Tau Lepton Physics: Theory Overview

The pure leptonic or semileptonic character of tau decays makes them a good laboratory to test the structure of the weak currents and the universality of their couplings to the gauge bosons. The hadronic tau decay modes constitute an ideal tool for studying low-energy effects of the strong interactions in very clean conditions; a well-known example is the precise determination of the QCD coupling from tau-decay data. New physics phenomena, such as a non-zero tau-neutrino mass or violations of (flavour / CP) conservation laws can also be searched for with tau decays.Comment: 20 pages, latex, 5 Postscript figures, uses espcrc2.sty, Invited Talk at the Fourth International Workshop on Tau Lepton Physics (TAU96), Colorado, September 199

Evaluation of α(MZ2)\alpha(M_{\rm Z}^2) and (g−2)μ(g-2)_\mu

This talk summarizes the recent developments in the evaluation of the leading order hadronic contributions to the running of the QED fine structure constant $\alpha(s)$, at $s=M_{\rm Z}^2$, and to the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon $(g-2)_\mu$. The accuracy of the theoretical prediction of these observables is limited by the uncertainties on the hadronic contributions. Significant improvement has been achieved in a series of new analyses which is presented historically in three steps: (I), use of $\tau$ spectral functions in addition to $e^+e^-$ cross sections, (II), extended use of perturbative QCD and (III), application of QCD sum rule techniques. The most precise values obtained are: $\Delta\alpha_{\rm had}(M_{\rm Z}^2)$, $=(276.3\pm1.6)\times10^{-4}$, yielding $\alpha^{-1}(M_{\rm Z}^2)=128.933\pm0.021$, and $a_\mu^{\rm had}=(692.4\pm6.2)\times 10^{-10}$ with which one finds for the complete Standard Model prediction $a_\mu^{\rm SM}=(11 659 159.6\pm6.7)\times10^{-10}$. For the electron $(g-2)_e$, the hadronic contribution is $a_e^{\rm had}=(187.5\pm1.8)\times 10^{-14}$.Comment: 13 page

Volcanic Flank Collapse, Secondary Sediment Failure and Flow‐Transition:Multi‐Stage Landslide Emplacement Offshore Montserrat, Lesser Antilles

Volcanic flank collapses, especially those in island settings, have generated some of the most voluminous mass transport deposits on Earth and can trigger devastating tsunamis. Reliable tsunami hazard assessments for flank collapse‐driven tsunamis require an understanding of the complex emplacement processes involved. The seafloor sequence southeast of Montserrat (Lesser Antilles) is a key site for the study of volcanic flank collapse emplacement processes that span subaerial to submarine environments. Here, we present new 2D and 3D seismic data as well as MeBo drill core data from one of the most extensive mass transport deposits offshore Montserrat, which exemplifies multi‐phase landslide deposition from volcanic islands. The deposits reveal emplacement in multiple stages including two blocky volcanic debris avalanches, secondary seafloor failure and a late‐stage erosive density current that carved channel‐like incisions into the hummocky surface of the deposit about 15 km from the source region. The highly erosive density current potentially originated from downslope‐acceleration of fine‐grained material that was suspended in the water column earlier during the slide. Late‐stage erosive turbidity currents may be a more common process following volcanic sector collapse than has been previously recognized, exerting a potentially important control on the observed deposit morphology as well as on the runout and the overall shape of the deposit

Sector collapse kinematics and tsunami implications - SEKT, Cruise No. M154/1, April 3 - April 25, 2019, Mindelo (Cape Verde) - Point-á-Pitre (Guadeloupe)

Summary Deep-seated collapses of volcanic islands have generated the largest volume mass flows worldwide. These mass flows might trigger mega-tsunamis. The way in which these collapse events are emplaced is poorly understood, even though this emplacement process determines the scale of associated tsunamis. Key questions such as whether they are emplaced in single or multiple events, how they may incorporate seafloor sediment to increase their volume, and how they are related to volcanic eruption cycles and migration of volcanic centers, remain to be answered. This project forms a part of the comprehensive study of large volcanic island landslide deposits and is directly linked to IODP drilling campaign in the Lesser Antilles (IODP Leg 340). Unfortunately, Leg 340 only recovered material from a single site within the volcanic landslide deposits off Montserrat, and even at this site, recovery was not continuous. This single IODP site is insufficient to document lateral variation in landslide character, which is critical for understanding how it was emplaced. The main scientific goals of this project are to determine where the landslides are sourced from; to understand how these landslides are emplaced; and to understand the relationship between landslides, eruption cycles and initiation of new volcanic centres. Combining 3D seismology (Leg 1) and MeBo cores (Leg 2) provides a unique dataset of the internal structure, composition and source of material throughout a volcanic island landslide. The results will significantly contribute to understanding the emplacement of volcanic island landslides and they will allow us to assess the associated tsunami risk

From gradual spreading to catastrophic collapse - Reconstruction of the 1888 Ritter Island volcanic sector collapse from high-resolution 3D seismic data

Volcanic island flank collapses have the potential to trigger devastating tsunamis threatening coastal communities and infrastructure. The 1888 sector collapse of Ritter Island, Papua New Guinea (in the following called Ritter) is the most voluminous volcanic island flank collapse in historic times. The associated tsunami had run-up heights of more than 20 m on the neighboring islands and reached settlements 600 km away from its source. This event provides an opportunity to advance our understanding of volcanic landslide-tsunami hazards. Here, we present a detailed reconstruction of the 1888 Ritter sector collapse based on high-resolution 2D and 3D seismic and bathymetric data covering the failed volcanic edifice and the associated mass-movement deposits. The 3D seismic data reveal that the catastrophic collapse of Ritter occurred in two phases: (1) Ritter was first affected by deep-seated, gradual spreading over a long time period, which is manifest in pronounced compressional deformation within the volcanic edifice and the adjacent seafloor sediments. A scoria cone at the foot of Ritter acted as a buttress, influencing the displacement and deformation of the western flank of the volcano and causing shearing within the volcanic edifice. (2) During the final, catastrophic phase of the collapse, about 2.4 km³ of Ritter disintegrated almost entirely and travelled as a highly energetic mass flow, which incised the underlying sediment. The irregular topography west of Ritter is a product of both compressional deformation and erosion. A crater-like depression underlying the recent volcanic cone and eyewitness accounts suggest that an explosion may have accompanied the catastrophic collapse. Our findings demonstrate that volcanic sector collapses may transform from slow gravitational deformation to catastrophic collapse. Understanding the processes involved in such a transformation is crucial for assessing the hazard potential of other volcanoes with slowly deforming flanks such as Mt. Etna or Kilauea

Correspondences in Arakelov geometry and applications to the case of Hecke operators on modular curves

In the context of arithmetic surfaces, Bost defined a generalized Arithmetic Chow Group (ACG) using the Sobolev space L^2_1. We study the behavior of these groups under pull-back and push-forward and we prove a projection formula. We use these results to define an action of the Hecke operators on the ACG of modular curves and to show that they are self-adjoint with respect to the arithmetic intersection product. The decomposition of the ACG in eigencomponents which follows allows us to define new numerical invariants, which are refined versions of the self-intersection of the dualizing sheaf. Using the Gross-Zagier formula and a calculation due independently to Bost and Kuehn we compute these invariants in terms of special values of L series. On the other hand, we obtain a proof of the fact that Hecke correspondences acting on the Jacobian of the modular curves are self-adjoint with respect to the N\'eron-Tate height pairing.Comment: 38 pages. Minor correction

P and T Odd Asymmetries in Lepton Flavor Violating Tau Decays

We calculated the differential cross sections of the processes in which one of the pair created tau particles at an e^+ e^- collider decays into lepton flavor violating final states e.g. tau -> mu gamma, tau -> 3 mu, tau -> mu ee. Using the correlations between angular distributions of both sides of tau decays, we can obtain information on parity and CP violations of lepton flavor non-conserving interactions. The formulae derived here are useful in distinguishing different models, since each model of physics beyond the standard model predicts different angular correlations. We also calculate angular distributions of the major background process to tau -> l gamma search, namely tau -> l nu \bar{\nu} gamma, and discuss usefulness of the angular correlation for background suppression.Comment: 31 pages, 5 figure