Signals of new physics in global event properties in pp collisions in the TeV energy domain: rapidity intervals

The study of possible new physics signals in global event properties in pp collisions in the TeV energy domain is extended from full phase-space to rapidity intervals experimentally accessible at LHC. The elbow structure in the total multiplicity distribution predicted in full phase-space is clearly present also in restricted rapidity intervals, leading to very strong charged particle correlations. It is also found that energy densities comparable to those reached in heavy ion collisions at RHIC could be attained in pp collisions at LHC.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

On Statistical Mechanics Developments of Clan Concept in Multiparticle Production

Clan concept has been introduced in multiparticle dynamics in order to interpret the wide occurrence of negative binomial (NB) regularity in n-charged particle multiplicity distributions (MDs) in various high energy collisions. The centrality of clan concept led to the attempt to justify its occurrence within a statistical model of clan formation and evolution. In this framework all thermodynamical potentials have been explicitly calculated in terms of NB parameters. Interestingly it was found that NB parameter k corresponds to the one particle canonical partition function. The goal of this paper is to explore a possible temperature and volume dependence of parameter k in various classes of events in high energy hadron-hadron collisions. It is shown that the existence of a phase transition at parton level from the ideal clan gas associated to the semihard component with k>1 to the ideal clan gas of the hard component with k<1 implies a discontinuity in the average number of particles at hadron level.Comment: 20 pages, latex, no figures; v2: the description of the framework has been considerably expanded, and the main body has been reorganized for clarit

On signals of new physics in global event properties in pp collisions in the TeV energy domain

In the framework of the weighted superposition mechanism of different classes of minimum bias events (or substructures), described by the negative binomial multiplicity distribution, in possible scenarios for pp collisions in the TeV energy domain, we explore global properties of an eventual new class of events, characterised by high hadron and clan densities, to be added to the soft (without minijets) and semihard (with minijets) ones. It turns out that the main signal of the mentioned new physical expectations at 14 TeV c.m. energy would be an ``elbow structure'' in the tail of the total charged particle multiplicity distribution in complete disagreement with the second shoulder structure predicted by Pythia Monte Carlo calculations: a challenging problem for new experimental work.Comment: 14 pages, 6 ps figures include

B2 1144+35B, a giant low power radio galaxy with superluminal motion. Orientation and evidence for recurrent activity

The goal of this work is a detailed study of the nearby, low power radio galaxy B2 1144+35B. For this purpose, we performed new Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) and Very Large Array (VLA) observations. This source has several properties (bright, nearby, large range of spatial structures, visible counterjet, etc.) that make it an excellent astrophysical laboratory for the study of the evolution of radio jets. Here we report the detection of motion in the counterjet at 0.23 $\pm$ 0.07 c, which allows us to estimate the orientation of the parsec-scale jet at 33$^\circ \pm 7^\circ$ from the line of sight, with an intrinsic velocity of (0.94$^{+0.06}_{-0.11}$)c. We also report on a brightening of the core at high frequencies which we suggest could be the result of a new component emerging from the core. High dynamic range VLBA observations at 5 GHz reveal, for the first time, extended emission connecting the core with the bright complex of emission that dominates the flux density of the parsec scale structure at frequencies below 20 GHz. The evolution of this bright complex is considered and its slow decline in flux density is interpreted as the result of an interaction with the interstellar medium of the host galaxy.Comment: 7 pages, 6 b&w figures. A&A in pres

Multiplicity distributions in gravitational and strong interactions

The multiplicity distributions produced by the variation of time-dependent gravitational fields in a conformally flat background geometry belong to the same class of infinitely divisible distributions found, for fixed centre of mass energies and symmetric (pseudo)rapidity intervals, in charged multiplicities produced in $pp$, $p\overline{p}$ and in heavy ion collisions. Apparently unrelated multiplicity distributions are classified in terms of the (positive) discrete representations of the $SU(1,1)$ group. The gravitational analogy suggest a global high-energy asymptote for the distributions measured in $pp$ and $p\overline{p}$ collisions. Second-order cross correlations between positively and negatively charged distributions represent a relevant diagnostic for a closer scrutiny of the multiparticle final state.Comment: 11 pages, 2 included figures; to appear in Physics Letters

Comment on "Accelerating cosmological expansion from shear and bulk viscosity"

In a recent Letter [Phys. Rev. Lett. 114 091301 (2105)] the cause of the acceleration of the present Universe has been identified with the shear viscosity of an imperfect relativistic fluid even in the absence of any bulk viscous contribution. The gist of this comment is that the shear viscosity, if anything, can only lead to an accelerated expansion over sufficiently small scales well inside the Hubble radius

Stochastic GW backgrounds and Ground based detectors

The interplay between different ground based detectors and stochastic backgrounds of relic GW is described. A simultaneous detection of GW in the kHz and in the MHz--GHz region can point towards a cosmological nature of the signal. The sensitivity of a pair of VIRGO detectors to string cosmological models is presented. The implications of microwave cavities for stochastic GW backgrounds are discussed.Comment: 4 pages in Latex style, one figur

Primordial magnetic fields

Large scale magnetic fields represent a triple point where cosmology, high-energy physics and astrophysics meet for different but related purposes. After reviewing the implications of large scale magnetic fields in these different areas, the role of primordial magnetic fields is discussed in various physical processes occurring prior to the decoupling epoch with particular attention to the big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) epoch and to the electroweak (EW) epoch. The generation of matter--antimatter isocurvature fluctuations, induced by hypermagnetic fields, is analyzed in light of a possible increase of extra-relativistic species at BBN. It is argued that stochastic GW backgrounds can be generated by hypermagnetic fields at the LISA frequency. The problem of the origin of large scale magnetic fields is also scrutinized.Comment: 41 pages in Latex style, 5 figure

Fluctuations of inflationary magnetogenesis

This analysis aims at exploring what can be said about the growth rate of magnetized inhomogeneities under two concurrent hypotheses: a phase of quasi-de Sitter dynamics driven by a single inflaton field and the simultaneous presence of a spectator field coupled to gravity and to the gauge sector. Instead of invoking ad hoc correlations between the various components, the system of scalar inhomogeneities is diagonalized in terms of two gauge-invariant quasi-normal modes whose weighted sum gives the curvature perturbations on comoving orthogonal hypersurfaces. The predominance of the conventional adiabatic scalar mode implies that the growth rate of magnetized inhomogeneities must not exceed 2.2 in Hubble units if the conventional inflationary phase is to last about 70 efolds and for a range of slow roll parameters between 0.1 and 0.001. Longer and shorter durations of the quasi-de Sitter stage lead, respectively, either to tighter or to looser bounds which are anyway more constraining than the standard backreaction demands imposed on the gauge sector. Since a critical growth rate of order 2 leads to a quasi-flat magnetic energy spectrum, the upper bounds on the growth rate imply a lower bound on the magnetic spectral index. The advantages of the uniform curvature gauge are emphasized and specifically exploited throughout the treatment of the multicomponent system characterizing this class of problems.Comment: 37 pages, 4 figure

Faraday scaling and the Bicep2 observations

As repeatedly speculated in the past, the linear polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background can be rotated via the Faraday effect. An economic explanation of the recent Bicep2 observations, not relying on long-wavelength tensor modes of the geometry, would stipulate that the detected B mode comes exclusively from a Faraday rotated E mode polarization. We show hereunder that this interpretation is ruled out by the existing upper limits on the B mode polarization obtained by independent experiments at observational frequencies much lower than the operating frequency of the Bicep2 experiment. We then derive the fraction of the observed B mode polarization ascribable to the Faraday effect and suggest a dedicated experimental strategy for its detection.Comment: 8 pages, no figure