Flavor Changing Higgs Decays in Supersymmetry with Minimal Flavor Violation

We study the flavor changing neutral current decays of the MSSM Higgs bosons into strange and bottom quarks. We focus on a scenario of minimum flavor violation here, namely only that induced by the CKM matrix. Taking into account constraint from $b\to s \gamma$, $\delta\rho$ as well as experimental constraints on the MSSM spectrum, we show that the branching ratio of $(\Phi\to b\bar{s})$ and $(\Phi \to \bar{b}s)$ combined, for $\Phi$ being either one of the CP even Higgs states, can reach the order $10^{-4}$-$10^{-3}$ for large $\tan\beta$, large $\mu$, and large $A_t$. The result illustrates the significance of minimal flavor violation scenario which can induce competitive branching fraction for flavor changing Higgs decays. This can be compared with the previous studies where similar branching fraction has been reported, but with additional sources of flavor violations in squark mass matrices. We also discuss some basic features of the flavor violating decays in the generic case.Comment: 16 pages on Revtex, with 5 figures from 10 eps files incorporated; discussion on issues related more precise calculations elaborated; proof-edited version to appear in Phys. Lett.

Wall-crossing formulae and strong piecewise polynomiality for mixed Grothendieck dessins d'enfant, monotone, and double simple Hurwitz numbers

We derive explicit formulae for the generating series of mixed Grothendieck dessins d'enfant/monotone/simple Hurwitz numbers, via the semi-infinite wedge formalism. This reveals the strong piecewise polynomiality in the sense of Goulden–Jackson–Vakil, generalising a result of Johnson, and provides a new explicit proof of the piecewise polynomiality of the mixed case. Moreover, we derive wall-crossing formulae for the mixed case. These statements specialise to any of the three types of Hurwitz numbers, and to the mixed case of any pair

A probabilistic analysis of argument cogency

This paper offers a probabilistic treatment of the conditions for argument cogency as endorsed in informal logic: acceptability, relevance, and sufficiency. Treating a natural language argument as a reason-claim-complex, our analysis identifies content features of defeasible argument on which the RSA conditions depend, namely: change in the commitment to the reason, the reason’s sensitivity and selectivity to the claim, one’s prior commitment to the claim, and the contextually determined thresholds of acceptability for reasons and for claims. Results contrast with, and may indeed serve to correct, the informal understanding and applications of the RSA criteria concerning their conceptual dependence, their function as update-thresholds, and their status as obligatory rather than permissive norms, but also show how these formal and informal normative approachs can in fact align

Ground state and constrained domain walls in Gd/Fe multilayers

The magnetic ground state of antiferromagnetically coupled Gd/Fe multilayers and the evolution of in-plane domain walls is modelled with micromagnetics. The twisted state is characterised by a rapid decrease of the interface angle with increasing magnetic field. We found that for certain ratios M(Fe):M(Gd), the twisted state is already present at low fields. However, the magnetic ground state is not only determined by the ratio M(Fe):M(Gd) but also by the thicknesses of the layers, that is the total moments of the layer. The dependence of the magnetic ground state is explained by the amount of overlap of the domain walls at the interface. Thicker layers suppress the Fe aligned and the Gd aligned state in favour of the twisted state. Whereas ultrathin layers exclude the twisted state, since wider domain walls can not form in these ultrathin layers