Flux dynamics and vortex phase diagram of the new superconductor MgB2MgB_2

Magnetic critical current density and relaxation rate have been measured on $MgB_2$ bulks from 1.6 K to $T_c$ at magnetic fields up to 8 Tesla. A vortex phase diagram is depicted based on these measurement. Two phase boundaries $H_{irr}^{bulk}(T)$ and $H_{irr}^{g}(T)$ characterizing different irreversible flux motions are found. The $H_{irr}^{bulk}(T)$ is characterized by the appearance of the linear resistivity and is attributed to quantum vortex melting induced by quantum fluctuation of vortices in the rather clean system. The second boundary $H_{irr}^g(T)$ reflects the irreversible flux motion in some local regions due to either very strong pinning or the surface barrier on the tiny grains.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

On the mechanisms of heavy-quarkonium hadroproduction

We discuss the various mechanisms potentially at work in hadroproduction of heavy quarkonia in the light of computations of higher-order QCD corrections both in the Colour-Singlet (CS) and Colour-Octet (CO) channels and the inclusion of the contribution arising from the s-channel cut in the CS channel. We also discuss new observables meant to better discriminate between these different mechanisms.Comment: Invited review talk at 3rd International Conference On Hard And Electromagnetic Probes Of High-Energy Nuclear Collisions (HP2008), 8-14 June 2008, Illa da Toxa, Galicia, Spain. 11 pages, 21 figures, LaTeX, uses svjour.cls and svepj.clo (included

Gauged motion in general relativity and in Kaluza-Klein theories

In a recent paper [1] a new generalization of the Killing motion, the {\it gauged motion}, has been introduced for stationary spacetimes where it was shown that the physical symmetries of such spacetimes are well described through this new symmetry. In this article after a more detailed study in the stationary case we present the definition of gauged motion for general spacetimes. The definition is based on the gauged Lie derivative induced by a threading family of observers and the relevant reparametrization invariance. We also extend the gauged motion to the case of Kaluza-Klein theories.Comment: 42 pages, revised version, typos correction along with some minor changes, Revtex forma

Exact Hypersurface-Homogeneous Solutions in Cosmology and Astrophysics

A framework is introduced which explains the existence and similarities of most exact solutions of the Einstein equations with a wide range of sources for the class of hypersurface-homogeneous spacetimes which admit a Hamiltonian formulation. This class includes the spatially homogeneous cosmological models and the astrophysically interesting static spherically symmetric models as well as the stationary cylindrically symmetric models. The framework involves methods for finding and exploiting hidden symmetries and invariant submanifolds of the Hamiltonian formulation of the field equations. It unifies, simplifies and extends most known work on hypersurface-homogeneous exact solutions. It is shown that the same framework is also relevant to gravitational theories with a similar structure, like Brans-Dicke or higher-dimensional theories.Comment: 41 pages, REVTEX/LaTeX 2.09 file (don't use LaTeX2e !!!) Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

PYTHIA 6.4 Physics and Manual

The PYTHIA program can be used to generate high-energy-physics `events', i.e. sets of outgoing particles produced in the interactions between two incoming particles. The objective is to provide as accurate as possible a representation of event properties in a wide range of reactions, within and beyond the Standard Model, with emphasis on those where strong interactions play a role, directly or indirectly, and therefore multihadronic final states are produced. The physics is then not understood well enough to give an exact description; instead the program has to be based on a combination of analytical results and various QCD-based models. This physics input is summarized here, for areas such as hard subprocesses, initial- and final-state parton showers, underlying events and beam remnants, fragmentation and decays, and much more. Furthermore, extensive information is provided on all program elements: subroutines and functions, switches and parameters, and particle and process data. This should allow the user to tailor the generation task to the topics of interest.Comment: 576 pages, no figures, uses JHEP3.cls. The code and further information may be found on the PYTHIA web page: http://www.thep.lu.se/~torbjorn/Pythia.html Changes in version 2: Mistakenly deleted section heading for "Physics Processes" reinserted, affecting section numbering. Minor updates to take into account referee comments and new colour reconnection option

Heavy quarkonium: progress, puzzles, and opportunities

A golden age for heavy quarkonium physics dawned a decade ago, initiated by the confluence of exciting advances in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and an explosion of related experimental activity. The early years of this period were chronicled in the Quarkonium Working Group (QWG) CERN Yellow Report (YR) in 2004, which presented a comprehensive review of the status of the field at that time and provided specific recommendations for further progress. However, the broad spectrum of subsequent breakthroughs, surprises, and continuing puzzles could only be partially anticipated. Since the release of the YR, the BESII program concluded only to give birth to BESIII; the $B$-factories and CLEO-c flourished; quarkonium production and polarization measurements at HERA and the Tevatron matured; and heavy-ion collisions at RHIC have opened a window on the deconfinement regime. All these experiments leave legacies of quality, precision, and unsolved mysteries for quarkonium physics, and therefore beg for continuing investigations. The plethora of newly-found quarkonium-like states unleashed a flood of theoretical investigations into new forms of matter such as quark-gluon hybrids, mesonic molecules, and tetraquarks. Measurements of the spectroscopy, decays, production, and in-medium behavior of c\bar{c}, b\bar{b}, and b\bar{c} bound states have been shown to validate some theoretical approaches to QCD and highlight lack of quantitative success for others. The intriguing details of quarkonium suppression in heavy-ion collisions that have emerged from RHIC have elevated the importance of separating hot- and cold-nuclear-matter effects in quark-gluon plasma studies. This review systematically addresses all these matters and concludes by prioritizing directions for ongoing and future efforts.Comment: 182 pages, 112 figures. Editors: N. Brambilla, S. Eidelman, B. K. Heltsley, R. Vogt. Section Coordinators: G. T. Bodwin, E. Eichten, A. D. Frawley, A. B. Meyer, R. E. Mitchell, V. Papadimitriou, P. Petreczky, A. A. Petrov, P. Robbe, A. Vair