The 125 GeV boson: A composite scalar?

Assuming that the 125 GeV particle observed at the LHC is a composite scalar and responsible for the electroweak gauge symmetry breaking, we consider the possibility that the bound state is generated by a non-Abelian gauge theory with dynamically generated gauge boson masses and a specific chiral symmetry breaking dynamics motivated by confinement. The scalar mass is computed with the use of the Bethe-Salpeter equation and its normalization condition as a function of the SU(N) group and the respective fermionic representation. If the fermions that form the composite state are in the fundamental representation of the SU(N) group, we can generate such light boson only for one specific number of fermions for each group. In the case of small groups, like SU(2) to SU(5), and two fermions in the adjoint representation we find that is quite improbable to generate such light composite scalar.Comment: 24 pages, 5 figures, discussion extended, references added; version to appear in Phys. Rev.

Spectral Characters of Finite-Dimensional Representations of Affine Algebras

We introduce the notion of a spectral character for finite-dimensional representations of affine algebras. These can be viewed as a suitable q=1 limit of the elliptic characters defined by Etingof and Moura for quantum affine algebras. We show that these characters determine blocks of the category of finite-dimensional modules for affine algebras. To do this we use the Weyl modules defined by Chari and Pressley and some indecomposable reducible quotient of the Weyl modules.Comment: More concise proofs for Propositions 1.2 and 2.4 added. To appear in Journal of Algebr

Gain and noise spectral density in an electronic parametric amplifier with added white noise

In this paper, we discuss the behavior of a linear classical parametric amplifier (PA) in the presence of white noise and give theoretical estimates of the noise spectral density based on approximate Green's functions obtained by using averaging techniques. Furthermore, we give analytical estimates for parametric amplification bandwidth of the amplifier and for the noisy precursors to instability. To validate our theory we compare the analytical results with experimental data obtained in an analog circuit. We describe the implementation details and the setup used in the experimental study of the amplifier. Near the threshold to the first parametric instability, and in degenerate-mode amplification, the PA achieved very high gains in a very narrow bandwidth centered on its resonance frequency. In quasi-degenerate mode amplification, we obtained lower values of gain, but with a wider bandwidth that is tunable. The experimental data were accurately described by the predictions of the model. Moreover, we noticed spectral components in the output signal of the amplifier which are due to noise precursors of instability. The position, width, and magnitude of these components are in agreement with the noise spectral density obtained by the theory proposed here

Three-antenna two-dimensional imaging correlation radiometer: concept and preliminary results

Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Inflation in asymptotically safe f(R) theory

We discuss the existence of inflationary solutions in a class of renormalization group improved polynomial f(R) theories, which have been studied recently in the context of the asymptotic safety scenario for quantum gravity. These theories seem to possess a nontrivial ultraviolet fixed point, where the dimensionful couplings scale according to their canonical dimensionality. Assuming that the cutoff is proportional to the Hubble parameter, we obtain modified Friedmann equations which admit both power law and exponential solutions. We establish that for sufficiently high order polynomial the solutions are reliable, in the sense that considering still higher order polynomials is very unlikely to change the solution.Comment: Presented at 14th Conference on Recent Developments in Gravity: NEB 14, Ioannina, Greece, 8-11 Jun 201