Top quark longitudinal polarization near the threshold in l+ l- annihilation

We show that the longitudinal polarization of the top quarks produced in the annihilation of e+ e- or mu+ mu- into tbar t at energies near the threshold is not affected by the large Coulomb-type corrections, which greatly modify the total cross section. Thus the longitudinal polarization, although small, may provide an independent information on the mass and the width of the top quark, largely independent of the uncertainty in alpha_s.Comment: 6 pages, LaTeX, no figures, added references, corrected typo

Vortex Pull by an External Current

In the context of a dynamical Ginzburg-Landau model it is shown numerically that under the influence of a homogeneous external current J the vortex drifts against the current with velocity $V= -J$ in agreement to earlier analytical predictions. In the presence of dissipation the vortex undergoes skew deflection at an angle $90^{\circ} < \delta < 180^{\circ}$ with respect to the external current. It is shown analytically and verified numerically that the angle $\delta$ and the speed of the vortex are linked through a simple mathematical relation.Comment: 19 pages, LATEX, 6 Postscript figures included in separate compressed fil

Kink Chains from Instantons on a Torus

We describe how the procedure of calculating approximate solitons from instanton holonomies may be extended to the case of soliton crystals. It is shown how sine-Gordon kink chains may be obtained from CP1 instantons on a torus. These kink chains turn out to be remarkably accurate approximations to the true solutions. Some remarks on the relevance of this work to Skyrme crystals are also made.Comment: latex 17 pages, DAMTP 94-7

Conservation Laws in a First Order Dynamical System of Vortices

Gauge invariant conservation laws for the linear and angular momenta are studied in a certain 2+1 dimensional first order dynamical model of vortices in superconductivity. In analogy with fluid vortices it is possible to express the linear and angular momenta as low moments of vorticity. The conservation laws are compared with those obtained in the moduli space approximation for vortex dynamics.Comment: LaTex file, 16 page

Atomic scale engines: Cars and wheels

We introduce a new approach to build microscopic engines on the atomic scale that move translationally or rotationally and can perform useful functions such as pulling of a cargo. Characteristic of these engines is the possibility to determine dynamically the directionality of the motion. The approach is based on the transformation of the fed energy to directed motion through a dynamical competition between the intrinsic lengths of the moving object and the supporting carrier.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures (2 in color), Phys. Rev. Lett. (in print

Quantum vortices in systems obeying a generalized exclusion principle

The paper deals with a planar particle system obeying a generalized exclusion principle (EP) and governed, in the mean field approximation, by a nonlinear Schroedinger equation. We show that the EP involves a mathematically simple and physically transparent mechanism, which allows the genesis of quantum vortices in the system. We obtain in a closed form the shape of the vortices and investigate its main physical properties. PACS numbers: 03.65.-w, 03.65.Ge, 05.45.YvComment: 7 pages, 4 figure