Indirect search of exotic mesons: B -> J/psi + Anything

We reconsider the discrepancy between theory and data in the momentum distribution of slow J/psi in B decays. Beside an update of the standard color singlet and color octet QCD components, we include the contribution from XY Z exotic mesons, and show that the residual discrepancy could be accommodated considering new XYZ mesons still unobserved.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures, Contribution to the proceedings of "IFAE 2011 Incontri di Fisica delle Alte Energie", Perugia 27-29 April 201

The Distribution of the Largest Non-trivial Eigenvalues in Families of Random Regular Graphs

Recently Friedman proved Alon's conjecture for many families of d-regular graphs, namely that given any epsilon > 0 `most' graphs have their largest non-trivial eigenvalue at most 2 sqrt{d-1}+epsilon in absolute value; if the absolute value of the largest non-trivial eigenvalue is at most 2 sqrt{d-1} then the graph is said to be Ramanujan. These graphs have important applications in communication network theory, allowing the construction of superconcentrators and nonblocking networks, coding theory and cryptography. As many of these applications depend on the size of the largest non-trivial positive and negative eigenvalues, it is natural to investigate their distributions. We show these are well-modeled by the beta=1 Tracy-Widom distribution for several families. If the observed growth rates of the mean and standard deviation as a function of the number of vertices holds in the limit, then in the limit approximately 52% of d-regular graphs from bipartite families should be Ramanujan, and about 27% from non-bipartite families (assuming the largest positive and negative eigenvalues are independent).Comment: 23 pages, version 2 (MAJOR correction: see footnote 7 on page 7: the eigenvalue program unkowingly assumed the eigenvalues of the matrix were symmetric, which is only true for bipartite graphs; thus the second largest positive eigenvalue was returned instead of the largest non-trivial eigenvalue). To appear in Experimental Mathematic

Design of a press for oil extraction from moringa seeds for Haiti

Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2004.Includes bibliographical references (leaf 27).The project here presented focuses on the development of a harvesting tool for Haiti, a developing country, for the extraction of oil from the seeds of the moringa trees. Moringas have an extraordinarily nutritional potential that can help, at least short-term, to solve problems associated with poor nutrition in the area. Furthermore, moringas naturally prosper in Haiti, making it an accessible and inexpensive resource. A first design is presented in this thesis along with the relevant experimentation and results, and progressive development of possible designs. One of the major concerns regarding the extraction process has been the reabsorption of the oil due to the elastic property of the seeds. This factor is important because a significant percentage of the oil extracted can potentially be reabsorbed, consequently limiting the efficiency of the extraction process. I consequently selected a continuous system that could better ensure a constant pressure, which seems desirable. Moreover, inevitably the design is a compromise between efficiency and cost. Therefore, it was necessary to select a design that could be cheaply produced, limiting also the necessity to produce the whole design from scratch. The final design consists of a meat grinder that ends with a cage shaped as section of a cone, the whole being powered by human pedaling. Fresh seeds are inserted in a cone-shaped feeder, while the cake flows out the smaller end of the cage and oil is collected in a container. This project represents a first step into the development of an extraction tool that maximizes the extraction of oil from moringa seeds, and consequently the consumption of the seeds themselves, not exploited so far.by Alessandra Maria Sabelli.S.B

Charmed Baryonium

We re-analyze the published data on the Y(4630) --> Lambda_c Lambdabar_c and the Y(4660) --> psi(2S) pi pi with a consistent Ansatz and we find that the two observations are likely to be due to the same state Y_B with M_{Y_B} = 4660.7 +- 8.7 MeV and Gamma_{Y_B} = 61 +- 23 MeV. Under this hypothesis and reanalizing also the e+e- --> J/psi pi pi gamma_ISR spectrum we extract B(Y_B --> Lambda_c Lambdabar_c) / B(Y_B --> psi(2S) pi pi) = 25 +- 7, B(Y_B --> J/psi pi pi) / B(Y_B --> psi(2S) pi pi) J/psi pi pi) / B(Y(4350) --> psi(2S) pi pi) psi(2S) sigma) / B (Y_B --> psi(2S) f_0)=2.0 +- 0.3. These conclusions strongly support the hypothesis of Y_B being the first observation of a charmed baryonium constituted by four quarks. From the analysis of the mass spectrum and the decay properties we show that Y(4350) and Y_B are respectively consistent with the ground state and first radial excitation of the L=1 state.Comment: Corrected phase space normalization in the fit

The 2^-+ assignment for the X(3872)

Very recently the BaBar collaboration has put forward a claim that the X(3872) is not a 1^++ resonance, as most of the phenomenological work on the subject was relying on, but rather a 2^-+ one. We examine the consequences of this quantum number assignment for the solution of the X(3872) puzzle. The molecular interpretation appears less likely, and the conventional charmonium interpretation should be reconsidered. There are several well-known difficulties with this interpretation, to which we add a new one: the production cross section at CDF is predicted to be much smaller than that observed. We also confirm, using a relativistic string model, the conclusion from potential models that the mass of the state is not consistent with expectations. In the tetraquark interpretation the 2^-+ assignment implies a rich spectrum of partner states, although the X(3872) may be among the few which are narrow enough to be observable.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, 4 tables; minor style corrections. Version to appear in PR

The momentum distribution of J/psi in B decays

The discrepancy between theory and data in the momentum distribution of slow J/psi in B decays has been several times addressed as a puzzle. Using the most recent results on exclusive B decays into J/psi and heavy kaons or exotic mesons and reconsidering the non-relativistic-QCD calculation of the color octet fragmentation component, we show that an improvement in the comparison between data and theory can be obtained. There is still room for a better fit to data and this may imply that new exotic mesons of the XYZ kind have yet to be discovered.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, 2 tables. To appear in Physical Review

Strong Couplings of X(3872)_{J=1,2} and a New Look at J/psi Suppression in Heavy Ion Collisions

We define and compute from data the strong couplings of the X(3872) with both of the possible quantum numbers assignments J^{PC}=1^{++},2^{-+}. We use these to compute cross sections for J/psi resonance scattering into D Dbar*. As an application of the results obtained we revise the calculation of the J/psi absorption in a hot hadron gas to confront with recent RHIC observations in Au-Au collisions.Comment: 23 pages, 18 figures, 4 table