Thermal dilepton signal versus dileptons from open charm and bottom decays in heavy-ion collisions

We analyze the opportunity to observe thermal dileptons emitted off deconfined matter resulting in heavy-ion collisions at RHIC and LHC energies. Special kinematical conditions provided by the detector systems PHENIX and ALICE, and the so-called $M_\perp$ scaling behavior of thermal dilepton spectra are taken into account. Our considerations include energy loss effects of the fast heavy quarks in deconfined matter, which for themselves can help to identify the creation of a hot and dense parton medium. Due to a threshold like effect for decay leptons we find a window at large transverse pair momentum and fixed transverse mass where the thermal signal can exceed the background of dileptons from correlated semileptonic decays of charm and bottom mesons.Comment: 21 LaTeX pages including 7 eps figure

Bethe-Salpeter Amplitudes and Static Properties of the Deuteron

Extended calculations of the deuteron's static properties, based on the numerical solution of the Bethe-Salpeter equation, are presented. A formalism is developed, which provides a comparative analysis of the covariant amplitudes in various representations and nonrelativistic wave functions. The magnetic and quadrupole moments of the deuteron are calculated in the Bethe-Salpeter formalism and the role of relativistic corrections is discussed.Comment: 33 pages ([aps]{revtex} style), 9 Postscript figures; (55 pages if [preprint,aps]{revtex} style is used

General relativistic corrections to the Sagnac effect

The difference in travel time of corotating and counter-rotating light waves in the field of a central massive and spinning body is studied. The corrections to the special relativistic formula are worked out in a Kerr field. Estimation of numeric values for the Earth and satellites in orbit around it show that a direct measurement is in the order of concrete possibilities.Comment: REVTex, accepted for publication on Phys. Rev.

On the influence of the cosmological constant on gravitational lensing in small systems

The cosmological constant Lambda affects gravitational lensing phenomena. The contribution of Lambda to the observable angular positions of multiple images and to their amplification and time delay is here computed through a study in the weak deflection limit of the equations of motion in the Schwarzschild-de Sitter metric. Due to Lambda the unresolved images are slightly demagnified, the radius of the Einstein ring decreases and the time delay increases. The effect is however negligible for near lenses. In the case of null cosmological constant, we provide some updated results on lensing by a Schwarzschild black hole.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure; v2: extended discussion on the lens equation, references added, results unchanged, in press on PR

Effects of Aflatoxin B1 and Fumonisin B1 on the Viability and Induction of Apoptosis in Rat Primary Hepatocytes

The present study evaluated the effect of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and fumonisin B1 (FB1) either alone, or in association, on rat primary hepatocyte cultures. Cell viability was assessed by flow cytometry after propidium iodine intercalation. DNA fragmentation and apoptosis were assessed by agarose gel electrophoresis and acridine orange and ethidium bromide staining. At the concentrations of AFB1 and FB1 used, the toxins did not decrease cell viability, but did induce apoptosis in a concentration and time-dependent manner

On the verge of Umdeutung in Minnesota: Van Vleck and the correspondence principle (Part One)

In October 1924, the Physical Review, a relatively minor journal at the time, published a remarkable two-part paper by John H. Van Vleck, working in virtual isolation at the University of Minnesota. Van Vleck combined advanced techniques of classical mechanics with Bohr's correspondence principle and Einstein's quantum theory of radiation to find quantum analogues of classical expressions for the emission, absorption, and dispersion of radiation. For modern readers Van Vleck's paper is much easier to follow than the famous paper by Kramers and Heisenberg on dispersion theory, which covers similar terrain and is widely credited to have led directly to Heisenberg's "Umdeutung" paper. This makes Van Vleck's paper extremely valuable for the reconstruction of the genesis of matrix mechanics. It also makes it tempting to ask why Van Vleck did not take the next step and develop matrix mechanics himself.Comment: 82 page