Bs Mixing, DeltaGamma_s and CP Violation

We discuss the results from the Tevatron experiments on mixing and {\sf CP} violation in the $B_s-\bar{B}_s^0$ system, with particular emphasis to the first measurements of the decay width-difference $\Delta\Gamma_s$ and the {\sf CP} violating phase $\beta_s$ using flavor tagging information. We also briefly review the charge asymmetry measurements in semileptonic $B_s$ decays and in $B^\pm \to J/\psi K^\pm$ decays.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, Pub. Proceedings of the XLIIIrd Rencontres de Moriond on Electroweak Interactions and Unified Theories, La Thuile, Italy, March 1-8, 200

Covariant Formulation of the Invariant Measure for the Mixmaster Dynamics

We provide a Hamiltonian analysis of the Mixmaster Universe dynamics showing the covariant nature of its chaotic behavior with respect to any choice of time variable. We construct the appropriate invariant measure for the system (which relies on the existence of an ``energy-like'' constant of motion) without fixing the time gauge, i.e. the corresponding lapse function. The key point in our analysis consists of introducing generic Misner-Chitr\'e-like variables containing an arbitrary function, whose specification allows one to set up the same dynamical scheme in any time gauge.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figur

Deriving Spin within a discrete-time theory

We prove that the classical theory with a discrete time (chronon) is a particular case of a more general theory in which spinning particles are associated with generalized Lagrangians containing time-derivatives of any order (a theory that has been called "Non-Newtonian Mechanics"). As a consequence, we get, for instance, a classical kinematical derivation of Hamiltonian and spin vector for the mentioned chronon theory (e.g., in Caldirola et al.'s formulation).Comment: 10 pages; LaTeX fil

On the "Causality Paradox" of Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory

I show that the so-called causality paradox of time-dependent density functional theory arises from an incorrect formulation of the variational principle for the time evolution of the density. The correct formulation not only resolves the paradox in real time, but also leads to a new expression for the causal exchange-correlation kernel in terms of Berry curvature. Furthermore, I show that all the results that were previously derived from symmetries of the action functional remain valid in the present formulation. Finally, I develop a model functional theory which explicitly demonstrates the workings of the new formulation.Comment: 21 page

Elliptic quantum groups and Ruijsenaars models

We construct symmetric and exterior powers of the vector representation of the elliptic quantum groups $E_{\tau,\eta}(gl_N)$. The corresponding transfer matrices give rise to various integrable difference equations which could be solved in principle by the nested Bethe ansatz method. In special cases we recover the Ruijsenaars systems of commuting difference operators.Comment: 15 pages, late

Conformation of Circular DNA in 2 Dimensions

The conformation of circular DNA molecules of various lengths adsorbed in a 2D conformation on a mica surface is studied. The results confirm the conjecture that the critical exponent $\nu$ is topologically invariant and equal to the SAW value (in the present case $\nu=3/4$), and that the topology and dimensionality of the system strongly influences the cross-over between the rigid regime and the self-avoiding regime at a scale $L\approx 8 \ell_p$. Additionally, the bond correlation function scales with the molecular length $L$ as predicted. For molecular lengths $L\leq5 \ell_p$, circular DNA behaves like a stiff molecule with approximately elliptic shape.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Conference scene : Golden Helix Pharmacogenomics Days : educational activities on pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine

The Golden Helix Pharmacogenomics Days are high-profile international educational scientific meetings discussing pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine. Here, we provide an overview of the scientific lectures and the topics discussed during the 4th Golden Helix Pharmacogenomics Day, held in Cagliari, Italy, on 7 October 2011, and the 5th Golden Helix Pharmacogenomics Day, that was held in Msida, Malta, on 3 December 2011. The scientific programs of both events included scientific and company lectures on pharmacogenomics, bioinformatics and personalized medicine by local and international speakers from Europe and the USA.peer-reviewe

The inelastic hard dimer gas: a non-spherical model for granular matter

We study a two-dimensional gas of inelastic smooth hard dimers. Since the collisions between dimers are dissipative, being characterized by a coefficient of restitution $\alpha<1$, and no external driving force is present, the energy of the system decreases in time and no stationary state is achieved. However, the resulting non equilibrium state of the system displays several interesting properties in close analogy with systems of inelastic hard spheres, whose relaxational dynamics has been thoroughly explored. We generalise to inelastic systems a recently method introduced [G.Ciccotti and G.Kalibaeva, J. Stat. Phys. {\bf 115}, 701 (2004)] to study the dynamics of rigid elastic bodies made up of different spheres hold together by rigid bonds. Each dimer consists of two hard disks of diameter $d$, whose centers are separated by a fixed distance $a$. By describing the rigid bonds by means of holonomic constraints and deriving the appropriate collision rules between dimers, we reduce the dynamics to a set of equations which can be solved by means of event driven simulation. After deriving the algorithm we study the decay of the total kinetic energy, and of the ratio between the rotational and the translational kinetic energy of inelastic dimers. We show numerically that the celebrated Haff's homogeneous cooling law $t^{-2}$, describing how the kinetic energy of an inelastic hard sphere system with constant coefficient of restitution decreases in time, holds even in the case of these non spherical particles. We fully characterize this homogeneous decay process in terms of appropriate decay constants and confirm numerically the scaling behavior of the velocity distributions.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures and 2 tables, submitted to JC

A homological interpretation of the transverse quiver Grassmannians

In recent articles, the investigation of atomic bases in cluster algebras associated to affine quivers led the second-named author to introduce a variety called transverse quiver Grassmannian and the first-named and third-named authors to consider the smooth loci of quiver Grassmannians. In this paper, we prove that, for any affine quiver Q, the transverse quiver Grassmannian of an indecomposable representation M is the set of points N in the quiver Grassmannian of M such that Ext^1(N,M/N)=0. As a corollary we prove that the transverse quiver Grassmannian coincides with the smooth locus of the irreducible components of minimal dimension in the quiver Grassmannian.Comment: final version, 7 pages, corollary 1.2 has been modifie