Re/Os constraint on the time-variability of the fine-structure constant

We argue that the accuracy by which the isochron parameters of the decay $^{187}{\rm Re}\to ^{187}{\rm Os}$ are determined by dating iron meteorites may not directly constrain the possible time-dependence of the decay rate and hence of the fine-structure constant $\alpha$. From this point of view, some of the attempts to analyze the Oklo constraint and the results of the QSO absorption lines are re-examined.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures; v2, revised top sentence on p.

Baryogenesis and Gravitino Dark Matter in Gauge-Mediated Supersymmetry-Breaking Models

We discuss two cosmological issues in a generic gauge-mediated supersymmetry (SUSY)-breaking model, namely the Universe's baryon asymmetry and the gravitino dark-matter density. We show that both problems can be simultaneously solved if there exist extra matter multiplets of a SUSY-invariant mass of the order of the ``$\mu$-term'', as suggested in several realistic SUSY grand-unified theories. We propose an attractive scenario in which the observed baryon asymmetry is produced in a way totally independent of the reheating temperature of inflation without causing any cosmological gravitino problem. Furthermore, in a relatively wide parameter space, we can also explain the present mass density of cold dark matter by the thermal relics of the gravitinos without an adjustment of the reheating temperature of inflation. We point out that there is an interesting relation between the baryon asymmetry and the dark-matter density.Comment: 20 pages, 2 figure

Remarks on the Collective Quantization of the SU(2) Skyrme Model

We point out the question of ordering momentum operator in the canonical \break quantization of the SU(2) Skyrme Model. Thus, we suggest a new definition for the momentum operator that may solve the infrared problem that appears when we try to minimize the Quantum Hamiltonian.Comment: 8 pages, plain tex, IF/UFRJ/9

Quantum-Mechanical Detection of Non-Newtonian Gravity

In this work the possibility of detecting the presence of a Yukawa term, as an additional contribution to the usual Newtonian gravitational potential, is introduced. The central idea is to analyze the effects at quantum level employing interference patterns (at this respect the present proposal resembles the Colella, Overhauser and Werner experiment), and deduce from it the possible effects that this Yukawa term could have. We will prove that the corresponding interference pattern depends on the phenomenological parameters that define this kind of terms. Afterwards, using the so called restricted path integral formalism, the case of a particle whose position is being continuously monitored, is analyzed, and the effects that this Yukawa potential could have on the measurement outputs are obtained. This allows us to obtain another scheme that could lead to the detection of these terms. This last part also renders new theoretical predictions that could enable us to confront the restricted path integral formalism against some future experiments.Comment: 17 pages, accepted in International Journal of Modern Physics

Upper Bound On Gluino Mass From Thermal Leptogenesis

Thermal leptogenesis requires the reheating temperature T_R \gsim 3\times 10^{9} GeV, which contradicts a recently obtained constraint on the reheating temperature, T_R \lsim 10^6 GeV, for the gravitino mass of 100 GeV-10 TeV. This stringent constraint comes from the fact that the hadronic decays of gravitinos destroy very efficiently light elements produced by the Big-Bang nucleosynthesis. However, it is not applicable if the gravitino is the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP). We show that this solution to the gravitino problem works for the case where the next LSP is a scalar charged lepton or a scalar neutrino. We point out that there is an upper bound on the gluino mass as m_{\rm gluino} \lsim 1.8 TeV so that the energy density of gravitino does not exceed the observed dark matter density $\Omega_{\rm DM}h^2\simeq 0.11$.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures. Minor corrections, new references added, to appear in PL

Reduced Dynamics from the Unitary Group to Some Flag Manifolds : Interacting Matrix Riccati Equations

In this paper we treat the time evolution of unitary elements in the N level system and consider the reduced dynamics from the unitary group U(N) to flag manifolds of the second type (in our terminology). Then we derive a set of differential equations of matrix Riccati types interacting with one another and present an important problem on a nonlinear superposition formula that the Riccati equation satisfies. Our result is a natural generalization of the paper {\bf Chaturvedi et al} (arXiv : 0706.0964 [quant-ph]).Comment: Latex ; 13 pages ; no figur

The Kondo crossover in shot noise of a single quantum dot with orbital degeneracy

We investigate out of equilibrium transport through an orbital Kondo system realized in a single quantum dot, described by the multiorbital impurity Anderson model. Shot noise and current are calculated up to the third order in bias voltage in the particle-hole symmetric case, using the renormalized perturbation theory. The derived expressions are asymptotically exact at low energies. The resulting Fano factor of the backscattering current $F_b$ is expressed in terms of the Wilson ratio $R$ and the orbital degeneracy $N$ as $F_b =\frac{1 + 9(N-1)(R-1)^2}{1 + 5(N-1)(R-1)^2}$ at zero temperature. Then, for small Coulomb repulsions $U$, we calculate the Fano factor exactly up to terms of order $U^5$, and also carry out the numerical renormalization group calculation for intermediate $U$ in the case of two- and four-fold degeneracy ($N=2,\,4$). As $U$ increases, the charge fluctuation in the dot is suppressed, and the Fano factor varies rapidly from the noninteracting value $F_b=1$ to the value in the Kondo limit $F_b=\frac{N+8}{N+4}$, near the crossover region $U\sim \pi \Gamma$, with the energy scale of the hybridization $\Gamma$.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure