89 research outputs found

    Asymptotic safety of simple Yukawa systems

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    We study the triviality and hierarchy problem of a Z_2-invariant Yukawa system with massless fermions and a real scalar field, serving as a toy model for the standard-model Higgs sector. Using the functional RG, we look for UV stable fixed points which could render the system asymptotically safe. Whether a balancing of fermionic and bosonic contributions in the RG flow induces such a fixed point depends on the algebraic structure and the degrees of freedom of the system. Within the region of parameter space which can be controlled by a nonperturbative next-to-leading order derivative expansion of the effective action, we find no non-Gaussian fixed point in the case of one or more fermion flavors. The fermion-boson balancing can still be demonstrated within a model system with a small fractional flavor number in the symmetry-broken regime. The UV behavior of this small-N_f system is controlled by a conformal Higgs expectation value. The system has only two physical parameters, implying that the Higgs mass can be predicted. It also naturally explains the heavy mass of the top quark, since there are no RG trajectories connecting the UV fixed point with light top masses.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, v2: references added, typos corrected, minor numerical correction

    Scalar Field Dark Matter

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    This work is a review of the last results of research on the Scalar Field Dark Matter model of the Universe at cosmological and at galactic level. We present the complete solution to the scalar field cosmological scenario in which the dark matter is modeled by a scalar field Φ\Phi with the scalar potential V(Φ)=V0(cosh(λκ0Φ)1)V(\Phi)=V_{0}(cosh {(\lambda \sqrt{\kappa_{0}}\Phi)}-1) and the dark energy is modeled by a scalar field Ψ\Psi, endowed with the scalar potential V~(Ψ)=V0~(sinh(ακ0Ψ))β\tilde{V}(\Psi)= \tilde{V_{0}}(\sinh{(\alpha \sqrt{\kappa_{0}}\Psi)})^{\beta}, which together compose the 95% of the total matter energy in the Universe. The model presents successfully deals with the up to date cosmological observations, and is a good candidate to treat the dark matter problem at the galactic level.Comment: 11 pagez, 5 figures, REVTeX. To appear in proceedings of the ``Mexican Meeting on Exact Solutions and Scalar Fields in Gravity '', in honour of Heinz Dehnen's 65th Birthday and Dietrich Kramer's 60th Birthday. Mexico D.F., Mexico, in press. More info at http://www.fis.cinvestav.mx/~siddh/PHI

    Recent Progress on Anomalous X-ray Pulsars

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    I review recent observational progress on Anomalous X-ray Pulsars, with an emphasis on timing, variability, and spectra. Highlighted results include the recent timing and flux stabilization of the notoriously unstable AXP 1E 1048.1-5937, the remarkable glitches seen in two AXPs, the newly recognized variety of AXP variability types, including outbursts, bursts, flares, and pulse profile changes, as well as recent discoveries regarding AXP spectra, including their surprising hard X-ray and far-infrared emission, as well as the pulsed radio emission seen in one source. Much has been learned about these enigmatic objects over the past few years, with the pace of discoveries remaining steady. However additional work on both observational and theoretical fronts is needed before we have a comprehensive understanding of AXPs and their place in the zoo of manifestations of young neutron stars.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures; to appear in proceedings of the conference "Isolated Neutron Stars: From the Interior to the Surface" eds. S. Zane, R. Turolla, D. Page; Astrophysics & Space Science in pres

    The Multiwavelength Approach to Unidentified Gamma-Ray Sources

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    As the highest-energy photons, gamma rays have an inherent interest to astrophysicists and particle physicists studying high-energy, nonthermal processes. Gamma-ray telescopes complement those at other wavelengths, especially radio, optical, and X-ray, providing the broad, mutiwavelength coverage that has become such a powerful aspect of modern astrophysics. Multiwavelength techniques of various types have been developed to help identify and explore unidentified gamma-ray sources. This overview summarizes the ideas behind several of these methods.Comment: Proceedings of the Conference "The Multiwavelength Approach to Unidentified Sources", to appear in the journal Astrophysics and Space Scienc

    Making Sense Through Participation

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    In this chapter we discuss the issue of social differences in relation to learning. In theories on co-operative learning or collaborative learning social differences are treated as characteristics of individual learners. The focus on learning as a social process is primarily elaborated in terms of interaction between pupils and the combined construction of knowledge. Sociocultural theory (Vygotsky, Lave & Wenger), however, understands ‘social’ not only in terms of knowledge/meaning being constructed in interaction with others, but also in terms of the cultural practices/activities informing these interaction processes. Learning can be understood as increasing participating in communities of practice. As social differences are an intrinsic part of the culture in which students are learning to participate, these are also an inherent aspect of learning processes in schools. Students learn to participate in practices in different ways, depending on their social position, and thus develop distinguished cultural identities. In this chapter we elaborate on this tenet, using examples from various empirical research projects on learning in secondary education. We not only show how social differences in the cultural practices that underpin learning influence what is learned by whom, but also explore the consequences of this perspective for the pedagogical space of the school
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