Coulomb exchange and pairing contributions in nuclear Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov calculations with the Gogny force

We present exact Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov calculations with the finite range density dependent Gogny force using a triaxial basis. For the first time, all contributions to the Pairing and Fock Fields arising from the Gogny and Coulomb interactions as well as the two-body correction of the kinetic energy have been calculated in this basis. We analyze the relevance of these terms in different regions of the periodic table at zero and high angular momentum. The validity of commonly used approximations that neglect different terms in the variational equations is also checked. We find a decrease of the proton pairing energies mainly due to a Coulomb antipairing effect.Comment: 32 pages, 12 figures. In press in Nucl. Physics

Thermal shape fluctuation effects in the description of hot nuclei

The behavior of several nuclear properties with temperature is analyzed within the framework of the Finite Temperature Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (FTHFB) theory with the Gogny force and large configuration spaces. Thermal shape fluctuations in the quadrupole degree of freedom, around the mean field solution, are taken into account with the Landau prescription. As representative examples the nuclei $^{164}$Er, $^{152}$Dy and $^{192}$Hg are studied. Numerical results for the superfluid to normal and deformed to spherical shape transitions are presented. We found a substantial effect of the fluctuations on the average value of several observables. In particular, we get a decrease in the critical temperature ($T_c$) for the shape transition as compared with the plain FTHFB prediction as well as a washing out of the shape transition signatures. The new values of $T_c$ are closer to the ones found in Strutinsky calculations and with the Pairing Plus Quadrupole model Hamiltonian.Comment: 17 pages, 8 Figure

Approximate particle number projection with density dependent forces: Superdeformed bands in the A=150 and A=190 regions

We derive the equations for approximate particle number projection based on mean field wave functions with finite range density dependent forces. As an application ground bands of even-A superdeformed nuclei in the A=150 and A=190 regions are calculated with the Gogny force. We discuss nuclear properties such as quadrupole moments, moments of inertia and quasiparticle spectra, among others, as a function of the angular momentum. We obtain a good overall description.Comment: 31 pages, 10 figures, 3 appendices. In press in Nucl. Phy

Approximate particle number projection for finite range density dependent forces

The Lipkin-Nogami method is generalized to deal with finite range density dependent forces. New expressions are derived and realistic calculations with the Gogny force are performed for the nuclei $^{164}$Er and $^{168}$Er. The sharp phase transition predicted by the mean field approximation is washed out by the Lipkin-Nogami approach; a much better agreement with the experimental data is reached with the new approach than with the Hartree-Fock_Bogoliubov one, specially at high spins.Comment: 5 pages, RevTeX 3.0, 3 postscript figures included using uufiles. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Remarks on the Causality, Unitarity and Supersymmetric Extension of the Lorentz and CPT-Violating Maxwell-Chern-Simons Model

The gauge-invariant Chern-Simons-type Lorentz- and CPT-breaking term is here re-assessed and issues like causality, unitarity, spontaneous gauge-symmetry breaking are investigated. Moreover, we obtain a minimal extension of such a system to a supersymmetric environment. We comment on resulting peculiar self-couplings for the gauge sector, as well as on background contribution for gaugino masses.Comment: 5 pages, NPB style, talk presented at "Renormalization Group and Anomalies in Gravity and Cosmology", Ouro Preto, Brazil, March 200

Thermally assisted magnetization reversal in the presence of a spin-transfer torque

We propose a generalized stochastic Landau-Lifshitz equation and its corresponding Fokker-Planck equation for the magnetization dynamics in the presence of spin transfer torques. Since the spin transfer torque can pump a magnetic energy into the magnetic system, the equilibrium temperature of the magnetic system is ill-defined. We introduce an effective temperature based on a stationary solution of the Fokker-Planck equation. In the limit of high energy barriers, the law of thermal agitation is derived. We find that the N\'{e}el-Brown relaxation formula remains valid as long as we replace the temperature by an effective one that is linearly dependent of the spin torque. We carry out the numerical integration of the stochastic Landau-Lifshitz equation to support our theory. Our results agree with existing experimental data.Comment: 5 figure

Electroweak Precision Constraints on the Littlest Higgs Model with T Parity

We compute the leading corrections to the properties of W and Z bosons induced at the one-loop level in the SU(5)/SO(5) Littlest Higgs model with T parity, and perform a global fit to precision electroweak data to determine the constraints on the model parameters. We find that a large part of the model parameter space is consistent with data. Values of the symmetry breaking scale as low as 500 GeV are allowed, indicating that no significant fine tuning in the Higgs potential is required. We identify a region within the allowed parameter space in which the lightest T-odd particle, the partner of the hypercharge gauge boson, has the correct relic abundance to play the role of dark matter. In addition, we find that a consistent fit to data can be obtained for large values of the Higgs mass, up to 800 GeV, due to the possibility of a partial cancellation between the contributions to the T parameter from Higgs loops and new physics.Comment: 23 pages, 9 figures. Minor correction

Constraints on the pMSSM from LAT Observations of Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies

We examine the ability for the Large Area Telescope (LAT) to constrain Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) dark matter through a combined analysis of Milky Way dwarf spheroidal galaxies. We examine the Lightest Supersymmetric Particles (LSPs) for a set of ~71k experimentally valid supersymmetric models derived from the phenomenological-MSSM (pMSSM). We find that none of these models can be excluded at 95% confidence by the current analysis; nevertheless, many lie within the predicted reach of future LAT analyses. With two years of data, we find that the LAT is currently most sensitive to light LSPs (m_LSP < 50 GeV) annihilating into tau-pairs and heavier LSPs annihilating into b-bbar. Additionally, we find that future LAT analyses will be able to probe some LSPs that form a sub-dominant component of dark matter. We directly compare the LAT results to direct detection experiments and show the complementarity of these search methods.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figures, submitted to JCA

Quasilinear hyperbolic Fuchsian systems and AVTD behavior in T2-symmetric vacuum spacetimes

We set up the singular initial value problem for quasilinear hyperbolic Fuchsian systems of first order and establish an existence and uniqueness theory for this problem with smooth data and smooth coefficients (and with even lower regularity). We apply this theory in order to show the existence of smooth (generally not analytic) T2-symmetric solutions to the vacuum Einstein equations, which exhibit AVTD (asymptotically velocity term dominated) behavior in the neighborhood of their singularities and are polarized or half-polarized.Comment: 78 page