1++1^{++} Nonet Singlet-Octet Mixing Angle, Strange Quark Mass, and Strange Quark Condensate

Two strategies are taken into account to determine the $f_1(1420)$-$f_1(1285)$ mixing angle $\theta$. (i) First, using the Gell-Mann-Okubo mass formula together with the $K_1(1270)$-$K_1(1400)$ mixing angle $\theta_{K_1}=(-34\pm 13)^\circ$ extracted from the data for ${\cal B}(B\to K_1(1270) \gamma), {\cal B}(B\to K_1(1400) \gamma), {\cal B}(\tau\to K_1(1270) \nu_\tau)$, and ${\cal B}(\tau\to K_1(1420) \nu_\tau)$, gave $\theta = (23^{+17}_{-23})^\circ$. (ii) Second, from the study of the ratio for $f_1(1285) \to \phi\gamma$ and $f_1(1285) \to \rho^0\gamma$ branching fractions, we have two-fold solution $\theta=(19.4^{+4.5}_{-4.6})^\circ$ or $(51.1^{+4.5}_{-4.6})^\circ$. Combining these two analyses, we thus obtain $\theta=(19.4^{+4.5}_{-4.6})^\circ$. We further compute the strange quark mass and strange quark condensate from the analysis of the $f_1(1420)-f_1(1285)$ mass difference QCD sum rule, where the operator-product-expansion series is up to dimension six and to ${\cal O}(\alpha_s^3, m_s^2 \alpha_s^2)$ accuracy. Using the average of the recent lattice results and the $\theta$ value that we have obtained as inputs, we get $/ =0.41 \pm 0.09$.Comment: 10 pages, 1 table, published versio

GPU-based simulations of fracture in idealized brick and mortar composites

Stiff ceramic platelets (or bricks) that are aligned and bonded to a second ductile phase with low volume fraction (mortar) are a promising pathway to produce stiff, high-toughness composites. For certain ranges of constituent properties, including those of some synthetic analogs to nacre, one can demonstrate that the deformation is dominated by relative brick motions. This paper describes simulations of fracture that explicitly track the motions of individual rigid bricks in an idealized microstructure; cohesive tractions acting between the bricks introduce elastic, plastic and rupture behaviors. Results are presented for the stresses and damage near macroscopic cracks with different brick orientations relative to the loading orientation. The anisotropic macroscopic initiation toughness is computed for small-scale yielding conditions and is shown to be independent of specimen geometry and loading configuration. The results are shown to be in agreement with previously published experiments on synthetic nacre

Impact of Subleading Corrections on Hadronic B Decays

We study the subleading corrections originating from the 3-parton (q\bar q g) Fock states of final-state mesons in B decays. The corrections could give significant contributions to decays involving an \omega or \eta^{(\prime)} in the final states. Our results indicate the similarity of \omega K and \omega \pi^- rates, of order 5\times 10^{-6}, consistent with the recent measurements. We obtain a_2(B\to J/\psi K)\approx 0.27+0.05i, in good agreement with data. Without resorting to the unknown singlet annihilation effects, 3-parton Fock state contributions can enhance the branching ratios of K\eta' to the level above 50\times 10^{-6}.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, revtex4; some typos corrected, a new figure and a reference added, more explanations for the calculation provided, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Pd/Cu Site Interchange and Non-Fermi-Liquid Behavior in UCu_4Pd

X-ray-absorption fine-structure measurements of the local structure in UCu_4Pd are described which indicate a probable lattice-disorder origin for non-Fermi-liquid behavior in this material. Short Pd-Cu distances are observed, consistent with 24 +/- 3% of the Pd atoms occupying nominally Cu sites. A "Kondo disorder" model, based on the effect on the local Kondo temperature T_K of this interchange and some additional bond-length disorder, agrees quantitatively with previous experimental susceptibility data, and therefore also with specific heat and magnetic resonance experiments.Comment: 4 pages, 3 PostScript figures, to be published in PR

Development of pair distribution function analysis

This is the final report of a 3-year LDRD project at LANL. It has become more and more evident that structural coherence in the CuO{sub 2} planes of high-{Tc} superconducting materials over some intermediate length scale (nm range) is important to superconductivity. In recent years, the pair distribution function (PDF) analysis of powder diffraction data has been developed for extracting structural information on these length scales. This project sought to expand and develop this technique, use it to analyze neutron powder diffraction data, and apply it to problems. In particular, interest is in the area of high-{Tc} superconductors, although we planned to extend the study to the closely related perovskite ferroelectric materials andother materials where the local structure affects the properties where detailed knowledge of the local and intermediate range structure is important. In addition, we planned to carry out single crystal experiments to look for diffuse scattering. This information augments the information from the PDF

Local lattice disorder in the geometrically-frustrated spin glass pyrochlore Y2Mo2O7

The geometrically-frustrated spin glass Y2Mo2O7 has been considered widely to be crystallographically ordered with a unique nearest neighbor magnetic exchange interaction, J. To test this assertion, we present x-ray-absorption fine-structure results for the Mo and Y K edges as a function of temperature and compare them to results from a well-ordered pyrochlore, Tl2Mn2O7. We find that the Mo-Mo pair distances are significantly disordered at approximately right angles to the Y-Mo pairs. These results strongly suggest that lattice disorder nucleates the spin-glass phase in this material.Comment: 9 pages, 2 Postscript figures, Phys. Rev. B: Rapid, in pres

Born Effective Charges of Barium Titanate: band by band decomposition and sensitivity to structural features

The Born effective charge tensors of Barium Titanate have been calculated for each of its 4 phases. Large effective charges of Ti and O, also predicted by shell model calculations and made plausible by a simplified model, reflect the partial covalent character of the chemical bond. A band by band decomposition confirms that orbital hybridization is not restricted to Ti and O atoms but also involves Ba which appears more covalent than generally assumed. Our calculations reveal a strong dependence of the effective charges on the atomic positions contrasting with a relative insensitivity on isotropic volume changes.Comment: 13 page

Indications for Factorization and ReVub<0Re V_{ub} < 0 from Rare B Decay Data

Surveying known hadronic rare B decays, we find that the factorization approximation can give a coherent account of $K\pi$, $\pi\pi$ and $\rho^0\pi^+$ data and give predictions for $\omega^0\pi^+$, $\rho\pi$ and $K^*\pi$ modes, {\it if ${Re}V_{ub}$ is taken as negative} (in standard phase convention) rather than positive. As further confirmation, we expect a lower $\sin2\beta$ value at B Factories as compared to current fits, and $B_s$ mixing close to LEP bounds at SLD and CDF.Comment: 11 pages, revtex, 4 figures (unchanged and eps files included); version (including title and abstract change) to appear in Phys. Rev. Let