Probing New Physics in Rare Charm Processes

The possibility of using the charm system to search for new physics is addressed. Phenomena such as $D^0-\bar D^0$ mixing and rare decays of charmed mesons are first examined in the Standard Model to test our present understanding and to serve as benchmarks for signals from new sources. The effects of new physics from various classes of non-standard dynamical models on $D^0-\bar D^0$ mixing are investigated.Comment: 5 pg (Presented at DPF'94, Albuquerque, NM, August, 1994), SLAC-PUB-667

Constraints on the Charged Higgs Sector from B Physics

We present the bounds that can be obtained on the charged Higgs sector in two-Higgs-Doublet Models from measurements at LEP of the decay $B\to D\tau\nu$, and from searches by CLEO for the inclusive decay $b\to s\gamma$.Comment: 4 pages (+ 3 figures, available by request), LaTex, ANL-HEP-CP-92-125, Presented at the 1992 Meeting of the DPF, Fermilab, November 199

Searching for New Physics with Charm

We consider the prospect of using the charm system as a laboratory for probing new physics. The theoretical expectations for rare charm meson decays, $D^0-bar D^0$ mixing, and charm quark asymmetries in $Z$ decays are examined in the Standard Model. The effects of new physics from several classes of non-standard dynamical models are summarized for these phenomena. {Presented at {\it Lafex International School on High Energy Physics (LISHEP95)}, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, February 6-22, 1995}Comment: 13 pages, LaTex file with worldsci and psfig. Figures included via uufile

K-band Imaging of strong CaII-absorber host galaxies at z~1

We present K-band imaging of fields around 30 strong CaII absorption line systems, at 0.7<z<1.1, three of which are confirmed Damped Lyman-alpha systems. A significant excess of galaxies is found within 6"0 (~50kpc) from the absorber line-of-sight. The excess galaxies are preferentially luminous compared to the population of field galaxies. A model in which field galaxies possess a luminosity-dependent cross-section for CaII absorption of the form (L/L*)^0.7 reproduces the observations well. The luminosity-dependent cross-section for the CaII absorbers appears to be significantly stronger than the established (L/L*)^0.4 dependence for MgII absorbers. The associated galaxies lie at large physical distances from the CaII-absorbing gas; we find a mean impact parameter of 24kpc (H0=70km\s\Mpc). Combined with the observed number density of CaII absorbers the large physical separations result in an inferred filling factor of only ~10 per cent. The physical origin of the strong CaII absorption remains unclear, possible explanations vary from very extended disks of the luminous galaxies to associated dwarf galaxy neighbours, remnants of outflows from the luminous galaxies, or tidal debris from cannibalism of smaller galaxies.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by MNRAS. Version with full resolution figures available at http://www.mpa-garching.mpg.de/~vwild/CaII/CaII_ukirt.pd

The pear-shaped fate of an ice melting front

A fluid-structure interaction problem with the melting of water around a heated horizontal circular cylinder is analysed with numerical simulations. Dynamic meshing was used for evolving the flow domain in time as the melting front extended radially outward from the cylinder; a node shuffle algorithm was used to retain mesh quality across the significant mesh deformation. We simulated one case above the density inversion point of water and one case below, yielding pear-shaped melting fronts due to thermal plumes either rising or falling from the cylinder, respectively. Results were compared with previous experimental studies and the melting front profiles matched reasonably well and melting rates were in agreement. We confirm that natural convection plays a significant role in the transport of energy as the melt zone increases, and needs to be considered for accurately modelling phase change under these conditions.Comment: Accepted for the 12th International Conference on CFD in Oil & Gas, Metallurgical and Process Industries. SINTEF, Trondheim, Norway. May 30th - June 1st, 201

Search for Scalar Leptoquarks with polarized protons (and neutrons) at HERA and future ep(n)ep(n) Machines

The effects of Scalar Leptoquarks in various channels have been analysed for the HERA collider and also for an eventual new $ep$ machine running at higher energies. We emphasize the relevance of polarized beams.Comment: Latex file, 3 pages and 3 ps fig. Need style files : twoside,fleqn,espcrc2,epsfig. To appear in the proceedings of the DIS99 Workshop, DESY-Zeuthen, Germany, April 199

Evidence for dust reddening in DLAs identified through CaII H&K absorption

We present a new sample of 31 CaII(H&K) 3935,3970 absorption line systems with 0.84<z_abs<1.3 discovered in the spectra of Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 3 quasars, together with an analysis of their dust content. The presence of Calcium absorption together with measurements of the MgII 2796, FeII 2600 and MgI 2853 lines lead to the conclusion that the majority of our systems are Damped Ly-alpha (DLA) absorbers. The composite spectrum in the rest frame of the absorber shows clear evidence for reddening. Large and Small Magellanic Cloud extinction curves provide satisfactory fits, with a best-fit E(B-V) of 0.06, while the Galactic dust extinction curve provides a poor fit due to the lack of a strong 2175A feature. A trend of increasing dust content with equivalent width of CaII is present. Monte Carlo techniques demonstrate that the detection of reddening is significant at >99.99% confidence. The discovery of significant amounts of dust in a subsample of DLAs has direct implications for studies of the metallicity evolution of the universe and the nature of DLAs in relation to high redshift galaxies. The gas:dust ratio is discussed. Our results suggest that at least ~40% of the CaII absorption systems are excluded from the magnitude-limited SDSS quasar sample as a result of the associated extinction, a fraction similar to the upper limit deduced at higher redshifts from radio-selected surveys.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, accepted MNRAS Letter