Path Integral and the Induction Law

We show how the induction law is correctly used in the path integral computation of the free particle propagator. The way this primary path integral example is treated in most textbooks is a little bit missleading.Comment: 5 latex pages, no figure

Study of sequential semileptonic decays of b hadrons produced at the Tevatron

We present a study of rates and kinematical properties of lepton pairs contained in central jets with transverse energy E_T > 15 GeV that are produced at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. We compare the data to a QCD prediction based on the HERWIG and QQ Monte Carlo generator programs.We find that the data are poorly described by the simulation, in which sequential semileptonic decays of single b quarks (b --> l c X with c --> l s X) are the major source of such lepton pairs.Comment: 25 pages, 8 figures. Some typos were fixed in the text and bibliography. Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Phenomenological study of the atypical heavy flavor production observed at the Fermilab Tevatron

We address known discrepancies between the heavy flavor properties of jets produced at the Tevatron collider and the prediction of conventional-QCD simulations. In this study, we entertain the possibility that these effects are real and due to new physics. We show that all anomalies can be simultaneously fitted by postulating the additional pair production of light bottom squarks with a 100% semileptonic branching fraction.Comment: 30 pages, 13 figures, 3 tables. Submitted to Phys. Rev.

N-particle sector of quantum field theory as a quantum open system

We give an exposition of a technique, based on the Zwanzig projection formalism, to construct the evolution equation for the reduced density matrix corresponding to the n-particle sector of a field theory. We consider the case of a scalar field with a $g \phi^3$ interaction as an example and construct the master equation at the lowest non-zero order in perturbation theory.Comment: 12 pages, Late

Diffractive photoproduction of opposite-charge pseudoscalar meson pairs at high energies

We calculate the cross section for diffractive photoproduction of opposite-charge pseudoscalar meson pairs $M^+M^- = \pi^+ \pi^-$, $K^+ K^-$, $D^+ D^-$ and $B^+ B^-$ in a broad range of center-of-mass energies relevant for GlueX/Hall D, FOCUS, COMPASS and HERA experiments. In the case of $\pi^+\pi^-$ production we find that the interference of the $\rho^0$ resonance and the two-pion continuum leads to a considerable deformation of the shape of $\rho^0$ in agreement with the data from the ZEUS collaboration. We also discuss the spectral shape of the $\rho^0$ as a function of the momentum transfer and the contribution of higher partial waves to the $\pi^+\pi^-$ mass spectrum. We predict a sizeable energy-dependent forward-backward asymmetry in the Gottfried-Jackson frame. For the heavy meson production we find that the cross section for diffractive production increases much slower than the one for open charm or bottom production. We discuss lower and upper limits for the cross sections for diffractive production of $D^+ D^-$ and $B^+ B^-$ pairs, which we find can be as large as 10% of the open flavor production.Comment: 14 pages, 19 figure

Gut microbiome–micronutrient interaction: The key to controlling the bioavailability of minerals and vitamins?

Micronutrients, namely, vitamins and minerals, are necessary for the proper functioning of the human body, and their deficiencies can have dramatic short- and long-term health consequences. Among the underlying causes, certainly a reduced dietary intake and/or poor absorption in the gastrointestinal tract play a key role in decreasing their bioavailability. Recent evidence from clinical and in vivo studies suggests an increasingly important contribution from the gut microbiome. Commensal microorganisms can in fact regulate the levels of micronutrients, both by intervening in the biosynthetic processes and by modulating their absorption. This short narrative review addresses the pivotal role of the gut microbiome in influencing the bioavailability of vitamins (such as A, B, C, D, E, and K) and minerals (calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, and phosphorous), as well as the impact of these micronutrients on microbiome composition and functionality. Personalized microbiome-based intervention strategies could therefore constitute an innovative tool to counteract micronutrient deficiencies by modulating the gut microbiome toward an eubiotic configuration capable of satisfying the needs of our organism, while promoting general health

Vacuum energies due to delta-like currents: simulating classical objects along branes with arbitrary codimensions

In this paper we investigate the vacuum energies of several models of quantum fields interacting with static external currents (linear couplings) concentrated along parallel branes with an arbitrary number of codimensions. We show that we can simulate the presence of static charges distributions as well as the presence of classical static dipoles in any dimension for massive and massless fields. We also show that we can produce confining potentials with massless self interacting scalar fields as well as long range anisotropic potentials.Comment: 18 latex page

Long Josephson Tunnel Junctions with Doubly Connected Electrodes

In order to mimic the phase changes in the primordial Big Bang, several "cosmological" solid-state experiments have been conceived, during the last decade, to investigate the spontaneous symmetry breaking in superconductors and superfluids cooled through their transition temperature. In one of such experiments the number of magnetic flux quanta spontaneously trapped in a superconducting loop was measured by means of a long Josephson tunnel junction built on top of the loop itself. We have analyzed this system and found a number of interesting features not occurring in the conventional case with simply connected electrodes. In particular, the fluxoid quantization results in a frustration of the Josephson phase, which, in turn, reduces the junction critical current. Further, the possible stable states of the system are obtained by a self-consistent application of the principle of minimum energy.Comment: 34 pages, 9 figures, Phys. Rev. B April 201

Control of Multi-level Voltage States in a Hysteretic SQUID Ring-Resonator System

In this paper we study numerical solutions to the quasi-classical equations of motion for a SQUID ring-radio frequency (rf) resonator system in the regime where the ring is highly hysteretic. In line with experiment, we show that for a suitable choice of of ring circuit parameters the solutions to these equations of motion comprise sets of levels in the rf voltage-current dynamics of the coupled system. We further demonstrate that transitions, both up and down, between these levels can be controlled by voltage pulses applied to the system, thus opening up the possibility of high order (e.g. 10 state), multi-level logic and memory.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figure