766 research outputs found
Forward-backward and isospin asymmetry for B -> K* l+ l- decay in the standard model and in supersymmetry
We discuss two dedicated observables in exclusive B -> K* l+ l- decay that
can be used to study effects of physics beyond the standard model, namely the
forward-backward asymmetry in the lepton spectrum and the isospin-asymmetry
between decays of charged and neutral B mesons. We consider the region of large
recoil-energy (i.e. small invariant mass of the lepton pair), and employ the
QCD factorization approach to exclusive B meson decays. Sub-leading effects in
the heavy quark mass expansion have been taken into account for the calculation
of the isospin-asymmetry. We give predictions for decay asymmetries in the
standard model, and its supersymmetric extension with minimal flavor violation,
using parameter values allowed by current experimental constraints on B->X_s
gamma decay.Comment: 21 pages, LaTeX with 6 figures, added reference
Open Cosmic Strings in Black Hole Space-Times
We construct open cosmic string solutions in Schwarzschild black hole and
non-dilatonic black p-brane backgrounds. These strings can be thought to
stretch between two D-branes or between a D-brane and the horizon in curved
space-time. We study small fluctuations around these solutions and discuss
their basic properties.Comment: 11 pages, REVTex, 5 figures, a reference adde
Predictions for decays
We present a phenomenological study of the rare double radiative decay in the Standard Model (SM) and beyond. Using the operator
product expansion (OPE) technique, we estimate the short-distance (SD)
contribution to the decay amplitude in a region of the phase space which is
around the point where all decay products have energy in the rest
frame of the -meson. At lowest order in 1/Q, where is of order ,
the matrix element is then expressed in terms of the
usual form factors known from semileptonic rare decays. The integrated
SD branching ratio in the SM in the OPE region turns out to be . We work
out the di-photon invariant mass distribution with and without the resonant
background through . In the SM,
the resonance contribution is dominant in the region of phase space where the
OPE is valid. The present experimental upper limit on
decays, which constrains the scalar/pseudoscalar Four-Fermi operators with
, leaves considerable room for new physics in the
one-particle-irreducible contribution to decays. In this
case, we find that the SD branching ratio can be
enhanced by one order of magnitude with respect to its SM value and the SD
contribution can lie outside of the resonance peaks.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures; Note added on Schouten identity and 2 references
added; v4: typos in Eqs (8), (44) and erroneous statement on mixing before Eq
(44) fixed. All results and conclusions unchange
Rare radiative exclusive B decays in soft-collinear effective theory
We consider rare radiative B decays such as B -> K^* gamma or B -> rho gamma
in soft-collinear effective theory, and show that the decay amplitudes are
factorized to all orders in alpha_s and at leading order in Lambda/m_b.By
employing two-step matching, we classify the operators for radiative B decays
in powers of a small parameter lambda(~ \sqrt{Lambda/m_b}) and obtain the
relevant operators to order lambda in SCET_I. These operators are constructed
with or without spectator quarks including the four-quark operators
contributing to annihilation and W-exchange channels. And we employ SCET_II
where the small parameter becomes of order Lambda/m_b, and evolve the operators
in order to compute the decay amplitudes for rare radiative decays in
soft-collinear effective theory. We show explictly that the contributions from
the annihilation channels and the W-exchange channels vanish at leading order
in SCET. We present the factorized result for the decay amplitudes in rare
radiative B decays at leading order in SCET, and at next-to-leading order in
alpha_s.Comment: v2: 31 pages, 11 figures. An appendix is added about the quark mass
effects on radiative B decay
Remarks on self-interaction correction to black hole radiation
In the work [P. Kraus and F. Wilczek, \textit{Self-interaction correction to
black hole radiation, Nucl. Phys.} B433 (1995) 403], it has been pointed out
that the self-gravitation interaction would modify the black hole radiation so
that it is no longer thermal, where it is, however, corrected in an approximate
way and therefore is not established its relationship with the underlying
unitary theory in quantum theory. In this paper, we revisit the
self-gravitation interaction to Hawking radiation of the general spherically
symmetric black hole, and find that the precisely derived spectrum is not only
deviated from the purely thermal spectrum, but most importantly, is related to
the change of the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy and consistent with an underlying
unitary theory.Comment: 14 page
Radiative B decays to the axial mesons at next-to-leading order
We calculate the branching ratios of at next-to-leading
order (NLO) of where is the orbitally excited axial vector
meson. The NLO decay amplitude is divided into the vertex correction and the
hard spectator interaction part. The one is proportional to the weak form
factor of transition while the other is a convolution between
light-cone distribution amplitudes and hard scattering kernel. Using the
light-cone sum rule results for the form factor, we have \calB(B^0\to
K_1^0(1270)\gamma)=(0.828\pm0.335)\times 10^{-5} and \calB(B^0\to
K_1^0(1400)\gamma)=(0.393\pm0.151)\times 10^{-5}.Comment: 17pages, 4 figures. Minor changes, typos corrected. PRD accepted
versio
Fundamental studies of the adhesion of explosives to textile and non-textile surfaces
This paper describes the use of atomic force microscopy (AFM) to investigate the interactions between explosives crystals and different surfaces. Crystals of TNT, PETN and RDX were mounted onto tipless AFM cantilevers and repeatedly brought into contact with a range of surfaces (n = 15), including textile and non-textile surfaces. The adhesion force during each contact was measured, and the results are presented in this work. The results suggest that explosives crystals display a higher adhesion to smoother, non-textile surfaces, particularly glass. This finding may be of use for forensic explosives investigators when deciding the best types of debris to target for explosives recovery
Photon polarization in radiative B decays
We study decay distributions in B -> K pi pi gamma, combining contributions
from several overlapping resonances in a K pi pi mass range near 1400 MeV,
(1^+) K_1(1400), (2^+) K^*_2(1430) and (1^-) K^*(1410). A method is proposed
for using these distributions to determine a photon polarization parameter in
the effective radiative weak Hamiltonian. This parameter is measured through an
up-down asymmetry of the photon direction relative to the K pi pi decay plane.
We calculate a dominant up-down asymmetry of 0.33 +- 0.05 from the K1(1400)
resonance, which can be measured with about 10^8 B B-bar pairs, thus providing
a new test for the Standard Model and a probe for some of its extensions.Comment: 22 pages, 3 figures, version to appear in Phys. Rev.
Non-factorizable Contributions to Decays
We investigate to what extent the experimental information on
branching fractions and CP asymmetries can be used to better understand the QCD
dynamics in these decays. For this purpose we decompose the independent isospin
amplitudes into factorizable and non-factorizable contributions. The former can
be estimated within the framework of QCD factorization for exclusive
decays. The latter vanish in the heavy-quark limit, , and are
treated as unknown hadronic parameters. We discuss at some length in which way
the non-factorizable contributions are treated in different theoretical and
phenomenological frameworks. We point out the potential differences between the
phenomenological treatment of power-corrections in the ``BBNS approach'', and
the appearance of power -suppressed operators in soft-collinear effective
theory (SCET). On that basis we define a handful of different (but generic)
scenarios where the non-factorizable part of isospin amplitudes is parametrized
in terms of three or four unknowns, which can be constrained by data. We also
give some short discussion on the implications of our analysis for decays. In particular, since non-factorizable QCD effects in
may be large, we cannot exclude sizeable non-factorizable effects, which
violate flavour symmetry, or even isospin symmetry (via long-distance
QED effects). This may help to explain certain puzzles in connection with
isospin-violating observables in decays.Comment: published version, minor correction
High-resolution dielectric characterization of minerals: a step towards understanding the basic interactions between microwaves and rocks
Microwave energy was demonstrated to be potentially beneficial for reducing the cost of several steps of the mining process. Significant literature was developed about this topic but few studies are focused on understanding the interaction between microwaves and minerals at a fundamental level in order to elucidate the underlying physical processes that control the observed phenomena. This is ascribed to the complexity of such phenomena, related to chemical and physical transformations, where electrical, thermal and mechanical forces play concurrent roles. In this work a new characterization method for the dielectric properties of mineral samples at microwave frequencies is presented. The method is based upon the scanning microwave microscopy technique that enables measurement of the dielectric constant, loss factor and conductivity with extremely high spatial resolution and accuracy. As opposed to conventional dielectric techniques, the scanning microwave microscope can then access and measure the dielectric properties of micrometric-sized mineral inclusions within a complex structure of natural rock. In this work two micrometric hematite inclusions were characterized at a microwave frequency of 3 GHz. Scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy and confocal micro-Raman spectroscopy were used to determine the structural details and chemical and elemental composition of mineral sample on similar scale
- …