TASI Lectures on Flavor Physics

These notes overlap with lectures given at the TASI summer schools in 2014 and 2011, as well as at the European School of High Energy Physics in 2013. This is primarily an attempt at transcribing my hand-written notes, with emphasis on topics and ideas discussed in the lectures. It is not a comprehensive introduction or review of the field, nor does it include a complete list of references. I hope, however, that some may find it useful to better understand the reasons for excitement about recent progress and future opportunities in flavor physics.Comment: 42 pages, few typos corrected and references added, published veriso

The function of "weeping and gnashing of teeth" in Matthew's gospel

On six occurrences (8:12; 13:42; 13:50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30), Matthew recorded Jesus pronouncing judgment, using the idiom “weeping and gnashing of teeth”. Each occurrence played a central role in the development of Matthew’s theology, by communicating not only a fundamental component of the theme of judgment, but also an increasing force and potency of the event itself. It was discovered that the phrase may have four possible functions, namely (a) a system by which Matthew hoped to make the message of the particular passage unforgettable; (b) a prophetic anticipationof an aspect of the larger shape of history; (c) a linguistic device  to increase the degree of emphasis or heighten the force given to the message of eschatological judgment; and (d) a literary connector holding together a number of specific passages of Scripture. In Matthew’s case, the phrase glues together the passages that communicate a holistic theology of end-of-time judgment

Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays from Neutrino Emitting Acceleration Sources?

We demonstrate by numerical flux calculations that neutrino beams producing the observed highest energy cosmic rays by weak interactions with the relic neutrino background require a non-uniform distribution of sources. Such sources have to accelerate protons at least up to 10^{23} eV, have to be opaque to their primary protons, and should emit the secondary photons unavoidably produced together with the neutrinos only in the sub-MeV region to avoid conflict with the diffuse gamma-ray background measured by the EGRET experiment. Even if such a source class exists, the resulting large uncertainties in the parameters involved in this scenario does currently not allow to extract any meaningful information on absolute neutrino masses.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, RevTeX styl

Names, addresses and identities in ambient networks

Ambient Networks interconnect independent realms that may use different local network technologies and may belong to different administrative or legal entities. At the core of these advanced internetworking concepts is a flexible naming architecture based on dynamic indirections between names, addresses and identities. This paper gives an overview of the connectivity abstractions of Ambient Networks and then describes its naming architecture in detail, comparing and contrasting them to other related next-generation network architectures

The Distribution of Coalescing Compact Binaries in the Local Universe: Prospects for Gravitational-Wave Observations

Merging compact binaries are the most viable and best studied candidates for gravitational wave (GW) detection by the fully operational network of ground-based observatories. In anticipation of the first detections, the expected distribution of GW sources in the local universe is of considerable interest. Here we investigate the full phase space distribution of coalescing compact binaries at $z = 0$ using dark matter simulations of structure formation. The fact that these binary systems acquire large barycentric velocities at birth ("kicks") results in merger site distributions that are more diffusely distributed with respect to their putative hosts, with mergers occurring out to distances of a few Mpc from the host halo. Redshift estimates based solely on the nearest galaxy in projection can, as a result, be inaccurate. On the other hand, large offsets from the host galaxy could aid the detection of faint optical counterparts and should be considered when designing strategies for follow-up observations. The degree of isotropy in the projected sky distributions of GW sources is found to be augmented with increasing kick velocity and to be severely enhanced if progenitor systems possess large kicks as inferred from the known population of pulsars and double compact binaries. Even in the absence of observed electromagnetic counterparts, the differences in sky distributions of binaries produced by disparate kick-velocity models could be discerned by GW observatories, within the expected accuracies and detection rates of advanced LIGO--in particular with the addition of more interferometers.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures; Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letter

High temperature thermoelectric efficiency in Ba8Ga16Ge30

The high thermoelectric figure of merit (zT) of Ba8Ga16Ge30 makes it one of the best n-type materials for thermoelectric power generation. Here, we describe the synthesis and characterization of a Czochralski pulled single crystal of Ba8Ga16Ge30 and polycrystalline disks. Measurements of the electrical conductivity, Hall effect, specific heat, coefficient of thermal expansion, thermal conductivity, and Seebeck coefficient were performed up to 1173 K and compared with literature results. Dilatometry measurements give a coefficient of thermal expansion of 16×10^−6 K^−1 up to 1175 K. The trend in electronic properties with composition is typical of a heavily doped semiconductor. The maximum in the thermoelectric figure of merit is found at 1050 K with a value of 0.8. The correction of zT due to thermal expansion is not significant compared to the measurement uncertainties involved. Comparing the thermoelectric efficiency of segmented materials, the effect of compatibility makes Ba8Ga16Ge30 more efficient than the higher zT n-type materials SiGe or skutterudite CoSb3

The reception of Hungarian cinema in Polish film criticism 1945–1989

In the years 1945–1989, a reader interested in Hungarian cinema could learn a lot about it from the Polish press, not only film-specific, although the number of publications devoted to this subject differed across time. The most prolific period was the sixties and seventies, mainly due to the contemporary achievements of the Hungarian cinema, as well as Polish critics’ enthusiasm for it. It is not difficult to notice certain recurrent phrases and motifs etc. Hungarian cinema gained acclaim several years ago, but how is it thought of today? Historical and political themes, as well as comparisons between Hungarian and Polish cinema have been noted.This book was financially supported by the National Programme for the Development of Humanities: project “Cinema: Intercultural Perspective. Western-European Cinema in Poland, Polish Cinema in Western Europe. Mutual Perception of Film Cultures (1918–1939)”