Present status of coupled-channels calculations for heavy-ion subbarrier fusion reactions

The coupled-channels method has been a standard tool in analyzing heavy-ion fusion reactions at energies around the Coulomb barrier. We investigate three simplifications usually adopted in the coupled-channels calculations. These are i) the exclusion of non-collective excitations, ii) the assumption of coordinate independent coupling strengths, and iii) the harmonic oscillator approximation for multi-phonon excitations. In connection to the last point, we propose a novel microscopic method based on the beyond-mean-field approach in order to take into account the anharmonic effects of collective vibrations.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures. A talk given at the 12th International Conference on Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions (NN2015), June 21-26, Catania, Ital

The XYZs of Charmonium at BES

This contribution reviews some recent developments in charmonium spectroscopy, and discusses related theoretical predictions. The spectrum of states, strong decays of states above open charm threshold, electromagnetic transitions, and issues related to the recent discoveries of the "XYZ" states are discussed. Contributions that BES can make to our understanding of charmonium and related states are stressed in particular.Comment: 5 pages, 1 eps figure. Invited contribution to the International Workshop on Tau-Charm Physics Charm2006 (5-7 June 2006, Beijing, China

Summary of Experimental Meson Physics

A summary of the present experimental status of meson physics is presented. The presentation includes the new results presented at the MESON06 workshop, as well as other recent experimental developments in the field.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, presented at 9th International Workshop on Meson Production, Properties and Interaction, Krakow, Poland, June 200

Nondecoupling of Heavy Fermions and a Special Yukawa Texture

Talk based on work entitled ``Yukawa textures, new physics and nondecoupling,'' done in collaboration with G. C. Branco and J. I. Silva-Marcos, arXiv:hep-ph/0612252, to appear in Phys. Rev. D. In this work we pointed out that New Physics can play an important r\^ ole in rescuing some of the Yukawa texture zero ans\" atze which would otherwise be eliminated by the recent, more precise measurements of $V_{CKM}$. We have shown that the presence of an isosinglet vector-like quark which mixes with standard quarks, can render viable a particularly interesting four texture zero Yukawa ansatz. The crucial point is the nondecoupling of the effects of the isosinglet quark, even for arbitrary large values of its mass.Comment: Invited talk at CTP Symposium on Supersymmetry at LHC: Theoretical and Experimental Prospectives, Cairo, Egypt, 11-14 Mar 200