A Note on a Standard Embedding on Half-Flat Manifolds

It is argued that the ten dimensional solution that corresponds to the compactification of $E_8 \times E_8$ heterotic string theory on a half-flat manifold is the product space-time $R^{1,2} \times Z_7$ where $Z_7$ is a generalized cylinder with $G_2$ riemannian holonomy. Standard embedding on $Z_7$ then implies an embedding on the half-flat manifold which involves the torsionful connection rather than the Levi-Civita connection. This leads to the breakdown of $E_8 \times E_8$ to $E_6 \times E_8$, as in the case of the standard embedding on Calabi-Yau manifolds, which agrees with the result derived recently by Gurrieri, Lukas and Micu (arXiv:0709.1932) using a different approach. Green-Schwarz anomaly cancellation is then implemented via the torsionful connection on half-flat manifolds.Comment: 5 pages. v2: 6 pages; slightly reworded; version submitted for publication. v3: uses JHEP3.cls, hence 14 pages now. Essentially same content as before. Article in title changed in accordance with JHEP editor's suggestion. Version to appear in JHE

Herschel-PACS imaging of protostars in the HH 1–2 outflow complex

We present 70 and 160 μm Herschel science demonstration images of a field in the Orion A molecular cloud that contains the prototypical Herbig-Haro objects HH 1 and 2, obtained with the Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS). These observations demonstrate Herschel’s unprecedented ability to study the rich population of protostars in the Orion molecular clouds at the wavelengths where they emit most of their luminosity. The four protostars previously identified by Spitzer 3.6–40 μm imaging and spectroscopy are detected in the 70 μm band, and three are clearly detected at 160 μm. We measure photometry of the protostars in the PACS bands and assemble their spectral energy distributions (SEDs) from 1 to 870 μm with these data, Spitzer spectra and photometry, 2MASS data, and APEX sub-mm data. The SEDs are fit to models generated with radiative transfer codes. From these fits we can constrain the fundamental properties of the protostars. We find luminosities in the range 12–84 L_⊙ and envelope densities spanning over two orders of magnitude. This implies that the four protostars have a wide range of envelope infall rates and evolutionary states: two have dense, infalling envelopes, while the other two have only residual envelopes. We also show the highly irregular and filamentary structure of the cold dust and gas surrounding the protostars as traced at 160 μm

Near-field direct antenna modulation

NFDAM systems provide a unique solution for transmitting highly secured direction-dependent data and hence preventing eavesdroppers from properly demodulating the signal. A 60-GHz proof-of-concept chip was designed and measured

Transmitter Architectures Based on Near-Field Direct Antenna Modulation

A near-field direct antenna modulation (NFDAM) technique is introduced, where the radiated far-field signal is modulated by time-varying changes in the antenna near-field electromagnetic (EM) boundary conditions. This enables the transmitter to send data in a direction-dependent fashion producing a secure communication link. Near-field direct antenna modulation (NFDAM) can be performed by using either switches or varactors. Two fully-integrated proof-of-concept NFDAM transmitters operating at 60 GHz using switches and varactors are demonstrated in silicon proving the feasibility of this approach

Majorana Neutrinos and Same-Sign Dilepton Production at LHC and in Rare Meson Decays

We discuss same-sign dilepton production mediated by Majorana neutrinos in high-energy proton-proton collisions pp\ra \ell^+ \ell^{\prime +}X for $\ell,~ \ell^\prime = e,~ \mu,~ \tau$ at the LHC energy $\sqrt{s}=14$ TeV, and in the rare decays of $K$, $D$, $D_s$, and $B$ mesons of the type M^{+}\ra M^{\prime -}\ell ^{+}\ell ^{\prime+}. For the $pp$ reaction, assuming one heavy Majorana neutrino of mass $m_N$, we present discovery limits in the $(m_{N},|U_{\ell N}U_{\ell^\prime N}|)$ plane where $U_{\ell N}$ are the mixing parameters. Taking into account the present limits from low energy experiments, we show that at LHC for the nominal luminosity L=100 fb$^{-1}$ there is no room for observable same-sign dilepton signals. However, increasing the integrated luminosity by a factor 30, one will have sensitivity to heavy Majorana neutrinos up to a mass $m_N\leq 1.5$ TeV only in the dilepton channels $\mu\mu$ and $\mu \tau$, but other dilepton states will not be detectable due to the already existing strong constraints. We work out a large number of rare meson decays, both for the light and heavy Majorana neutrino scenarios, and argue that the present experimental bounds on the branching ratios are too weak to set reasonable limits on the effective Majorana masses.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures (requires graphicx), a coefficient in Eq. (4) corrected leading to drastic reduction in the Majorana-induced same-sign dilepton cross-section at LHC; revised Figs. 2 and 3; references adde