Revisiting Minimal Lepton Flavour Violation in the Light of Leptonic CP Violation

The Minimal Lepton Flavour Violation (MLFV) framework is discussed after the recent indication for CP violation in the leptonic sector. Among the three distinct versions of MLFV, the one with degenerate right-handed neutrinos will be disfavoured, if this indication is confirmed. The predictions for leptonic radiative rare decays and muon conversion in nuclei are analysed, identifying strategies to disentangle the different MLFV scenarios. The claim that the present anomalies in the semi-leptonic $B$-meson decays can be explained within the MLFV context is critically re-examined concluding that such an explanation is not compatible with the present bounds from purely leptonic processes.Comment: 36 pages, 4 figures. V2: References added; version accepted for publication on JHE

Single-cell and coupled GRN models of cell patterning in the Arabidopsis thaliana root stem cell niche

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Recent experimental work has uncovered some of the genetic components required to maintain the <it>Arabidopsis thaliana </it>root stem cell niche (SCN) and its structure. Two main pathways are involved. One pathway depends on the genes <it>SHORTROOT </it>and <it>SCARECROW </it>and the other depends on the <it>PLETHORA </it>genes, which have been proposed to constitute the auxin readouts. Recent evidence suggests that a regulatory circuit, composed of <it>WOX5 </it>and <it>CLE40</it>, also contributes to the SCN maintenance. Yet, we still do not understand how the niche is dynamically maintained and patterned or if the uncovered molecular components are sufficient to recover the observed gene expression configurations that characterize the cell types within the root SCN. Mathematical and computational tools have proven useful in understanding the dynamics of cell differentiation. Hence, to further explore root SCN patterning, we integrated available experimental data into dynamic Gene Regulatory Network (GRN) models and addressed if these are sufficient to attain observed gene expression configurations in the root SCN in a robust and autonomous manner.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that an SCN GRN model based only on experimental data did not reproduce the configurations observed within the root SCN. We developed several alternative GRN models that recover these expected stable gene configurations. Such models incorporate a few additional components and interactions in addition to those that have been uncovered. The recovered configurations are stable to perturbations, and the models are able to recover the observed gene expression profiles of almost all the mutants described so far. However, the robustness of the postulated GRNs is not as high as that of other previously studied networks.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These models are the first published approximations for a dynamic mechanism of the <it>A. thaliana </it>root SCN cellular pattering. Our model is useful to formally show that the data now available are not sufficient to fully reproduce root SCN organization and genetic profiles. We then highlight some experimental holes that remain to be studied and postulate some novel gene interactions. Finally, we suggest the existence of a generic dynamical motif that can be involved in both plant and animal SCN maintenance.</p

New Phenomenon of Nonlinear Regge Trajectory and Quantum Dual String Theory

The relation between the spin and the mass of an infinite number of particles in a $q$-deformed dual string theory is studied. For the deformation parameter $q$ a root of unity, in addition to the relation of such values of $q$ with the rational conformal field theory, the Fock space of each oscillator mode in the Fubini-Veneziano operator formulation becomes truncated. Thus, based on general physical grounds, the resulting spin-(mass)$^2$ relation is expected to be below the usual linear trajectory. For such specific values of $q$, we find that the linear Regge trajectory turns into a square-root trajectory as the mass increases.Comment: 12 pages, Latex, HU-SEFT R 1994-0

Dynamics of a hyperbolic system that applies at the onset of the oscillatory instability

A real hyperbolic system is considered that applies near the onset of the oscillatory instability in large spatial domains. The validity of that system requires that some intermediate scales (large compared with the basic wavelength of the unstable modes but small compared with the size of the system) remain inhibited; that condition is analysed in some detail. The dynamics associated with the hyperbolic system is fully analysed to conclude that it is very simple if the coefficient of the cross-nonlinearity is such that , while the system exhibits increasing complexity (including period-doubling sequences, quasiperiodic transitions, crises) as the bifurcation parameter grows if ; if then the system behaves subcritically. Our results are seen to compare well, both qualitatively and quantitatively, with the experimentally obtained ones for the oscillatory instability of straight rolls in pure Rayleigh - Bénard convection

Strings Near a Rindler Or Black Hole Horizon

Orbifold techniques are used to study bosonic, type II and heterotic strings in Rindler space at integer multiples N of the Rindler temperature, and near a black hole horizon at integer multiples of the Hawking temperature, extending earlier results of Dabholkar. It is argued that a Hagedorn transition occurs nears the horizon for all N>1.Comment: 13 pages, harvmac, (references added

Horizon divergences of Fields and Strings in Black Hole backgrounds

General arguments based on curved space-time thermodynamics show that any extensive quantity, like the free energy or the entropy of thermal matter, always has a divergent boundary contribution in the presence of event horizons, and this boundary term comes with the Hawking-Bekenstein form. Although the coefficients depend on the particular geometry we show that intensive quantities, like the free energy density are universal in the vicinity of the horizon. {} From the point of view of the matter degrees of freedom this divergence is of infrared type rather than ultraviolet, and we use this remark to speculate about the fate of these pathologies in String Theory. Finally we interpret them as instabilities of the Canonical Ensemble with respect to gravitational collapse via the Jeans mechanism.Comment: 16 pages, PUPT-1448 (some typos corrected and references added

Relative entropy for compact Riemann surfaces

The relative entropy of the massive free bosonic field theory is studied on various compact Riemann surfaces as a universal quantity with physical significance, in particular, for gravitational phenomena. The exact expression for the sphere is obtained, as well as its asymptotic series for large mass and its Taylor series for small mass. One can also derive exact expressions for the torus but not for higher genus. However, the asymptotic behaviour for large mass can always be established-up to a constant-with heat-kernel methods. It consists of an asymptotic series determined only by the curvature, hence common for homogeneous surfaces of genus higher than one, and exponentially vanishing corrections whose form is determined by the concrete topology. The coefficient of the logarithmic term in this series gives the conformal anomaly.Comment: 20 pages, LaTeX 2e, 2 PS figures; to appear in Phys. Rev.

Non-Equilibrium Evolution of Scalar Fields in FRW Cosmologies I

We derive the effective equations for the out of equilibrium time evolution of the order parameter and the fluctuations of a scalar field theory in spatially flat FRW cosmologies.The calculation is performed both to one-loop and in a non-perturbative, self-consistent Hartree approximation.The method consists of evolving an initial functional thermal density matrix in time and is suitable for studying phase transitions out of equilibrium. The renormalization aspects are studied in detail and we find that the counterterms depend on the initial state. We investigate the high temperature expansion and show that it breaks down at long times. We also obtain the time evolution of the initial Boltzmann distribution functions, and argue that to one-loop order or in the Hartree approximation, the time evolved state is a ``squeezed'' state. We illustrate the departure from thermal equilibrium by numerically studying the case of a free massive scalar field in de Sitter and radiation dominated cosmologies. It is found that a suitably defined non-equilibrium entropy per mode increases linearly with comoving time in a de Sitter cosmology, whereas it is {\it not} a monotonically increasing function in the radiation dominated case.Comment: 29 pages, revtex 3.0, 11 figures available upon request, PITT-93-6; LPTHE-93-52; CMU-HEP-93-2

Finite size effects near the onset of the oscillatory instability

A system of two complex Ginzburg - Landau equations is considered that applies at the onset of the oscillatory instability in spatial domains whose size is large (but finite) in one direction; the dependent variables are the slowly modulated complex amplitudes of two counterpropagating wavetrains. In order to obtain a well posed problem, four boundary conditions must be imposed at the boundaries. Two of them were already known, and the other two are first derived in this paper. In the generic case when the group velocity is of order unity, the resulting problem has terms that are not of the same order of magnitude. This fact allows us to consider two distinguished limits and to derive two associated (simpler) sub-models, that are briefly discussed. Our results predict quite a rich variety of complex dynamics that is due to both the modulational instability and finite size effects

q-deformed conformal correlation functions

A q-analogue of four dimensional conformally invariant field theory based on the quantum algebra U_{q}(so(4,2)) is proposed. The two- and three-point correlation functions are calculated. The construction is elaborated in order to fit the Hopf algebra structure.Comment: 13 pages, minor corrections, Journal-ref adde