Fluctuations in the quark-meson model for QCD with isospin chemical potential

We study the two-flavor quark-meson (QM) model with the functional renormalization group (FRG) to describe the effects of collective mesonic fluctuations on the phase diagram of QCD at finite baryon and   isospin chemical potentials, _μB${\mu }_B$ and _μI${\mu }_I$. With only isospin chemical potential there is a precise equivalence between the competing dynamics of chiral versus pion condensation and that of collective mesonic and baryonic fluctuations in the quark-meson-diquark model for two-color QCD at finite baryon chemical potential. Here, finite _μB=3μ${\mu }_B=3\mu$ introduces an additional dimension to the phase diagram as compared to two-color QCD, however. At zero temperature, the (_μI,μ${\mu }_I,\mu$) plane of this phase diagram is strongly constrained by the “Silver Blaze problem.” In particular, the onset of pion condensation must occur at _μI=_mπ/2${\mu }_I=m_{\pi }/2$, independent of μ   as long as μ+_μI$\mu +{\mu }_I$ stays below the constituent quark mass of the QM model or the liquid-gas transition line of nuclear matter in QCD. In order to maintain this relation beyond mean field it is crucial to compute the pion mass from its timelike correlator with the FRG in a consistent way.     

Anharmonic corrections in constant-cutoff soliton model

We suggest a quantum stabilization method for theSU(2) -model, based on the constant-cutoff limit of the cutoff quantization method developed by Balakrishnaet al., which avoids the difficulties with the usual soliton boundary conditions pointed out by Iwasaki and Ohyama. We investigate the baryon numberB=1 sector of the model and show that after the collective coordinate quantization it admits a stable soliton solution which depends on a single dimensional arbitrary constant. We then derive the results for anharmonic corrections to the hyperon energy in the bound-state approach to theSU(3)-soliton model for the hyperons, withSU(3)-symmetry breaking. Thus we show that the anharmonic corrections give, as in the case of the complete Skyrme model, negative contributions to the hyperon energies and that they are of the same order of magnitude as those obtained using the complete Skyrme model for bound heavy-flavor two-meson systems in the case of cascade hyperons.     

Fe valence state at the surface of the Fe0.5Cu0.5Cr2S4 spinel

Here we present X‐ray absorption measurements of a vacuum cleaved Fe_0.5Cu_0.5Cr₂S₄ single crystal. Measurements at different positions on the cleaved sample surface clearly reveal a difference between the valence state of the Fe ions in the sur‐ face layers and the valency of the Fe ions present in the bulk. These results confirm the findings of recent measurements outlined previously. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Almost hermitian structures with parallel torsion

The characteristic connection of an almost hermitian structure is a hermitian connection with totally skew-symmetric torsion. The case of parallel torsion in dimension 6 is of particular interest. In this work, we give a full classification of the algebraic types of the torsion form, and, on the basis of this, undertake a systematic investigation into the possible geometries. Numerous naturally reductive spaces are constructed and classified, and examples on nilmanifolds given.     

Horizon-less Spherically Symmetric Vacuum-Solutions in a Higgs Scalar-Tensor Theory of Gravity

The exact static and spherically symmetric solutions of the vacuum field equations for a Higgs Scalar-Tensor theory (HSTT) are derived in Schwarzschild coordinates. It is shown that in general there exists no Schwarzschild horizon and that the fields are only singular (as naked singularity) at the center (i.e. for the case of a point-particle). However, the Schwarzschild solution as in usual general relativity (GR) is obtained for the vanishing limit of Higgs field excitations.     

Constant-cutoff approach to radiative decays of hyperons: E2/M1 transition ratios

We suggest a quantum stabilization method for theSU(2) σ-model, based on the constant-cutoff limit of the cutoff quantization method developed by Balakrishnaet al., which avoids the difficulties with the usual soliton boundary conditions pointed out by Iwasaki and Ohyama. We investigate the baryon numberB=1 sector of the model and show that after the collective coordinate quantization it admits a stable soliton solution which depends on a single dimensional arbitrary constant. We then study the radiative decays ofJ ^π=3/2⁺ baryons using the constant-cutoff approach to theSU(3) collective treatment of the Skyrme model for hyperons. Thus we evaluate the widths and E2/M1 ratios, showing that there is a general qualitative agreement with the results obtained using the complete Skyrme model, as well as the nonrelativistic quark model and quenched lattice model, for the total widths.     

Vibrational multilevel quantum coherence due to anharmonic couplings in intermolecular hydrogen bonds

Femtosecond three-pulse photon-echo studies of acetic acid dimers in solution reveal multilevel coherence of O-H stretching excitations caused by the anharmonic coupling between the high-frequency stretching and low-frequency hydrogen-bond motions. We demonstrate for the first time that such multilevel coherence determines the nonexponential decay of the macroscopic O-H stretching polarization, whereas spectral diffusion processes play a minor role. The dephasing time of individual vibrational transitions contributing to the overall polarization is approximately 200 fs.     

Self-diffusion rates in Al from combined first-principles and model-potential calculations

Monovacancy diffusion alone dominates over diffusion due to divacancies and interstitials in Al for all temperatures up to the melting point. Deviations from a single Arrhenius dependence are due to anharmonicity. The conclusion is based on a combination of theoretical methods, from density functional theory to thermodynamic integration, without fitting to experimental data. The calculated diffusion rate agrees with experimental data over 11 orders of magnitude.