Flavor SU(3) analysis of charmless B->PP decays

We perform a global fits to charmless $B \to PP$ decays which independently constrain the $(\bar\rho,\bar\eta)$ vertex of the unitarity triangle. The fitted amplitudes and phase are used to predict the branching ratios and CP asymmetries of all decay modes, including those of the $B_s$ system. Different schemes of SU(3) breaking in decay amplitude sizes are analyzed. The possibility of having a new physics contribution to $K \pi$ decays is also discussed.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figs. Talk given at EPS-HEP07 To appear in the proceedings, Reference adde

Simple renormalizable flavor symmetry for neutrino oscillations

The recent measurement of a non-zero neutrino mixing angle $\theta_{13}$ requires a modification of the tri-bimaximal mixing pattern that predicts a zero value for it. We propose a new neutrino mixing pattern based on a spontaneously-broken $A_{4}$ flavor symmetry and a type-I seesaw mechanism. Our model allows for approximate tri-bimaximal mixing and non-zero $\theta_{13}$, and contains a natural way to implement low and high energy CP violation in neutrino oscillations, and leptogenesis with a renormalizable Lagrangian. Both normal and inverted mass hierarchies are permitted within $3\sigma$ experimental bounds, with the prediction of small (large) deviations from maximality in the atmospheric mixing angle for the normal (inverted) case. Interestingly, we show that the inverted case is excluded by the global analysis in $1\sigma$ experimental bounds, while the most recent MINOS data seem to favor the inverted case. Our model make predictions for the Dirac CP phase in the normal and inverted hierarchies, which can be tested in near-future neutrino oscillation experiments. Our model also predicts the effective mass $|m_{ee}|$ measurable in neutrinoless double beta decay to be in the range $0.04\lesssim |m_{ee}| \lesssim 0.15$ eV for the normal hierarchy and $0.06\lesssim |m_{ee}| \lesssim 0.11$ eV for the inverted hierarchy, both of which are within the sensitivity of the next generation experiments.Comment: 29 pages and 10 figures. No corrections. Version for Phys. Rev.

Signatures of Non-commutative QED at Photon Colliders

In this paper we study non-commutative (NC) QED signatures at photon colliders through pair production of charged leptons $(\ell^+ \ell^-)$ and charged scalars $(H^+ H^-)$. The NC corrections for the fermion pair production can be easily obtained since NC QED with fermions has been extensively studied in the literature. NC QED with scalars is less studied. To obtain the cross section for $H^+H^-$ productions, we first investigate the structure of NC QED with scalars, and then study the corrections due to the NC geometry to the ordinary QED cross sections. Finally by folding in the photon spectra for a $\gamma \gamma$ collider with laser back-scattered photons from the $e^+ e^-$ machine, we obtain 95% CL lower bound on the NC scale using the above two processes. We find that, with $\sqrt{s} = 0.5, 1.0$, and $1.5$ TeV and integrated luminosity $L = 500(fb^{-1})$, the NC scale up to 0.7, 1.2, and 1.6 TeV can be probed, respectively, while, for monochromatic photon beams, these numbers become 1.1, 1.7, 2.6 TeV, respectively.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figure

Electrochemical Quartz Crystal Microbalance Study of Corrosion of Phases in AA2024

The electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) was used to directly measure the dissolution rate at cathodic potentials, and thus the cathodic corrosion rate, of thin-film analogs of phases in AA2024. Thin films of pure Al, Al-4% Cu, and Al2Cu were studied in 0.1 M NaCl containing 0, 10^-4, or 10^-2 M Cr2O7 . A range of cathodic potentials was studied for each material. The true cathodic current density was calculated from the difference of the net current density and the dissolution rate, which was determined by the EQCM. For pure Al and Al-4Cu, the cathodic corrosion rate was large relative to the net current density, so the true cathodic current density was considerably larger than the measured net current density. The cathodic current density was almost identical to the net current density for Al2Cu because the dissolution rate was very small compared to the cathodic reaction rate. Various potentials in the limiting oxygen reduction reaction region were examined, but the effect of the applied potential was small. The presence of dichromate in solution decreased both the cathodic corrosion rate and the cathodic current density on these thin-film analogs. In particular, it decreased more effectively the cathodic reaction rate on Al2Cu, which can support faster cathodic reaction rates.This work was supported by the United States Air Force Office of Scientific Research Grant no. F49620-96-1-0479 under the guidance of Dr. Paul Trulove

Persistence of singlet fluctuations in the coupled spin tetrahedra system Cu2Te2O5Br2 revealed by high-field magnetization and 79Br NQR - 125Te NMR

We present high-field magnetization and $^{79}$Br nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) and $^{125}$Te nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies in the weakly coupled Cu$^{2+}$ ($S=1/2$) tetrahedral system Cu$_2$Te$_2$O$_5$Br$_2$. The field-induced level crossing effects were observed by the magnetization measurements in a long-ranged magnetically ordered state which was confirmed by a strong divergence of the spin-lattice relaxation rate 1/T1 at T0=13.5 K. In the paramagnetic state, 1/T1 reveals an effective singlet-triplet spin gap much larger than that observed by static bulk measurements. Our results imply that the inter- and the intra-tetrahedral interactions compete, but at the same time they cooperate strengthening effectively the local intratetrahedral exchange couplings. We discuss that the unusual feature originates from the frustrated intertetrahedral interactions.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted in Phys. Rev. B as a Rapid Communication

|V_ub| and |V_cb|, Charm Counting and Lifetime Differences in Inclusive Bottom Hadron Decays

Inclusive bottom hadron decays are analyzed based on the heavy quark effective field theory (HQEFT). Special attentions in this paper are paid to the b\to u transitions and nonspectator effects. As a consequence, the CKM quark mixing matrix elements |V_ub| and |V_cb| are reliably extracted from the inclusive semileptonic decays B\to X_u e \nu and B\to X_c e \nu. Various observables, such as the semileptonic branch ratio B_SL, the lifetime differences among B^-, B^0, B_s and \Lambda_b hadrons, the charm counting n_c, are predicted and found to be consistent with the present experimental data.Comment: 20 pages, Revtex, 4 figures and 2 table

A mechanism for unipolar resistance switching in oxide non-volatile memory devices

Building on a recently introduced model for non-volatile resistive switching, we propose a mechanism for unipolar resistance switching in metal-insulator-metal sandwich structures. The commutation from the high to low resistance state and back can be achieved with successive voltage sweeps of the same polarity. Electronic correlation effects at the metal-insulator interface are found to play a key role to produce a resistive commutation effect in qualitative agreement with recent experimental reports on binary transition metal oxide based sandwich structures.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure