Development and Verification of a Flight Stack for a High-Altitude Glider in Ada/SPARK 2014

SPARK 2014 is a modern programming language and a new state-of-the-art tool set for development and verification of high-integrity software. In this paper, we explore the capabilities and limitations of its latest version in the context of building a flight stack for a high-altitude unmanned glider. Towards that, we deliberately applied static analysis early and continuously during implementation, to give verification the possibility to steer the software design. In this process we have identified several limitations and pitfalls of software design and verification in SPARK, for which we give workarounds and protective actions to avoid them. Finally, we give design recommendations that have proven effective for verification, and summarize our experiences with this new language

Ultrasoft NLL Running of the Nonrelativistic O(v) QCD Quark Potential

Using the nonrelativistic effective field theory vNRQCD, we determine the contribution to the next-to-leading logarithmic (NLL) running of the effective quark-antiquark potential at order v (1/mk) from diagrams with one potential and two ultrasoft loops, v being the velocity of the quarks in the c.m. frame. The results are numerically important and complete the description of ultrasoft next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic (NNLL) order effects in heavy quark pair production and annihilation close to threshold.Comment: 25 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables; minor modifications, typos corrected, references added, footnote adde

Relativistic Coulomb Resummation in QCD

A relativistic Coulomb-like resummation factor in QCD is suggested, based on the solution of the quasipotential equation.Comment: 4 pages, 2 eps figures, REVTe

Top quark precision physics at the International Linear Collider

Top quark production in the process $e^+e^- \rightarrow t\bar{t}$ at a future linear electron positron collider with polarized beams is a powerful tool to determine the scale of new physics. Studies at the \ttbar threshold will allow for precise determination of the top quark mass in a well defined theoretical framework. At higher energies vector, axial vector and tensorial CP conserving couplings can be separately determined for the photon and the $Z^0$ component in the electro-weak production process. The sensitivity to new physics would be dramatically improved w.r.t. to what expected from LHC for electroweak couplings.Comment: White paper for Snowmass CSS 201