Single polymer gating of channels under a solvent gradient

We study the effect of a gradient of solvent quality on the coil-globule transition for a polymer in a narrow pore. A simple self-attracting self-avoiding walk model of a polymer in solution shows that the variation in the strength of interaction across the pore leads the system to go from one regime (good solvent) to the other (poor solvent) across the channel. This may be thought analogous to thermophoresis, where the polymer goes from the hot region to the cold region under the temperature gradient. The behavior of short chains is studied using exact enumeration whilst the behavior of long chains is studied using transfer matrix techniques. The distribution of the monomer density across the layer suggests that a gate-like effect can be created, with potential applications as a sensor.Comment: 5 Pages, 7 Figures, Accepted in Phys. Rev. E (2013

K→πℓ+ℓ−K \rightarrow \pi \ell^+ \ell^- form factor in the Large-Nc_c and cut-off regularization method

Bardeen-Buras-G\'{e}rard have proposed a large N$_c$ method to evaluate hadronic weak matrix elements to attack for instance the determination of the $\Delta I= \frac{1}{2}$-rule and $\mathrm{Re}(\frac{\epsilon'}{\epsilon})$. Here we test this method to the determination of the form factor parameters $a_+$ and $b_+$ in the decays $K^+ \rightarrow \pi^+ \ell^+ \ell^-$ and $K_S \rightarrow \pi ^0 \ell^+ \ell^-$. The results are encouraging: in particular after a complete treatment of Vector Meson Dominance (VMD).Comment: 9 pages, two columns, 5 figure

Low Mass Gluino within the Sparticle Landscape, Implications for Dark Matter, and Early Discovery Prospects at LHC-7

We analyze supergravity models that predict a low mass gluino within the landscape of sparticle mass hierarchies. The analysis includes a broad class of models that arise in minimal and in non-minimal supergravity unified frameworks and in extended models with additional $U(1)^n_X$ hidden sector gauge symmetries. Gluino masses in the range $(350-700)$ GeV are investigated. Masses in this range are promising for early discovery at the LHC at $\sqrt s =7$ TeV (LHC-7). The models exhibit a wide dispersion in the gaugino-Higgsino eigencontent of their LSPs and in their associated sparticle mass spectra. A signature analysis is carried out and the prominent discovery channels for the models are identified with most models needing only $\sim 1 \rm fb^{-1}$ for discovery at LHC-7. In addition, significant variations in the discovery capability of the low mass gluino models are observed for models in which the gluino masses are of comparable size due to the mass splittings in different models and the relative position of the light gluino within the various sparticle mass hierarchies. The models are consistent with the current stringent bounds from the Fermi-LAT, CDMS-II, XENON100, and EDELWEISS-2 experiments. A subclass of these models, which include a mixed-wino LSP and a Higgsino LSP, are also shown to accommodate the positron excess seen in the PAMELA satellite experiment.Comment: 37 pages, 8 figures, Published in PR

Sparticle Spectrum and Dark Matter in M-Theory

The phenomenological implications of the eleven dimensional limit of $M$-theory (strongly coupled $E_8\times E_8$) are investigated. In particular we calculate the supersymmetric spectrum subject to constraints of correct electroweak symmetry breaking and the requirement that the lighest supersymmetric particle provides the dark matter of the universe. The $B$-soft term associated with the generation of a $\mu$ term in the superpotential is calculated and its phenomenology is discussed.Comment: LaTeX file 15 pages,1 figure adde

Suppression of Higgsino mediated proton decay by cancellations in GUTs and strings

A mechanism for the enhancement for proton lifetime in supersymmetric/supergravity (SUSY/SUGRA) grand unified theories (GUTs) and in string theory models is discussed where Higgsino mediated proton decay arising from color triplets (anti-triplets) with charges $Q=-1/3(1/3)$ and $Q=-4/3(4/3)$ is suppressed by an internal cancellation due to contributions from different sources. We exhibit the mechanism for an SU(5) model with $45_H+\bar{45}_H$ Higgs multiplets in addition to the usual Higgs structure of the minimal model. This model contains both $Q=-1/3(1/3)$ and $Q=-4/3(4/3)$ Higgs color triplets (anti-triplets) and simple constraints allow for a complete suppression of Higgsino mediated proton decay. Suppression of proton decay in an SU(5) model with Planck scale contributions is also considered. The suppression mechanism is then exhibited for an SO(10) model with a unified Higgs structure involving $144_H+\bar{144}_H$ representations.The SU(5) decomposition of $144_H+\bar{144}_H$ contains $5_H+\bar 5_H$ and $45_H+\bar{45}_H$ and the cancellation mechanism arises among these contributions which mirrror the SU(5) case. The cancellation mechanism appears to be more generally valid for a larger class of unification models. Specifically the cancellation mechanism may play a role in string model constructions to suppress proton decay from dimension five operators. The mechanism allows for the suppression of proton decay consistent with current data allowing for the possibility that proton decay may be visible in the next round of nucleon stability experiment.Comment: 26 pages, no figures. Revtex 4. To appear in Physical Review

Predictive Signatures of Supersymmetry: Measuring the Dark Matter Mass and Gluino Mass with Early LHC data

We present a focused study of a predictive unified model whose measurable consequences are immediately relevant to early discovery prospects of supersymmetry at the LHC. ATLAS and CMS have released their analysis with 35~pb$^{-1}$ of data and the model class we discuss is consistent with this data. It is shown that with an increase in luminosity the LSP dark matter mass and the gluino mass can be inferred from simple observables such as kinematic edges in leptonic channels and peak values in effective mass distributions. Specifically, we consider cases in which the neutralino is of low mass and where the relic density consistent with WMAP observations arises via the exchange of Higgs bosons in unified supergravity models. The magnitudes of the gaugino masses are sharply limited to focused regions of the parameter space, and in particular the dark matter mass lies in the range $\sim (50-65) ~\rm GeV$ with an upper bound on the gluino mass of $575~{\rm GeV}$, with a typical mass of $450~{\rm GeV}$. We find that all model points in this paradigm are discoverable at the LHC at $\sqrt s = 7 \rm ~TeV$. We determine lower bounds on the entire sparticle spectrum in this model based on existing experimental constraints. In addition, we find the spin-independent cross section for neutralino scattering on nucleons to be generally in the range of \sigma^{\rm SI}_{\na p} = 10^{-46 \pm 1}~\rm cm^2 with much higher cross sections also possible. Thus direct detection experiments such as CDMS and XENON already constrain some of the allowed parameter space of the low mass gaugino models and further data will provide important cross-checks of the model assumptions in the near future

Excess entropy, Diffusivity and Structural Order in liquids with water-like anomalies

The excess entropy, Se, defined as the difference between the entropies of the liquid and the ideal gas under identical density and temperature conditions, is shown to be the critical quantity connecting the structural, diffusional and density anomalies in water-like liquids. Based on simulations of silica and the two-scale ramp liquids, water-like density and diffusional anomalies can be seen as consequences of a characteristic non-monotonic density dependence of Se. The relationship between excess entropy, the order metrics and the structural anomaly can be understood using a pair correlation approximation to Se.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figues in ps forma