Induced Lorentz-violating terms at finite temperature

We study the radiatively induced Lorentz-violating terms at finite temperature, namely, the higher-derivative term and the Chern-Simons term. These terms are induced by integrating out the fermions coupled to the coefficient $g^{\kappa\mu\nu}$. The calculation of the resulting expressions is performed by using the derivative expansion and the Matsubara formalism. The Chern-Simons terms is nonzero only at finite temperature, whereas the higher-derivative term is finite at zero temperature, however, it goes to zero as the temperature grows to infinity. We also obtain a higher-derivative Chern-Simons term, nevertheless, it vanishes asymptotically.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, revtex4; v2: EPL versio

Phonon-assisted and phonon-free radiative transitions in sulfur-doped GaAs diffused junctions

In the course of electroluminescence studies of GaAs junctions we investigated the emission spectra of sulfur-doped zinc-diffused diodes. The peaks in the spectra correspond to three main transitions and their associated phonon emission satellites

Fisher matrix forecasts for astrophysical tests of the stability of the fine-structure constant

We use Fisher Matrix analysis techniques to forecast the cosmological impact of astrophysical tests of the stability of the fine-structure constant to be carried out by the forthcoming ESPRESSO spectrograph at the VLT (due for commissioning in late 2017), as well by the planned high-resolution spectrograph (currently in Phase A) for the European Extremely Large Telescope. Assuming a fiducial model without $\alpha$ variations, we show that ESPRESSO can improve current bounds on the E\"{o}tv\"{o}s parameter---which quantifies Weak Equivalence Principle violations---by up to two orders of magnitude, leading to stronger bounds than those expected from the ongoing tests with the MICROSCOPE satellite, while constraints from the E-ELT should be competitive with those of the proposed STEP satellite. Should an $\alpha$ variation be detected, these measurements will further constrain cosmological parameters, being particularly sensitive to the dynamics of dark energy.Comment: Phys. Lett. B (in press

Bounds on the electromagnetic interactions of excited spin-3/2 leptons

We discuss possible deviations from QED produced by a virtual excited spin-3/2 lepton in the reaction $e^+e^- \longrightarrow 2\gamma$. Data recorded by the OPAL Collaboration at a c.m. energy $\sqrt{s} = 183 GeV$ are used to establish bounds on the nonstandard-lepton mass and coupling strengths.Comment: Latex, 5 pages, 7 ps figures. To be published in Phys. Rev.