Tests of non-standard electroweak couplings of right-handed quarks

The standard model can be interpreted as the leading order of a Low-Energy Effective Theory (LEET) invariant under a higher non linearly realized symmetry $S_{nat}\supset SU(2)_W \times U(1)_Y$ equipped with a systematic power counting. Within the minimal version of this ``not quite decoupling'' LEET, the dominant non-standard effect appears at next-to-leading order (NLO) and is a modification of the couplings of fermions to W and Z. In particular, the coupling of right-handed quarks to Z is modified and a direct coupling of right-handed quarks to W emerges. Charged right-handed lepton currents are forbidden by an additional discrete symmetry in the lepton sector originally designed to suppress Dirac neutrino masses. A complete NLO analysis of experimental constraints on these modified couplings is presented. Concerning couplings of light quarks, the interface of the electroweak tests with QCD aspects is discussed in detail.Comment: 56 pages, 14 figures, v2: references added, minor modifications in the text, accepted for publication in JHE

Lie-Poisson Deformation of the Poincar\'e Algebra

We find a one parameter family of quadratic Poisson structures on ${\bf R}^4\times SL(2,C)$ which satisfies the property {\it a)} that it is preserved under the Lie-Poisson action of the Lorentz group, as well as {\it b)} that it reduces to the standard Poincar\'e algebra for a particular limiting value of the parameter. (The Lie-Poisson transformations reduce to canonical ones in that limit, which we therefore refer to as the `canonical limit'.) Like with the Poincar\'e algebra, our deformed Poincar\'e algebra has two Casimir functions which we associate with `mass' and `spin'. We parametrize the symplectic leaves of ${\bf R}^4\times SL(2,C)$ with space-time coordinates, momenta and spin, thereby obtaining realizations of the deformed algebra for the cases of a spinless and a spinning particle. The formalism can be applied for finding a one parameter family of canonically inequivalent descriptions of the photon.Comment: Latex file, 26 page

Kondo insulator SmB6 under strain: surface dominated conduction near room temperature

SmB6 is a strongly correlated mixed-valence Kondo insulator with a newly discovered surface state, proposed to be of non-trivial topological origin. However, the surface state dominates electrical conduction only below T* ~ 4 K limiting its scientific investigation and device application. Here, we report the enhancement of T * in SmB6 under the application of tensile strain. With 0.7% tensile strain we report surface dominated conduction at up to a temperature of 240 K, persisting even after the strain has been removed. This can be explained in the framework of strain-tuned temporal and spatial fluctuations of f-electron configurations, which might be generally applied to other mixed-valence materials. We note that this amount of strain can be indued in epitaxial SmB6 films via substrate in potential device applications.Comment: to appear in Nature Material

Radio Frequency Tunable Oscillator Device Based on SmB6 Microcrystal

Radio frequency tunable oscillators are vital electronic components for signal generation, characterization, and processing. They are often constructed with a resonant circuit and a 'negative' resistor, such as a Gunn-diode, involving complex structure and large footprints. Here we report that a piece of SmB6, 100 micron in size, works as a current-controlled oscillator in the 30 MHz frequency range. SmB6 is a strongly correlated Kondo insulator that was recently found to have a robust surface state likely to be protected by the topology of its electronics structure. We exploit its non-linear dynamics, and demonstrate large AC voltage outputs with frequencies from 20 Hz to 30 MHz by adjusting a small DC bias current. The behaviors of these oscillators agree well with a theoretical model describing the thermal and electronic dynamics of coupled surface and bulk states. With reduced crystal size we anticipate the device to work at higher frequencies, even in the THz regime. This type of oscillator might be realized in other materials with a metallic surface and a semiconducting bulk.Comment: v3 to appear in Physical Review Letter

Lorentz Transformations as Lie-Poisson Symmetries

We write down the Poisson structure for a relativistic particle where the Lorentz group does not act canonically, but instead as a Poisson-Lie group. In so doing we obtain the classical limit of a particle moving on a noncommutative space possessing $SL_q(2,C)$ invariance. We show that if the standard mass shell constraint is chosen for the Hamiltonian function, then the particle interacts with the space-time. We solve for the trajectory and find that it originates and terminates at singularities.Comment: 18 page

Detecting Non-Abelian Statistics in the nu=5/2 Fractional Quantum Hall State

In this letter we propose an interferometric experiment to detect non-Abelian quasiparticle statistics -- one of the hallmark characteristics of the Moore-Read state expected to describe the observed FQHE plateau at nu=5/2. The implications for using this state for constructing a topologically protected qubit as has been recently proposed by Das Sarma et. al. are also addressed.Comment: 5 pages, 2 eps figures v2: A few minor changes and citation corrections. In particular, the connection to cond-mat/9711087 has been clarified. v3: Minor changes: fixed references to Fig. 2, updated citations, changed a few words to conform to the version published in PR

Big bang nucleosynthesis as a probe of fundamental "constants"

Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) is the earliest sensitive probe of the values of many fundamental particle physics parameters. We have found the leading linear dependences of primordial abundances on all relevant parameters of the standard BBN code, including binding energies and nuclear reaction rates. This enables us to set limits on possible variations of fundamental parameters. We find that 7Li is expected to be significantly more sensitive than other species to many fundamental parameters, a result which also holds for variations of coupling strengths in grand unified (GUT) models. Our work also indicates which areas of nuclear theory need further development if the values of ``constants'' are to be more accurately probed.Comment: Refereed article to be published in Nuclear Physics in Astrophysics III Proceedings, J. Phys. G. Special Issue. Based on work in collaboration with C. Wetterich (Heidelberg). 6 page

Topologically protected quantum gates for computation with non-Abelian anyons in the Pfaffian quantum Hall state

We extend the topological quantum computation scheme using the Pfaffian quantum Hall state, which has been recently proposed by Das Sarma et al., in a way that might potentially allow for the topologically protected construction of a universal set of quantum gates. We construct, for the first time, a topologically protected Controlled-NOT gate which is entirely based on quasihole braidings of Pfaffian qubits. All single-qubit gates, except for the pi/8 gate, are also explicitly implemented by quasihole braidings. Instead of the pi/8 gate we try to construct a topologically protected Toffoli gate, in terms of the Controlled-phase gate and CNOT or by a braid-group based Controlled-Controlled-Z precursor. We also give a topologically protected realization of the Bravyi-Kitaev two-qubit gate g_3.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, RevTeX; version 3: introduced section names, new reference added; new comment added about the embedding of the one- and two- qubit gates into a three-qubit syste

Superlong GRBs

We searched for anomalously long GRBs (GRBs) in the archival records of the Burst and Transient Sources Experiment (BATSE). Ten obvious superlong (>500 s) GRBs with almost continuous emission episodes were found. Nine of these events are known from the BATSE catalog, but five have no duration estimates; we found one burst for the first time. We also detected events with emission episodes separated by a long period of silence (up to 1000 s) with a total duration of 1000--2000 s. In the latter case, we cannot reach an unequivocal conclusion about a common origin of the episodes due to the BATSE poor angular resolution. However, for most of these pairs, the probability of a coincidence of independent GRBs is much lower than unity, and the probability that all of these are coincidences is 10E-8. All of the events have a hardness ratio (the ratio of the count rates in different energy channels) typical of GRBs, and their unique duration is unlikely to be related to their high redshifts. Superlong bursts do not differ in their properties from typical long (>2 s) GRBs. We estimated the fraction of superlong GRBs (>500 s) among the long GRBs in the BATSE sample with fluxes up to 0.1 ph cm^{-2} s^{-1} to be between 0.3 and 0.5%, which is higher than the estimate based on the BATSE catalog.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables, translation is made by Astronomy Letter

Mid-infrared Variability from the Spitzer Deep Wide-field Survey

We use the multi-epoch, mid-infrared Spitzer Deep Wide-Field Survey to investigate the variability of objects in 8.1 deg^2 of the NOAO Deep Wide Field Survey Boötes field. We perform a Difference Image Analysis of the four available epochs between 2004 and 2008, focusing on the deeper 3.6 and 4.5 μm bands. Out of 474, 179 analyzed sources, 1.1% meet our standard variability selection criteria that the two light curves are strongly correlated (r > 0.8) and that their joint variance (σ_(12)) exceeds that for all sources with the same magnitude by 2σ. We then examine the mid-IR colors of the variable sources and match them with X-ray sources from the XBoötes survey, radio catalogs, 24 μm selected active galactic nucleus (AGN) candidates, and spectroscopically identified AGNs from the AGN and Galaxy Evolution Survey (AGES). Based on their mid-IR colors, most of the variable sources are AGNs (76%), with smaller contributions from stars (11%), galaxies (6%), and unclassified objects, although most of the stellar, galaxy, and unclassified sources are false positives. For our standard selection criteria, 11%-12% of the mid-IR counterparts to X-ray sources, 24 μm AGN candidates, and spectroscopically identified AGNs show variability. The exact fractions depend on both the search depth and the selection criteria. For example, 12% of the 1131 known z>1 AGNs in the field and 14%-17% of the known AGNs with well-measured fluxes in all four Infrared Array Camera bands meet our standard selection criteria. The mid-IR AGN variability can be well described by a single power-law structure function with an index of γ ≈ 0.5 at both 3.6 and 4.5 μm, and an amplitude of S _0 ≃ 0.1 mag on rest-frame timescales of 2 yr. The variability amplitude is higher for shorter rest-frame wavelengths and lower luminosities