Gluon and gluino penguin diagrams and the charmless decays of the b quark

Gluon mediated exclusive hadronic decays of b quarks are studied within the standard model (SM) and the constrained minimally supersymmetric standard model (MSSM). For all allowed regions of the MSSM parameter space (A, tan beta, m_0, m_{1/2}) the penguin magnetic dipole form factor F^R_2 is dominant over the electric dipole and can be larger than the magnetic dipole form factor of the SM. However, overall the SM electric dipole decay amplitude F^L_1 dominates the decay rate. The MSSM penguin contributions to the free quark decay rate approach the 10% level for those regions of parameter space close to the highest allowed values of tan beta (~55) for which the gluino is light (m_{\tilde{g}} \approx 360 GeV) and lies within the range of the six d-squark masses. In these regions the supersymmetric box amplitudes are negligible. The MSSM phases change very little over the allowed parameter space and can lead to significant interference with the SM amplitudes

Cosmological implications of conformal field theory

Requiring all massless elementary fields to have conformal scaling symmetry removes a conflict between gravitational theory and the quantum theory of elementary particles and fields. Extending this postulate to the scalar field of the Higgs model, dynamical breaking of both gauge and conformal symmetries determines parameters for the interacting fields. In uniform isotropic geometry a modified Friedmann cosmic evolution equation is derived with nonvanishing cosmological constant. Parameters determined by numerical solution are consistent with empirical data for redshifts $z\leq z_*=1090$, including luminosity distances for observed type Ia supernovae and peak structure ratios in the cosmic microwave background (CMB). The theory does not require dark matter.Comment: 8 pages Conclusions about the early universe which must be reexamined have been removed. Manuscript revised and reformatted. Accepted for publication in Modern Physics Letters A (2011

Factorization fits to charmless strangeless B decays

We present fits to charmless strangeless hadronic B decay data for mean branching ratios and CP-violating asymmetries using the QCD factorization model of Beneke et al. Apart from one CP-violating parameter, the model gives a very good representation of 26 measured data. We find the CKM angle alpha = (93.5 +/- 8.4 -1.3) degrees and to be quite stable to plausible "charming penguin" corrections.Comment: 4 pages, LaTeX, Minor changes to text, references adde

New CMB Power Spectrum Constraints from MSAMI

We present new cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy results from the combined analysis of the three flights of the first Medium Scale Anisotropy Measurement (MSAM1). This balloon-borne bolometric instrument measured about 10 square degrees of sky at half-degree resolution in 4 frequency bands from 5.2 icm to 20 icm with a high signal-to-noise ratio. Here we present an overview of our analysis methods, compare the results from the three flights, derive new constraints on the CMB power spectrum from the combined data and reduce the data to total-power Wiener-filtered maps of the CMB. A key feature of this new analysis is a determination of the amplitude of CMB fluctuations at $\ell \sim 400$. The analysis technique is described in a companion paper by Knox.Comment: 9 pages, 6 included figure

Nucleon-nucleon interaction in the Skyrme model

We consider the interaction of two skyrmions in the framework of the sudden approximation. The widely used product ansatz is investigated. Its failure in reproducing an attractive central potential is associated with terms that violate G-parity. We discuss the construction of alternative ans\"atze and identify a plausible solution to the problem.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figure

Charming penguin contributions to B => K \pi

We present calculations of the charming-penguin long-distance contributions to B => K \pi decays due to intermediate charmed meson states. Our calculation is based on the Chiral Effective Lagrangean for light and heavy mesons, corrected for the hard pion and kaon momenta. We find that the charming-penguin contributions increase significantly the B => K \pi decay rates in comparison with the short-distance contributions, giving results in better agreement with experimental data.Comment: 13 pages LaTeX (uses RevTeX and epsfig), 3 figures. Corrected typos. To appear in Physical Review

Quasi-Elastic Scattering in the Inclusive (3^3He, t) Reaction

The triton energy spectra of the charge-exchange $^{12}$C($^3$He,t) reaction at 2 GeV beam energy are analyzed in the quasi-elastic nucleon knock-out region. Considering that this region is mainly populated by the charge-exchange of a proton in $^3$He with a neutron in the target nucleus and the final proton going in the continuum, the cross-sections are written in the distorted-wave impulse approximation. The t-matrix for the elementary exchange process is constructed in the DWBA, using one pion- plus rho-exchange potential for the spin-isospin nucleon- nucleon potential. This t-matrix reproduces the experimental data on the elementary pn $\rightarrow$np process. The calculated cross-sections for the $^{12}$C($^3$He,t) reaction at $2^o$ to $7^o$ triton emission angle are compared with the corresponding experimental data, and are found in reasonable overall accord.Comment: 19 pages, latex, 11 postscript figures available at [email protected], submitted to Phy.Rev.