The improved nuclear parton distributions

In this paper we propose an improvement of the EKS nuclear parton distributions for the small x region of high energy processes, where the perturbative high parton density effects cannot be disregarded. We analyze the behavior of the ratios $xG_A/xG_N$ and $F_2^A/F_2^D$ and verify that at small x they are strongly modified when compared to the EKS predictions. The implications of our results for the heavy ion collisions in RHIC and LHC are discussed.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figure

Decoherence, pointer engineering and quantum state protection

We present a proposal for protecting states against decoherence, based on the engineering of pointer states. We apply this procedure to the vibrational motion of a trapped ion, and show how to protect qubits, squeezed states, approximate phase eigenstates and superpositions of coherent states.Comment: 1 figur

Generalized Ladder Operators for Shape-invariant Potentials

A general form for ladder operators is used to construct a method to solve bound-state Schr\"odinger equations. The characteristics of supersymmetry and shape invariance of the system are the start point of the approach. To show the elegance and the utility of the method we use it to obtain energy spectra and eigenfunctions for the one-dimensional harmonic oscillator and Morse potentials and for the radial harmonic oscillator and Coulomb potentials.Comment: in Revte

Scaling violation and shadowing corrections at HERA

We study the value of shadowing corrections (SC) in HERA kinematic region in Glauber - Mueller approach. Since the Glauber - Mueller approach was proven in perturbative QCD in the double logarithmic approximation (DLA), we develop the DLA approach for deep inelastic structure function which takes into account the SC. Our estimates show small SC for $F_2$ in HERA kinematic region while they turn out to be sizable for the gluon structure function. We compare our estimates with those for gluon distribution in leading order (LO) and next to leading order (NLO) in the DGLAP evolution equations.Comment: 9pp,6 figures in eps file

Superinflation, quintessence, and the avoidance of the initial singularity

We consider the dynamics of a spatially flat universe dominated by a self-interacting nonminimally coupled scalar field. The structure of the phase space and complete phase portraits for the conformal coupling case are given. It is shown that the non-minimal coupling modifies drastically the dynamics of the universe. New cosmological behaviors are identified, including superinflation ($\dot{H}>0$), avoidance of big bang singularities through classical birth of the universe from empty Minkowski space, and spontaneous entry into and exit from inflation. The relevance of this model to the description of quintessence is discussed.Comment: RevTex, 10 pages, 4 figures, To appear in the proceedings of the 5th Peyresq meetin