Lepton masses and mixings in orbifold models with three Higgs families

We analyse the phenomenological viability of heterotic Z(3) orbifolds with two Wilson lines, which naturally predict three supersymmetric families of matter and Higgs fields. Given that these models can accommodate realistic scenarios for the quark sector avoiding potentially dangerous flavour-changing neutral currents, we now address the leptonic sector, finding that viable orbifold configurations can in principle be obtained. In particular,it is possible to accomodate present data on charged lepton masses, while avoiding conflict with lepton flavour-violating decays. Concerning the generation of neutrino masses and mixings, we find that Z(3) orbifolds offer several interesting possibilities.Comment: 28 pages, 11 figures. References adde

Dynamic Scaling of Non-Euclidean Interfaces

The dynamic scaling of curved interfaces presents features that are strikingly different from those of the planar ones. Spherical surfaces above one dimension are flat because the noise is irrelevant in such cases. Kinetic roughening is thus a one-dimensional phenomenon characterized by a marginal logarithmic amplitude of the fluctuations. Models characterized by a planar dynamical exponent $z>1$, which include the most common stochastic growth equations, suffer a loss of correlation along the interface, and their dynamics reduce to that of the radial random deposition model in the long time limit. The consequences in several applications are discussed, and we conclude that it is necessary to reexamine some experimental results in which standard scaling analysis was applied

Influence of OH- concentration on the illitization of kaolinite at high pressure

The products of hydrothermal reactions of kaolinite at 300°C and 1000 bars were studied in KOH solutions covering an OH- concentration, [OH-], of 1M to 3.5M. XRD patterns indicated a notable influence of the [OH-] on the reaction. At [OH]≥3M, the only stable phase was muscovite/illite. The content of muscovite/illite was calculated from the analysis of the diagnostic 060 reflections of kaolinite and muscovite/illite. The results showed a linear dependence of kaolinite and muscovite/illite contents with [OH-]. 27Al MAS NMR spectroscopy revealed the formation of small nuclei of K-F zeolite at high [OH-]. Finally, modelling of the 29Si MAS NMR spectra indicated that the Si/Al ratio of the muscovite/illite formed was very close to that of muscovite, at least in the mineral formed at low [OH-]. In good agreement with the XRD data, the quantification of the reaction products by 29Si MAS NMR indicated a linear decrease of the kaolinite content with increasing OH- concentration.Dirección General de Investigación Científica y Técnica CTQ2007-63297Junta de Andalucía P06-FQM-0217

On the Geometric Principles of Surface Growth

We introduce a new equation describing epitaxial growth processes. This equation is derived from a simple variational geometric principle and it has a straightforward interpretation in terms of continuum and microscopic physics. It is also able to reproduce the critical behavior already observed, mound formation and mass conservation, but however does not fit a divergence form as the most commonly spread models of conserved surface growth. This formulation allows us to connect the results of the dynamic renormalization group analysis with intuitive geometric principles, whose generic character may well allow them to describe surface growth and other phenomena in different areas of physics

Geometrical approach to tumor growth

Tumor growth has a number of features in common with a physical process known as molecular beam epitaxy. Both growth processes are characterized by the constraint of growth development to the body border, and surface diffusion of cells/particles at the growing edge. However, tumor growth implies an approximate spherical symmetry that makes necessary a geometrical treatment of the growth equations. The basic model was introduced in a former article [C. Escudero, Phys. Rev. E 73, 020902(R) (2006)], and in the present work we extend our analysis and try to shed light on the possible geometrical principles that drive tumor growth. We present two-dimensional models that reproduce the experimental observations, and analyse the unexplored three-dimensional case, for which new conclusions on tumor growth are derived

Pressure effects in PrT2B2C (T = Co, Ni, Pt): Applied and chemical pressure

High-pressure electrical resistivity, r(T), measurements on intermetallic Pr(Co, Ni, Pt)2B2C compounds were performed down to 2K. At room pressure the r(T) in a-b direction curves for the non superconducting Pr(Co, Ni)2B2C compounds exhibit magnetic correlations at about 10 and 4 K, respectively. At low temperatures, PrCo2B2C shows a large spin-dependent electron scattering in comparison to PrNi2B2C. Under applied pressure the magnetic scattering tends to be suppressed more effectively in PrCo2B2C than in PrNi2 B2C. The low temperature behavior of r(T,P) for PrNi2B2C and PrCo2B2C suggests a spin fluctuations mechanism. In the other hand PrPt2B2C compound shows superconductivity at about 6 K and under pressure its superconducting transition temperature tends to be degraded at a rate dTc/dP = -0.34 K/GPa, as expected in compounds with transition metals. The experimental results in Co, Ni and Pt based compounds are analyzed from the point of view of the external and chemical internal pressure effects

FCNCs in supersymmetric multi-Higgs doublet models

We conduct a general discussion of supersymmetric models with three families in the Higgs sector. We analyse the scalar potential, and investigate the minima conditions, deriving the mass matrices for the scalar, pseudoscalar and charged states. Depending on the Yukawa couplings and the Higgs spectrum, the model might allow the occurrence of potentially dangerous flavour changing neutral currents at the tree-level. We compute model-independent contributions for several observables, and as an example we apply this general analysis to a specific model of quark-Higgs interactions, discussing how compatibility with current experimental data constrains the Higgs sector.Comment: 30 pages, 9 figures. Comments and references added. Final version published in Physical Review