1,923,526 research outputs found
Extra dimensions, orthopositronium decay, and stellar cooling
In a class of extra dimensional models with a warped metric and a single
brane the photon can be localized on the brane by gravity only. An intriguing
feature of these models is the possibility of the photon escaping into the
extra dimensions. The search for this effect has motivated the present round of
precision orthopositronium decay experiments. We point out that in this
framework a photon in plasma should be metastable. We consider the
astrophysical consequences of this observation, in particular, what it implies
for the plasmon decay rate in globular cluster stars and for the core-collapse
supernova cooling rate. The resulting bounds on the model parameter exceed the
possible reach of orthopositronium experiments by many orders of magnitude.Comment: 13 pages, no figure
Heat-operated cryogenic electrical generator
Generator operation is based upon unusual hydrodynamic properties exhibited by liquid helium below superfluid critical point. Below that temperature, liquid behaves as though it is mixture of two interpenetrating fluids. When transition takes place between superfluid and normal states, conservation of momentum is always balanced by normal fluid
Retaining Black Holes with Very Large Recoil Velocities
Recent numerical simulations of binary black hole mergers show the
possibility of producing very large recoil velocities (> 3000 km/s). Kicks of
this magnitude should be sufficient to eject the final black hole from
virtually any galactic potential. This result has been seen as a potential
contradiction with observations of supermassive black holes residing in the
centers of most galaxies in the local universe. Using an extremely simplified
merger tree model, we show that, even in the limit of very large ejection
probability, after a small number of merger generations there should still be
an appreciable fraction (>50%) of galaxies with supermassive black holes today.
We go on to argue that the inclusion of more realistic physics ingredients in
the merger model should systematically increase this retention fraction,
helping to resolve a potential conflict between theory and observation. Lastly,
we develop a more realistic Monte Carlo model to confirm the qualitative
arguments and estimate occupation fractions as a function of the central
galactic velocity dispersion.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures; Comments welcom
Strong Unification
We investigate the possibility that unification occurs at strong coupling. We
show that, despite the fact the couplings pass through a strong coupling
regime, accurate predictions for their low energy values are possible because
the couplings of the theory flow to infrared fixed points. We determine the
low-energy QCD coupling in a favoured class of strong coupling models and find
it is reduced from the weak coupling predictions, lying close to the
experimentally measured value. We extend the analysis to the determination of
quark and lepton masses and show that (even without Grand Unification) the
infra-red fixed point structure may lead to good predictions for the top mass,
the bottom to tau mass ratio and . Finally we discuss the
implications for the unification scale finding it to be increased from the MSSM
value and closer to the heterotic string prediction.Comment: 12 pages, LateX, no figure
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