6,531 research outputs found
Warped flavor symmetry predictions for neutrino physics
A realistic five-dimensional warped scenario with all standard model fields
propagating in the bulk is proposed. Mass hierarchies would in principle be
accounted for by judicious choices of the bulk mass parameters, while fermion
mixing angles are restricted by a flavor symmetry broken on the
branes by flavon fields. The latter gives stringent predictions for the
neutrino mixing parameters, and the Dirac CP violation phase, all described in
terms of only two independent parameters at leading order. The scheme also
gives an adequate CKM fit and should be testable within upcoming oscillation
experiments.Comment: 19 pages, 2 figue
QED vacuum fluctuations and induced electric dipole moment of the neutron
Quantum fluctuations in the QED vacuum generate non-linear effects, such as
peculiar induced electromagnetic fields. In particular, we show here that an
electrically neutral particle, possessing a magnetic dipole moment, develops an
induced electric dipole-type moment with unusual angular dependence, when
immersed in a quasistatic, constant external electric field. The calculation of
this effect is done in the framework of the Euler-Heisenberg effective QED
Lagrangian, corresponding to the weak field asymptotic expansion of the
effective action to one-loop order. It is argued that the neutron might be a
good candidate to probe this signal of non-linearity in QED.Comment: A misprint has been corrected, and three new references have been
adde
Unusual behaviours and Impurity Effects in the Noncentrosymmetric Superconductor CePt3Si
We report a study in which the effect of defects/impurities, growth process,
off-stoichiometry, and presence of impurity phases on the superconducting
properties of noncentrosymmetric CePt3Si is analysed by means of the
temperature dependence of the magnetic penetration depth. We found that the
linear low-temperature response of the penetration depth -indicative of line
nodes in this material- is robust regarding sample quality, in contrast to what
is observed in unconventional centrosymmetric superconductors with line nodes.
We discuss evidence that the broadness of the superconducting transition may be
intrinsic, though not implying the existence of a second superconducting
transition. The superconducting transition temperature systematically occurs
around 0.75 K in our measurements, in agreement with resistivity and ac
magnetic susceptibility data but in conflict with specific heat, thermal
conductivity and NMR data in which Tc is about 0.5 K. Random defects do not
change the linear low-temperature dependence of the penetration depth in the
heavy-fermion CePt3Si with line nodes, as they do in unconventional
centrosymmetric superconductors with line nodes.Comment: To appear in New Journal of Physic
On the abundance discrepancy problem in HII regions
The origin of the abundance discrepancy is one of the key problems in the
physics of photoionized nebula. In this work, we analize and discuss data for a
sample of Galactic and extragalactic HII regions where this abundance
discrepancy has been determined. We find that the abundance discrepancy factor
(ADF) is fairly constant and of the order of 2 in all the available sample of
HII regions. This is a rather different behaviour than that observed in
planetary nebulae, where the ADF shows a much wider range of values. We do not
find correlations between the ADF and the O/H, O++/H+ ratios, the ionization
degree, Te(High), Te(Low)/ Te(High), FWHM, and the effective temperature of the
main ionizing stars within the observational uncertainties. These results
indicate that whatever mechanism is producing the abundance discrepancy in HII
regions it does not substantially depend on those nebular parameters. On the
contrary, the ADF seems to be slightly dependent on the excitation energy, a
fact that is consistent with the predictions of the classical temperature
fluctuations paradigm. Finally, we obtain that Te values obtained from OII
recombination lines in HII regions are in agreement with those obtained from
collisionally excited line ratios, a behaviour that is again different from
that observed in planetary nebulae. These similar temperature determinations
are in contradiction with the predictions of the model based on the presence of
chemically inhomogeneous clumps but are consistent with the temperature
fluctuations paradigm. We conclude that all the indications suggest that the
physical mechanism responsible of the abundance discrepancy in HII regions and
planetary nebulae are different.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, 9 tables. Accepted for publication in the Ap
Evolutionary history and identification of conservation units in the giant otter, Pteronura brasiliensis.
The giant otter, Pteronura brasiliensis, occupies a range including the major drainage basins of South America, yet the degree of structure that exists within and among populations inhabiting these drainages is unknown. We sequenced portions of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cytochrome b (612 bp) and control region (383 bp) genes in order to determine patterns of genetic variation within the species. We found high levels of mtDNA haplotype diversity (h = 0.93 overall) and support for subdivision into four distinct groups of populations, representing important centers of genetic diversity and useful units for prioritizing conservation within the giant otter. We tested these results against the predictions of three hypotheses of Amazonian diversification (Pleistocene Refugia, Paleogeography, and Hydrogeology). While the phylogeographic pattern conformed to the predictions of the Refugia Hypothesis, molecular dating using a relaxed clock revealed the phylogroups diverged from one another between 1.69 and 0.84 Ma, ruling out the influence of Late Pleistocene glacial refugia. However, the role of Plio-Pleistocene climate change could not be rejected. While the molecular dating also makes the influence of geological arches according to the Paleogeography Hypothesis extremely unlikely, the recent Pliocene formation of the Fitzcarrald Arch and its effect of subsequently altering drainage pattern could not be rejected. The data presented here support the interactions of both climatic and hydrological changes resulting from geological activity in the Plio-Pleistocene, in shaping the phylogeographic structure of the giant otter
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