17,674 research outputs found
Vevacious: A Tool For Finding The Global Minima Of One-Loop Effective Potentials With Many Scalars
Several extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics contain
additional scalars implying a more complex scalar potential compared to that of
the Standard Model. In general these potentials allow for charge and/or color
breaking minima besides the desired one with correctly broken SU(2)_L times
U(1)_Y . Even if one assumes that a metastable local minimum is realized, one
has to ensure that its lifetime exceeds that of our universe. We introduce a
new program called Vevacious which takes a generic expression for a one-loop
effective potential energy function and finds all the tree-level extrema, which
are then used as the starting points for gradient-based minimization of the
one-loop effective potential. The tunneling time from a given input vacuum to
the deepest minimum, if different from the input vacuum, can be calculated. The
parameter points are given as files in the SLHA format (though is not
restricted to supersymmetric models), and new model files can be easily
generated automatically by the Mathematica package SARAH. This code uses
HOM4PS2 to find all the minima of the tree-level potential, PyMinuit to follow
gradients to the minima of the one-loop potential, and CosmoTransitions to
calculate tunneling times.Comment: 44 pages, 1 figure, manual for publicly available software, v2
corresponds to version accepted for publication in EPJC [clearer explanation
of scale dependence and region of validity, explicit mention that SLHA files
should have blocks matching those expected by model files, updated
references
Decoherence induced by an interacting spin environment in the transition from integrability to chaos
We investigate the decoherence properties of a central system composed of two
spins 1/2 in contact with a spin bath. The dynamical regime of the bath ranges
from a fully integrable integrable limit to complete chaoticity. We show that
the dynamical regime of the bath determines the efficiency of the decoherence
process. For perturbative regimes, the integrable limit provides stronger
decoherence, while in the strong coupling regime the chaotic limit becomes more
efficient. We also show that the decoherence time behaves in a similar way. On
the contrary, the rate of decay of magnitudes like linear entropy or fidelity
does not depend on the dynamical regime of the bath. We interpret the latter
results as due to a comparable complexity of the Hamiltonian for both the
integrable and the fully chaotic limits.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Constraining the Natural MSSM through tunneling to color-breaking vacua at zero and non-zero temperature
We re-evaluate the constraints on the parameter space of the minimal
supersymmetric standard model from tunneling to charge- and/or color-breaking
minima, taking into account thermal corrections. We pay particular attention to
the region known as the Natural MSSM, where the masses of the scalar partners
of the top quarks are within an order of magnitude or so of the electroweak
scale. These constraints arise from the interaction between these scalar tops
and the Higgs fields, which allows the possibility of parameter points having
deep charge- and color-breaking true vacua. In addition to requiring that our
electro-weak-symmetry-breaking, yet QCD- and electromagnetism-preserving vacuum
has a sufficiently long lifetime at zero temperature, also demanding stability
against thermal tunneling further restricts the allowed parameter space.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, software available from
http://vevacious.hepforge.org/ - version 2 matches that accepted for
publication in Phys. Lett.
Frequency and damping evolution during experimental seismic response of civil engineering structures
The results of the seismic tests on several reinforced-concrete shear walls and a four-storey frame are analysed in this paper. Each specimen was submitted to the action of a horizontal accelerogram, with successive growing amplitudes, using the pseudodynamic method. An analysis of the results allows knowing the evolution of the eigen frequency and damping ratio during the earthquakes thanks to an identification method working in the time domain. The method is formulated as a spatial model in which the stiffness and damping matrices are directly identified from the experimental displacements, velocities and restoring forces. The obtained matrices are then combined with the theoretical mass in order to obtain the eigen frequencies, damping ratios and modes. Those parameters have a great relevance for the design of this type of structures
Long-range ferromagnetism of Mn12 acetate single-molecule magnets under a transverse magnetic field
We use neutron diffraction to probe the magnetization components of a crystal
of Mn12 single-molecule magnets. Each of these molecules behaves, at low
temperatures, as a nanomagnet with spin S = 10 and strong anisotropy along the
crystallographic c axis. Application of a magnetic field perpendicular to c
induces quantum tunneling between opposite spin orientations, enabling the
spins to attain thermal equilibrium. Below approximately 0.9 K, intermolecular
interactions turn this equilibrium state into a ferromagnetically ordered
phase. However, long range ferromagnetic correlations nearly disappear for
fields larger 5.5 T, possibly suggesting the existence of a quantum critical
point.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
The thickness of a liquid layer on the free surface of ice as obtained from computer simulation
Molecular dynamic simulations were performed for ice Ih with a free surface
by using four water models, SPC/E, TIP4P, TIP4P/Ice and TIP4P/2005. The
behavior of the basal plane, the primary prismatic plane and of the secondary
prismatic plane when exposed to vacuum was analyzed. We observe the formation
of a thin liquid layer at the ice surface at temperatures below the melting
point for all models and the three planes considered. For a given plane it was
found that the thickness of a liquid layer was similar for different water
models, when the comparison is made at the same undercooling with respect to
the melting point of the model. The liquid layer thickness is found to increase
with temperature. For a fixed temperature it was found that the thickness of
the liquid layer decreases in the following order: the basal plane, the primary
prismatic plane, and the secondary prismatic plane. For the TIP4P/Ice model, a
model reproducing the experimental value of the melting temperature of ice, the
first clear indication of the formation of a liquid layer appears at about -100
Celsius for the basal plane, at about -80 Celsius for the primary prismatic
plane and at about -70 Celsius for the secondary prismatic plane.Comment: 41 pages and 13 figure
Effect of Glass Fiber Hybridization on the Behavior Under Impact of Woven Carbon Fiber/Epoxy Laminates
The low-velocity impact behavior was studied in hybrid laminates manufactured by RTM with woven carbon and glass (S2) fabrics. Specimens with different thicknesses and glass fiber content (from 0 to 21 vol.%) were tested with impact energies in the range 30–245 J and the resulting deformation and fracture micromechanisms were studied using X-ray microtomography. The results of these analyses, together with those of the impact tests (maximum load and energy absorbed), were used to elucidate the role played by glass fiber hybridization on the fracture micromechanisms and on the overall laminate performance under low-velocity impact
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