Leading logarithm calculation of the e^+ e^- -> e^+ \nu_e \bar{u} d cross section

We analytically evaluate in the leading logarithm approximation the differential cross section for e^+ e^- -> e^+ \nu_e \bar{u} d. We compare our order \alpha^4 \alpha_s^0 leading-log result to the order \alpha^4 \alpha_s^0 exact result obtained from the GRC4F Monte Carlo program. Finally we use the Gluck, Reya, Schienbien distribution of partons in a virtual photon, which incorporates both evolution and nonperturbative strong interaction contributions, to obtain better estimates of the differential cross section.Comment: 10 pages including 9 figure

GRACE at ONE-LOOP: Automatic calculation of 1-loop diagrams in the electroweak theory with gauge parameter independence checks

We describe the main building blocks of a generic automated package for the calculation of Feynman diagrams. These blocks include the generation and creation of a model file, the graph generation, the symbolic calculation at an intermediate level of the Dirac and tensor algebra, implementation of the loop integrals, the generation of the matrix elements or helicity amplitudes, methods for the phase space integrations and eventually the event generation. The report focuses on the fully automated systems for the calculation of physical processes based on the experience in developing GRACE-loop. As such, a detailed description of the renormalisation procedure in the Standard Model is given emphasizing the central role played by the non-linear gauge fixing conditions for the construction of such automated codes. The need for such gauges is better appreciated when it comes to devising efficient and powerful algorithms for the reduction of the tensorial structures of the loop integrals. A new technique for these reduction algorithms is described. Explicit formulae for all two-point functions in a generalised non-linear gauge are given, together with the complete set of counterterms. We also show how infrared divergences are dealt with in the system. We give a comprehensive presentation of some systematic test-runs which have been performed at the one-loop level for a wide variety of two-to-two processes to show the validity of the gauge check. These cover fermion-fermion scattering, gauge boson scattering into fermions, gauge bosons and Higgs bosons scattering processes. Comparisons with existing results on some one-loop computation in the Standard Model show excellent agreement. We also briefly recount some recent development concerning the calculation of mutli-leg one-loop corrections.Comment: 131 pages. Manuscript expanded quite substantially with the inclusion of an overview of automatic systems for the calculation of Feynman diagrams both at tree-level and one-loop. Other additions include issues of regularisation, width effects and renormalisation with unstable particles and reduction of 5- and 6-point functions. This is a preprint version, final version to appear as a Phys. Re

Geometrical, electronic and magnetic properties of Na0.5_{0.5}CoO2_2 from first principles

We report a first-principles projector augmented wave (PAW) study on Na$_{0.5}$CoO$_2$. With the sodium ion ordered insulating phase being identified in experiments, pure density functional calculations fail to predict an insulating ground state, which indicates that Na ordering alone can not produce accompanying Co charge ordering, if additional correlation is not properly considered. At this level of theory, the most stable phase presents ferromagnetic ordering within the CoO$_2$ layer and antiferromagnetic coupling between these layers. When the on-site Coulomb interaction for Co 3d orbitals is included by an additional Hubbard parameter $U$, charge ordered insulating ground state can be obtained. The effect of on-site interaction magnitude on electronic structure is studied. At a moderate value of $U$ (4.0 eV for example), the ground state is antiferromagnetic, with a Co$^{4+}$ magnetic moment about 1.0 $\mu_B$ and a magnetic energy of 0.12 eV/Co. The rehybridization process is also studied in the DFT+U point of view.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figure

Transport Properties of the One Dimensional Ferromagnetic Kondo Lattice Model : A Qualitative Approach to Oxide Manganites

The transport properties of the ferromagnetic Kondo lattice model in one dimension are studied via bosonization methods. The antiferromagnetic fluctuations, which normally appear because of the RKKY interactions, are explicitly taken into account as a direct exchange between the ``core'' spins. It is shown that in the paramagnetic regime with the local antiferromagnetic fluctuations, the resistivity decays exponentially as the temperature increases while in the ferromagnetic regime the system is an almost perfect conductor. %A non-perturbative description of localized spin polarons %in the paramagnetic region is obtained. The effect of a weak applied field is discussed to be reduced to the case of the ferromagnetic state leading to band splitting. The qualitative relevance of the results for the problem of the Oxide Manganites is emphasized.Comment: 4 pages, REVTe

Kondo Problem and Related One-Dimensional Quantum Systems: Bethe Ansatz Solution and Boundary Conformal Field Theory

We review some exact results on Kondo impurity systems derived from Bethe-ansatz solutions and boundary conformal field theory with particular emphasis on universal aspects of the phenomenon. The finite-size spectra characterizing the low-energy fixed point are computed from the Bethe-ansatz solutions of various models related to the Kondo problem. Using the finite-size scaling argument, we investigate their exact critical properties. We also discuss that a universal relation between the Kondo effect and the impurity effect in one-dimensional quantum systems usefully expedites our understanding of these different phenomena.Comment: 6 pages, no figure

Magnetoelectric effects in heavy-fermion superconductors without inversion symmetry

We investigate effects of strong electron correlation on magnetoelectric transport phenomena in noncentrosymmetric superconductors with particular emphasis on its application to the recently discovered heavy-fermion superconductor CePt$_3$Si. Taking into account electron correlation effects in a formally exact way, we obtain the expression of the magnetoelectric coefficient for the Zeeman-field-induced paramagnetic supercurrent, of which the existence was predicted more than a decade ago. It is found that in contrast to the usual Meissner current, which is much reduced by the mass renormalization factor in the heavy-fermion state, the paramagnetic supercurrent is not affected by the Fermi liquid effect. This result implies that the experimental observation of the magnetoelectric effect is more feasible in heavy-fermion systems than that in conventional metals with moderate effective mass.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, minor correction

Low-energy properties of two-dimensional quantum triangular antiferromagnets: Non-perturbative renormalization group approach

We explore low temperature properties of quantum triangular Heisenberg antiferromagnets in two dimension in the vicinity of the quantum phase transition at zero temperature. Using the effective field theory described by the $SO(3)\times SO(2)/SO(2)$ matrix Ginzburg-Landau-Wilson model and the non-perturbative renormalization group method, we clarify how quantum and thermal fluctuations affect long-wavelength behaviors in the parameter region where the systems exhibit a fluctuation-driven first order transition to a long-range ordered state. We show that at finite temperatures the crossover from a quantum $\phi^6$ theory to a renormalized two-dimensional classical nonlinear sigma model region appears, and in this crossover region, massless fluctuation modes with linear dispersion a la spin waves govern low-energy physics. Our results are in good agreement with the recent experimental observations for the two-dimensional triangular Heisenberg spin system, NiGa$_2$S$_4$.Comment: 14 pages,7 figures, version accepted for publication in Physical Review

ESCRT machinery mediates selective microautophagy of endoplasmic reticulum in yeast

ER-phagy, the selective autophagy of endoplasmic reticulum (ER), safeguards organelle homeostasis by eliminating misfolded proteins and regulating ER size. ER-phagy can occur by macroautophagic and microautophagic mechanisms. While dedicated machinery for macro-ER-phagy has been discovered, the molecules and mechanisms mediating micro-ER-phagy remain unknown. Here, we first show that micro-ER-phagy in yeast involves the conversion of stacked cisternal ER into multilamellar ER whorls during microautophagic uptake into lysosomes. Second, we identify the conserved Nem1-Spo7 phosphatase complex and the ESCRT machinery as key components for micro-ER-phagy. Third, we demonstrate that macro- and micro-ER-phagy are parallel pathways with distinct molecular requirements. Finally, we provide evidence that the ESCRT machinery directly functions in scission of the lysosomal membrane to complete the microautophagic uptake of ER. These findings establish a framework for a mechanistic understanding of micro-ER-phagy and, thus, a comprehensive appreciation of the role of autophagy in ER homeostasis

Lithium production on a low-mass secondary in a black hole soft X-ray transient

We examine production of Li on the surface of a low-mass secondary in a black hole soft X-ray transient (BHSXT) through the spallation of CNO nuclei by neutrons which are ejected from a hot (> 10 MeV) advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF) around the black hole. Using updated binary parameters, cross sections of neutron-induced spallation reactions, and mass accretion rates in ADAF derived from the spectrum fitting of multi-wavelength observations of quiescent BHSXTs, we obtain the equilibrium abundances of Li by equating the production rate of Li and the mass transfer rate through accretion to the black hole. The resulting abundances are found to be in good agreement with the observed values in seven BHSXTs. We note that the abundances vary in a timescale longer than a few months in our model. Moreover, the isotopic ratio Li6/Li7 is calculated to be about 0.7--0.8 on the secondaries, which is much higher than the ratio measured in meteorites. Detection of such a high value is favorable to the production of Li via spallation and the existence of a hot accretion flow, rather than an accretion disk corona system in quiescent BHSXT.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, and 2 tables, submitted to Astrophyscal Jounal Letter

Effect of Nonmagnetic Impurity in Nearly Antiferromagnetic Fermi Liquid: Magnetic Correlations and Transport Phenomena

In nearly antiferromagnetic (AF) metals such as high-Tc superconductors (HTSC's), a single nonmagnetic impurity frequently causes nontrivial widespread change of the electronic states. To elucidate this long-standing issue, we study a Hubbard model with a strong onsite impurity potential based on an improved fluctuation-exchange (FLEX) approximation, which we call the GV^I-FLEX method. This model corresponds to the HTSC with dilute nonmagnetic impurity concentration. We find that (i) both local and staggered susceptibilities are strongly enhanced around the impurity. By this reason, (ii) the quasiparticle lifetime as well as the local density of states (DOS) are strongly suppressed in a wide area around the impurity (like a Swiss cheese hole), which causes the ``huge residual resistivity'' beyond the s-wave unitary scattering limit. We stress that the excess quasiparticle damping rate caused by impurities has strong momentum-dependence due to non-s-wave scatterings induced by many-body effects, so the structure of the ``hot spot/cold spot'' in the host system persists against impurity doping. This result could be examined by the ARPES measurements. In addition, (iii) only a few percent of impurities can causes a ``Kondo-like'' upturn of resistivity ($d\rho/dT<0$) at low temperatures when the system is very close to the AF quantum critical point (QCP). The results (i)-(iii) obtained in the present study, which cannot be derived by the simple FLEX approximation, naturally explains the main impurity effects in HTSC's. We also discuss the impurity effect in heavy fermion systems and organic superconductors.Comment: 22 pages, to be published in PR