The Nucleon Electric Dipole Moment in Light-Front QCD

I present an exact relationship between the electric dipole moment and anomalous magnetic moment of the nucleon in the light-front formalism of QCD and consider its consequences.Comment: 5 pages, LaTeX, based on talks at CAQCD, Minneapolis, MN, May 11-14, 2006 and at CIPANP, Puerto Rico, May 30- June 3, 2006, to appear in the proceeding

Phenomenology of nn-nˉ{\bar n} Oscillations Revisited

We revisit the phenomenology of $n$-${\bar n}$ oscillations in the presence of external magnetic fields, highlighting the role of spin. We show, contrary to long-held belief, that the $n$-${\bar n}$ transition rate need not be suppressed, opening new opportunities for its empirical study.Comment: 15 pages, REVTeX; revised and rewritten to focus on SM spin-dependent effects, conclusions persis

Statistics of the residual refraction errors in laser ranging data

A theoretical model for the range error covariance was derived by assuming that the residual refraction errors are due entirely to errors in the meteorological data which are used to calculate the atmospheric correction. The properties of the covariance function are illustrated by evaluating the theoretical model for the special case of a dense network of weather stations uniformly distributed within a circle

Chiral dynamics and B to 3 pi decay

I discuss our knowledge of the scalar sector of QCD and how it impacts the determination of the CKM angle \alpha from the isospin analysis of B\to \rho\pi decay.Comment: invited talk at International Workshop on Heavy Quarks and Leptons, Vietri sul Mare, Salerno, Italy, 27 May - 1 Jun 200

Ranging performance of satellite laser altimeters

Topographic mapping of the earth, moon and planets can be accomplished with high resolution and accuracy using satellite laser altimeters. These systems employ nanosecond laser pulses and microradian beam divergences to achieve submeter vertical range resolution from orbital altitudes of several hundred kilometers. Here, we develop detailed expressions for the range and pulse width measurement accuracies and use the results to evaluate the ranging performances of several satellite laser altimeters currently under development by NASA for launch during the next decade. Our analysis includes the effects of the target surface characteristics, spacecraft pointing jitter and waveform digitizer characteristics. The results show that ranging accuracy is critically dependent on the pointing accuracy and stability of the altimeter especially over high relief terrain where surface slopes are large. At typical orbital altitudes of several hundred kilometers, single-shot accuracies of a few centimeters can be achieved only when the pointing jitter is on the order of 10 mu rad or less