Constraints on Scalar Phantoms

We update the constraints on the minimal model of dark matter, where a stable real scalar field is added to the standard model Lagrangian with a renormalizable coupling to the Higgs field. Once we fix the dark matter abundance, there are only two relevant model parameters, the mass of the scalar field and that of the Higgs boson. The recent data from the CDMS II experiment have excluded a parameter region where the scalar field is light such as less than about 50 GeV. In a large parameter region, the consistency of the model can be tested by the combination of future direct detection experiments and the LHC experiments.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figur

Magnon bands of N-leg integer-spin antiferromagnetic systems in the weak interchain-coupling regime

Using the exact results of the O(3) nonlinear sigma model (NLSM) and a few quantitative numerical data for integer-spin antiferromagnetic (AF) chains, we systematically estimate all magnon excitation energies of N-leg integer-spin AF ladders and tubes in the weak-interchain-coupling regime. Our method is based on a first-order perturbation theory for the strength of the interchain coupling. It can deal with any kind of interchain interactions, in principle. We confirm that results of the perturbation theory are in good agreement with those of a quantum Monte Carlo simulation and with our recent study based on a saddle-point approximation of the NLSM [Phys. Rev. B 72, 104438 (2005)]. Our theory further supports the existence of a Haldane (gapped) phase even in a d-dimensional (d\geq 2) spatially anisotropic integer-spin AF model, if the exchange coupling in one direction is sufficiently strong compared with those in all the other directions. The strategy in this paper is applicable to other N-leg systems consisting of gapped chains which low-energy physics is exactly or quantitatively known.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, Revtex, published version, see also cond-mat/0506049 (PRB72, 104438 (2005)

Elastic Convection in Vibrated Viscoplastic Fluids

We observe a new type of behavior in a shear thinning yield stress fluid: freestanding convection rolls driven by vertical oscillation. The convection occurs without the constraint of container boundaries yet the diameter of the rolls is spontaneously selected for a wide range of parameters. The transition to the convecting state occurs without hysteresis when the amplitude of the plate acceleration exceeds a critical value. We find that a non-dimensional stress, the stress due to the inertia of the fluid normalized by the yield stress, governs the onset of the convective motion.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure

Neurosecretory Protein GL Induces Fat Accumulation in Chicks.

We recently found a previously unidentified cDNA in chicken hypothalamus which encodes the precursor for neurosecretory protein GL (NPGL). A previous study showed that intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) infusion of NPGL caused body mass gain in chicks. However, it was not clear which part(s) of the body gained mass. In the present study, we investigated which tissues increased in mass after chronic i.c.v. infusion of NPGL in chicks. We found that NPGL increased the masses of the liver, abdominal fat, and subcutaneous fat, while NPGL did not affect the masses of muscles, including pectoralis major, pectoralis minor, and biceps femoris. Oil Red O staining revealed that fat deposition had occurred in the liver. In addition, the size of the lipid droplets in the abdominal fat increased. Furthermore, we found an upregulation of lipogenesis and downregulation of lipolysis in the abdominal fat, but not in the liver. These results indicate that NPGL is involved in fat storage in chicks

Asymmetric function theory

The classical theory of symmetric functions has a central position in algebraic combinatorics, bridging aspects of representation theory, combinatorics, and enumerative geometry. More recently, this theory has been fruitfully extended to the larger ring of quasisymmetric functions, with corresponding applications. Here, we survey recent work extending this theory further to general asymmetric polynomials.Comment: 36 pages, 8 figures, 1 table. Written for the proceedings of the Schubert calculus conference in Guangzhou, Nov. 201

Melting Spectral Functions of the Scalar and Vector Mesons in a Holographic QCD Model

We investigate the finite-temperature spectral functions of heavy quarkonia by using the soft-wall AdS/QCD model. We discuss the scalar, the pseudo-scalar, the vector, and the axial-vector mesons and compare their qualitative features of the melting temperature and growing width. We find that the axial-vector meson melts earlier than the vector meson, while there appears only a slight difference between the scalar and pseudo-scalar mesons which also melt earlier than the vector meson.Comment: 27 pages, 10 figure

Random Matrix Theory Analysis of Cross Correlations in Financial Markets

We confirm universal behaviors such as eigenvalue distribution and spacings predicted by Random Matrix Theory (RMT) for the cross correlation matrix of the daily stock prices of Tokyo Stock Exchange from 1993 to 2001, which have been reported for New York Stock Exchange in previous studies. It is shown that the random part of the eigenvalue distribution of the cross correlation matrix is stable even when deterministic correlations are present. Some deviations in the small eigenvalue statistics outside the bounds of the universality class of RMT are not completely explained with the deterministic correlations as proposed in previous studies. We study the effect of randomness on deterministic correlations and find that randomness causes a repulsion between deterministic eigenvalues and the random eigenvalues. This is interpreted as a reminiscent of ``level repulsion'' in RMT and explains some deviations from the previous studies observed in the market data. We also study correlated groups of issues in these markets and propose a refined method to identify correlated groups based on RMT. Some characteristic differences between properties of Tokyo Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange are found.Comment: RevTex, 17 pages, 8 figure

Chiral currents and static properties of nucleons in holographic QCD

We analyze static properties of nucleons in the two flavor holographic QCD model of Sakai and Sugimoto described effectively by a five-dimensional U(2) Yang-Mills theory with the Chern-Simons term on a curved background. The baryons are represented in this model as a soliton, which at a time slice is approximately the BPST instanton with a fixed size. First, we construct a chiral current in four dimensions from the Noether current of local gauge transformations which are non-vanishing on the boundaries of the extra dimension. We examine this chiral current for nucleons with quantized collective coordinates to compute their charge distribution, charge radii, magnetic moments and axial vector coupling. Most of the results are better close to the experimental values than in the Skyrme model. We discuss the problems of our chiral current; non-uniqueness of the local gauge transformation for defining the current, and its gauge-noninvariance.Comment: 30 pages, 1 figure; a footnote added in sec. 4.4, minor correction

Exact Analysis of ESR Shift in the Spin-1/2 Heisenberg Antiferromagnetic Chain

A systematic perturbation theory is developed for the ESR shift and is applied to the spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain. Using the Bethe ansatz technique, we exactly analyze the resonance shift in the first order of perturbative expansion with respect to an anisotropic exchange interaction. Exact result for the whole range of temperature and magnetic field, as well as asymptotic behavior in the low-temperature limit are presented. The obtained g-shift strongly depends on magnetic fields at low temperature, showing a significant deviation from the previous classical result.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures,to be published in Phys. Rev. Let

Rescue with an anti-inflammatory peptide of chickens infected H5N1 avian flu

Chickens suffering from avian flu caused by H5N1 influenza virus are destined to die within 2 days due to a systemic inflammatory response. Since HVJ infection (1,2) and influenza virus infection (3,4) cause infected cells to activate homologous serum complement, the systemic inflammatory response elicited could be attributed to the unlimited generation of C5a anaphylatoxin of the complement system, which is a causative peptide of serious inflammation. In monkeys inoculated with a lethal dose of LPS (4 mg/kg body weight), inhibition of C5a by an inhibitory peptide termed AcPepA (5) rescued these animals from serious septic shock which would have resulted in death within a day (6). Therefore, we tested whether AcPepA could also have a beneficial effect on chickens with bird flu. On another front, enhanced production of endothelin-1 (ET-1) and the activation of mast cells (MCs) have been implicated in granulocyte sequestration (7). An endothelin receptor derived antisense homology box peptide (8) designated ETR-P1/fl was shown to antagonize endothelin A receptor (ET-A receptor) (9) and reduce such inflammatory responses as endotoxin-shock (10) and hemorrhagic shock (11), thereby suppressing histamine release in the circulation (12). Thus, we also administered ETR-P1/fl to bird flu chickens expecting suppression of a systemic inflammatory response