International Journal of Modern Physics A

We show how to systematically analyze what may be inferred should a new scalar particle be discovered in collider experiments. Our approach is systematic in the sense that we perform the analysis in a manner which minimizes a priori theoretical assumptions as to the nature of the scalar particle. For instance, we do not immediately make the common assumption that a new scalar particle is a Higgs boson, and so must interact with a strength proportional to the mass of the particles with which it couples. We show how to compare different observables, and so to develop a decision tree from which the nature of the new particle may be discerned. We define several categories of models, which summarize the kinds of distinctions which the first experiments can make.

The symplectic projector method is applied to discuss quantization aspects of an extended Abelian model with a pair of gauge potentials coupled by means of a mixed Chern–Simons term. We focus on a field content that spans an N=2-D=3 supersymmetric theory whenever scalar and fermionic matter is suitably coupled to the family of gauge potentials.

We analyze the (discrete) spectrum of the semirelativistic "spinless-Salpeter" Hamiltonian

In this paper we examine the propagation of electromagnetic waves through electroweak textures and W-strings. The photon is associated with a negative mass squared term as a consequence of its coupling to the intermediate vector bosons from which the electroweak defect is constructed. The photon pseudo-mass depends on the polarization of the photon and results in electroweak defects exhibiting birefringent properties. We calculate the effective refractive index and birefringence length scale. The cosmological implications of birefringent electroweak defects are discussed.

A simple model of space–time foam, made by two different types of wormholes in a semiclassical approximation, is taken under examination: one type is a collection of N_w Schwarzschild wormholes, while the other one is made by Schwarzschild–Anti-de Sitter wormholes. The area quantization related to the entropy via the Bekenstein–Hawking formula hints a possible selection between the two configurations. Application to the charged black hole are discussed.