Electromagnetically superconducting phase of QCD vacuum induced by strong magnetic field

In this talk we discuss our recent suggestion that the QCD vacuum in a sufficiently strong magnetic field (stronger than 10^{16} Tesla) may undergo a spontaneous transition to an electromagnetically superconducting state. The possible superconducting state is anisotropic (the vacuum exhibits superconductivity only along the axis of the uniform magnetic field) and inhomogeneous (in the transverse directions the vacuum structure shares similarity with the Abrikosov lattice of an ordinary type-II superconductor). The electromagnetic superconductivity of the QCD vacuum is suggested to occur due to emergence of specific quark-antiquark condensates which carry quantum numbers of electrically charged rho mesons. A Lorentz-covariant generalization of the London transport equations for the magnetic-field-induced superconductivity is given.Comment: 3 pages, talk at the conference "Quark Confinement and the Hadron Spectrum IX", 30 Aug - 3 Sep 2010, Madrid, Spai

The Conception of the General Content of the Composition, Structure and Working of the Informative Components of the Economic Knowledge Base

Starting of the content aspect, on the systematic-informational positions, the general conceptional variant of the composition, structure and transformative relations of elements of the informative compartment of knowledge base (K.Bs.) of automatized banks of economic intelligent data (A.Bn.E.Ig.D.) arent to cleargeneral composition, structure, working, informative components, knowledge base

Superconductivity of QCD vacuum in strong magnetic field

We show that in a sufficiently strong magnetic field the QCD vacuum may undergo a transition to a new phase where charged $\rho^\pm$ mesons are condensed. In this phase the vacuum behaves as an anisotropic inhomogeneous superconductor which supports superconductivity along the axis of the magnetic field. In the directions transverse to the magnetic field the superconductivity is absent. The magnetic-field-induced anisotropic superconductivity -- which is realized in the cold vacuum, i.e. at zero temperature and density -- is a consequence of a nonminimal coupling of the $\rho$ mesons to the electromagnetic field. The onset of the superconductivity of the charged $\rho^\pm$ mesons should also induce an inhomogeneous superfluidity of the neutral $\rho^0$ mesons. We also argue that due to simple kinematical reasons a strong enough magnetic field makes the lifetime of the $\rho$ mesons longer by closing the main channels of the strong decays of the $\rho$ mesons into charged pions.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures; v2: one figure and references are added, quality of figures is improved, a comment about a superconducting electroweak phase is added, published versio

Electromagnetic superconductivity of vacuum induced by strong magnetic field

The quantum vacuum may become an electromagnetic superconductor in the presence of a strong external magnetic field of the order of 10^{16} Tesla. The magnetic field of the required strength (and even stronger) is expected to be generated for a short time in ultraperipheral collisions of heavy ions at the Large Hadron Collider. The superconducting properties of the new phase appear as a result of a magnetic-field-assisted condensation of quark-antiquark pairs with quantum numbers of electrically charged rho mesons. We discuss similarities and differences between the suggested superconducting state of the quantum vacuum, a conventional superconductivity and the Schwinger pair creation. We argue qualitatively and quantitatively why the superconducting state should be a natural ground state of the vacuum at the sufficiently strong magnetic field. We demonstrate the existence of the superconducting phase using both the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model and an effective bosonic model based on the vector meson dominance (the rho-meson electrodynamics). We discuss various properties of the new phase such as absence of the Meissner effect, anisotropy of superconductivity, spatial inhomogeneity of ground state, emergence of a neutral superfluid component in the ground state and presence of new topological vortices in the quark-antiquark condensates.Comment: 37 pages, 14 figures, to appear in Lect. Notes Phys. "Strongly interacting matter in magnetic fields" (Springer), edited by D. Kharzeev, K. Landsteiner, A. Schmitt, H.-U. Ye

An introduction to CHPT

These lectures provide an elementary introduction to Chiral Perturbation Theory, focused on the sector of pseudoscalar meson interactions. Basic concepts and technical methods of this approach are discussed on general grounds and with the help of a few specific examples.Comment: 45 pages, Latex. Lectures given at at the 2000 LNF Spring School, Frascati, Italy, 15-20 May 200

SINGULARITIES OF HOLOMORPHICALLY EXTENDED SPHERICAL FUNCTIONS

1. Motivation and background\ud This is a preliminary account of joint work in progress which serves as an (very) extended abstract for a presentation of one of us ( $E.M$ .O.) in the Awajishima conference on Representation Theory, November 16-19, 2004, Japan.\ud To motivate the questions which we will address we will describe in some detail the beautiful ideas that were initiated by Sarnak [18] and by Bernstein and Reznikov [2], and then further explored by Kr\"otz and Stanton [9].\ud Inspired by Sarnak [18], Bernstein and Reznikov [2] proposed a new method for estimating the coefficients in the expansion of the square of a Maass form on a compact locally symmetric space $Z=\Gamma\backslash X$ (where $X=G/K$ denotes a noncompact Riemannian symmetric space, and\ud $\Gamma\subset G$ is a $co$-compact discrete subgroup of $G$ ) with respect to an orthonormal basis of $L^{2}(Z)$ consisting of Maass forms. The method is based on holomorphic extension of irreducible representations of $G$\ud to a certain $G$-invariant domain in $X_{\mathbb{C}}:=G_{\mathbb{C}}/If_{\mathbb{C}}$ (we assume that $G\subset G_{\mathbb{C}})$ .\ud In [2] the method was applied in the case of $G=SL_{2}(\mathbb{R})$ . The method was carried further by Kr\"otz and Stanton in [9], where the results of [2] were slightly improved for $G=SL_{2}(\mathbb{R})$ , and similar results\ud for other rank 1 Riemannian symmetric spaces $G/K$ were obtained. In addition some higher rank cases were considered in [9]. These considerations gave rise to various interesting issues concerning holomorphic\ud extensions of representations and their matrix coefficients

What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You: Micronutrient Content and Fungal Contamination of Foods in Developing Countries

The negative effects of micronutrient deficiencies on human capital acquisition and economic productivity are well documented. A less well understood but potentially serious threat to human health in developing countries is the contamination of food crops by fungal toxins. This paper surveys what is known about the health and economic burdens attributable to insufficient micronutrients and toxic contamination of food in developing countries, discusses consumer demand for micronutrients and food safety, and describes some of the challenges to improving population nutrition, particularly in rural areas.food safety, micronutrients, aflatoxin, developing countries, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, International Development,

Tyrosine decaging leads to substantial membrane trafficking during modulation of an inward rectifier potassium channel

Tyrosine side chains participate in several distinct signaling pathways, including phosphorylation and membrane trafficking. A nonsense suppression procedure was used to incorporate a caged tyrosine residue in place of the natural tyrosine at position 242 of the inward rectifier channel Kir2.1 expressed in Xenopus oocytes. When tyrosine kinases were active, flash decaging led both to decreased K+ currents and also to substantial (15–26%) decreases in capacitance, implying net membrane endocytosis. A dominant negative dynamin mutant completely blocked the decaging-induced endocytosis and partially blocked the decaging-induced K+ channel inhibition. Thus, decaging of a single tyrosine residue in a single species of membrane protein leads to massive clathrin-mediated endocytosis; in fact, membrane area equivalent to many clathrin-coated vesicles is withdrawn from the oocyte surface for each Kir2.1 channel inhibited. Oocyte membrane proteins were also labeled with the thiol-reactive fluorophore tetramethylrhodamine-5-maleimide, and manipulations that decreased capacitance also decreased surface membrane fluorescence, confirming the net endocytosis. In single-channel studies, tyrosine kinase activation decreased the membrane density of active Kir2.1 channels per patch but did not change channel conductance or open probability, in agreement with the hypothesis that tyrosine phosphorylation results in endocytosis of Kir2.1 channels. Despite the Kir2.1 inhibition and endocytosis stimulated by tyrosine kinase activation, neither Western blotting nor 32P labeling produced evidence for direct tyrosine phosphorylation of Kir2.1. Therefore, it is likely that tyrosine phosphorylation affects Kir2.1 function indirectly, via interactions between clathrin adaptor proteins and a tyrosine-based sorting motif on Kir2.1 that is revealed by decaging the tyrosine side chain. These interactions inhibit a fraction of the Kir2.1 channels, possibly via direct occlusion of the conduction pathway, and also lead to endocytosis, which further decreases Kir2.1 currents. These data establish that side chain decaging can provide valuable time-resolved data about intracellular signaling systems

Effects of the “MAMI Deporte®” Family Sports Program on Parents’ Motivation towards Sport Participation: A Randomized Controlled Intervention

As most parents do not meet physical activity (PA) recommendations, new PA promotion strategies need to be developed considering the role of motivation as an essential underlying factor of PA behavior. Recreational sports programs practiced in the family would represent an effective strategy to promote PA for the entire family in general, and for parents in particular. Building upon self-determination theory, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the Active Methodology for Improving Sports Initiation (MAMI Deporte®) program on parents’ behavioral regulation. The participants were 58 parents (50% men) and 78 children (48.71% boys), who were randomized into a control group (29 parents and 39 children), which followed its habitual sports activity over 8 months, and an experimental group (29 parents and 39 children), which completed the MAMI Deporte® program. Specifically, the MAMI Deporte® program focused on simultaneous participation between parents and children in multisports activities, including 32 lessons distributed into 2 h/week for 8 months. Pre-and-post-intervention measures were collected. The results showed significant differences in the parents’ level of intrinsic motivation, integrated regulation, identified regulation and introjected regulation in favor of the experimental group. Nonsignificant effects were found for gender. These results were discussed, highlighting the internalization process of the value of sport in the family experienced by parents after the MAMI Deporte® family-based sports program.University of Granada 15-8