Towards Higgs boson production in gluon fusion to NNLO in the MSSM

We consider the Higgs boson production in the gluon-fusion channel to next-to-next-to-leading order within the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. In particular, we present analytical results for the matching coefficient of the effective theory and study its influence on the total production cross section in the limit where the masses of all MSSM particles coincide. For supersymmetric masses below 500 GeV it is possible to find parameters leading to a significant enhancement of the Standard Model cross section, the K-factors, however, change only marginally.     

Dysregulation of chemo-cytokine production in schizophrenic patients versus healthy controls

Background  

The exact cause of schizophrenia is not known, although several aetiological theories have been proposed for the disease, including developmental or neurodegenerative processes, neurotransmitter abnormalities, viral infection and immune dysfunction or autoimmune mechanisms. Growing evidence suggests that specific cytokines and chemokines play a role in signalling the brain to produce neurochemical, neuroendocrine, neuroimmune and behavioural changes. A relationship between inflammation and schizophrenia was supported by abnormal cytokines production, abnormal concentrations of cytokines and cytokine receptors in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid in schizophrenia. Since the neuropathology of schizophrenia has recently been reported to be closely associated with microglial activation we aimed to determined whether spontaneous or LPS-induced peripheral blood mononuclear cell chemokines and cytokines production is dysregulated in schizophrenic patients compared to healthy subjects. We enrolled 51 untreated first-episode schizophrenics (SC) and 40 healthy subjects (HC) and the levels of MCP-1, MIP-1α, IL-8, IL-18, IFN-γ and RANTES were determined by Elisa method in cell-free supernatants of PBMC cultures.     

WIMP event rates in directional experiments: The diurnal variation signature

The recent WMAP data have confirmed that exotic dark matter together with the vacuum energy (cosmological constant) dominate in the flat Universe. Modern particle theories provide viable cold dark matter candidates with masses in the GeV-TeV region. All such candidates will be called WIMPs (Weakly Interacting Massive Particles). The nature of dark matter can only be unraveled by its direct detection in the laboratory. In this work we present some theoretical elements relevant to the direct dark matter detection experiments, paying particular attention to directional experiments, i.e. experiments in which not only the energy but the direction of the recoiling nucleus is observed. Since the direction of observation is fixed with respect to the Earth, while the Earth is rotating around its axis, in a directional experiment the angle between the direction of observation and the Sun’s direction of motion will change during the day. So, since the event rates sensitively depend on this angle, the observed signal in such experiments will exhibit very interesting and characteristic periodic diurnal variation.     

Organization of matter into one-dimensional units on designed media

The organization of magnetic materials into one-dimensional micro- and nanowires on designed media is discussed, exemplified by two experiments on the microscale and nanoscale, with regard to particles as basic building blocks for the growth and development of matter.     

Wigner function and Bell’s inequalities for even and odd coherent states

The Wigner function and the symplectic tomogram of an entangled quantum state, which is a superposition of the photon’s coherent states (even and odd coherent states), is studied. Photon statistics and violation of Bell’s inequality for the photon state are discussed.     

A diffractive optical element for shaping arbitrary beams

A design method is presented for an optical element that shapes an arbitrary collimated beam. The optical element consists of a pair of diffractive optical elements (DOEs). The outgoing beam is also collimated, and can have any desired intensity profile. The phase functions of the DOEs are computed by minimizing an appropriate cost function under an energy conservation constraint.     

LD-end-pumped Nd:YAP laser operating at 1341.4 nm and doubling of its frequency

We report an LD-end-pumped linearly-polarized continuous-wave (CW) Nd:YAP laser operating at 1341.4 nm. Making use of the plane-concave resonator (T = 2.4%) and the plane-plane resonator (T = 2.6%), we obtain linearly-polarized laser radiation at 1341.4 nm with a power of 3.15 and 2.86 W and corresponding optical slope efficiency of 18.4 and 17.5%, respectively. The effect of the laser oscillation mode on the output is analyzed. An experiment on the intra-cavity frequency doubling with an LBO crystal has been performed, and a laser power of 431 mW in one direction at 670.7 nm was obtained.     

Anti-control of chaos in Bose-Einstein condensates

The spatial structure of a Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC) loaded into an optical lattice potential is investigated. We suggest a method for generating chaos in BEC by modulating periodic signals to convert the regular states into chaotic states. The maximal Lyapunov exponent is calculated as a function of modulation intensity and modulation frequency respectively, and the chaotic orbits associated with the positive Lyapunov exponents.      

Standstill Electric Charge Generates Magnetostatic Field under Born-Infeld Electrodynamics

The Abelian Born-Infeld classical non-linear Electrodynamic has been used to investigate the electric and magnetostatic fields generated by a point-like electric charge at rest in an inertial frame. The results show a rich internal structure for the charge. Analytical solutions have also been found. Such fields configurations have been interpreted in terms of vacuum polarization and magnetic-like charges produced by the very high strengths of the electric field considered. Apparently non-linearity is responsible for the emergence of an anomalous magnetostatic field suggesting a possible connection to that created by a magnetic dipole composed of two magnetic charges with opposite signs. Consistently in situations where the Born-Infeld field strength parameter is free to become infinite, Maxwell’s regime takes over, the magnetic sector vanishes and the electric field assumes a Coulomb behavior with no trace of a magnetic component. The connection to other monopole solutions, like Dirac’s and ’tHooft’s Poliakov’s types are also discussed. Finally, some speculative remarks are presented in an attempt to explain such fields.     

Optically driven actuators using poly(vinylidene difluoride)

Optically driven actuators have a feature of a non-contact method supplied by light energy. A new method is proposed with three poly(vinylidene difluoride) (PVDF) cantilevers as the legs and a polymer film as the body. The PVDF cantilevers are coated with silver on one surface. When one side of the cantilever is irradiated by a laser beam, an electric field is produced along a cross-section of the cantilever by the pyroelectric effect and a mechanical displacement occurs by the piezoelectric effect. Its response time and its generated force are measured experimentally. Two types of optically driven actuators using PVDF film are proposed to move using different characteristics.