Pietro Santorelli — Page 4

arXiv1995

Quantum Effects in Friedmann-Robertson-Walker Cosmologies

Electrodynamics for self-interacting scalar fields in spatially flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker space-times is studied. The corresponding one-loop field equation for the expectation value of the complex scalar field in the conformal vacuum is derived. For exponentially expanding universes, the equations for the Bogoliubov coefficients describing the coupling of the scalar field to gravity are solved numerically. They yield a non-local correction to the Coleman-Weinberg effective potential which does not modify the pattern of minima found in static de Sitter space. Such a correction contains a dissipative term which, accounting for the decay of the classical configuration in scalar field quanta, may be relevant for the reheating stage. The physical meaning of the non-local term in the semiclassical field equation is investigated by evaluating this contribution for various background field configurations.

gr-qc↗

arXiv1995

Production of neutral pseudo-Goldstone bosons at LEP II and NLC in multiscale walking technicolor models

Walking technicolor (WTC) models predict the existence of heavy neutral pseudo-Goldstone bosons (PGBs), whose masses are typically expected to be larger than 100 GeV. In this paper, we investigate the production and decay of these particles at the high energy e^+ e^- experiments, LEP II and NLC. We find that, in WTC models, the production of neutral PGBs can be significantly enhanced, by one or two orders of magnitude, with respect to the predictions of traditional (QCD-like) TC models. The origin of such an enhancement is the existence of several low energy TC scales, that are likely to appear in WTC theories. This could allow the PGBs to be observed even at the energy and luminosity of the LEP II experiment. At LEP II, the PGBs are expected to be produced in the e^+ e^- ==> P γchannel, and, possibly, in the e^+ e^- ==> P e^+ e^- channel, with a total rate that can be of the order of several tenths per year. Due to the typical large values of PGB masses, the relative branching ratios of PGB decays, in WTC theories, are different from those predicted in traditional TC models. In particular, a large fraction of these decays can occur in the P ==> γγchannel. In considering the PGB production, at LEP II, we find that, in most of the final states, the distinctive signatures of WTC events should allow the Standard Model background to be reduced to a negligible level. We also find that, at a 500 GeV NLC experiment, the production of neutral PGBs can occur in several channels, and can be of the order of 10^3 events per year. Instead, when we consider traditional TC models, we find that no PGB are typically predicted to be observed, both at LEP II and the NLC experiment.

hep-ph↗

arXiv1993

Rare $B$-Decays and Heavy to Light Semileptonic Transitions in the Isgur and Wise Limit

From the experimental branching ratios for $B^- --> ρ^0 l^-\barν_l$ and $D^+ --> {\overl K}^{*0}({\overl K}^0) e^+ ν_e$ one finds, in the Heavy Quark Limit of $HQET$, $ |V_{bu}|=(8.1\pm 1.7) x 10^{-3}$, larger but consistent with the actual quoted range $(2 - 7) x 10^{-3}$. In the same framework one predicts for $R(B --> K^*γ)=( 2 \pm 2 ) 10^{-2}$.

hep-ph↗