To be or not to be an auctioneer: Some thoughts on the legal nature of online eBay auctions and the protection of consumers

This paper discusses the legal classification of online “eBay” auctions. The discussion has key implications on the scope of consumer protection law as sale by auctions are, for example, excluded from the scope of the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000. The paper uncovers that online “eBay” auctions cannot always be considered as traditional auctions and that eBay, as an intermediary, is not to be considered as an auctioneer. This creates difficulties associated with a distributive application of consumer protection laws such as the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000. Another set of difficulties is associated with a lenient legal regime applicable to the liability of eBay under the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 . The paper concludes that there is an urgent need to clarify the legal classification of online auctions and to rethink the liability of online auction sites to better protect consumers

Kaon decay interferometry as meson dynamics probes

We discuss the time dependent interferences between $K_L$ and $K_S$ in the decays in $3\pi$ and $\pi\pi\gamma$, to be studied at interferometry machines such as the $\phi$-factory and LEAR. We emphasize the possibilities and the advantages of using interferences, in comparison with width measurements, to obtain information both on $CP$ conserving and $CP$ violating amplitudes. Comparison with present data and suggestions for future experiments are made.Comment: 15 pages, in RevTex, Report INFNNA-IV-93-31, UTS-DFT-93-2

Non-Pauli Effects from Noncommutative Spacetimes

Noncommutative spacetimes lead to nonlocal quantum field theories (qft's) where spin-statistics theorems cannot be proved. For this reason, and also backed by detailed arguments, it has been suggested that they get corrected on such spacetimes leading to small violations of the Pauli principle. In a recent paper \cite{Pauli}, Pauli-forbidden transitions from spacetime noncommutativity were calculated and confronted with experiments. Here we give details of the computation missing from this paper. The latter was based on a spacetime $\mathcal{B}_{\chi\vec{n}}$ different from the Moyal plane. We argue that it quantizes time in units of $\chi$. Energy is then conserved only mod $\frac{2\pi}{\chi}$. Issues related to superselection rules raised by non-Pauli effects are also discussed in a preliminary manner.Comment: 15 Pages, 1 Table, Full details and further developments of arXiv:1003.2250. This version is close to the one accepted by JHE

Final State Interactions and CP Violation in KL→π+π−e+e−K_L \to \pi^+ \pi^- e^+ e^-

Using chiral perturbation theory we calculate the imaginary parts of the $K_L \rightarrow \pi^+ \pi^- e^+ e^-$ form factors that arise from $\pi \pi \rightarrow \pi^+ \pi^-$ and $\pi \pi \rightarrow \pi^+ \pi^- \gamma^*$ rescattering. We discuss their influence on CP violating variables in $K_L \rightarrow \pi^+ \pi^- e^+ e^-$.Comment: ; 12 pages, 2 figures, TeX format; uses epsf.tex, tables.tex, and phyzzx.te

Constraints on s→dγs\to d \gamma from Radiative Hyperon and Kaon Decays

The quark-level process $b \to s \gamma$ has been used extensively to place constraints on new interactions. These same interactions can be further constrained from the enhancement they induce in the quark-level $s \to d \gamma$ transition, to the extent that the short distance contributions can be separated from the long distance contributions. We parameterize what is known about the long distance amplitudes and subtract it from the data in radiative hyperon and kaon decays to constrain new interactions.Comment: Latex 11 page

Polarization in Hadronic \Lambda Hyperon Production and Chiral-Odd Twist-3 Distribution

Polarization of the \Lambda hyperon produced with a large transverse momentum in the unpolarized nucleon-nucleon collision is analyzed in the framework of QCD factorization. We focus on the mechanism in which the soft-gluon component of the chiral-odd spin-independent twist-3 quark distribution E_F(x,x) becomes a source of the polarized quark fragmenting into the polarized \Lambda. Our simple model estimate for this contribution indicates that it gives rise to a significant \Lambda polarization at large x_F. This is in parallel with the observation that the soft gluon pole mechanism gives rise to a large single transverse spin asymmetry in the pion production at x_F\to 1.Comment: 10 pages in LaTex + 5 figures in PS files. Phys. Rev. D in press. Title changed and some discussions adde

Chiral Approach to Weak Radiative Hyperon Decays and the Ξ0−−>Λγ\Xi^0 --> \Lambda \gamma Asymmetry

We reanalyse the recent version of the chiral model of weak radiative hyperon decays, proposed by Borasoy and Holstein. It is shown that predictions of the analysed model are significantly changed when one accepts the usual classification of $\Lambda (1405)$ as an SU(3)-singlet. In particular, for the $\Xi ^0 \to \Lambda \gamma$ decay large negative asymmetry is obtained. This is contrasted with the Hara's-theorem-violating approaches where this asymmetry is large and positive.Comment: 15 LaTeX pages, 1 ps figur