Prospects for new physics observations in diffractive processes at the LHC and Tevatron

We study the double-diffractive production of various heavy systems (e.g. Higgs, dijet, and SUSY particles) at LHC and Tevatron collider energies. In each case we compute the probability that the rapidity gaps, which occur on either side of the produced system, survive the effects of soft rescattering and QCD bremsstrahlung effects. We calculate both the luminosity for different production mechanisms, and a wide variety of subprocess cross sections. The results allow numerical predictions to be readily made for the cross sections of all these processes at the LHC and the Tevatron collider. For example, we predict that the cross section for the exclusive double-diffractive production of a 120 GeV Higgs boson at the LHC is about 3 fb, and that the QCD background in the decay mode is about 4 times smaller than the Higgs signal if the experimental missing-mass resolution is 1 GeV. For completeness we also discuss production via or WW fusion. Received: 7 November 2001 / Revised version: 11 December 2001 / Published online: 25 January 2002     

The Potts model representation and a Robinson–Schensted correspondence for the partition algebra

We construct a correspondence between the set of partitions of a finite set M and the set of pairs of walks to the same vertex on a graph giving the Bratteli diagram of the partition algebra on M. This is the precise analogue of the correspondence between the set of permutations of a finite set and the set of pairs of Young tableaux of the same shape, called the Robinson–Schensted correspondence.     

A branching process model for sand avalanches

An analytically solvable model for sand avalanches of noninteracting grains of sand, based on the Chapman-Kolmogorov equations, is presented. For a single avalanche, distributions of lifetimes, sizes of overflows and avalanches, and correlation functions are calculated. Some of these are exponentials, some are power laws. Spatially homogeneous distributions of avalanches are also studied. Computer simulations of avalanches of interacting grains of sand are compared to the solutions to the Chapman-Kolmogorov equations. We find that within the range of parameters explored in the simulation, the approximation of noninteracting grains of sand is a good one.     

XPS and XAES study of the interaction of palladium and copper overlayers with fullerene films

X-ray photoelectron and Auger spectroscopies were used to examine surface bonding and overlayer growth during palladium and copper deposition onto films of fullerene, C₆₀ The results were consistent with metal cluster formation on C₆₀. The observed positive core electron binding energy shifts in small metallic clusters supported on C₆₀ were shown to originate in metal-fullerene interaction accompanied by charge transfer. Palladium-fullerene intermixing at temperatures as low as ss 50°C was observed for small Pd coverages.     

Spline prewavelets for non-uniform knots

Summary In this paper, we develop a framework suitable for performing a multiresolution analysis using univariate spline spaces of arbitrary degree and with non-uniform knot-sequences. To this end, we show, among other things, the existence of compactly supported prewavelets and of prewavelets that are globally supported, but decay exponentially. In each case we obtain a decomposition of a fine spline space as a sum of a coarse spline space plus a spline space spanned by prewavelets.     

Spline collocation for strongly elliptic equations on the torus

Summary We prove convergence and error estimates in Sobolev spaces for the collocation method with tensor product splines for strongly elliptic pseudodifferential equations on the torus. Examples of applications include elliptic partial differential equations with periodic boundary conditions but also the classical boundary integral operators of potential theory on torus-shaped domains in three or more dimensions. For odd-degree splines, we prove convergence of nodal collocation for any strongly elliptic operator. For even-degree splines and midpoint collocation, we find an additional condition for the convergence which is satisfied for the classical boundary integral operators. Our analysis is a generalization to higher dimensions of the corresponding analysis of Arnold and Wendland [4].     

Aqueous solution and solid state interactions of lanthanide ions with a methacrylic ester polymer bearing pendant 15‐crown‐5 moieties

The interaction between trivalent lanthanide ions and poly(1,4,7,10,13‐pentaoxacyclopentadecan‐2‐yl‐methyl methacrylate), PCR5, in aqueous solution and in the solid state have been studied. In aqueous solution, evidence of a weak interaction between the lanthanides and PCR5 comes from the small red shift of the Ce(III) emission spectra and the slight broadening of the Gd(III) EPR spectra. From the Tb(III) lifetimes in the presence of H₂O and D₂O the loss of one or two water coordinated molecules is confirmed when Tb(III) is bound to PCR5. An association constant of the order of 200 M^?1 was obtained for a 1:1 (lanthanide:15‐crown‐5) complex from the shift of the polymer NMR signals induced by Tb(III). A similar association constant is obtained from the differences of the molar conductivity of Ce(III) solution at various concentrations in presence and absence of PCR5. When Tb(III) is adsorbed on PCR5 membranes, lifetime experiments in H₂O and D₂O confirm the loss of 5 or 6 water coordinated molecules indicating that in solid state the lanthanide(III)‐PCR5 interaction is stronger than in solution. The adsorption of Ce(III) in PCR5 membranes shows a Langmuir type isotherm, from which an equilibrium constant of 39 M^?1 has been calculated. SEM shows that the membrane morphology is not much affected by lanthanide adsorption. Support for lanthanide ion–crown interactions comes from ab initio calculations on 15‐crown‐5/La(III) complex. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 1788–1799, 2007     

Efficiency and effectiveness of Spanish football teams: a three-stage-DEA approach

In this paper, we apply a three-stage-DEA model to the Spanish Professional Football League, which means separating the teams’ economic behaviour into three components: operating efficiency—of the offence and defence—athletic or operating effectiveness, and social effectiveness. The results showed that the technical inefficiency of the defence is greater than that of the offence, both being caused by aspects linked to the poor management of players’ abilities and by the football team’s size. Teams showed a favourable evolution of their offensive and defensive efficiency during the 2004/2005 season and to a lesser extent in the season before. The point system assigned by the professional football league regulations evaluates the teams’ athletic effectiveness, but we detected that the teams with the most experience perform athletically in a more effective manner. Their social effectiveness is strongly related to the level of play in itself and to factors linked to their PFL ranking: participation in international competitions for important football teams; or the struggle of minor football teams to stay in the first division.