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A Higgs-like particle with a mass of about 125.5 GeV has been discovered at the LHC. Within the current experimental uncertainties, this new state is compatible with both the predictions for the Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson and with the Higgs sector in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). We propose new low-energy MSSM benchmark scenarios that, over a wide parameter range, are compatible with the mass and production rates of the observed signal. These scenarios also exhibit interesting phenomenology for the MSSM Higgs sector. We propose a slightly updated version of the well-known scenario, and a modified scenario ( ), where the light -even Higgs boson can be interpreted as the LHC signal in large parts of the M A –tan β plane. Furthermore, we define a light stop scenario that leads to a suppression of the lightest -even Higgs gluon fusion rate, and a light stau scenario with an enhanced decay rate of h → γγ at large tan β . We also suggest a τ - phobic Higgs scenario in which the lightest Higgs can have suppressed couplings to down-type fermions. We propose to supplement the specified value of the μ  parameter in some of these scenarios with additional values of both signs. This has a significant impact on the interpretation of searches for the non-SM-like MSSM Higgs bosons. We also discuss the sensitivity of the searches to heavy Higgs decays into light charginos and neutralinos, and to decays of the form H → hh . Finally, in addition to all the other scenarios where the lightest -even Higgs is interpreted as the LHC signal, we propose a low - M H scenario, where instead the heavy -even Higgs boson corresponds to the new state around 125.5 GeV.

A bstract Electroweak baryogenesis is an attractive scenario for the generation of the baryon asymmetry of the universe as its realization depends on the presence at the weak scale of new particles which may be searched for at high energy colliders. In the MSSM it may only be realized in the presence of light stops, and with moderate or small mixing between the left- and right-handed components. Consistency with the observed Higgs mass around 125 GeV demands the heavier stop mass to be much larger than the weak scale. Moreover the lighter stop leads to an increase of the gluon-gluon fusion Higgs production cross section which seems to be in contradiction with indications from current LHC data. We show that this tension may be considerably relaxed in the presence of a light neutralino with a mass lower than about 60 GeV, satisfying all present experimental constraints. In such a case the Higgs may have a significant invisible decay width and the stop decays through a three or four body decay channel, including a bottom quark and the lightest neutralino in the final state. All these properties make this scenario testable at a high luminosity LHC.

Predictions for the Higgs masses are a distinctive feature of supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model, where they play a crucial role in constraining the parameter space. The discovery of a Higgs boson and the remarkably precise measurement of its mass at the LHC have spurred new efforts aimed at improving the accuracy of the theoretical predictions for the Higgs masses in supersymmetric models. The “Precision SUSY Higgs Mass Calculation Initiative” (KUTS) was launched in 2014 to provide a forum for discussions between the different groups involved in these efforts. This report aims to present a comprehensive overview of the current status of Higgs-mass calculations in supersymmetric models, to document the many advances that were achieved in recent years and were discussed during the KUTS meetings, and to outline the prospects for future improvements in these calculations.

Total and extractable starch, oil, protein, and amino acids of maize ( Zea mays L.) are important to farmers and ranchers because of their various end uses including ethanol and feedstock nutrition. The objectives of this study were: (1) to evaluate grain quality traits in different water regimes and (2) to discuss the implications for breeding maize quality cultivars in water stressed (WS) environments. Ninety-four partial diallel crosses including 47 diverse maize inbreds and checks were tested in 12 WS, well watered (WW), and random drought (RDT) environments in 2013 and 2014. The changes in mean grain extractable (<1.33 %) and total starch (<0.74 %), oil (<2.2 %), cysteine (<2.91 %) and lysine (<2.81 %) contents in WS and RDT were small while the changes in grain protein (+6.58 % in WS and +3.46 % in RDT) and methionine (+4.41 % in WS and −1.86 % in RDT) content were large compared to WW environments. Additive genetic variance was most important across stresses and the largest variance was estimated in WS environments. The narrow-sense heritability ( h 2 ) was found to be high (>0.40) for all traits in WW environments except for grain protein and amino acid contents. The mid-parent hybrid correlation was strong (>0.62) for all traits across stresses except for amino acid content (<0.55). The stress environments were largely associated for grain oil and total and extractable starch contents (>0.60). However, they were less associated with grain protein content and amino acid content (<0.49). Therefore, while breeding for better ethanol maize varieties could be based on multi-location testing in WS environments, breeding for healthier feedstock protein products could be conducted across environments.

Understanding the genetic relationships among broad-based populations is a good starting point for breeding programs. These utilize introduction and adaptation of tropical and temperate populations to broaden the genetic resources for genetic improvement. A diallel of 16 maize populations adapted to the northern U.S. Corn Belt was used to estimate population genetic parameters. These were used to assess genetic diversity and assign the populations to heterotic groups. Using the general combining ability (g ᵢ) estimates, 19 agronomic and grain quality traits showed large contribution on the variability of the first two principal components. All traits were used to characterize the genetic similarities among the populations. The cluster analysis formed three groups and a singleton based on genetic distances (GD) of g ᵢ estimates. The specific heterosis (s ᵢⱼ) estimates for grain yield were used to assign the 16 populations to heterotic groups, since there was a positive correlation between GD and s ᵢⱼ . Four heterotic groups were established. These showed a good agreement with that formed using GD. The heterotic grouping agreed with genetic background information and heterotic group’s specific and general combining ability estimates. The EARLYGEM 21 populations with exotic background were assigned to a unique heterotic group. They showed high heterosis when crossed with a tropical population and populations belonging from other heterotic groups. The heterotic groupings among the 16 populations validated former heterotic groups, and new heterotic patterns were created. These results will increase breeding efficiency in developing new cultivars for the northern U.S. Corn Belt.

A bstract Current Higgs data at the Large Hadron Collider is compatible with a SM signal at the 2σ level, but the central value of the signal strength in the diphoton channel is enhanced with respect to the SM expectation. If the enhancement resides in the diphoton partial decay width, the data could be accommodated in the Minimally Super-symmetric Standard Model (MSSM) with highly mixed light staus. We revisit the issue of vacuum instability induced by large mixing in the stau sector, including effects of a radiatively-corrected tau Yukawa coupling. Further, we emphasize the importance of taking into account the tan β dependence in the stability bound. While the metastability of the Universe constrains the possible enhancement in the Higgs to diphoton decay width in the light stau scenario, an increase of the order of 50% can be achieved in the region of large tan β. Larger enhancements may be obtained, but would require values of tan β associated with non-perturbative values of the tau Yukawa coupling at scales below the GUT scale, thereby implying the presence of new physics beyond the MSSM.

In this article we present the definition of the generalized maximal operator M Φ acting on measures and we prove some of its basic properties. More precisely, we demonstrate that M Φ satisfies a Kolmogorov inequality and that this operator is of weak type ( 1 , 1 ) . This allow us to obtain a family of A p weights involving the distance d ( x , F ) to a closed set F in a framework of Ahlfors spaces. Also, we prove that M Φ satisfies a weighted modular weak type inequality associated to the Young function Φ , and we give another one that yields a sufficient condition for the weight to belong to the A 1 class.

There is a need to develop the next generation of healthier crop products for an improved human and animal nutrition. Maize ( Zea mays L.) cultivars with improved amino acid profiles are essential to diets focused on this crop. Breeders have added crop value with the development of quality protein maize (QPM). However, QPM cultivars have never been an option to farmer and ranchers in short-season environments. The objectives of this research were: (1) to adapt QPM genotypes to the northern U.S. through the North Dakota (ND) EarlyQPM Program, and (2) to develop new early generation SS and non-SS short-season QPM lines and populations for breeding purposes. Fifty-three inbred lines, including 47 QPM donor lines, five experimental North Dakota State University (NDSU) lines, and one ex-PVP line from industry, were selected to produce 94 early-QPM backcross populations. Considering earliness, protein content, and amino acid levels, 218 early generation lines were selected for producing testcrosses with industry testers. Experiments evaluating testcrosses were arranged in 10 × 10 and 12 × 12 partially balanced lattice designs across three ND locations in 2013 and 2014. A total of 48 lines were selected for further development, 17 representing the Stiff Stalk (SS) heterotic group and 31 representing the non-SS group. Selected lines showed, in hybrid combinations, not only above average grain yield, rate of dry down, and total protein content but also high levels of lysine, tryptophan, and methionine essential amino acids for feedstock nutrition. The results of this research show, for the first time, the successful adaptation of QPM genotypes to short-season environments. As a result, new ND EarlyQPM germplasms and lines have been developed for potential release.

A bstract We introduce and explore new heavy Higgs scenarios in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) with explicit CP violation, which have important phenomenological implications that may be testable at the LHC. For soft supersymmetry-breaking scales M S above a few TeV and a charged Higgs boson mass M H + above a few hundred GeV, new physics effects including those from explicit CP violation decouple from the light Higgs boson sector. However, such effects can significantly alter the phenomenology of the heavy Higgs bosons while still being consistent with constraints from low-energy observables, for instance electric dipole moments. To consider scenarios with a charged Higgs boson much heavier than the Standard Model (SM) particles but much lighter than the supersymmetric particles, we revisit previous calculations of the MSSM Higgs sector. We compute the Higgs boson masses in the presence of CP violating phases, implementing improved matching and renormalization-group (RG) effects, as well as two-loop RG effects from the effective two-Higgs Doublet Model (2HDM) scale M H ± to the scale M S . We illustrate the possibility of non-decoupling CP-violating effects in the heavy Higgs sector using new benchmark scenarios named .

Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of few crops that can offer significant genetic gains with the utilization of genetic diversity. Genetically broad-based germplasm has the potential to contribute useful and unique alleles to U.S. Corn Belt breeding programs not present in current U.S. genome sequences (e.g. B73, NAM, etc.). Our objectives were to determine if unique tropical genetic materials have been effectively adapted to temperate environments and how their agronomic performance was relative to adapted populations. An important long-term objective of the Iowa and North Dakota maize breeding programs has been, in addition to the typical elite by elite line pedigree selection cultivar development process, to adapt exotic and unique germplasm, maximize their genetic improvement, and develop unique products for breeding and commercial uses. Stratified mass selection methodology for earliness has been utilized for the adaptation of tropical and temperate populations to Iowa and North Dakota environments. This method has allowed screening of up to 25,000 genotypes per population cycle at a rate of one cycle per year. In addition, the estimated cost per year our programs had for the adaptation of each population was less than $2,000 which could successfully be applied in any breeding program across the globe. This cost has been less than 1 % of the total cost for finding minor genes on the same trait. Our results showed the successful adaptation of exotic populations was independent from genetic background. We can speculate there are a few major genes responsible for most of flowering date expression. We encourage the use of technology to target traits according to their genetic complexity. Stratified mass selection at the phenotypic level has been successful. Each of the populations with either 25 of 100 % tropical germplasm are available for anyone who may desire to expand the germplasm base of their breeding programs with tropical germplasm adapted to temperate mid- and short-season U.S. Corn Belt environments.