A new type of temperature driven reorientation transition in magnetic thin films

We present a new type of temperature driven spin reorientation transition (SRT) in thin films. It can occur when the lattice and the shape anisotropy favor different easy directions of the magnetization. Due to different temperature dependencies of the two contributions the effective anisotropy may change its sign and thus the direction of the magnetization as a function of temperature may change. Contrary to the well-known reorientation transition caused by competing surface and bulk anisotropy contributions the reorientation that we discuss is also found in film systems with a uniform lattice anisotropy. The results of our theoretical model study may have experimental relevance for film systems with positive lattice anisotropy, as e.g. thin iron films grown on copper.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in EPJ

Unexorcized ghost in DGP brane world

The braneworld model of Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati realizes the self-accelerating universe. However, it is known that this cosmological solution contains a spin-2 ghost. We study the possibility of avoiding the appearance of the ghost by slightly modifying the model, introducing the second brane. First we consider a simple model without stabilization of the separation of the brane. By changing the separation between the branes, we find we can erase the spin-2 ghost. However, this can be done only at the expense of the appearance of a spin-0 ghost instead. We discuss why these two different types of ghosts are correlated. Then, we examine a model with stabilization of the brane separation. Even in this case, we find that the correlation between spin-0 and spin-2 ghosts remains. As a result we find we cannot avoid the appearance of ghost by two-branes model.Comment: 19 pages, 1 figur

Analysis of the Neutralino System in Three--Body Leptonic Decays of Neutralinos

Neutralinos $\tilde{\chi}^0$ in supersymmetric theories, the spin--1/2 Majorana--type superpartners of the U(1) and SU(2) neutral electroweak gauge bosons and SU(2) neutral Higgs bosons, are expected to be among light supersymmetric particles so that they can be produced copiouslyvia direct pair production and/or from cascade decays of other sparticles such as sleptons at the planned Large Hadron Collider and the prospective International Linear Collider. Considering the prospects of having both highly polarized neutralinos and possibility of reconstructing their decay rest frames, we provide a systematic investigation of the three--body leptonic decays of the neutralinos in the minimal supersymmetric standard model and demonstrate alternative ways for probing the Majorana nature of the neutralinos and CP violation in the neutralino system.Comment: Version to appear in Eur.Phys.J.

On kaonic hydrogen. Quantum field theoretic and relativistic covariant approach

We study kaonic hydrogen, the bound K^-p state A_(Kp). Within a quantum field theoretic and relativistic covariant approach we derive the energy level displacement of the ground state of kaonic hydrogen in terms of the amplitude of K^-p scattering for arbitrary relative momenta. The amplitude of low-energy K^-p scattering near threshold is defined by the contributions of three resonances Lambda(1405), Lambda(1800) and Sigma^0(1750) and a smooth elastic background. The amplitudes of inelastic channels of low-energy K^-p scattering fit experimental data on near threshold behaviour of the cross sections and the experimental data by the DEAR Collaboration. We use the soft-pion technique (leading order in Chiral Perturbation Theory) for the calculation of the partial width of the radiative decay of pionic hydrogen A_(pi p) -> n + gamma and the Panofsky ratio. The theoretical prediction for the Panofsky ratio agrees well with experimental data. We apply the soft-kaon technique (leading order in Chiral Perturbation Theory) to the calculation of the partial widths of radiative decays of kaonic hydrogen A_(Kp) -> Lambda^0 + gamma and A_(Kp) -> Sigma^0 + gamma. We show that the contribution of these decays to the width of the energy level of the ground state of kaonic hydrogen is less than 1%.Comment: 33 pages, 1 figure, latex, References are adde

Equilibrium configurations of two charged masses in General Relativity

An asymptotically flat static solution of Einstein-Maxwell equations which describes the field of two non-extreme Reissner - Nordstr\"om sources in equilibrium is presented. It is expressed in terms of physical parameters of the sources (their masses, charges and separating distance). Very simple analytical forms were found for the solution as well as for the equilibrium condition which guarantees the absence of any struts on the symmetry axis. This condition shows that the equilibrium is not possible for two black holes or for two naked singularities. However, in the case when one of the sources is a black hole and another one is a naked singularity, the equilibrium is possible at some distance separating the sources. It is interesting that for appropriately chosen parameters even a Schwarzschild black hole together with a naked singularity can be "suspended" freely in the superposition of their fields.Comment: 4 pages; accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Genome-wide association study of lifetime cannabis use based on a large meta-analytic sample of 32330 subjects from the International Cannabis Consortium

Cannabis is the most widely produced and consumed illicit psychoactive substance worldwide. Occasional cannabis use can progress to frequent use, abuse and dependence with all known adverse physical, psychological and social consequences. Individual differences in cannabis initiation are heritable (40-48%). The International Cannabis Consortium was established with the aim to identify genetic risk variants of cannabis use. We conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association data of 13 cohorts (N=32 330) and four replication samples (N=5627). In addition, we performed a gene-based test of association, estimated single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based heritability and explored the genetic correlation between lifetime cannabis use and cigarette use using LD score regression. No individual SNPs reached genome-wide significance. Nonetheless, gene-based tests identified four genes significantly associated with lifetime cannabis use: NCAM1, CADM2, SCOC and KCNT2. Previous studies reported associations of NCAM1 with cigarette smoking and other substance use, and those of CADM2 with body mass index, processing speed and autism disorders, which are phenotypes previously reported to be associated with cannabis use. Furthermore, we showed that, combined across the genome, all common SNPs explained 13-20% (P&lt;0.001) of the liability of lifetime cannabis use. Finally, there was a strong genetic correlation (rg=0.83; P=1.85 × 10(-8)) between lifetime cannabis use and lifetime cigarette smoking implying that the SNP effect sizes of the two traits are highly correlated. This is the largest meta-analysis of cannabis GWA studies to date, revealing important new insights into the genetic pathways of lifetime cannabis use. Future functional studies should explore the impact of the identified genes on the biological mechanisms of cannabis use.</p

Identification of the TeV Gamma-ray Source ARGO J2031+4157 with the Cygnus Cocoon

The extended TeV gamma-ray source ARGO J2031+4157 (or MGRO J2031+41) is positionally consistent with the Cygnus Cocoon discovered by $Fermi$-LAT at GeV energies in the Cygnus superbubble. Reanalyzing the ARGO-YBJ data collected from November 2007 to January 2013, the angular extension and energy spectrum of ARGO J2031+4157 are evaluated. After subtracting the contribution of the overlapping TeV sources, the ARGO-YBJ excess map is fitted with a two-dimensional Gaussian function in a square region of $10^{\circ}\times 10^{\circ}$, finding a source extension $\sigma_{ext}$= 1$^{\circ}$.8$\pm$0$^{\circ}$.5. The observed differential energy spectrum is $dN/dE =(2.5\pm0.4) \times 10^{-11}(E/1 TeV)^{-2.6\pm0.3}$ photons cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ TeV$^{-1}$, in the energy range 0.2-10 TeV. The angular extension is consistent with that of the Cygnus Cocoon as measured by $Fermi$-LAT, and the spectrum also shows a good connection with the one measured in the 1-100 GeV energy range. These features suggest to identify ARGO J2031+4157 as the counterpart of the Cygnus Cocoon at TeV energies. The Cygnus Cocoon, located in the star-forming region of Cygnus X, is interpreted as a cocoon of freshly accelerated cosmic rays related to the Cygnus superbubble. The spectral similarity with Supernova Remnants indicates that the particle acceleration inside a superbubble is similar to that in a SNR. The spectral measurements from 1 GeV to 10 TeV allows for the first time to determine the possible spectrum slope of the underlying particle distribution. A hadronic model is adopted to explain the spectral energy distribution.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures, has been accepted by ApJ for publicatio

Experimental and numerical analysis of short sisal fiber-cement composites produced with recycled matrix

"Published online: 02 Jan 2017"The proper use of renewable or recycled source materials can contribute significantly to reducing the environmental impact of construction industry. In this work, cement based composites reinforced with natural fibers were developed and their mechanical behavior was characterized. To ensure the composite sustainability and durability, the ordinary Portland cement matrix was modified by adding metakaolin and the natural aggregate was substituted by 10% and 20% of recycled concrete aggregate. Compression and splitting tensile tests indicated that mechanical strength did not seem to be affected by recycled content. Flat sheets were cast in a self-compacted cement matrix and bending tests were performed to determine the first crack, postpeak strength and cracking behavior of the composites. The use of short sisal fiber as reinforcement of recycled cement matrices results in a composite with multiple cracking and increment of strength after first crack. The modeling of composites using finite element method allowed to determine the tensile stress-strain behavior of material and to design possible applications of this new sustainable material.This research was supported by CAPES (PVE Program: Project 047/2012) and CNPqinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio