Measurements of branching fractions for B --> K pi and B --> pi pi decays

We report measurements of branching fractions for B --> K pi and B --> pi pi decays based on a data sample of 449 x 10(6) BB[over] pairs collected at the Upsilon(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e(+)e(-) collider. We also measure the ratios of partial widths for B-->Kpi decays, namely R(c) identical with 2Gamma(B(+) --> K(+) pi(0))/Gamma(B(+) --> K(0) pi(+)) = 1.08+/-0.06+/-0.08 and R(n) identical with Gamma(B(0) --> K(+) pi(-))/2 Gamma(B(0) --> K(0) pi(0)) = 1.08+/-0.08+/-0.08, where the first and the second errors are statistical and systematic, respectively. These ratios are sensitive to enhanced electroweak penguin contributions from new physics; the new measurements are, however, consistent with standard model expectations.     

Measurement of inclusive Ds, D0, and J/psi rates and determination of the Bs(*)Bs(*) production fraction in bb Events at the Upsilon(5S) resonance

The inclusive production of D(s), D(0), and J/psi mesons is studied using a 1.86 fb(-1) data sample collected on the Upsilon(5S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e(+)e(-) collider. The number of bb events in this Upsilon(5S) data sample is determined. We measure the branching fractions B(Upsilon(5S)-->D(s)X)/2=(23.6+/-1.2+/-3.6)%, B(Upsilon(5S)-->D(0)X)/2=(53.8+/-2.0+/-3.4)%, and B(Upsilon(5S)-->J/psiX)/2=(1.030+/-0.080+/-0.067)%. From the D(s) and D(0) inclusive branching fractions the ratio f(s)=(18.0+/-1.3+/-3.2)% of B(s)(*)B(s)(*) to the total bb quark pair production at the Upsilon(5S) energy is obtained in a model-dependent way.     

Trace gas detect based on spectral analysis and harmonic ratio

Optical Review - A novel method of gas concentration calibration for tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy, in which spectral analysis and harmonic signal intensity ratio measurement are...     

A new set of atomic radii for accurate estimation of solvation free energy by Poisson–Boltzmann solvent model

The Poisson–Boltzmann implicit solvent (PB) is widely used to estimate the solvation free energies of biomolecules in molecular simulations. An optimized set of atomic radii (PB radii) is an important parameter for PB calculations, which determines the distribution of dielectric constants around the solute. We here present new PB radii for the AMBER protein force field to accurately reproduce the solvation free energies obtained from explicit solvent simulations. The presented PB radii were optimized using results from explicit solvent simulations of the large systems. In addition, we discriminated PB radii for N‐ and C‐terminal residues from those for nonterminal residues. The performances using our PB radii showed high accuracy for the estimation of solvation free energies at the level of the molecular fragment. The obtained PB radii are effective for the detailed analysis of the solvation effects of biomolecules. © 2014 The Authors Journal of Computational Chemistry Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Evidence for B0 --> D+ D- and observation of B- --> D0D- and B- -->D0D*- decays

We report evidence for B(0) --> D(0)D(-) and the first observation of the decay modes B(-) --> D(0)D(-) and B(-) --> D(0)D(*-) based on a sample of 152 x 10(6) BB events collected by the Belle detector at KEKB. The branching fractions for B(0) --> D(+) D(-), B--->D(0)D(-), and B--> D(0)D(*-) are found to be (1.91 +/- 0.51 +/- 0.30) x10(-4), (4.83 +/- 0.78 +/- 0.58) x 10(-4), and (4.57 +/- 0.71 +/- 0.56) x 10(-4), respectively. Charge asymmetries in the B---> D(0)D(-) and B(-) --> D(0)D(*-) channels are consistent with zero.     

Faithful qubit distribution assisted by one additional qubit against collective noise

We propose a distribution scheme of polarization states of a single photon over a collective-noise channel. By adding one extra photon with a fixed polarization, we can protect the state against collective noise via a parity-check measurement and postselection. While the scheme succeeds only probabilistically, it is simpler and more flexible than the schemes utilizing decoherence-free subspace. An application to the Bennett-Brassard 1984 protocol through a collective-noise channel, which is robust to the Trojan horse attack, is also given.     

Measurement of time-dependent CP-violating asymmetries in B0 --> K(s)0K(s)0K(s)0 decay

We present a measurement of CP-violation parameters in the B0 --> K(s)0K(s)0K(s)0 decay based on a sample of 275 x 10(6) BB pairs collected at the upsilon(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB energy-asymmetric e+e- collider. One neutral B meson is fully reconstructed in the decay B0 --> K(s)0K(s)0K(s)0, and the flavor of the accompanying B meson is identified from its decay products. CP-violation parameters are obtained from the asymmetry in the distributions of the proper-time interval between the two B decays: S = +1.26 +/- 0.68(stat) +/- 0.20(syst) and [symbol: see text] = +0.54 +/- 0.34(stat) +/- 0.09(syst).     

Observation of the D1(2420)-->Dpi + pi- decays

We report on the first observation of D0/1(2420)-->D0pi- pi+ and D+/1(2420-->D+ pi- pi+ decays (where the contribution from the dominant known D1-->D*pi decay mode is excluded) in the B- -->D0/1pi-) and (-)B0-->D+/1pi- decays, respectively. The observation is based on 15.2 x 10(7) B(-)B events collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB collider. We also set 90% confidence level upper limits for the branching fractions of the four following decays: B- -->D0/1pi-, D01-->D(*0)pi- pi+, (-)B0-->D+/1pi-, D+/1-->D(*+) pi- pi+, B- -->D(*0)2(2460)pi-, D(*0)2 -->D(*0) pi- pi+, (-)B0-->D(*+)2(2460)pi-, D(*+)2-->D(*+)pi- pi+.