Modification of Coulomb law and energy levels of hydrogen atom in superstrong magnetic field

The screening of a Coulomb potential by superstrong magnetic field is studied. Its influence on the spectrum of a hydrogen atom is determined.Comment: Lectures at 39 ITEP Winter School and 11 Baikal Summer School; 12 pages, 5 figure

Binary systems of neutral mesons in Quantum Field Theory

Quasi-degenerate binary systems of neutral mesons of the kaon type are investigated in Quantum Field Theory (QFT). General constraints cast by analyticity and discrete symmetries P, C, CP, TCP on the propagator (and on its spectral function) are deduced. Its poles are the physical masses; this unambiguously defines the propagating eigenstates. It is diagonalized and its spectrum thoroughly investigated. The role of ``spurious'' states, of zero norm at the poles, is emphasized, in particular for unitarity and for the realization of TCP symmetry. The K_L-K_S mass splitting triggers a tiny difference between their CP violating parameters \epsilon_L and \epsilon_S, without any violation of TCP. A constant mass matrix like used in Quantum Mechanics (QM) can only be introduced in a linear approximation to the inverse propagator, which respects its analyticity and positivity properties; it is however unable to faithfully describe all features of neutral mesons as we determine them in QFT, nor to provide any sensible parameterization of eventual effects of TCP violation. The suitable way to diagonalize the propagator makes use of a bi-orthogonal basis; it is inequivalent to a bi-unitary transformation (unless the propagator is normal, which cannot occur here). Problems linked with the existence of different ``in'' and ``out'' eigenstates are smoothed out. We study phenomenological consequences of the differences between the QFT and QM treatments. The non-vanishing of semi-leptonic asymmetry \delta_S - \delta_L does not signal, unlike usually claimed, TCP violation, while A_TCP keeps vanishing when TCP is realized. We provide expressions invariant by the rephasing of K0 and K0bar.Comment: 44 pages, 2 figures. Version to appear in Int. J. Mod. Phys.

Modification of Coulomb law and energy levels of the hydrogen atom in a superstrong magnetic field

We obtain the following analytical formula which describes the dependence of the electric potential of a point-like charge on the distance away from it in the direction of an external magnetic field B: \Phi(z) = e/|z| [ 1- exp(-\sqrt{6m_e^2}|z|) + exp(-\sqrt{(2/\pi) e^3 B + 6m_e^2} |z|) ]. The deviation from Coulomb's law becomes essential for B > 3\pi B_{cr}/\alpha = 3 \pi m_e^2/e^3 \approx 6 10^{16} G. In such superstrong fields, electrons are ultra-relativistic except those which occupy the lowest Landau level (LLL) and which have the energy epsilon_0^2 = m_e^2 + p_z^2. The energy spectrum on which LLL splits in the presence of the atomic nucleus is found analytically. For B > 3 \pi B_{cr}/\alpha, it substantially differs from the one obtained without accounting for the modification of the atomic potential.Comment: version to be published in Physical Review D (incorrect "Keywords" in previous version have been cancelled

On the η\eta and f1_1(1420) Couplings to the Nucleon

We consider neutral pseudoscalar, $\eta$, and axial vector, $f_1(1420)$, mesons in the OZI-rule-respecting flavor basis, $\lbrace (\bar s s), {1\over \sqrt{2}}(\bar u u + \bar d d)\rbrace$, and suggest a scenario for their coupling to the nucleon. Within this framework, the non--strange parts of the $\eta N$ and f$_1 N$ couplings are modeled by means of triangular $a_0\pi N$, and $K K^* (\Lambda /\Sigma)$ vertices, while the strange ones partly proceed via Goldberger-Treiman relations, which have been concluded solely on the grounds of current universality. The suggested model explains the observed suppression of the $\eta N$ coupling with respect to the constituent quark model expectations, and predicts the coupling of $f_1$ to the nucleon.Comment: appears in Int. J. Mod. Phys. A (in press

The Schnitzler syndrome

The Schnitzler syndrome is a rare and underdiagnosed entity which is considered today as being a paradigm of an acquired/late onset auto-inflammatory disease. It associates a chronic urticarial skin rash, corresponding from the clinico-pathological viewpoint to a neutrophilic urticarial dermatosis, a monoclonal IgM component and at least 2 of the following signs: fever, joint and/or bone pain, enlarged lymph nodes, spleen and/or liver, increased ESR, increased neutrophil count, abnormal bone imaging findings. It is a chronic disease with only one known case of spontaneous remission. Except of the severe alteration of quality of life related mainly to the rash, fever and pain, complications include severe inflammatory anemia and AA amyloidosis. About 20% of patients will develop a lymphoproliferative disorder, mainly Waldenström disease and lymphoma, a percentage close to other patients with IgM MGUS. It was exceedingly difficult to treat patients with this syndrome until the IL-1 receptor antagonist anakinra became available. Anakinra allows a complete control of all signs within hours after the first injection, but patients need continuous treatment with daily injections

Low back pain as the presenting sign in a patient with primary extradural melanoma of the thoracic spine - A metastatic disease 17 Years after complete surgical resection

Primary spinal melanomas are extremely rare lesions. In 1906, Hirschberg reported the first primary spinal melanoma, and since then only 40 new cases have been reported. A 47-year-old man was admitted suffering from low back pain, fatigue and loss of body weight persisting for three months. He had a 17-year-old history of an operated primary spinal melanoma from T7-T9, which had remained stable for these 17 years. Routine laboratory findings and clinical symptoms aroused suspicion of a metastatic disease. Multislice computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed stage-IV melanoma with thoracic, abdominal and skeletal metastases without the recurrence of the primary process. Transiliac crest core bone biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of metastatic melanoma. It is important to know that in all cases of back ore skeletal pain and unexplained weight loss, malignancy must always be considered in the differential diagnosis, especially in the subjects with a positive medical history. Patients who have back, skeletal, or joint pain that is unresponsive to a few weeks of conservative treatment or have known risk factors with or without serious etiology, are candidates for imaging studies. The present case demonstrates that complete surgical resection alone may result in a favourable outcome, but regular medical follow-up for an extended period, with the purpose of an early detection of a metastatic disease, is highly recommended

Search for heavy Majorana neutrinos in e+-e+-+ jets and e+-μ+-+ jets events in proton-proton collisions at s = 8 s√=8 TeV

A search is performed for heavy Majorana neutrinos (N) decaying into a W boson and a lepton using the CMS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. A signature of two jets and either two same sign electrons or a same sign electron-muon pair is searched for using 19.7 fb−1 of data collected during 2012 in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The data are found to be consistent with the expected standard model (SM) background and, in the context of a Type-1 seesaw mechanism, upper limits are set on the cross section times branching fraction for production of heavy Majorana neutrinos in the mass range between 40 and 500 GeV. The results are additionally interpreted as limits on the mixing between the heavy Majorana neutrinos and the SM neutrinos. In the mass range considered, the upper limits range between 0.00015–0.72 for |VeN|2 and 6.6 × 10−5−0.47 for |VeNVμN∗|2/(|VeN|2 + |VμN|2), where VℓN is the mixing element describing the mixing of the heavy neutrino with the SM neutrino of flavour ℓ. These limits are the most restrictive direct limits for heavy Majorana neutrino masses above 200 GeV

Search for narrow resonances in dilepton mass spectra in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV and combination with 8 TeV data

Peer reviewe

Search for top squark pair production in pp collisions at root s=13 TeV using single lepton events

Peer reviewe

Search for new physics with dijet angular distributions in proton-proton collisions at root S = 13 TeV

Peer reviewe