The QCD analytic effective charge and its dependence on the pion mass

A new model for the QCD analytic running coupling, which incorporates the effects due to the $\pi$ meson mass, is proposed. The properties of this invariant charge in spacelike and timelike regions are examined. Its main distinctive features are a finite infrared limiting value, which depends on the pion mass, and the "plateau-like" behavior in the deep infrared domain of the timelike region.Comment: Talk given at Eighth Workshop on Nonperturbative QCD, 7 - 11 June 2004, Paris, France; 6 pages, 2 EPS figure

The t->WZb decay in the Standard Model: A Critical Reanalysis

We compute the t->WZb decay rate, in the Standard Model, at the leading order in perturbation theory, with special attention to the effects of the finite widths of the W and Z bosons. These effects are extremely important, since the t->WZb decay occurs near its kinematical threshold. They increase the value of the decay rate by orders of magnitude near threshold or allow it below the nominal threshold. We discuss a procedure to take into account the finite-width effects and compare the results with previous studies of this decay. Within the Standard Model, for a top quark mass in the range between 170 and 180 GeV, we find BR(t->WZb) ~ 2 x 10^{-6}, which makes the observation at the LHC very difficult if at all possible.Comment: 10 pages, 4 eps figures, LaTeX. Few references added and minor changes in the text. Results unchanged. Final version to appear on PL

Strangeness contribution to the vector and axial form factors of the nucleon

The strangeness contribution to the vector and axial form factors of the nucleon is presented for momentum transfers in the range $0.45<Q^2<1.0$ GeV$^2$. The results are obtained via a combined analysis of forward-scattering parity-violating elastic $\vec{e}p$ asymmetry data from the $G^0$ and HAPPEx experiments at Jefferson Lab, and elastic $\nu p$ and $\bar{\nu} p$ scattering data from Experiment 734 at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The parity-violating asymmetries measured in elastic $\vec{e}p$ scattering at forward angles establish a relationship between the strange vector form factors $G_E^s$ and $G_M^s$, with little sensitivity to the strange axial form factor $G_A^s$. On the other hand, elastic neutrino scattering at low $Q^2$ is dominated by the axial form factor, with still some significant sensitivity to the vector form factors as well. The combination of the two data sets allows the simultaneous extraction of $G_E^s$, $G_M^s$, and $G_A^s$ over a significant range of $Q^2$ for the very first time.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure, will appear in AIP Conference Proceedings for PANIC 200

Particle tracking numerical methods for nanoparticle transport in heterogeneous porous media

A single-phase flow, lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is utilized with a Lagrangian particle tracking (LPT) method for the simulation of flow and transport of nanoparticles in a porous medium. The 3D pore matrix is obtained either as a randomly packed with spheres porous medium or from images of segments of rock (sandstone) through micro-computed tomography (-CT). The particles are assumed to be passive. When the particles collide with the solid matrix, they can either adsorb or continue their motion, based on the assumption that the deposition process is a pseudo-first order process. Furthermore, the solid-fluid interface is assumed to be heterogeneous, so that the simulated nanoparticles can adsorb at different rates at different sites of the interface. Simulations are validated with theoretically expected results, based on macroscopic filtration equations

CPT and Quantum Mechanics Tests with Kaons

In this review we first discuss the theoretical motivations for possible CPT violation and deviations from ordinary quantum-mechanical behavior of field-theoretic systems in the context of an extended class of quantum-gravity models. Then we proceed to a description of precision tests of CPT symmetry using mainly neutral kaons. We emphasize the possibly unique role of neutral meson factories in providing specific tests of models where the quantum-mechanical CPT operator is not well-defined, leading to modifications of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen particle correlators. Finally, we present tests of CPT, T, and CP using charged kaons, and in particular K_l4 decays, which are interesting due to the high statistics attainable in experiments.Comment: Invited contribution to DAFNE Physics Handbook, 23 pages LaTeX, 9 eps figures incorporate

Asymptotic properties of Born-improved amplitudes with gauge bosons in the final state

For processes with gauge bosons in the final state we show how to continuously connect with a single Born-improved amplitude the resonant region, where resummation effects are important, with the asymptotic region far away from the resonance, where the amplitude must reduce to its tree-level form. While doing so all known field-theoretical constraints are respected, most notably gauge-invariance, unitarity and the equivalence theorem. The calculations presented are based on the process $f\bar{f}\to ZZ$, mediated by a possibly resonant Higgs boson; this process captures all the essential features, and can serve as a prototype for a variety of similar calculations. By virtue of massive cancellations the resulting closed expressions for the differential and total cross-sections are particularly compact.Comment: 23 pages, Latex, 4 Figures, uses axodra