29 research outputs found
Neutralino dark matter stars can not exist
Motivated by the recent "Cosmos Project" observation of dark-matter
concentrations with no ordinary matter in the same place, we study the question
of the existence of compact objects made of pure dark matter. We assume that
the dark matter is neutralino, and compare its elastic and annihilation cross
sections. We find that the two cross sections are of the same order of
magnitude. This result has a straightforward and important consequence that
neutralinos comprising a compact object can not achieve thermal equilibrium. To
substantiate our arguments, by solving Oppenheimer-Volkoff equation we
constructed a model of the star made of pure neutralinos. We explicitly showed
that the condition for the thermal equilibrium supported by the Fermi pressure
is never fulfilled inside the star. This neutralino state can not be described
by the Fermi-Dirac distribution. Thus, a stable neutralino star, which is
supported by the Fermi pressure, can not exist. We also estimated that a stable
star can not contain more than a few percents of neutralinos, most of the mass
must be in the form of the standard model particles.Comment: published in JHE
Black hole solutions in the warped DGP braneworld
We study the static, analytical solution of black holes in the warped DGP
braneworld scenario. We show that the linearized field equations and matching
conditions lead to solutions that are not compatible with
Schwarzschild-(A)dS solutions on the brane. This incompatibility is
similar to vDVZ discontinuity in massive gravity theory. Following the standard
procedure to remove this discontinuity, which firstly was proposed by
Vainshtein, we keep some appropriate nonlinear terms in the field equations.
This strategy has its origin in the fact that the spatial extrinsic curvature
of the brane plays a crucial role in the nonlinear nature of the solutions and
also in recovering the well-measured predictions of General Relativity (GR) at
small scales. Using this feature, we obtained an interesting black string
solution in the bulk when it is compatible with 4D GR solutions on the brane.Comment: 15 pages, no figure
Magnetic Coherence as a Universal Feature of Cuprate Superconductors
Recent inelastic neutron scattering (INS) experiments on
LaSrCuO have established the existence of a {\it magnetic
coherence effect}, i.e., strong frequency and momentum dependent changes of the
spin susceptibility, , in the superconducting phase. We show, using the
spin-fermion model for incommensurate antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations, that
the magnetic coherence effect establishes the ability of INS experiments to
probe the electronic spectrum of the cuprates, in that the effect arises from
the interplay of an incommensurate magnetic response, the form of the
underlying Fermi surface, and the opening of the d-wave gap in the fermionic
spectrum. In particular, we find that the magnetic coherence effect observed in
INS experiments on LaSrCuO requires that the Fermi surface be
closed around up to optimal doping. We present several predictions
for the form of the magnetic coherence effect in YBaCuO in
which an incommensurate magnetic response has been observed in the
superconducting state.Comment: 9 pages, 12 figures; extended version of Phys. Rev B, R6483 (2000
Crossing the phantom divide with Ricci-like holographic dark energy
We study a holographic model for the dark energy considered recently in the
literature which postulates an energy density , where is the
Ricci scalar curvature. We obtain a cosmological scenario that comes from
considering two non-interacting fluids along a reasonable Ansatz for the cosmic
coincidence parameter. We adjust the involved parameters in the model according
to the observational data and we show that the equation of state for the dark
energy experience a cross through the -1 barrier. In addition, we find a
disagreement in these parameters with respect to an approach from a scalar
field theory.Comment: Match with accepted version by EPJ
Quantum Black Holes from Cosmic Rays
We investigate the possibility for cosmic ray experiments to discover
non-thermal small black holes with masses in the TeV range. Such black holes
would result due to the impact between ultra high energy cosmic rays or
neutrinos with nuclei from the upper atmosphere and decay instantaneously. They
could be produced copiously if the Planck scale is in the few TeV region. As
their masses are close to the Planck scale, these holes would typically decay
into two particles emitted back-to-back. Depending on the angles between the
emitted particles with respect to the center of mass direction of motion, it is
possible for the simultaneous showers to be measured by the detectors.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Doped Stripes in Models for the Cuprates Emerging from the One-hole Properties of the Insulator
The extended and standard t-J models are computationally studied on ladders
and planes, with emphasis on the small J/t region. At couplings compatible with
photoemission results for undoped cuprates, half-doped stripes separating
-shifted antiferromagnetic (AF) domains are found, as in Tranquada's
interpretation of neutron experiments. Our main result is that the elementary
stripe `"building-block" resembles the properties of hole at small J/t,
with robust AF correlations across-the-hole induced by the local tendency of
the charge to separate from the spin (G. Martins {\it et al.}, Phys. Rev. B{\bf
60}, R3716 (1999)). This suggests that the seed of half-doped stripes already
exists in the unusual properties of the insulating parent compound.Comment: 4 pages, LateX, 4 figures, to appear on Phys. Rev. Let
Singularities in the optical response of cuprates
We argue that the detailed analysis of the optical response in cuprate
superconductors allows one to verify the magnetic scenario of superconductivity
in cuprates, as for strong coupling charge carriers to antiferromagnetic spin
fluctuations, the second derivative of optical conductivity should contain
detectable singularities at , , and
, where is the amplitude of the
superconducting gap, and is the resonance energy of spin
fluctuations measured in neutron scattering. We argue that there is a good
chance that these singularities have already been detected in the experiments
on optimally doped .Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Constraints on dark matter particles charged under a hidden gauge group from primordial black holes
In order to accommodate increasingly tighter observational constraints on
dark matter, several models have been proposed recently in which dark matter
particles are charged under some hidden gauge group. Hidden gauge charges are
invisible for the standard model particles, hence such scenarios are very
difficult to constrain directly. However black holes are sensitive to all gauge
charges, whether they belong to the standard model or not. Here, we examine the
constraints on the possible values of the dark matter particle mass and hidden
gauge charge from the evolution of primordial black holes. We find that the
existence of the primordial black holes with reasonable mass is incompatible
with dark matter particles whose charge to mass ratio is of the order of one.
For dark matter particles whose charge to mass ratio is much less than one, we
are able to exclude only heavy dark matter in the mass range of 10^(11) GeV -
10^(16) GeV. Finally, for dark matter particles whose charge to mass ratio is
much greater than one, there are no useful limits coming from primordial black
holes.Comment: accepted for publication in JCA
"Pair" Fermi contour and repulsion-induced superconductivity in cuprates
The pairing of charge carriers with large pair momentum is considered in
connection with high-temperature superconductivity of cuprate compounds. The
possibility of pairing arises due to some essential features of
quasi-two-dimensional electronic structure of cuprates: (i) The Fermi contour
with strong nesting features; (ii) The presence of extended saddle point near
the Fermi level; (iii) The existence of some ordered state (for example,
antiferromagnetic) close to the superconducting one as a reason for an
appearing of "pair" Fermi contour resulting from carrier redistribution in
momentum space. In an extended vicinity of the saddle point, momentum space has
hyperbolic (pseudoeuclidean) metrics, therefore, the principal values of
two-dimensional reciprocal reduced effective mass tensor have unlike signs.
Rearrangement of holes in momentum space results in a rise of "pair" Fermi
contour which may be defined as zero-energy line for relative motion of the
pair. The superconducting gap arises just on this line. Pair Fermi contour
formation inside the region of momentum space with hyperbolic metrics results
in not only superconducting pairing but in a rise of quasi-stationary state in
the relative motion of the pair. Such a state has rather small decay and may be
related to the pseudogap regime of underdoped cuprates. It is concluded that
the pairing in cuprates may be due to screened Coulomb repulsion. In this case,
the superconducting energy gap in hole-doped cuprates exists in the region of
hole concentration which is bounded both above and below. The superconducting
state with positive condensation energy exists in more narrow range of doping
level inside this region. Such hole concentration dependence correlates with
typical phase diagram of cuprates.Comment: 23 pages, 11 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.
A new class of glycomimetic drugs to prevent free fatty acid-induced endothelial dysfunction
Background: Carbohydrates play a major role in cell signaling in many biological processes. We have developed a set of glycomimetic drugs that mimic the structure of carbohydrates and represent a novel source of therapeutics for endothelial dysfunction, a key initiating factor in cardiovascular complications. Purpose: Our objective was to determine the protective effects of small molecule glycomimetics against free fatty acidinduced endothelial dysfunction, focusing on nitric oxide (NO) and oxidative stress pathways. Methods: Four glycomimetics were synthesized by the stepwise transformation of 2,5dihydroxybenzoic acid to a range of 2,5substituted benzoic acid derivatives, incorporating the key sulfate groups to mimic the interactions of heparan sulfate. Endothelial function was assessed using acetylcholineinduced, endotheliumdependent relaxation in mouse thoracic aortic rings using wire myography. Human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) behavior was evaluated in the presence or absence of the free fatty acid, palmitate, with or without glycomimetics (1µM). DAF2 and H2DCFDA assays were used to determine nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, respectively. Lipid peroxidation colorimetric and antioxidant enzyme activity assays were also carried out. RTPCR and western blotting were utilized to measure Akt, eNOS, Nrf2, NQO1 and HO1 expression. Results: Ex vivo endotheliumdependent relaxation was significantly improved by the glycomimetics under palmitateinduced oxidative stress. In vitro studies showed that the glycomimetics protected HUVECs against the palmitateinduced oxidative stress and enhanced NO production. We demonstrate that the protective effects of preincubation with glycomimetics occurred via upregulation of Akt/eNOS signaling, activation of the Nrf2/ARE pathway, and suppression of ROSinduced lipid peroxidation. Conclusion: We have developed a novel set of small molecule glycomimetics that protect against free fatty acidinduced endothelial dysfunction and thus, represent a new category of therapeutic drugs to target endothelial damage, the first line of defense against cardiovascular disease