Twisted Superconducting Semilocal Strings

A new class of twisted, current carrying, stationary, straight string solutions having finite energy per unit length is constructed numerically in an extended Abelian Higgs model with global SU(2) symmetry. The new solutions correspond to deformations of the embedded Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olesen (ANO) vortices by a twist -- a relative coordinate dependent phase between the two Higgs fields. The twist induces a global current flowing through the string, and the deformed solutions bifurcate with the ANO vortices in the limit of vanishing current. For each value of the winding number $n=1,2...$ (determining the magnetic flux through the plane orthogonal to the string) there are $n$ distinct, two-parametric families of solutions. One of the continuously varying parameters is the twist, or the corresponding current, the other one can be chosen to be the momentum of the string. For fixed values of the momentum and twist, the $n$ distinct solutions have different energies and can be viewed as a lowest energy ``fundamental'' string and its $n-1$ ``excitations'' characterized by different values of their ``polarization''. The latter is defined as the ratio of the angular momentum of the vortex and its momentum. In their rest frame the twisted vortices have lower energy than the embedded ANO vortices and could be of considerable importance in various physical systems (from condensed matter to cosmic strings).Comment: 39 pages, 20 figure

Bogomolny equations for vortices in the noncommutative torus

We derive Bogomolny-type equations for the abelian Higgs model defined on the noncommutative torus and discuss its vortex like solutions. To this end, we carefully analyze how periodic boundary conditions have to be handled in noncommutative space and discuss how vortex solutions are constructed. We also consider the extension to an U(2) × U(1) model, a simplified prototype of the noncommutative standard model.Facultad de Ciencias Exacta

Gravitating Monopole Solutions II

We present analytical and numerical results for static, spherically symmetric solutions of the Einstein Yang-Mills Higgs equations corresponding to magnetic monopoles and non-abelian magnetically charged black holes. In the limit of infinite Higgs mass we give an existence proof for these solutions. The stability of the abelian extremal Reissner-Nordstrom black holes is reanalyzed.Comment: 24 pages, 11 figures (uuencoded compressed tar

Magnetic tweezers for intracellular applications

doi:10.1063/1.1599066 http://rsi.aip.org/rsinak/v74/i9/p4158_s1We have designed and constructed a versatile magnetic tweezer primarily for intracellular investigations. The micromanipulator uses only two coils to simultaneously magnetize to saturation micron-size superparamagnetic particles and generate high magnitude constant field gradients over cellular dimensions. The apparatus resembles a miniaturized Faraday balance, an industrial device used to measure magnetic susceptibility. The device operates in both continuous and pulse modes. Due to its compact size, the tweezers can conveniently be mounted on the stage of an inverted microscope and used for intracellular manipulations. A built-in temperature control unit maintains the sample at physiological temperatures. The operation of the tweezers was tested by moving 1.28 μm diameter magnetic beads inside macrophages with forces near 500 pN.This work was partially supported by the NSF ~Grant No. DBI-9730999!

Bogomolny equations for vortices in the noncommutative torus

We derive Bogomolny-type equations for the Abelian Higgs model defined on the noncommutative torus and discuss its vortex like solutions. To this end, we carefully analyze how periodic boundary conditions have to be handled in noncommutative space and discussed how vortex solutions are constructed. We also consider the extension to an $U(2)\times U(1)$ model, a simplified prototype of the noncommutative standard model.Comment: 23 pages, no figure