Gauge Fluctuations in Superconducting Films

In this paper we consider a superconducting film modeled by the Ginzburg-Landau model, confined between two parallel planes a distance $L$ apart from one another. Our approach is based on the Gaussian effective potential in the transverse unitarity gauge, which allows to treat gauge contributions in a compact form. Using techniques from dimensional and $zeta$-function regularizations, modified by the confinement conditions, we investigate the critical temperature as a function of the film thickness $L$. The contributions from the scalar self-interaction and from the gauge fluctuations are clearly identified. The model suggests the existence of a minimal critical thickness below which superconductivity is suppressed.Comment: 6 pages Revtex, no figure

Properties of bars in the local universe

We studied the fraction and properties of bars in a sample of about 3000 galaxies extracted from SDSS-DR5. This represents a volume limited sample with galaxies located between redshift 0.01-20, and inclination i < 60. Interacting galaxies were excluded from the sample. The fraction of barred galaxies in our sample is 45%. We found that 32% of S0s, 55% of early-type spirals, and 52% of late-type spirals are barred galaxies. The bars in S0s galaxies are weaker than those in later-type galaxies. The bar length and galaxy size are correlated, being larger bars located in larger galaxies. Neither the bar strength nor bar length correlate with the local galaxy density. On the contrary, the bar properties correlate with the properties of their host galaxies. Galaxies with higher central light concentration host less and weaker bars.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure to appear in the proceedings of "Formation and Evolution of Galaxy Disks", Rome, October 2007, Eds. J. Funes and E. M. Corsin

Discrete coherent states for higher Landau levels

We consider the quantum dynamics of a charged particle evolving under the action of a constant homogeneous magnetic field, with emphasis on the discrete subgroups of the Heisenberg group (in the Euclidean case) and of the SL(2, R) group (in the Hyperbolic case). We investigate completeness properties of discrete coherent states associated with higher order Euclidean and hyperbolic Landau levels, partially extending classic results of Perelomov and of Bargmann, Butera, Girardello and Klauder. In the Euclidean case, our results follow from identifying the completeness problem with known results from the theory of Gabor frames. The results for the hyperbolic setting follow by using a combination of methods from coherent states, time-scale analysis and the theory of Fuchsian groups and their associated automorphic forms.Comment: Revised for Annals of Physic