Point Charge Dynamics Near a Grounded Conducting Plane

The classic image problem in electromagnetism involves a grounded infinite conducting plane and a point charge. The force of attraction between the point charge and the plane is identified using an equivalent-field picture of an image charge with opposite sign equidistant behind the plane resulting in a 1/{\it r}$^{\rm 2}$ force of attraction between the original charge and the plane. If the point charge is released from rest it will reach the plane in a time $\tau$. This time $\tau$ has not been calculated correctly up to now. Clarification of the inconsistency is presented along with a correct solution to the classic image problem. Other electromagnetism problems are mentioned with attractive 1/{\it r}$^{\it n}$ forces (where {\it n} $\ge$ 1). Such situations arise between a point charge and a line charge (1/{\it r}), between a line charge and a point dipole (1/{\it r}$^{2}$), between a point charge and a point dipole (1/{\it r}$^{3})$, and between a point dipole and a second point dipole (1/{\it r}$^{4}$).Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Phi Meson Propagation and Decay at Finite Temperature

We study spectral properties of the phi meson at finite temperature using an effective Lagrangian together with finite-temperature field theory as a basis for modeling. General field-theoretic arguments are then used to establish the lifetime of the phi in hot hadronic matter. We find from the model, and we therefore propose a scenario in which, the phi decays inside the fireball. Early decays into $\mu^{+}\mu^{-}$ occur at high temperature while measurable hadronic decays into $K^{+}K^{-}$ (not suffering rescattering) occur at freezeout, where flow could be substantial. These results provide a consistent picture, if not possible interpretation of the NA49 and NA50 data from CERN.Comment: 7 pages, 3 postscript figures, Talk given at the 20th Winter Workshop on Nuclear Dynamics, Trelawny Beach, Jamaica, 15-20 March 200

Short-Lived Phi Mesons

We use effective hadronic field theory to study in-medium properties of the $\phi$ meson. The dominant decay channels \phi\toK^{+}K^{-} and $\phi\to\pi\rho$ are modeled using an SU(3) chiral Lagrangian with normal and abnormal parities. The $\phi$ self-energy is approximated to one-, two-, and even three-loop order in the strong coupling. Effects of modified spectral functions for $\pi$, $K$, $\rho$ and $\phi$ are also included in the calculation. This allows us to study in-medium decay of phi mesons into (in-medium) kaon-pair daughters and (in-medium) $\pi\rho$ pairs. The results point to the possibility of rather short-lived $\phi$'s, short enough to decay inside the fireball in relativistic heavy ion collisions. Implications relevant for the NA49 and NA50 experimental results, recently dubbed the ``$\phi$ puzzle'', are discussed.Comment: 7 pages Latex, 4 figures, Talk presented at Hot Quarks 2004, July 18-24, 2004, Taos Valley, NM, US