Measuring the P-odd Pion-Nucleon Coupling h_{\pi NN}^{(1)} in \pi^+ Photoproton Production Near the Threshold

We show that polarized gamma p -> \pi^+ n in the threshold region is an excellent candidate for measuring the leading parity-violating pion-nucleon coupling h_{\pi NN}^{(1)} to an uncertainty of 20% if it has a natural size from dimensional analysis. The conclusion is based on a large unpolarized cross section, a new low-energy theorem for the photon polarization asymmetry at the threshold A_\gamma|_{th} = \sqrt{2} f_\pi (\mu_p-\mu_n) h_{\pi NN}^{(1)}/g_A m_N \sim h_{\pi NN}^{(1)}/2, and its strong dominance at forward and backward angles in the threshold region.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. More data points in fig. 1 and note added in proof adde

Bell Inequality in the Holographic EPR Pair

We study the Bell inequality in a holographic model of the casually disconnected Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) pair. The Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt(CHSH) form of Bell inequality is constructed using holographic Schwinger-Keldysh (SK) correlators. We show that the manifestation of quantum correlation in Bell inequality can be holographically reproduced from the classical fluctuations of dual accelerating string in the bulk gravity. The violation of this holographic Bell inequality supports the essential quantum property of this holographic model of an EPR pair.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures; references and texts added; v3: matches published versio

A Critical Cosmological Constant from Millimeter Extra Dimensions

We consider `brane universe' scenarios with standard-model fields localized on a 3-brane in 6 spacetime dimensions. We show that if the spacetime is rotationally symmetric about the brane, local quantities in the bulk are insensitive to the couplings on the brane. This potentially allows compactifications where the effective 4-dimensional cosmological constant is independent of the couplings on the 3-brane. We consider several possible singularity-free compactification mechanisms, and find that they do not maintain this property. We also find solutions with naked spacetime singularities, and we speculate that new short-distance physics can become important near the singularities and allow a compactification with the desired properties. The picture that emerges is that standard-model loop contributions to the effective 4-dimensional cosmological constant can be cut off at distances shorter than the compactification scale. At shorter distance scales, renormalization effects due to standard-model fields renormalize the 3-brane tension, which changes a deficit angle in the transverse space without affecting local quantities in the bulk. For a compactification scale of order 10^{-2} mm, this gives a standard-model contribution to the cosmological constant in the range favored by cosmology.Comment: 15 pages, LaTeX2e. Major revisions; see abstrac

Peak-Dip-Hump from Holographic Superconductivity

We study the fermionic spectral function in a holographic superconductor model. At zero temperature, the black hole has zero horizon and hence the entropy of the system is zero after the back reaction of the condensate is taken into account. We find the system exhibits the famous peak-dip-hump lineshape with a sharp low-energy peak followed by a dip then a hump at higher energies. This feature is widely observed in the spectrum of several high-T_c superconductors. We also find a linear relation between the gap in the fermionic spectrum and the condensate, indicating the condensate is formed by fermion pairing.Comment: 4 pages, revtex