Low Energy Skyrmion-Skyrmion Scattering

We study the scattering of Skyrmions at low energy and large separation using the method proposed by Manton of truncation to a finite number of degrees freedom. We calculate the induced metric on the manifold of the union of gradient flow curves, which for large separation, to first non-trivial order is parametrized by the variables of the product ansatz. (presented at the Lake Louise Winter Institute, 1994)Comment: 6 page

Plasma Oscillations and Expansion of an Ultracold Neutral Plasma

We report the observation of plasma oscillations in an ultracold neutral plasma. With this collective mode we probe the electron density distribution and study the expansion of the plasma as a function of time. For classical plasma conditions, i.e. weak Coulomb coupling, the expansion is dominated by the pressure of the electron gas and is described by a hydrodynamic model. Discrepancies between the model and observations at low temperature and high density may be due to strong coupling of the electrons.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Accepted Phys. Rev. Let

Zero mode quantization of multi-Skyrmions

A zero mode quantization of the minimal energy SU(2) Skyrmions for nucleon numbers four to nine and seventeen is described. This involves quantizing the rotational and isorotational modes of the configurations. For nucleon numbers four, six and eight the ground states obtained are in agreement with the observed nuclear states of Helium, Lithium and Beryllium. However, for nucleon numbers five, seven, nine and seventeen the spins obtained conflict with the observed isodoublet nuclear states.Comment: 37 pages, LaTeX, 4 figures. More careful treatment of double covers, reference adde

Nucleon-nucleon interaction in the Skyrme model

We consider the interaction of two skyrmions in the framework of the sudden approximation. The widely used product ansatz is investigated. Its failure in reproducing an attractive central potential is associated with terms that violate G-parity. We discuss the construction of alternative ans\"atze and identify a plausible solution to the problem.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figure

Path Integral Variational Methods for Strongly Correlated Systems

We introduce a new approach to highly correlated systems which generalizes the Fermi Hypernetted Chain and Correlated Basis Function techniques. While the latter approaches can only be applied to systems for which a nonrelativistic wave function can be defined, the new approach is based on the variation of a trial hamiltonian within a path integral framework and thus can also be applied to relativistic and field theoretical problems. We derive a diagrammatic scheme for the new approach and show how a particular choice of the trial hamiltonian corresponds exactly to the use of a Jastrow correlated ansatz for the wave function in the Fermi Hypernetted Chain approach. We show how our new approach can be used to find upper bounds to ground state energies in systems which the FHNC cannot handle, including those described by an energy-dependent effective hamiltonian. We demonstrate our approach by applying it to a quantum field theoretical system of interacting pions and nucleons.Comment: 35 RevTeX pages, 7 separated ps figures available on reques

BARYON-BARYON INTERACTIONS IN LARGE N_C CHIRAL PERTURBATION THEORY

Interactions of two baryons are considered in large $N_C$ chiral perturbation theory and compared to the interactions derived from the Skyrme model. Special attention is given to a torus-like configuration known to be present in the Skyrme model.Comment: 18 pages, REVTEX, 8 uuencoded PS figures appende

Transcription factor binding to Caenorhabditis elegans first introns reveals lack of redundancy with gene promoters

Gene expression is controlled through the binding of transcription factors (TFs) to regulatory genomic regions. First introns are longer than other introns in multiple eukaryotic species and are under selective constraint. Here we explore the importance of first introns in TF binding in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans by combining computational predictions and experimentally derived TF-DNA interaction data. We found that first introns of C. elegans genes, particularly those for families enriched in long first introns, are more conserved in length, have more conserved predicted TF interactions and are bound by more TFs than other introns. We detected a significant positive correlation between first intron size and the number of TF interactions obtained from chromatin immunoprecipitation assays or determined by yeast one-hybrid assays. TFs that bind first introns are largely different from those binding promoters, suggesting that the different interactions are complementary rather than redundant. By combining first intron and promoter interactions, we found that genes that share a large fraction of TF interactions are more likely to be co-expressed than when only TF interactions with promoters are considered. Altogether, our data suggest that C. elegans gene regulation may be additive through the combined effects of multiple regulatory regions

Multibaryons as Symmetric Multiskyrmions

We study non-adiabatic corrections to multibaryon systems within the bound state approach to the SU(3) Skyrme model. We use approximate ansatze for the static background fields based on rational maps which have the same symmetries of the exact solutions. To determine the explicit form of the collective Hamiltonians and wave functions we only make use of these symmetries. Thus, the expressions obtained are also valid in the exact case. On the other hand, the inertia parameters and hyperfine splitting constants we calculate do depend on the detailed form of the ansatze and are, therefore, approximate. Using these values we compute the low lying spectra of multibaryons with B <= 9 and strangeness 0, -1 and -B. Finally, we show that the non-adiabatic corrections do not affect the stability of the tetralambda and heptalambda found in a previous work.Comment: 17 pages, RevTeX, no figure

The Generalized Gell-Mann--Low Theorem for Relativistic Bound States

The recently established generalized Gell-Mann--Low theorem is applied in lowest perturbative order to bound-state calculations in a simple scalar field theory with cubic couplings. The approach via the generalized Gell-Mann--Low Theorem retains, while being fully relativistic, many of the desirable features of the quantum mechanical approaches to bound states. In particular, no abnormal or unphysical solutions are found in the model under consideration. Both the non-relativistic and one-body limits are straightforward and consistent. The results for the spectrum are compared to those of the Bethe-Salpeter equation (in the ladder approximation) and related equations.Comment: 24 pages, 6 pspicture diagrams, 4 postscript figure