On the Casimir effect for parallel plates in the spacetime with one extra compactified dimension

In this paper, the Casimir effect for parallel plates in the presence of one compactified universal extra dimension is reexamined in detail. Having regularized the expressions of Casimir force, we show that the nature of Casimir force is repulsive if the distance between the plates is large enough, which is disagree with the experimental phenomena.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Light-Enhanced Spin Fluctuations and d-Wave Superconductivity at a Phase Boundary

Time-domain techniques have shown the potential of photo-manipulating existing orders and inducing new states of matter in strongly correlated materials. Using time-resolved exact diagonalization, we perform numerical studies of pump dynamics in a Mott-Peierls system with competing charge and spin density waves. A light-enhanced $d$-wave superconductivity is observed when the system resides near a quantum phase boundary. By examining the evolution of spin, charge and superconducting susceptibilities, we show that a sub-dominant state in equilibrium can be stabilized by photomanipulating charge order to allow superconductivity to appear and dominate. This work provides an interpretation of light-induced superconductivity from the perspective of order competition, and offers a promising approach for designing novel emergent states out of equilibrium.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Coexistence and competition of multiple charge-density-wave orders in rare-earth tri-telluride RTe3

The occurrences of collective quantum states, such as superconductivity (SC) and charge- or spin-densitywaves (CDWs or SDWs), are among the most fascinating phenomena in solids. To date much effort has been made to explore the interplay between different orders, yet little is known about the relationship of multiple orders of the same type. Here we report optical spectroscopy study on CDWs in the rare-earth tri-telluride compounds RTe3 (R = rare earth elements). Besides the prior reported two CDW orders, the study reveals unexpectedly the presence of a third CDW order in the series which evolves systematically with the size of R element. With increased chemical pressure, the first and third CDW orders are both substantially suppressed and compete with the second one by depleting the low energy spectral weight. A complete phase diagram for the multiple CDW orders in this series is established.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl

Cross-section and polarization of neutrino-produced τ\tau's made simple

Practical formulae are derived for the cross-section and polarization of the $\tau$ lepton produced in deep-inelastic neutrino-nucleon scattering in the frame of the simple quark-parton model.Comment: 10 pages, no figure

k-String tensions and the 1/N expansion

We address the question of whether the large-N expansion in pure SU(N) gauge theories requires that k-string tensions must have a power series expansion in 1/N^2, as in the sine law, or whether 1/N contributions are also allowable, as in Casimir scaling. We find that k-string tensions may, in fact, have 1/N corrections, and consistency with the large-N expansion in the open-string sector depends crucially on an exact cancellation, which we will prove, among terms involving odd powers of 1/N in particular combinations of Wilson loops. It is shown how these cancellations are fulfilled, and consistency with the large-N expansion achieved, in a concrete example, namely, strong-coupling lattice gauge theory with the heat-kernel action. This is a model which has both a 1/N^2 expansion and Casimir scaling of the k-string tensions. Analysis of the closed string channel in this model confirms our conclusions, and provides further insights into the large-N dependence of energy eigenstates and eigenvalues.Comment: RevTeX4, 21 pages. Typos corrected, references added, some discussions expanded; conclusions unchanged. Version to appear on PR

Enhancement of perfluorooctanoate and perfluorooctanesulfonate activity at acoustic cavitation bubble interfaces

Acoustic cavitation driven by ultrasonic irradiation decomposes and mineralizes the recalcitrant perfluorinated surfactants perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA). Pyrolytic cleavage of the ionic headgroup is the rate-determining step. In this study, we examine the sonochemical adsorption of PFOX, where X = S for PFOS and A for PFOA, by determining kinetic order and absolute rates over an initial PFOX concentration range of 20 nM to 200 μM. Sonochemical PFOX kinetics transition from pseudo-first-order at low initial concentrations, [PFOX]_i 40 μM, as the bubble interface sites are saturated. At PFOX concentrations below 100 μM, concentration-dependent rates were modeled with Langmuir−Hinshelwood (LH) kinetics. Empirically determined rate maximums, V_(Max)^(−PFOA) = 2230 ± 560 nM min^−1 and V_(Max)^(−PFOS) = 230 ± 60 nM min^−1, were used in the LH model, and sonochemical surface activities were estimated to be K_(Sono)^(PFOS) = 120000 M^−1 and K_(Sono)^(PFOA) = 28500 M^−1, 60 and 80 times greater than equilibrium surface activities, K_(Eq)^(PFOS) and K_(Eq)^(PFOA). These results suggest enhanced sonochemical degradation rates for PFOX when the bubble interface is undersaturated. The present results are compared to previously reported sonochemical kinetics of nonvolatile surfactants

Initiation and Early Kinematic Evolution of Solar Eruptions

We investigate the initiation and early evolution of 12 solar eruptions, including six active region hot channel and six quiescent filament eruptions, which were well observed by the \textsl{Solar Dynamics Observatory}, as well as by the \textsl{Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory} for the latter. The sample includes one failed eruption and 11 coronal mass ejections, with velocities ranging from 493 to 2140~km~s$^{-1}$. A detailed analysis of the eruption kinematics yields the following main results. (1) The early evolution of all events consists of a slow-rise phase followed by a main-acceleration phase, the height-time profiles of which differ markedly and can be best fit, respectively, by a linear and an exponential function. This indicates that different physical processes dominate in these phases, which is at variance with models that involve a single process. (2) The kinematic evolution of the eruptions tends to be synchronized with the flare light curve in both phases. The synchronization is often but not always close. A delayed onset of the impulsive flare phase is found in the majority of the filament eruptions (5 out of 6). This delay, and its trend to be larger for slower eruptions, favor ideal MHD instability models. (3) The average decay index at the onset heights of the main acceleration is close to the threshold of the torus instability for both groups of events (although based on a tentative coronal field model for the hot channels), suggesting that this instability initiates and possibly drives the main acceleration.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ; 24 pages, 12 figures, 3 table

Optical spectroscopy study on CeTe3_3: evidence for multiple charge-density-wave orders

We performed optical spectroscopy measurement on single crystal of CeTe$_3$, a rare-earth element tri-telluride charge density wave (CDW) compound. The optical spectra are found to display very strong temperature dependence. Besides a large and pronounced CDW energy gap being present already at room temperature as observed in earlier studies, the present measurement revealed the formation of another energy gap at smaller energy scale at low temperature. The second CDW gap removes the electrons near E$_F$ which undergo stronger scattering. The study yields evidence for the presence of multiple CDW orders or strong fluctuations in the light rare-earth element tri-telluride.Comment: 5 figure

Nucleation of quark matter in neutron stars cores

We consider the general conditions of quark droplets formation in high density neutron matter. The growth of the quark bubble (assumed to contain a sufficiently large number of particles) can be described by means of a Fokker-Planck equation. The dynamics of the nucleation essentially depends on the physical properties of the medium it takes place. The conditions for quark bubble formation are analyzed within the frameworks of both dissipative and non-dissipative (with zero bulk and shear viscosity coefficients) approaches. The conversion time of the neutron star to a quark star is obtained as a function of the equation of state of the neutron matter and of the microscopic parameters of the quark nuclei. As an application of the obtained formalism we analyze the first order phase transition from neutron matter to quark matter in rapidly rotating neutron stars cores, triggered by the gravitational energy released during the spinning down of the neutron star. The endothermic conversion process, via gravitational energy absorption, could take place, in a very short time interval, of the order of few tens seconds, in a class of dense compact objects, with very high magnetic fields, called magnetars.Comment: 31 pages, 2 figures, to appear in Ap

Polynomials, Riemann surfaces, and reconstructing missing-energy events

We consider the problem of reconstructing energies, momenta, and masses in collider events with missing energy, along with the complications introduced by combinatorial ambiguities and measurement errors. Typically, one reconstructs more than one value and we show how the wrong values may be correlated with the right ones. The problem has a natural formulation in terms of the theory of Riemann surfaces. We discuss examples including top quark decays in the Standard Model (relevant for top quark mass measurements and tests of spin correlation), cascade decays in models of new physics containing dark matter candidates, decays of third-generation leptoquarks in composite models of electroweak symmetry breaking, and Higgs boson decay into two tau leptons.Comment: 28 pages, 6 figures; version accepted for publication, with discussion of Higgs to tau tau deca