title: The BABAR Muon System Upgrade

abstract:
  Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) were used for the instrumentation of the iron
flux return of the BABAR detector as a muon system. Unfortunately the
efficiency of the original RPCs degraded rapidly with time. Limited Streamer
Tubes (LSTs) were chosen for an upgrade of the barrel portion of the detector.
  The phased installation started in summer 2004 with replacing two sextants of
the BABAR barrel muon system with LSTs. The modules for the remaining four
sextants are under long-term test at SLAC and ready for installation, expected
in 2006. The modules become inaccessible once installed in BABAR, so it is
critical to select only perfectly working tubes. To accomplish this a strong QC
system was established during the prototype phase, and fully implemented
throughout pre-production and construction. To spot any damage during
transport, the final modules are subjected to comprehensive tests at SLAC
immediately after arrival and kept under long-term test till installation into
BABAR. Details of these tests and results from long-term testing will be
discussed. Since spring 2005 the PEP-II accelerator is running and BABAR is
collecting data. First experience from data taking with the LSTs will be
presented and the performance of the detector discussed.


title:
Some Remarks About Extremum Principles Involving the Rate of Entropy
  Production

abstract:
  The minimum rate of entropy production (MREP) and the least dissipation
energy (LDE) principles are re-examined concerning continuous systems in
stationary nonequilibrium states. By means of simple considerations on
coefficients of phenomenological laws and by taking into account balance
equations, an Onsager-like potential density for the stationary state is
obtained. In the case of a single state variable it is found that the potential
density describes a saddle-shaped surface around the stationary point in the
domain of the force (state variable) and the flux. The saddle point may be
considered a maximum along a LDE path (fixed force) and a minimum along a MREP
path (fixed phenomenological coefficient). The latter allow for the
Glansdorff-Prigogine local potential.


title: Robust, High-speed, All-Optical Atomic Magnetometer

abstract:
  A self-oscillating magnetometer based on the nonlinear magneto-optical
rotation effect with separate modulated pump and unmodulated probe beams is
demonstrated. This device possesses a bandwidth exceeding $1\khz$. Pump and
probe are delivered by optical fiber, facilitating miniaturization and
modularization. The magnetometer has been operated both with vertical-cavity
surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs), which are well suited to portable
applications, and with conventional edge-emitting diode lasers. A sensitivity
of around $3 {\rm nG}$ is achieved for a measurement time of $1\s$.


title:
Miscible displacement fronts of shear thinning fluids inside rough
  fractures

abstract:
  The miscible displacement of a shear-thinning fluid by another of same
rheological properties is studied experimentally in a transparent fracture by
an optical technique imaging relative concentration distributions. The fracture
walls have complementary self-affine geometries and are shifted laterally in
the direction perpendicular to the mean flow velocity {\bf U} : the flow field
is strongly channelized and macro dispersion controls the front structure for
P\'{e}clet numbers above a few units. The global front width increases then
linearly with time and reflects the velocity distribution between the different
channels. In contrast, at the local scale, front spreading is similar to Taylor
dispersion between plane parallel surfaces. Both dispersion mechanisms depend
strongly on the fluid rheology which shifts from Newtonian to shear-thinning
when the flow rate increases. In the latter domain, increasing the
concentration enhances the global front width but reduces both Taylor
dispersion (due to the flattening of the velocity profile in the gap of the
fracture) and the size of medium scale front structures.


title: Optimization of the e-e- option for the ILC

abstract:
  The e-e- running mode is one of the interesting physics options at the
International Linear Collider (ILC). The luminosity for e-e- collisions is
reduced by the beam-beam effects. The resulting beamstrahlung energy loss and
beam-beam deflection angles as function of the vertical transverse offset are
different compared to the e+e- collisions. In this paper, the dependence of
these observables with the offset for different beam sizes has been analyzed to
optimize performances for the e-e- mode, taking into account the requirements
of the beam-beam deflection based intra-train feedback system. A first study of
the implications for the final focus and extraction line optics is also
presented for the cases of the 20 mrad and 2 mrad ILC base line crossing angle
geometries.


title: Discrete Thermodynamics of 2-level Laser - Why Not and When Yes

abstract:
  The paper explores a possible application of the discrete thermodynamics to a
2-level laser. The model accounts for the laser openness to incoming pumping
power and coming out energy with the emitted light. As an open system, a laser
should be in open equilibrium with thermodynamic forces, related to both energy
flows. Conditions of equilibria are expressed by a logistic map with specially
developed dynamic inverse pitchfork bifurcation diagrams for graphical
presentation of the solutions. The graphs explicitly confirm the triggering
nature of a laser where bistability is manifested by pitchfork ground and laser
branches, with the relative population equilibrium values close to 1 and 0
correspondingly. Simulation was run for a 2-level laser emitting light from far
infrared to short wave UV. A newly discovered feature of such a laser is the
line spectrum of up and down transitions of the laser excitable dwellers,
occurring between the laser and the ground pitchfork branches beyond
bifurcation point. The density of the spectra lines tangibly increases as the
branches approach their limits. Transitions of both types are overlapping in
opposite phases. This effect is a new confirmation of the Einstein's
prohibition on practical realization of a 2-level laser. Wide enough gaps
between the lines of the spectra were also discovered in this research. The
gaps are shielding the light irradiation and may be considered as potential
areas of control over the 2-level laser emissions.


title: The Opera Experiment

abstract:
  The physics motivations and the detector design of the long baseline OPERA
experiment are discussed; OPERA is a hybrid detector made of several types of
electronic subdetectors, 2 magnets and lead/nuclear emulsions ``brick'' walls.
It is located in the Gran Sasso underground lab, 732 km from CERN, on the CNGS
neutrino beam. A summary of the performances and of the physics plans are
presented.


title: Fear and its implications for stock markets

abstract:
  The value of stocks, indices and other assets, are examples of stochastic
processes with unpredictable dynamics. In this paper, we discuss asymmetries in
short term price movements that can not be associated with a long term positive
trend. These empirical asymmetries predict that stock index drops are more
common on a relatively short time scale than the corresponding raises. We
present several empirical examples of such asymmetries. Furthermore, a simple
model featuring occasional short periods of synchronized dropping prices for
all stocks constituting the index is introduced with the aim of explaining
these facts. The collective negative price movements are imagined triggered by
external factors in our society, as well as internal to the economy, that
create fear of the future among investors. This is parameterized by a ``fear
factor'' defining the frequency of synchronized events. It is demonstrated that
such a simple fear factor model can reproduce several empirical facts
concerning index asymmetries. It is also pointed out that in its simplest form,
the model has certain shortcomings.


title: Ludwig Edward Boltzmann

abstract:
  In this manuscript we present a brief life history of Ludwig Edward Boltzmann
and his achivements. Particularly, we discuss his H-theorem, his work on
entropy and statistical interpretation of second-law of thermodynamics. We
point out his some other contributions in physics, characteristics of his work,
his strong support on atomism, character of his personality and relationship
with his students and final part of his life.


title: Knowledge Network Approach to Noise Reduction

abstract:
  Previous preliminary results on the application of knowledge networks to
noise reduction in stationary harmonic and weakly chaotic signals are extended
to more general cases. The formalism gives a novel algorithm from which
statistical tests for the identification of deterministic behavior in noisy
stationary time series can be constructed.


title:
Rationality Problems of the Principles of Equivalence and General
  Relativity

abstract:
  It is pointed out that at present we only prove that inertial static mass and
gravitational static mass are equivalent. We have not proved that inertial
moving mass and gravitational moving mass are also equivalent. It is proved by
the dynamic effect of special relativity that inertial moving mass and
gravitational moving mass are not equivalent. Besides, it can be proved that
the principle of general relativity is untenable. It is only an apparent
felling of mankind actually. Therefore, there exists serious defect in the
foundation of the Einsteins theory of gravitation. We need to renovate our
basic idea of space-time and gravity.


title: Does quantum mechanics violate Bell's inequality?

abstract:
  The EPR paradox is known as an interpretive problem, as well as a technical
discovery in quantum mechanics. It defined the basic features of two-quantum
entanglement, as needed to study the relationships between two non-commuting
variables. In contrast, four variables are observed in a typical Bell
experiment. This is no longer the same problem. The full complexity of this
process can only be captured by the analysis of four-quantum entanglement.
Indeed, a new paradox emerges in this context, with straightforward
consequences. Quantum mechanics cannot violate CHSH-type inequalities, in the
same sense in which local realism cannot do it. The solution is to assume that
quantum correlations do not work at the level of full populations, when
violations occur, but only apply to incompatible slices of input beams.


title: On the dynamical reduction of the Vlasov equation

abstract:
  The elimination of a fast time scale from the Vlasov equation by
Lie-transform methods is an important step in deriving a reduced Vlasov
equation such as the drift-kinetic Vlasov equation or the gyrokinetic Vlasov
equation. It is shown here that this dynamical reduction also leads to the
introduction of polarization and magnetization effects in the reduced Maxwell
equations, which ensure that the reduced Vlasov-Maxwell equations possess an
exact energy-momentum conservation law.


title:
Spectroscopy of free radicals and radical containing entrance-channel
  complexes in superfluid helium nano-droplets

abstract:
  The spectroscopy of free radicals and radical containing entrance-channel
complexes embedded in superfluid helium nano-droplets is reviewed. The
collection of dopants inside individual droplets in the beam represents a
micro-canonical ensemble, and as such each droplet may be considered an
isolated cryo-reactor. The unique properties of the droplets, namely their low
temperature (0.4 K) and fast cooling rates ($\sim10^{16}$ K s$^{-1}$) provides
novel opportunities for the formation and high-resolution studies of molecular
complexes containing one or more free radicals. The production methods of
radicals are discussed in light of their applicability for embedding the
radicals in helium droplets. The spectroscopic studies performed to date on
molecular radicals and on entrance / exit-channel complexes of radicals with
stable molecules are detailed. The observed complexes provide new information
on the potential energy surfaces of several fundamental chemical reactions and
on the intermolecular interactions present in open-shell systems. Prospects of
further experiments of radicals embedded in helium droplets are discussed,
especially the possibilities to prepare and study high-energy structures and
their controlled manipulation, as well as the possibility of fundamental
physics experiments.


title:
Random matrix ensembles of time-lagged correlation matrices: Derivation
  of eigenvalue spectra and analysis of financial time-series

abstract:
  We derive the exact form of the eigenvalue spectra of correlation matrices
derived from a set of time-shifted, finite Brownian random walks (time-series).
These matrices can be seen as random, real, asymmetric matrices with a special
structure superimposed due to the time-shift. We demonstrate that the
associated eigenvalue spectrum is circular symmetric in the complex plane for
large matrices. This fact allows us to exactly compute the eigenvalue density
via an inverse Abel-transform of the density of the symmetrized problem. We
demonstrate the validity of this approach by numerically computing eigenvalue
spectra of lagged correlation matrices based on uncorrelated, Gaussian
distributed time-series. We then compare our theoretical findings with
eigenvalue densities obtained from actual high frequency (5 min) data of the
S&P500 and discuss the observed deviations. We identify various non-trivial,
non-random patterns and find asymmetric dependencies associated with
eigenvalues departing strongly from the Gaussian prediction in the imaginary
part. For the same time-series, with the market contribution removed, we
observe strong clustering of stocks, i.e. causal sectors. We finally comment on
the time-stability of the observed patterns.


title:
Defect formation of lytic peptides in lipid membranes and their
  influence on the thermodynamic properties of the pore environment

abstract:
  We present an experimental study of the pore formation processes of small
amphipathic peptides in model phosphocholine lipid membranes. We used atomic
force microscopy to characterize the spatial organization and structure of
alamethicin- and melittin- induced defects in lipid bilayer membranes and the
influence of the peptide on local membrane properties. Alamethicin induced
holes in gel DPPC membranes were directly visualized at different peptide
concentrations. We found that the thermodynamic state of lipids in gel
membranes can be influenced by the presence of alamethicin such that nanoscopic
domains of fluid lipids form close to the peptide pores, and that the elastic
constants of the membrane are altered in their vicinity. Melittin-induced holes
were visualized in DPPC and DLPC membranes at room temperature in order to
study the influence of the membrane state on the peptide induced hole
formation. Also differential scanning calorimetry was used to investigate the
effect of alamethicin on the lipid membrane phase behavior.


title:
On analogy between transition to turbulence in fluids and plasticity in
  solids

abstract:
  The subject of this work is the instability mechanism of simple shear flows,
like Hagen-Poiseuille pipe flow, which is a long-standing problem in fluid
mechanics [1,2]. A possible analogy with phenomenological theory of ideal
plasticity in solids is explored. It allows an extension of the Navier-Stokes
equations making the simple shear flows unstable. Following von Mises [4], the
existence of maximal allowed shear stress or "yield stress" in fluid is
assumed. After the actual stresses have reached this value, a new physical
mechanism will be activated attempting to reduce them. This mechanism results
in a pressure-like force, which has to be added to the Navier-Stokes equations.
The yield stress itself is a material constant, which does not depend on the
Reynolds number of particular flow. It will be shown how to estimate its value
from experimental data. To demonstrate how the character of flow changes if the
additional force is taken into account, an unsteady flow in a 2D nozzle is
presented. The momentum source was introduced in the Navier-Stokes equations
through the user-defined function's interface offered by Fluent [6]. The
initial data and the results of simulation are summarized in appendix.


title:
Imaging of single infrared, optical, and ultraviolet photons using
  distributed tunnel junction readout on superconducting absorbers

abstract:
  Single-photon imaging spectrometers of high quantum efficiency in the
infrared to ultraviolet wavelength range, with good timing resolution and with
a vanishing dark count rate are on top of the wish list in earth-bound
astronomy, material and medical sciences, or quantum information technologies.
We review and present improved operation of a cryogenic detector system
potentially offering all these qualities. It is based on a superconducting
absorber strip read out with superconducting tunnel junctions. The detector
performance is discussed in terms of responsivity, noise properties, energy and
position resolution. Dynamic processes involved in the signal creation and
detection are investigated for a basic understanding of the physics, and for
possible application-specific modifications of device characteristics.


title: Coherence properties of the radiation from X-ray free electron laser

abstract:
  We present a comprehensive analysis of coherence properties of the radiation
from X-ray free electron laser (XFEL). We consider practically important case
when XFEL is optimized for maximum gain. Such an optimization allows to reduce
significantly parameter space. Application of similarity techniques to the
results of numerical simulations allows to present all output characteristics
of the optimized XFEL as functions of the only parameter, ratio of the
emittance to the radiation wavelength, $ \hat{\epsilon} = 2\pi \epsilon/\lambda
$. Our studies show that optimum performance of the XFEL in terms of transverse
coherence is achieved at the value of the parameter $\hat{\epsilon}$ of about
unity. At smaller values of $\hat{\epsilon}$ the degree of transverse coherence
is reduced due to strong influence of poor longitudinal coherence on a
transverse one. At large values of the emittance the degree of transverse
coherence degrades due to poor mode selection. Comparative analysis of existing
XFEL projects, European XFEL, LCLS, and SCSS is presented as well.


title: Anomalous Phase Diagrams in the Simplest Plasma Models

abstract:
  Remarkable feature of new first-order phase transitions of gas-liquid
gas-crystal types in combination with traditional solid-liquid transition are
under consideration in a modified one-component plasma model (OCP) with
uniform, but compressible background. Structure and parameters of this phase
transition strongly depend on the value of charge number Z. Under high values
of Z the model shows remarkable and completely unusual topology of phase
diagram.


title:
Spinodal Decomposition of Metastable Melting in the Zero-Temperature
  Limit

abstract:
  "Conventional" scenario of metastable melting in ordinary substances in the
limit of zero temperature assumes that the melting curve reaches the matter
zero isotherm ("cold curve"). The same is true for standard variant of
one-component plasma model on rigid compensating background in both limits:
classical and "cold" quantum melting. The modified OCP on uniform, but
compressible background shows the completely different scenario of the
metastable melting closure. The remarkable feature of this scenario is that the
liquid freezing curve terminates at liquid spinodal curve of 1st-order liquid
gas phase transition, which takes place in this type of OCP models ("spinodal
decomposition").


title: Silicon-based photonic crystal nanocavity light emitters

abstract:
  We have demonstrated an up to seven-fold enhancement of photoluminescence
from silicon-rich silicon nitride film due to a single photonic crystal cavity.
The enhancement is partially attributed to the Purcell effect. Purcell factor
predicted by FDTD calculations is 32 for a linear three-defect cavity mode with
computed quality factor of 332 and mode volume of 0.785 cubic wavelengths.
Experimentally measured cavity quality (Q) factors vary in the range of 200 to
300, showing excellent agreement with calculations. The emission peak can be
tuned to any wavelength in the 600 to 800 nm range.


title:
Theory of Linear Chains of Metamaterial/Plasmonic Particles as
  Sub-Diffraction Optical Nanotransmission Lines

abstract:
  Here we discuss the theory and analyze in detail the guidance properties of
linear arrays of metamaterial/plasmonic small particles as nano-scale optical
nanotransmission lines, including the effect of material loss. Under the
assumption of dipolar approximation for each particle, which is shown to be
accurate in the geometry of interest here, we develop closed-form analytical
expressions for the eigen-modal dispersion in such arrays. With the material
loss included, the conditions for minimal absorption and maximum bandwidth are
derived analytically by studying the properties of such dispersion relations.
Numerical examples with realistic materials including their ohmic absorption
and frequency dispersion are presented. The analytical properties discussed
here also provide some further physical insights into the mechanisms underlying
the sub-diffraction guidance in such arrays and their fundamental physical
limits. Possibility of guiding beams with sub-wavelength lateral confinement
and reasonably low decay is discussed offering the possible use of this
technique at microwave, infrared and optical frequencies. Interpretation of
these results in terms of nanocircuit concepts is presented, and possible
extension to 2-D and 3-D nanotrasnsmission line optical metamaterials is also
foreseen.


title: String Theory and Einstein's Dream

abstract: This article contains a short review of the current status of string theory.


title: Electron interferometry with nano-gratings

abstract:
  We present an electron interferometer based on near-field diffraction from
two nanostructure gratings. Lau fringes are observed with an imaging detector,
and revivals in the fringe visibility occur as the separation between gratings
is increased from 0 to 3 mm. This verifies that electron beams diffracted by
nanostructures remain coherent after propagating farther than the Talbot length
$z_T = 2d^2/\lambda$ = 1.2 mm, and hence is a proof of principle for the
function of a Talbot-Lau interferometer for electrons. Distorted fringes due to
a phase object demonstrates an application for this new type of electron
interferometer.


title: Anomalous Phase Diagram in Simplest Plasma Model


title: The one-dimensional holographic display

abstract:
  This paper introduces a new concept of one-dimensional hologram which
represents one line image, and a new kind of display structure using it. This
one-dimensional hologram is similar to a superpositioned diffraction lattice.
And the interference patterns can be efficiently computed with a simple optical
computing structure. This is a Proposal for a new kind of display method.


title:
Entropy of the Nordic electricity market: anomalous scaling, spikes, and
  mean-reversion

abstract:
  The electricity market is a very peculiar market due to the large variety of
phenomena that can affect the spot price. However, this market still shows many
typical features of other speculative (commodity) markets like, for instance,
data clustering and mean reversion. We apply the diffusion entropy analysis
(DEA) to the Nordic spot electricity market (Nord Pool). We study the waiting
time statistics between consecutive spot price spikes and find it to show
anomalous scaling characterized by a decaying power-law. The exponent observed
in data follows a quite robust relationship with the one implied by the DEA
analysis. We also in terms of the DEA revisit topics like clustering,
mean-reversion and periodicities. We finally propose a GARCH inspired model but
for the price itself. Models in the context of stochastic volatility processes
appear under this scope to have a feasible description.


title:
Simultaneous slow phase and group velocities of light in an anisotropic
  metamaterial

abstract:
  We study theoretically the effect of ultraslow phase and group velocities in
an anisotropic metamaterial. The ultraslow phase propagation is induced by the
hyperbolic dispersion relation. While the inherent physics underlying the slow
group velocity are collective operations of the frequency and spatial
dispersion. We show that a Gaussian wave packet exhibits simultaneous slow
phase and group velocities which depend on the choice of incident angles and
principal axis angles. The anisotrocpic metamaterial slab can be constructed
and the ultraslow phase and group velocities can be measured experimentally.


title:
Upgrade of the Cellular General Purpose Monte Carlo Tool FOAM to version
  2.06

abstract:
  FOAM-2.06 is an upgraded version of FOAM, a general purpose, self-adapting
Monte Carlo event generator. In comparison with FOAM-2.05, it has two important
improvements. New interface to random numbers lets the user to choose from the
three "state of the art" random number generators. Improved algorithms for
simplical grid need less computer memory; the problem of the prohibitively
large memory allocation required for the large number ($>10^6$) of simplical
cells is now eliminated -- the new version can handle such cases even on the
average desktop computers. In addition, generation of the Monte Carlo events,
in case of large number of cells, may be even significantly faster.


title: Kinetic market models with single commodity having price fluctuations

abstract:
  We study here numerically the behavior of an ideal gas like model of markets
having only one non-consumable commodity. We investigate the behavior of the
steady-state distributions of money, commodity and total wealth, as the
dynamics of trading or exchange of money and commodity proceeds, with local (in
time) fluctuations in the price of the commodity. These distributions are
studied in markets with agents having uniform and random saving factors. The
self-organizing features in money distribution are similar to the cases without
any commodity (or with consumable commodities), while the commodity
distribution shows an exponential decay. The wealth distribution shows
interesting behavior: Gamma like distribution for uniform saving propensity and
has the same power-law tail, as that of the money distribution, for a market
with agents having random saving propensity.


title:
Realizing a New Research Agenda for Writing-to-Learn: Embedding Process
  in Context

abstract:
  Writing-to-learn initiatives such as Writing Across the Curriculum or Writing
in the Disciplines occupy the center of writing programs nationwide.
Nevertheless, research to support the core of the writing-to-learn
philosophy--that the writing process can facilitate content learning--is, at
best, inconclusive. Calls for additional research have noted the importance of
either additional cognitive analyses or new contextual research methods. This
paper argues for a unique research agenda that would embed cognitive processes
into disciplinary contexts and thus provide a layered, multi-modal research
approach into writing and learning.


title:
Fast Spatial Prediction from Inhomogeneously Sampled Data Based on
  Generalized Random Fields with Gibbs Energy Functionals

abstract:
  An explicit optimal linear spatial predictor is derived. The spatial
correlations are imposed by means of Gibbs energy functionals with explicit
coupling coefficients instead of covariance matrices. The model inference
process is based on physically identifiable constraints corresponding to
distinct terms of the energy functional. The proposed predictor is compared
with the geostatistical linear optimal filter (kriging) using simulated data.
The agreement between the two methods is excellent. The proposed framework
allows a unified approach to the problems of parameter inference, spatial
prediction and simulation of spatial random fields.


title:
Photorecombination of berylliumlike Ti18+: Hyperfine quenching of
  dielectronic resonances

abstract:
  The photorecombination spectrum of 48Ti18+ was measured employing the merged
electron-ion beams technique at a heavy-ion storage ring. The experimental
electron-ion collision energy range 0-80 eV comprises all dielectronic
recombination (DR) resonances associated with 2s->2p (Delta N =0) core
excitations as well as trielectronic recombination (TR) resonances that involve
2s2->2p2 core double-excitations. At low collision energies DR resonances are
observed that are associated with the excitation of metastable 2s2p 3P0 primary
ions with nearly infinite lifetime for the isotope 48Ti with zero nuclear spin.
For the isotope 47Ti with nonzero nuclear spin hyperfine quenching of these
resonances occurs. The procedure for obtaining the associated time constant
from a recombination measurement is outlined.


title: Dark Optical Lattice of Ring Traps for Cold Atoms

abstract:
  We propose a new geometry of optical lattice for cold atoms, namely a lattice
made of a 1D stack of dark ring traps. It is obtained through the interference
pattern of a standard Gaussian beam with a counter-propagating hollow beam
obtained using a setup with two conical lenses. The traps of the resulting
lattice are characterized by a high confinement and a filling rate much larger
than unity, even if loaded with cold atoms from a MOT. We have implemented this
system experimentally, and obtained a lattice of ring traps populated with
typically 40 atoms per site with a life time of 30 ms. Applications in
statistical physics, quantum computing and Bose-Einstein condensate dynamics
are conceivable.


title:
Selective excitation of metastable atomic states by femto- and
  attosecond laser pulses

abstract:
  The possibility of achieving highly selective excitation of low metastable
states of hydrogen and helium atoms by using short laser pulses with reasonable
parameters is demonstrated theoretically. Interactions of atoms with the laser
field are studied by solving the close-coupling equations without
discretization. The parameters of laser pulses are calculated using different
kinds of optimization procedures. For the excitation durations of hundreds of
femtoseconds direct optimization of the parameters of one and two laser pulses
with Gaussian envelopes is used to introduce a number of simple schemes of
selective excitation. To treat the case of shorter excitation durations,
optimal control theory is used and the calculated optimal fields are
approximated by sequences of pulses with reasonable shapes. A new way to
achieve selective excitation of metastable atomic states by using sequences of
attosecond pulses is introduced.


title:
Kinetic theory for radiation interacting with sound waves in
  ultrarelativistic pair plasmas

abstract:
  A kinetic theory for radiation interacting with sound waves in an
ultrarelativistic electron-positron plasma is developed. It is shown that the
effect of a spatial spectral broadening of the electromagnetic pulse is to
introduce a reduction of the growth rates for the decay and modulational
instabilities. Such spectral broadening could be due to a finite pulse
coherence length, or through the use of random phase filters, and would
stabilize the propagation of electromagnetic pulses.


title:
Theory of electron cooling using electron cooling as an intrabeam
  scattering process

abstract:
  Electron cooling that results when a bunch of electrons overlaps a bunch of
ions , with both bunches moving at the same velocity, may be considered to be
an intrabeam scattering process. The process is similar to the usual intrabeam
scattering, where the ions scatter from each other and usually results in beam
growth. An important difference is that in electron cooling the mass of the ion
is different from and much larger than the mass of the electron. This
difference considerably complicates the intrabeam scattering theory. It
introduces a new term in the emittance growth rate, which vanishes when the
particles are identical and their masses are equal, and can give rise to
emittance cooling of the heavier particles . The term that gives rise to beam
growth for the usual intrabeam scattering is also present but is much smaller
than the cooling term when one particle is much heavier than the other. This
paper derives the results found for the emittance cooling rates due to the
scattering of the ions in the ion bunch by the electons in the electron bunch.


title: Analyzing Trails in Complex Networks

abstract:
  Even more interesting than the intricate organization of complex networks are
the dynamical behavior of systems which such structures underly. Among the many
types of dynamics, one particularly interesting category involves the evolution
of trails left by moving agents progressing through random walks and dilating
processes in a complex network. The emergence of trails is present in many
dynamical process, such as pedestrian traffic, information flow and metabolic
pathways. Important problems related with trails include the reconstruction of
the trail and the identification of its source, when complete knowledge of the
trail is missing. In addition, the following of trails in multi-agent systems
represent a particularly interesting situation related to pedestrian dynamics
and swarming intelligence. The present work addresses these three issues while
taking into account permanent and transient marks left in the visited nodes.
Different topologies are considered for trail reconstruction and trail source
identification, including four complex networks models and four real networks,
namely the Internet, the US airlines network, an email network and the
scientific collaboration network of complex network researchers. Our results
show that the topology of the network influence in trail reconstruction, source
identification and agent dynamics.


title:
Comments on "Attainable conditions and exact invariant for the
  time-dependent harmonic oscillator"

abstract:
  We make remarks on Fern\'{a}ndez Guasti's paper [{\it J. Phys. A: Math. Gen.}
39 (2006) 11825-11832] by pointing out some mistakes Fern\'{a}ndez Guasti
derived therein.


title:
Ordering dynamics with two non-excluding options: Bilingualism in
  language competition

abstract:
  We consider a modification of the voter model in which a set of interacting
elements (agents) can be in either of two equivalent states (A or B) or in a
third additional mixed AB state. The model is motivated by studies of language
competition dynamics, where the AB state is associated with bilingualism. We
study the ordering process and associated interface and coarsening dynamics in
regular lattices and small world networks. Agents in the AB state define the
interfaces, changing the interfacial noise driven coarsening of the voter model
to curvature driven coarsening. We argue that this change in the coarsening
mechanism is generic for perturbations of the voter model dynamics. When
interaction is through a small world network the AB agents restore coarsening,
eliminating the metastable states of the voter model. The time to reach the
absorbing state scales with system size as $\tau \sim \ln N$ to be compared
with the result $\tau \sim N$ for the voter model in a small world network.


title:
Direct experimental observation of periodic intensity modulation along
  straight hollow core optical waveguides

abstract:
  We report the direct observation of periodic intensity modulation of a laser
pulse propagating in a hollow core waveguide. A series of equally spaced plasma
sparks along the gas-filled capillary is produced. This effect can be explained
by the beating of different fiber modes, which are excited by controlling the
size of the focal spot at the capillary entrance. As compared to an artificial
modulated waveguide structure, our presented approach represents an easier and
more flexible quasi-phase-matching scheme for nonlinear-optical frequency
conversion.


title: Relativistic Energy Levels of Para-Helium

abstract:
  The practical usefulness of Relativistic Schr\"odinger Theory (RST) is tested
by calculating approximately the energy difference between the excited singlet
state $1s2s {}^1S_0$ and the ground state $1s^2 {}^1S_0$ of the helium-like
ions with arbitrary charge number $z_{\rm ex} (2\le z_{\rm ex}\le 100)$. The
results are compared to the corresponding predictions of other theoretical
approaches in the literature and to the experimental data. Since the exact
solutions of the RST energy eigenvalue problem are unknown, one has to resort
to approximative methods. However the crudest approximation (``spherically
symmetric approximation'') yields relatively accurate results so that it seems
worth while to develop more powerful approximation techniques


title:
Direct sample estimates of multidimensional quadratic statistical
  functions: application to the anisotropic KPZ equation

abstract:
  We suggest a class of direct sample estimates for the two-point quadratic
statistical functions of multidimensional data, which includes: estimates of
the sample autocovariance function (AcF), sample mean square increment (also,
structure) function, and the estimate of the power spectrum. The central
estimate for the class is the sample AcF, which is constructed as to represent
the finite Fourier transform of the periodogram estimate of the spectrum and is
positive semidefinite. The estimate explicitly account for the anisotropy of
the fields in all spatial directions and is illustrated on two examples: the
morphology of the Grab nebula and the surface roughness generated as a solution
of the anisotropic Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation. We also provide an expression
of the covariance of the sample AcF in the case of data assumed to be drawn
from a two-dimensional Gaussian field with a known mean.


title:
Supplementary Methods for "Comment on 'Nuclear Emissions During
  Self-Nucleated Acoustic Cavitation'"

abstract:
  Neutron simulation methods and statistical fitting methods for "Comment on
'Nuclear Emissions During Self-Nucleated Acoustic Cavitation'" are presented.
The fit that underlies the Comment's background-subtracted "Cf-252" curve is
shown. Also included are numerically sampled distributions of the
goodness-of-fit variable for the four candidate neutron sources and a sketch of
the assumed geometry.


title: Yang-Mills redux

abstract:
  It is noted that a given pairing of the phase factor and gauge transformation
to retain gauge symmetry is not unique. In their seminal paper, when Yang and
Mills (YM) discuss the phase factor - gauge transformation relationship, they
cite Pauli's review paper. It is interesting that although Pauli in that paper
presents the electromagnetic field strength in terms of a commutator, for
whatever reason YM did not extrapolate the commutator's use to obtain the
Yang-Mills field strength -- they obtained it by trial and error. Presented is
a derivation of this field strength using the commutator approach detailing how
certain terms cancel each other. Finally, the Yang-Mills field transformation
is derived in a slightly different way than is traditionally done.


title: The intermodal networks: a survey on intermodalism

abstract:
  A new and rather independent research field is now emerging on intermodalism,
because intermodalism, that is the intermodal transportation, must study the
behavior of systems different from single-mode transport systems. In fact, the
importance of this new research field, its potential interdisciplinary of
modeling the problem with the science of complex networks, are not yet
completely appreciated by the scientific community. This is due to several
reasons, among others the lack of a common background and a rather cumbersome
approach of operation research to the modeling of transportation. In this paper
we review the concept of intermodalism and the approach to intermodalism in the
operation research field. Then we discuss the intermodal networks in the
framework of real world networks to understand the behavior of intermodal
systems as a whole.


title: Physical Objects of Dark Systems

abstract:
  The hypothesis of existence of off-site continuums is investigated.
Principles of the physical description are formulated. The structure of
off-site continuums and opportunities of observation of off-site physical
objects from the continuum of the observer is investigated. There are found
conformities between properties of the considered objects with properties of
known physical objects and fundamental interactions both in micro-, and
macro-scales.


title: Helium 2 3S - 2 1S metrology at 1557 nm

abstract:
  An experiment is proposed to excite the 'forbidden' 1s2s 3S1 - 1s2s 1S0
magnetic dipole (M1) transition at 1557 nm in a collimated and slow atomic beam
of metastable helium atoms. It is demonstrated that an excitation rate of 5000
/s can be realised with the beam of a 2W narrowband telecom fiber laser
intersecting the atomic beam perpendicularly. A Doppler-limited sub-MHz
spectroscopic linewidth is anticipated. Doppler-free excitation of 2% of
trapped and cooled atoms may be realised in a one-dimensional optical lattice
geometry, using the 2W laser both for trapping and spectroscopy. The very small
(8 Hz) natural linewidth of this transition presents an opportunity for
accurate tests of atomic structure calculations of the helium atom. A
measurement of the 3He - 4He isotope shift allows for accurate determination of
the difference in nuclear charge radius of both isotopes.


title: The Why of the Applicability of Statistical Physics to Economics

abstract:
  We analyze the relationships between game theory and quantum mechanics and
the extensions to statistical physics and information theory. We use certain
quantization relationships to assign quantum states to the strategies of a
player. These quantum states are contained in a density operator which
describes the new quantum system. The system is also described through an
entropy over its states, its evolution equation which is the quantum replicator
dynamics and a criterion of equilibrium based on the Collective Welfare
Principle. We show how the density operator and entropy are the bonds between
game theories, quantum information theory and statistical physics. We propose
the results of the study of these relationships like a reason of the
applicability of physics in economics and the born of econophysics.


title: Multiple currents in charged beams

abstract:
  It is argued that continuum realisations of distributions of collisionless
charged particles should accommodate a dynamically evolving number of electric
currents even if the continuum is composed of only one species of particle,
such as electrons. A model is proposed that self-consistently describes the
interaction of such a continuum and its electromagnetic field. It is formulated
using a Lagrangian approach and employs a "folded" flow map to describe the
bulk particle motion. An asymptotic perturbation scheme is developed to analyse
ultra-relativistic multi-component current configurations. The model is fully
relativistic and is formulated over Minkowski spacetime using intrinsic tensor
field theory.


title:
The effects of a pyrrolidine functional group on the magnetic properties
  of N@C60

abstract:
  A new stable pyrrolidine functionalized fullerene derivative, C69H10N2O2, has
been synthesized, purified by high performance liquid chromatography, and
characterized by MALDI mass spectrometry, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy,
Fourier transform infrared, 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance. The magnetic
properties of the analogous endohedral species have been studied by both
continuous wave (CW) and pulsed EPR. CW-EPR spectra indicated an anisotropic
hyperfine interaction and a permanent zero-field-splitting (ZFS). Both CW and
pulsed EPR showed the ZFS parameter Deff to be around 17 MHz. Pulsed EPR
revealed a biexponential decay in both T1 and T2, yielding a molecular tumbling
correlation time of 31.4 +/- 2.5 ps.


title: Edge effects in finite elongated carbon nanotubes

abstract:
  The importance of finite-size effects for the electronic structure of long
zigzag and armchair carbon nanotubes is studied. We analyze the electronic
structure of capped (6,6), (8,0), and (9,0) single walled carbon nanotubes as a
function of their length up to 60 nm, using a divide and conquer density
functional theory approach. For the metallic nanotubes studied, most of the
physical features appearing in the density of states of an infinite carbon
nanotube are recovered at a length of 40 nm. The (8,0) semi-conducting nanotube
studied exhibits pronounced edge effects within the energy gap that scale as
the inverse of the length of the nanotube. As a result, the energy gap reduces
from the value of ~1 eV calculated for the periodic system to a value of ~0.25
eV calculated for a capped 62 nm long CNT. These edge effects are expected to
become negligible only at tube lengths exceeding 6 micrometers. Our results
indicate that careful tailoring of the nature of the system and its capping
units should be applied when designing new nanoelectronic devices based on
carbon nanotubes. These conclusions are expected to hold for other
one-dimensional systems such as graphene nanoribbons, conducting polymers, and
DNA molecules.


title:
An experimentally robust technique for halo measurement using the IPM at
  the Fermilab Booster

abstract:
  We propose a model-independent quantity, $L/G$, to characterize non-Gaussian
tails in beam profiles observed with the Fermilab Booster Ion Profile Monitor.
This quantity can be considered a measure of beam halo in the Booster. We use
beam dynamics and detector simulations to demonstrate that $L/G$ is superior to
kurtosis as an experimental measurement of beam halo when realistic beam
shapes, detector effects and uncertainties are taken into account. We include
the rationale and method of calculation for $L/G$ in addition to results of the
experimental studies in the Booster where we show that $L/G$ is a useful halo
discriminator.


title:
Correlation Structures of Correlated Binomial Models and Implied Default
  Distribution

abstract:
  We show how to analyze and interpret the correlation structures, the
conditional expectation values and correlation coefficients of exchangeable
Bernoulli random variables. We study implied default distributions for the
iTraxx-CJ tranches and some popular probabilistic models, including the
Gaussian copula model, Beta binomial distribution model and long-range Ising
model. We interpret the differences in their profiles in terms of the
correlation structures. The implied default distribution has singular
correlation structures, reflecting the credit market implications. We point out
two possible origins of the singular behavior.


title: Design of resonant microcavities: application to optical gyroscopes

abstract:
  We study theoretically and numerically the effect of rotation on resonant
frequencies of microcavities in a rotating frame of reference. Cavity rotation
causes the shifts of the resonant frequencies proportional to the rotation rate
if it is larger than a certain value. Below the value, a region of rotation
rate exists where there is no resulting the frequency shifts proportional to
the rotation rate. We show that designing cavity symmetry as $C_{nv}$ ($n\ge
3$) can eliminate this region.


title: The Flow Dimension and Capacity for Structuring Urban Street Networks

abstract:
  This paper aims to measure the efficiency of urban street networks (a kind of
complex networks) from the perspective of the multidimensional chain of
connectivity (or flow). More specifically, we define two quantities: flow
dimension and flow capacity, to characterize structures of urban street
networks. To our surprise for the topologies of urban street networks,
previously confirmed as a form of small world and scale-free networks, we find
that (1) the range of their flow dimension is rather wider than their random
and regular counterparts, (2) their flow dimension shows a power-law
distribution, and (3) they have a higher flow capacity than their random and
regular counterparts. The findings confirm that (1) both the wider range of
flow dimension and the higher flow capacity can be a signature of small world
networks, and (2) the flow capacity can be an alternative quantity for
measuring the efficiency of networks or that of the individual nodes. The
findings are illustrated using three urban street networks (two in the Europe
and one in the USA).


title:
How Many Types of Thermodynamical Equilibrium are There: Relation to
  Information Theory and Holism

abstract:
  Major revision of the thermodynamics is made in order to provide rigorous
fundament for functional diversity of holistic type. It turns out that the new
approach ensures reproducibility of the information as well.


title: F.A.S.T. - Floor field- and Agent-based Simulation Tool

abstract:
  In this paper a model of pedestrian motion is presented. As application its
parameters are fitted to one run in a primary school evacuation exercise.
Simulations with these parameters are compared to further runs during the same
exercise.


title:
Improving human ankle joint position sense using an artificial
  tongue-placed tactile biofeedback

abstract:
  Proprioception is comprised of sensory input from several sources including
muscle spindles, joint capsule, ligaments and skin. The purpose of the present
experiment was to investigate whether the central nervous system was able to
integrate an artificial biofeedback delivered through electrotactile
stimulation of the tongue to improve proprioceptive acuity at the ankle joint.
To address this objective, nine young healthy adults were asked to perform an
active ankle-matching task with and without biofeedback. The underlying
principle of the biofeedback consisted of supplying subjects with supplementary
information about the position of their matching ankle position relative to
their reference ankle position through a tongue-placed tactile output device
(Tongue Display Unit). Measures of the overall accuracy and the variability of
the positioning were determined using the absolute error and the variable
error, respectively. Results showed more accurate and more consistent matching
performances with than without biofeedback, as indicated by decreased absolute
and variables errors, respectively. These findings suggested that the central
nervous system was able to take advantage of an artificial tongue-placed
tactile biofeedback to improve the position sense at the ankle joint.


title:
Derivation of Coulomb's law based on a mechanical model of
  electromagnetic field and a spherical source and sink model of electric
  charges

abstract:
  We suppose that vacuum is filled with a kind of continuously distributed
matter which may be called the $\Omega(1)$ substratum, or the electromagnetic
aether. Suppose that the time scale of a macroscopic observer is very large
compares to the the Maxwelllian relaxation time of the $\Omega(1)$ substratum.
Thus, the macroscopic observer concludes that the $\Omega(1)$ substratum
behaves like a Newtonian-fluid. Inspired by H. A. Lorentz, we speculate that
electric charges may be extremely small hard spherical sources or spherical
sinks with finite radii. Based on the spherical source and spherical sink model
of electric charges, we derive Coulomb's law of interactions between static
electric charges in vacuum. Further, we derive a reduced form of the Lorentz's
force law for static electric charges in vacuum.


title: Fairness State with Plastic Preferences

abstract:
  The definition of preferences assigned to individuals is a concept that
concerns many disciplines, from economics, with the search of an acceptable
outcome for an ensemble of individuals, to decision making an analysis of vote
systems. We are concerned in the phenomena of good selection and economic
fairness. In Arrow's theorem this situation is expressed as the impossibility
of aggregate preferences among individuals falling down into some unfairness
state. This situation was also analyzed in a previous model in a network of
individuals with a random allocation. Both analysis are based on static
preferences.
  In a real society the individuals are confronted to information exchange
which can modify the way that they think. Also, the preference formation of
each individual is influenced by this exchange. This consideration reveals why
the actual theory is not able to make an accurate analysis of the influence of
the individual, or cluster of individuals, in the fairness state. The aim of
this investigation is to consider the coupling of two systems, one for the
formation of preferences and a second where an allocation of goods is done in
an evolutionary environment.


title:
Inherent Limitations of Ice Cube with Regards to Both CP Violation
  Physics, and Data Collection

abstract:
  We examine how ICE CUBE is impacted via definite observational limits, a
potentially serious flaw in estimated collection ability as predicted by a
short fall in Monte Carlo simulations, and a datum that the CP violations
connected with Baryogenesis are not predicted by SUSY accurately. All these
considerations, plus the known datum that water is a superior medium for data
collection than block ice argue pervasively in first building neutrino physics
collection systems first in the Mediterranean sea, and relying upon ICECUBE as
a back up to planned and running systems in place near Europe. This is made
urgent also in the known datum that both the near European sub continent
facilities now have bio luminence problems in the water, but have the same
sensitivity as the South polar region neutrino astrophysics facilities now
planned for


title: Dynamics of resistive double tearing modes with broad linear spectra

abstract:
  The nonlinear evolution of resistive double tearing modes (DTMs) with safety
factor values q=1 and q=3 is studied in a reduced cylindrical model of a
tokamak plasma. We focus on cases where the resonant surfaces are a small
distance apart. Recent numerical studies have shown that in such configurations
high-m modes are strongly unstable. In this paper, it is first demonstrated
that linear DTM theory predicts the dominance of high-m DTMs. A semi-empirical
formula for estimating the poloidal mode number of the fastest growing mode,
m_peak, is obtained from the existing linear theory. Second, using nonlinear
simulations, it is shown that the presence of fast growing high-m modes leads
to a rapid turbulent collapse in an annular region, whereby small magnetic
island structures form. Furthermore, consideration is given to the evolution of
low-m modes, in particular the global m=1 internal kink, which can undergo
nonlinear driving through coupling to fast growing linear high-m DTMs. Factors
influencing the details of the dynamics are discussed. These results may be
relevant for the understanding of the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) activity near
the minimum of q and may thus be of interest to studies concerned with
stability and confinement in advanced tokamaks.


title: Hydrophobic and Ionic Interactions in Nano-sized Water Droplets

abstract:
  We investigate the solvation of methane and methane decorated with charges in
spherically confined water droplets. Free energy profiles for a single methane
molecule in droplets, ranging in diameter D, from 1 to 4 nm, show that the
droplet surfaces are strongly favorable as compared to the interior. From the
temperature dependence of the free energy in D=3 nm, we show that this effect
is entropically driven. The potentials of mean force (PMFs) between two methane
molecules show that the solvent separated minimum in the bulk is completely
absent in confined water, independent of the droplet size since the solute
particles are primarily associated with the droplet surface. The tendency of
methanes with charges (Mq+ and Mq- with q+ = q- = 0.4e, where e is the
electronic charge) to be pinned at the surface depends dramatically on the size
of the water droplet. When D=4 nm, the ions prefer the interior whereas for D<4
nm the ions are localized at the surface, but with much less tendency than for
methanes. Increasing the ion charge to e makes the surface strongly
unfavorable. Reflecting the charge asymmetry of the water molecule, negative
ions have a stronger preference for the surface compared to positive ions of
the same charge magnitude. With increasing droplet size, the PMFs between Mq+
and Mq- show decreasing influence of the boundary due to the reduced tendency
for surface solvation. We also show that as the solute charge density decreases
the surface becomes less unfavorable. The implications of our results for the
folding of proteins in confined spaces are outlined.

categories: physics.chem-ph cond-mat.other cond-mat.soft physics.bio-ph


title: FIRST: Fast Iterative Reconstruction Software for (PET) tomography

abstract:
  Small animal PET scanners require high spatial resolution and good
sensitivity. To reconstruct high-resolution images in 3D-PET, iterative
methods, such as OSEM, are superior to analytical reconstruction algorithms,
although their high computational cost is still a serious drawback. The higher
performance of modern computers could make iterative image reconstruction fast
enough to be viable, provided we are able to deal with the large number of
probability coefficients for the system response matrix in high-resolution PET
scanners, which is a difficult task that prevents the algorithms from reaching
peak computing performance. Considering all possible axial and in-plane
symmetries, as well as certain quasi-symmetries, we have been able to reduce
the memory requirements to store the system response matrix (SRM) well below 1
GB, which allows us to keep the whole response matrix of the system inside RAM
of ordinary industry-standard computers, so that the reconstruction algorithm
can achieve near peak performance. The elements of the SRM are stored as cubic
spline profiles and matched to voxel size during reconstruction. In this way,
the advantages of on-the-fly calculation and of fully stored SRM are combined.
The on-the-fly part of the calculation (matching the profile functions to voxel
size) of the SRM accounts for 10 to 30% of the reconstruction time, depending
on the number of voxels chosen. We tested our approach with real data from a
commercial small animal PET scanner. The results (image quality and
reconstruction time) show that the proposed technique is a feasible solution.


title:
Mathematical Models of Progressive Collapse and the Question of How Did
  the World Trade Centers Perish

abstract:
  We derive discrete and continuous class of mathematical models that describe
a progressive collapse in a fictional one-dimensional structure, where we
consider plastic and elastic types of collisions. We examine static (collapse
initiation lines, derived from the ultimate yield strength of the structural
steel) and dynamic (duration of collapse, computed using mathematical models)
features of events that comprised the collapse in WTC 1 and 2. We show that
$(a)$, the dynamic and static aspects of the collapse are mutually consistent
and weakly dependent on the class or type of mathematical model used, and
$(b)$, that the NIST scenario, in which the buildings collapse after a sequence
of two damaging events (airplane impact and subsequent ambient fires), is
inconsistent with respect to the structural strength of the buildings. Our
analysis shows that the force that resisted the collapse in WTC 1 and 2 came
from a single structural element, the weaker perimeter columns, while the
second structural element, the stronger core columns, did not contribute. We
discuss two non-obvious inconsistencies between the mathematical models of
progressive collapse based on the NIST scenario, and the practical realizations
of collapse in WTC 1 and 2: $(i)$, the average avalanche pressure is 3 orders
of magnitude smaller than the pressure the vertical columns are able to
withstand, and $(ii)$, the intact vertical columns can easily absorb through
plastic deformation the energy of the falling top section of the WTCs. We
propose collapse scenario that resolves these inconsistencies, and is in
agreement with the observations and with the mathematical models.


title: Beam-Based Alignment of the NuMI Target Station Components at FNAL

abstract:
  The Neutrinos at the Main Injector (NuMI) facility is a conventional
horn-focused neutrino beam which produces muon neutrinos from a beam of mesons
directed into a long evacuated decay volume. The relative alignment of the
primary proton beam, target, and focusing horns affects the neutrino energy
spectrum delivered to experiments. This paper describes a check of the
alignment of these components using the proton beam.


title:
Reconciliation of experimental and theoretical electric tensor
  polarizabilities of the cesium ground state

abstract:
  We present a new theoretical analysis of the strongly suppressed F- and
M-dependent Stark shifts of the Cs ground state hyperfine structure. Our
treatment uses third order perturbation theory including off-diagonal hyperfine
interactions not considered in earlier treatments. A numerical evaluation of
the perturbation sum using bound states up to n=200 yields ground state tensor
polarizabilities which are in good agreement with experimental values, thereby
bridging the 40-year-old gap between experiments and theory. We have further
found that the tensor polarizabilities of the two ground state hyperfine
manifolds have opposite signs, in disagreement with an earlier derivation. This
sign error has a direct implication for the precise evaluation of the blackbody
radiation shift in primary frequency standards.


title:
Physical-mechanical characterization of hydraulic and non-hydraulic lime
  based mortars for a French porous limestone

abstract:
  The focus of the study presented in this paper is to provide reliable
criteria that can be used to estimate the degree of compatibility between the
French limestone tuffeau and mortar. It is suggested through this study to use
the same parent material (i.e., tuffeau) as mortar. The mortar used in this
study is composed of non-hydraulic (hydrated) lime or hydraulic lime and
aggregates obtained from fragments and powder of the tuffeau stone. Water
transfer properties and mechanical behaviour of the mortars are evaluated and
compared with the original stone Tuffeau. Based on these studies, some key
guidelines are provided such that a mortar that is compatible with properties
of Tuffeau and can be prepared and used as construction material of monuments
and maintenance purposes.


title:
Self-Organized Formation of Retinotopic Projections Between Manifolds of
  Different Geometries -- Part 3: Spherical Geometries

abstract:
  We follow our general model in Ref. [3] and analyze the formation of
retinotopic projections for the biologically relevant situation of spherical
geometries. To this end we elaborate both a linear and a nonlinear synergetic
analysis which results in order parameter equations for the dynamics of
connection weights between two spherical cell sheets. We show that these
equations of evolution provide stable stationary solutions which correspond to
retinotopic modes. A further analysis of higher modes furnishes proof that our
model describes the emergence of a perfect one-to-one retinotopy between two
spheres.


title: Sum rules for an atomic hyperfine structure in a magnetic field

abstract:
  Sum rules for the energy levels of a hyperfine multiplet in a constant
uniform magnetic field is presented. It is found that for any values of the
electron angular moment and the nuclear spin there are certain linear
combinations of energy levels which do not depend on the magnetic field and can
be used to determine the unperturbated hfs separation in the presence of
perturbing magnetic field. It is also demonstrated that there are other linear
combinations which are linear with the external magnetic field and hence can be
used to determine bound values of the electron and nuclear magnetic moments.
The accuracy of the approximation within which the result is valid is also
discussed.


title: Multi-scale characterization of monument limestones

abstract:
  Among the parameters influencing stone deterioration, moisture and water
movements through the pore network are essential. This communication presents
differents methods to characterize stones and to determinate the water transfer
properties. Results are analysed for two limestones having similar total
porosity, but characterized by different pore networks. These different porous
systems govern dissimilar water properties.


title: Elastic turbulence in von Karman swirling flow between two disks

abstract:
  We discuss the role of elastic stress in the statistical properties of
elastic turbulence, realized by the flow of a polymer solution between two
disks. The dynamics of the elastic stress are analogous to those of a small
scale fast dynamo in magnetohydrodynamics, and to those of the turbulent
advection of a passive scalar in the Batchelor regime. Both systems are
theoretically studied in literature, and this analogy is exploited to explain
the statistical properties, the flow structure, and the scaling observed
experimentally. Several features of elastic turbulence are confirmed
experimentally and presented in this paper: (i) saturation of the rms of the
vorticity and of velocity gradients in the bulk, leading to the saturation of
the elastic stress; (ii) large rms of the velocity gradients in the boundary
layer, linearly growth with Wi; (iii) skewed PDFs of the injected power, with
exponential tails, which indicate intermittency; PDF of the acceleration
exhibit well-pronounced exponential tails too; (iv) a new length scale, i.e the
thickness of the boundary layer, as measured from the profile of the rms of the
velocity gradient, is found to be relevant and much smaller than the vessel
size; (v) the scaling of the structure functions of the vorticity, velocity
gradients, and injected power is found to be the same as that of a passive
scalar advected by an elastic turbulent velocity field.


title: Elements stability: a microcosmos effect?

abstract:
  The electronic structure of heavy elements, when described in a space-time
which the metric is affected by the electromagnetic interaction, presents
instabilities. These instabilities increase with the atomic number, and above a
critical value, become important. The consistency of this theory [1], [2] and a
formulation based on the energy-momentum tensor is also investigated. With this
procedure, a dynamical cut-off appears in a natural way, and the field
equations for the general quantum mechanics are determined.


title: On the reliability of voting processes: the Mexican case

abstract:
  Analysis of vote distributions using current tools from statistical physics
is of increasing interest. While data considered for physics studies are
subject to a careful understanding of error sources, such analysis are almost
absent in studies of voting process. As a way to test reliability in electoral
processes we choose to investigate the July 2006 presidential election in
Mexico. We use records which appeared in the Programa de Resultados
Preliminares, PREP, the program which offers electoral results as soon as they
are captured. In order to contrast the results we used the congressional
election data-set and the July 2000 presidential record. We demonstrate the
existence of correlations in the percentage of votes and, we offer evidence of
the strong influence of the PRI in the curious results in the presidential
case. Distributions of errors in the data-sets are analyzed for all the
elections and no large deviations were found. That is, even when the sum of
errors is around 45% in all cases, their global behavior is similar. This
result gives support to the thesis of no large fraud for the July 2006
presidential election. Distribution of votes in all cases is obtained for all
the parties. Parties and candidates with few votes, annulled votes and
non-registered candidates follow a power law distribution, and the corporate
party follows a daisy model distribution. Parties and candidates with many
votes show a mixed behavior.


title:
Comparison between resistive and collisionless double tearing modes for
  nearby resonant surfaces

abstract:
  The linear instability and nonlinear dynamics of collisional (resistive) and
collisionless (due to electron inertia) double tearing modes (DTMs) are
compared with the use of a reduced cylindrical model of a tokamak plasma. We
focus on cases where two q = 2 resonant surfaces are located a small distance
apart. It is found that regardless of the magnetic reconnection mechanism,
resistivity or electron inertia, the fastest growing linear eigenmodes may have
high poloidal mode numbers m ~ 10. The spectrum of unstable modes tends to be
broader in the collisionless case. In the nonlinear regime, it is shown that in
both cases fast growing high-m DTMs lead to an annular collapse involving small
magnetic island structures. In addition, collisionless DTMs exhibit multiple
reconnection cycles due to reversibility of collisionless reconnection and
strong ExB flows. Collisionless reconnection leads to a saturated stable state,
while in the collisional case resistive decay keeps the system weakly dynamic
by driving it back towards the unstable equilibrium maintained by a source
term.


title:
On the Dynamics of the $h-$index in Complex Networks with Coexisting
  Communities

abstract:
  This article investigates the evolution of the $h-$index in a complex network
including two communities (in the sense of having different features) with the
same number of authors whose yearly productions follow the Zipf's law. Models
considering indiscriminate citations, as well as citations preferential to the
fitness values of each community and/or the number of existing citations are
proposed and numerically simulated. The $h-$indices of each type of author is
estimated along a period of 20 years, while the number of authors remains
constant. Interesting results are obtained including the fact that, for the
model where citations are preferential to both community fitness and number of
existing citations per article, the $h-$indices of the community with the
largest fitness value are only moderately increased while the indices of the
other community are severely and irreversibly limited to low values. Three
possible strategies are discussed in order to change this situation. In
addition, based on such findings, a new version of the $h-$index is proposed
involving the automated identification of virtual citations which can provide
complementary and unbiased quantification of the relevance of scientific works.


title: Dimensional Analysis and Physical Laws

abstract:
  Dimensional analysis provides many simple and useful tools for various
situations in science. The objective of this paper is to investigate its
relations to functions, i.e., the dimensions for functions that yield physical
quantities and those for the arguments of functions. In particular, it is shown
that there are three types of functions from a viewpoint of dimensional
analysis. Relationships between Planck's constant and dimensional analysis are
also considered.


title:
Radar echo, Doppler Effect and Radar detection in the uniformly
  accelerated reference frame

abstract:
  The uniformly accelerated reference frame described by Hamilton, Desloge and
Philpott involves the observers who perform the hyperbolic motion with constant
proper acceleration gi. They start to move from different distances measured
from the origin O of the inertial reference frame K(XOY), along its OX axis
with zero initial velocity. Equipped with clocks and light sources they are
engaged with each other in Radar echo, Doppler Effect and Radar detection
experiments. They are also engaged in the same experiments with an inertial
observer at rest in K(XOY) and located at its origin O. We derive formulas that
account for the experiments mentioned above. We study also the landing
conditions of the accelerating observers on a uniformly moving platform.


title:
Twelve pure shear surface waves guided by bimaterial clamped/free
  boundaries in magneto-electro-elastic materials

abstract:
  It is shown that surface waves with twelve different velocities in the cases
of different magneto-electrical boundary conditions can be guided by the
interface of two magneto-electro-elastic half-spaces. The plane boundary of one
of the half-spaces is clamped while the plane boundary of the other one is free
of stresses. The twelve velocities of propagation of these surface waves and
the corresponding existence conditions are obtained in explicit forms. It is
shown that the material coefficients of the half-space which has a clamped
boundary have only quantitative influence on the surface waves and that the
existence and absence of the possibility for the surface waves to be guided by
the interface is determined by the material coefficients of the half-space
which has a free boundary. The number of the possible different surface wave
velocities decreases from 12 to 2 when the magneto-electro-elastic materials
are changed to piezoelectric materials.


title:
Time invariance violation is a physical base of atomic Bloch
  oscillations in an optical lattice

abstract:
  The physical mechanism of phenomenon is explained as a result of inequality
of forward and reversed processes in optics. The importance of experimental
study of its invariance relation is discussed.


title:
Photoionization of Xe 3d electrons in molecule Xe@C60: interplay of
  intra-doublet and confinement resonances

abstract:
  We demonstrate rather interesting manifestations of co-existence of resonance
features in characteristics of the photoionization of 3d-electrons in Xe@C60.
It is shown that the reflection of photoelectrons produced by the 3d Xe
photoionization affects greatly partial photoionization cross-sections of and
levels and respective angular anisotropy parameters, both dipole and non-dipole
adding to all of them additional maximums and minimums. The calculations are
performed treating the 3/2 and 5/2 electrons as electrons of different kinds
with their spins "up" and "down". The effect of C60 shell is accounted for in
the frame of the "orange" skin potential model.


title:
Cosmological implications of the new metric for an accelerating
  expanding, and doubly rotating Universe

abstract:
  We give the correct interpretation of the new metric, found lately by the
author. This metric results as an exact solution of the Einstein field
equations, without the cosmological constant. The new feature is the
introduction, from the beginning, of two rotations attributed to the Universe.
As a result also an expanding, and indeed in accelerating rate, Universe is
obtained. Thus dark energy is not necessary at all. We explore some properties
of this Universe in the present paper. In particular, all old properties of the
Universe concerning the Hubble law remain in a modified way, implying
anisotropy. Besides, we explore the validity of the Ryle-Clarke effect, which
is verified, and we find the correct age of the Universe. Finally, the
resulting shape of the Universe is examined, and it is found to be
hypertoroidal.


title:
Modeling, Performance Analysis and Comparison of Two Level Single Chain
  Pointer Forwarding Strategy For Location Management in Wireless Mobile
  Communication

abstract:
  Global wireless networks enable mobile users to communicate regardless of
their locations. Location management is an important part of the emerging
wireless and mobile technology. A Personal Communication System (PCS) network
must have an efficient way to keep track of the mobile users to deliver
services effectively. Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) is a
commonly accepted standard for mobility management of mobile users. Location
management involves location tracking, and location information storage.
Location management requires mobile users to register at various registration
areas whenever they are on the move. The registration process may cause
excessive signaling traffic and long service delays. To improve the efficiency
of location tracking and avoid call set up delays, several strategies such as
local anchor scheme, per-user caching scheme and several pointer forwarding
schemes have been proposed in the past. In this paper, we propose a new "Two
Level Single Chain Pointer Forwarding (TLSCP) Strategy" in which a two level
hierarchy of level-1 and level-2 forwarding pointers reduced to single chain
length are used. Organizing the pointers in a two level hierarchy and further
restricting the pointer chain lengths at both the levels to single chain
localizes the network signaling traffic and reduces the call set up delays. To
justify the effectiveness of our proposed strategy, we develop an analytical
model to evaluate the signaling cost. Our performance analysis shows that the
proposed dynamic TLSCP scheme can significantly reduce the network signaling
traffic and cost for different categories of users under different network
conditions.


title: Dynamical Phenomena on Complex Networks

abstract:
  The work presented in this thesis concerns different aspects of dynamical
processes on networks. The first subject considered is the theoretical modeling
of exploration processes of complex networks, such as the ``traceroute''
process used to map the Internet. Our mean-field analysis of the traceroute
model provides a better understanding of the Internet topology. A second part
of the thesis is devoted to the study of the weighted representation of
networks and their relations with the functional properties of infrastructure
systems (e.g. the airports network). Other results concerning spreading
processes and percolation on weighted networks are presented. Finally, we turns
to social networks, introducing the Naming Game, a model for the emergence of a
communication system in a structured population of individuals. We show that
the dynamical phenomena generated by this model depend strongly on the topology
of the interactions.


title:
Physical Processes in Compensated Negative-Ion Beams and Related Beam
  Transport Problems

abstract:
  This paper reviews resent theoretical and experimental research on physical
processes in compensated negative-ion beams. A previous review was published by
one of the authors in Ref. [1]. The present paper summarizes the new results of
numerical calculations of the stationary electric field in negative-ion beams,
and the resent results of experimental studies of suppression of ion-ion
instability at low gas pressures. As in Ref. [1], the review addresses the
following three main issues of the physics of compensated beams: 1) Spatial
charge compensation in steady beams; 2) Dynamic decompensation of spatial
charge, which occurs as a result of beam current modulation due to plasma
instabilities in the ion source; 3) Collective processes. The results presented
in this review enable one to determine how non-compensated spatial charge,
nonresonant oscillations of the beam current, and collective oscillations of
the ion-beam plasma influence the propagation properties of the beam. With this
information, one can determine the optimal ion transportation parameters.


title: Synchronization Properties of Network Motifs

abstract:
  We address the problem of understanding the variable abundance of 3-node and
4-node subgraphs (motifs) in complex networks from a dynamical point of view.
As a criterion in the determination of the functional significance of a n-node
subgraph, we propose an analytic method to measure the stability of the
synchronous state (SSS) the subgraph displays. We show that, for undirected
graphs, the SSS is correlated with the relative abundance, while in directed
graphs the correlation exists only for some specific motifs.


title: Opinion formation models based on game theory

abstract:
  A way to simulate the basic interactions between two individuals with
different opinions, in the context of strategic game theory, is proposed.
Various games are considered, which produce different kinds of opinion
formation dynamics. First, by assuming that all individuals (players) are
equals, we obtain the bounded confidence model of continuous opinion dynamics
proposed by Deffuant et al. In such a model a tolerance threshold is defined,
such that individuals with difference in opinion larger than the threshold can
not interact. Then, we consider that the individuals have different
inclinations to change opinion and different abilities in convincing the
others. In this way, we obtain the so-called ``Stubborn individuals and
Orators'' (SO) model, a generalization of the Deffuant et al. model, in which
the threshold tolerance is different for every couple of individuals. We
explore, by numerical simulations, the dynamics of the SO model, and we propose
further generalizations that can be implemented.


title:
Numerical calculation of classical and non-classical electrostatic
  potentials

abstract:
  We present a numerical exercise in which classical and non-classical
electrostatic potentials were calculated. The non-classical fields take into
account effects due to a possible non-zero photon rest mass. We show that in
the limit of small photon rest mass, both the classical and non-classical
potential can be found by solving Poisson's equation twice, using the first
calculation as a source term in the second calculation. Our results support the
assumptions in a recent proposal to use ion interferometry to search for a
non-zero photon rest mass.


title: Accelerator Neutrino Beams

abstract:
  Neutrino beams at from high-energy proton accelerators have been instrumental
discovery tools in particle physics. Neutrino beams are derived from the decays
of charged pi and K mesons, which in turn are created from proton beams
striking thick nuclear targets. The precise selection and manipulation of the
pi/K beam control the energy spectrum and type of neutrino beam. This article
describes the physics of particle production in a target and manipulation of
the particles to derive a neutrino beam, as well as numerous innovations
achieved at past experimental facilities.


title: Phase Transitions in Operational Risk

abstract:
  In this paper we explore the functional correlation approach to operational
risk. We consider networks with heterogeneous a-priori conditional and
unconditional failure probability. In the limit of sparse connectivity,
self-consistent expressions for the dynamical evolution of order parameters are
obtained. Under equilibrium conditions, expressions for the stationary states
are also obtained. The consequences of the analytical theory developed are
analyzed using phase diagrams. We find co-existence of operational and
non-operational phases, much as in liquid-gas systems. Such systems are
susceptible to discontinuous phase transitions from the operational to
non-operational phase via catastrophic breakdown. We find this feature to be
robust against variation of the microscopic modelling assumptions.


title: Phase transition and hysteresis in scale-free network traffic

abstract:
  We model information traffic on scale-free networks by introducing the node
queue length L proportional to the node degree and its delivering ability C
proportional to L. The simulation gives the overall capacity of the traffic
system, which is quantified by a phase transition from free flow to congestion.
It is found that the maximal capacity of the system results from the case of
the local routing coefficient \phi slightly larger than zero, and we provide an
analysis for the optimal value of \phi. In addition, we report for the first
time the fundamental diagram of flow against density, in which hysteresis is
found, and thus we can classify the traffic flow with four states: free flow,
saturated flow, bistable, and jammed.


title: Atmosphere-like turbulence generation with surface-etched phase-screens

abstract:
  We built and characterized an optical system that emulates the optical
characteristics of an 8m-class telescope like the Very Large Telescope. The
system contains rotating glass phase-screens to generate realistic
atmosphere-like optical turbulence, as needed for testing multi-conjugate
adaptive optics systems. In this paper we present an investigation of the
statistical properties of two phase-screens etched on glass-plate surfaces,
obtained from Silios Technologies. Those etched screens are highly transmissive
(above 85%) from 0.45 to 2.5 microns. From direct imaging, their Fried
parameter r0 values (0.43+-0.04 mm and 0.81+-0.03 mm, respectively, at 0.633
microns) agree with the expectation to within 10%. This is also confirmed by a
comparison of measured and expected Zernike coefficient variances. Overall, we
find that those screens are quite reproducible, allowing sub-millimetre r0
values, which were difficult to achieve in the past. We conclude that the
telescope emulator and phase-screens form a powerful atmospheric turbulence
generator allowing systematic testing of different kinds of AO instrumentation.


title:
Laser cooling and trapping of atomic strontium for ultracold atom
  physics, high-precision spectroscopy and quantum sensors

abstract:
  This review describes the production of atomic strontium samples at ultra-low
temperature and at high phase-space density, and their possible use for
physical studies and applications. We describe the process of loading a
magneto-optical trap from an atomic beam and preparing the sample for high
precision measurements. Particular emphasis is given to the applications of
ultracold Sr samples, spanning from optical frequency metrology to force
sensing at micrometer scale.


title: On Population Kinetics of an Aging Society: Aging and Scurvy

abstract:
  Evidence from skeletal remains and pictorial records for the past several
millennia established that humans have had a very inadequate ascorbic acid
intake and commonly exhibited signs of frank scurvy, as well as the invisible
signs of subclinical scurvy (absence of AA in scorbutic urine is universal).
They suffered scurvy's mortality, being a major cause of death especially in
times of stress due to dietary fluctuations, climate, migrations, voyages,
battles, etc. Rapid aging and death by acute scurvy, and infectious and
degenerative diseases related to chronic scurvy added to the toll. In this era,
the loss of function and changes in appearance that we see in humans in the
second 50 years of life are theoretically simple to avoid. However, this is
very rare because there is almost no one who does not eat the refined diet of
the affluent societies. We present here an overview of a vast array of evidence
on the connections between aging and scurvy.


title: RNA secondary structure design

abstract:
  We consider the inverse-folding problem for RNA secondary structures: for a
given (pseudo-knot-free) secondary structure find a sequence that has that
structure as its ground state. If such a sequence exists, the structure is
called designable. We implemented a branch-and-bound algorithm that is able to
do an exhaustive search within the sequence space, i.e., gives an exact answer
whether such a sequence exists. The bound required by the branch-and-bound
algorithm are calculated by a dynamic programming algorithm. We consider
different alphabet sizes and an ensemble of random structures, which we want to
design. We find that for two letters almost none of these structures are
designable. The designability improves for the three-letter case, but still a
significant fraction of structures is undesignable. This changes when we look
at the natural four-letter case with two pairs of complementary bases:
undesignable structures are the exception, although they still exist. Finally,
we also study the relation between designability and the algorithmic complexity
of the branch-and-bound algorithm. Within the ensemble of structures, a high
average degree of undesignability is correlated to a long time to prove that a
given structure is (un-)designable. In the four-letter case, where the
designability is high everywhere, the algorithmic complexity is highest in the
region of naturally occurring RNA.


title: Extreme times for volatility processes

abstract:
  We present a detailed study on the mean first-passage time of volatility
processes. We analyze the theoretical expressions based on the most common
stochastic volatility models along with empirical results extracted from daily
data of major financial indices. We find in all these data sets a very similar
behavior that is far from being that of a simple Wiener process. It seems
necessary to include a framework like the one provided by stochastic volatility
models with a reverting force driving volatility toward its normal level to
take into account memory and clustering effects in volatility dynamics. We also
detect in data a very different behavior in the mean first-passage time
depending whether the level is higher or lower than the normal level of
volatility. For this reason, we discuss asymptotic approximations and confront
them to empirical results with a good agreement, specially with the ExpOU
model.


title:
Hole theory and Quantum Electrodynamics in an unknown French manuscript
  by Ettore Majorana

abstract:
  We give an accurate historical and scientific account of a previously unknown
manuscript written by Ettore Majorana in French. The retrieved text deals with
Quantum Electrodynamics by using the formalism of field quantization, and it is
here reported, for the first time, in translation. It is likely related to an
invited talk for a conference at Leningrad (or Kharkov) in 1933 (or 1934)
which, however, Majorana never attended. Probably this manuscript refers to the
last missing papers of the ``Senatore folder'', given by Majorana to one
student of his at the University of Naples in 1938, just before his
disappearance.

categories: physics.hist-ph hep-ph hep-th physics.pop-ph


title: Simple Viscous Flows: from Boundary Layers to the Renormalization Group

abstract:
  The seemingly simple problem of determining the drag on a body moving through
a very viscous fluid has, for over 150 years, been a source of theoretical
confusion, mathematical paradoxes, and experimental artifacts, primarily
arising from the complex boundary layer structure of the flow near the body and
at infinity. We review the extensive experimental and theoretical literature on
this problem, with special emphasis on the logical relationship between
different approaches. The survey begins with the developments of matched
asymptotic expansions, and concludes with a discussion of perturbative
renormalization group techniques, adapted from quantum field theory to
differential equations. The renormalization group calculations lead to a new
prediction for the drag coefficient, one which can both reproduce and surpass
the results of matched asymptotics.


title: Single DNA conformations and biological function

abstract:
  From a nanoscience perspective, cellular processes and their reduced in vitro
imitations provide extraordinary examples for highly robust few or single
molecule reaction pathways. A prime example are biochemical reactions involving
DNA molecules, and the coupling of these reactions to the physical
conformations of DNA. In this review, we summarise recent results on the
following phenomena: We investigate the biophysical properties of DNA-looping
and the equilibrium configurations of DNA-knots, whose relevance to biological
processes are increasingly appreciated. We discuss how random DNA-looping may
be related to the efficiency of the target search process of proteins for their
specific binding site on the DNA molecule. And we dwell on the spontaneous
formation of intermittent DNA nanobubbles and their importance for biological
processes, such as transcription initiation. The physical properties of DNA may
indeed turn out to be particularly suitable for the use of DNA in nanosensing
applications.


title:
Propagation of Surface Plasmons in Ordered and Disordered Chains of
  Metal Nanospheres

abstract:
  We report a numerical investigation of surface plasmon (SP) propagation in
ordered and disordered linear chains of metal nanospheres. In our simulations,
SPs are excited at one end of a chain by a near-field tip. We then find
numerically the SP amplitude as a function of propagation distance. Two types
of SPs are discovered. The first SP, which we call the ordinary or quasistatic,
is mediated by short-range, near-field electromagnetic interaction in the
chain. This excitation is strongly affected by Ohmic losses in the metal and by
disorder in the chain. These two effects result in spatial decay of the
quasistatic SP by means of absorptive and radiative losses, respectively. The
second SP is mediated by longer range, far-field interaction of nanospheres. We
refer to this SP as the extraordinary or non-quasistatic. The non-quasistatic
SP can not be effectively excited by a near-field probe due to the small
integral weight of the associated spectral line. Because of that, at small
propagation distances, this SP is dominated by the quasistatic SP. However, the
non-quasistatic SP is affected by Ohmic and radiative losses to a much smaller
extent than the quasistatic one. Because of that, the non-quasistatic SP
becomes dominant sufficiently far from the exciting tip and can propagate with
little further losses of energy to remarkable distances. The unique physical
properties of the non-quasistatic SP can be utilized in all-optical integrated
photonic systems.


title: Superconducting pipes and levitating magnets

abstract:
  Motivated by a beautiful demonstration of the Faraday's and Lenz's law in
which a small neodymium magnet falls slowly through a conducting
non-ferromagnetic tube, we consider the dynamics of a magnet falling through a
superconducting pipe. Unlike the case of normal conducting pipes, in which the
magnet quickly reaches the terminal velocity, inside a superconducting tube the
magnet falls freely. On the other hand, to enter the pipe the magnet must
overcome a large electromagnetic energy barrier. For sufficiently strong
magnets, the barrier is so large that the magnet will not be able to penetrate
it and will be suspended over the front edge. We calculate the work that must
done to force the magnet to enter a superconducting tube. The calculations show
that superconducting pipes are very efficient at screening magnetic fields. For
example, the magnetic field of a dipole at the center of a short pipe of radius
$a$ and length $L \approx a$ decays, in the axial direction, with a
characteristic length $\xi \approx 0.26 a$. The efficient screening of the
magnetic field might be useful for shielding highly sensitive superconducting
quantum interference devices, SQUIDs. Finally, the motion of the magnet through
a superconducting pipe is compared and contrasted to the flow of ions through a
trans-membrane channel.


title: Frozen light in periodic metamaterials

abstract:
  Wave propagation in spatially periodic media, such as photonic crystals, can
be qualitatively different from any uniform substance. The differences are
particularly pronounced when the electromagnetic wavelength is comparable to
the primitive translation of the periodic structure. In such a case, the
periodic medium cannot be assigned any meaningful refractive index. Still, such
features as negative refraction and/or opposite phase and group velocities for
certain directions of light propagation can be found in almost any photonic
crystal. The only reservation is that unlike hypothetical uniform left-handed
media, photonic crystals are essentially anisotropic at frequency range of
interest. Consider now a plane wave incident on a semi-infinite photonic
crystal. One can assume, for instance, that in the case of positive refraction,
the normal components of the group and the phase velocities of the transmitted
Bloch wave have the same sign, while in the case of negative refraction, those
components have opposite signs. What happens if the normal component of the
transmitted wave group velocity vanishes? Let us call it a "zero-refraction"
case. At first sight, zero normal component of the transmitted wave group
velocity implies total reflection of the incident wave. But we demonstrate that
total reflection is not the only possibility. Instead, the transmitted wave can
appear in the form of an abnormal grazing mode with huge amplitude and nearly
tangential group velocity. This spectacular phenomenon is extremely sensitive
to the frequency and direction of propagation of the incident plane wave. These
features can be very attractive in numerous applications, such as higher
harmonic generation and wave mixing, light amplification and lasing, highly
efficient superprizms, etc.


title: Wave Chaos in Rotating Optical Cavities

abstract:
  It is shown that, even when the eigenmodes of an optical cavity are
wave-chaotic, the frequency splitting due to the rotation of the cavity occurs
and the frequency difference is proportional to the angular velocity although
the splitting eigenmodes are still wave-chaotic and do not correspond to any
unidirectionally-rotating waves.


title: The inertia of stress

abstract:
  We present a simple example in which the importance of the inertial effects
of stress is evident. The system is an insulating solid narrow disc whose faces
are uniformly charged with charges of equal magnitude and opposite signs. The
motion of the system in two different directions is considered. It is shown how
the contributions to energy and momentum of the stress that develops inside the
body to balance the electrostatic forces have to be added to the
electromagnetic contributions to obtain the results predicted by the
relativistic equivalence of mass and energy.


title:
Optical Feshbach resonances of Alkaline-Earth atoms in a 1D or 2D
  optical lattice

abstract:
  Motivated by a recent experiment by Zelevinsky et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 96,
203201], we present the theory for photoassociation and optical Feshbach
resonances of atoms confined in a tight one-dimensional (1D) or two-dimensional
(2D) optical lattice. In the case of an alkaline-earth intercombination
resonance, the narrow natural width of the line makes it possible to observe
clear manifestations of the dimensionality, as well as some sensitivity to the
scattering length of the atoms. Among possible applications, a 2D lattice may
be used to increase the spectroscopic resolution by about one order of
magnitude. Furthermore, a 1D lattice induces a shift which provides a new way
of determining the strength of a resonance by spectroscopic measurements.