Effect of charged partons on black hole production at the Large Hadron Collider

The cross section for black hole production in hadron colliders is calculated using a factorization hypothesis in which the parton-level process is integrated over the parton density functions of the protons. The mass, spin, charge, colour, and finite size of the partons are usually ignored. We examine the effects of parton electric charge on black hole production using the trapped-surface approach of general relativity. Accounting for electric charge of the partons could reduce the black hole cross section by one to four orders of magnitude at the Large Hadron Collider. The cross section results are sensitive to the Standard Model brane thickness. Lower limits on the amount of energy trapped behind the event horizon in the collision of charged particles are also calculated.Comment: corrected typo in figure 1b; added some clarification in 3 places; 21 pages, 9 figures, JHEP3 forma

OSETI with STACEE: A Search for Nanosecond Optical Transients from Nearby Stars

We have used the STACEE high-energy gamma-ray detector to look for fast blue-green laser pulses from the vicinity of 187 stars. The STACEE detector offers unprecedented light-collecting capability for the detection of nanosecond pulses from such lasers. We estimate STACEE's sensitivity to be approximately 10 photons per square meter at a wavelength of 420 nm. The stars have been chosen because their characteristics are such that they may harbor habitable planets and they are relatively close to Earth. Each star was observed for 10 minutes and we found no evidence for laser pulses in any of the data sets.Comment: 38 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in Astrobiolog

Very high-energy observations of the two high-frequency peaked BL Lac objects 1ES 1218+304 and H 1426+428

We present results of very-high-energy gamma-ray observations (E > 160 GeV) of two high-frequency-peaked BL Lac (HBL) objects, 1ES 1218+304 and H 1426+428, with the Solar Tower Atmospheric Cherenkov Effect Experiment (STACEE). Both sources are very-high-energy gamma-ray emitters above 100 GeV, detected using ground-based Cherenkov telescopes. STACEE observations of 1ES 1218+304 and H 1426+428 did not produce detections; we present 99% CL flux upper limits for both sources, assuming spectral indices measured mostly at higher energies

Very high energy observations of the BL Lac objects 3C 66A and OJ 287

Using the Solar Tower Atmospheric Cherenkov Effect Experiment (STACEE), we have observed the BL Lac objects 3C 66A and OJ 287. These are members of the class of low-frequency-peaked BL Lac objects (LBLs) and are two of the three LBLs predicted by Costamante and Ghisellini to be potential sources of very high energy (>100 GeV) gamma-ray emission. The third candidate, BL Lacertae, has recently been detected by the MAGIC collaboration. Our observations have not produced detections; we calculate a 99% CL upper limit of flux from 3C 66A of 0.15 Crab flux units and from OJ 287 our limit is 0.52 Crab. These limits assume a Crab-like energy spectrum with an effective energy threshold of 185 GeV.Comment: 24 pages, 15 figures, Accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physic

Properties of Entanglement Monotones for Three-Qubit Pure States

Various parameterizations for the orbits under local unitary transformations of three-qubit pure states are analyzed. The interconvertibility, symmetry properties, parameter ranges, calculability and behavior under measurement are looked at. It is shown that the entanglement monotones of any multipartite pure state uniquely determine the orbit of that state under local unitary transformations. It follows that there must be an entanglement monotone for three-qubit pure states which depends on the Kempe invariant defined in [Phys. Rev. A 60, 910 (1999)]. A form for such an entanglement monotone is proposed. A theorem is proved that significantly reduces the number of entanglement monotones that must be looked at to find the maximal probability of transforming one multipartite state to another.Comment: 14 pages, REVTe