Phases coexistence and surface tensions for the potts model

Theq states Potts model exhibits a first order phase transition at some inverse temperature β _t between “ordered” and “disordered” phases forq large as proved in [1]. In space dimension 2 we use theduality transformation as aninternal symmetry of the partition function at β _t to derive an estimate on the probability of a contour. This enables us to prove the preceding result and the following new results:

1. The discontinuity of the mass gap at β _t .
2. The existence of astrictly positive surface tension between two ordered phases up to β _t .
3. The existence of a non-zero surface tension between an “ordered” and the “disordered” phase at β _t .

     

Theq-state Potts model in the standard Pirogov-Sinai theory: Surface tensions and Wilson loops

Theq-state Potts model (both scalar and gauge versions) is rewritten, with the help of the duality transformation, into a form of the Pirogov-Sinai theory with noninteracting contours that can be controlled by cluster expansions onceq is large enough. This is then used in a new proof of the existence of a unique transition (inverse) temperature _t , where the mean internal energy is discontinuous. Moreover, we prove for the scalar model (again forq large enough) that there are discontinuities at _t of the magnetization and of the mass gap, with the magnetization vanishing below _t and the mass gap vanishing above _t . We also show that the surface tensions between ordered stable phases are strictly positive up to _t , and the surface tension between an ordered phase and the disordered one is strictly positive at _t . For the three-dimensional gauge model, the Wilson parameter exhibits a direct transition from an area law decay (quark confinement) to a perimeter law decay (deconfinement).On leave from ENS Rabat, Morocco.     

Non-equilibrium structure factor for the disordering of adsorbed monolayers

We consider the non-equilibrium, time-dependent elastic-scattering structure factor S(q,t), for the disordering of an ordered overlayer, initially in equilibrium at temperature T_I and characterized by the structure factor S(q,0)=x(q,T_I, upon a sudden increase in temperature T_I→T_F at constant coverage, such that the adsorbates equilibrate at T_F in a disordered phase. The initial decay of a peak in x(q,T_I) proceeds exponentially in time, $\text{exp}\text{(−}\text{t}\text{τ}{}_{\mathrm{q}}\text{)}$, where τ_q is a wavevector-dependent lifetime, before it crosses over to a power-law, t⁻¹ decay. When x(q,T_I) is peaked at the boundaries of the Brillouin zone (BZ), the peak approximately maintains its shape in q-space as it decays exponentially. Except near the center of the BZ, after the peak has decayed sufficiently, the dependence of S(q,t) on q is as though the spins quasi-equilibrate to the equilibrium structure factor associated with T_F, x(q,T_F), in that the ratio $\text{S(q,t)}\text{x(q,T}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>F</mtext>}}\text{)}$ is independent of q, is dependent on time, approaching unity as t⁻¹ for large t. For systems exhibiting an initial peak for q ≈ 0, the peak decays exponentially but does not preserve its shape, since τ_q strongly depends on q, diverging as q⁻² for q→0. For these systems too, away from the center of the BZ, $\text{S}\text{(q,t)}\text{x(q,T}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>F</mtext>}}\text{)}$ rapidly evolves to a slowly decaying function of $\text{t}\text{t}{}_{\mathrm{w}}$, independent of q. In this case, however, the characteristic time scale, t_w, is anomalously long, proportional to ξ², where ξ is the correlation length associated with the initial state. This behavior of t_w can be related to the random walk of domain boundaries.     

Loop induced flavor changing neutral decays of the top quark in a general two-Higgs-doublet model

Decays of the top quark induced by flavor changing neutral currents (FCNC) are known to be extremely rare events within the Standard Model. This is so not only for the decay modes into gauge bosons, but most notably in the case of the Higgs channels, e.g., t→H_SM+c, with a branching fraction of 10⁻¹³ at most. Therefore, detection of FCNC top quark decays in a future high-energy, and high-luminosity, machine like the LHC or the LC would be an indisputable signal of new physics. In this paper we show that within the simplest extension of the SM, namely the general two-Higgs-doublet model, the FCNC top quark decays into Higgs bosons, t→(h⁰,H⁰,A⁰)+c, can be the most favored FCNC modes — comparable or even more efficient than the gluon channel t→g+c. In both cases the optimal results are obtained for Type II models. However, only the Higgs channels can have rates reaching the detectable level (10⁻⁵), with a maximum of order 10⁻⁴ which is compatible with the charged Higgs bounds from radiative B-meson decays. We compare with the previous results obtained in the Higgs sector of the MSSM.     

Cosmic-ray induced vacuum decay in the standard model

In the standard model, if the Higgs boson mass, m_H, and the top quark mass, m_t, satisfy the relationship m_t≳95GeV + 0.60 m_H, then the vacuum is unstable. However, if the top quark mass is less than 190 GeV, then the lifetime is greater than the age of the universe. There is thus a large region of parameter space in which the vacuum is unstable, but sufficiently long-lived. We examine the possibility that high energy cosmic ray collisions could induce the decay of the vacuum, and show that this region of parameter space can be excluded.     

The width of theZ boson

We present a detailed discussion of the electroweak radiative corrections to the partial decay widths of theZ boson into lepton and quark pairs (q≠t) and to the total width for 5 flavors. The results are only very weakly dependent on the Higgs mass. The top mass dependence leads to sizable variations ofΓ _z which have to be taken into account for precision experiments at thee ⁺ e ^? colliders LEP and SLC.     

Is Coleman-Weinberg symmetry breaking in the standard model ruled out?

In the standard model with Coleman-Weinberg symmetry breaking a symmetric vacuum (〈φ〉 = 0) always exists at any non-zero temperature; the transition to the symmetry-breaking vacuum can only occur after much supercooling. Witten has shown that this transition occurs when the strong interactions break chiral symmetry; the transition temperature is O(200) MeV and a large (but not fatal) amount of entropy is produced. It is noted here that since the strong coupling grows as the universe cools in the metastable symmetric vacuum, the Yukawa coupling to the top quark will also grow. This causes top quark loops to dominate the effective potential at small scales, drastically altering the nature of the transition. We show that if $\text{m}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>t</mtext>}}\text{? 65}\text{GeV}$, a metastable vacuum at 〈φ〉 ≈ 0(1) GeV forms which persists to T = 0; the resulting transition would generate far too much entropy to be compatible with the current baryon to entropy ratio, ruling out the CW mechanism. If m_t ? 65 GeV, we argue that a metastable vacuum might also exist, but a breakdown of perturbation theory precludes a definitive statement.     

Nucleation rate of the quark-gluon plasma droplet at finite quark chemical potential

The nucleation rate of quark-gluon plasma (QGP) droplet is computed at finite quark chemical potential. In the course of computing the nucleation rate, the finite size effects of the QGP droplet are taken into account. We consider the phenomenological flow parameter of quarks and gluons, which is dependent on quark chemical potential and we calculate the nucleation rate of the QGP droplet with this parameter. While calculating the nucleation rate, we find that for low values of quark phenomenological parameter ?? _q , nucleation rate is negligible and when ?? _q increases, nucleation rate increases significantly.     

The derivative nonlinear Schrödinger equation on the half-line

We analyze the derivative nonlinear Schrödinger equation on the half-line using the Fokas method. Assuming that the solution q(x,t) exists, we show that it can be represented in terms of the solution of a matrix Riemann-Hilbert problem formulated in the plane of the complex spectral parameter ζ. The jump matrix has explicit x,t dependence and is given in terms of the spectral functions a(ζ), b(ζ) (obtained from the initial data q₀(x)=q(x,0)) as well as A(ζ), B(ζ) (obtained from the boundary values g₀(t)=q(0,t) and g₁(t)=q_x(0,t)). The spectral functions are not independent, but related by a compatibility condition, the so-called global relation. Given initial and boundary values {q₀(x),g₀(t),g₁(t)} such that there exist spectral functions satisfying the global relation, we show that the function q(x,t) defined by the above Riemann-Hilbert problem exists globally and solves the derivative nonlinear Schrödinger equation with the prescribed initial and boundary values.     

On the basic states of one-dimensional disordered structures

The purpose of this paper is to study a limit probability distribution of the set of the first κ eigenvalues λ₁(?)<λ₂(?)<...<λ_κ(?) (with a fixed κ and ?→∞) of the boundary problem on the interval [0, ?] wherea(t, ω),q(t, ω) are the random stationary processes. Particularly the question of the repulsion between the first eigenvalues (small energetic levels) is studied. It has been proved that in the “divergent” case (q(t, ω)=0,a(t, ω)≠0) levels repulsion exists. As for the “potential” case (a(t, ω)≡1,q(t, ω)≠0) there is not any repulsion at all. This is one of the main differences between these two cases.     

On the Standard Model prediction for \mathcal{B}(B_{s,d} \to \mu^{+} \mu^{-})

The decay B _s →μ ⁺ μ ^? is one of the milestones of the flavor program at the LHC. We reappraise its Standard Model prediction. First, by analyzing the theoretical rate in the light of its main parametric dependence, we highlight the importance of a complete evaluation of higher-order electroweak corrections, at present known only in the large-m _t limit, and leaving sizable dependence on the definition of electroweak parameters. Using insights from a complete calculation of such corrections for $K\to\pi\nu\bar{\nu}We present O(?? _s ) results on the decays of polarized W ^± and Z bosons into massive quark pairs. The NLO QCD corrections to the polarized decay functions are given up to the second order in the quark mass expansion. We find a surprisingly strong dependence of the NLO polarized decay functions on finite quark mass effects even at the relatively large mass scale of the W ^± and Z bosons. As a main application we consider the decay t??b+W ⁺ involving the helicity fractions ?? _mm of the W ⁺ boson followed by the polarized decay $W^{+}(\uparrow)\to q_{1}\bar{q}_{2}$ for which we determine the O(?? _s ) polar angle decay distribution. We also discuss NLO polarization effects in the production/decay process $e^{+}e^{-}\to Z(\uparrow)\to q\bar{q}$ .     

The effect of nonextensivity on the time development of quantum systems

In this study, the classical evolution operator has been generalized within Tsallis thermostatistics. By using the generalized evolution operator, the q-dependent transition probability of a quantal system, namely Fermi Golden rule, has been introduced as w (n → m) = ‖[U _q(t, t ₀)]_mn‖². In order to make the situation concrete, a simple example from quantum mechanics has been solved in the frame of this formalism and the effect of q-index has been clearly illustrated in the figures.     

Higgs boson bremsstrahlung in top quark decay

In top quark decay a neutral Higgs boson may be emitted in bremsstrahlung from the top quark or from the W-boson. We evaluate the branching fraction for this hitherto overlooked t→H⁰bW⁺ decay mode, where the W⁺ can be virtual or real. It has the standard model values of 0.02%, 0.2%, 0.8% for m_t=50, 100, 200 GeVand m_H=10 GeV.     

Spatial-temporal dispersion of the kinetic coefficients near the Anderson transition

A generalization of the Vollhardt-Wölfle localization theory is proposed to make it possible to study the spatial-temporal dispersion of the kinetic coefficients of a d-dimensional disordered system in the low-frequency, long-wavelength range (ω?_F and q?k _F ). It is shown that the critical behavior of the generalized diffusion coefficient D(q,ω) near the Anderson transition agrees with the general Berezinskii-Gor’kov localization criterion. More precisely, on the metallic side of the transition the static diffusion coefficient D(q,0) vanishes at a mobility threshold λ _c common for all q: D(q, 0)∝t=(λ _c ?λ)/λ _c →0, where λ=1/(2π?_F τ) is a dimensionless coupling constant. On the insulator side, q≠0 D(q,ω)∝?iω as ω→0 for all finite q. Within these limits, the scale of the spatial dispersion of D(q,ω) decreases in proportion to t in the metallic phase and in proportion to ωξ ², where ξ is the localization length, in the insulator phase until it reaches its lower limit ～λ _F. The suppression of the spatial dispersion of D(q,ω) near the Anderson transition up to the atomic scale confirms the asymptotic validity of the Vollhardt-Wölfle approximation: D(q,ω)?D(ω) as |t|→0 and ω→0. By contrast, the scale of the spatial dispersion of the electrical conductivity in the insulator phase is of order of the localization length and diverges in proportion to |t|^?v as |t|→0.     

A freezing transition in the lattice-gas model

In the lattice-gas model, condensation of a gas to its liquid phase is identified as the long range ordering transition in the equivalent Ising model. The same model has a second percolation transition at a lower temperature, which is identified here as the freezing transition of the liquid to its solid phase. It predicts that the mass diffusion in a liquid should decay near the freezing point T_F ≈ (T ? T_F)^t?β, where t is the conductivity exponent and β is the percolation probability exponent.     

SU (2N f) ⊗ O(3) light diquark symmetry and current-induced heavy baryon transition form factors

We study the current-induced bottom baryon to charm baryon transitions in the Heavy Quark Symmetry limit as m_q → ∞. Our discussion involves s-wave to s-wave as well as s-wave to p-wave transitions. Using a constituent quark model picture for the light diquark system with an underlying SU (2N_f) ? O(3) symmetry and the heavy quark symmetry we arrive at a number of new predictions for the reduced form factors that describe these transitions.     

Semi-leptonic decays of charmed mesons produced in γN collisions

We report here on a study of the characteristics of the semileptonic decay spectra from a pair of charmed hadrons produced via photoproduction. The inclusive production of charmed hadrons is phenomenologically parametrized as e^?aze^?bp_t2. Their decays are described by (i) decay of free charm quark in GIM, (ii) K¹ dominant mode, $\text{D}\text{→}\text{K}{}^1\text{l}\text{ν}$, and (iii) pure leptonic decays. We deduce that 〈M_eμ²〉 = 0.18 M_D² for free quark decay and 〈M_eμ²〉 = ?0.35 +-0.24 M_D² for K¹ dominant decay. For the specific purpose of the photoproduction experiment at FNAL whicc is currently searching for μe events, we incorporate the incident photon spectrum, and the decay distributions with and without the experimental acceptance criteria are presented.     

Creation of fermion pairs near the cosmological singularity

The energy density ? and the pressure P of fermion pairs near the homogeneous isotropic singularity are obtained. In general case the contributions of the real pairs and the virtual ones to the ? and the P are approximately equal. The contribution of the real pairs is leading when the law of the expansion is a(t) = a₁t^q, q ? 1 ? 1. In this case all the matter in the Friedman's cosmological model can be created by a quantum explosion.     

A model for chiral symmetry breaking in QCD

A recently proposed model for dynamical breaking of chiral symmetry in QCD is extended and developed for the calculation of pion and chiral symmetry breaking parameters. The pion is explicitly realized as a massless Goldstone boson and as a bound state of the constituent quarks. We compute, in the limit of exact chiral symmetry, M_Q, the constituent quark mass $\text{?}{}_{\mathrm{\pi }}$ the pion decay coupling, $\text{〈}\text{u}\text{u〉}$, the constituent quark loop density, μ_π²/m_q, the ratio of the Goldstone boson mass squared to the bare quark mass, and 〈r²〉_π, the pion electromagnetic charge radius squared.     

Stars of strange matter?

We investigate suggestions that quark matter with strangeness per baryon of order unity may be stable. We model this matter at nuclear matter densities as a gas of close packed Λ-particles. From the known mass of the Λ-particle we obtain an estimate of the energy and chemical potential of strange matter at nuclear densities. These are sufficiently high to preclude any phase transition from neutron matter to strange matter in the region near nucleon matter density. Including effects from gluon exchange phenomenologically, we investigate higher densities, consistently making approximations which underestimate the density of transition. In this way we find a transition density ρ_tr≳7ρ₀, where ρ₀ is nuclear matter density is not far from the maximum density in the center of the most massive neutron stars that can be constructed. Since we have underestimated ρ_tr and still find it to be ∼7ρ₀, we do not believe that the transition from neutron to quark matter is likely in neutron stars. Moreover, measured masses of observed neutron stars are ≅1.4 M_⊙, where M_⊙ is the solar mass. For such masses, the central (maximum) density is ρ_c<5ρ₀. Transition to quark matter is certainly excluded for these densities.