Electronic oscillations in paired polyacetylene chains

An interacting pair of polyacetylene chains are initially modeled as a couple of undimerized polymers described by a Hamiltonian based on the tight-binding model representing the electronic behavior along the linear chain, plus a Dirac's potential double well representing the interaction between the chains. A theoretical field formalism is employed, and we find that the system exhibits a gap in its energy band due to the presence of a mass-matrix term in the Dirac's Lagrangian that describes the system. The Peierls instability is introduced in the chains by coupling a scalar field to the fermions of the theory via spontaneous symmetry breaking, to obtain a kink-like soliton, which separates two vacuum regions, i.e., two spacial configurations (enantiomers) of the each molecule. Since that mass-matrix and the pseudo-spin operator do not commute in the same quantum representation, we demonstrate that there is a particle oscillation phenomenon with a periodicity equivalent to the Bloch oscillations.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure.to appear in Solid State Communication

Photon mass as a probe to extra dimensions

In this manuscript we show that the geometrical localization mechanism implies a four dimensional mass for the photon. The consistence of the model provides a mass given exactly by $m_{\gamma}=\sqrt{R}/4$ where $R$ is the Ricci scalar. As a consequence, the cosmological photon has a mass related to the vacuum solution of the Einstein equation. At the present age of the universe we have a dS vacuum with $R=4\Lambda$, where Lambda is a positive cosmological constant. With this we find that $m_{\gamma}\approx 2\times 10^{-69}$ kg, which is below the present experimental upper bounds, and such correction may be observed in the next years with more precise measurements. By considering the value of $R$ inside some astrophysical sources and environments we find that the bound is also satisfied. The experimental verification of this mass, beyond pointing to the existence of extra dimensions, would imply in a fundamental change in cosmology, astrophysics and in particle physics since the same mechanism is valid for non-abelian gauge fields.Comment: 4 page

Texture Zeros and Weak Basis Transformations

We investigate the physical meaning of some of the "texture zeros" which appear in most of the Ansatze on quark masses and mixings. It is shown that starting from arbitrary quark mass matrices and making a suitable weak basis transformation one can obtain some of these sets of zeros which therefore have no physical content. We then analyse the physical implications of a four-texture zero Ansatz which is in agreement with all present experimental data.Comment: 11 pages, typeset using revte