Is the evidence for dark energy secure?

Several kinds of astronomical observations, interpreted in the framework of the standard Friedmann–Robertson–Walker cosmology, have indicated that our universe is dominated by a Cosmological Constant. The dimming of distant Type Ia supernovae suggests that the expansion rate is accelerating, as if driven by vacuum energy, and this has been indirectly substantiated through studies of angular anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and of spatial correlations in the large-scale structure (LSS) of galaxies. However there is no compelling direct evidence yet for (the dynamical effects of) dark energy. The precision CMB data can be equally well fitted without dark energy if the spectrum of primordial density fluctuations is not quite scale-free and if the Hubble constant is lower globally than its locally measured value. The LSS data can also be satisfactorily fitted if there is a small component of hot dark matter, as would be provided by neutrinos of mass ∼0.5 eV. Although such an Einstein–de Sitter model cannot explain the SNe Ia Hubble diagram or the position of the “baryon acoustic oscillation” peak in the autocorrelation function of galaxies, it may be possible to do so, e.g. in an inhomogeneous Lemaitre–Tolman–Bondi cosmology where we are located in a void which is expanding faster than the average. Such alternatives may seem contrived but this must be weighed against our lack of any fundamental understanding of the inferred tiny energy scale of the dark energy. It may well be an artifact of an oversimplified cosmological model, rather than having physical reality.     

Search for anomalous carbon atoms — evidence of violation of the Pauli principle during the period of nucleosynthesis

A search for anomalous carbon atoms — atoms with three K-shell electrons — is made by γ-activation analysis of boron with the impurity carbon removed radiochemically. A limit on the existence of such atoms was determined: . This corresponds to a limit on the lifetime with respect to violation of the Pauli principle by electrons in a carbon atom of τ⩾2×10²¹ yr. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 68, No. 2, 104–108 (25 July 1998)     

Predictions for anomalous τ+τ−γ production at LEP 1

We calculate distributions for τ⁺τ^?γ production at LEP 1 taking into account a potentially existing anomalous magnetic moment a _τ of the τ lepton. The existing upper limits for ¦a _τ¦ are known from the dependence of the decay Z ⁰ → τ⁺τ^?γ on a _τ ² and are of the order of (1–5)%. We show that such limits are also sensitive to linear terms in a _τ, which are of equal importance at ¦a _τ¦ ～ (1–2)% and dominate below this value. Contributions from an electric dipole moment dτ do not interfere with the electromagnetic vertex or with the anomalous magnetic moment. Appropriate formulae are derived.     

Signatures of anomalous couplings in boson pair production throughγγ collisions

We discuss possible New Physics (NP) effects on the processesγγ →W ⁺ W ⁻,ZZ, Zγ, γγ, HH which are observable inγγ collisions. Such collisions may be achieved through laser backscattering at a high energye ⁺ e ⁻ linear collider. To the extent that no new particles will be directly produced in the future colliders, it has already been emphasized that the new physics possibly hidden in the bosonic interactions, may be represented by the sevendim=6 operatorsO _W,O _BΦ,O _WΦ,O _UB,O _UW and (the last two ones being CP-violating). In this paper, we show that the above processes are sensitive to NP scales at the several TeV range, and we subsequently discuss the possibility to disentangle the effects of the various operators. Partially supported by the EC contract CHRX-CT94-0579     

Is the chiral Luttinger liquid exponent universal?

We present experimental evidence from electron tunneling measurements that the chiral Luttinger liquid power-law exponent, α, for tunneling into the fractional quantum Hall edge deviates substantially from the universal behavior predicted by theory. Our results suggest that the existing standard analyses based on effective Chern–Simon field theories deserve careful reexamination when applied to the dynamics at the Hall fluid edge. To cite this article: A.M. Chang, C. R. Physique 3 (2002) 677–684.     

Algebraic study of chiral anomalies?

The algebraic structure of chiral anomalies ismade globally valid on non-trivial bundles by the introduction of a fixed background connection. Some of the techniques used in the study of the anomaly are improved or generalized, including a systematic way of generating towers of ??descent equations??.     

Polarized single top quark production in eγ collision and anomalous Wtb couplings

We investigate the potential of eγ collisions to probe anomalous Wtb couplings via the polarized single top quark production process e⁺γ→tb̄ν_ē. We find 95% confidence level limits on the anomalous coupling parameters F_2L and F_2R with an integrated luminosity of 500 fb^-1 and , 1 and 1.5 TeV energies. The effects of top quark spin polarization on the anomalous Wtb couplings are discussed. It is shown that polarization leads to a considerable improvement in the sensitivity limits. PACS 14.65.Ha; 13.88.+e     

Efficient numerical methods for computing ground states and dynamics of dipolar Bose–Einstein condensates

New efficient and accurate numerical methods are proposed to compute ground states and dynamics of dipolar Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs) described by a three-dimensional (3D) Gross–Pitaevskii equation (GPE) with a dipolar interaction potential. Due to the high singularity in the dipolar interaction potential, it brings significant difficulties in mathematical analysis and numerical simulations of dipolar BECs. In this paper, by decoupling the two-body dipolar interaction potential into short-range (or local) and long-range interactions (or repulsive and attractive interactions), the GPE for dipolar BECs is reformulated as a Gross–Pitaevskii–Poisson type system. Based on this new mathematical formulation, we prove rigorously existence and uniqueness as well as nonexistence of the ground states, and discuss the existence of global weak solution and finite time blow-up of the dynamics in different parameter regimes of dipolar BECs. In addition, a backward Euler sine pseudospectral method is presented for computing the ground states and a time-splitting sine pseudospectral method is proposed for computing the dynamics of dipolar BECs. Due to the adoption of new mathematical formulation, our new numerical methods avoid evaluating integrals with high singularity and thus they are more efficient and accurate than those numerical methods currently used in the literatures for solving the problem. Extensive numerical examples in 3D are reported to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of our new numerical methods for computing the ground states and dynamics of dipolar BECs.     

Is chiral symmetry restored in the excited meson spectrum?

The large degeneracy observed in the excited meson spectrum by the Cristal Barrel Collaboration in the experimental data on proton–antiproton annihilation in flight into mesons in the range 1.9–2.4 GeV has been interpreted as a signal of chiral symmetry restoration. In this work we suggest that such degeneracy may be an indication of the confinement potential modification by color screening. The experimental data can be fairly well reproduced in a constituent quark model with a screened linear confinement potential without changing the dynamical quark mass. Observables that could discriminate our model from those which explicitly restore the chiral symmetry are proposed.     

Stability and instability properties of rotating Bose–Einstein condensates

We consider the mean-field dynamics of Bose–Einstein condensates in rotating harmonic traps and establish several stability and instability properties for the corresponding solution. We particularly emphasize the difference between the situation in which the trap is symmetric with respect to the rotation axis and the one where this is not the case.

     

Is there switching for replicator dynamics and bimatrix games?

We consider heteroclinic networks for replicator dynamics and bimatrix games, that is, in a simplex or product of simplices, with equilibria at the vertices and connections at the edges-edge networks. Switching dynamics near a heteroclinic network occurs whenever every (infinite) sequence of connections in the network is shadowed by at least one trajectory in its neighborhood. Aguiar and Castro [M.A.D. Aguiar, S.B.S.D. Castro Chaotic switching in a two-person game, Physica D 239 (16), 1598-1609] prove switching near an edge network for the dynamics of the rock-scissors-paper game. Here we give conditions for switching dynamics in general bimatrix games and show that switching near an edge network can never occur for replicator dynamics.