Peaks and Troughs in Helioseismology: The Power Spectrum of Solar Oscillations

I present a matched-wave asymptotic analysis of the driving of solar oscillations by a general localised source. The analysis provides a simple mathematical description of the asymmetric peaks in the power spectrum in terms of the relative locations of eigenmodes and troughs in the spectral response. It is suggested that the difference in measured phase function between the modes and the troughs in the spectrum will provide a key diagnostic of the source of the oscillations. I also suggest a form for the asymmetric line profiles to be used in the fitting of solar power spectra. Finally I present a comparison between the numerical and asymptotic descriptions of the oscillations. The numerical results bear out the qualitative features suggested by the asymptotic analysis but suggest that numerical calculations of the locations of the troughs will be necessary for a quantitative comparison with the observations.Comment: 18 pages + 8 separate figures. To appear in Ap

Extracting CKM γ\gamma phase from B±→K±π+π−B^{\pm} \to K^{\pm} \pi^+ \pi^- and B0B^0, Bˉ0→Ksπ+π−\bar B^0 \to K_s \pi^+ \pi^-

We discuss some aspects of the search for CP asymmetry in the three body B decays, revealed through the interference among neighbor resonances in the Dalitz plot. We propose a competitive method to extract the CKM $\gamma$ angle combining Dalitz plot amplitude analysis of $B^{\pm} \to K^{\pm} \pi^+ \pi^-$ and untagged $B^0$, $\bar B^0 \to K_s \pi^+ \pi^-$. The method also obtains the ratio and phase difference between the {\it tree} and {\it penguin} contributions from $B^0$ and $\bar B^0 \to K^{*\pm} \pi^{\mp}$ decays and the CP asymmetry between $B^0$ and $\bar{B^0}$. From Monte Carlo studies of 100K events for the neutral mesons, we show the possibility of measuring $\gamma$.Comment: Revised enlarged version to appear at Phys Rev

Asteroseismology of Massive Stars : Some Words of Caution

Although playing a key role in the understanding of the supernova phenomenon, the evolution of massive stars still suffers from uncertainties in their structure, even during their "quiet" main sequence phase and later on during their subgiant and helium burning phases. What is the extent of the mixed central region? In the local mixing length theory (LMLT) frame, are there structural differences using Schwarzschild or Ledoux convection criterion? Where are located the convective zone boundaries? Are there intermediate convection zones during MS and post-MS phase, and what is their extent and location? We discuss these points and show how asteroseismology could bring some light on these questions.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, IAU Symposium 307, New windows on massive stars: asteroseismology, interferometry, and spectropolarimetry, G. Meynet, C. Georgy, J.H. Groh & Ph. Stee, ed

Drivers of Demand for Imported Horticultural Commodities: A Cross-Country Comparison

International trade of horticultural commodities is increasingly important in many regions of the world, yet relatively little research has studied import patterns of key horticultural crops. Using data between 1991 and 2005, we find that import demand for horticultural commodities in developed countries has been driven primarily by prices and the level of trade openness while income and diet considerations were more important in emerging countries. Furthermore, our results show that the determinants of import demand differed across the selected crops, and therefore information can be lost if data for horticultural commodities are aggregated.Emerging markets, Horticultural commodities, Import demand, International trade, International Relations/Trade, Marketing, Q10, Q13, Q17,

Import Demand for Horticultural Commodities in Developed and Emerging Countries

International trade of horticultural commodities is increasingly important in many regions of the world, yet import patterns of key horticultural crops are understudied in the agricultural economics literature. Using data between 1991 and 2005, we estimate the drivers of per capita import demand for six of the most highly traded horticultural commodities. The own price elasticity estimates were negative in all import demand models and, in most cases, the effects were statistically stronger for importers in emerging countries. Import demand for horticultural commodities in developed countries has been driven primarily by prices and the level of trade openness while income and diet considerations were more important in emerging countries. Furthermore, our results show that the determinants of import demand differed across the six models, and therefore, information can be lost when data for horticultural commodities are aggregated.Emerging markets, Horticultural commodities, Import demand, International trade, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade, Q17,

Multi-Partite Entanglement Inequalities via Spin Vector Geometry

We introduce inequalities for multi-partite entanglement, derived from the geometry of spin vectors. The criteria are constructed iteratively from cross and dot products between the spins of individual subsystems, each of which may have arbitrary dimension. For qubit ensembles the maximum violation for our inequalities is larger than that for the Mermin-Klyshko Bell inequalities, and the maximally violating states are different from Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states. Our inequalities are violated by certain bound entangled states for which no Bell-type violation has yet been found.Comment: 4 pages, 2 tables, 1 figure. A truncated version is published in Physical Review Letters, volume 95 issue 18, 180402 (October 2005

Polynomial Interpretation of Multipole Vectors

Copi, Huterer, Starkman and Schwarz introduced multipole vectors in a tensor context and used them to demonstrate that the first-year WMAP quadrupole and octopole planes align at roughly the 99.9% confidence level. In the present article the language of polynomials provides a new and independent derivation of the multipole vector concept. Bezout's Theorem supports an elementary proof that the multipole vectors exist and are unique (up to rescaling). The constructive nature of the proof leads to a fast, practical algorithm for computing multipole vectors. We illustrate the algorithm by finding exact solutions for some simple toy examples, and numerical solutions for the first-year WMAP quadrupole and octopole. We then apply our algorithm to Monte Carlo skies to independently re-confirm the estimate that the WMAP quadrupole and octopole planes align at the 99.9% level.Comment: Version 1: 6 pages. Version 2: added uniqueness proof to Corollary 2; added proper citation (to Starkman et al.) for Open Question; other minor improvement

Optical and ROSAT X-ray observations of the dwarf nova OY Carinae in superoutburst and quiescence

We present ROSAT X-ray and optical light curves of the 1994 February superoutburst of the eclipsing SU UMa dwarf nova OY Carinae. There is no eclipse of the flux in the ROSAT HRI light curve. Contemporaneous `wide B' band optical light curves show extensive superhump activity and dips at superhump maximum. Eclipse mapping of these optical light curves reveals a disc with a considerable physical flare, even three days into the superoutburst decline. We include a later (1994 July) ROSAT PSPC observation of OY Car that allows us to put constraints on the quiescent X-ray spectrum. We find that while there is little to choose between OY Car and its fellow high inclination systems with regard to the temperature of the emitting gas and the emission measure, we have difficulties reconciling the column density found from our X-ray observation with the column found in HST UV observations by Horne et al. (1994). The obvious option is to invoke time variability.Comment: 16 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Strong Coupling Theory for Interacting Lattice Models

We develop a strong coupling approach for a general lattice problem. We argue that this strong coupling perspective represents the natural framework for a generalization of the dynamical mean field theory (DMFT). The main result of this analysis is twofold: 1) It provides the tools for a unified treatment of any non-local contribution to the Hamiltonian. Within our scheme, non-local terms such as hopping terms, spin-spin interactions, or non-local Coulomb interactions are treated on equal footing. 2) By performing a detailed strong-coupling analysis of a generalized lattice problem, we establish the basis for possible clean and systematic extensions beyond DMFT. To this end, we study the problem using three different perspectives. First, we develop a generalized expansion around the atomic limit in terms of the coupling constants for the non-local contributions to the Hamiltonian. By analyzing the diagrammatics associated with this expansion, we establish the equations for a generalized dynamical mean-field theory (G-DMFT). Second, we formulate the theory in terms of a generalized strong coupling version of the Baym-Kadanoff functional. Third, following Pairault, Senechal, and Tremblay, we present our scheme in the language of a perturbation theory for canonical fermionic and bosonic fields and we establish the interpretation of various strong coupling quantities within a standard perturbative picture.Comment: Revised Version, 17 pages, 5 figure