New spectra in the HEIDI Higgs models

We study the so-called HEIDI models, which are renormalizable extensions of the standard model with a higher dimensional scalar singlet field. As an additional parameter we consider a higher-dimensional mixing mass parameter. This leads to enriched possibilities compared to a previous study. We find effective spectral densities of the Higgs propagator, consisting of one, two or no particle peaks, together with a continuum. We compare with the LEP-2 data and determine for which range of the model parameters the data can be described. Assuming two peaks to be present we find for the new mass scale \nu\approx 56\pm12 \gev, largely independent of the dimension. In the limiting case of $d\rightarrow 6$ and two peaks we find a higher dimensional coupling constant $\alpha_6=0.70 \pm 0.18$, indicative of strong interactions among the higher dimensional fields. The LHC will not be able to study this Higgs field.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figure

Bulk Scalar Stabilization of the Radion without Metric Back-Reaction in the Randall-Sundrum Model

Generalizations of the Randall-Sundrum model containing a bulk scalar field $\Phi$ interacting with the curvature $R$ through the general coupling $R f(\Phi)$ are considered. We derive the general form of the effective 4D potential for the spin-zero fields and show that in the mass matrix the radion mixes with the Kaluza-Klein modes of the bulk scalar fluctuations. We demonstrate that it is possible to choose a non-trivial background form $\Phi_0(y)$ (where $y$ is the extra dimension coordinate) for the bulk scalar field such that the exact Randall-Sundrum metric is preserved (i.e. such that there is no back-reaction). We compute the mass matrix for the radion and the KK modes of the excitations of the bulk scalar relative to the background configuration $\Phi_0(y)$ and find that the resulting mass matrix implies a non-zero value for the mass of the radion (identified as the state with the lowest eigenvalue of the scalar mass matrix). We find that this mass is suppressed relative to the Planck scale by the standard warp factor needed to explain the hierarchy puzzle, implying that a mass \sim 1\tev is a natural order of magnitude for the radion mass. The general considerations are illustrated in the case of a model containing an $R\Phi^2$ interaction term.Comment: 22 pages, 3 figure

Soft two-meson-exchange nucleon-nucleon potentials. II. One-pair and two-pair diagrams

Two-meson-exchange nucleon-nucleon potentials are derived where either one or both nucleons contains a pair vertex. Physically, the meson-pair vertices are meant to describe in an effective way (part of) the effects of heavy-meson exchange and meson-nucleon resonances. {}From the point of view of ``duality,'' these two kinds of contribution are roughly equivalent. The various possibilities for meson pairs coupling to the nucleon are inspired by the chiral-invariant phenomenological Lagrangians that have appeared in the literature. The coupling constants are fixed using the linear $\sigma$ model. We show that the inclusion of these two-meson exchanges gives a significant improvement over a potential model including only the standard one-boson exchanges.Comment: 21 pages RevTeX, 7 postscript figures; revised version as to appear in Phys. Rev.

On the pion-nucleon coupling constant

In view of persisting misunderstanding about the determination of the pion-nucleon coupling constants in the Nijmegen multienergy partial-wave analyses of pp, np, and pbar-p scattering data, we present additional information which may clarify several points of discussion. We comment on several recent papers addressing the issue of the pion-nucleon coupling constant and criticizing the Nijmegen analyses.Comment: 19 pages, Nijmegen preprint THEF-NYM-92-0

A stochastic model for heart rate fluctuations

Normal human heart rate shows complex fluctuations in time, which is natural, since heart rate is controlled by a large number of different feedback control loops. These unpredictable fluctuations have been shown to display fractal dynamics, long-term correlations, and 1/f noise. These characterizations are statistical and they have been widely studied and used, but much less is known about the detailed time evolution (dynamics) of the heart rate control mechanism. Here we show that a simple one-dimensional Langevin-type stochastic difference equation can accurately model the heart rate fluctuations in a time scale from minutes to hours. The model consists of a deterministic nonlinear part and a stochastic part typical to Gaussian noise, and both parts can be directly determined from the measured heart rate data. Studies of 27 healthy subjects reveal that in most cases the deterministic part has a form typically seen in bistable systems: there are two stable fixed points and one unstable one.Comment: 8 pages in PDF, Revtex style. Added more dat

Equation of State of Oscillating Brans-Dicke Scalar and Extra Dimensions

We consider a Brans-Dicke scalar field stabilized by a general power law potential with power index $n$ at a finite equilibrium value. Redshifting matter induces oscillations of the scalar field around its equilibrium due to the scalar field coupling to the trace of the energy momentum tensor. If the stabilizing potential is sufficiently steep these high frequency oscillations are consistent with observational and experimental constraints for arbitrary value of the Brans-Dicke parameter $\omega$. We study analytically and numerically the equation of state of these high frequency oscillations in terms of the parameters $\omega$ and $n$ and find the corresponding evolution of the universe scale factor. We find that the equation of state parameter can be negative and less than -1 but it is not related to the evolution of the scale factor in the usual way. Nevertheless, accelerating expansion is found for a certain parameter range. Our analysis applies also to oscillations of the size of extra dimensions (the radion field) around an equilibrium value. This duality between self-coupled Brans-Dicke and radion dynamics is applicable for $\omega= -1 + 1/D$ where D is the number of extra dimensions.Comment: 10 two-column pages, RevTex4, 8 figures. Added clarifying discussions, new references. Accepted in Phys. Rev. D (to appear

Spallation reactions. A successful interplay between modeling and applications

The spallation reactions are a type of nuclear reaction which occur in space by interaction of the cosmic rays with interstellar bodies. The first spallation reactions induced with an accelerator took place in 1947 at the Berkeley cyclotron (University of California) with 200 MeV deuterons and 400 MeV alpha beams. They highlighted the multiple emission of neutrons and charged particles and the production of a large number of residual nuclei far different from the target nuclei. The same year R. Serber describes the reaction in two steps: a first and fast one with high-energy particle emission leading to an excited remnant nucleus, and a second one, much slower, the de-excitation of the remnant. In 2010 IAEA organized a worskhop to present the results of the most widely used spallation codes within a benchmark of spallation models. If one of the goals was to understand the deficiencies, if any, in each code, one remarkable outcome points out the overall high-quality level of some models and so the great improvements achieved since Serber. Particle transport codes can then rely on such spallation models to treat the reactions between a light particle and an atomic nucleus with energies spanning from few tens of MeV up to some GeV. An overview of the spallation reactions modeling is presented in order to point out the incomparable contribution of models based on basic physics to numerous applications where such reactions occur. Validations or benchmarks, which are necessary steps in the improvement process, are also addressed, as well as the potential future domains of development. Spallation reactions modeling is a representative case of continuous studies aiming at understanding a reaction mechanism and which end up in a powerful tool.Comment: 59 pages, 54 figures, Revie

Role of N*(1650) in the near threshold pp --> p Lambda K+ and pp --> p Sigma0 K+ reactions

We investigate the pp --> p Lambda K+ and pp --> p Sigma0 K+ reactions at beam energies near their thresholds within an effective Lagrangian model, where the strangeness production proceeds via the excitation of N*(1650), N*(1710), and N*(1720) baryonic resonances. It is found that the $N^*$(1650) resonance dominates both these reactions at near threshold energies. The contributions from this resonance together with the final state interaction among the outgoing particles are able to explain the observed beam energy dependence of the ratio of the cross sections of the two reactions in the near threshold region.Comment: Revised version, Fig. 4 is updated with the revised data, to appear in Phys. Rev. C (Rapid Communications

Heavy quarkonium: progress, puzzles, and opportunities

A golden age for heavy quarkonium physics dawned a decade ago, initiated by the confluence of exciting advances in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and an explosion of related experimental activity. The early years of this period were chronicled in the Quarkonium Working Group (QWG) CERN Yellow Report (YR) in 2004, which presented a comprehensive review of the status of the field at that time and provided specific recommendations for further progress. However, the broad spectrum of subsequent breakthroughs, surprises, and continuing puzzles could only be partially anticipated. Since the release of the YR, the BESII program concluded only to give birth to BESIII; the $B$-factories and CLEO-c flourished; quarkonium production and polarization measurements at HERA and the Tevatron matured; and heavy-ion collisions at RHIC have opened a window on the deconfinement regime. All these experiments leave legacies of quality, precision, and unsolved mysteries for quarkonium physics, and therefore beg for continuing investigations. The plethora of newly-found quarkonium-like states unleashed a flood of theoretical investigations into new forms of matter such as quark-gluon hybrids, mesonic molecules, and tetraquarks. Measurements of the spectroscopy, decays, production, and in-medium behavior of c\bar{c}, b\bar{b}, and b\bar{c} bound states have been shown to validate some theoretical approaches to QCD and highlight lack of quantitative success for others. The intriguing details of quarkonium suppression in heavy-ion collisions that have emerged from RHIC have elevated the importance of separating hot- and cold-nuclear-matter effects in quark-gluon plasma studies. This review systematically addresses all these matters and concludes by prioritizing directions for ongoing and future efforts.Comment: 182 pages, 112 figures. Editors: N. Brambilla, S. Eidelman, B. K. Heltsley, R. Vogt. Section Coordinators: G. T. Bodwin, E. Eichten, A. D. Frawley, A. B. Meyer, R. E. Mitchell, V. Papadimitriou, P. Petreczky, A. A. Petrov, P. Robbe, A. Vair

Defect-mediated ferromagnetism in ZnO:Mn nanorods

In this work, the structural, chemical and magnetic properties of ZnO:Mn nanorods were investigated. Firstly, well-aligned ZnO nanorods with their long axis parallel to the crystalline c-axis were successfully grown by the vapor phase transport technique on Si substrates coated with a ZnO buffer layer. Mn metal was then diffused into these nanorods at different temperatures in vacuum. From SEM results, ZnO:Mn nanorods were observed to have diameters of ~100 nm and lengths of 4 µm. XPS analysis showed that the Mn dopant substituted into the ZnO matrix with a valence state of +2. Magnetic measurements performed at room temperature revealed that undoped ZnO nanorods exhibit ferromagnetic behavior which may be related to oxygen vacancy defect-mediated d0 ferromagnetism. ZnO:Mn samples were seen to show an excess room temperature ferromagnetism that is attributed to the presence of oxygen vacancy defects forming bound magnetic polarons involving Mn