Unitarity bounds on low scale quantum gravity

We study the unitarity of models with low scale quantum gravity both in four dimensions and in models with a large extra-dimensional volume. We find that models with low scale quantum gravity have problems with unitarity below the scale at which gravity becomes strong. An important consequence of our work is that their first signal at the Large Hadron Collider would not be of a gravitational nature such as graviton emission or small black holes, but rather would be linked to the mechanism which fixes the unitarity problem. We also study models with scalar fields with non-minimal couplings to the Ricci scalar. We consider the strength of gravity in these models and study the consequences for inflation models with non-minimally coupled scalar fields. We show that a single scalar field with a large non-minimal coupling can lower the Planck mass in the TeV region. In that model, it is possible to lower the scale at which gravity becomes strong down to 14 TeV without violating unitarity below that scale.     

A fundamental quadratic variational principle underlying general relativity

The fundamental result of Lanczos is used in a new type of quadratic variational principle whose field equations are the Einstein field equations together with the Yang-Mills type equations for the Riemann curvature. Additionally, a spin-2 theory of gravity for the special case of the Einstein vacuum is discussed.     

Quantum field theory of optical birefringence phenomena

The inverse Faraday effect, in which a magnetization is induced in a solution through which is passed a polarized light beam of arbitrary ellipticity, is discussed on the basis of the S-matrix formulation of optical birefringence. It is shown that the Faraday effect and the inverse Faraday effect are topologically identical problems of diagrammatic perturbation theory and so it follows automatically that the magnetization should be proportional to the Verdet constant. The optical Faraday effect is the circular birefringence induced by an intense circularly polarized beam of light propagated colinearly with the weak measuring beam: the electric vector of the circularly polarized beam interacts with the molecule in a way that resembles the interaction of a static magnetic field. The interrelations of these two effects and the normal Faraday effect the self-rotation of the polarization ellipse of an intense beam are discussed.     

Slow-motion line-shapes

The electron spin resonance line-shape of a tumbling radical is treated by a projection operator formalism that enables analytical expressions to be obtained. These are valid from the fast-motion limit to well into the slowmotion region so long as non-secular terms may be ignored.     

Self-assembled structures with liquid-crystalline order in aqueous solution by patterning poly(phenylene ethynylene)s

Facially amphiphilic (FA) phenylene ethynylene (PE) polymers that self-assemble in aqueous solution were studied by small-angle X-ray diffraction (SAXD) and found to self-assemble into bilayers with a fully extended backbone. The resulting bilayers have long-range liquid-crystalline order. This self-assembly is programmed into the molecule by placing polar and nonpolar groups at precise locations so that they segregate onto opposite sides of the molecular structure. The absence of FA patterning generated an amorphous sample confirming the importance of this programmed amphiphilicity in the self-assembly process. Facially amphiphilic patterning represents a new design criterion for supramolecular chemistry, illustrated here in the observation of molecular ordering into bilayers reminiscent of self-assembled structures commonly found in biology, including amphiphilic beta-sheet polypeptides and phospholipid bilayers.     

Synthesis of gold nanoparticles using herbal Acorus calamus rhizome extract and coating on cotton fabric for antibacterial and UV blocking applications

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been synthesized by greener method using chloroauric acid as precursor and extract of Acorus calamus rhizome as reducing agent. Formation of AuNP was confirmed by the presence of Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) peak in UV–Visible spectral analysis. XRD and FT-IR spectral analyses were performed for characterization. SEM images show spherical morphology and HR-TEM images reveal nanosize of AuNPs. The AuNPs were then coated on cotton fabric by pad-dry-cure method and characterized by SEM with EDAX technique. The results reveal the deposition of AuNPs on the surface of cotton fabric. Uncoated cotton, neat extract coated cotton and extract containing AuNPs coated cotton fabrics were then tested for antibacterial activity against Gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram negative (Escherichia coli) bacterial strains by AATCC 100 test method. It showed that the extract containing AuNPs coated cotton fabric had higher antibacterial activity than other test samples against E. coli. UV-DRS analysis performed on extract containing AuNPs coated cotton fabric showed improved UV-blocking property than uncoated cotton fabric and neat extract coated cotton fabric.     

Retrospective analysis of air samples in the U.K. 1957–1974

The results from the retrospective analysis of a library of filters used for the collection of air samples at Chilton, Oxfordshire during the period 1957–74 are presented.     

Bayesian stratified random sampling using auxiliary information

Summary Smith (1976,J. R. Statist. Soc., A,139, 183–204) has argued that survey statisticians should attempt to model finite population structures in the same way that statisticians in other disciplines have to provide models of finite or infinite populations. Following this argument, we suggest in this paper that an obvious model for a stratified population when auxiliary information regarding variate values is available, is the one way analysis of covariance model with unequal variances and we consider the problem of estimating the finite population mean. Finally a possible extension of this result is discussed.     

Track of a fiber fuse: a Rayleigh instability in optical waveguides

The phenomenon colloquially known as a fiber fuse occurs when an optical fiber carrying high power is damaged or in some way abused. Beginning at the damage site a brilliant, highly visible plasmalike disturbance propagates back toward the optical source at speeds ranging from 0.3 to approximately 3 m/s, leaving in its wake a trail of bubbles and voids. We suggest that the bubble tracks in fused fibers are the result of a classic Rayleigh instability that is due to capillary effects in the molten silica that surrounds the vaporized fiber core. We report measurements of the bubble distribution and the collapse time that are consistent with this contention.