Bypassing the structural bottleneck in the ultrafast melting of electronic order

The emergent properties of quantum materials, such as symmetry-broken phases and associated spectral gaps, can be effectively manipulated by ultrashort photon pulses. Impulsive optical excitation generally results in a complex non-equilibrium electron and lattice dynamics that involves multiple processes on distinct timescales, and a common conception is that for times shorter than about 100 fs the gap in the electronic spectrum is not seriously affected by lattice vibrations. Here, we directly monitor the photo-induced collapse of the spectral gap in a canonical charge-density-wave material, blue bronze Rb0.3MoO3. We find that ultra-fast (about 60 fs) vibrational disordering due to efficient hot-electron energy dissipation quenches the gap significantly faster than the typical structural bottleneck time corresponding to one half-cycle oscillation (about 315 fs) of the coherent charge-density-wave amplitude mode. This result not only demonstrates the importance of incoherent lattice motion in the photo-induced quenching of electronic order, but also resolves the perennial debate about the nature of the spectral gap in a coupled electron-lattice system

The importance of tau leptons for supersymmetry searches at the Tevatron

Supersymmetry is perhaps most effectively probed at the Tevatron through production and decay of weak gauginos. Most of the analyses of weak gaugino observables require electrons or muons in the final state. However, it is possible that the gauginos will decay primarily to tau leptons, thus complicating the search for supersymmetry. The motivating reasons for high tau multiplicity final states are discussed in three approaches to supersymmetry model building: minimal supergravity, gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking, and more minimal supersymmetry. The concept of ``e/mu/tau candidate'' is introduced, and an observable with three e/mu/tau candidates is defined in analog to the trilepton observable. The maximum mass reach for supersymmetry is then estimated when gaugino decays to tau leptons have full branching fraction.Comment: 9 pages, latex, 2 figures. Presented at the D0 New Phenomena Workshop, UC Davis, 26-28 March 199

Contact angles mediate equilibrium fractionation between soil water and water vapor

Soil water potential is a function of grain size, adhesion and cohesion energy. The mechanical equilibrium between the interfacial free energies between water-gas, water-solid and solid-gas, leads to a particular contact angle at the three phase boundary water-solid-gas. The contact angle of the solid-soil affects the water retention in soils. Contact angles >0 lead to a shift of the water retention curve to simulating a coarser soil texture. Thus, a certain amount of water is stronger bound in a soil with a low contact angle compared to the same soil with a high contact angle. The relationship between the contact angle and the fractionation of water stable isotopes between soil water and water vapor has yet not been studied. We present a simple laboratory experiment with soil samples ranging from sand to silt to clay. Two subsamples were hydrophobized (or treated with) using dichlorodimethylsilane to produce different contact angles. Subsamples were transferred into Ziploc bags spiked with water of known isotopic composition and the headspace filled with dry air. After equilibration (at least 24h) the headspace was measured for its isotopic signature with a Laserspectrometer. Soil water potential was measured with a soil water potential meter and the contact angle determined with the Wilhelmy-plate-method (WPM). The working hypothesis is that the equilibrium between water and water vapor depends on the matric potential. Having the same pore and the same water content water repellency affects the soil water potential. Therefore the hydrophobized soil will change the equilibrium fractionation between water and water vapor. Hence, the contact angle between adsorbed water and water vapor is related to isotope effects

A double parton scattering background to Higgs boson production at the LHC

The experimental capability of recognizing the presence of b quarks in complex hadronic final states has addressed the attention towards final states with b\bar{b} pairs for observing the production of the Higgs boson at the LHC, in the intermediate Higgs mass range.We point out that double parton scattering processes are going to represent a sizeable background to the process.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure

h→μτh\to \mu\tau at Hadron Colliders

We study the observability for a lepton flavor-changing decay of a Higgs boson $h\to \mu\tau$ at hadron colliders. Flavor-changing couplings of a Higgs boson exist at tree level in models with multiple Higgs doublets. The $h\mu\tau$ coupling is particularly motivated by the favorable intepretation of $\nu_\mu-\nu_\tau$ oscillation. We find that at the Tevatron Run II the unique $\mu\tau$ signature could serve as the Higgs discovery channel, surpassing expectations for Higgs boson searches in the SM and in a large parameter region of the MSSM. The sensitivity will be greatly improved at the LHC, beyond the coverage at a muon collider Higgs factory.Comment: Version to appear in PR

Ultrafast modulation of the chemical potential in BaFe2_2As2_2 by coherent phonons

Time- and angle-resolved extreme ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy is used to study the electronic structure dynamics in BaFe$_2$As$_2$ around the high-symmetry points $\Gamma$ and $M$. A global oscillation of the Fermi level at the frequency of the $A_{1g}$(As) phonon mode is observed. It is argued that this behavior reflects a modulation of the effective chemical potential in the photoexcited surface region that arises from the high sensitivity of the band structure near the Fermi level to the $A_{1g}$ phonon mode combined with a low electron diffusivity perpendicular to the layers. The results establish a novel way to tune the electronic properties of iron pnictides: coherent control of the effective chemical potential. The results further suggest that the equilibration time for the effective chemical potential needs to be considered in the ultrafast electronic structure dynamics of materials with weak interlayer coupling.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Associated Production of Higgs and Weak Bosons, with H -> b\bar b, at Hadron Colliders

We consider the search for the Higgs boson at a high-luminosity Fermilab Tevatron, an upgraded Tevatron of energy 3.5 TeV, and the CERN Large Hadron Collider, via $WH/ZH$ production followed by H -> bb~ and leptonic decay of the weak vector bosons. We show that each of these colliders can potentially observe the standard Higgs boson in the intermediate-mass range, 80 GeV <m_H < 120 GeV. This mode complements the search for and the study of the intermediate-mass Higgs boson via H -> \gamma\gamma at the LHC. In addition, it can potentially be used to observe the lightest Higgs scalar of the minimal supersymmetric model in a region of parameter space not accessible to CERN LEP II or the LHC (using h -> \gamma\gamma,ZZ^*).Comment: (changed the analysis of ZH production and the figures for susy), 17 pages + 7 figures, ILL-(TH)-94-8, BNL-6034

Time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy with optimized high-harmonic pulses using frequency-doubled Ti:Sapphire lasers

Time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (trARPES) using femtosecond extreme ultraviolet high harmonics has recently emerged as a powerful tool for investigating ultrafast quasiparticle dynamics in correlated-electron materials. However, the full potential of this approach has not yet been achieved because, to date, high harmonics generated by 800 nm wavelength Ti:Sapphire lasers required a trade-off between photon flux, energy and time resolution. Photoemission spectroscopy requires a quasi-monochromatic output, but dispersive optical elements that select a single harmonic can significantly reduce the photon flux and time resolution. Here we show that 400 nm driven high harmonic extreme-ultraviolet trARPES is superior to using 800 nm laser drivers since it eliminates the need for any spectral selection, thereby increasing photon flux and energy resolution to &lt; 150 meV while preserving excellent time resolution of about 30 fs. © 2014 The Authors

Ultrafast modulation of the chemical potential in BaFe2As2 by coherent phonons

Time- and angle-resolved extreme ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy is used to study the electronic structure dynamics in BaFe2As2 around the high-symmetry points Γ and M. A global oscillation of the Fermi level at the frequency of the A1g(As) phonon mode is observed. It is argued that this behavior reflects a modulation of the effective chemical potential in the photoexcited surface region that arises from the high sensitivity of the band structure near the Fermi level to the A1g(As) phonon mode combined with a low electron diffusivity perpendicular to the layers. The results establish a novel way to tune the electronic properties of iron pnictides: coherent control of the effective chemical potential. The results further suggest that the equilibration time for the effective chemical potential needs to be considered in the ultrafast electronic structure dynamics of materials with weak interlayer coupling. © 2014 American Physical Society