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

Governance of Nanotechnology in the Netherlands - Informing and Engaging in Different Social Spheres

Nanotechnology has provided a new window of opportunity to reframe state-science-society relationships. In particular the notion of upstream public engagement has been put forward. But while public engagement is seen as indispensable in the governance of science and technology (S&T) there still is a need to reflect on why, how, for who and by whom public engagement has to be organised. This paper describes a wide range of activities that were organised in the Netherlands to bring a public perspective into the development of nanotechnology. Our study shows that in order to better understand the complexities of the governance of science and technology, a new research perspective is needed. By reflecting on the relationship between informing and engaging, on the interaction between engagement processes within the societal, scientific and political sphere, and on organisational and institutional constraints, we present an outline of such a new research perspective. As well, we identify key themes for comparative research in governance of S&T within different countries. © 2012 International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Society

Lifetime measurement of the ^3P_2 metastable state of strontium atoms

We have measured the lifetime of the 5s5p ^3P_2 metastable state of strontium atoms by magneto-optically trapping the decayed atoms to the ground state, which allowed sensitive detection of the rare decay events. We found that the blackbody radiation-induced decay was the dominant decay channel for the state at T = 300 K. The lifetime was determined to be 500^{+280}_{-130} s in the limit of zero temperature.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter

Quantising the B=2 and B=3 Skyrmion systems

We examine the quantisation of a collective Hamiltonian for the two-baryon system derived by us in a previous paper. We show that by increasing the sophistication of the approximations we can obtain a bound state - or a resonance - not too far removed from the threshold with the quantum numbers of the deuteron. The energy of this state is shown to depend very sensitively on the parameters of the model. Subsequently we construct part of a collective Hamiltonian for the three baryon system. Large-amplitude quantum fluctuations play an important r\^ole in the intrinsic wave function of the ground-state, changing its symmetry from octahedral to cubic. Apart from the tetrahedron describing the minimum of the potential, we identify a ``doughnut'' and a ``pretzel'' as the most important saddle points in the potential energy surface. We show that it is likely that inclusion of fluctuations through these saddle points lead to an energy close to the triton's value.Comment: 32 pages, 19 Postscript figures, uses epsfig.sty and elsart.st

Rotationally induced Penning ionization of ultracold photoassociated helium dimers

We have studied photoassociation of metastable \tripS helium atoms near the \tripS-\tripP asymptote by both ion detection in a magneto-optical trap and trap-loss measurements in a magnetic trap. A detailed comparison between the results of the two experiments gives insight into the mechanism of the Penning ionization process. We have identified four series of resonances corresponding to vibrational molecular levels belonging to different rotational states in two potentials. The corresponding spin states become quasi-purely quintet at small interatomic distance, and Penning ionization is inhibited by spin conservation rules. Only a weak rotational coupling is responsible for the contamination by singlet spin states leading to a detectable ion signal. However, for one of these series Bose statistics does not enable the rotational coupling and the series detected through trap-loss does not give rise to sufficient ionization for detection.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, submitted to EuroPhysics Letter

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

The Nuclear Sigma Term in the Skyrme Model: Pion-Nucleus Interaction

The nuclear sigma term is calculated including the nuclear matrix element of the derivative of the NN interaction with respect to the quark mass, $m_q\frac{\partial V_{NN}}{\partial m_q}$. The NN potential is evaluated in the skyrmion-skyrmion picture within the quantized product ansatz. The contribution of the NN potential to the nuclear sigma term provides repulsion to the pion-nucleus interaction. The strength of the s-wave pion-nucleus optical potential is estimated including such contribution. The results are consistent with the analysis of the experimental data.Comment: 16 pages (latex), 3 figures (eps), e-mail: [email protected] and [email protected]

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

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