhyt- ja pitkäkestoisiin. Yleisin selitys jälkimmäisille on diffusiivinen shokkikiihdytys koronan massapurkausten edellään työntämissä shokkiaalloissa. Hiukkaset siroavat shokin turbulentista sähkömagneettisesta kentästä ja saavat lisää energiaa ylittäessään shokkirintaman monta kertaa. Kiihdytys alkaa koronassa ja jatkuu useiden päivien ajan massapurkauksen liikkuessa poispäin Auringosta. Havaintojen mukaan koronassa tapahtuva kiihdytys, jossa protonit voivat saavuttaa jopa 1 GeV suuruusluokkaa olevan energian, tapahtuu minuuttien aikaskaaloissa. Korkeaenergiaisten hiukkasten energiaspektri on tyypillisesti potenssilaki dN/dE ~ E^{-sigma}, missä sigma on lähellä ykköstä oleva vakio. Opinnäytteessä esitellään diffusiivisen shokkikiihdytyksen teoria ja tutkitaan kiihdytystä testihiukkassimulaatiolla. Koronan aktiivista aluetta mallinnetaan yksinkertaistetulla magneettikentällä. Simulaatiossa lasketaan tasomaisen shokin eteen injektoitujen protonien ratoja siihen asti, kun ne joko osuvat Auringon pintaan tai karkaavat planeettainväliseen avaruuteen. Lopputuloksista lasketuista statistiikoista etsitään kiihdytykseen vaikuttavia tekijöitä. Saatujen tuloksien perusteella koronan magneettikentän geometrialla on suuri merkitys saavutettavaan energiaan. Tehokkainta kiihdytys on geometrioissa, joissa shokki on lähes poikittainen. Erityisesti sironnan ei tarvitse olla voimakasta suurten energioiden saavuttamiseksi. Sen vaikutus näyttäisi olevan enneminkin jakaumafunktion isotropisointi, jolloin energiaspektristä tulee potenssilakimuotoinen.

Technicolor

In technicolor theories the scalar sector of the Standard Model is replaced by a strongly interacting sector. Although the Standard Model has been exceptionally successful, the scalar sector causes theoretical problems that make these theories seem an attractive alternative. I begin my thesis by considering QCD, which is the known example of strong interactions. The theory exhibits two phenomena: confinement and chiral symmetry breaking. I find the low-energy dynamics to be similar to that of the sigma models. Then I analyze the problems of the Standard Model Higgs sector, mainly the unnaturalness and triviality. Motivated by the example of QCD, I introduce the minimal technicolor model to resolve these problems. I demonstrate the minimal model to be free of anomalies and then deduce the main elements of its low-energy particle spectrum. I find the particle spectrum contains massless or very light technipions, and also technibaryons and techni-vector mesons with a high mass of over 1 TeV. Standard Model fermions remain strictly massless at this stage. Thus I introduce the technicolor companion theory of flavor, called extended technicolor. I show that the Standard Model fermions and technihadrons receive masses, but that they remain too light. I also discuss flavor-changing neutral currents and precision electroweak measurements. I then show that walking technicolor models partly solve these problems. In these models, contrary to QCD, the coupling evolves slowly over a large energy scale. This behavior adds to the masses so that even the light technihadrons are too heavy to be detected at current particle accelerators. Also all observed masses of the Standard Model particles can be generated, except for the bottom and top quarks. Thus it is shown in this thesis that, excluding the masses of third generation quarks, theories based on walking technicolor can in principle produce the observed particle spectrum.

Luonnollisten lukujen joukon määriteltävyys funktioalgebroissa

Let X be a topological space and K the real algebra of the reals, the complex numbers, the quaternions, or the octonions. The functions form X to K form an algebra T(X,K) with pointwise addition and multiplication. We study first-order definability of the constant function set N' corresponding to the set of the naturals in certain subalgebras of T(X,K). In the vocabulary the symbols Constant, +, *, 0', and 1' are used, where Constant denotes the predicate defining the constants, and 0' and 1' denote the constant functions with values 0 and 1 respectively. The most important result is the following. Let X be a topological space, K the real algebra of the reals, the compelex numbers, the quaternions, or the octonions, and R a subalgebra of the algebra of all functions from X to K containing all constants. Then N' is definable in , if at least one of the following conditions is true. (1) The algebra R is a subalgebra of the algebra of all continuous functions containing a piecewise open mapping from X to K. (2) The space X is sigma-compact, and R is a subalgebra of the algebra of all continuous functions containing a function whose range contains a nonempty open set of K. (3) The algebra K is the set of reals or the complex numbers, and R contains a piecewise open mapping from X to K and does not contain an everywhere unbounded function. (4) The algebra R contains a piecewise open mapping from X to the set of the reals and function whose range contains a nonempty open subset of K. Furthermore R does not contain an everywhere unbounded function.

On the Rademacher maximal function

Tools known as maximal functions are frequently used in harmonic analysis when studying local behaviour of functions. Typically they measure the suprema of local averages of non-negative functions. It is essential that the size (more precisely, the L^p-norm) of the maximal function is comparable to the size of the original function. When dealing with families of operators between Banach spaces we are often forced to replace the uniform bound with the larger R-bound. Hence such a replacement is also needed in the maximal function for functions taking values in spaces of operators. More specifically, the suprema of norms of local averages (i.e. their uniform bound in the operator norm) has to be replaced by their R-bound. This procedure gives us the Rademacher maximal function, which was introduced by Hytönen, McIntosh and Portal in order to prove a certain vector-valued Carleson's embedding theorem. They noticed that the sizes of an operator-valued function and its Rademacher maximal function are comparable for many common range spaces, but not for all. Certain requirements on the type and cotype of the spaces involved are necessary for this comparability, henceforth referred to as the “RMF-property”. It was shown, that other objects and parameters appearing in the definition, such as the domain of functions and the exponent p of the norm, make no difference to this. After a short introduction to randomized norms and geometry in Banach spaces we study the Rademacher maximal function on Euclidean spaces. The requirements on the type and cotype are considered, providing examples of spaces without RMF. L^p-spaces are shown to have RMF not only for p greater or equal to 2 (when it is trivial) but also for 1 < p < 2. A dyadic version of Carleson's embedding theorem is proven for scalar- and operator-valued functions. As the analysis with dyadic cubes can be generalized to filtrations on sigma-finite measure spaces, we consider the Rademacher maximal function in this case as well. It turns out that the RMF-property is independent of the filtration and the underlying measure space and that it is enough to consider very simple ones known as Haar filtrations. Scalar- and operator-valued analogues of Carleson's embedding theorem are also provided. With the RMF-property proven independent of the underlying measure space, we can use probabilistic notions and formulate it for martingales. Following a similar result for UMD-spaces, a weak type inequality is shown to be (necessary and) sufficient for the RMF-property. The RMF-property is also studied using concave functions giving yet another proof of its independence from various parameters.

Stress responses of Gram-positive bacteria to cationic antimicrobial peptides

As the resistance of bacteria to conventional antibiotics has become an increasing problem, new antimicrobial drugs are urgently needed. One possible source of new antibacterial agents is a group of cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAMPs) produced by practically all living organisms. These peptides are typically small, amphipathic and positively charged and contain well defined a-helical or b-sheet secondary structures. The main antibacterial action mechanism of CAMPs is considered to be disruption of the cell membrane, but other targets of CAMPs also exist. Some bacterial species have evolved defence mechanisms against the harmful effects of CAMPs. One of the most effective defence mechanisms is reduction of the net negative charge of bacterial cell surfaces. Global analysis of gene expression of two Gram-positive bacteria, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus, was used to further study the stress responses induced by different types of CAMPs. B. subtilis cells were treated with sublethal concentrations of a-helical peptide LL-37, b-sheet peptide protegrin 1 or synthetic analogue poly-L-lysine, and the changes in gene expression were studied using DNA macroarrays. In the case of S. aureus, three different a-helical peptides were selected for the transcriptome analyses: temporin L, ovispirin-1 and dermaseptin K4-S4(1-16). Transcriptional changes caused by peptide stress were examined using oligo DNA microarrays. The transcriptome analysis revealed two main cell signalling mechanisms mediating CAMP stress responses in Gram-positive bacteria: extracytoplasmic function (ECF)sigma factors and two-component systems (TCSs). In B. subtilis, ECF sigma factors sigW and sigM as well as TCS LiaRS responded to the cell membrane disruption caused by CAMPs. In S. aureus, CAMPs caused a similar stress response to antibiotics interfering in cell wall synthesis, and TCS VraSR was strongly activated. All of these transcriptional regulators are known to respond to several compounds other than CAMPs interfering with cell envelope integrity, suggesting that they sense cell envelope stress in general. Among the most strongly induced genes were yxdLM (in B. subtilis) and vraDE (in S. aureus) encoding homologous ABC transporters. Transcription of yxdLM and vraDE operons is controlled by TCSs YxdJK and ApsRS, respectively. These TCSs seemed to be responsible for the direct recognition of CAMPs. The yxdLM operon was specifically induced by LL-37, but its role in CAMP resistance remained unclear. VraDE was proven to be a bacitracin transporter. We also showed that the net positive charge of the cell wall affects the signalrecognition of different TCSs responding to cell envelope stress. Inactivation of the Dlt system responsible for the D-alanylation of teichoic acids had a strong and differential effect on the activity of the studied TCSs, depending on their functional role in cells and the stimuli they sense.

Search for exclusive Z boson production and observation of high mass ppbar->gammagamma->p+ll+pbar events in ppbar collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV

We present a search for exclusive Z boson production in proton-antiproton collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV, using the CDF II detector at Fermilab. We observe no exclusive Z->ll candidates and place the first upper limit on the exclusive Z cross section in hadron collisions, sigma(exclu) gammagamma->p+ll+pbar, and measure the cross section for M(ll) > 40 GeV/c2 and |eta(l)|

First observation of the decay Bs --> Ds K and measurement of the ratio of branching fractions Br(Bs --> DsK)/Br(Bs --> Ds pi)

A combined mass and particle identification fit is used to make the first observation of the decay Bs --> Ds K and measure the branching fraction of Bs --> Ds K relative to Bs --> Ds pi. This analysis uses 1.2 fb^-1 integrated luminosity of pbar-p collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV collected with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. We observe a Bs --> Ds K signal with a statistical significance of 8.1 sigma and measure Br(Bs --> Ds K)/Br(Bs --> Ds pi) = 0.097 +- 0.018(stat) +- 0.009(sys).

Combined Tevatron upper limit on gg->H->W+W- and constraints on the Higgs boson mass in fourth-generation fermion models

We combine results from searches by the CDF and D0 collaborations for a standard model Higgs boson (H) in the process gg->H->W+W- in p=pbar collisions at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV. With 4.8 fb-1 of integrated luminosity analyzed at CDF and 5.4 fb-1 at D0, the 95% Confidence Level upper limit on \sigma(gg->H) x B(H->W+W-) is 1.75 pb at m_H=120 GeV, 0.38 pb at m_H=165 GeV, and 0.83 pb at m_H=200 GeV. Assuming the presence of a fourth sequential generation of fermions with large masses, we exclude at the 95% Confidence Level a standard-model-like Higgs boson with a mass between 131 and 204 GeV.

Inclusive Search for Standard Model Higgs Boson Production in the WW Decay Channel using the CDF II Detector

We present a search for standard model (SM) Higgs boson production using ppbar collision data at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV, collected with the CDF II detector and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 fb-1. We search for Higgs bosons produced in all processes with a significant production rate and decaying to two W bosons. We find no evidence for SM Higgs boson production and place upper limits at the 95% confidence level on the SM production cross section (sigma(H)) for values of the Higgs boson mass (m_H) in the range from 110 to 200 GeV. These limits are the most stringent for m_H > 130 GeV and are 1.29 above the predicted value of sigma(H) for mH = 165 GeV.

Measurement of the WW+WZ Production Cross Section Using the lepton+jets Final State at CDF II

We report two complementary measurements of the WW+WZ cross section in the final state consisting of an electron or muon, missing transverse energy, and jets, performed using p\bar{p} collision data at sqrt{s} = 1.96 TeV collected by the CDF II detector. The first method uses the dijet invariant mass distribution while the second more sensitive method uses matrix-element calculations. The result from the second method has a signal significance of 5.4 sigma and is the first observation of WW+WZ production using this signature. Combining the results gives sigma_{WW+WZ} = 16.0 +/- 3.3 pb, in agreement with the standard model prediction.

Search for single top quark production in pp̅ collisions at √s=1.96 TeV in the missing transverse energy plus jets topology

We report a search for single top quark production with the CDF II detector using 2.1 fb-1 of integrated luminosity of pbar p collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV. The data selected consist of events characterized by large energy imbalance in the transverse plane and hadronic jets, and no identified electrons and muons, so the sample is enriched in W -> tau nu decays. In order to suppress backgrounds, additional kinematic and topological requirements are imposed through a neural network, and at least one of the jets must be identified as a b-quark jet. We measure an excess of signal-like events in agreement with the standard model prediction, but inconsistent with a model without single top quark production by 2.1 standard deviations (sigma), with a median expected sensitivity of 1.4 sigma. Assuming a top quark mass of 175 GeV/c2 and ascribing the excess to single top quark production, the cross section is measured to be 4.9+2.5-2.2(stat+syst)pb, consistent with measurements performed in independent datasets and with the standard model prediction.

Search for R-Parity Violating Decays of Sneutrinos to eμ, μτ, and eτ Pairs in pp̅ Collisions at √s=1.96 TeV

We present a search for tau sneutrino production using the Tevatron ppbar collision data collected with the CDF II detector and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1 fb^-1. We focus on the scenarios predicted by the R-parity violating (RPV) supersymmetric models in which tau sneutrinos decay to two charged leptons of different flavor. With the data consistent with the standard model expectations, we set the upper limits on sigma(ppbar -> tau sneutrino)*BR(tau sneutrino ->emu,mutau,etau) and use these results to constrain the RPV couplings as a function of tau sneutrino mass.

Strong Evidence for ZZ Production in pp̅ Collisions at √s=1.96 TeV

We report the first measurement of the cross section for Z boson pair production at a hadron collider. This result is based on a data sample corresponding to 1.9 fb-1 of integrated luminosity from ppbar collisions at sqrt{s} = 1.96 TeV collected with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. In the llll channel, we observe three ZZ candidates with an expected background of 0.096^{+0.092}_{-0.063} events. In the llnunu channel, we use a leading-order calculation of the relative ZZ and WW event probabilities to discriminate between signal and background. In the combination of llll and llnunu channels, we observe an excess of events with a probability of $5.1\times 10^{-6}$ to be due to the expected background. This corresponds to a significance of 4.4 standard deviations. The measured cross section is sigma(ppbar -> ZZ) = 1.4^{+0.7}_{-0.6} (stat.+syst.) pb, consistent with the standard model expectation.