Grand unification and proton stability near the Peccei-Quinn scale

We show that in an SU(2)circle timesU(1) model with a Dine-Fischler-Srednicki-like invisible axion it is possible to obtain (i) the convergence of the three gauge coupling constants at an energy scale near the Peccei-Quinn scale; (ii) the correct value for sin(2)theta<^>(W)(M-Z); (iii) the stabilization of the proton by the cyclic Z(13)circle timesZ(3) symmetries which also stabilize the axion as a solution to the strong CP problem. Concerning the convergence of the three coupling constants and the prediction of the weak mixing angle at the Z peak, this model is as good as the minimal supersymmetric standard model with mu(SUSY)=M-Z. We also consider the standard model with six and seven Higgs doublets. The main calculations were done in the 1-loop approximation but we briefly consider the 2-loop contributions.

Discrete symmetries, invisible axion, and lepton number symmetry in an economic 3-3-1 model

We show that Peccei-Quinn and lepton number symmetries can be a natural outcome in a 3-3-1 model with right-handed neutrinos after imposing a Z(11)circle timesZ(2) symmetry. This symmetry is suitably accommodated in this model when we augment its spectrum by including merely one singlet scalar field. We work out the breaking of the Peccei-Quinn symmetry, yielding the axion, and study the phenomenological consequences. The main result of this work is that the solution to the strong CP problem can be implemented in a natural way, implying an invisible axion phenomenologically unconstrained, free of domain wall formation, and constituting a good candidate for the cold dark matter.

Natural Peccei-Quinn symmetry in the 3-3-1 model with a minimal scalar sector

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Áxions, májorons e neutrinos em extensões do modelo padrão

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

EFFECT of METAL PRIMERS on BOND STRENGTH of RESIN CEMENTS TO BASE METALS

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Fish ladders select fish traits on migration - still a growing problem for natural fish populations

We investigated the potential selective effect of fish ladders on physiological and morphological profiles of the curimbata, Prochilodus lineatus, during reproductive migration in Brazil. We registered sex, body weight and length, plasma glucose, hepatosomatic and gonadosomatic indices (HSI and GSI, respectively), hematocrit, leucocrit, blood cell and nucleus areas, and the diameter of white and red muscle fibers in fish sampled at the bottom (downstream) and at the top (upstream) of a fish ladder at a hydroelectric dam. Males and females at the top of the ladder showed higher size (weight and length), white muscle fiber diameters, plasma glucose levels and lower hematocrit when compared with those at the bottom. These size and muscle traits assist fish to overcome the ladder barrier and bypass the dam, an effort that might be reflected in the glucose levels. Females also showed higher GSI at the top of the fish ladder, a trait possibly facilitating their reproduction upstream. These results indicate that a dam system favors fish with specific morphological-physiological profile. This may have a strong influence upon upstream fish populations over generations and implies the presence of artificial selective pressure.

A transmission problem for the Timoshenko system

In this work we study a transmission problem for the model of beams developed by S.P. Timoshenko [10]. We consider the case of mixed material, that is, a part of the beam has friction and the other is purely elastic. We show that for this type of material, the dissipation produced by the frictional part is strong enough to produce exponential decay of the solution, no matter how small is its size. We use the method of energy to prove exponential decay for the solution.

Cooper pair dispersion relation for weak to strong coupling

Cooper pairing in two dimensions is analyzed with a set of renormalized equations to determine its binding energy for any fermion number density and all coupling assuming a,generic pairwise residual interfermion interaction. Also considered are Cooper pairs (CP's) with nonzero center-of-mass momentum (CMM) and their binding energy is expanded analytically in powers of the CMM up to quadratic terms. A Fermi-sea-dependent linear term in the CMM dominates the pair excitation energy in weak coupling (also called the BCS regime) while the more familiar quadratic term prevails in strong coupling (the Bose regime). The crossover, though strictly unrelated to BCS theory per se, is studied numerically as it is expected to play a central role in a model of superconductivity as a Bose-Einstein condensation of CPs where the transition temperature vanishes for all dimensionality d less than or equal to 2 for quadratic dispersion, but is nonzero for all d greater than or equal to 1 for linear dispersion.

CP violation conditions in N-Higgs-doublet potentials

Conditions for CP violation in the scalar potential sector of general N-Higgs-doublet models are analyzed from a group theoretical perspective. For the simplest two-Higgs-doublet model potential, a minimum set of conditions for explicit and spontaneous CP violation is presented. The conditions can be given a clear geometrical interpretation in terms of quantities in the adjoint representation of the basis transformation group for the two doublets. Such conditions depend on CP-odd pseudoscalar invariants. When the potential is CP invariant, the explicit procedure to reach the real CP-basis and the explicit CP transformation can also be obtained. The procedure to find the real basis and the conditions for CP violation are then extended to general N-Higgs-doublet model potentials. The analysis becomes more involved and only a formal procedure to reach the real basis is found. Necessary conditions for CP invariance can still be formulated in terms of group invariants: the CP-odd generalized pseudoscalars. The problem can be completely solved for three Higgs-doublets.

Transmission problem for waves with frictional damping April 22, 2007

In this paper we consider the transmission problem, in one space dimension, for linear dissipative waves with frictional damping. We study the wave propagation in a medium with a component with attrition and another simply elastic. We show that for this type of material, the dissipation produced by the frictional part is strong enough to produce exponential decay of the solution, no matter how small is its size. ©2007 Texas State University.

Domain reduction using GRASP construction phase for transmission expansion planning problem

This paper proposes a new strategy to reduce the combinatorial search space of a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) problem. The construction phase of greedy randomized adaptive search procedure (GRASP-CP) is employed to reduce the domain of the integer variables of the transportation model of the transmission expansion planning (TM-TEP) problem. This problem is a MILP and very difficult to solve specially for large scale systems. The branch and bound (BB) algorithm is used to solve the problem in both full and the reduced search space. The proposed method might be useful to reduce the search space of those kinds of MILP problems that a fast heuristic algorithm is available for finding local optimal solutions. The obtained results using some real test systems show the efficiency of the proposed method. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.

Error estimates for a neumann problem in highly oscillating thin domains

In this work we analyze the convergence of solutions of the Poisson equation with Neumann boundary conditions in a two-dimensional thin domain with highly oscillatory behavior. We consider the case where the height of the domain, amplitude and period of the oscillations are all of the same order, and given by a small parameter e > 0. Using an appropriate corrector approach, we show strong convergence and give error estimates when we replace the original solutions by the first-order expansion through the Multiple-Scale Method.

Strategies to reduce the number of variables and the combinatorial search space of the multistage transmission expansion planning problem

This paper proposes strategies to reduce the number of variables and the combinatorial search space of the multistage transmission expansion planning problem (TEP). The concept of the binary numeral system (BNS) is used to reduce the number of binary and continuous variables related to the candidate transmission lines and network constraints that are connected with them. The construction phase of greedy randomized adaptive search procedure (GRASP-CP) and additional constraints, obtained from power flow equilibrium in an electric power system are employed for more reduction in search space. The multistage TEP problem is modeled like a mixed binary linear programming problem and solved using a commercial solver with a low computational time. The results of one test system and two real systems are presented in order to show the efficiency of the proposed solution technique. © 1969-2012 IEEE.

Reformulation and a Lagrangian heuristic for lot sizing problem on parallel machines

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