NLL Corrections for B-Meson Radiative Exclusive Decays

We calculate the next-to-leading corrections to the branching ratio of exclusive $B\to K^* \gamma$ decay. The renormalization scale dependence is reduced compared to the leading logarithmic result but there remains a dependence on a cutoff parameter of the hadronic model. The calculated corrections increase the predicted branching ratio by about 10%, but it remains in agreement with the experimental value.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figure

Modes of Random Lasers

In conventional lasers, the optical cavity that confines the photons also determines essential characteristics of the lasing modes such as wavelength, emission pattern, ... In random lasers, which do not have mirrors or a well-defined cavity, light is confined within the gain medium by means of multiple scattering. The sharp peaks in the emission spectra of semiconductor powders, first observed in 1999, has therefore lead to an intense debate about the nature of the lasing modes in these so-called lasers with resonant feedback. In this paper, we review numerical and theoretical studies aimed at clarifying the nature of the lasing modes in disordered scattering systems with gain. We will discuss in particular the link between random laser modes near threshold (TLM) and the resonances or quasi-bound (QB) states of the passive system without gain. For random lasers in the localized regime, QB states and threshold lasing modes were found to be nearly identical within the scattering medium. These studies were later extended to the case of more lossy systems such as random systems in the diffusive regime where differences between quasi-bound states and lasing modes were measured. Very recently, a theory able to treat lasers with arbitrarily complex and open cavities such as random lasers established that the TLM are better described in terms of the so-called constant-flux states.Comment: Review paper submitted to Advances in Optics and Photonic

Оценка качества и идентификация отпечатков пальцев путем анализа структурных свойств изображения

The paper addresses the problem of assessing the quality of fingerprint images using spatial analysis methods. The author proposes using the previously developed mathematical model to describe the set of magnitudes of the image gradient. The model is based on the two-parameter Weibull distribution. The author proposes two approaches to assess the quality of fingerprints. The first approach is implemented by the so-called “Full reference method”, which compares the Weibull distribution parameters’ values of statistical estimates. The results of identifying sweat pores using this method are presented. The second approach is called the “No-Reference method” and is used to assess fingerprints’ quality when analyzing and identifying the information content of their individual sections. It is proposed to use an image blur map as a quality characteristic and a statistical estimate of the Weibull distribution shape parameter as a measure of the blur. The shape parameter is estimated at each image point by the combination of magnitudes of the image gradient in the vicinity of the point; in this, the previously developed blur mapping technique is applied. The specific examples illustrate effectiveness of the proposed approaches.Рассмотрена задача оценки качества изображения отпечатков пальцев с применением пространственных методов анализа. Предложено использовать математическую модель, разработанную ранее для описания совокупности магнитуд градиента изображения. Модель основана на двухпараметрическом распределении Вейбулла. Для оценки качества отпечатков пальцев предложены два подхода. Первый реализуется с помощью так называемого метода сравнения с эталоном (Full Reference), когда сравниваются значения статистических оценок параметров распределения Вейбулла. Приведены результаты решения задачи идентификации потовых пор этим методом. Второй подход называется «безэталонным» (No-Reference) и применяется для оценки качества отпечатков при анализе и выделении информативности их отдельных участков. В качестве характеристики качества предлагается использовать карту размытости изображения, а в качестве меры размытости – статистическую оценку параметра формы распределения Вейбулла. Параметр формы оценивается в каждой точке изображения по совокупности магнитуд градиента изображения в окрестности точки, при этом применяется разработанная ранее методика построения карты размытости. Эффективность предложенных подходов иллюстрируется конкретными примерами

Effects of polarization on the transmission and localization of classical waves in weakly scattering metamaterials

We summarize the results of our comprehensive analytical and numerical studies of the effects of polarization on the Anderson localization of classical waves in one-dimensional random stacks. We consider homogeneous stacks composed entirely of normal materials or metamaterials, and also mixed stacks composed of alternating layers of a normal material and metamaterial. We extend the theoretical study developed earlier for the case of normal incidence [A. A. Asatryan et al, Phys. Rev. B 81, 075124 (2010)] to the case of off-axis incidence. For the general case where both the refractive indices and layer thicknesses are random, we obtain the long-wave and short-wave asymptotics of the localization length over a wide range of incidence angles (including the Brewster ``anomaly'' angle). At the Brewster angle, we show that the long-wave localization length is proportional to the square of the wavelength, as for the case of normal incidence, but with a proportionality coefficient substantially larger than that for normal incidence. In mixed stacks with only refractive-index disorder, we demonstrate that p-polarized waves are strongly localized, while for s-polarization the localization is substantially suppressed, as in the case of normal incidence. In the case of only thickness disorder, we study also the transition from localization to delocalization at the Brewster angle.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in PR

Manifestation of photonic band structure in small clusters of spherical particles

We study the formation of the photonic band structure in small clusters of dielectric spheres. The first signs of the band structure, an attribute of an infinite crystal, can appear for clusters of 5 particles. Density of resonant states of a cluster of 32 spheres may exhibit a well defined structure similar to the density of electromagnetic states of the infinite photonic crystal. The resonant mode structure of finite-size aggregates is shown to be insensitive to random displacements of particles off the perfect lattice positions as large as half-radius of the particle. The results were obtained by an efficient numerical method, which relates the density of resonant states to the the scattering coefficients of the electromagnetic scattering problem. Generalized multisphere Mie (GMM) solution was used to obtain scattering matrix elements. These results are important to miniature photonic crystal design as well as understanding of light localization in dense random media.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

b→sγb \to s \gamma decays in the Left-Right Symmetric Model

We consider $b \to s \gamma$ decays in the Left-Right Symmetric Model. Values of observables sensitive to chiral structure such as the $\Lambda$ polarization in the $\Lambda_b \to \Lambda \gamma$ decays and the mixing-induced CP asymmetries in the $B_{d,s} \to M^0 \gamma$ decays can deviate in the LRSM significantly from the SM values. The combined analysis of $P_\Lambda$ and $A_{CP}$ as well as ${\cal BR}(b \to s \gamma)$ can be used to determine the model parameters.Comment: 16 pages with 7 figures, Version to be published in PR

Suppression of Anderson localization in disordered metamaterials

We study wave propagation in mixed, 1D disordered stacks of alternating right- and left-handed layers and reveal that the introduction of metamaterials substantially suppresses Anderson localization. At long wavelengths, the localization length in mixed stacks is orders of magnitude larger than for normal structures, proportional to the sixth power of the wavelength, in contrast to the usual quadratic wavelength dependence of normal systems. Suppression of localization is also exemplified in long-wavelength resonances which largely disappear when left-handed materials are introduced

Direct CP-asymmetry in Inclusive Rare B-decays in 2HDM

The direct CP-asymmetry in the inclusive $B \to X_d \gamma$ and $B \to X_d e^+ e^ -$ decays is investigated in the two-Higgs doublet extension of the Standard Model (2HDM). The investigation is performed in the lowest non-vanishing order of the perturbation theory using the existing restrictions on the 2HDM parameters space. It is shown that the direct CP-asymmetry in the $B \to X_d \gamma$ decay can deviate significantly from the Standard Model predictions. In the presence of only one source of CP-violation (the CKM matrix weak phase) $a_{CP}(B \to X_d \gamma)$ can have the sign opposite to that in the SM. The new source of CP-violation can make $|a_{CP}(B \to X_d \gamma)|$ arbitrary small (unlike the SM case) and hence unmeasurable. Quantitatively, the obtained results suffer from the uncertainty of the choice of renormalization scale. As for the $B \to X_d e^+ e^ -$ rate asymmetry, its renormalization scale dependence in the lowest non-vanishing order does not allow to conclude if this quantity is efficient for testing New Physics beyond the Standard Model.Comment: 16 pages including 2 figure

Exclusive radiative and electroweak b->d and b->s penguin decays at NLO

We provide Standard Model expectations for the rare radiative decays B->K^* gamma, B->rho gamma and B-> omega gamma, and the electroweak penguin decays B->K^* l^+ l^- and B->rho l^+ l^- at the next-to-leading order (NLO), extending our previous results to b->d transitions. We consider branching fractions, isospin asymmetries and direct CP asymmetries. For the electroweak penguin decays, the lepton-invariant mass spectrum and forward-backward asymmetry is also included. Radiative and electroweak penguin transitions in b->d are mainly interesting in the search for new flavour-changing neutral current interactions, but in addition the B->rho gamma decays provide constraints on the CKM parameters (\bar\rho,\bar\eta). The potential impact of these constraints is discussed.Comment: 29 pages, LaTe