Exploring correlations in the stochastic Yang–Mills vacuum

The correlation lengths of nonperturbative-nonconfining and confining stochastic background Yang–Mills fields are obtained by means of a direct analytic path-integral evaluation of the Green functions of the so-called one- and two-gluon gluelumps. Numerically, these lengths turn out to be in a good agreement with those known from the earlier, Hamiltonian, treatment of such Green functions. It is also demonstrated that the correlation function of nonperturbative-nonconfining fields decreases with the deviation of the path in this correlation function from the straight-line one.     

A low-dimensional model of separation bubbles

In this work, motivated by the problem of model-based predictive control of separated flows, we identify the key variables and the requirements on a model-based observer and construct a prototype low-dimensional model to be embedded in control applications.Namely, using a phenomenological physics-based approach and dynamical systems and singularity theories, we uncover the low-dimensional nature of the complex dynamics of actuated separated flows and capture the crucial bifurcation and hysteresis inherent in separation phenomena. This new look at the problem naturally leads to several important implications, such as, firstly, uncovering the physical mechanisms for hysteresis, secondly, predicting a finite amplitude instability of the bubble, and, thirdly, to new issues to be studied theoretically and tested experimentally.     

Flexoelectricity induced increase of critical thickness in epitaxial ferroelectric thin films

Flexoelectricity describes the coupling between polarization and strain/stress gradients in insulating crystals. In this paper, using the Landau–Ginsburg–Devonshire phenomenological approach, we found that flexoelectricity could increase the theoretical critical thickness in epitaxial BaTiO₃ thin films, below which the switchable spontaneous polarization vanishes. This increase is remarkable in tensile films while trivial in compressive films due to the electrostriction caused decrease of potential barrier, which can be easily destroyed by the flexoelectricity, between the ferroelectric state and the paraelectric state in tensile films. In addition, the films are still in a uni-polar state even below the critical thickness due to the flexoelectric effect.     

The electron and neutron EDM from supersymmetric see-saw thresholds

We consider the corrections that arise at one loop when integrating out heavy fields in supersymmetric models. We show that, in type-I see-saw models, complex AN$A_N$- and BN$B_N$-terms of the heavy right-handed neutrino give radiative contributions to the neutron EDM, as well as new dominant contributions to the electron EDM. Type-II and type-III see-saw also predict a pure gauge correction that makes complex the masses of the weak gauginos. All the see-saw models can predict observable EDM for the electron and for the neutron in a peculiar ratio.     

Flexomagnetoelectric interaction in cubic,tetragonal and orthorhombic crystals

The phenomenological theory of the flexomagnetoelectric coupling in crystals of the cubic, tetragonal and orthorhombic crystal systems has been suggested. Secondary role of the crystal structure chirality was shown. Oppositely, significant role of the crystallographic point group type (symmetric, alternating, dihedral or cyclic) in the flexomagnetoelectric coupling has been derived. It was shown, that conceptually new features of the flexomagnetoelectric effects are expected in the crystals of the cyclic groups (crystal classes 4/m, 4? and 4). Proposed verification of the theory is investigation of the domain wall bend details (changes of the effect symmetry). Special case of such verification near the compensation point is suggested. First-principles mechanisms of the flexomagnetoelectric interaction were discussed.     

Diffraction gratings: An amazing phenomenon

The paper describes and explains the most surprising Woodʼs anomaly: the total absorption of a plane wave by a shallow metallic grating.After a numerical and experimental evidence of the total absorption, we develop a quantitative phenomenological theory. Assuming that the anomalies are caused by the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons on the grating surface, we use theorems on analytic functions of the complex variable for representing the amplitudes of the scattered waves accurately through a phenomenological formula.The original rigorous grating theory used for numerical computations is outlined and some practical applications of strong absorptions are presented.     

Searching for Higgs decays to four bottom quarks at LHCb

We discuss the feasibility of seeing a Higgs boson which decays to four bottom quarks through a pair of (pseudo-)scalars at the LHCb experiment to argue that the use of b-physics triggers and off-line vertex reconstruction, as opposed to jet triggers with b tagging, may be more effective for this signal. Focusing on inclusive production for the Higgs, we find that for light scalar masses below 20 GeV, signal reconstruction efficiencies of order a few percent may be enough for LHCb to find evidence for a Higgs with a dominant 4b decay channel.