Late time evolution of brane gas cosmology and compact internal dimensions

We study the late-time behavior of a universe in the framework of brane gas cosmology. We investigate the evolution of a universe with a gas of supergravity particles and a gas of branes. Considering the case when different dimensions are anisotropically wrapped by various branes, we have derived Friedman-like equations governing the dynamics of wrapped and unwrapped subvolumes. We point out that the compact internal dimensions are wrapped by three or higher dimensional branes.Comment: 16 pages, typos, references, comment on the possibility of stabilizing the internal dimensions with fluxe

Electromagnetic production of vector mesons at low energies

We have investigated exclusive photoproduction of light vector mesons ($\omega$, $\rho$ and $\phi$) on the nucleon at low energies. In order to explore the questions concerning the so-called missing nucleon resonances, we first establish the predictions from a model based on the Pomeron and meson exchange mechanisms. We have also explored the contributions due to the mechanisms involving $s$- and $u$-channel intermediate nucleon state. Some discrepancies found at the energies near threshold and large scattering angles suggest a possibility of using this reaction to identify the nucleon resonances.Comment: 9 pages, LaTeX with sprocl.sty, 5 figures (11 eps files), Talk presented at the NSTAR2000 Workshop, The Physics of Excited Nucleons, Jefferson Lab., Newport News, Feb. 16-19, 200

Higher and missing resonances in omega photoproduction

We study the role of the nucleon resonances ($N^*$) in $\omega$ photoproduction by using the quark model resonance parameters predicted by Capstick and Roberts. The employed $\gamma N \to N^*$ and $N^* \to \omega N$ amplitudes include the configuration mixing effects due to the residual quark-quark interactions. The contributions from the nucleon resonances are found to be important in the differential cross sections at large scattering angles and various spin observables. In particular, the parity asymmetry and beam-target double asymmetry at forward scattering angles are suggested for a crucial test of our predictions. The dominant contributions are found to be from $N\frac32^+ (1910)$, a missing resonance, and $N\frac32^- (1960)$ which is identified as the $D_{13}(2080)$ of the Particle Data Group.Comment: 8 pages, LaTeX with ws-p8-50x6-00.cls, 4 figures (5 eps files), Talk presented at the NSTAR2001 Workshop on the Physics of Excited Nucleons, Mainz, Germany, Mar. 7-10, 200

The Technicolor Higgs in the Light of LHC Data

We consider scenarios in which the 125 GeV resonance observed at the Large Hadron Collider is a Technicolor (TC) isosinglet scalar, the TC Higgs. By comparison with quantum chromodynamics, we argue that the couplings of the TC Higgs to the massive weak bosons are very close to the Standard Model (SM) values. The couplings to photons and gluons are model-dependent, but close to the SM values in several TC theories. The couplings of the TC Higgs to SM fermions are due to interactions beyond TC, such as Extended Technicolor: if such interactions successfully generate mass for the SM fermions, we argue that the couplings of the latter to the TC Higgs are also SM-like. We suggest a generic parameterization of the TC Higgs interactions with SM particles that accommodates a large class of TC models, and we perform a fit of these parameters to the Higgs LHC data. The fit reveals regions of parameter space where the form factors are of order unity and consistent with data at the 95% CL, in agreement with expectations in TC theories. This indicates that the discovered Higgs boson is consistent with the TC Higgs hypothesis for several TC theories.Comment: 26 pages, 8 figure

Spectroscopic Binary Mass Determination using Relativity

High-precision radial-velocity techniques, which enabled the detection of extrasolar planets are now sensitive to relativistic effects in the data of spectroscopic binary stars (SBs). We show how these effects can be used to derive the absolute masses of the components of eclipsing single-lined SBs and double-lined SBs from Doppler measurements alone. High-precision stellar spectroscopy can thus substantially increase the number of measured stellar masses, thereby improving the mass-radius and mass-luminosity calibrations.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication by the Astrophysical Journal Letter

Sterile neutrinos, dark matter, and the pulsar velocities in models with a Higgs singlet

We identify the range of parameters for which the sterile neutrinos can simultaneously explain the cosmological dark matter and the observed velocities of pulsars. To satisfy all cosmological bounds, the relic sterile neutrinos must be produced sufficiently cold. This is possible in a class of models with a gauge-singlet Higgs boson coupled to the neutrinos. Sterile dark matter can be detected by the x-ray telescopes. The presence of the singlet in the Higgs sector can be tested at the Large Hadron Collider.Comment: 4 pages, one figur