Electron-muon permutation symmetry and multiplicatively conserved lepton number in gauge theories

The similarity between the weak interactions of electron and muon is extended to the principle that all e and μ interactions in gauge models are invariant under e ↔ μ exchange. This necessitates the existence of two Higgs doublets φ_e and φ_μ, and an extended e ↔ μ permutation invariance. After symmetry-breaking, a multiplicatively conserved “permutation parity” π = ± 1 for all particles naturally emerges, with π_μ = −π_e = 1. The model forbids μ → eγ but predicts e⁻e⁻ → μ⁻μ⁻ mediated by π = −1 Higgs bosons at 10⁻¹¹ times the rate of typical weak cross sections.     

Search strategies for non-standard Higgs bosons at future ee colliders

Already in the simplest two-Higgs-doublet model with CP violation in the Higgs sector, the 3×3 mixing matrix for the neutral Higgs bosons can substantially modify their couplings, thereby endangering the “classical” Higgs search strategies. However, there are sum rules relating Yukawa and Higgs–Z couplings which ensure that the ZZ, and couplings of a given neutral 2HDM Higgs boson cannot all be simultaneously suppressed. This result implies that any single Higgs boson will be detectable at an e⁺e⁻ collider if the Z+Higgs, Higgs and Higgs production channels are all kinematically accessible and if the integrated luminosity is sufficient. We explore, as a function of Higgs mass, the luminosity required to guarantee Higgs boson detection, and find that for moderate tanβ values the needed luminosity is unlikely to be available for all possible mixing scenarios. Implications of the sum rules for Higgs discovery at the Tevatron and LHC are briefly discussed.     

Minijet activity in high ET jet events at the tevatron

Gluon bremsstrahlung in scattering events with high transverse momentum jets is expected to increase markedly with the hardness (∑E_T) of the primary event. Within perturbative QCD we estimate a probability of order unity to see additional minijets with E_T 15 GeV in “dijet” events with ∑E_T > 400 GeV. The veto of such minijets is a promising background rejection tool for the Higgs search at the LHC.     

Astrophysical bound on the majoron-Higgs-boson coupling

We show that the coupling of the “standard” Higgs boson to majorons, that could lead to a very fast decay of the neutral Higgs scalar to invisible modes, can be bounded using astrophysical arguments. We discuss the relevance of this bound for low-energy phenomenology related to majoron production. The bound so obtained may also jeopardize the stability of the VEV hierarchy in the doublet and triplet majoron models if the mass of the top quark is less than the W mass. A similar analysis may be applied to other models which exhibit Goldstone-or pseudo-Goldstone-bosons in the spectrum.     

Completeness of “good” Bethe ansatz solutions of a quantum-group-invariant Heisenberg model

The sl_q(2) quantum-group-invariant Heisenberg model with open boundary conditions is investigated by means of the Bethe ansatz. As is well known, quantum groups for q equal to a root of unity possess a finite number of “good” representations with non-zero q-dimension and “bad” ones with vanishing q-dimension. Correspondingly, the state space of an invariant Heisenberg chain decomposes into “good” and “bad” states. A “good” state may be described by a path of only “good” representations. It is shown that the “good” states are given by all “good” Bethe ansatz solutions with roots restricted to the first periodicity strip, i.e. only positive-parity strings (in the language of Takahashi) are allowed. Applying Bethe's string-counting technique completeness of the “good” Bethe states is proven, i.e. the same number of states is found as the number of all restricted paths on the sl_q(2) Bratteli diagram. It is the first time that a “completeness” proof for an anisotropic quantum-invariant reduced Heisenberg model is performed.     

Upper limit to the lightest Higgs mass in supersymmetric models

Consider all models in which the effective low-energy theory has an SU(3) × SU(2) × U(1) gauge group, softly or spontaneously broken supersymmetry, and Higgs doublets. Even though, in general, mass terms in such models are arbitrary (thus “ino” masses can be pushed up to higher and higher values), one can derive mass relations between ordinary Higgs particles. The most crucial relation gives an upper bound of 93 GeV on the mass of the lightest Higgs scalar. We discuss these relations and calculate radiative corrections to them. It is shown that the upper bound can not exceed 95 GeV, and the lower limit to the mass of charged scalar is 78 GeV. Corrections to other relations are also discussed. These relations may provide the first definitive test of low-energy supersymmetry.     

Methane activation over Ag-exchanged ZSM-5 zeolites: A theoretical study

Methane activation catalyzed over Ag-exchanged ZSM-5 zeolites was investigated by using the density functional theory (DFT) with a cluster model. Two different pathways were taken into account in this work: the “alkyl” and the “carbenium” pathways. The activation barriers obtained are 34.09 and 66.63 kcal/mol for the “alkyl” and the “carbenium” pathway, respectively. The calculated results show that the activation barrier of the “alkyl” pathway is smaller than that of “carbenium” pathway. Consequently, the “alkyl” pathway is the preferential reaction pathway. A new mechanism of methane conversion in the presence of ethene was proposed. In the catalytic cycle, the initial step of methane activation proceeds with the “alkyl” pathway and the Ag⁺ cation acts as an acceptor of the methyl group, then ethene reacts with the Ag⁺CH₃⁻ group to form propene. In addition, it is found that the Ag⁺ cations play an important role in the methane activation, compared with the reaction of methane activation over H-ZSM-5.     

CP violation induced by heavy Majorana neutrinos in the decays of Higgs scalars into top-quark, W - and Z-boson pairs

We analyze the possibility of CP violation induced by heavy Majorana neutrinos in the decays of the Higgs particle into top-quark, W - and Z-boson pairs. In the framework of various “see-saw” models with interfamily mixings, we find that Majorana neutrinos may give rise to sizable CP-odd observables at the one-loop electroweak order. Numerical estimates of these CP-violating effects that may be detected in high-energy colliders are presented.     

Discrete gauge symmetry anomalies

It has been recently argued that quantum gravity effects strongly violate all non-gauge symmetries. This would suggest that all low energy discrete symmetries should be gauge symmetries, either continuous or discrete. Acceptable continuous gauge symmetries are constrained by the condition they should be anomaly free. We show here that any discrete gauge symmetry should also obey certain “discrete anomaly cancellation” conditions. These conditions strongly constrains the massles fermion content of the theory and follow from the “parent” cancellation of the usual continuous gauge anomalies. They have interesting applications in model building. As an example we consider the constraints on the Z_N “generalized matter parities” of the supersymmetric standard model. We show that only a few (including the standard R-parity) are “discrete anomaly free” unless the fermion content of the minimal supersymmetric standard model is enlarged.     

Vulnerability in one-dimensional excitable media

Potentially life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias can be iniated with stimuli timed to occur during the “vulnerable window (VW)”. We defined VW as the time interval between the “conditioning” and “test” stimuli following in sequence, during which the test stimulus response propagates in only one direction. We show that the VW is a generic feature of excitable media and describe the relationship between the properties of an excitable medium and the VW. We present asymptotic results that reveal the sensitivity of the VW to both the propagation velocity of the conditioning wavefront and the recovery process parameters. We also have identified a critical length of medium that must be excited in order to reveal vulnerability. Analytical results are in agreement with numerical studies.     

Propagative Sine-Gordon solitons in the spatially forced Kelvin-Helmholtz instability

The spatio-temporal evolution of the vortex sheet separating two finite-depth layers of immiscible fluids is examined in the vicinity of threshold when spatially periodic forcing is imposed at the horizontal boundaries. As a result of the Galilean invariance of the problem, the interface deformation is shown to satisfy a coupled system of evolution equations involving not only the usual “short-wave” at the critical wavenumber but also a shallow-water “long-wave” associated with the mean elevation of the interface. The weakly nonlinear model is further studied in the Boussinesq approximation where it reduces to a forced Klein-Gordon equation. Thus, the secondary Benjamin-Feir instability of nonlinear Stokes wavetrains is analysed in the absence of forcing. When spatial forcing is reintroduced, the competition between the imposed external length scale and the natural length scale of the interface is shown analytically to give rise to one-dimensional propagating Sine-Gordon phase solitons. Numerical simulations of the Klein-Gordon evolution model fully confirm this prediction and also lead to the determination of the range of stability of phase solitons.     

Zigzag wall dynamics in uniaxial in-plane magnetic thin films

An unusual right/left zigzag wall propagation in the bias (transverse) and ac fields applied simultaneously is observed. A dynamic model based on the variable coercivity, effective transverse field, transformation of the walls from asymmetric Bloch into asymmetric Néel type (and vice versa) is proposed. Degeneration of two segments of one “zig” (or “zag”) which “sense” differently the transverse field is one of the crucial point of the zigzag dynamics.     

Acoustic Analyses of Developmental Changes and Emotional Expression in the Preverbal Vocalizations of Infants

The nonverbal vocal utterances of seven normally hearing infants were studied within their first year of life with respect to age- and emotion-related changes. Supported by a multiparametric acoustic analysis it was possible to distinguish one inspiratory and eleven expiratory call types. Most of the call types appeared within the first two months; some emerged in the majority of infants not until the 5th (“laugh”) or 7th month (“babble”). Age-related changes in acoustic structure were found in only 4 call types (“discomfort cry,” “short discomfort cry,” “wail,” “moan”). The acoustic changes were characterized mainly by an increase in harmonic-to-noise ratio and homogeneity of the call, a decrease in frequency range and a downward shift of acoustic energy from higher to lower frequencies. Emotion-related differences were found in the acoustic structure of single call types as well as in the frequency of occurrence of different call types. A change from positive to negative emotional state was accompanied by an increase in call duration, frequency range, and peak frequency (frequency with the highest amplitude within the power spectrum). Negative emotions, in addition, were characterized by a significantly higher rate of “crying,” “hic” and “ingressive vocalizations” than positive emotions, while positive emotions showed a significantly higher rate of “babble,” “laugh,” and “raspberry.”     

Divisors on elliptic Calabi-Yau 4-folds and the superpotential in F-theory — I

Each smooth elliptic Calabi-Yau 4-fold determines both a three-dimensional physical theory (a compactification of “M-theory”) and a four-dimensional physical theory (using the “F-theory” construction). A key issue in both theories is the calculation of the “superpotential” of the theory, which by a result of Witten is determined by the divisors D on the 4-fold satisfying X( _D = 1. We propose a systematic approach to identify these divisors, and derive some criteria to determine whether a given divisor indeed contributes. We then apply our techniques in explicit examples, in particular, when the base B of the elliptic fibration is a toric variety or a Fano 3-fold.

When B is Fano, we show how divisors contributing to the superpotential are always “exceptional” (in some sense) for the Calabi-Yau 4-fold X. This naturally leads to certain transitions of X, i.e., birational tranformations to a singular model (where the image of D no longer contributes) as well as certain smoothings of the singular model. The singularities which occur are “canonical”, the same type of singularities of a (singular) Weierstrass model. We work out the transitions. If a smoothing exists, then the Hodge numbers change.

We speculate that divisors contributing to the superpotential are always “exceptional” (in some sense) for X, also in M-theory. In fact we show that this is a consequence of the (log)-minimal model algorithm in dimension 4, which is still conjectural in its generality, but it has been worked out in various cases, among which are toric varieties.     

The short-range van Hemmen model in a simple Kikuchi approximation: Comparison with the mean-field model and with spin-glasses

A simple first-order Kikuchi approximation is studied for the short-range (nearest-neighbour) version of the van Hemmen mean-field model originally proposed for spin-glasses. Although the approximation is very similar to the mean-field treatment, the phase diagrams from the two methods are drastically different. Previously reported results are reviewed and extended. The “reentrant” ferromagnetic to “spin-glass” transition found in zero magnetic field persists in small fields. The equilibrium magnetization displays a maximum as a function of temperature in the reentrance region. The characteristic S-shape of the magnetization versus field in the “spin-glass” region and magnetic hysteresis are observed. In addition, some exact results concerning the problem of the lower critical dimension of the short-range model are derived.     

Percolation model, Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model and localization-delocalization model of spin glass transition: A comparative study

We recast the original results of our percolation model of the spin glass transition into alternative forms so as to reveal some apparent “similarities” with the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model. However, because of the basic difference in the nature of the interactions in the two models, the reason for these “similarities” remains unclear. A close relation between the percolation model of the spin glass transition and the localization-decolization transition is also discussed qualitatively.     

Comments on “Spectral analysis of thermally stimulated exoelectron emission from glass deposited on metal by argon plasma treatment”

A “spectral analysis” using a fit of a single glow curve only — without kinetic check — does not prove the correctness of the model of Sakurai and Momose [Phys. Lett. A 179 (1993) 55] and thus of parameters estimated on this basis. Contrary to this a “complete analysis” yields three of four parameters directly from the experiment. Two criteria are given to verify the model experimentally.     

Participant intimacy : A cluster analysis of the intranuclear cascadet

The intranuclear cascade for relativistic nuclear collisions is analyzed in terms of “clusters” consisting of groups of nucleons which are dynamically linked to each other by violent interactions. The formation cross sections for the different cluster types as well as their intrinsic dynamics are studied and compared with the predictions of the linear cascade model (“rows-on-rows”).     

Particle tracks and the mechanism of decoherence in a model bubble chamber

We put forward a toy model for a “bubble chamber” and study its interaction with an incoming object particle. We discuss the notion of particle “tracks” inside the bubble chamber and analyze the mechanisms that provoke a loss of quantum mechanical coherence (decoherence). The model is solvable and provides interesting insights into some of the most salient features of the interaction between a microscopic particle and a macroscopic device.     

On the reconstruction of the conduction electron spectrum in metal-oxide superconductors owing to the interaction with coherent atomic displacements

A “pseudospin ferromagnet” model is proposed which describes the interaction of conduction electrons with coherent atomic displacements in metal-oxide high-T_c superconductors (HTSC). Non-quasiparticle states (“pseudospinons”) play an important role in this model. They make an appreciable contribution to thermodynamic and transport properties (e.g., to the linear term in specific heat), although not contributing to the density of states at E_F at T=0. In the superconducting phase, the pseudospinons give rise to gapless superconductivity at finite temperatures. For certain model parameter relations, a new energy scale (“Kondo temperature”) may occur in the electron spectrum near E_F. Using the results obtained, experimental data on the thermopower, nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate and other properties of HTSC are discussed.