The golden ratio in Schwarzschild-Kottler black holes

In this paper we show that the golden ratio is present in the Schwarzschild-Kottler metric. For null geodesics with maximal radial acceleration, the turning points of the orbits are in the golden ratio $\Phi = (\sqrt{5}-1)/2$. This is a general result which is independent of the value and sign of the cosmological constant $\Lambda$

Testing a dissipative kinetic k-essence model

In this work, we present a study of a purely kinetic k-essence model, characterized basically by a parameter $\alpha$ in presence of a bulk dissipative term, whose relationship between viscous pressure $\Pi$ and energy density $\rho$ of the background follows a polytropic type law $\Pi \propto \rho^{\lambda+1/2}$, where $\lambda$, in principle, is a parameter without restrictions. Analytical solutions for the energy density of the k-essence field are found in two specific cases: $\lambda=1/2$ and $\lambda=(1-\alpha)/2\alpha$, and then we show that these solutions posses the same functional form than the non-viscous counterpart. Finally, both approach are contrasted with observational data from type Ia supernova, and the most recent Hubble parameter measurements, and therefore, the best values for the parameters of the theory are founds.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, accepted in EPJ

Density excitations of a harmonically trapped ideal gas

The dynamic structure factor of a harmonically trapped Bose gas has been calculated well above the Bose-Einstein condensation temperature by treating the gas cloud as a canonical ensemble of noninteracting classical particles. The static structure factor is found to vanish as wavenumber squared in the long-wavelength limit. We also incorporate a relaxation mechanism phenomenologically by including a stochastic friction force to study the dynamic structure factor. A significant temperature dependence of the density-fluctuation spectra is found. The Debye-Waller factor has been calculated for the trapped thermal cloud as function of wavenumber and of particle number. A substantial difference is found between clouds of small and large particle number

A redshift survey towards the CMB Cold Spot

We have carried out a redshift survey using the VIMOS spectrograph on the VLT towards the Cosmic Microwave Background cold spot. A possible cause of the cold spot is the Integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect imprinted by an extremely large void (hundreds of Mpc in linear dimension) at intermediate or low redshifts. The redshift distribution of over seven hundred z<1 emission-line galaxies drawn from an I-band flux limited sample of galaxies in the direction of the cold spot shows no evidence of a gap on scales of Delta-z> 0.05 as would be expected if such a void existed at 0.35<z<1. There are troughs in the redshift distribution on smaller scales (Delta-z ~0.01) indicating that smaller scale voids may connect regions separated by several degrees towards the cold spot. A comparison of this distribution with that generated from similarly-sized subsamples drawn from widely-spaced pointings of the VVDS survey does not indicate that the redshift distribution towards the cold spot is anomalous or that these small gaps can be uniquely attributed to real voids.Comment: MNRAS in press, 6 page

What heavy quanta bounds could be inferred from a Higgs discovery?

The Higgs couplings can receive non-decoupling corrections due to heavy quanta, and deviations from the SM can be used to test its presence. The possible Higgs signal recently reported at LEP, with mh=115 GeV, severely constrains the presence of heavy quanta, such as a heavy fourth family. At Tevatron, the Higgs production by gluon fusion, followed by the decay h -> WW*, can also be used to probe the existence of heavy colored particles, including additional families, chiral sextet and octet quarks. Within the MSSM, we also find that gluon fusion is a sensitive probe for the squark spectrum.Comment: 12 pages, 3 tables, 1 figure. Accepted in Mod. Phys. Lett. A (2001

Electrostatic attraction between cationic-anionic assemblies with surface compositional heterogeneities

Electrostatics plays a key role in biomolecular assembly. Oppositely charged biomolecules, for instance, can co-assembled into functional units, such as DNA and histone proteins into nucleosomes and actin-binding protein complexes into cytoskeleton components, at appropriate ionic conditions. These cationic-anionic co-assemblies often have surface charge heterogeneities that result from the delicate balance between electrostatics and packing constraints. Despite their importance, the precise role of surface charge heterogeneities in the organization of cationic-anionic co-assemblies is not well understood. We show here that co-assemblies with charge heterogeneities strongly interact through polarization of the domains. We find that this leads to symmetry breaking, which is important for functional capabilities, and structural changes, which is crucial in the organization of co-assemblies. We determine the range and strength of the attraction as a function of the competition between the steric and hydrophobic constraints and electrostatic interactions.Comment: JCP June/200

Anxiolytic effect of Mozart music over short and long photoperiods as part of environmental enrichment in captive Rattus norvegicus (Rodentia: Muridae)

Music is known to be able to elicit emotional changes, including anxiolytic effects on humans and animals. Photoperiod has also been reported to play an important role in the modulation of anxiety. In the present study, we examined whether the effect of music on anxiety is influenced by day length, comparing, short day (SD; 8:16 h light/dark) and long day (LD; 16:8 h light/dark) with controls (CD; 12:12 h light/dark). After 8 weeks of photoperiod treatment, rats were randomly assigned to 2 groups: silence and music. In the music group, rats were exposed to music 24 h before behavioral tests to quantify anxiety level. Exposure to Mozart music reduced anxiety in rats in the CD group. These effects of music were abolished by LD. Independently of music, rats exposed to SD exhibited higher levels of anxiety-like behavior than rats exposed to CD, in elevated plus-maze and open-field tests. The present findings suggest that the anxiolytic effects of Mozart music are photoperiod-dependent

Accelerating universes driven by bulk particles

We consider our universe as a 3d domain wall embedded in a 5d dimensional Minkowski space-time. We address the problem of inflation and late time acceleration driven by bulk particles colliding with the 3d domain wall. The expansion of our universe is mainly related to these bulk particles. Since our universe tends to be permeated by a large number of isolated structures, as temperature diminishes with the expansion, we model our universe with a 3d domain wall with increasing internal structures. These structures could be unstable 2d domain walls evolving to fermi-balls which are candidates to cold dark matter. The momentum transfer of bulk particles colliding with the 3d domain wall is related to the reflection coefficient. We show a nontrivial dependence of the reflection coefficient with the number of internal dark matter structures inside the 3d domain wall. As the population of such structures increases the velocity of the domain wall expansion also increases. The expansion is exponential at early times and polynomial at late times. We connect this picture with string/M-theory by considering BPS 3d domain walls with structures which can appear through the bosonic sector of a five-dimensional supergravity theory.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev. D, 16 pages, 3 eps figures, minor changes and references adde