The Leptonic Decay Constants of Qˉq\bar{Q}q Mesons and the Lattice Resolution

We present a high statistics study of the leptonic decay constant $f_P$ of heavy pseudoscalar mesons using propagating heavy Wilson quarks within the quenched approximation, on lattices covering sizes from about 0.7~fm to 2~fm. Varying $\beta$ between 5.74 and 6.26 we observe a sizeable $a$ dependence of $f_P$ when one uses the quark field normalization that was suggested by Kronfeld and Mackenzie, compared with the weaker dependence observed for the standard relativistic norm. The two schemes come into agreement when one extrapolates to $a \rightarrow 0$. The extrapolations needed to reach the continuum quantity $f_B$ introduce large errors and lead to the value $f_B=0.18(5)$~GeV in the quenched approximation. This suggests that much more effort will be needed to obtain an accurate lattice prediction for $f_B$.Comment: 11 pages Latex + 5 tables + 8 postscript figures, unix shell archive, DESY preprint DESY 93-17

Membrane-Protein Interactions in a Generic Coarse-Grained Model for Lipid Bilayers

We study membrane-protein interactions and membrane-mediated protein-protein interactions by Monte Carlo simulations of a generic coarse-grained model for lipid bilayers with cylindrical hydrophobic inclusions. The strength of the hydrophobic force and the hydrophobic thickness of the proteins are systematically varied. The results are compared with analytical predictions of two popular analytical theories: The Landau-de Gennes theory and the elastic theory. The elastic theory provides an excellent description of the fluctuation spectra of pure membranes and successfully reproduces the deformation profiles of membranes around single proteins. However, its prediction for the potential of mean force between proteins is not compatible with the simulation data for large distances. The simulations show that the lipid-mediated interactions are governed by five competing factors: Direct interactions, lipid-induced depletion interactions, lipid bridging, lipid packing, and a smooth long-range contribution. The mechanisms leading to "hydrophobic mismatch" interactions are critically analyzed.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Biophysical Journa

An assessment of Evans' unified field theory I

Evans developed a classical unified field theory of gravitation and electromagnetism on the background of a spacetime obeying a Riemann-Cartan geometry. This geometry can be characterized by an orthonormal coframe theta and a (metric compatible) Lorentz connection Gamma. These two potentials yield the field strengths torsion T and curvature R. Evans tried to infuse electromagnetic properties into this geometrical framework by putting the coframe theta to be proportional to four extended electromagnetic potentials A; these are assumed to encompass the conventional Maxwellian potential in a suitable limit. The viable Einstein-Cartan(-Sciama-Kibble) theory of gravity was adopted by Evans to describe the gravitational sector of his theory. Including also the results of an accompanying paper by Obukhov and the author, we show that Evans' ansatz for electromagnetism is untenable beyond repair both from a geometrical as well as from a physical point of view. As a consequence, his unified theory is obsolete.Comment: 39 pages of latex, modified because of referee report, mistakes and typos removed, partly reformulated, taken care of M.W.Evans' rebutta

Beliefs regarding fundamental value and optimal investing

Investor beliefs, Mispricing, Optimal portfolios, Range reversion, Risk premium, G11,