title: Relativistic Fluctuation Theorems: Theory and explicit examples

abstract:
  To reveal how nonequilibrium physics and relativity theory intertwine, this
articles studies relativistic Brownian motion under cosmic expansion. Two
fluctuation theorems for the entropy ds, which is locally produced in this
extreme nonequilibrium situation, are presented and proven. The first,
<exp(-ds)>=1, is a generalization of the second law of thermodynamics, that
remains valid at relativistic particle energies and under high cosmic expansion
rates. From this relation follows, that the probability to observe a local
reduction of entropy is exponentially small even if the universe was to
recollapse. For the special case of the Einstein-de Sitter universe an
additional relation, <exp(-ds-dh)>=1, is derived which holds simultaneously
with the first relation and where dh is proportional to the Hubble constant.
Furthermore, the fluctuation theorems are shown to provide a physical criterion
to resolve the known discretization dilemma arising in special-relativistic
Brownian motion. Explicit examples and a general method for the computation of
non-Gaussian entropy fluctuations are provided.


title: The metallicity gradient of M 33: chemical abundances of HII regions

abstract:
  We present spectroscopic observations of a sample of 72 emission-line
objects, including mainly HII regions, in the spiral galaxy M 33. Spectra were
obtained with the multi-object, wide field spectrograph AF2/WYFFOS at the 4.2m
WHT telescope. Line intensities, extinction, and electron density were
determined for the whole sample of objects. The aim of the present work was to
derive chemical and physical parameters of a set of HII regions, and from them
the metallicity gradient. Electron temperatures and chemical abundances were
derived for the 14 HII regions where both [OII] and [OIII] emission line fluxes
were measured, including the electron temperature sensitive emission line
[OIII] 436.3 nm and in a few cases [NII] 575.5 nm. The ionization correction
factor (ICF) method was used to derive the total chemical abundances. The
presence of abundance gradients was inferred from the radial behaviour of
several emission-line ratios, and accurately measured from chemical abundances
directly derived in 14 HII regions. The oxygen abundances of our HII regions,
located in the radial region from ~2 to ~7.2 kpc, gave an oxygen gradient
-0.054+/-0.011 dex/kpc The overall oxygen gradient for M 33 obtained using ours
and previous oxygen determinations in a large number of HII regions with direct
electron temperature determination as well as abundance in young stars
presented a two slope shape: -0.19 dex/kpc for the central regions (R<3kpc),
and -0.038dex/kpc for the outer regions (R>=3kpc).


title:
Renormalization of hole-hole interaction at decreasing Drude
  conductivity

abstract:
  The diffusion contribution of the hole-hole interaction to the conductivity
is analyzed in gated GaAs/In$_x$Ga$_{1-x}$As/GaAs heterostructures. We show
that the change of the interaction correction to the conductivity with the
decreasing Drude conductivity results both from the compensation of the singlet
and triplet channels and from the arising prefactor $\alpha_i<1$ in the
conventional expression for the interaction correction.


title: The Abell Cluster A586 and the Detection of the Equivalence Principle

abstract:
  We discuss the current bounds on the Equivalence Principle, in particular
from structure formation and, reexamine in this context, the recent claim on
the evidence of the interaction between dark matter and dark energy in the
Abell Cluster A586 and the ensued violation of the Equivalence Principle.


title: Discovery of VHE Gamma Radiation from IC443 with the MAGIC Telescope

abstract:
  We report the detection of a new source of very high energy (VHE, E_gamma >=
100GeV) gamma-ray emission located close to the Galactic Plane, MAGIC
J0616+225, which is spatially coincident with SNR IC443. The observations were
carried out with the MAGIC telescope in the periods December 2005 - January
2006 and December 2006 - January 2007. Here we present results from this
source, leading to a VHE gamma-ray signal with a statistical significance of
5.7 sigma in the 2006/7 data and a measured differential gamma-ray flux
consistent with a power law, described as dN_gamma/(dA dt dE) = (1.0 +/-
0.2)*10^(-11)(E/0.4 TeV)^(-3.1 +/- 0.3) cm^(-2)s^(-1)TeV^(-1). We briefly
discuss the observational technique used and the procedure implemented for the
data analysis. The results are put in the perspective of the multiwavelength
emission and the molecular environment found in the region of IC443.


title: Time-dependent analytic solutions of quasi-steady shocks with cooling

abstract:
  I present time-dependent analytical solutions of quasi-steady shocks with
cooling, where quasi-steady shocks are objects composed of truncated
steady-state models of shocks at any intermediate time. I compare these
solutions to simulations with a hydrodynamical code and finally discuss
quasi-steady shocks as approximations to time-dependent shocks. Large departure
of both the adiabatic and steady-state approximations from the quasi-steady
solution emphasise the importance of the cooling history in determining the
trajectory of a shock.


title: Chaoticity of the Wet Granular Gas

abstract:
  In this work we derive an analytic expression for the Kolmogorov-Sinai
entropy of dilute wet granular matter, valid for any spatial dimension. The
grains are modelled as hard spheres and the influence of the wetting liquid is
described according to the Capillary Model, in which dissipation is due to the
hysteretic cohesion force of capillary bridges. The Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy is
expanded in a series with respect to density. We find a rapid increase of the
leading term when liquid is added. This demonstrates the sensitivity of the
granular dynamics to humidity, and shows that the liquid significantly
increases the chaoticity of the granular gas.


title:
Plastic Response of a 2D Amorphous Solid to Quasi-Static Shear : II -
  Dynamical Noise and Avalanches in a Mean Field Model

abstract:
  We build a minimal, mean-field, model of plasticity of amorphous solids,
based upon a phenomenology of dissipative events derived, in a preceding paper
[A. Lemaitre, C. Caroli, arXiv:0705.0823] from extensive molecular simulations.
It reduces to the dynamics of an ensemble of identical shear transformation
zones interacting via the dynamic noise due to the long ranged elastic fields
induced by zone flips themselves. We find that these ingredients are sufficient
to generate flip avalanches with a power-law scaling with system size,
analogous to that observed in molecular simulations. We further show that the
scaling properties of avalanches sensitively depend on the detailed shape of
the noise spectrum. This points out the importance of developing a realistic
coarse-grained description of elasticity in these systems.


title: Exact Periodic Solutions of Shells Models of Turbulence

abstract:
  We derive exact analytical solutions of the GOY shell model of turbulence. In
the absence of forcing and viscosity we obtain closed form solutions in terms
of Jacobi elliptic functions. With three shells the model is integrable. In the
case of many shells, we derive exact recursion relations for the amplitudes of
the Jacobi functions relating the different shells and we obtain a Kolmogorov
solution in the limit of infinitely many shells. For the special case of six
and nine shells, these recursions relations are solved giving specific analytic
solutions. Some of these solutions are stable whereas others are unstable. All
our predictions are substantiated by numerical simulations of the GOY shell
model. From these simulations we also identify cases where the models exhibits
transitions to chaotic states lying on strange attractors or ergodic energy
surfaces.


title: Do N-planet systems have a boundary between chaotic and regular motions?

abstract:
  Planetary systems consisting of one star and n planets with equal planet
masses \mu and scaled orbital separation are referred as EMS systems. They
represent an ideal model for planetary systems during the post-oligarchic
evolution. Through the calculation of Lyapunov exponents, we study the boundary
between chaotic and regular regions of EMS systems. We find that for n > 2,
there does not exist a transition region in the initial separation space,
whereas for n=2, a clear borderline occurs with relative separation ~ \mu^{2/7}
due to overlap of resonances (Wisdom, 1980). This phenomenon is caused by the
slow diffusion of velocity dispersion (~ t^{1/2}, t is the time) in planetary
systems with n >2, which leads to chaotic motions at the time of roughly two
orders of magnitude before the orbital crossing occurs.
  This result does not conflict with the existence of transition boundary in
the full phase space of N-body systems.


title: Hadronic B decay at BELLE and BABAR

abstract:
  There are several exciting results for the hadronic B decays of Belle and
BaBar recently. My report focuses on the ratios of branching fractions and $CP$
asymmetry for $B \to hh$ decays at Belle and BaBar where $h$ denotes $\pi$ or
$K$. The observations of $B^+ \to K^+ \bar{K}{}^0$, $B^0 \to K^0 \bar{K}{}^0$
are published both by Belle and BaBar and shown here. We also report the
observation of $B^+ \to \rho^+ K^0$ and search of $B^+ \to \bar{K}{}^{* 0}
K^+$, $B^0 \to \rho^0 \rho^0$, $B^0 \to a_0^- \pi^+$ and $B^0 \to a_0^- K^+$ at
BaBar. Finally, we will show the results of amplitude analysis of the decays
$B^0 \to \phi K^*_2(1430)^0$, $\phi K^*(892)^0$ and $\phi (K\pi)^0_{\rm
S-wave}$ at BaBar.}


title: Differentiable perturbations of Ornstein-Uhlenbeck operators

abstract:
  We prove an extension theorem for a small perturbation of the
Ornstein-Uhlenbeck operator $(L,D(L))$ in the space of all uniformly continuous
and bounded functions $f:H\to \Rset$, where $H$ is a separable Hilbert space.
We consider a perturbation of the form $N_0\phi=L\phi+< D\phi,F>$ where $F:H\to
H$ is bounded and Fr\'echet differentiable with uniformly continuous and
bounded differential. Hence, we prove that $N_0$ is $m$-dissipative and its
closure in $C_b(H)$ coincides with the infinitesimal generator of a diffusion
semigroup associated to a stochastic differential equation in $H$.


title: NNLO Vertex Corrections in charmless hadronic B decays: Imaginary part

abstract:
  We compute the imaginary part of the 2-loop vertex corrections in the QCD
Factorization framework for hadronic two-body decays as B -> pi pi. This
completes the NNLO calculation of the imaginary part of the topological tree
amplitudes and represents an important step towards a NNLO prediction of direct
CP asymmetries in QCD Factorization. Concerning the technical aspects, we find
that soft and collinear infrared divergences cancel in the hard-scattering
kernels which demonstrates factorization at the 2-loop order. All results are
obtained analytically including the dependence on the charm quark mass. The
numerical impact of the NNLO corrections is found to be significant, in
particular they lead to an enhancement of the strong phase of the
colour-suppressed tree amplitude.


title:
Anisotropic cosmological models with spinor field and viscous fluid in
  presence of a $\Lambda$ term: qualitative solutions

abstract:
  The study of a self-consistent system of nonlinear spinor and Bianchi type I
gravitational fields in presence of a viscous fluid and $\Lambda$ term with the
spinor field nonlinearity being some arbitrary functions of the invariants $I$
an $J$ constructed from bilinear spinor forms $S$ and $P$, generates a
multi-parametric system of ordinary differential equations
\cite{saharrp,grqcnlsp}. A qualitative analysis of the system in question has
been thoroughly carried out. A complete qualitative classification of the mode
of evolution of the universe given by the corresponding dynamic system has been
illustrated.


title: Topological defects for the free boson CFT

abstract:
  Two different conformal field theories can be joined together along a defect
line. We study such defects for the case where the conformal field theories on
either side are single free bosons compactified on a circle. We concentrate on
topological defects for which the left- and right-moving Virasoro algebras are
separately preserved, but not necessarily any additional symmetries. For the
case where both radii are rational multiples of the self-dual radius we
classify these topological defects. We also show that the isomorphism between
two T-dual free boson conformal field theories can be described by the action
of a topological defect, and hence that T-duality can be understood as a
special type of order-disorder duality.


title:
Molecular dynamics simulation of hydrogen isotope injection into
  graphene

abstract:
  We reveal the hydrogen isotope effect of three chemical reactions, i.e, the
reflection, the absorption and the penetration ratios, by classical molecular
dynamics simulation with a modified Brenner's reactive empirical bond order
(REBO) potential potential. We find that the reflection by pi-electron does not
depend on the mass of the incident isotope, but the peak of the reflection by
nuclear moves to higher side of incident energy. In addition to the reflection,
we also find that the absorption ratio in the positive z side of the graphene
becomes larger, as the mass of the incident isotope becomes larger. On the
other hand, the absorption ratio in the negative z side of the graphene becomes
smaller. Last, it is found that the penetration ratio does not depend on the
mass of the incident isotope because the graphene potential is not affected by
the mass.


title: Dual Spikes; New Spiky String Solutions

abstract:
  We find a new class of spiky solutions for closed strings in flat,
$AdS_3\subset AdS_5$ and $R\times S^2(\subset S^5)$ backgrounds. In the flat
case the new solutions turn out to be T-dual configurations of spiky strings
found by Kruczenski hep-th/0410226. In the case of solutions living in $AdS$,
we make a semi classical analysis by taking the large angular momentum limit.
The anomalous dimension for these dual spikes is similar to that for rotating
and pulsating circular strings in AdS with angular momentum playing the role of
the level number. This replaces the well known logarithmic dependence for
spinning strings. For the dual spikes living on sphere we find that no large
angular momentum limit exists.


title: A Corrsin type approximation for Lagrangian fluid Turbulence

abstract:
  In Lagrangian turbulence one is faced with the puzzle that 2D
  Navier-Stokes flows are nearly as intermittent as in three dimensions
although no intermittency is present in the inverse cascade in 2D Eulerian
turbulence. In addition, an inertial range is very difficult to detect and it
is questionable whether it exists at all. Here, we investigate the transition
of Eulerian to Lagrangian probability density functions (PDFs) which leads to a
new type of Lagrangian structure function. This possesses an extended inertial
range similar to the case of tracer particles in a frozen turbulent velocity
field. This allows a connection to the scaling of Eulerian transversal
structure functions.


title: Higher order QCD corrections in exclusive charmless B decays

abstract:
  We discuss exclusive charmless B decays within the Standard Model of particle
physics. In particular, we consider hadronic two-body decays as B -> pi pi and
perform a conceptual analysis of heavy-to-light form factors which encode the
strong interaction effects in semi-leptonic decays as B -> pi l nu. Concerning
the hadronic decays we compute NNLO QCD corrections which are particularly
important with respect to strong interaction phases and hence direct CP
asymmetries. We present results for the imaginary part of the topological tree
amplitudes and a partial calculation of the real part of the amplitudes which
is technically more involved. In our conceptual analysis of the QCD dynamics in
heavy-to-light transitions we consider form factors between non-relativistic
bound states. We perform a NLO analysis and compute the so-called soft-overlap
contribution which is calculable in our set-up. As a byproduct of our analysis,
we calculate leading-twist light-cone distribution amplitudes for
non-relativistic bound states which can be applied for B_c or eta_c mesons.


title: Computation of highly ramified coverings

abstract:
  An almost Belyi covering is an algebraic covering of the projective line,
such that all ramified points except one simple ramified point lie above a set
of 3 points of the projective line. In general, there are 1-dimensional
families of these coverings with a fixed ramification pattern. (That is,
Hurwitz spaces for these coverings are curves.) In this paper, three almost
Belyi coverings of degrees 11, 12, and 20 are explicitly constructed. We
demonstrate how these coverings can be used for computation of several
algebraic solutions of the sixth Painleve equation.


title:
Anomalous structural and mechanical properties of solids confined in
  quasi one dimensional strips

abstract:
  We show using computer simulations and mean field theory that a system of
particles in two dimensions, when confined laterally by a pair of parallel hard
walls within a quasi one dimensional channel, possesses several anomalous
structural and mechanical properties not observed in the bulk. Depending on the
density $\rho$ and the distance between the walls $L_y$, the system shows
structural characteristics analogous to a weakly modulated liquid, a strongly
modulated smectic, a triangular solid or a buckled phase. At fixed $\rho$, a
change in $L_y$ leads to many reentrant discontinuous transitions involving
changes in the number of layers parallel to the confining walls depending
crucially on the commensurability of inter-layer spacing with $L_y$. The solid
shows resistance to elongation but not to shear. When strained beyond the
elastic limit it fails undergoing plastic deformation but surprisingly, as the
strain is reversed, the material recovers completely and returns to its
original undeformed state. We obtain the phase diagram from mean field theory
and finite size simulations and discuss the effect of fluctuations.


title: Phonon effect on two coupled quantum dots at finite temperature

abstract:
  The quantum oscillations of population in an asymmetric double quantum dots
system coupled to a phonon bath are investigated theoretically. It is shown how
the environmental temperature has effect on the system.


title:
Second order polynomial Hamiltonian systems with ${\tilde
  W}(E_6^{(1)}),{\tilde W}(E_7^{(1)})$ and $W(E_8^{(1)})$-symmetry

abstract:
  We find and study a six (resp. seven, eight)-parameter family of polynomial
Hamiltonian systems of second order, respectively. This system admits the
affine Weyl group symmetry of type $E_6^{(1)}$ (resp. $E_7^{(1)}, E_8^{(1)}$)
as the group of its B{\"a}cklund transformations. Each system is the first
example which gave second-order polynomial Hamiltonian system with ${\tilde
W}(E_6^{(1)})$ (resp. ${\tilde W}(E_7^{(1)}), W(E_8^{(1)})$)-symmetry.
  We also show that its space of initial conditions $S$ is obtained by gluing
eight (resp. nine, ten) copies of ${\Bbb C}^2$ via the birational and
symplectic transformations.


title:
NA60 results on $p_T$ spectra and the $\rho$ spectral function in In-In
  collisions

abstract:
  The NA60 experiment at the CERN SPS has studied low-mass muon pairs in 158
AGeV In-In collisions. A strong excess of pairs is observed above the yield
expected from neutral meson decays. The unprecedented sample size of close to
400K events and the good mass resolution of about 2% have made it possible to
isolate the excess by subtraction of the decay sources (keeping the $\rho$).
The shape of the resulting mass spectrum exhibits considerable broadening, but
essentially no shift in mass. The acceptance-corrected transverse-momentum
spectra have a shape atypical for radial flow and show a significant mass
dependence, pointing to different sources in different mass regions.


title:
Small time Edgeworth-type expansions for weakly convergent
  nonhomogeneous Markov chains

abstract:
  We consider triangular arrays of Markov chains that converge weakly to a
diffusion process. Second order Edgeworth type expansions for transition
densities are proved. The paper differs from recent results in two respects. We
allow nonhomogeneous diffusion limits and we treat transition densities with
time lag converging to zero. Small time asymptotics are motivated by
statistical applications and by resulting approximations for the joint density
of diffusion values at an increasing grid of points.


title: Efficient ab initio calculations of bound and continuum excitons

abstract:
  We present calculations of the absorption spectrum of semiconductors and
insulators comparing various approaches: (i) the two-particle Bethe-Salpeter
equation of Many-Body Perturbation Theory; (ii) time-dependent
density-functional theory using a recently developed kernel that was derived
from the Bethe-Salpeter equation; (iii) a scheme that we propose in the present
work and that allows one to derive different parameter-free approximations to
(ii). We show that all methods reproduce the series of bound excitons in the
gap of solid argon, as well as continuum excitons in semiconductors. This is
even true for the simplest static approximation, which allows us to reformulate
the equations in a way such that the scaling of the calculations with number of
atoms equals the one of the Random Phase Approximation.


title: The SARG Planet Search

abstract:
  In this chapter of the book "Planets in binaries" we summarize our recent
work on the statistical properties of planets in binaries and the differences
with respect to planets orbiting single stars. We then present the radial
velocity planet search on moderately wide binaries with similar components
(twins) ongoing at TNG using the high resolution spectrograph SARG. We discuss
the sample selection, the observing and analysis procedures, and the
preliminary results of the radial velocity monitoring. We also discuss the
second major science goal of the SARG survey, the search for abundance
anomalies caused by the ingestion of planetary material by the central star,
considering the two samples of twins and the planet hosts in binaries with
similar components. Finally, we present some preliminary conclusions on the
frequency of planets in binary systems.


title:
Configurations of saddle connections of quadratic differentials on CP1
  and on hyperelliptic Riemann surfaces

abstract:
  Configurations of rigid collections of saddle connections are connected
component invariants for strata of the moduli space of quadratic differentials.
They have been classified for strata of Abelian differentials by Eskin, Masur
and Zorich. Similar work for strata of quadratic differentials has been done in
Masur and Zorich, although in that case the connected components were not
distinguished. We classify the configurations for quadratic differentials on
the Riemann sphere and on hyperelliptic connected components of the moduli
space of quadratic differentials. We show that, in genera greater than five,
any configuration that appears in the hyperelliptic connected component of a
stratum also appears in the non-hyperelliptic one.


title: Study of sediment transport in the saltation regime

abstract:
  We present a study of sediment transport in the creeping and saltation
regime. In our model, a bed of particles is simulated with the conventional
event-driven method. The particles are considered as hard disks in a 2d domain,
with periodic boundary conditions in horizontal direction. The flow of the
fluid over this bed of particles is modeled by imposing a force on each
particle that depends on the velocity of the fluid and its height above the
bed. We considered two velocity profiles for the fluid, parabolic and
logarithmic. The first one models laminar flow and the second corresponds to
turbulent flow. For each case we investigated the behavior of the saturated
flux. We found that for the logarithmic profile, the saturated flux shows a
quadratic increase with the strength of the flow, and for parabolic profile, a
cubic increase. The velocity distribution functions are used to interpret the
results.


title:
Impact of the floating-point precision and interpolation scheme on the
  results of DNS of turbulence by pseudo-spectral codes

abstract:
  In this paper we investigate the impact of the floating-point precision and
interpolation scheme on the results of direct numerical simulations (DNS) of
turbulence by pseudo-spectral codes. Three different types of floating-point
precision configurations show no differences in the statistical results. This
implies that single precision computations allow for increased Reynolds numbers
due to the reduced amount of memory needed. The interpolation scheme for
obtaining velocity values at particle positions has a noticeable impact on the
Lagrangian acceleration statistics. A tri-cubic scheme results in a slightly
broader acceleration probability density function than a tri-linear scheme.
Furthermore the scaling behavior obtained by the cubic interpolation scheme
exhibits a tendency towards a slightly increased degree of intermittency
compared to the linear one.


title:
Temperature Dependence of Violation of Bell's Inequality in Coupled
  Quantum Dots in a Microcavity

abstract:
  Bell's inequality in two coupled quantum dots within cavity QED, including
Forster and exciton-phonon interactions, is investigated theoretically. It is
shown that the environmental temperature has a significant impact on Bell's
inequality.


title:
Elementary Proof for Asymptotics of Large Haar-Distributed Unitary
  Matrices

abstract:
  We provide an elementary proof for a theorem due to Petz and R\'effy which
states that for a random $n\times n$ unitary matrix with distribution given by
the Haar measure on the unitary group U(n), the upper left (or any other)
$k\times k$ submatrix converges in distribution, after multiplying by a
normalization factor $\sqrt{n}$ and as $n\to\infty$, to a matrix of independent
complex Gaussian random variables with mean 0 and variance 1.


title:
Mesoporous matrices for quantum computation with improved response
  through redundance

abstract:
  We present a solid state implementation of quantum computation, which
improves previously proposed optically driven schemes. Our proposal is based on
vertical arrays of quantum dots embedded in a mesoporous material which can be
fabricated with present technology. The redundant encoding typical of the
chosen hardware protects the computation against gate errors and the effects of
measurement induced noise. The system parameters required for quantum
computation applications are calculated for II-VI and III-V materials and found
to be within the experimental range. The proposed hardware may help minimize
errors due to polydispersity of dot sizes, which is at present one of the main
problems in relation to quantum dot-based quantum computation.


title: Spherical harmonics and integration in superspace

abstract:
  In this paper the classical theory of spherical harmonics in R^m is extended
to superspace using techniques from Clifford analysis. After defining a
super-Laplace operator and studying some basic properties of polynomial
null-solutions of this operator, a new type of integration over the supersphere
is introduced by exploiting the formal equivalence with an old result of
Pizzetti. This integral is then used to prove orthogonality of spherical
harmonics of different degree, Green-like theorems and also an extension of the
important Funk-Hecke theorem to superspace. Finally, this integration over the
supersphere is used to define an integral over the whole superspace and it is
proven that this is equivalent with the Berezin integral, thus providing a more
sound definition of the Berezin integral.


title: Deuteron-Proton Elastic Scattering at Intermediate Energies

abstract:
  The deuteron-proton elastic scattering has been studied in the multiple
scattering expansion formalism. The essential attention has been given to such
relativistic problem as a deuteron wave function in a moving frame and
transformation of spin states due to Wigner rotation. Parameterization of the
nucleon-nucleon $t$-matrix has been used to take the off-energy shell effects
into account. The vector, $A_y,$ and tensor, $A_{yy}$, analyzing powers of the
deuteron have been calculated at two deuteron kinetic energies: 395 MeV and
1200 MeV. The obtained results are compared with the experimental data.


title: On Hawking radiation from black rings

abstract:
  We calculate the quantum radiation from the five dimensional charged rotating
black rings by demanding the radiation to eliminate the possible anomalies on
the horizons. It is shown that the temperature, energy flux and
angular-momentum flux exactly coincide with those of the Hawking radiation. The
black rings considered in this paper contain the Myers-Perry black hole as a
limit and the quantum radiation for this black hole, obtained in the
literature, is recovered in the limit. The results support the picture that the
Hawking radiation can be regarded as the anomaly eliminator on horizons and
suggest its general applicability to the higher-dimensional black holes
discovered recently.


title:
Large statistics study of the topological charge distribution in the
  SU(3) gauge theory

abstract:
  We present preliminary results for a high statistics study of the topological
charge distribution in the SU(3) Yang-Mills theory obtained by using the
definition of the charge suggested by Neuberger fermions. We find statistical
evidence for deviations from a gaussian distribution. The large statistics
required has been obtained by using PCs of the INFN-GRID.


title: Charge, strangeness and radius of strangelets

abstract:
  We investigate, at both zero and finite temperature, the properties of
strangelets versus the electric charge Z and strangeness S. The strangelet
radius is not a monotonic function of either charge or strangeness, and a
minimum is reached in the (Z, S) plane. However, the thermodynamically stable
strangelets do not correspond to the radius minimum. The minimum radius always
appears at positive strangeness, while the stable radius may appear at negative
strangeness for very small baryon numbers. For large baryon numbers, the stable
radius is proportional to the cubic root of baryon numbers, but inversely
proportional to the square root of the confinement parameter in the present
model. If bulk strange quark matter is absolutely stable, the reduced size of
strangelets is about 1 fm, which may be relevant for the analysis of the
strangelet production and detection.


title: Hamilton form of Maxwell equations and its generalized solutions

abstract:
  The complex form of Maxwell equations has been constructed as one equation
for 3-dimensional complex A-vector. The real and imaginary parts of this vector
are described with use of electric and magnetic tensions accordingly. With
using a theory of generalized functions for new equations, the strong shock
electro-magnetic waves with the gap of tensions on fronts are considered. The
conditions on wave fronts have been received. It's shown that gap of the
tensions is tangent to the front of a wave, i.e. shock electromagnetic waves
are transverse and charges on the front of wave are absent. Generalized laws of
conservation of energy and charges have been received including ones on the
fronts of shock waves. The generalized solutions of this equations and solution
of Caushy problem have been constructed and the theorems of their uniqueness
have been proved including the shock waves.


title:
Solar heavy element abundance: constraints from frequency separation
  ratios of low-degree p modes

abstract:
  We use very precise frequencies of low-degree solar-oscillation modes
measured from 4752 days of data collected by the Birmingham Solar-Oscillations
Network (BiSON) to derive seismic information on the solar core. We compare
these observations to results from a large Monte Carlo simulation of standard
solar models, and use the results to constrain the mean molecular weight of the
solar core, and the metallicity of the solar convection zone. We find that only
a high value of solar metallicity is consistent with the seismic observations.
We can determine the mean molecular weight of the solar core to a very high
precision, and, dependent on the sequence of Monte Carlo models used, find that
the average mean molecular weight in the inner 20% by radius of the Sun ranges
from 0.7209 to 0.7231, with uncertainties of less than 0.5% on each value. Our
lowest seismic estimate of solar metallicity is Z=0.0187 and our highest is
Z=0.0239, with uncertainties in the range of 12--19%. Our results indicate that
the discrepancies between solar models constructed with low metallicity and the
helioseismic observations extend to the solar core and thus cannot be
attributed to deficiencies in the modeling of the solar convection zone.


title:
Observation of Topological and Parity-dependent Phase of $m=0$ Spin
  States

abstract:
  A Ramsey interrogation scheme was used to measure the phase shift of
laser-cooled $^{87}$Rb clock-transition pseudospins arising as a result of a
reversal of a bias magnetic field, i.e., $\textbf{B} \to -\textbf{B}$, during
the interrogation. While no phase shift occurred when the reversal was sudden,
the Ramsey fringes were shifted by a factor of $\pi$ when the reversal was
adiabatic. We thus verified the prediction that the spin states $|F,m=0 >$
acquire a purely topological and parity-dependent phase factor of $(-1)^{F}$ as
a result of $\textbf{B} \to -\textbf{B}$.


title:
Reduction, reconstruction, and skew-product decomposition of symmetric
  stochastic differential equations

abstract:
  We present reduction and reconstruction procedures for the solutions of
symmetric stochastic differential equations, similar to those available for
ordinary differential equations. Additionally, we use the local tangent-normal
decomposition, available when the symmetry group is proper, to construct local
skew-product splittings in a neighborhood of any point in the open and dense
principal orbit type. The general methods introduced in the first part of the
paper are then adapted to the Hamiltonian case, which is studied with special
care and illustrated with several examples. The Hamiltonian category deserves a
separate study since in that situation the presence of symmetries implies in
most cases the existence of conservation laws, mathematically described via
momentum maps, that should be taken into account in the analysis.


abstract:
  Two evolutionary lineages: Machiavellian and Bohrian intelligence
  Mutation and natural selection are the two most basic processes of evolution,
yet the study of their interplay remains a challenge for theoretical and
empirical research. Darwinian evolution favors genotypes with high replication
rates, a process called survival of the fittest representing lineage of the
Machiavellian inteligence. According to quasi-species theory, selection favors
the cloud of genotypes, interconnected by mutation, whose average replication
rate is highest: mutation acts as a selective agent to shape the entire genome
so that is robust with respect to mutation. Thus survival of the flattest and
inventivest representing lineage of the Bohrian intelligence at high mutation
rates. Quasi-species theory predicts that, under appropriate conditions (high
mutation pressure), such a mutation can be fixed in an evolving population,
despite its lower replication rate.


title: SubmilliJansky Transients in Archival Radio Observations

abstract:
  [ABRIDGED] We report the results of a 944-epoch survey for transient sources
with archival data from the Very Large Array spanning 22 years with a typical
epoch separation of 7 days. Observations were obtained at 5 or 8.4 GHz for a
single field of view with a full-width at half-maximum of 8.6' and 5.1',
respectively, and achieved a typical point-source detection threshold at the
beam center of ~300 microJy per epoch. Ten transient sources were detected with
a significance threshold such that only one false positive would be expected.
Of these transients, eight were detected in only a single epoch. Two transients
were too faint to be detected in individual epochs but were detected in
two-month averages. None of the ten transients was detected in longer-term
averages or associated with persistent emission in the deep image produced from
the combination of all epochs. The cumulative rate for the short timescale
radio transients above 370 microJy at 5 and 8.4 GHz is 0.07 < R < 40 deg^-2
yr^-1, where the uncertainty is due to the unknown duration of the transients,
20 min < t_char < 7 days. A two-epoch survey for transients will detect 1.5 +/-
0.4 transient per square degrees above a flux density of 370 microJy. Two
transients are associated with galaxies at z=0.040 and z=0.249. These may be
similar to the peculiar Type Ib/c radio supernova SN 1998bw associated with GRB
980428. Six transients have no counterparts in the optical or infrared (R=27,
Ks=18). The hosts and progenitors of these transients are unknown.


title:
Exact solutions of semiclassical non-characteristic Cauchy problems for
  the sine-Gordon equation

abstract:
  The use of the sine-Gordon equation as a model of magnetic flux propagation
in Josephson junctions motivates studying the initial-value problem for this
equation in the semiclassical limit in which the dispersion parameter $\e$
tends to zero. Assuming natural initial data having the profile of a moving
$-2\pi$ kink at time zero, we analytically calculate the scattering data of
this completely integrable Cauchy problem for all $\e>0$ sufficiently small,
and further we invert the scattering transform to calculate the solution for a
sequence of arbitrarily small $\e$. This sequence of exact solutions is
analogous to that of the well-known $N$-soliton (or higher-order soliton)
solutions of the focusing nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation. Plots of exact
solutions for small $\e$ reveal certain features that emerge in the
semiclassical limit. For example, in the limit $\epsilon\to 0$ one observes the
appearance of nonlinear caustics. In the appendices we give a self contained
account of the Cauchy problem from the perspectives of both inverse scattering
and classical analysis (Picard iteration). Specifically, Appendix A contains a
complete formulation of the inverse-scattering method for generic $L^1$-Sobolev
initial data, and Appendix B establishes the well-posedness for $L^p$-Sobolev
initial data (which in particular completely justifies the inverse-scattering
analysis in Appendix A).


title: Removal of violations of the Master Ward Identity in perturbative QFT

abstract:
  We study the appearance of anomalies of the Master Ward Identity, which is a
universal renormalization condition in perturbative QFT. The main insight of
the present paper is that any violation of the Master Ward Identity can be
expressed as a LOCAL interacting field; this is a version of the well-known
Quantum Action Principle of Lowenstein and Lam. Proceeding in a proper field
formalism by induction on the order in $\hbar$, this knowledge about the
structure of possible anomalies as well as techniques of algebraic
renormalization are used to remove possible anomalies by finite
renormalizations. As an example the method is applied to prove the Ward
identities of the O(N) scalar field model.


title:
Atiyah-Singer Index Theorem in an SO(3) Yang-Mills-Higgs system and
  derivation of a charge quantization condition

abstract:
  The Atiyah-Singer index theorem is generalized to a two-dimensional SO(3)
Yang-Mills-Higgs (YMH) system. The generalized theorem is proven by using the
heat kernel method and a nonlinear realization of SU(2) gauge symmetry. This
theorem is applied to the problem of deriving a charge quantization condition
in the four-dimensional SO(3) YMH system with non-Abelian monopoles. The
resulting quantization condition, eg=n (n: integer), for an electric charge e
and a magnetic charge g is consistent with that found by Arafune, Freund and
Goebel. It is shown that the integer n is half of the index of a Dirac
operator.


title: A 5-quantifier (\in,=)-expression ZF-equivalent to the Axiom of Choice

abstract:
  In this paper I present an (\in, =)-sentence, AC**, with only 5 quantifiers,
that logically implies the axiom of choice, AC. Furthermore, using a weak
fragment of ZF set theory, I prove that AC implies AC**.
  Up to now 6 quantifiers were the minimum and 3 quantifiers don't suffice
since all 3-quantifier (\in, =)-sentences are decided in a weak fragment of ZF
set theory. Thus the gap is reduced to the undecided case of a 4 quantifier
sentence ZF-equivalent to AC.


title: Study of grain compositions in comet Levy 1990XX

abstract:
  In the present work, the non-spherical dust grain characteristics of comet
Levy 1990XX with different silicate grain compositions (both pyroxene and
olivine) are studied using the T-matrix method. Considering amorphous pyroxene
grain (Mg$_x$Fe$_{1-x}$SiO$_3$) with $x$ (= 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.95, 1)
and amorphous olivine grain (Mg$_{2y}$Fe$_{2-2y}$SiO$_4$) with $y$ (= 0.4, 0.5)
(Dorschner et al. 1995), the observed polarization data of comet Levy1990XX are
analyzed using the T-matrix code at $\lambda$ = 0.485 $\mu m$.


title:
Dirichlet-like space and capacity in complex analysis in several
  variables

abstract:
  For a Kahler manifold X, we study a space of test functions W* which is a
complex version of H1. We prove for W* the classical results of the theory of
Dirichlet spaces: the functions in W* are defined up to a pluripolar set and
the functional capacity associated to W* tests the pluripolar sets. This
functional capacity is a Choquet capacity.
  The space W* is not reflexive and the smooth functions are not dense in it
for the strong topology. So the classical tools of potential theory do not
apply here. We use instead pluripotential theory and Dirichlet spaces
associated to a current.


title: The X-ray Pulse Profile of BG CMi

abstract:
  We present an analysis of the X-ray data of a magnetic cataclysmic variable,
BG CMi, obtained with ROSAT in March 1992 and with ASCA in April 1996. We show
that four peaks clearly exist in the X-ray pulse profile, unlike a single peak
found in the optical profile. The fluxes of two major pulses are $\sim 2 - 5$
times larger than those of two minor pulses. The fraction of the total pulsed
flux increases from 51% to 85% with increasing energy in 0.1 $-$ 2.0 keV,
whereas it decreases from 96% to 22% in 0.8 $-$ 10 keV. We discuss the
implications of our findings for the origin of the pulse profile and its energy
dependence.


title: Frequency-selective single photon detection using a double quantum dot

abstract:
  We use a double quantum dot as a frequency-tunable on-chip microwave detector
to investigate the radiation from electron shot-noise in a near-by quantum
point contact. The device is realized by monitoring the inelastic tunneling of
electrons between the quantum dots due to photon absorption. The frequency of
the absorbed radiation is set by the energy separation between the dots, which
is easily tuned with gate voltages. Using time-resolved charge detection
techniques, we can directly relate the detection of a tunneling electron to the
absorption of a single photon.


title:
Faddeev-Senjanovic Quantization of Supersymmetrical Electrodynamical
  System

abstract:
  According to the method of path integral quantization for the canonical
constrained system in Faddeev-Senjanovic scheme, we quantize the
supersymmetrical electrodynamic system in general situation, and obtain the
generating functional of Green function. Another first class constraint is
obtained by making the linear combination of several primary constraints, the
generator of gauge transformation is constructed, gauge transformations of the
all different fields are deduced. Utilizing the consistency equation of gauge
fixing condition we deduce another gauge fixing condition, and we find that the
secondary constraint of the system is an Euler-Lagrange equation that is just
electro-charge conversation law. Thus, we do not need to calculate the other
secondary constraints step by step, and get no new constraints naturally. So,
the Faddeev-Senjanovic path integral quantization of the supersymmetrical
electrodynamical system is simplified.


title: Nonequilibrium 1/f Noise in Low-doped Manganite Single Crystals

abstract:
  1/f noise in current biased La0.82Ca0.18MnO3 crystals has been investigated.
The temperature dependence of the noise follows the resistivity changes with
temperature suggesting that resistivity fluctuations constitute a fixed
fraction of the total resistivity, independently of the dissipation mechanism
and magnetic state of the system. The noise scales as a square of the current
as expected for equilibrium resistivity fluctuations. However, at 77 K at bias
exceeding some threshold, the noise intensity starts to decrease with
increasing bias. The appearance of nonequilibrium noise is interpreted in terms
of bias dependent multi-step indirect tunneling.


title:
Effects of the halo concentration distribution on strong-lensing optical
  depth and X-ray emission

abstract:
  We use simulated merger trees of galaxy-cluster halos to study the effect of
the halo concentration distribution on strong lensing and X-ray emission. Its
log-normal shape typically found in simulations favors outliers with high
concentration. Since, at fixed mass, more concentrated halos tend to be more
efficient lenses, the scatter in the concentration increases the strong-lensing
optical depth by $\lesssim50%$. Within cluster samples, mass and concentration
have counteracting effects on strong lensing and X-ray emission because the
concentration decreases for increasing mass. Selecting clusters by
concentration thus has no effect on the lensing cross section. The most
efficiently lensing and hottest clusters are typically the \textit{least}
concentrated in samples with a broad mass range. Among cluster samples with a
narrow mass range, however, the most strongly lensing and X-ray brightest
clusters are typically 10% to 25% more concentrated.


title:
Two interacting GL-equations in High-T$_c$ superconductivity and quantum
  chromodynamics

abstract:
  The possible connection between High-T$_c$ superconductivity and quantum
chromodynamics is considered that is based on two interacting Ginzburg-Landau
equations. For High-T$_c$ superconductivity these two equations describe Cooper
electrons interacting with different kind of quasi particles (phonons, magnons,
excitons and so on). The interaction term describes a possible interaction
between different kind of quasi particles. For quantum chromodynamics the
equations describe two kinds of gauge condensates. The condensates describe a
gauge potential from a subalgebra of the SU(3) gauge group and the
corresponding coset. Regular solutions are found which describe the situation
where one field, $\psi_1$, is pushed out by another, $\psi_2$.


title: A few brief comments on the results of manuscript arXiv:math/0405153v3

abstract:
  The results in the recently posted manuscript arXiv:math/0405153v3 are
incorrect. The correct version of the aimed results is not original. The
preprint contains material from references that are not properly quoted.


title: Polarimetric studies of comet Halley

abstract:
  In the present work, the non-spherical grain characteristics of comet Halley
are analysed using the T-matrix method at $\lambda = 0.365, 0.485$ and
$0.684\mu m$ respectively. In order to analyse the polarisation data of comet
Halley, the dust size distribution function derived by Das et al. (2004) for
comet Halley is used in the present work. The size range of the grains is taken
to be 0.01$\mu m \le$ s $\le 3\mu m$. Using the T-matrix method, the best fit
values of complex refractive indices $(n, k)$ and aspect ratio ($E$) are
determined at three different wavelengths $ 0.365, 0.485$ and $0.684\mu m$ and
the corresponding values are given by $(1.380, 0.043, 0.962), (1.378, 0.049,
0.962)$ and $(1.377, 0.058,0.962)$ respectively. After comparing the above
result with Mie theory result, it is found that prolate grains give the best
fit to the observed polarisation data of comet Halley. Also the negative
polarisation behaviour of comet Halley is discussed thereafter.


title:
Probing the Impact of Stellar Duplicity on Planet Occurrence with
  Spectroscopic and Imaging Observations

abstract:
  Although it is commonly agreed that the presence of a close stellar companion
is likely to affect planet formation and evolution, the precise effects and
their actual impact on planet occurrence and properties are still debated. In
particular, observational constraints are sparse, a consequence of the
discrimination against close binaries in Doppler planet searches. To bring
observational constraints on the occurrence and properties of planets in
binaries and multiple stars, we have been conducting two dedicated observing
programs using both adaptive optics imaging and radial-velocity monitoring. In
this chapter we explain our approach and present preliminary results from these
two programs. A simplified statistical analysis of the data from our VLT/NACO
imaging survey brings the first observational evidence that the occurrence of
planets is reduced in binaries closer than ~120 AU. On the radial-velocity
side, current results confirm that the use of two-dimensional correlation
allows to search for circumprimary giant planets in many types of spectroscopic
binaries. Definitive results from our ongoing planet search in spectroscopic
binaries should yield important constraints on the closest binaries susceptible
of hosting circumprimary giant planets.


title: Spin dynamics in rolled-up two dimensional electron gases

abstract:
  A curved two dimensional electron gas with spin-orbit interactions due to the
radial confinement asymmetry is considered. At certain relation between the
spin-orbit coupling strength and curvature radius the tangential component of
the electron spin becomes a conserved quantity for any spin-independent
scattering potential that leads to a number of interesting effects such as
persistent spin helix and strong anisotropy of spin relaxation times. The
effect proposed can be utilized in the non-ballistic spin-field-effect
transistors.


title:
Amorphous-amorphous transition and the two-step replica symmetry
  breaking phase

abstract:
  The nature of polyamorphism and amorphous-to-amorphous transition is
investigated by means of an exactly solvable model with quenched disorder, the
spherical s+p multi-spin interaction model. The analysis is carried out in the
framework of Replica Symmetry Breaking theory and leads to the identification
of low temperature glass phases of different kinds. Besides the usual
`one-step' solution, known to reproduce all basic properties of structural
glasses, also a physically consistent `two-step' solution arises. More
complicated phases are found as well, as temperature is further decreased,
expressing a complex variety of metastable states structures for amorphous
systems.


title: Analysis of evidence of Mars life

abstract:
  Gillevinia straata, the scientific name [1, 2] recognizing the first
extraterrestrial living form ever nomenclated, as well as the existence of a
new biological kingdom, Jakobia, in a new biosphere -Marciana- of what now has
become the living system Solaria, is grounded on old evidence reinterpreted in
the light of newly acquired facts. The present exposition provides a summary
overview of all these grounds, outlined here as follows. A more detailed paper
is being prepared for publication.


title: Converting H$\alpha$ Luminosities into Star Formation Rates

abstract:
  The recent finding that the IGIMF (integrated galaxial initial stellar mass
function) composed of all newly formed stars in all young star clusters has, in
dependence of the SFR, a steeper slope in the high mass regime than the
underlying canonical IMF of each star cluster offers new insights into the
galactic star formation process: The classical linear relation between the SFR
and the produced H$\alpha$ luminosity is broken and SFRs are always
underestimated. Our new relation is likely to lead to a revision of the
cosmological SFH.


title: Primordial Non-Gaussianity in Multi-Scalar Slow-Roll Inflation

abstract:
  We analyze the non-Gaussianity for primordial curvature perturbations
generated in multi-scalar slow-roll inflation model including the model with
non-separable potential by making use of $\delta N$ formalism. Many authors
have investigated the possibility of large non-Gaussianity for the models with
separable potential, and they have found that the non-linear parameter,
$f_{NL}$, is suppressed by the slow-roll parameters. We show that for the
non-separable models $f_{NL}$ is given by the product of a factor which is
suppressed by the slow-roll parameters and a possible enhancement factor which
is given by exponentials of quantities of O(1).


title: Non-local detection of resistance fluctuations of an open quantum dot

abstract:
  We investigate quantum fluctuations in the non-local resistance of an open
quantum dot which is connected to four reservoirs via quantum point contacts.
In this four-terminal quantum dot the voltage path can be separated from the
current path. We measured non-local resistance fluctuations of several hundreds
of Ohms, which have been characterized as a function of bias voltage, gate
voltage and perpendicular magnetic field. The amplitude of the resistance
fluctuations is strongly reduced when the coupling between the voltage probes
and the dot is enhanced. Along with experimental results, we present a
theoretical analysis based on the Landauer-B\"{u}ttiker formalism. While the
theory predicts non-local resistance fluctuations of considerably larger
amplitude than what has been observed, agreement with theory is very good if an
additional dephasing mechanism is assumed.


title:
Generation of linear waves in the flow of Bose-Einstein condensate past
  an obstacle

abstract:
  The theory of linear wave structures generated in Bose-Einstein condensate
flow past an obstacle is developed. The shape of wave crests and dependence of
amplitude on coordinates far enough from the obstacle are calculated. The
results are in good agreement with the results of numerical simulations
obtained earlier. The theory gives a qualitative description of experiments
with Bose-Einstein condensate flow past an obstacle after condensate's release
from a trap.


title: Cosmic Acceleration Data and Bulk-Brane Energy Exchange

abstract:
  We consider a braneworld model with bulk-brane energy exchange. This allows
for crossing of the w=-1 phantom divide line without introducing phantom energy
with quantum instabilities. We use the latest SnIa data included in the Gold06
dataset to provide an estimate of the preferred parameter values of this
braneworld model. We use three fitting approaches which provide best fit
parameter values and hint towards a bulk energy component that behaves like
relativistic matter which is propagating in the bulk and is moving at a speed v
along the fifth dimension, while the bulk-brane energy exchange component
corresponds to negative pressure and signifies energy flowing from the bulk
into the brane. We find that the best fit effective equation of state parameter
$w_{eff}$ marginally crosses the phantom divide line w=-1. Thus, we have
demonstrated both the ability of this class of braneworld models to provide
crossing of the phantom divide and also that cosmological data hint towards
natural values for the model parameters.


title: Gravitational instability in binary protoplanetary disks

abstract:
  We review the models and results of simulations of self-gravitating, gaseous
protoplanetary disks in binary star systems. These models have been calculated
by three different groups with three different computational methods, two
particle-based and one grid-based. We show that interactions with the companion
star can affect the temperature distribution and structural evolution of disks,
and discuss the implications for giant planet formation by gravitational
instability as well as by core accretion. Complete consensus has not been
reached yet on whether the formation of giant planets is promoted or suppressed
by tidal interactions with a companion star. While systems with binary
separations of order 100 AU or larger appear to behave more or less as in
isolation, systems with smaller separations exhibit an increased or decreased
susceptibility to fragmentation, depending on the details of thermodynamics, in
particular on the inclusion or absence of artificial viscosity, and on the
initial conditions. While code comparisons on identical problems need to be
carried out (some of which are already in progress) to decide which computer
models are more realistic, it is already clear that relatively close binary
systems, with separations of order 60 AU or less, should provide strong
constraints on how giant planets form in these systems.


title:
Magnification of Subwavelength Field Distributions at Microwave
  Frequencies Using a Wire Medium Slab Operating in the Canalization Regime

abstract:
  Magnification of subwavelength field distributions using a wire medium slab
operating in the canalization regime is demonstrated using numerical
simulations. The magnifying slab is implemented by radially enlarging the
distance between adjacent wires, and the operational frequency is tuned to
coincide with the Fabry-Perot resonance condition. The near-field distribution
of a complex-shaped source is canalized over an electrical distance
corresponding roughly to $3\lambda$, and the distribution details are magnified
by a factor of three. The operation of the slab is studied at several
frequencies deviating from the Fabry-Perot resonance.


title: Numerical Propagation of Cosmic Rays in the Galaxy

abstract:
  We present a Monte-Carlo (MC) calculation of the propagation of cosmic ray
protons in the Galaxy for energies above 1 PeV. We discuss the relative
strengths of competing effects such as parallel/perpendicular diffusion and
drifts in toy models of the Galaxy. We compare our estimates with the results
of the MC calculation for the toy models and then we apply the MC calculation
to a few more realistic models of the Galactic magnetic field. We study the
containment times in different models of the magnetic field in order to
understand which one may be consistent with the low energy data.


title:
Inner Metric Geometry of Complex Algebraic Surfaces with Isolated
  Singularities

abstract:
  We produce examples of complex algebraic surfaces with isolated singularities
such that these singularities are not metrically conic, i.e. the germs of the
surfaces near singular points are not bi-Lipschitz equivalent, with respect to
the inner metric, to cones. The technique used to prove the nonexistence of the
metric conic structure is related to a development of Metric Homology. The
class of the examples is rather large and it includes some surfaces of
Brieskorn.


title:
Dissipation of magnetic fields in neutron star crusts due to development
  of a tearing mode

abstract:
  Dissipation of magnetic fields in Hall plasma of neutron star crusts may
power persistent high energy emission of a class of strongly magnetized
neutrons stars, magnetars. We consider development of a dissipative tearing
mode in Hall plasma (electron MHD) and find that its growth rate increases with
the wave number of perturbations, reaching a maximum value intermediate between
resistive $\tau_r$ and Hall times $\tau_H$, $\Gamma\sim 1 / \sqrt{\tau_r
\tau_H}$.
  We argue that the tearing mode may be the principal mechanism by which strong
magnetic fields are dissipated in magnetars on times scale of $\sim 10^4-10^5$
yrs powering the persistent X-ray emisison.


title:
Comment on ``Spherical 2 + p spin-glass model: An analytically solvable
  model with a glass-to-glass transition''

abstract:
  Guided by old results on simple mode-coupling models displaying glass-glass
transitions, we demonstrate, through a crude analysis of the solution with one
step of replica symmetry breaking (1RSB) derived by Crisanti and Leuzzi for the
spherical $s+p$ mean-field spin glass [Phys. Rev. B 73, 014412 (2006)], that
the phase behavior of these systems is not yet fully understood when $s$ and
$p$ are well separated. First, there seems to be a possibility of glass-glass
transition scenarios in these systems. Second, we find clear indications that
the 1RSB solution cannot be correct in the full glassy phase. Therefore, while
the proposed analysis is clearly naive and probably inexact, it definitely
calls for a reassessment of the physics of these systems, with the promise of
potentially interesting new developments in the theory of disordered and
complex systems.


title:
A passivity-based stability criterion for a class of interconnected
  systems and applications to biochemical reaction networks

abstract:
  This paper presents a stability test for a class of interconnected nonlinear
systems motivated by biochemical reaction networks. One of the main results
determines global asymptotic stability of the network from the diagonal
stability of a "dissipativity matrix" which incorporates information about the
passivity properties of the subsystems, the interconnection structure of the
network, and the signs of the interconnection terms. This stability test
encompasses the "secant criterion" for cyclic networks presented in our
previous paper, and extends it to a general interconnection structure
represented by a graph. A second main result allows one to accommodate state
products. This extension makes the new stability criterion applicable to a
broader class of models, even in the case of cyclic systems. The new stability
test is illustrated on a mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade model,
and on a branched interconnection structure motivated by metabolic networks.
Finally, another result addresses the robustness of stability in the presence
of diffusion terms in a compartmental system made out of identical systems.


title: Polariton-polariton scattering: exact results through a novel approach

abstract:
  We present a fully microscopic approach to the transition rate of two
exciton-photon polaritons. The non-trivial consequences of the polariton
composite nature -- here treated exactly through a development of our
composite-exciton many-body theory -- lead to results noticeably different from
the ones of the conventional approaches in which polaritons are mapped into
elementary bosons. Our work reveals an appealing fundamental scattering which
corresponds to a photon-assisted exchange -- in the absence of Coulomb process.
This scattering being dominant when one of the scattered polaritons has a
strong photon character, it should be directly accessible to experiment. In the
case of microcavity polaritons, it produces a significant enhancement of the
polariton transition rate when compared to the one coming from Coulomb
interaction. This paper also contains the crucial tools to securely tackle the
many-body physics of polaritons, in particular towards its possible BEC.


title: (Co)cyclic (co)homology of bialgebroids: An approach via (co)monads

abstract:
  For a (co)monad T_l on a category M, an object X in M, and a functor \Pi: M
\to C, there is a (co)simplex Z^*:=\Pi T_l^{* +1} X in C. Our aim is to find
criteria for para-(co)cyclicity of Z^*. Construction is built on a distributive
law of T_l with a second (co)monad T_r on M, a natural transformation i:\Pi T_l
\to \Pi T_r, and a morphism w: T_r X \to T_l X in M. The relations i and w need
to satisfy are categorical versions of Kaygun's axioms of a transposition map.
Motivation comes from the observation that a (co)ring T over an algebra R
determines a distributive law of two (co)monads T_l=T \otimes_R (-) and T_r =
(-)\otimes_R T on the category of R-bimodules. The functor \Pi can be chosen
such that Z^n= T\hat{\otimes}_R... \hat{\otimes}_R T \hat{\otimes}_R X is the
cyclic R-module tensor product. A natural transformation i:T \hat{\otimes}_R
(-) \to (-) \hat{\otimes}_R T is given by the flip map and a morphism w: X
\otimes_R T \to T\otimes_R X is constructed whenever T is a (co)module algebra
or coring of an R-bialgebroid. Stable anti Yetter-Drinfel'd modules over
certain bialgebroids, so called x_R-Hopf algebras, are introduced. In the
particular example when T is a module coring of a x_R-Hopf algebra B and X is a
stable anti Yetter-Drinfel'd B-module, the para-cyclic object Z_* is shown to
project to a cyclic structure on T^{\otimes_R *+1} \otimes_B X. For a B-Galois
extension S \to T, a stable anti Yetter-Drinfel'd B-module T_S is constructed,
such that the cyclic objects B^{\otimes_R *+1} \otimes_B T_S and T^
{\hat{\otimes}_S *+1} are isomorphic. As an application, we compute Hochschild
and cyclic homology of a groupoid with coefficients, by tracing it back to the
group case. In particular, we obtain explicit expressions for ordinary
Hochschild and cyclic homology of a groupoid.


title: Why E = mc^2 Emerges in the Process of Neutron Capture

abstract:
  This paper is a short commentary on the 2005 paper in Nature by S. Rainville
et al., which claimed to be ``the most precise direct test of the famous
equation", E = mc^2. This communication is directed only to the readers who are
familiar with the earlier papers by the author on the subject of mass-energy
equivalence.


title:
From self-consistent covariant effective field theories to their
  Galilean-invariant counterparts

abstract:
  We discuss how to obtain the nonrelativistic limit of a self-consistent
relativistic effective field theory for dynamic problems. It is shown that the
standard v/c expansions yields Galilean invariance only to first order in v/c,
whereas second order is required to obtain important contributions such as the
spin-orbit force. We propose a modified procedure which is a mapping rather
than a strict v/c expansion.


title: Achronal averaged null energy condition

abstract:
  The averaged null energy condition (ANEC) requires that the integral over a
complete null geodesic of the stress-energy tensor projected onto the geodesic
tangent vector is never negative. This condition is sufficient to prove many
important theorems in general relativity, but it is violated by quantum fields
in curved spacetime. However there is a weaker condition, which is free of
known violations, requiring only that there is no self-consistent space-time in
semiclassical gravity in which ANEC is violated on a complete, {\em achronal}
null geodesic. We indicate why such a condition might be expected to hold and
show that it is sufficient to rule out wormholes and closed timelike curves.


title:
Internal states of model isotropic granular packings. I. Assembling
  process, geometry and contact networks

abstract:
  This is the first paper of a series of three, reporting on numerical
simulation studies of geometric and mechanical properties of static assemblies
of spherical beads under an isotropic pressure. Frictionless systems assemble
in the unique random close packing (RCP) state in the low pressure limit if the
compression process is fast enough, slower processes inducing traces of
crystallization, and exhibit specific properties directly related to
isostaticity of the force-carrying structure. The different structures of
frictional packings assembled by various methods cannot be classified by the
sole density. While lubricated systems approach RCP densities and coordination
number z^*~=6 on the backbone in the rigid limit, an idealized "vibration"
procedure results in equally dense configurations with z^*~=4.5. Near neighbor
correlations on various scales are computed and compared to available
laboratory data, although z^* values remain experimentally inaccessible. Low
coordination packings have many rattlers (more than 10% of the grains carry no
force), which should be accounted for on studying position correlations, and a
small proportion of harmless "floppy modes" associated with divalent grains.
Frictional packings, however slowly assembled under low pressure, retain a
finite level of force indeterminacy, except in the limit of infinite friction.


title: Stochastic population dynamics in turbulent fields

abstract:
  The behavior of interacting populations typically displays irregular temporal
and spatial patterns that are difficult to reconcile with an underlying
deterministic dynamics. A classical example is the heterogeneous distribution
of plankton communities, which has been observed to be patchy over a wide range
of spatial and temporal scales. Here, we use plankton communities as prototype
systems to present theoretical approaches for the analysis of the combined
effects of turbulent advection and stochastic growth in the spatiotemporal
dynamics of the population. Incorporation of these two factors into
mathematical models brings an extra level of realism to the description and
leads to better agreement with experimental data than that of previously
proposed models based on reaction-diffusion equations.


title: Photon wave mechanics and position eigenvectors

abstract:
  One and two photon wave functions are derived by projecting the quantum state
vector onto simultaneous eigenvectors of the number operator and a recently
constructed photon position operator [Phys. Rev A 59, 954 (1999)] that couples
spin and orbital angular momentum. While only the Landau-Peierls wave function
defines a positive definite photon density, a similarity transformation to a
biorthogonal field-potential pair of positive frequency solutions of Maxwell's
equations preserves eigenvalues and expectation values. We show that this real
space description of photons is compatible with all of the usual rules of
quantum mechanics and provides a framework for understanding the relationships
amongst different forms of the photon wave function in the literature. It also
gives a quantum picture of the optical angular momentum of beams that applies
to both one photon and coherent states. According to the rules of qunatum
mechanics, this wave function gives the probability to count a photon at any
position in space.


title:
Internal states of model isotropic granular packings. II. Compression
  and pressure cycles

abstract:
  This is the second paper of a series of three investigating, by numerical
means, the geometric and mechanical properties of spherical bead packings under
isotropic stresses. We study the effects of varying the applied pressure P
(from 1 or 10 kPa up to 100 MPa in the case of glass beads) on several types of
configurations assembled by different procedures, as reported in the preceding
paper. As functions of P, we monitor changes in solid fraction \Phi,
coordination number z, proportion of rattlers (grains carrying no force) x0,
the distribution of normal forces, the level of friction mobilization, and the
distribution of near neighbor distances. Assuming the contact law does not
involve material plasticity or damage, \Phi is found to vary very nearly
reversibly with P in an isotropic compression cycle, but all other quantities,
due to the frictional hysteresis of contact forces, change irreversibly. In
particular, initial low P states with high coordination numbers lose many
contacts in a compression cycle, and end up with values of z and x0 close to
those of the most poorly coordinated initial configurations. Proportional load
variations which do not entail notable configuration changes can therefore
nevertheless significantly affect contact networks of granular packings in
quasistatic conditions.


title:
Internal states of model isotropic granular packings. III. Elastic
  properties

abstract:
  In this third and final paper of a series, elastic properties of numerically
simulated isotropic packings of spherical beads assembled by different
procedures and subjected to a varying confining pressure P are investigated. In
addition P, which determines the stiffness of contacts by Hertz's law, elastic
moduli are chiefly sensitive to the coordination number, the possible values of
which are not necessarily correlated with the density. Comparisons of numerical
and experimental results for glass beads in the 10kPa-10MPa range reveal
similar differences between dry samples compacted by vibrations and lubricated
packings. The greater stiffness of the latter, in spite of their lower density,
can hence be attributed to a larger coordination number. Voigt and Reuss bounds
bracket bulk modulus B accurately, but simple estimation schemes fail for shear
modulus G, especially in poorly coordinated configurations under low P.
Tenuous, fragile networks respond differently to changes in load direction, as
compared to load intensity. The shear modulus, in poorly coordinated packings,
tends to vary proportionally to the degree of force indeterminacy per unit
volume. The elastic range extends to small strain intervals, in agreement with
experimental observations. The origins of nonelastic response are discussed. We
conclude that elastic moduli provide access to mechanically important
information about coordination numbers, which escape direct measurement
techniques, and indicate further perspectives.


title: Do consistent $F(R)$ models mimic General Relativity plus $\Lambda$?

abstract:
  Modified gravity models are subject to a number of consistency requirements
which restrict the form that the function $F(R)$ can take. We study a
particular class of $F(R)$ functions which satisfy various constraints that
have been found in the literature. These models have a late time accelerating
epoch, and an acceptable matter era. We calculate the Friedmann equation for
our models, and show that in order to satisfy the constraints we impose, they
must mimic General Relativity plus $\Lambda$ throughout the cosmic history,
with exponentially suppressed corrections. We also find that the free
parameters in our model must be fine tuned to obtain an acceptable late time
accelerating phase. We discuss the generality of this conclusion.


title:
Real-time renormalization group and cutoff scales in nonequilibrium
  applied to an arbitrary quantum dot in the Coulomb blockade regime

abstract:
  We apply the real-time renormalization group (RG) in nonequilibrium to an
arbitrary quantum dot in the Coulomb blockade regime. Within one-loop
RG-equations, we include self-consistently the kernel governing the dynamics of
the reduced density matrix of the dot. As a result, we find that relaxation and
dephasing rates generically cut off the RG flow. In addition, we include all
other cutoff scales defined by temperature, energy excitations, frequency, and
voltage. We apply the formalism to transport through single molecular magnets,
realized by the fully anisotropic Kondo model (with three different exchange
couplings J_x, J_y, and J_z) in a magnetic field h_z. We calculate the
differential conductance as function of bias voltage V and discuss a quantum
phase transition which can be tuned by changing the sign of J_x J_y J_z via the
anisotropy parameters. Finally, we calculate the noise S(Omega) at finite
frequency Omega for the isotropic Kondo model and find that the dephasing rate
determines the height of the shoulders in dS(\Omega)/d Omega near Omega=V.


title: New N = (2, 2) vector multiplets

abstract:
  We introduce two new N = (2, 2) vector multiplets that couple naturally to
generalized Kahler geometries. We describe their kinetic actions as well as
their matter couplings both in N = (2, 2) and N = (1, 1) superspace.


title: A mirror symmetric solution to the quantum Toda lattice

abstract:
  We use representation theory to construct integral formulas for solutions to
the quantum Toda lattice in general type. This result generalizes work of
Givental for SL(n)/B in a uniform way to arbitrary type and can be interpreted
as a kind of mirror theorem for the full flag variety G/B. We also prove the
existence of a totally positive critical point of the 'superpotential' in every
mirror fiber.


title:
Recent experiments performed at "Carlo Novero" lab at INRIM on Quantum
  Information and Foundations of Quantum Mechanics

abstract:
  In this paper we present some recent work performed at "Carlo Novero" lab on
Quantum Information and Foundations of Quantum Mechanics.


title:
Analysis of electron localization in a coupled quantum dot structure via
  variational approach: numerical results and application in quantum-dot
  cellular automata

abstract:
  Analysis of quantum dot structures is a current topic with important
applications in solid-state digital logic design, quantum information
technology and quantum optics. In this work, we show a variational formulation
for the solution of the effective two-level approach of the analysis of
electron localization in two coupled quantum dots. Numerical results are
presented as well the use of electron localization in the realization of a
configurable logic circuit using quantum-dot cellular automata.


title:
Quantum dynamics of two bosons in an anharmonic trap: Collective vs
  internal excitations

abstract:
  This work deals with the effects of an anharmonic trap on an interacting
two-boson system in one dimension. Our primary focus is on the role of the
induced coupling between the center of mass and the relative motion as both
anharmonicity and the (repulsive) interaction strength are varied. The ground
state reveals a strong localization in the relative coordinate, counteracting
the tendency to fragment for stronger repulsion. To explore the quantum
dynamics, we study the system's response upon (i) exciting the harmonic ground
state by continuously switching on an additional anharmonicity, and (ii)
displacing the center of mass, this way triggering collective oscillations. The
interplay between collective and internal dynamics materializes in the collapse
of oscillations, which are explained in terms of few-mode models.


title: Instanton transition in thermal and moduli deformed de Sitter cosmology

abstract:
  We consider the de Sitter cosmology deformed by the presence of a thermal
bath of radiation and/or time-dependent moduli fields. Depending on the
parameters, either a first or second order phase transition can occur.
  In the first case, an instanton allows a double analytic continuation. It
induces a probability to enter the inflationary evolution by tunnel effect from
another cosmological solution. The latter starts with a big bang and, in the
case the transition does not occur, ends with a big crunch. A temperature
duality exchanges the two cosmological branches. In the limit where the pure de
Sitter universe is recovered, the tunnel effect reduces to a "creation from
nothing", due to the vanishing of the big bang branch. However, the latter may
be viable in some range of the deformation parameter. In the second case, there
is a smooth evolution from a big bang to the inflationary phase.


title: D=2 N=(2,2) Semi Chiral Vector Multiplet

abstract:
  We describe a new 1+1 dimensional N=(2,2) vector multiplet that naturally
couples to semi chiral superfields in the sense that the gauged supercovariant
derivative algebra is only consistent with imposing covariantly semi chiral
superfield constraints. It has the advantages that its prepotentials shift by
semi chiral superfields under gauge transformations. We also see that the
multiplet relates the chiral vector multiplet with the twisted chiral vector
multiplet by reducing to either multiplet under appropriate limits without
being reducible in terms of the chiral and twisted chiral vector multiplet.
This is explained from the superspace geometrical point of view as the result
of possessing a symmetry under the discrete supercoordinate transformation that
is responsible for mirror copies of supermultiplets. We then describe how to
gauge a non linear sigma model with semi chiral superfields using the
prepotentials of the new multiplet.


title: Polarimetric studies of comet Hale-Bopp

abstract:
  In the present work, the non-spherical dust grain characteristics of comet
Hale-Bopp are studied using the T-matrix method and the modified power law
distribution function. It is found that the observed data fits very well with
the power index ($\alpha) = - 3$. The best fit values of complex refractive
index $(n, k)$ and the aspect ratio (E) at $\alpha = - 3$ are calculated to be
$(1.382, 0.035, 0.936)$ and $(1.379, 0.041,0.936)$ at $\lambda = 0.485 \mu m$
and $0.684\mu m$ respectively. Kerola & Larson (K-L) analysed the same comet
using the T-matrix method and the power law distribution function ($\alpha =
-3$), and found that the prolate grains can explain the observed polarization
in a more satisfactory manner as compared to the other shapes. But their
analysis could not reproduce the negative polarization branch beyond scattering
angle $157^0$. However, the results obtained from the present work successfully
generate the expected negative polarization curve beyond $157^0$ and the
fitting in this case is much better than K-L's work. So it is concluded from
the present study that the use of modified power law distribution function
(with $\alpha = - 3$) can fit the observed data in a better way, as compared to
the power law distribution function used by previous authors.


title: In search of dying radio sources in the local universe

abstract:
  Up till now very few dying sources were known, presumably because the dying
phase is short at centimeter wavelengths. We therefore have tried to improve
the statistics on sources that have ceased to be active, or are intermittently
active. The latter sources would partly consist of a fossil radio plasma left
over from an earlier phase of activity, plus a recently restarted core and
radio jets. Improving the statistics of dying sources will give us a better
handle on the evolution of radio sources, in particular the frequency and time
scales of radio activity. We have used the WENSS and NVSS surveys, in order to
find sources with steep spectral indices, associated with nearby elliptical
galaxies. In the cross correlation we presently used only unresolved sources,
with flux densities at 1.4 GHz larger than 10 mJy. The eleven candidates thus
obtained were observed with the VLA in various configurations, in order to
confirm the steepness of the spectra, and to check whether active structures
like flat-spectrum cores and jets are present, perhaps at low levels. We
estimated the duration of the active and relic phases by modelling the
integrated radio spectra using the standard models of spectral evolution. We
have found six dying sources and three restarted sources, while the remaining
two candidates remain unresolved also with the new VLA data and may be Compact
Steep Spectrum sources, with an unusually steep spectrum. The typical age of
the active phase, as derived by spectral fits, is in the range 10^7 - 10^8
years. For our sample of dying sources, the age of the relic phase is on
average shorter by an order of magnitude than the active phase.


title:
Interactions for a collection of spin-two fields intermediated by a
  massless p-form

abstract:
  Under the general hypotheses of locality, smoothness of interactions in the
coupling constant, Poincare invariance, Lorentz covariance, and preservation of
the number of derivatives on each field, we investigate the cross-couplings of
one or several spin-two fields to a massless p-form. Two complementary cases
arise. The first case is related to the standard interactions from General
Relativity, but the second case describes a new, special type of couplings in
D=p+2 spacetime dimensions, which break the PT-invariance. Nevertheless, no
consistent, indirect cross-interactions among different gravitons with a
positively defined metric in internal space can be constructed.


title:
Directional Emission from an Optical Microdisk Resonator with a Point
  Scatterer

abstract:
  We present a new design of dielectric microcavities supporting modes with
large quality factors and highly directional light emission. The key idea is to
place a point scatterer inside a dielectric circular microdisk. We show that,
depending on the position and strength of the scatterer, this leads to strongly
directional modes in various frequency regions while preserving the high
Q-factors reminiscent of the whispering gallery modes of the microdisk without
scatterer. The design is very appealing due to its simplicity, promising a
cleaner experimental realisation than previously studied microcavity designs on
the one hand and analytic tractability based on Green's function techniques and
self-adjoint extension theory on the other.


title: UV Caps and Modulus Stabilization for 6D Gauged Chiral Supergravity

abstract:
  We describe an explicit UV regularization of the brane singularities for all
4D flat configurations of 6D gauged chiral supergravity compactified on axially
symmetric internal spaces (for which the general solutions are known). All such
solutions have two or fewer co-dimension two singularities, which we resolve in
terms of microscopic co-dimension one cylindrical 4-branes, whose interiors are
capped using the most general possible 4D flat solution of the 6D field
equations. By so doing we show that such a cap is always possible for any given
bulk geometry, and obtain an explicit relationship between the properties of
the capped 4-branes and the various parameters which describe the bulk
solution. We show how these branes generically stabilize the size of the extra
dimensions by breaking the scale invariance which relates classical solutions
to 6D supergravity, and we compute the scalar potential for this modulus in the
4D effective theory. The lifting of this marginal direction provides a natural
realization of the Goldberger-Wise stabilization mechanism in six dimensions.


title:
The Influence of Magnetic Domain Walls on Longitudinal and Transverse
  Magnetoresistance in Tensile Strained (Ga,Mn)As Epilayers

abstract:
  We present a theoretical analysis of recent experimental measurements of
magnetoresistance in (Ga,Mn)As epilayers with perpendicular magnetic
anisotropy. The model reproduces the field-antisymmetric anomalies observed in
the longitudinal magnetoresistance in the planar geometry (magnetic field in
the epilayer plane and parallel to the current density), as well as the unusual
shape of the accompanying transverse magnetoresistance. The magnetoresistance
characteristics are attributed to circulating currents created by the presence
of magnetic domain walls.


title: Stable Irregular Dynamics in Complex Neural Networks

abstract:
  For infinitely large sparse networks of spiking neurons mean field theory
shows that a balanced state of highly irregular activity arises under various
conditions. Here we analytically investigate the microscopic irregular dynamics
in finite networks of arbitrary connectivity, keeping track of all individual
spike times. For delayed, purely inhibitory interactions we demonstrate that
the irregular dynamics is not chaotic but rather stable and convergent towards
periodic orbits. Moreover, every generic periodic orbit of these dynamical
systems is stable. These results highlight that chaotic and stable dynamics are
equally capable of generating irregular activity.


title: On Automorphism Groups of Networks

abstract:
  We consider the size and structure of the automorphism groups of a variety of
empirical `real-world' networks and find that, in contrast to classical random
graph models, many real-world networks are richly symmetric. We relate
automorphism group structure to network topology and discuss generic forms of
symmetry and their origin in real-world networks.


title: Dynamical and spectral properties of complex networks

abstract:
  Dynamical properties of complex networks are related to the spectral
properties of the Laplacian matrix that describes the pattern of connectivity
of the network. In particular we compute the synchronization time for different
types of networks and different dynamics. We show that the main dependence of
the synchronization time is on the smallest nonzero eigenvalue of the Laplacian
matrix, in contrast to other proposals in terms of the spectrum of the
adjacency matrix. Then, this topological property becomes the most relevant for
the dynamics.


title: Nonclassicality in phase space and nonclassical correlation

abstract:
  Continuous variable entanglement is a manifestation of nonclassicality of
quantum states. In this paper we attempt to analyze whether and under which
conditions nonclassicality can be used as an entanglement criterion. We adopt
the well-accepted definition of nonclassicality in the form of lack of
well-defined positive Glauber Sudarshan P-function describing the state. After
demonstrating that the classicality of subsystems is not sufficient for the
nonclassicality of the overall state to be identifiable with entanglement, we
focus on Gaussian states and find specific local unitary transformations
required to arrive at this equivalency. This is followed by the analysis of
quantitative relation between nonclassicality and entanglement.


title:
Stern-Volmer Modeling of Steady-State Forster Energy Transfer Between
  Dilute, Freely Diffusing Membrane-Bound Fluorophores

abstract:
  Two different metrics are used to assess Forster resonance energy transfer
(FRET) between fluorophores in the steady state: (1) acceptor-quenching of
donor fluorescence, E (a.k.a. transfer efficiency); and (ii) donor-excited
acceptor fluorescence, F-A-Dex. While E is still more widely used, F-A-Dex has
been gaining in popularity for practical reasons among experimentalists who
study biomembranes. Here, for the special case of membrane-bound fluorophores,
we present a substantial body of experimental evidence that justifies the use
of simple Stern-Volmer expressions when modeling either FRET metric under
dilute-probe conditions. We have also discovered a dilute-regime correspondence
between our Stern-Volmer expression for E and Wolber and Hudson's series
approximation for steady-state Forster quenching in 2D. This novel
correspondence allows us to interpret each of our 2D quenching constants in
terms of both (i) an effective Forster distance, and (ii) two maximum
acceptor-concentration limits, each of which defines its own useful
experimental regime. Taken together, our results suggest a three-step strategy
toward designing more effective steady-state FRET experiments for the study of
biomembranes.


title: The Accelerated Kepler Problem

abstract:
  The accelerated Kepler problem is obtained by adding a constant acceleration
to the classical two-body Kepler problem. This setting models the dynamics of a
jet-sustaining accretion disk and its content of forming planets as the disk
loses linear momentum through the asymmetric jet-counterjet system it powers.
The dynamics of the accelerated Kepler problem is analyzed using physical as
well as parabolic coordinates. The latter naturally separate the problem's
Hamiltonian into two unidimensional Hamiltonians. In particular, we identify
the origin of the secular resonance in the accelerated Kepler problem and
determine analytically the radius of stability boundary of initially circular
orbits that are of particular interest to the problem of radial migration in
binary systems as well as to the truncation of accretion disks through stellar
jet acceleration.


title:
Structure of interacting aggregates of silica nanoparticles in a polymer
  matrix: Small-angle scattering and Reverse Monte-Carlo simulations

abstract:
  Reinforcement of elastomers by colloidal nanoparticles is an important
application where microstructure needs to be understood - and if possible
controlled - if one wishes to tune macroscopic mechanical properties. Here the
three-dimensional structure of big aggregates of nanometric silica particles
embedded in a soft polymeric matrix is determined by Small Angle Neutron
Scattering. Experimentally, the crowded environment leading to strong
reinforcement induces a strong interaction between aggregates, which generates
a prominent interaction peak in the scattering. We propose to analyze the total
signal by means of a decomposition in a classical colloidal structure factor
describing aggregate interaction and an aggregate form factor determined by a
Reverse Monte Carlo technique. The result gives new insights in the shape of
aggregates and their complex interaction in elastomers. For comparison, fractal
models for aggregate scattering are also discussed.


title:
Right-Handed Neutrinos at LHC and the Mechanism of Neutrino Mass
  Generation

abstract:
  We consider the possibility to detect right-handed neutrinos, which are
mostly singlets of the Standard Model gauge group, at future accelerators.
Substantial mixing of these neutrinos with the active neutrinos requires a
cancellation of different contributions to the light neutrino mass matrix at
the level of 10^{-8}. We discuss possible symmetries behind this cancellation
and argue that they always lead to conservation of total lepton number. Light
neutrino masses can be generated by small perturbations violating these
symmetries. In the most general case, LHC physics and the mechanism of neutrino
mass generation are essentially decoupled; with additional assumptions,
correlations can appear between collider observables and features of the
neutrino mass matrix.


title: Optical Probe Diffusion in Polymer Solutions

abstract:
  The experimental literature on the motion of mesoscopic probe particles
through polymer solutions is systematically reviewed. The primary focus is the
study of diffusive motion of small probe particles. Comparison is made with
measurements of solution viscosities. A coherent description was obtained,
namely that the probe diffusion coefficient generally depends on polymer
concentration as D_p = D_0 exp(-alpha c^nu). One finds that alpha depends on
polymer molecular weights as alpha ~ M^0.8, and \nu appears to have large-M and
small-M values with a crossover linking them. The probe diffusion coefficient
does not simply track the solution viscosity; instead, D_p eta typically
increases markedly with increasing polymer concentration and molecular weight.
In some systems, e.g., hydroxypropylcellulose:water, the observed probe spectra
are bi- or tri-modal. Extended analysis of the full probe phenomenology implies
that hydroxypropylcellulose solutions are characterized by a single,
concentration-independent, length scale that is approximately the size of a
polymer coil. In a very few systems, one sees re-entrant or
low-concentration-plateau behaviors of uncertain interpretation; from their
rarity, these behaviors are reasonably interpreted as corresponding to specific
chemical effects. True microrheological studies examining the motion of
mesoscopic particles under the influence of a known external force are also
examined. Viscosity from true microrheological measurements is in many cases
substantially smaller than the viscosity measured with a macroscopic
instrument.


title: N-body integrators for planets in binary star systems

abstract:
  Symplectic integrators are the tool of choice for many researchers studying
dynamical systems because of their good long-term energy conservation
properties. For systems with a dominant central mass, symplectic integrators
are also highly efficient. In this chapter, I describe the theory of symplectic
integrators in terms of Lie series. I show how conventional symplectic
algorithms have been adapted for use in binary-star systems to study problems
such as the dynamical stability of multi-planet systems and the accretion of
planets from planetesimals. This is achieved by devising new coordinate systems
for the wide-binary and close-binary cases separately. I show how the
performance of these algorithms can be improved at little extra cost using
symplectic correctors. Finally, I discuss drawbacks of these algorithms, in
particular in dealing with close encounters with one or both members of the
binary, and the prospects for overcoming these problems.


title: Spreading gossip in social networks

abstract:
  We study a simple model of information propagation in social networks, where
two quantities are introduced: the spread factor, which measures the average
maximal fraction of neighbors of a given node that interchange information
among each other, and the spreading time needed for the information to reach
such fraction of nodes. When the information refers to a particular node at
which both quantities are measured, the model can be taken as a model for
gossip propagation. In this context, we apply the model to real empirical
networks of social acquaintances and compare the underlying spreading dynamics
with different types of scale-free and small-world networks. We find that the
number of friendship connections strongly influences the probability of being
gossiped. Finally, we discuss how the spread factor is able to be applied to
other situations.


title:
An approximation of the ideal scintillation detector line shape with a
  generalized gamma distribution

abstract:
  An approximation of the real line shape of a scintillation detector with a
generalized gamma distribution is proposed. The approximation describes the
ideal scintillation line shape better than the conventional normal
distribution. Two parameters of the proposed function are uniquely defined by
the first two moments of the detector response.


title: A discussion on maximum entropy production and information theory

abstract:
  We will discuss the maximum entropy production (MaxEP) principle based on
Jaynes' information theoretical arguments, as was done by Dewar (2003, 2005).
With the help of a simple mathematical model of a non-equilibrium system, we
will show how to derive minimum and maximum entropy production. Furthermore,
the model will help us to clarify some confusing points and to see differences
between some MaxEP studies in the literature.


title:
Computability of simple games: A characterization and application to the
  core

abstract:
  The class of algorithmically computable simple games (i) includes the class
of games that have finite carriers and (ii) is included in the class of games
that have finite winning coalitions. This paper characterizes computable games,
strengthens the earlier result that computable games violate anonymity, and
gives examples showing that the above inclusions are strict. It also extends
Nakamura's theorem about the nonemptyness of the core and shows that computable
games have a finite Nakamura number, implying that the number of alternatives
that the players can deal with rationally is restricted.