A one parameter representation for the Isgur-Wise function

We use a $1S$ lattice QCD heavy-light wavefunction to generate a single parameter, model independent description of the Isgur-Wise function. Using recent data we find the zero-recoil slope to be $\xi'(1)= -1.16\pm 0.17$, while the second derivative turns out to be $\xi''(1)= 2.64\pm 0.74$.Comment: Latex (uses epsf macro), 7 pages of text, 2 postscript figures included

Sensitivity analysis of reactive ecological dynamics

Author Posting. © Springer, 2008. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Springer for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Bulletin of Mathematical Biology 70 (2008): 1634-1659, doi:10.1007/s11538-008-9312-7.Ecological systems with asymptotically stable equilibria may exhibit significant transient dynamics following perturbations. In some cases, these transient dynamics include the possibility of excursions away from the equilibrium before the eventual return; systems that exhibit such amplification of perturbations are called reactive. Reactivity is a common property of ecological systems, and the amplification can be large and long-lasting. The transient response of a reactive ecosystem depends on the parameters of the underlying model. To investigate this dependence, we develop sensitivity analyses for indices of transient dynamics (reactivity, the amplification envelope, and the optimal perturbation) in both continuous- and discrete-time models written in matrix form. The sensitivity calculations require expressions, some of them new, for the derivatives of equilibria, eigenvalues, singular values, and singular vectors, obtained using matrix calculus. Sensitivity analysis provides a quantitative framework for investigating the mechanisms leading to transient growth. We apply the methodology to a predator-prey model and a size-structured food web model. The results suggest predator-driven and prey-driven mechanisms for transient amplification resulting from multispecies interactions.Financial support provided by NSF grant DEB-0343820, NOAA grant NA03-NMF4720491, the Ocean Life Institute of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the Academic Programs Office of the MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography

Modelling form factors in HQET

We present a simple and straightforward method for relating the form factors in HQET, as defined by the covariant trace formalism, to the overlaps of the rest frame wave functions of the light degrees of freedom. We also point out several inconsistencies present in recent calculations of the radiative rare $B$ decays, and also show how these can be fixed even within the framework of the non-relativistic quark model.Comment: Latex, 16 pages of tex

The anomalous threshold, confinement, and an essential singularity in the heavy-light form factor

The analytic behavior of the heavy-light meson form factor is investigated using several relativistic examples including unconfined, weakly confined, and strongly confined mesons. It is observed that confinement erases the anomalous threshold singularity and also induces an essential singularity at the normal annihilation threshold. In the weak confinement limit, the "would be" anomalous threshold contribution is identical to that of the real singularity on its space-like side.Comment: Latex 2.09 with epsf.sty. 24 pages of text and 8 postscript figures. Postscript version of complete paper will also be available soon at http://phenom.physics.wisc.edu/pub/preprints/1997/madph-97-983 or at ftp://phenom.physics.wisc.edu/pub/preprints/1997/madph-97-98

On the bounds for the curvature and higher derivatives of the Isgur-Wise function

We discuss constraints imposed on the zero-recoil curvature and higher derivatives of the Isgur-Wise function by a general quark model. These constraints are expressed as bounds for a given slope parameter, and compared with those based upon analyticity properties of QCD spectral functions. Our results also indicate that in the analysis of the experimental data for semileptonic B\rar D^{(*)} decays it may be important to include at least the third term in the form factor expansion about the zero recoil point.Comment: 14 pages, latex, uses epsf macro, 5 postscript figures include

Semileptonic form factors - a model-independent approach

We demonstrate that the B->D(*) l nu form factors can be accurately predicted given the slope parameter rho^2 of the Isgur-Wise function. Only weak assumptions, consistent with lattice results, on the wavefunction for the light degrees of freedom are required to establish this result. We observe that the QCD and 1/m_Q corrections can be systematically represented by an effective Isgur-Wise function of shifted slope. This greatly simplifies the analysis of semileptonic B decay. We also investigate what the available semileptonic data can tell us about lattice QCD and Heavy Quark Effective Theory. A rigorous identity relating the form factor slope difference rho_D^2-rho_A1^2 to a combination of form factor intercepts is found. The identity provides a means of checking theoretically evaluated intercepts with experiment.Comment: 18 pages, Revtex, 4 postscript figures, uses epsfig.st

S to P wave form factors in semi-leptonic B decays

We apply HQET to semi-leptonic $B$ and $B_{s}$ meson decays into the observed charmed $P$ wave states. In order to examine the sensitivity of the results to the choice of a specific model, we perform all calculations using several different meson models, and find that uncertainty introduced by the choice of a particular model is about 30\%. Specifically, assuming $\tau_{B}=1.50ps$ and $V_{cb}= 0.040$, we obtain branching ratios of $(0.27\pm 0.08)\%$ and $(0.45\pm 0.14)\%$ for B\rar D_{1}l\bar{\nu}_{l} and B\rar D_{2}^{*}l\bar{\nu}_{l} decays, respectively.Comment: Latex (uses epsf macro), 36 pages of text, 11 postscript figures include

Perturbative QCD Analysis of BB Meson Decays

Resummation of large QCD radiative corrections, including leading and next-to-leading logarithms, in pion electromagnetic form factor is reviewed. Similar formalism is applied to exclusive processes involving heavy mesons, and leads to Sudakov suppression for the semi-leptonic decay $B\to\pi l\nu$. It is found that, with the inclusion of Sudakov effects, perturbative QCD analysis of this decay is possible for the energy fraction of the pion above 0.3. By combining predictions from the soft pion theorems, we estimate that the upper limit of the KM matrix element $|V_{ub}|$ is roughly 0.003.Comment: 26 pages in latex, figures are available for reques

Ecological Invasion, Roughened Fronts, and a Competitor's Extreme Advance: Integrating Stochastic Spatial-Growth Models

Both community ecology and conservation biology seek further understanding of factors governing the advance of an invasive species. We model biological invasion as an individual-based, stochastic process on a two-dimensional landscape. An ecologically superior invader and a resident species compete for space preemptively. Our general model includes the basic contact process and a variant of the Eden model as special cases. We employ the concept of a "roughened" front to quantify effects of discreteness and stochasticity on invasion; we emphasize the probability distribution of the front-runner's relative position. That is, we analyze the location of the most advanced invader as the extreme deviation about the front's mean position. We find that a class of models with different assumptions about neighborhood interactions exhibit universal characteristics. That is, key features of the invasion dynamics span a class of models, independently of locally detailed demographic rules. Our results integrate theories of invasive spatial growth and generate novel hypotheses linking habitat or landscape size (length of the invading front) to invasion velocity, and to the relative position of the most advanced invader.Comment: The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com/content/8528v8563r7u2742