Search

We present the discovery of 25 new repeating fast radio burst (FRB) sources found among CHIME/FRB events detected between 2019 September 30 and 2021 May 1. The sources were found using a new clustering algorithm that looks for multiple events co-located on the sky having similar dispersion measures (DMs). The new repeaters have DMs ranging from $\sim$220 pc cm$^{-3}$ to $\sim$1700 pc cm$^{-3}$, and include sources having exhibited as few as two bursts to as many as twelve. We report a statistically significant difference in both the DM and extragalactic DM (eDM) distributions between repeating and apparently nonrepeating sources, with repeaters having lower mean DM and eDM, and we discuss the implications. We find no clear bimodality between the repetition rates of repeaters and upper limits on repetition from apparently nonrepeating sources after correcting for sensitivity and exposure effects, although some active repeating sources stand out as anomalous. We measure the repeater fraction over time and find that it tends to an equilibrium of $2.6_{-2.6}^{+2.9}$% over our total time-on-sky thus far. We also report on 14 more sources which are promising repeating FRB candidates and which merit follow-up observations for confirmation., Comment: ApJ in press. Comments are still welcome and follow-up observations are encouraged!

FRB 20180916B is a repeating Fast Radio Burst (FRB) with a 16.3-day periodicity in its activity. In this study, we present morphological properties of 60 FRB 20180916B bursts detected by CHIME/FRB between 2018 August and 2021 December. We recorded raw voltage data for 45 of these bursts, enabling microseconds time resolution in some cases. We studied variation of spectro-temporal properties with time and activity phase. We find that the variation in Dispersion Measure (DM) is $\lesssim$1 pc cm$^{-3}$ and that there is burst-to-burst variation in scattering time estimates ranging from $\sim$0.16 to over 2 ms, with no discernible trend with activity phase for either property. Furthermore, we find no DM and scattering variability corresponding to the recent change in rotation measure from the source, which has implications for the immediate environment of the source. We find that FRB 20180916B has thus far shown no epochs of heightened activity as have been seen in other active repeaters by CHIME/FRB, with its burst count consistent with originating from a Poissonian process. We also observe no change in the value of the activity period over the duration of our observations and set a 1$\sigma$ upper limit of $1.5\times10^{-4}$ day day$^{-1}$ on the absolute period derivative. Finally, we discuss constraints on progenitor models yielded by our results, noting that our upper limits on changes in scattering and dispersion measure as a function of phase do not support models invoking a massive binary companion star as the origin of the 16.3-day periodicity., Comment: 25 pages, 10 figures

Software and Computing (S&C) are essential to all High Energy Physics (HEP) experiments and many theoretical studies. The size and complexity of S&C are now commensurate with that of experimental instruments, playing a critical role in experimental design, data acquisition/instrumental control, reconstruction, and analysis. Furthermore, S&C often plays a leading role in driving the precision of theoretical calculations and simulations. Within this central role in HEP, S&C has been immensely successful over the last decade. This report looks forward to the next decade and beyond, in the context of the 2021 Particle Physics Community Planning Exercise ("Snowmass") organized by the Division of Particles and Fields (DPF) of the American Physical Society., Computational Frontier Report Contribution to Snowmass 2021; 41 pages, 1 figure. v2: missing ref and added missing topical group conveners. v3: fixed typos

We discuss the prospects for improving the precision on the hadronic corrections to the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, and the plans of the Muon $g-2$ Theory Initiative to update the Standard Model prediction., Contribution to the US Community Study on the Future of Particle Physics (Snowmass 2021)

We report the first calculation using physical light-quark masses of the electromagnetic form factor $V(z)$ describing the long-distance contributions to the $K^+\toπ^+\ell^+\ell^-$ decay amplitude. The calculation is performed on a 2+1 flavor domain wall fermion ensemble with inverse lattice spacing $a^{-1}=1.730(4)$GeV. We implement a Glashow-Iliopoulos-Maiani cancellation by extrapolating to the physical charm-quark mass from three below-charm masses. We obtain $V(z=0.013(2))=-0.87(4.44)$, achieving a bound for the value. The large statistical error arises from stochastically estimated quark loops., 11 pages, 8 figures

The combined impact of common and rare exonic variants in COVID-19 host genetics is currently insufficiently understood. Here, common and rare variants from whole-exome sequencing data of about 4000 SARS-CoV-2-positive individuals were used to define an interpretable machine-learning model for predicting COVID-19 severity. First, variants were converted into separate sets of Boolean features, depending on the absence or the presence of variants in each gene. An ensemble of LASSO logistic regression models was used to identify the most informative Boolean features with respect to the genetic bases of severity. The Boolean features selected by these logistic models were combined into an Integrated PolyGenic Score that offers a synthetic and interpretable index for describing the contribution of host genetics in COVID-19 severity, as demonstrated through testing in several independent cohorts. Selected features belong to ultra-rare, rare, low-frequency, and common variants, including those in linkage disequilibrium with known GWAS loci. Noteworthily, around one quarter of the selected genes are sex-specific. Pathway analysis of the selected genes associated with COVID-19 severity reflected the multi-organ nature of the disease. The proposed model might provide useful information for developing diagnostics and therapeutics, while also being able to guide bedside disease management. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00439-021-02397-7.

Cochlear implants (CIs) work by dividing the incoming acoustic signal into a limited number of frequency channels, extracting the slowly varying amplitude envelope in each channel and using this to modulate the level of electrical pulses delivered to the auditory nerve fibres. The amplitude modulation (AM) cues that are transmitted are crucial for speech understanding and an individual's abilities to perceive different rates of AM is related to speech perception. The use of these cues can be affected by interference from adjacent channels caused by current spread which is further exacerbated if traumatic electrode placement or poor neural survival occurs. We have tested eleven adult CI users with a psychophysical measure of across-channel modulation interference (AMCI), to determine discrimination of different rates of AM in the presence of interferers and an electrophysiological correlate, the electrically-evoked auditory change complex (eACC).The eACC is a cortical potential in response to a change in an ongoing stimulus,i.e. AM rate change. Ability to discriminate AM rate (based on AMCI and eACC) is related to speech perception. If eACC to AM rate changes can be developed it can be used with children and also to identify poorly discriminated CI electrodes, to guide re-mapping., Medical Research Council Senior Fellowship (MR/2002537/1)

Phase shifts for $s$-wave $����$ scattering in both the $I=0$ and $I=2$ channels are determined from a lattice QCD calculation performed on 741 gauge configurations obeying G-parity boundary conditions with a physical pion mass and lattice size of $32^3\times 64$. These results support our recent study of direct CP violation in $K\to����$ decay \cite{Abbott:2020hxn}, improving our earlier 2015 calculation \cite{Bai:2015nea}. The phase shifts are determined for both stationary and moving $����$ systems, at three ($I=0$) and four ($I=2$) different total momenta. We implement several $����$ interpolating operators including a scalar bilinear "$��$" operator and paired single-pion bilinear operators with the constituent pions carrying various relative momenta. Several techniques, including correlated fitting and a bootstrap determination of p-values have been used to refine the results and a comparison with the generalized eigenvalue problem (GEVP) method is given. A detailed systematic error analysis is performed which allows phase shift results to be presented at a fixed energy., v3: Add a subsection "Higher partial wave correction", and correct the unit of scattering length. 88 pages and 14 figures v2: 1). Add reference 29 as an example of pipi scattering calculation above 4mpi threshold. 2). Modify the wording on page 3 for the footage. 3). Correct the \sigma operator on page 17

We present a synthesis of fast radio burst (FRB) morphology (the change in flux as a function of time and frequency) as detected in the 400-800 MHz octave by the FRB project on the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME/FRB), using events from the first CHIME/FRB catalog. The catalog consists of 61 bursts from 18 repeating sources, plus 474 one-off FRBs, detected between 2018 July 25 and 2019 July 2. We identify four observed archetypes of burst morphology ("simple broadband," "simple narrowband," "temporally complex" and "downward drifting") and describe relevant instrumental biases that are essential for interpreting the observed morphologies. Using the catalog properties of the FRBs, we confirm that bursts from repeating sources, on average, have larger widths and we show, for the first time, that bursts from repeating sources, on average, are narrower in bandwidth. This difference could be due to a beaming or propagation effects, or it could be intrinsic to the populations. We discuss potential implications of these morphological differences for using FRBs as astrophysical tools., Comment: Accepted for publication by ApJ

Taking excessive financial risk in older age can have harmful, far-reaching consequences as opportunities to recover lost wealth are limited. Better understanding the mechanisms of financial risk taking in older age is critically important for both identifying vulnerabilities in certain older adults and for developing interventions to empower aging investors to make wise financial choices into the most advanced ages. The goals of the present study were to identify age differences in financial literacy, confidence in financial knowledge, and risk taking and how literacy and confidence were related to financial risk taking across older adults with and without cognitive impairment (ages 58–101). Using cross-sectional data from the Rush Memory and Aging Project, analyses revealed that risk aversion was higher and self-reported willingness to take financial risks was lower at older ages. Financial literacy was similar across the sixties and seventies but lower at the oldest ages. However, confidence in financial knowledge was not associated with age when controlling for financial literacy. In exploratory analyses, a measure of overconfidence in financial knowledge was positively associated with self-reported financial risk tolerance but not a behavioral measure of risk aversion. The overconfidence effect on risk tolerance did not vary across individuals with no cognitive impairment or Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Overconfidence accounted for about 6% of the variance in financial risk tolerance. The present results suggest that overconfidence may contribute to risky financial behavior. Calibration of confidence levels to actual literacy is a potential target for future interventions aimed at protecting senior investors.

The Canadian Hydrogen Observatory and Radio-transient Detector (CHORD) is a next-generation radio telescope, proposed for construction to start immediately. CHORD is a pan-Canadian project, designed to work with and build on the success of the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME). It is an ultra-wideband, "large-N, small-D" telescope, consisting of a central array of 512x6-m dishes, supported by a pair of distant outrigger stations, each equipped with CHIME-like cylinders and a 64-dish array. CHORD will measure the distribution of matter over a huge swath of the Universe, detect and localize tens of thousands of Fast RadioBursts (FRBs), and undertake cutting-edge measurements of fundamental physics., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, submitted as a whitepaper for the CASCA 2020 LRP

RBC/UKQCD is preparing a calculation of leptonic decay rates including isospin breaking corrections using a perturbative approach to include NLO contributions from QED effects. We present preliminary numerical results for a contribution to the leptonic pion decay rate and report on exploratory studies of computational techniques based on all-to-all propagators., Comment: Proceedings

We report on the discovery of eight repeating fast radio burst (FRB) sources found using the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) telescope. These sources span a dispersion measure (DM) range of 103.5 to 1281 pc cm$^{-3}$. They display varying degrees of activity: six sources were detected twice, another three times, and one ten times. These eight repeating FRBs likely represent the bright and/or high-rate end of a distribution of infrequently repeating sources. For all sources, we determine sky coordinates with uncertainties of $\sim$10$^\prime$. FRB 180916.J0158+65 has a burst-averaged DM = $349.2 \pm 0.3$ pc cm$^{-3}$ and a low DM excess over the modelled Galactic maximum (as low as $\sim$20 pc cm$^{-3}$); this source also has a Faraday rotation measure (RM) of $-114.6 \pm 0.6$ rad m$^{-2}$, much lower than the RM measured for FRB 121102. FRB 181030.J1054+73 has the lowest DM for a repeater, $103.5 \pm 0.3$ pc cm$^{-3}$, with a DM excess of $\sim$ 70 pc cm$^{-3}$. Both sources are interesting targets for multi-wavelength follow-up due to their apparent proximity. The DM distribution of our repeater sample is statistically indistinguishable from that of the first 12 CHIME/FRB sources that have not repeated. We find, with 4$\sigma$ significance, that repeater bursts are generally wider than those of CHIME/FRB bursts that have not repeated, suggesting different emission mechanisms. Our repeater events show complex morphologies that are reminiscent of the first two discovered repeating FRBs. The repetitive behavior of these sources will enable interferometric localizations and subsequent host galaxy identifications., Comment: 40 pages, 11 figures; accepted by ApJL on 28 September 2019; added analysis of correlation between width and max. flux density

We compute the renormalisation factors (Z-matrices) of the $��F=2$ four-quark operators needed for Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) kaon mixing. We work with nf=2+1 flavours of Domain-Wall fermions whose chiral-flavour properties are essential to maintain a continuum-like mixing pattern. We introduce new RI-SMOM renormalisation schemes, which we argue are better behaved compared to the commonly-used corresponding RI-MOM one. We find that, once converted to MS, the Z-factors computed through these RI-SMOM schemes are in good agreement but differ significantly from the ones computed through the RI-MOM scheme. The RI-SMOM Z-factors presented here have been used to compute the BSM neutral kaon mixing matrix elements in the companion paper [1]. We argue that the renormalisation procedure is responsible for the discrepancies observed by different collaborations, we will investigate and elucidate the origin of these differences throughout this work.

In this document we address an error discovered in the ensemble generation for our calculation of the $I=0$ $K\to����$ amplitude (Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 212001 (2015), arXiv:1505.07863) whereby the same random numbers were used for the two independent quark flavors, resulting in small but measurable correlations between gauge observables separated by 12 units in the y-direction. We conclude that the effects of this error are negligible compared to the overall errors on our calculation., 2 pages, 1 figure

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We have performed fits of the pseudoscalar masses and decay constants, from a variety of RBC-UKQCD domain wall fermion ensembles, to $SU(2)$ partially quenched chiral perturbation theory at next-to leading order (NLO) and next-to-next-to leading order (NNLO). We report values for 9 NLO and 8 linearly independent combinations of NNLO partially quenched low energy constants, which we compare to other lattice and phenomenological determinations. We discuss the size of successive terms in the chiral expansion and use our large set of low energy constants to make predictions for mass splittings due to QCD isospin breaking effects and the S-wave $\pi \pi$ scattering lengths. We conclude that, for the range of pseudoscalar masses explored in this work, $115~\mathrm{MeV} \lesssim m_{\rm PS} \lesssim 430~\mathrm{MeV}$, the NNLO $SU(2)$ expansion is quite robust and can fit lattice data with percent-scale accuracy.

We report the first lattice QCD calculation of the complex kaon decay amplitude $A_0$ with physical kinematics, using a $32^3\times 64$ lattice volume and a single lattice spacing $a$, with $1/a= 1.3784(68)$ GeV. We find Re$(A_0) = 4.66(1.00)(1.26) \times 10^{-7}$ GeV and Im$(A_0) = -1.90(1.23)(1.08) \times 10^{-11}$ GeV, where the first error is statistical and the second systematic. The first value is in approximate agreement with the experimental result: Re$(A_0) = 3.3201(18) \times 10^{-7}$ GeV while the second can be used to compute the direct CP violating ratio Re$(\varepsilon'/\varepsilon)=1.38(5.15)(4.59)\times 10^{-4}$, which is $2.1��$ below the experimental value $16.6(2.3)\times 10^{-4}$. The real part of $A_0$ is CP conserving and serves as a test of our method while the result for Re$(\varepsilon'/\varepsilon)$ provides a new test of the standard-model theory of CP violation, one which can be made more accurate with increasing computer capability., 9 pages, 3 figures. Updated to match published version

We present new results for the amplitude $A_2$ for a kaon to decay into two pions with isospin $I=2$: Re$A_2 = 1.50(4)_\mathrm{stat}(14)_\mathrm{syst}\times 10^{-8}$ GeV; Im$A_2 = -6.99(20)_\mathrm{stat}(84)_\mathrm{syst}\times 10^{-13}$ GeV. These results were obtained from two ensembles generated at physical quark masses (in the isospin limit) with inverse lattice spacings $a^{-1}=1.728(4)$ GeV and $2.358(7)$ GeV. We are therefore able to perform a continuum extrapolation and hence largely to remove the dominant systematic uncertainty from our earlier results, that due to lattice artefacts. The only previous lattice computation of $K\to����$ decays at physical kinematics was performed using an ensemble at a single, rather coarse, value of the lattice spacing ($a^{-1}\simeq 1.37(1)$ GeV). We confirm the observation that there is a significant cancellation between the two dominant contributions to Re$A_2$ which we suggest is an important ingredient in understanding the $��I=1/2$ rule, Re$A_0$/Re$A_2\simeq 22.5$, where the subscript denotes the total isospin of the two-pion final state. Our result for $A_2$ implies that the electroweak penguin contribution to $��^\prime/��$ is Re($��^\prime/��)_\textrm{EWP}=-(6.6\pm 1.0)\times 10^{-4}$., 46 pages, 12 figures

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We present a multi-level algorithm for the solution of five dimensional chiral fermion formulations, including domain wall and Mobius Fermions. The algorithm operates on the red-black preconditioned Hermitian operator, and directly accelerates conjugate gradients on the normal equations. The coarse grid representation of this matrix is next-to-next-to-next-to-nearest neighbour and multiple algorithmic advances are introduced, which help minimise the overhead of the coarse grid. The treatment of the coarse grids is purely four dimensional, and the bulk of the coarse grid operations are nearest neighbour. The intrinsic cost of most of the coarse grid operations is therefore comparable to those for the Wilson case. We also document the implementation of this algorithm in the BAGEL/Bfm software package and report on the measured performance gains the algorithm brings to simulations at the physical point on IBM BlueGene/Q hardware., Comment: 37 pages, 6 figures

Item does not contain fulltext OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED), and its influence on both the quality of life, and health care seeking behaviour. METHOD: An age-stratified random sample was drawn from men aged 40-79 years in Boxmeer, the Netherlands (n = 1771), together with their partners. A questionnaire was mailed to the study population to collect data on ED, and the quality of life, both general and disorder related. The prevalence of ED was measured with the direct question 'Do you have problems getting an erection?'. The influence of ED on sexual function was measured with the Dutch version of the Sexual Function Inventory questionnaire. RESULTS: Seventy percent of all men (n = 1233) and 73% of their partners (n = 1071) responded to the questionnaire. The prevalence of ED increased with age class. To the question regarding problems to get an erection, 13% (95% confidence interval: 11-15%) of all men answered affirmatively (40-49 years: 6%; 50-59: 9%; 60-69: 22%; 70-79: 38%). All men aged 40-49 years of age with ED and 16% of men aged 70-79 with ED considered their ED as bothersome. Amongst 40 to 49 year old men with ED, 64% considered their ED as a big or rather a big problem. Amongst older men this percentage was much smaller: 50-59 years: 38%; 60-69: 37%, and 70-79: 27%. Thirty-four percent of all men with ED and 16% of their spouses were dissatisfied with their sex life. Twenty-five percent of men with ED consulted a doctor, with a mean delay of 13 months. ED bore a strong correlation with the general quality of life and comorbidity. CONCLUSION: ED was a common disorder within the population. Its prevalence was higher among older age groups, but they regarded ED as less of a problem than the younger age groups. Only a quarter of all men with ED consulted a physician.

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We review the status of recent calculations by the RBC-UKQCD collaboration of the complex amplitude $A_2$, corresponding to the decay of a kaon to a two pion state with total isospin 2. In particular, we present preliminary results from two new ensembles: $48^3 \times 96$ with $a^{-1}=1.73$ GeV and $64^3 \times 128$ with $a^{-1}=2.3$ GeV, both at physical kinematics. Both ensembles were generated Iwasaki gauge action and domain wall fermion action with 2+1 flavours. These results, in comparison to our earlier ones on a $32^3$ DSDR lattice with $a^{-1}=1.36$ GeV, enable us to significantly reduce the discretization errors. The partial cancellation between the two dominant contractions contributing to Re($A_2$) has been confirmed and we believe that this cancellation is a major contribution to the $��I=1/2$ rule., 7 pages, presented at the 31st International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2013), 29 July - 3 August 2013, Mainz, Germany

Recent analyses of flavor-breaking hadronic-$��$-decay-based sum rules produce values of $\vert V_{us}\vert$ $\sim 3��$ low compared to 3-family unitarity expectations. An unresolved systematic issue is the significant variation in $\vert V_{us}\vert$ produced by different prescriptions for treating the slowly converging $D=2$ OPE series. We investigate the reliability of these prescriptions using lattice data for various flavor-breaking correlators and show the fixed-scale prescription is clearly preferred. Preliminary updates of the conventional $��$-based, and related mixed $��$-electroproduction-data-based, sum rule analyses incorporating B-factory results for low-multiplicity strange $��$ decay mode distributions are then performed. Use of the preferred FOPT $D=2$ OPE prescription is shown to significantly reduce the discrepancy between 3-family unitarity expectations and the sum rule results., 5 pages, 2 figures. Contribution to the proceedings of the International Workshop on e^+ e^- Collisions from Phi to Psi, 2013

We describe the computation of the amplitude A_2 for a kaon to decay into two pions with isospin I=2. The results presented in the letter Phys.Rev.Lett. 108 (2012) 141601 from an analysis of 63 gluon configurations are updated to 146 configurations giving Re$A_2=1.381(46)_{\textrm{stat}}(258)_{\textrm{syst}} 10^{-8}$ GeV and Im$A_2=-6.54(46)_{\textrm{stat}}(120)_{\textrm{syst}}10^{-13}$ GeV. Re$A_2$ is in good agreement with the experimental result, whereas the value of Im$A_2$ was hitherto unknown. We are also working towards a direct computation of the $K\to(����)_{I=0}$ amplitude $A_0$ but, within the standard model, our result for Im$A_2$ can be combined with the experimental results for Re$A_0$, Re$A_2$ and $��^\prime/��$ to give Im$A_0/$Re$A_0= -1.61(28)\times 10^{-4}$ . Our result for Im\,$A_2$ implies that the electroweak penguin (EWP) contribution to $��^\prime/��$ is Re$(��^\prime/��)_{\mathrm{EWP}} = -(6.25 \pm 0.44_{\textrm{stat}} \pm 1.19_{\textrm{syst}}) \times 10^{-4}$., 59 pages, 11 figures

Background Menarche and menopause mark the onset and cessation, respectively, of ovarian activity associated with reproduction, and affect breast cancer risk. Our aim was to assess the strengths of their effects and determine whether they depend on characteristics of the tumours or the affected women.Methods Individual data from 117 epidemiological studies, including 118 964 women with invasive breast cancer and 306 091 without the disease, none of whom had used menopausal hormone therapy, were included in the analyses. We calculated adjusted relative risks (RRs) associated with menarche and menopause for breast cancer overall, and by tumour histology and by oestrogen receptor expression.Findings Breast cancer risk increased by a factor of 1.050 (95% CI 1.044-1.057; p < 0.0001) for every year younger at menarche, and independently by a smaller amount (1.029, 1.025-1.032; p < 0.0001), for every year older at menopause. Premenopausal women had a greater risk of breast cancer than postmenopausal women of an identical age (RR at age 45-54 years 1.43, 1.33-1.52, p < 0.001). All three of these associations were attenuated by increasing adiposity among postmenopausal women, but did not vary materially by women's year of birth, ethnic origin, childbearing history, smoking, alcohol consumption, or hormonal contraceptive use. All three associations were stronger for lobular than for ductal tumours (p < 0.006 for each comparison). The effect of menopause in women of an identical age and trends by age at menopause were stronger for oestrogen receptor-positive disease than for oestrogen receptor-negative disease (p < 0.01 for both comparisons).Interpretation The effects of menarche and menopause on breast cancer risk might not be acting merely by lengthening women's total number of reproductive years. Endogenous ovarian hormones are more relevant for oestrogen receptor-positive disease than for oestrogen receptor-negative disease and for lobular than for ductal tumours.Funding Cancer Research UK.

There has been much speculation as to the origin of the ��I = 1/2 rule (Re A_0/Re A_2 \simeq 22.5). We find that the two dominant contributions to the ��I=3/2, K \to ���� correlation functions have opposite signs leading to a significant cancellation. This partial cancellation occurs in our computation of Re A_2 with physical quark masses and kinematics (where we reproduce the experimental value of A_2) and also for heavier pions at threshold. For Re A_0, although we do not have results at physical kinematics, we do have results for pions at zero-momentum with m_�� \simeq 420 MeV (Re A_0/Re A_2=9.1(2.1)) and m_�� \simeq 330 MeV (Re A_0/Re A_2=12.0(1.7)). The contributions which partially cancel in Re A_2 are also the largest ones in Re A_0, but now they have the same sign and so enhance this amplitude. The emerging explanation of the ��I=1/2 rule is a combination of the perturbative running to scales of O(2 GeV), a relative suppression of Re A_2 through the cancellation of the two dominant contributions and the corresponding enhancement of Re A_0. QCD and EWP penguin operators make only very small contributions at such scales., 5 pages, 4 figures. v2 minor revisions to coincide w/ published version

We report on the first realistic \emph{ab initio} calculation of a hadronic weak decay, that of the amplitude $A_2$ for a kaon to decay into two ��-mesons with isospin 2. We find Re$A_2=(1.436\pm 0.063_{\textrm{stat}}\pm 0.258_{\textrm{syst}})\,10^{-8}\,\textrm{GeV}$ in good agreement with the experimental result and for the hitherto unknown imaginary part we find {Im}$\,A_2=-(6.83 \pm 0.51_{\textrm{stat}} \pm 1.30_{\textrm{syst}})\,10^{-13}\,{\rm GeV}$. Moreover combining our result for Im\,$A_2$ with experimental values of Re\,$A_2$, Re\,$A_0$ and $��^\prime/��$, we obtain the following value for the unknown ratio Im\,$A_0$/Re\,$A_0$ within the Standard Model: $\mathrm{Im}\,A_0/\mathrm{Re}\,A_0=-1.63(19)_{\mathrm{stat}}(20)_{\mathrm{syst}}\times10^{-4}$. One consequence of these results is that the contribution from Im\,$A_2$ to the direct CP violation parameter $��^{\prime}$ (the so-called Electroweak Penguin, EWP, contribution) is Re$(��^\prime/��)_{\mathrm{EWP}} = -(6.52 \pm 0.49_{\textrm{stat}} \pm 1.24_{\textrm{syst}}) \times 10^{-4}$. We explain why this calculation of $A_2$ represents a major milestone for lattice QCD and discuss the exciting prospects for a full quantitative understanding of CP-violation in kaon decays., 5 pages, 1 figure

We report a direct lattice calculation of the $K$ to $����$ decay matrix elements for both the $��I=1/2$ and 3/2 amplitudes $A_0$ and $A_2$ on 2+1 flavor, domain wall fermion, $16^3\times32\times16$ lattices. This is a complete calculation in which all contractions for the required ten, four-quark operators are evaluated, including the disconnected graphs in which no quark line connects the initial kaon and final two-pion states. These lattice operators are non-perturbatively renormalized using the Rome-Southampton method and the quadratic divergences are studied and removed. This is an important but notoriously difficult calculation, requiring high statistics on a large volume. In this paper we take a major step towards the computation of the physical $K\to����$ amplitudes by performing a complete calculation at unphysical kinematics with pions of mass 422\,MeV at rest in the kaon rest frame. With this simplification we are able to resolve Re$(A_0)$ from zero for the first time, with a 25% statistical error and can develop and evaluate methods for computing the complete, complex amplitude $A_0$, a calculation central to understanding the $��=1/2$ rule and testing the standard model of CP violation in the kaon system., 40 pages, 12 figures

We demonstrate a method for calculating the neutral B-meson decay constants and mixing matrix elements in unquenched lattice QCD with domain-wall light quarks and static b-quarks. Our computation is performed on the "2 + 1'' flavor gauge configurations generated by the RBC and UKQCD Collaborations with a lattice spacing of a approximate to 0.11 fm (a(-1) = 1.729 GeV) and a lattice spatial volume of approximately (1.8 fm)(3). We simulate at three different light sea quark masses with pion masses down to approximately 430 MeV, and extrapolate to the physical quark masses using a phenomenologically-motivated fit function based on next-to-leading order heavy-light meson SU(2) chiral perturbation theory. For the b-quarks, we use an improved formulation of the Eichten-Hill action with static link-smearing to increase the signal-to-noise ratio. We also improve the heavy-light axial current used to compute the B-meson decay constant to O(alpha(s)pa) using one-loop lattice perturbation theory. We present initial results for the SU(3)-breaking ratios f(Bs)/f(Bd) and xi = f(Bs)root B-Bs/f(Bd)root B-Bd, thereby demonstrating the viability of the method. For the ratio of decay constants, we find f(Bs)/f(Bd) = 1.15(12) and for the ratio of mixing matrix elements, we find xi = 1.13(12), where in both cases the errors reflect the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties, including an estimate of the size of neglected O(1/m(b)) effects., We thank S. Aoki, S.D. Cohen, C. Dawson, E. Gamiz, C. Jung, A. Lenz, M. Lin, and N. Yamada for useful discussions.Computations for this work were carried out in part on facilities of the USQCD Collaboration, which are funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. We thank BNL, PPARC, RIKEN, University of Edinburgh, and the U.S. DOE for providing the facilities essential for the completion of this work. The Edinburgh QCDOC system was funded by PPARC JIF grant PPA/J/S/1998/00756 and operated through support from the Universities of Edinburgh, Southampton, and Wales, Swansea and from STFC grant PP/E006965/1. This work was supported in part by the U.S. Department of Energy under grant No. DE-FG02-92ER40699, by Columbia University’s I.I. Rabi grant, by PPARC grants PP/D000238/1 and PP/C503154/1, and by the Grant-in-Aid of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan (MEXT Grant), No. 17740138, No. 19740134, and No.21540289. PAB is supported by RCUK. JMF and CTS acknowledge partial support from STFC grant ST/G000557/1 and EU contract MRTN-CT-2006-035482 (Flavianet). This manuscript has been authored by employees of Brookhaven Science Asso- ciates, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC02-98CH10886 with the U.S. Department of Energy. RV acknowledges support from BNL via the Goldhaber Distinguished Fellowship.

Using partially twisted boundary conditions we compute the K->pi semi-leptonic form factors in the range of momentum transfers 0, 8 pages, 5 figures

I review lattice quantum chromodynamics as relevant to the kaon system. Topics covered include the pseudoscalar masses and decay constants, the chiral effective lagrangian, $f_K/f_\pi$, semi-leptonic kaon decay form factors, and the neutral kaon oscillation parameter $B_K$., Comment: 16 pages, Kaon 2009

From simultaneous fits to the data from the 2+1 flavor DWF ensembles generated by the RBC and UKQCD collaborations at two different lattice spacings, we present preliminary continuum results for light hadrons. We focus on light pseudoscalar decay constants and quark masses. Several approaches to the calculation of the lattice spacing are discussed and the errors associated with the chiral extrapolation are explained. We make use of reweighting in the dynamical strange quark mass such that our ensembles have a self-consistently determined strange quark mass., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures. Contribution to The XXVII International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, July 26-31, 2009

Despite a growing body of scientific evidence that has demonstrated the toxic, carcinogenic and addictive effects of tobacco, tobacco products remain unique in being the only carcinogenic and addictive product sold legally.1 2 On 22 February 2006 a petition stipulating the implementation of a ban on the manufacture and sale of tobacco products phased over the next 10 years in Korea, was filed at the National Assembly. This petition can only succeed if it is supported by national consensus. To perceive the attitude towards this act among the general population, and to elucidate factors associated with support of or opposition to the act, a nationwide telephone interview survey was conducted in Korea in June 2006 by the Korean branch of the Gallup International Association. A sample of 1508 individuals (741 men and 767 …

We present results for the couplings of light vector mesons to vector and tensor currents and on the low moments of the light-cone distribution amplitudes of the pion and kaon. The calculations are performed on the RBC and UKQCD collaborations' ensembles generated with the Iwasaki gauge action and with 2+1 flavours of domain wall fermions. The (preliminary) results for the ratios of the couplings of the vector meson to the vector and tensor currents (f_V and f^T_V respectively) in the MSbar scheme at 2GeV are: f_\rho^T/f_\rho=0.681(20); f_{K^\ast}^T/f_{K^\ast}=0.712(11) and f_\phi^T/f_\phi=0.751(9). For the first moment of the kaon's distribution amplitude we find (in the same scheme and at the same scale) _K=0.029(2) and for the second moment _\pi=0.28(3) and _K=0.27(2)., Comment: Talk presented at the XXV International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, July 30 - August 4 2007, Regensburg, Germany, 7 pages

We present results for light meson masses and pseudoscalar decay constants from the first of a series of lattice calculations with 2+1 dynamical flavors of domain wall fermions and the Iwasaki gauge action. The work reported here was done at a fixed lattice spacing of about 0.12 fm on a 16^3\times32 lattice, which amounts to a spatial volume of (2 fm)^3 in physical units. The number of sites in the fifth dimension is 16, which gives m_{res} = 0.00308(4) in these simulations. Three values of input light sea quark masses, m_l^{sea} \approx 0.85 m_s, 0.59 m_s and 0.33 m_s were used to allow for extrapolations to the physical light quark limit, whilst the heavier sea quark mass was fixed to approximately the physical strange quark mass m_s. The exact rational hybrid Monte Carlo algorithm was used to evaluate the fractional powers of the fermion determinants in the ensemble generation. We have found that f_\pi = 127(4) MeV, f_K = 157(5) MeV and f_K/f_\pi = 1.24(2), where the errors are statistical only, which are in good agreement with the experimental values., Comment: RBC and UKQCD Collaborations. 17 pages, 14 figures. Typeset with ReVTEX4. v2: replaced with the version published in PRD with improved introduction

We present the latest results from the UKQCD/RBC collaborations for the K_l3 form factor with 2+1 flavours of dynamical domain wall quarks. Simulations are performed on 16^3x32x16 and 24^3x64x16 lattices with three values of the light quark mass, allowing for an extrapolation to the chiral limit. After interpolating to zero momentum transfer, we obtain the preliminary result f_+^{K\pi}(0)=0.9609(51) (or \Delta f = -0.0161(51)), which is in agreement with the result of Leutwyler & Roos., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Talk presented at CKM2006, Nagoya, Japan

Background The Collaborative Group on Hormonal Factors in Breast Cancer has brought together and reanalysed the worldwide epidemiological evidence on the relation between breast cancer risk and use of hormonal contraceptives. Methods Individual data on 53297 women with breast cancer and 100 239 women without breast cancer from 54 studies conducted in 25 countries were collected, checked, and analysed centrally. Estimates of the relative risk for breast cancer were obtained by a modification of the Mantel-Haenszel method. All analyses were stratified by study, age at diagnosis, parity, and, where appropriate, the age a woman was when her first child was born, and the age she was when her risk of conception ceased. Findings The results provide strong evidence for two main conclusions. First, while women are taking combined oral contraceptives and in the 10 years after stopping there is a small increase in the relative risk of having breast cancer diagnosed (relative risk [95% CI] in current users 1.24 [1.15-1.33], 2p

The Collaborative Group on Hormonal Factors in Breast Cancer has brought together and reanalysed the worldwide epidemiological evidence on breast cancer risk and use oi hormonal contraceptives. Original data from 54 studies, representing about 90% of the information available on the topic, were collected, checked and analysed centrally. The 54 studies were performed in 26 countries and include a total of 53,297 women with breast cancer and 100,239 women without breast cancer. The studies were varied in their design, setting and timing. Most information came from case-control studies with controls chosen from the general population; most women resided in Europe or North America and most cancers were diagnosed during the 1980s. Overall 41% of the women with breast cancer and 40% of the women without breast cancer had used oral contraceptives at some time: the median age at first use was 26 years, the median duration of use was 3 years, the median year of first use was 1968, the median time since first use was 16 years, and the median time since last use was 9 years. The main findings, summarised elsewhere,I are that there is a small increase in the risk of having breast cancer diagnosed in current users of combined oral contraceptives and in women who had stopped use in the past 10 years but that there is no evidence of an increase in the risk more than 10 years after stopping use. In addition, the cancers diagnosed in women who had used oral contraceptives tended to be less advanced clinically than the cancers diagnosed in women who had not used them. Despite the large number of possibilities investigated, few factors appeared to modify the main findings either in recent or in past users. For recent users who began use before age 20 the relative risks are higher than for recent users who began at older ages. For women whose use of oral contraceptives ceased more than 10 years before there was some suggestion of a reduction in breast cancer risk in certain subgroups, with a deficit of tumors that had spread beyond the breast, especially among women who had used preparations containing the highest doses of oestrogen and progestogen. These findings are unexpected and need to be confirmed. Although these data represent most of the epidemiologi cal evidence on the topic to date, there is still insufficient information to comment reliably about the effects of specific types of oestrogen or of progestogen. What evidence there is suggests, however, no major differences in the effects for specific types of oestrogen or of progestogen and that the pattern of risk associated with use of hormonal contraceptives containing progestogens alone may be similar to that observed for preparations containing both oestrogens and progestogens. On the basis of these results, there is little difference between women who have and have not used combined oral contraceptives in terms of the estimated cumulative number of breast cancers diagnosed during the period from starting use up to 20 rears after stopping. The cancers diagnosed in women who have used oral contraceptives are, however, less advanced clinically than the cancers diag nosed in never users. Further research is needed to establish whether the associations described here are due to earlier diagnosis of breast cancer in women who have used oral contraceptives, to the biological effects of the hormonal contraceptives or to a combination of both. Little information is as yet available about the effects on breast cancer risk of oral contraceptive use that ceased more than 20 years before and as such data accumulate it will be necessary to reexamine the worldwide evidence. RI Ranstam, Jonas/A-4386-2009; Colditz, Graham/A-3963-2009

We present the latest results from the UKQCD/RBC collaborations for the K_{l3} form factor with 2+1 flavours of dynamical domain wall quarks. Simulations are performed on 16^3x32x16 and 24^3x64x16 lattices with three values of the light quark mass, allowing for an extrapolation to the chiral limit. After interpolating to zero momentum transfer, we obtain the preliminary result f_+^{K��}(0)=0.9680(16), which is in excellent agreement with an earlier N_f=2 result., 7 pages, 4 figures, talk presented at Lattice 2006

We present results for the light meson masses, the bare strange quark mass and preliminary non-perturbative renormalisation of B_K in 2+1 flavour domain wall QCD. The ensembles used were generated with the Iwasaki gauge action and have a volume of 16^3 x 32 with a fifth dimension size of 16 and an inverse lattice spacing of 1.6 GeV. These ensembles have u and d masses as low as one quarter of the strange quark mass. All data were generated jointly by the UKQCD and RBC collaborations on QCDOC machines., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, contribution to Lattice 2006

We present results for some of the light baryon masses and their excited states in 2+1 flavour domain wall QCD. We considered several lattice spacings, with the DBW2 and Iwasaki gauge actions and different sea quark masses on a volume of $16^3\times32$ and a fifth dimension of size 8. All data were generated on the QCDOC machines. Despite large residual massses and a limited number of sea quark mass values with which to perform chiral extrapolations, our results are in reasonable agreement with experiment and scale within errors. Finite size effects on most ensembles appear to be small., Comment: 6 pages 3 figures, PoS style, contribution to lattice 2005

Item does not contain fulltext OBJECTIVES: Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), which are often caused by benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH), and sexual dysfunction are common in older men, with an overall prevalence of > 50% in men aged > 50 years. Men with LUTS have been reported to experience sexual dysfunction, including ejaculatory loss, painful ejaculation, and erectile dysfunction. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between LUTS and sexual problems in aging men. METHODS: A large-scale, multinational survey was conducted in the US and six European countries to systematically investigate the relationship between LUTS and sexual dysfunction in older men. Detailed questionnaires were mailed to a national representative sample of men aged 50 to 80 years in each country. Selection was made on the basis of age, occupation, geographie region, and population density. LUTS and sexual function were assessed by validated symptom scales, including the International Prostate Symptom Score, the Danish Prostatic Symptom Score, and the International Index of Erectile Function. Subjects also completed a health and demographics questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 34,800 surveys were mailed out, 14,254 were completed and returned, and 12,815 were deemed evaluable and included in the analysis. Results were consistent from one country to another. Although 90% of the men had LUTS, only 19% had sought medical help for urinary problems and only 11% were medically treated. Sexual activity was reported by 83% of the sample, with 71% reporting at least one episode of sexual activity during the previous 4 weeks. Sexual disorders and their bothersomeness were strongly related to both age and severity of LUTS. The relationship between sexual problems and LUTS is independent of comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiac disease, and hypercholesterolemeia. CONCLUSIONS: Sexual activity is common in a majority of men over age 50 and is an important component of overall quality of life. The presence and severity of LUTS are independent risk factors for sexual dysfunction in older men. These results highlight the clinical importance of evaluating LUTS in patients with sexual dysfunction, and the need to consider sexual issues in the management of patients with benign prostatic hypertrophy.