2,297 research outputs found
Lepton Flavor Violation without Supersymmetry
We study the lepton flavor violating (LFV) processes mu -> e gamma, mu -> 3e,
and mu -> e conversion in nuclei in the left-right symmetric model without
supersymmetry and perform the first complete computation of the LFV branching
ratios B(mu -> f) to leading non-trivial order in the ratio of left- and
right-handed symmetry breaking scales. To this order, B(mu -> e gamma) and B(mu
-> e) are governed by the same combination of LFV violating couplings, and
their ratio is naturally of order unity. We also find B(mu -> 3 e)/B(mu -> e)
\sim 100 under slightly stronger assumptions. Existing limits on the branching
ratios already substantially constrain mass splittings and/or mixings in the
heavy neutrino sector. When combined with future collider studies and precision
electroweak measurements, improved limits on LFV processes will test the
viability of low-scale, non-supersymmetric LFV scenarios.Comment: 24 pages, 7 figures, 2 table
Spontaneous CP Symmetry Breaking at the Electroweak Scale
We present a top-condensation model in which the CP symmetry is spontaneously
broken at the electroweak scale due to the condensation of two composite Higgs
doublets. In particular the CP-violating phase of the CKM matrix is generated.
A simpler model where only one quark family is included is also discussed. In
this case, for a general four-fermion interaction (), the
particle spectrum is the one of the one Higgs doublet model.Comment: 25 pages, LaTeX. References and comment adde
Macroscopic amplification of electroweak effects in molecular Bose-Einstein condensates
We investigate the possible use of Bose-Einstein condensates of diatomic
molecules to measure nuclear spin-dependent parity violation effects, outlining
a detection method based on the internal Josephson effect between molecular
states of opposite parity. When applied to molecular condensates, the fine
experimental control achieved in atomic bosonic Josephson junctions could
provide data on anapole moments and neutral weak couplings.Comment: 5 pages. To be published Phys. Rev. A (Rapid Communication) (2012
HyRec: A fast and highly accurate primordial hydrogen and helium recombination code
We present a state-of-the-art primordial recombination code, HyRec, including
all the physical effects that have been shown to significantly affect
recombination. The computation of helium recombination includes simple analytic
treatments of hydrogen continuum opacity in the He I 2 1P - 1 1S line, the He
I] 2 3P - 1 1S line, and treats feedback between these lines within the
on-the-spot approximation. Hydrogen recombination is computed using the
effective multilevel atom method, virtually accounting for an infinite number
of excited states. We account for two-photon transitions from 2s and higher
levels as well as frequency diffusion in Lyman-alpha with a full radiative
transfer calculation. We present a new method to evolve the radiation field
simultaneously with the level populations and the free electron fraction. These
computations are sped up by taking advantage of the particular sparseness
pattern of the equations describing the radiative transfer. The computation
time for a full recombination history is ~2 seconds. This makes our code well
suited for inclusion in Monte Carlo Markov chains for cosmological parameter
estimation from upcoming high-precision cosmic microwave background anisotropy
measurements.Comment: Version accepted by PRD. Numerical integration switches adapted to be
well behaved for a wide range of cosmologies (Sec. V E). HyRec is available
at http://www.tapir.caltech.edu/~yacine/hyrec/hyrec.htm
Physical constants and the Gurzadyan-Xue formula for the dark energy
We consider cosmological implications of the formula for the dark energy
density derived by Gurzadyan and Xue which predicts a value fitting the
observational one. Cosmological models with varying by time physical constants,
namely, speed of light and gravitational constant and/or their combinations,
are considered. In one of the models, for example, vacuum energy density
induces effective negative curvature, while another one has an unusual
asymptotic. This analysis also explicitely rises the issue of the meaning and
content of physical units and constants in cosmological context.Comment: version corrected to match the one to appear in Modern Physics
Letters
Reflection coefficient for superresonant scattering
We investigate superresonant scattering of acoustic disturbances from a
rotating acoustic black hole in the low frequency range. We derive an
expression for the reflection coefficient, exhibiting its frequency dependence
in this regime.Comment: 7 page
Formation of the First Supermassive Black Holes
We consider the physical conditions under which supermassive black holes
could have formed inside the first galaxies. Our SPH simulations indicate that
metal-free galaxies with a virial temperature ~10^4 K and with suppressed H2
formation (due to an intergalactic UV background) tend to form a binary black
hole system which contains a substantial fraction (>10%) of the total baryonic
mass of the host galaxy. Fragmentation into stars is suppressed without
substantial H2 cooling. Our simulations follow the condensation of ~5x10^6
M_sun around the two centers of the binary down to a scale of < 0.1pc. Low-spin
galaxies form a single black hole instead. These early black holes lead to
quasar activity before the epoch of reionization. Primordial black hole
binaries lead to the emission of gravitational radiation at redshifts z>10 that
would be detectable by LISA.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, revised version, ApJ in press (October 10, 2003
Nucleation Rates of Water and Heavy Water using Equations of State
The original formula of Gibbs for the reversible work of critical nucleus formation is evaluated in three approximate ways for ordinary and heavy water. The least approximate way employs an equation of state to evaluate the pressure difference between the new and old phases. This form of the theory yields a temperature dependence for the nucleation rate close to that observed experimentally. This is a substantial improvement over the most commonly used (and most approximate) form of classical theory.©2004 American Institute of Physics
Cosmological Hysteresis and the Cyclic Universe
A Universe filled with a homogeneous scalar field exhibits `Cosmological
hysteresis'. Cosmological hysteresis is caused by the asymmetry in the equation
of state during expansion and contraction. This asymmetry results in the
formation of a hysteresis loop: , whose value can be non-vanishing
during each oscillatory cycle. For flat potentials, a negative value of the
hysteresis loop leads to the increase in amplitude of consecutive cycles and to
a universe with older and larger successive cycles. Such a universe appears to
possess an arrow of time even though entropy production is absent and all of
the equations respect time-reversal symmetry ! Cosmological hysteresis appears
to be widespread and exists for a large class of scalar field potentials and
mechanisms for making the universe bounce. For steep potentials, the value of
the hysteresis loop can be positive as well as negative. The expansion factor
in this case displays quasi-periodic behaviour in which successive cycles can
be both larger as well as smaller than previous ones. This quasi-regular
pattern resembles the phenomenon of BEATS displayed by acoustic systems.
Remarkably, the expression relating the increase/decrease in oscillatory cycles
to the quantum of hysteresis appears to be model independent. The cyclic
scenario is extended to spatially anisotropic models and it is shown that the
anisotropy density decreases during successive cycles if the hysteresis loop is
negative.Comment: 31 pages, 8 figures. Matches version published in Phys Rev D85,
123542 (2012
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