A Burgess-like subconvex bound for twisted L-functions

Let g be a cuspidal newform (holomorphic or Maass) of arbitrary level and nebentypus, X a primitive character of conductor q, and s a point on the critical line Rs = 1/2. It is proved that L(g circle times chi, s) 0 is arbitrary and theta = 7/64 is the current known approximation towards the RamannJan-Petersson conjecture (which would allow theta = 0); moreover, the dependence on s and all the parameters of g is polynomial. This result is an analog of Burgess' classical subconvex bound for Dirichlet L-functions. In Appendix 2 the above result is combined with a theorem of Waldspurger and the adelic calculations of Baruch-Mao to yield an improved uniform upper bound for the Fourier coefficients of holomorphic half-integral weight cusp forms

L-functions, automorphic forms, and arithmetic

We give a short, informal survey on the role of automorphic L-functions in number theory. We present the strongest currently known subconvexity bounds for twisted L-functions over number fields due to the authors and give various arithmetic applications. This is based on a talk of the first author

Do supernovae favor tachyonic Big Brake instead de Sitter?

We investigate whether a tachyonic scalar field, encompassing both dark energy and dark matter-like features will drive our universe towards a Big Brake singularity or a de Sitter expansion. In doing this it is crucial to establish the parameter domain of the model, which is compatible with type Ia supernovae data. We find the 1-sigma contours and evolve the tachyonic sytem into the future. We conclude, that both future evolutions are allowed by observations, Big Brake becoming increasingly likely with the increase of the positive model parameter k.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, to be published in the Proceedings of the Invisible Universe International Conference, Paris, 2009, Ed. J. M. Alimi; v2: reference

Active Galactic Nuclei with Starbursts: Sources for Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays

Ultra high energy cosmic ray events presently show a spectrum, which we interpret here as galactic cosmic rays due to a starburst in the radio galaxy Cen A pushed up in energy by the shock of a relativistic jet. The knee feature and the particles with energy immediately higher in galactic cosmic rays then turn into the bulk of ultra high energy cosmic rays. This entails that all ultra high energy cosmic rays are heavy nuclei. This picture is viable if the majority of the observed ultra high energy events come from the radio galaxy Cen A, and are scattered by intergalactic magnetic fields across most of the sky.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, proceedings of "High-Energy Gamma-rays and Neutrinos from Extra-Galactic Sources", Heidelber

SOCIAL DESIRABILITY BIAS IN SOFTWARE PIRACY RESEARCH

Most behavioural aspects of software piracy research are a subset of ethical research. Measures of ethical behaviour in research may be subject to biases in response to the social desirability of behaviours. Few studies in the area of software piracy have explicitly addressed this issu. Literature on social desirability bias (SDB) reports on three ways to address response bias: approaches to reduce bias, approaches to detect bias, and approaches to correct bias. In the current article, the published methods to reduce, detect, and, correct bias are reviewed. Then, the extent of SDB that may be present in the published software piracy literature is subjectively assessed. A study is proposed in which piracy behaviours involving real money are compared to the intent to pirate in paper-based scenarios, under equivalent conditions. The comparison is argud to be useful in compensating for SDB in future research

Geometrical spin dephasing in quantum dots

We study spin-orbit mediated relaxation and dephasing of electron spins in quantum dots. We show that higher order contributions provide a relaxation mechanism that dominates for low magnetic fields and is of geometrical origin. In the low-field limit relaxation is dominated by coupling to electron-hole excitations and possibly $1/f$ noise rather than phonons.Comment: Replaced with final published versio