Higher-order supersymmetric quantum mechanics

We review the higher-order supersymmetric quantum mechanics (H-SUSY QM), which involves differential intertwining operators of order greater than one. The iterations of first-order SUSY transformations are used to derive in a simple way the higher-order case. The second order technique is addressed directly, and through this approach unexpected possibilities for designing spectra are uncovered. The formalism is applied to the harmonic oscillator: the corresponding H-SUSY partner Hamiltonians are ruled by polynomial Heisenberg algebras which allow a straight construction of the coherent states.Comment: 42 pages, 12 eps figure

Higgs Searches at CMS and ATLAS

A summary of the sensitivity of the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the LHC to discover a Standard Model Higgs boson is presented. Some prospects for Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model Higgs searches at LHC are also included.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, Proceedings for The XLIVth Rencontres de Moriond session devoted to QCD AND HIGH ENERGY INTERACTIONS. 14-21st March 2009, La Thuille, Ital

Evaluating the service provision for ethnic minorities in Islington in the treatment of substance misuse

This project studied ethnic minorities with substance misuse problems to establish how services adapt to accommodate this presentation. It was conducted for the London Borough of Islington and its drug services to see how far they meet the needs of ethnic minorities. For Islington, the study identifies areas needing more focus to improve provision by comparing it with neighbouring Tower Hamlets. It takes a qualitative approach, looking at each borough and interviewing staff who run and structure services, evaluating their knowledge of each borough’s ethnic community and explores how the boroughs use this to meet needs. Purposive sampling selected for interview those with the influence to shape services. The project reveals interesting findings and some differences: a) The population of the ethnic communities is different in each borough, influencing how services have responded to their problems concerning substance misuse. b) Clinicians’ knowledge base on ethnic minorities and their issues with approaching drug services is adequate, but needs updating. c) Rapid assessment is seen as the best tool to engage ethnic communities. It is hoped that some of the findings from this study are beneficial to the London Borough of Islington and its drug services. 1) Flexibility is an important concept in drug service planning, but is it enough to accommodate ethnic minority needs? Will budget cuts limit drug services’ flexibility? 2) Do other boroughs’ approaches need to be adopted to enable ethnic minorities to engage with mainstream drug services, such as setting up ‘rapid assessment’? 3) Is an ethnic-specific project needed in Islington, as in Tower Hamlets? 4) More educational sessions are needed to update staff knowledge on ethnic minorities. The findings will be shared with local boroughs’ drug services and commissioners, and disseminated to all workers and service user groups in Islington. It is hoped the recommendations will be implemented

SUSUSY quantum mechanics

The exactly solvable eigenproblems in Schr\"odinger quantum mechanics typically involve the differential "shift operators". In the standard supersymmetric (SUSY) case, the shift operator turns out to be of first order. In this work, I discuss a technique to generate exactly solvable eigenproblems by using second order shift operators. The links between this method and SUSY are analysed. As an example, we show the existence of a two-parametric family of exactly solvable Hamiltonians, which contains the Abraham-Moses potentials as a particular case.Comment: 7 pages, 2 encapsulated postscript figures, uses epsf.sty talk given at the II International Workshop on Classical and Quantum Integrable Systems, Dubna (Russia), 8-12 July (1996) to be published in Int. J. Mod. Phys.

Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics

Supersymmetric quantum mechanics (SUSY QM) is a powerful tool for generating new potentials with known spectra departing from an initial solvable one. In these lecture notes we will present some general formulas concerning SUSY QM of first and second order for one-dimensional arbitrary systems, and we will illustrate the method through the trigonometric Poschl-Teller potentials. Some intrinsically related subjects, as the algebraic structure inherited by the new Hamiltonians and the corresponding coherent states will be analyzed. The technique will be as well implemented for periodic potentials, for which the corresponding spectrum is composed of allowed bands separated by energy gaps.Comment: 36 pages, 8 figures, lectures delivered at the Advanced Summer School 2009, Cinvestav (Mexico City), July 200