Stochastic modelling of intermittent scrape-off layer plasma fluctuations

Single-point measurements of fluctuations in the scrape-off layer of magnetized plasmas are generally found to be dominated by large-amplitude bursts which are associated with radial motion of blob-like structures. A stochastic model for these fluctuations is presented, with the plasma density given by a random sequence of bursts with a fixed wave form. Under very general conditions, this model predicts a parabolic relation between the skewness and kurtosis moments of the plasma fluctuations. In the case of exponentially distributed burst amplitudes and waiting times, the probability density function for the fluctuation amplitudes is shown to be a Gamma distribution with the scale parameter given by the average burst amplitude and the shape parameter given by the ratio of the burst duration and waiting times.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figur

Monodromy of the SL_2 Hitchin fibration

We calculate the monodromy action on the mod 2 cohomology for SL(2,C) Hitchin systems and give an application of our results in terms of the moduli space of semistable SL(2,R) Higgs bundles.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures. v2: Version to appear in IJ

Present Bounds on New Neutral Vector Resonances from Electroweak Gauge Boson Pair Production at the LHC

Several extensions of the Standard Model predict the existence of new neutral spin-1 resonances associated to the electroweak symmetry breaking sector. Using the data from ATLAS (with integrated luminosity of L=1.02 fb^{-1}) and CMS (with integrated luminosity of L=1.55 fb^{-1}) on the production of W+W- pairs through the process pp -> l^+ l^{\prime -} \sla{E}_T, we place model independent bounds on these new vector resonances masses, couplings and widths. Our analyses show that the present data excludes new neutral vector resonances with masses up to 1-2.3 TeV depending on their couplings and widths. We also demonstrate how to extend our analysis framework to different models working a specific example.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

On the geometry of moduli spaces of coherent systems on algebraic curves

Let $C$ be an algebraic curve of genus $g$. A coherent system on $C$ consists of a pair $(E,V)$, where $E$ is an algebraic vector bundle over $C$ of rank $n$ and degree $d$ and $V$ is a subspace of dimension $k$ of the space of sections of $E$. The stability of the coherent system depends on a parameter $\alpha$. We study the geometry of the moduli space of coherent systems for different values of $\alpha$ when $k\leq n$ and the variation of the moduli spaces when we vary $\alpha$. As a consequence, for sufficiently large $\alpha$, we compute the Picard groups and the first and second homotopy groups of the moduli spaces of coherent systems in almost all cases, describe the moduli space for the case $k=n-1$ explicitly, and give the Poincar\'e polynomials for the case $k=n-2$.Comment: 38 pages; v3. Appendix and new references added; v4. minor corrections, two added references; v5. final version, one typo corrected and one reference delete

Bounds on Scalar Leptoquarks from Z Physics

We analyse the constraints on scalar leptoquarks coming from radiative corrections to $Z$ physics. We perform a global fitting to the LEP data including the contributions of the most general effective Lagrangian for scalar leptoquarks, which exhibits the $SU(2)_L \times U(1)_Y$ gauge invariance. We show that the bounds on leptoquarks that couple to the top quark are much stronger than the ones obtained from low energy experiments.Comment: RevTeX 3.0, 26 pages, 4 postscript figures included as uufil

Bosonic versus fermionic pairs of topological spin defects in monolayered high-T_c superconductors

The energy associated with bosonic and fermionic pairs of topological spin defects in doped antiferromagnetic quantum spin-1/2 square lattice is estimated within a resonating valence bond scenario, as described by a t-t'-J-like model Hamiltonian, plus a t-perpendicular, responsible of a three-dimensional screening of the electrostatic repulsion within the bosonic pairs. For parameters appropriate for monolayered high-T_c superconductors, both fermionic and bosonic pairs show x^2-y^2 symmetry. We find a critical value of doping such that the energy of the bosonic pairs goes below twice the energy of two fermionic pairs at their Fermi level. This finding could be related to the onset of high-T_c superconductivity.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures. To be published in Phys. Rev.