Magnetization and susceptibility of ferrofluids

A second-order Taylor series expansion of the free energy functional provides analytical expressions for the magnetic field dependence of the free energy and of the magnetization of ferrofluids, here modelled by dipolar Yukawa interaction potentials. The corresponding hard core dipolar Yukawa reference fluid is studied within the framework of the mean spherical approximation. Our findings for the magnetic and phase equilibrium properties are in quantitative agreement with previously published and new Monte Carlo simulation data.Comment: 8 pages including 4 figure

Correcting for Distortions due to Ionization in the STAR TPC

Physics goals of the STAR Experiment at RHIC in recent (and future) years drive the need to operate the STAR TPC at ever higher luminosities, leading to increased ionization levels in the TPC gas. The resulting ionic space charge introduces field distortions in the detector which impact tracking performance. Further complications arise from ionic charge leakage into the main TPC volume from the high gain anode region. STAR has implemented corrections for these distortions based on measures of luminosity, which we present here. Additionally, we highlight a novel approach to applying the corrections on an event-by-event basis applicable in conditions of rapidly varying ionization sources.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, proceedings of the Workshop on Tracking in High Multiplicity Environments (TIME 05) in Zurich, Switzerland, submitted to Nucl. Instr. and Meth.

Dispersionful analogues of Benney's equations and NN-wave systems

We recall Krichever's construction of additional flows to Benney's hierarchy, attached to poles at finite distance of the Lax operator. Then we construct a ``dispersionful'' analogue of this hierarchy, in which the role of poles at finite distance is played by Miura fields. We connect this hierarchy with $N$-wave systems, and prove several facts about the latter (Lax representation, Chern-Simons-type Lagrangian, connection with Liouville equation, $\tau$-functions).Comment: 12 pages, latex, no figure

Microstructural characterisation of organic-rich shale before and after pyrolysis

Organic-rich shales, traditionally considered as source rocks, have recently become an ambitious goal for the oil and gas industry as important unconventional reservoirs. Understanding of the initiation and development of fractures in organic-rich shales is crucially important as fractures could drastically increase the permeability of these otherwise low-permeable rocks. Fracturing can be induced by rapid decomposition of organic matter caused by either natural heating, such as emplacement of magmatic bodies into sedimentary basins, or thermal methods used for enhanced oil recovery. In this work the authors study fracture initiation and development caused by dry pyrolysis of Kimmeridge shale, which is characterised with a high total organic carbon content of more than 20%. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis exhibits high carbonate (both calcite and dolomite) and low clay (illite) content. Field emission gun scanning electron microscopy (FEG-SEM) shows that kerogen is presented either as a load-bearing matrix or as a filling of the primary porosity with pores being of micron size. Cylindrical samples of the Kimmeridge shale are heated up to temperatures in the range of 330–430°C. High-resolution X-ray microtomographic (micro-CT) images are obtained. The microtomographic images are processed using AVIZO (Visualization Sciences Group) to identify and statistically characterise large kerogen-filled pores and pre-existing and initiated cracks. The relationship between the total area of fractures and the temperature experienced by the sample has been obtained. Total organic carbon content is determined for samples subjected to heating experiments. This approach enables a quantitative analysis of fracture initiation and development in organic-rich shales during heating

Constraints on R-parity violating couplings from lepton universality

We analyze the one loop corrections to leptonic W and Z decays in an R-parity violating extension to the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). We find that lepton universality violation in the Z line-shape variables alone would strengthen the bounds on the magnitudes of the lambda' couplings, but a global fit on all data leaves the bounds virtually unchanged at |lambda'_{33k}| < 0.42 and |lambda'_{23k}| < 0.50 at the 2 sigma level. Bounds from W decays are less stringent: |lambda'_{33k}| < 2.4 at 2 sigma, as a consequence of the weaker Fermilab experimental bounds on lepton universality violation in W decays. We also point out the potential of constraining R-parity violating couplings from the measurement of the Upsilon invisible width.Comment: 26pages, 8 postscript figures, REVTeX. Updated references. Typos correcte

Invisible Higgs and Scalar Dark Matter

In this proceeding, we show that when we combined WMAP and the most recent results of XENON100, the invisible width of the Higgs to scalar dark matter is negligible(<10%), except in a small region with very light dark matter (< 10 GeV) not yet excluded by XENON100 or around 60 GeV where the ratio can reach 50% to 60%. The new results released by the Higgs searches of ATLAS and CMS set very strong limits on the elastic scattering cross section.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, proceeding TAUP2011 References adde

Constraints on R-parity violating couplings from LEP/SLD hadronic observables

We analyze the one loop corrections to hadronic Z decays in an R-parity violating extension to the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). Performing a global fit to all the hadronic observables at the Z-peak, we obtain stringent constraints on the R-violating couplings constants lambda' and lambda''. As a result of the strong constraints from the b asymmetry parameters A_b and A_FB(b), we find that the couplings lambda'{i31}, lambda'{i32}, and lambda''{321} are ruled out at the 1 sigma level, and that lambda'{i33} and lambda''{33i} are ruled out at the 2 sigma level. We also obtain Bayesian confidence limits for the R-violating couplings.Comment: 30 pages, 19 postscript figures, REVTeX, new section 8 on Bayesian confidence limits adde

Central factorials under the Kontorovich-Lebedev transform of polynomials

We show that slight modifications of the Kontorovich-Lebedev transform lead to an automorphism of the vector space of polynomials. This circumstance along with the Mellin transformation property of the modified Bessel functions perform the passage of monomials to central factorial polynomials. A special attention is driven to the polynomial sequences whose KL-transform is the canonical sequence, which will be fully characterized. Finally, new identities between the central factorials and the Euler polynomials are found.Comment: also available at http://cmup.fc.up.pt/cmup/ since the 2nd August 201

The NuTeV Anomaly, Neutrino Mixing, and a Heavy Higgs Boson

Recent results from the NuTeV experiment at Fermilab and the deviation of the Z invisible width, measured at LEP/SLC, from its Standard Model (SM) prediction suggest the suppression of neutrino-Z couplings. Such suppressions occur naturally in models which mix the neutrinos with heavy gauge singlet states. We postulate a universal suppression of the Z-nu-nu couplings by a factor of (1-epsilon) and perform a fit to the Z-pole and NuTeV observables with epsilon and the oblique correction parameters S and T. Compared to a fit with S and T only, inclusion of epsilon leads to a dramatic improvement in the quality of the fit. The values of S and T preferred by the fit can be obtained within the SM by a simple increase in the Higgs boson mass. However, if the W mass is also included in the fit, a non-zero U parameter becomes necessary which cannot be supplied within the SM. The preferred value of epsilon suggests that the seesaw mechanism may not be the reason why neutrinos are so light.Comment: 19 pages, REVTeX4, 8 postscript figures. Updated references. Typos correcte