Probing the Weak Boson Sector in γe→Ze\gamma e\rightarrow Ze

We study possible deviations from the standard model in the reaction $\gamma e\rightarrow Ze$ at a 500 GeV $e^+e^-$ collider. As a photon source we use a laser backscattered photon beam. We investigate the most general $\gamma Z\gamma$ and $\gamma ZZ$ vertices including operators up to energy-dimension-six which are Lorentz invariant. These vertices require four extra parameters; two are CP-conserving, $h^\gamma_1$ and $h^Z_1$, and two are CP-violating, $h^\gamma_2$ and $h^Z_2$. We present analytical expressions of the helicity amplitudes for the process $\gamma e\rightarrow Ze$ for arbitrary values of anomalous couplings. Assuming Standard Model values are actually measured we present the allowed region in the ($h^\gamma_1,h^Z_1$) plane at the 90\% confidence level. We then show how the angular correlation of the $Z$ decay products can be used to extract detailed information on the anomalous (especially CP-violating) $\gamma Z\gamma$ and $\gamma ZZ$ couplings.Comment: Latex, 25 pages, 12 figures (not included). One compressed postscript file including all the figures available at ftp://ftp.kek.jp/kek/preprints/TH/TH-420/kekth420.ps.g

Refining the predictions of supersymmetric CP-violating models: A top-down approach

We explore in detail the consequences of the CP-violating phases residing in the supersymmetric and soft SUSY breaking parameters in the approximation that family flavour mixings are ignored. We allow for non-universal boundary conditions and in such a consideration the model is described by twelve independent CP-violating phases and one angle which misaligns the vacuum expectation values (VEVs) of the Higgs scalars. We run two-loop renormalization group equations (RGEs), for all parameters involved, including phases, and we properly treat the minimization conditions using the one-loop effective potential with CP-violating phases included. We show that the two-loop running of phases may induce sizable effects for the electric dipole moments (EDMs) that are absent in the one-loop RGE analysis. Also important corrections to the EDMs are induced by the Higgs VEVs misalignment angle which are sizable in the large tanb region. Scanning the available parameter space we seek regions compatible with accelerator and cosmological data with emphasis on rapid neutralino annihilations through a Higgs resonance. It is shown that large CP-violating phases, as required in Baryogenesis scenarios, can be tuned to obtain agreement with WMAP3 cold dark matter constraints, EDMs and all available accelerator data, in extended regions of the parameter space which may be accessible to LHC.Comment: 41 pages, 22 eps figures. A reference added and a typo corrected; version to appear in JHE

Influence of Gap Extrema on the Tunneling Conductance Near an Impurity in an Anisotropic Superconductor

Changes: figures added in postscript form, Eq. (7) and various typos corrected. We examine the effect of an impurity on the nearby tunneling conductance in an anisotropically-gapped superconductor. The variation of the conductance has pronounced spatial dependence which depends strongly on the Fermi surface location of gap extrema. In particular, different gap symmetries produce profoundly different spatial features in the conductance. These effects may be detectable with an STM measurement on the surface of a high-temperature superconductor.Comment: 12 pages (revtex) + 3 figures (included - postscript), NSF-ITP-93-8

Continuum limit of amorphous elastic bodies: A finite-size study of low frequency harmonic vibrations

The approach of the elastic continuum limit in small amorphous bodies formed by weakly polydisperse Lennard-Jones beads is investigated in a systematic finite-size study. We show that classical continuum elasticity breaks down when the wavelength of the sollicitation is smaller than a characteristic length of approximately 30 molecular sizes. Due to this surprisingly large effect ensembles containing up to N=40,000 particles have been required in two dimensions to yield a convincing match with the classical continuum predictions for the eigenfrequency spectrum of disk-shaped aggregates and periodic bulk systems. The existence of an effective length scale \xi is confirmed by the analysis of the (non-gaussian) noisy part of the low frequency vibrational eigenmodes. Moreover, we relate it to the {\em non-affine} part of the displacement fields under imposed elongation and shear. Similar correlations (vortices) are indeed observed on distances up to \xi~30 particle sizes.Comment: 28 pages, 13 figures, 3 table

Scattering by impurity-induced order parameter ``holes'' in d-wave superconductors

Nonmagnetic impurities in d-wave superconductors cause strong local suppressions of the order parameter. We investigate the observable effects of the scatterigng off such suppressions in bulk samples by treating the order parameter "hole" as a pointlike off-diagonal scatterer treated within a self-consistent t-matrix approximation. Strong scattering potentials lead to a finite-energy spectral feature in the d-wave "impurity band", the observable effects of which include enhanced low-temperature microwave power absorption and a stronger sensitivity of the London penetration depth to disorder than found previously in simpler ``dirty'' d-wave models.Comment: 5 pp. Revtex including 4 postscript figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Quasiparticle Scattering Interference in High Temperature Superconductors

We propose that the energy-dependent spatial modulation of the local density of states seen by Hoffman, et al [hoff2] is due to the scattering interference of quasiparticles. In this paper we present the general theoretical basis for such an interpretation and lay out the underlying assumptions. As an example, we perform exact T-matrix calculation for the scattering due to a single impurity. The results of this calculation is used to check the assumptions, and demonstrate that quasiparticle scattering interference can indeed produce patterns similar to those observed in Ref. [hoff2].Comment: RevTex4 twocolumn, 4 pages, 3 figures. Figs.2-3 virtually embedded (bacause of too big size) while jpg files available in the postscript/source package. Further polishe

Precision Electroweak Data and Unification of Couplings in Warped Extra Dimensions

Warped extra dimensions allow a novel way of solving the hierarchy problem, with all fundamental mass parameters of the theory naturally of the order of the Planck scale. The observable value of the Higgs vacuum expectation value is red-shifted, due to the localization of the Higgs field in the extra dimension. It has been recently observed that, when the gauge fields propagate in the bulk, unification of the gauge couplings may be achieved. Moreover, the propagation of fermions in the bulk allows for a simple solution to potentially dangerous proton decay problems. However, bulk gauge fields and fermions pose a phenomenological challenge, since they tend to induce large corrections to the precision electroweak observables. In this article, we study in detail the effect of gauge and fermion fields propagating in the bulk in the presence of gauge brane kinetic terms compatible with gauge coupling unification, and we present ways of obtaining a consistent description of experimental data, while allowing values of the first Kaluza Klein mode masses of the order of a few TeV.Comment: 32 pages, 7 figures. References adde

Coulomb Gaps in One-Dimensional Spin-Polarized Electron Systems

We investigate the density of states (DOS) near the Fermi energy of one-dimensional spin-polarized electron systems in the quantum regime where the localization length is comparable to or larger than the inter-particle distance. The Wigner lattice gap of such a system, in the presence of weak disorder, can occur precisely at the Fermi energy, coinciding with the Coulomb gap in position. The interplay between the two is investigated by treating the long-range Coulomb interaction and the random disorder potential in a self-consistent Hartree-Fock approximation. The DOS near the Fermi energy is found to be well described by a power law whose exponent decreases with increasing disorder strength.Comment: 4 pages, revtex, 4 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. B as a Rapid Communicatio

Stau detection at neutrino telescopes in scenarios with supersymmetric dark matter

We have studied the detection of long-lived staus at the IceCube neutrino telescope, after their production inside the Earth through the inelastic scattering of high energy neutrinos. The theoretical predictions for the stau flux are calculated in two scenarios in which the presence of long-lived staus is naturally associated to viable supersymmetric dark matter. Namely, we consider the cases with superWIMP (gravitino or axino) and neutralino dark matter (along the coannihilation region). In both scenarios the maximum value of the stau flux turns out to be about 1 event/yr in regions with a light stau. This is consistent with light gravitinos, with masses constrained by an upper limit which ranges from 0.2 to 15 GeV, depending on the stau mass. Likewise, it is compatible with axinos with a mass of about 1 GeV and a very low reheating temperature of order 100 GeV. In the case of the neutralino dark matter this favours regions with a low value of tan(beta), for which the neutralino-stau coannihilation region occurs for smaller values of the stau mass. Finally, we study the case of a general supergravity theory and show how for specific choices of non-universal soft parameters the predicted stau flux can increase moderately.Comment: 26 pages, 7 figures. References added and minor changes. Final version to appear in JCA

Phase synchronization and noise-induced resonance in systems of coupled oscillators

We study synchronization and noise-induced resonance phenomena in systems of globally coupled oscillators, each possessing finite inertia. The behavior of the order parameter, which measures collective synchronization of the system, is investigated as the noise level and the coupling strength are varied, and hysteretic behavior is manifested. The power spectrum of the phase velocity is also examined and the quality factor as well as the response function is obtained to reveal noise-induced resonance behavior.Comment: to be published in Phys. Rev.