Muonium-antimuonium conversion in models with heavy neutrinos

We study muonium-antimuonium conversion and mu+ e- to mu- e+ scattering within two different lepton-flavor-violating models with heavy neutrinos: model I is a typical seesaw that violates lepton number as well as flavor; model II has a neutrino mass texture where lepton number is conserved. We look for the largest possible amplitudes of these processes that are consistent with current bounds. We find that model I has very limited chance of providing an observable signal, except if a finely tuned condition in parameter space occurs. Model II, on the other hand, requires no fine tuning and could cause larger effects. However, the maximum amplitude provided by this model is still two orders of magnitude below the sensitivity of current experiments: one predicts an effective coupling G_MM up to 10^{-4}G_F for heavy neutrino masses near 10 TeV. We have also clarified some discrepancies in previous literature on this subject.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, reference adde

Coplanar waveguide discontinuities for P-I-N diode switches and filter applications

A full wave space domain integral equation (SDIE) analysis of coplanar waveguide (CPW) two port discontinuities is presented. An experimental setup to measure the S-parameters of such discontinuities is described. Experimental and theoretical results for CPW realizations of pass-band and stop-band filters are presented. The S-parameters of such structures are plotted in the frequency range 5 to 25 GHz

Lepton flavor violation in muonium decay and muon colliders in models with heavy neutrinos

We study the lepton-flavor-violating reaction $\mu^+ e^- \to e^+ e^-$ within two extensions of the standard model that include heavy neutrinos. The reaction is studied in the low energy limit in the form of muonium decay $M\to e^+ e^-$ and in the high energy regime of a muon collider. The two theoretical models we consider are: model I, a typical see-saw model that violates lepton flavor and number by inclusion of extra right handed neutrinos, and model II, a variant where lepton number is conserved and which includes extra right handed as well as left handed neutrinos, singlets under the gauge group. We find for muonium decay into $e^+e^-$ the extremely small result $Br(M\to e^+ e^-) < 10^{-19}$ in both scenarios. Alternatively, for $\mu^+ e^-$ collisions up to $\sqrt{s}\sim 50$ GeV we find $\sigma(\mu^+ e^- \to e^+ e^-)< 10^{-5}$ fb, while for energies above the $W^+ W^-$ threshold we find $\sigma(\mu^+ e^- \to W^+ W^-)$ up to 1 fb.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures; new version recalculates the figures and results using the correlated bound on mu-e mixing from $B(\mu\to e\gamma)$ (Eq.34

Reactivity of OH and CH3OH between 22 and 64 K: Modelling the gas phase production of CH3O in Barnard 1b

In the last years, ultra-low temperature chemical kinetic experiments have demonstrated that some gas-phase reactions are much faster than previously thought. One example is the reaction between OH and CH3OH, which has been recently found to be accelerated at low temperatures yielding CH3O as main product. This finding opened the question of whether the CH3O observed in the dense core Barnard 1b could be formed by the gas-phase reaction of CH3OH and OH. Several chemical models including this reaction and grain-surface processes have been developed to explain the observed abundance of CH$_3$O with little success. Here we report for the first time rate coefficients for the gas-phase reaction of OH and CH3OH down to a temperature of 22 K, very close to those in cold interstellar clouds. Two independent experimental set-ups based on the supersonic gas expansion technique coupled to the pulsed laser photolysis-laser induced fluorescence technique were used to determine rate coefficients in the temperature range 22-64 K. The temperature dependence obtained in this work can be expressed as k(22-64 K) = (3.6+/-0.1)e-12 (T/ 300)^(-1.0+/-0.2) cm3 molecule-1 s-1. Implementing this expression in a chemical model of a cold dense cloud results in CH3O/CH3OH abundance ratios similar or slightly lower than the value of 3e-3 observed in Barnard 1b. This finding confirms that the gas-phase reaction between OH and CH3OH is an important contributor to the formation of interstellar CH3O. The role of grain-surface processes in the formation of CH3O, although it cannot be fully neglected, remains controversial.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

Decay-Time Asymmetries at the B-Factories

Absract (Invited talk at the X DAE High Energy Physics symposium in December 1992, held at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bombay)Comment: 20pages, TIFR/TH/93-1

Years of RXTE Monitoring of Anomalous X-ray Pulsar 4U 0142+61: Long-Term Variability

We report on 10 years of monitoring of the 8.7-s Anomalous X-ray Pulsar 4U 0142+61 using the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). This pulsar exhibited stable rotation from 2000 March until 2006 February: the RMS phase residual for a spin-down model which includes nu, nudot, and nuddot is 2.3%. We report a possible phase-coherent timing solution valid over a 10-yr span extending back to March 1996. A glitch may have occured between 1998 and 2000, but is not required by the existing timing data. The pulse profile has been evolving since 2000. In particular, the dip of emission between its two peaks got shallower between 2002 and 2006, as if the profile were evolving back to its pre-2000 morphology, following an earlier event, which possibly also included the glitch suggested by the timing data. These profile variations are seen in the 2-4 keV band but not in 6-8 keV. We also detect a slow increase in the pulsed flux between 2002 May and 2004 December, such that it has risen by 36+/-3% over 2.6 years in the 2-10 keV band. The pulsed flux variability and the narrow-band pulse profile changes present interesting challenges to aspects of the magnetar model.Comment: 28 pages, 8 figures, accepted by Ap

Testing the ΔS=ΔQ\Delta S=\Delta Q Rule with Exclusive Semi-Leptonic Kaon Decays

We consider the possibility of violations of the selection rule $\Delta S=\Delta Q$ at an appreciable level in {\it exclusive} semi-leptonic decays of Kaons. At $\Phi$-Factories, intense Kaon beams will be available and will probe among others, the semi-leptonic decays $K_{l4}$ and $K_{l3\gamma}$ in addition to $K_{l3}$ and could provide novel testing grounds for the $\Delta S=\Delta Q$ rule. In particular, the branching ratio of $K_{l3\gamma}$ is non-negligible and could be used to probe new phenomena associated with the violation of this selection rule. Furthermore, we modify certain di-lepton event rate ratios and asymmetries and time asymmetries that have been constructed by Dass and Sarma for di-lepton events from Beon decays to test the $\Delta B=\Delta Q$ at the $\Upsilon (4S)$, to the Kaon system at the $\phi(1020)$. We find that the large width of the $K_S$ relative to that of $K_L$ plays an important role in enhancing some of the time asymmetries.Comment: 10 pages, Plain Latex, To be run twice

A comprehensive theoretical and experimental study of coplanar waveguide shunt stubs

A comprehensive theoretical and experimental study of straight and bent coplanar waveguide (CPW) shunt stubs is presented. In the theoretical analysis, the CPW is assumed to be inside a cavity, while, the experiments are performed on open structures. A hybrid technique was developed to analyze the CPW discontinuities which proved to be accurate since the theoretical and experimental results agree very well. The effect of the cavity resonances on the behavior of the stubs with and without air-bridges is investigated. In addition, the encountered radiation loss due to the discontinuities is evaluated experimentally

Broadband Uniplanar Microstrip to Slot-Line Transitions

New in line uniplanar microstrip-to-slotline transitions for MIC/MMIC and phased array slotline antenna applications are described. Such transactions are compact and suitable to be used in an open environment or inside a package or a multichip module. The transitions share the concept of using a balun which consists of two microstrip lines connected to a slotline through a pair of coupled microstrips. The transitions are studied theoretically using the finite difference time domain (FDTD) technique and measured experimentally using an HP8510C Network Analyzer. For a back-to-back configuration, an insertion loss of less than 1.3 dB per transition is achieved over a 40% 3-dB bandwidth with a minimum of 0.6 dB at the design frequency

A Novel Transition Between Rectangular Waveguide and Layered Ridge Dielectric Waveguide

A novel transition between rectangular waveguide and layered ridge dielectric waveguide (LRDW) is reported. The transition is also suitable for use with image guide, insulated image guide, dielectric ridge waveguide and other open dielectric waveguides. Both experimental and theoretical data are presented which compare the new transition to three transitions reported in the literature