HS 1857+5144 : a hot and young pre-cataclysmic variable

Aims. We report the discovery of a new white dwarf/M dwarf binary, HS 1857+5144, identified in the Hamburg Quasar Survey (HQS). Methods. Time-resolved optical spectroscopy and photometry were carried out to determine the properties of this new cataclysmic variable progenitor (pre-CV). Results. The light curves of HS 1857+5144 display a sinusoidal variation with a period of Porb = 383.52 min and peak-to-peak amplitudes of 0.7 mag and 1.1mag in the B-band and R-band, respectively. The large amplitude of the brightness variation results from a reflection effect on the heated inner hemisphere of the companion star, suggesting a very high temperature of the white dwarf. Our radial velocity study confirms the photometric period as the orbital period of the system. A model atmosphere fit to the spectrum of the white dwarf obtained at minimum light provides limits to its mass and temperature of Mwd 0.6−1.0 M and Twd 70 000−100 000 K, respectively. The detection of He II λ4686 absorption classifies the primary star of HS 1857+5144 as a DAO white dwarf. Combining the results from our spectroscopy and photometry, we estimate the mass of the companion star and the binary inclination to be Msec 0.15−0.30 M and i 45◦−55◦, respectively. Conclusions. We classify HS 1857+5144 as one of the youngest pre-CV known to date. The cooling age of the white dwarf suggests that the present system has just emerged from a common envelope phase ∼105 yr ago. HS 1857+5144 will start mass transfer within or below the 2–3 h period gap

Gluonic phase versus LOFF phase in two-flavor quark matter

We study the gluonic phase in a two-flavor color superconductor as a function of the ratio of the gap over the chemical potential mismatch,$\Delta/\delta\mu$. We find that the gluonic phase resolves the chromomagnetic instability encountered in a two-flavor color superconductor for $\Delta/\delta \mu < \sqrt{2}$. We also calculate approximately the free energies of the gluonic phase and the single plane-wave LOFF phase and show that the former is favored over the latter for a wide range of coupling strengths.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, references added, revisions to text, version accepted for publication in Phys. Lett.

Higher Spin Scattering in Superstring Theory

We compute scattering amplitudes of leading Regge trajectory states in open superstring theories. Highest spin states at mass level n with spin s=n+1 for bosons and s=n+1/2 for fermions are generated by particularly simple vertex operators. Hence, the cubic couplings of bosons and fermions on the leading Regge trajectory are given for arbitrary n. The same can be achieved for higher point amplitudes, and this article focuses on four point level with one heavy maximum spin state and three massless states in any bose-fermi combination, putting particular emphasis on manifest cyclic symmetry. Except for the four fermion coupling, all our results remain valid in any D<10 dimensional compactification scenario, so they might become relevant at LHC in case of an experimentally accessible low string scale. But even if not directly observable, superstring amplitudes provide important clues on higher spin dynamics and their consistent interactions in field theory.Comment: 31 pages; v3: final version published in Nuclear Physics

String Propagation in Bianchi Type I models: Dynamical anisotropy Damping and Consequences

A generic ansatz is introduced which provides families of exact solutions to the equations of motion and constraints for null-strings in Bianchi type I cosmological models. This is achieved irrespective of the form of the metric. Within classes of dilaton cosmologies a backreaction mapping relation is established where the null string leads to more or less anisotropic members of the family. The equations of motion and constraints for the generic model are casted in their first order form and integrated both analytically and numerically.Comment: 37 pages, 11 figure

Quest for Localized 4-D Black Holes in Brane Worlds

We investigate the possibility of obtaining localized black hole solutions in brane worlds by introducing a dependence of the four-dimensional line--element on the extra dimension. An analysis, performed for the cases of an empty bulk and of a bulk containing either a scalar or a gauge field, reveals that no conventional type of matter can support such a dependence. Considering a particular ansatz for the five-dimensional line--element that corresponds to a black hole solution with a ``decaying'' horizon, we determine the bulk energy--momentum tensor capable of sustaining such a behaviour. It turns out that an exotic, shell-like distribution of matter is required. For such solutions, the black hole singularity is indeed localized near the brane and the spacetime is well defined near the AdS horizon, in contrast to the behaviour found in black string type solutions.Comment: 17 pages, RevTex, 3 figures, version to appear in Physical Review D, comments and references added, typos correcte

See-Saw Modification of Gravity

We discuss a model in which the fundamental scale of gravity is restricted to 10^{-3} eV. An observable modification of gravity occurs simultaneously at the Hubble distance and at around 0.1 mm. These predictions can be tested both by the table-top experiments and by cosmological measurements. The model is formulated as a brane-world theory embedded in a space with two or more infinite-volume extra dimensions. Gravity on the brane reproduces the four-dimensional laws at observable distances but turns to the high-dimensional behavior at larger scales. To determine the crossover distance we smooth out the singularities in the Green's functions by taking into account softening of the graviton propagator due to the high-dimensional operators that are suppressed by the fundamental scale. We find that irrespective of the precise nature of microscopic gravity the ultraviolet and infrared scales of gravity-modification are rigidly correlated. This fixes the fundamental scale of gravity at 10^{-3} eV. The result persists for nonzero thickness branes.Comment: 24 LaTex pages; v2: comments added, typos correcte