Can supersymmetry breaking lead to electroweak symmetry breaking via formation of scalar bound states?

The recent discovery of the putative 125 GeV Higgs boson has motivated a number of attempts to reconcile its relatively large mass with the predictions of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM). Some approaches invoked large trilinear supersymmetry breaking terms _At$A_t$ between stops and one of the elementary Higgs fields. We consider the possibility that electroweak symmetry breaking may be triggered by supersymmetry breaking with a large _At$A_t$, large enough to generate a composite field with the same quantum numbers as the Higgs boson and with a non-vanishing vacuum expectation value. In the resulting vacuum, the usual relation between the gauge couplings and the Higgs self-coupling does not apply, and there is no reason to expect the same upper bound on the mass of the lightest Higgs boson. In a simple model where the bound state is assumed to have no mixing with the other fields, we calculate the critical coupling _At$A_t$ necessary for symmetry breaking using the lowest-order Bethe–Salpeter (BS) equation. Study of the BS equation is complicated by the structure of its lowest-order kernel, which is a crossed box graph, but we find an accurate approximation to its solution. In a realistic model, the mixing of the bound state with the fundamental Higgs boson creates a symmetry-breaking seesaw. We outline the steps toward a realistic model.     

Do mixtures of bosonic and fermionic atoms adiabatically heat up in optical lattices?

Mixtures of bosonic and fermionic atoms in optical lattices provide a promising arena to study strongly correlated systems. In experiments realizing such mixtures in the quantum-degenerate regime the temperature is a key parameter. We investigate the intrinsic heating and cooling effects due to an entropy-preserving raising of the optical lattice, identify the generic behavior valid for a wide range of parameters, and discuss it quantitatively for the recent experiments with 87Rb and 40K atoms. In the absence of a lattice, we treat the bosons in the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov-Popov approximation, including the fermions in a self-consistent mean-field interaction. In the presence of the full three-dimensional lattice, we use a strong coupling expansion. We find the temperature of the mixture in the lattice to be always higher than for the pure bosonic case, shedding light onto a key point in the analysis of recent experiments.     

Metastable Frenkel pair defect in graphite: source of Wigner energy?

The atomic processes associated with energy storage and release in irradiated graphite have long been subject to untested speculation. We examine structures and recombination routes for interstitial-vacancy (I-V) pairs in graphite. Interaction results in the formation of a new metastable defect (an intimate I-V pair) or a Stone-Wales defect. The intimate I-V pair, although 2.9 eV more stable than its isolated constituents, still has a formation energy of 10.8 eV. The barrier to recombination to perfect graphite is calculated to be 1.3 eV, consistent with the experimental first Wigner energy release peak at 1.38 eV. We expect similar defects to form in carbon nanostructures such as nanotubes, nested fullerenes, and onions under irradiation.     

Phonon density of states in γ-, β-, and α-AgCuS

The ternary superionic conductor AgCuS was studied by means of inelastic neutron scattering at temperatures of 150 to 398 K. The experimental time-of-flight spectra were recalculated into the generalized phonon density of states G(ɛ) in an incoherent approximation. It is shown that G(ɛ) of AgCuS has a nontrivial temperature dependence over the low-energy range. The relation between the temperature dependence of G(ɛ) and the existence of a low-energy mode in AgCuS is discussed. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Phonon transport in isotope-disordered carbon and boron-nitride nanotubes: is localization observable?

We present an ab initio study which identifies dominant effects leading to thermal conductivity reductions in carbon and boron-nitride nanotubes with isotope disorder. Our analysis reveals that, contrary to previous speculations, localization effects cannot be observed in the thermal conductivity measurements. Observable reduction of the thermal conductivity is mostly due to diffusive scattering. Multiple scattering induced interference effects were found to be prominent for isotope concentrations > or approximately 10%; otherwise, the thermal conduction is mainly determined by independent scattering contributions of single isotopes. We give explicit predictions of the effect of isotope disorder on nanotube thermal conductivity that can be directly compared with experiments.     

Do oxygen molecules contribute to oxygen diffusion and thermal donor formation in silicon?

In- and out-diffusion experiments of oxygen in silicon indicate the existence of an oxygen-containing species diffusing much faster than interstitial oxygen at temperatures below about 700°C. The formation of oxygen-related thermal donors in the temperature range around 450°C also requires a fast diffusing species. The paper examines the possibility of this fast diffusing species beingmolecular oxygen, as had been suggested earlier. Special emphasis will be placed on experimental results which have become available since that time. These results allow one to relate thermal donor formation to the loss of interstitial oxygen and to oxygen precipitation. The role of carbon is also considered in this context.Paper submitted as contribution to special issue on Molecule-Like Defects in Crystalline Semiconductors. Appl. Phys. 48/1 January 1989     

Nature of charge carriers in disordered molecular solids: are polarons compatible with observations?

Polaronic theories for charge transport in disordered organic solids, particularly molecularly doped polymers, have been plagued by issues of internal consistency related to the magnitude of physical parameters. We present a natural resolution of the problem by showing that, in the presence of correlated disorder, polaronic carriers with binding energies Delta approximately 50-500 meV and transfer integrals J approximately 1-20 meV are completely consistent with the magnitudes of field and temperature dependent mobilities observed.     

Coupling-induced bipartite pointer states in arrays of electron billiards: quantum Darwinism in action?

We discuss a quantum system coupled to the environment, composed of an open array of billiards (dots) in series. Beside pointer states occurring in individual dots, we observe sets of robust states which arise only in the array. We define these new states as bipartite pointer states, since they cannot be described in terms of simple linear combinations of robust single-dot states. The classical existence of bipartite pointer states is confirmed by comparing the quantum-mechanical and classical results. The ability of the robust states to create "offspring" indicates that quantum Darwinism is in action.     

Polymerization,bending, tension: What happens at the leading edge of motile cells?

The forces experienced by filaments in actin based propulsion in reconstituted systems and cell motility, the mechanical properties of the lamellipodium of motile cells due to filament branching and cross-linking, the free filament contour length between branch points, the mechanisms of the force-velocity relation and velocity oscillations are all topics of ongoing debate. Here, we review results with a modelling concept considering the F-actin network as weakly cross-linked in a region with dynamic depth close to the propelled obstacle and gel-like further back. It offers quantitative explanations for steady motion and oscillation mechanisms in reconstituted systems and motile cells, and the force-velocity relation of fish keratocytes.     

Blobs,channels and “cigars”: Morphologies of liquids at a step

We have studied the equilibria of liquid droplets wetting a step edge with an opening angle by a combination of analytical and numerical methods. Depending on the wetting properties of the substrate walls and on the liquid volume, different locally or globally stable liquid morphologies are found. Complete spreading of the liquid along the bottom edge of the step is observed at equilibrium contact angles satisfying . If the contact angle exceeds a threshold value the liquid exists in a blob-like configuration. Surprisingly, we find an intermediate regime at a sufficiently high liquid volume and in a range of contact angles , in which cigar-shaped configurations arise in addition to the blob. We close the paper by a detailed discussion of the stability of this novel liquid morphology.PACS: 47.55.Dz Drops and bubbles - 61.30.Hn Surface phenomena: alignment, anchoring, anchoring transitions, surface-induced layering, surface-induced ordering, wetting, prewetting transitions, and wetting transitions - 68.08.Bc Wetting     

Ab?initio study of the phonon spectrum, entropy and lattice heat capacity of disordered Re-W alloys

The Re(1-x)W(x) alloy is formed by continuous neutron bombardment of W, the core material making up the shield in fusion devices. Here, we present an ab?initio study of the lattice dynamical properties of this commercially important alloy. The dynamical (force constant) matrix was obtained through a first-principles, density functional perturbation theory. Various vibrational properties, such as fuzzy phonon dispersion relations, density of states (DOS), scattering life-times, vibrational entropy and specific heat are studied. The effects of short-range ordering is shown to be important in the 50-50 alloy.     

Analytic MRCI gradient for excited states: formalism and application to the n-π∗ valence- and n-(3s,3p) Rydberg states of formaldehyde

The previously developed formalism for the calculation of the analytic multireference (MR) CI energy gradient with respect to nuclear coordinates based on a single-state MCSCF calculation was extended to the case of state-averaged MCSCF. This extension is of particular importance for calculations of electronically excited states and enables automatic high-level geometry optimizations and saddle point searches on excited-state energy surfaces. Beyond MR-CI, the present analytic gradient method is also available for the MR-ACPF/AQCC methods including size-extensivity corrections for the multireference case. Full geometry optimizations for six electronic states of formaldehyde (valence and Rydberg states) are reported.     

New photoluminescence defect spectra in silicon irradiated at 100 K: Observation of interstitial carbon?

We report photoluminescence spectra of defects in irradiated silicon which are stable below room temperature. No-phonon lines (STI)⁰ at ≈ 856 meV, ST2 at ≈ 1115 meV, and ST3 at ≈ 1126 meV are observed along with a broad emission band extending from 0.7 to 1 eV. The ST1 defect studied in detail is a deep hole trap at ≈ E_v + 0.25 eV, which in addition can bind an electron loosely. Piezospectroscopy shows that the defect is essentially <100 > axial symmetric with slight distortion to C_1h. The absence of Zeeman splittings confirms the deep hole binding in an axially symmetric potential. The independence of dopants, the annealing behaviour, and comparison to EPR and IR active defects suggest a correlation of the ST1 defect with interstitial carbon.     

The speed of light in confined QED vacuum: faster or slower than c?

We consider the propagation of light in the QED vacuum between an unusual pair of parallel plates, namely: a perfectly conducting one (ϵ→∞) and an infinitely permeable one (μ→∞). For weak fields and in the soft photon approximation we show that the speed of light for propagation normal to the plates is smaller than its value in unbounded space (in contrast to the original Scharnhorst effect [K. Scharnhorst, Phys. Lett. B 236 (1990) 354, G. Barton, Phys. Lett. B 237 (1990) 559, G. Barton, K. Scharnhorst, J. Phys. A 26 (1993) 2037]).     

Reply to comment on “Polymerization,bending, tension: What happens at the leading edge of motile cells?” by Falko Ziebert and Igor S. Aranson

We are grateful to Falko Ziebert and Igor Aranson, who continue with their comment on our publication [5] a discussion on modelling concepts. Ziebert and Aranson present in their contribution to this volume [14] a model concept for cell motility and morphodynamics focusing on gel flow and its determinants. This type of models is particularly useful for describing slow dynamics on the length scale of the whole cell and modelling of cell shape [1,8,11,13,14]. Our approach is set apart from the gel models by taking into account a weakly cross-linked F-actin network region close to the location of polymerization in the lamellipodia of motile cells (semi-flexible region) in addition to the gel in the bulk. This addition explains a variety of non-linear dynamic regimes in cellular and reconstituted systems, and the force-velocity relation of fish keratocytes. Ziebert and Aranson point out in their comment that 1) a more detailed modelling of gel processes may be required to capture large cell deformations, 2) the dynamics of adhesion strength and distribution may be relevant for understanding the relation between cell shape, the dynamic regime of motion and cell velocity, 3) coarse grained models may allow for unifying both concepts, and 4) fluctuations are important in morphodynamics.     

Unusual directional dependence of exchange energies in GaAs diluted with Mn: is the RKKY description relevant?

Ferromagnetism in Mn-doped GaAs, the prototypical dilute magnetic semiconductor (DMS), has so far been attributed to hole mediated RKKY-type interactions. First-principles calculations reveal a strong direction dependence of the ferromagnetic (FM) stabilization energy for Mn pairs, a dependence that cannot be explained within RKKY. In the limit of a hostlike hole engineered here where the RKKY model is applicable, the exchange energies are strongly reduced, suggesting that this limit cannot explain the observed ferromagnetism. The dominant contribution stabilizing the FM state is found to be maximal for 110-oriented Mn pairs and minimal for 100-oriented Mn pairs, providing an alternate explanation for magnetism in such materials in terms of energy lowering due to p-d hopping interactions, and offering a new design degree of freedom to enhance FM.     

Charge transfer and variation of potential distributions in the formation of 4, 4＇-bipyridine molecular junction

In this paper the charge transfer and variation of potential distribution upon formation of 4, 4'-bipyridine molecular junction have been investigated by applying hybrid density-functional theory (B3LYP) at ab initio level. The numerical results show that there exist charge-accumulation and charge-depletion regions located at respective inside and outside of interfaces. The variation of potential distribution is obvious at interfaces. When distance between electrodes is changed, the charge transfer and variation of potential distribution clearly have distance-dependent performance. It is demonstrated that the contact structure between the molecule and electrodes is another key factor for dominating the properties of molecular junction. The qualitative explanation for experimental results is suggested.     

Quality assurance and quality control in light stable isotope laboratories: A case study of Rio Grande,Texas, water samples†

New isotope laboratories can achieve the goal of reporting the same isotopic composition within analytical uncertainty for the same material analysed decades apart by (1) writing their own acceptance testing procedures and putting them into their mass spectrometric or laser-based isotope-ratio equipment procurement contract, (2) requiring a manufacturer to demonstrate acceptable performance using all sample ports provided with the instrumentation, (3) for each medium to be analysed, prepare two local reference materials substantially different in isotopic composition to encompass the range in isotopic composition expected in the laboratory and calibrated them with isotopic reference materials available from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) or the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), (4) using the optimum storage containers (for water samples, sealing in glass ampoules that are sterilised after sealing is satisfactory), (5) interspersing among sample unknowns local laboratory isotopic reference materials daily (internationally distributed isotopic reference materials can be ordered at three-year intervals, and can be used for elemental analyser analyses and other analyses that consume less than 1 mg of material) – this process applies to H, C, N, O, and S isotope ratios, (6) calculating isotopic compositions of unknowns by normalising isotopic data to that of local reference materials, which have been calibrated to internationally distributed isotopic reference materials, (7) reporting results on scales normalised to internationally distributed isotopic reference materials (where they are available) and providing to sample submitters the isotopic compositions of internationally distributed isotopic reference materials of the same substance had they been analysed with unknowns, (8) providing an audit trail in the laboratory for analytical results – this trail commonly will be in electronic format and might include a laboratory information management system, (9) making at regular intervals a complete backup of laboratory analytical data (both of samples logged into the laboratory and of mass spectrometric analyses), being sure to store one copy of this backup offsite, and (10) participating in interlaboratory comparison exercises sponsored by the IAEA and other agencies at regular intervals.