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Frank Wilczek

Publications and source records attributed to Frank Wilczek.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Gravitational correction to running of gauge couplings.

We calculate the contribution of graviton exchange to the running of gauge couplings at lowest non-trivial order in perturbation theory. Including this contribution in a theory that features coupling constant unification does not upset this unification, but rather shifts the unification scale. When extrapolated formally, the gravitational correction renders all gauge couplings asymptotically free.

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PubMed2006

Hawking radiation from charged black holes via gauge and gravitational anomalies.

Extending the method of Robinson and Wolczek, we show that in order to avoid a breakdown of general covariance and gauge invariance at the quantum level the total flux of charge and energy in each outgoing partial wave of a charged quantum field in a Reissner-Nordström black hole background must be equal to that of a (1 + 1)-dimensional blackbody at the Hawking temperature with the appropriate chemical potential.

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PubMed2005

Relationship between Hawking radiation and gravitational anomalies.

We show that in order to avoid a breakdown of general covariance at the quantum level the total flux in each outgoing partial wave of a quantum field in a black hole background must be equal to that of a (1+1)-dimensional blackbody at the Hawking temperature.

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PubMed2005

In search of symmetry lost.

Powerful symmetry principles have guided physicists in their quest for nature's fundamental laws. The successful gauge theory of electroweak interactions postulates a more extensive symmetry for its equations than are manifest in the world. The discrepancy is ascribed to a pervasive symmetry-breaking field, which fills all space uniformly, rendering the Universe a sort of exotic superconductor. So far, the evidence for these bold ideas is indirect. But soon the theory will undergo a critical test depending on whether the quanta of this symmetry-breaking field, the so-called Higgs particles, are produced at the Large Hadron Collider (due to begin operation in 2007).

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PubMed2005

Stability criteria for breached-pair superfluidity.

We present simple, concrete, two-fermion models that exhibit thermodynamically stable isotropic translationally invariant gapless superfluid states (breached-pair superfluidity). The mass ratio between the components and the momentum structure of the interaction are crucial for determining the stability of such states: idealized, momentum-independent ("contact") interactions are insufficient.

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PubMed2003

Diquarks and exotic spectroscopy.

We propose that the recently discovered Theta(+) baryon is a bound state of four quarks and an antiquark, containing two highly correlated ud pairs. If so, the theta(+) has positive parity, and it lies in an near-ideally mixed SU(3)(f) 10;(f) plus sign in circle 8(f). The Roper resonance and the P11(1710) fit naturally into this classification. We predict an isospin 3/2 multiplet of Xi's (S=-2) with J(Pi)=1 / 2(+) around 1750 MeV. A search for manifestly exotic Xi(+) and Xi(--) in this mass range could provide a sharp test of our proposal. We predict that charm and bottom analogs of the Theta(+) may be stable against strong decays.

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PubMed2003

Breached pairing superfluidity: possible realization in QCD.

We propose a wide universality class of gapless superfluids, and analyze a limit that might be realized in quark matter at intermediate densities. In the breached pairing color superconducting phase heavy s quarks, with a small Fermi surface, pair with light u or d quarks. The ground state has a superfluid and a normal Fermi component simultaneously. We expect a second-order phase transition, as a function of increasing density, from the breached pairing phase to the conventional color-flavor locked phase.

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PubMed2003

Interior gap superfluidity.

We propose a new state of matter in which the pairing interactions carve out a gap within the interior of a large Fermi ball, while the exterior surface remains gapless. This defines a system which contains both a superfluid and a normal Fermi liquid simultaneously, with both gapped and gapless quasiparticle excitations. The universality class of this state can be realized at weak coupling. We predict that a cold mixture of two species of fermionic atoms with different mass will exhibit this state. For electrons in appropriate solids, it would define a material that is simultaneously superconducting and metallic.

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PubMed2002

Observability of earth-skimming ultrahigh energy neutrinos.

Neutrinos with energies above 10(8) GeV are expected from cosmic ray interactions with the microwave background and are predicted in many speculative models. Such energetic neutrinos are difficult to detect, as they are shadowed by Earth, but rarely interact in the atmosphere. Here we propose a novel detection strategy: Earth-skimming neutrinos convert to charged leptons that escape Earth, and these leptons are detected in ground level fluorescence detectors. With the existing HiRes detector, neutrinos from some proposed sources are marginally detectable, and improvements of 2 orders of magnitude are possible at the proposed Telescope Array.

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PubMed2002

Setting standards.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

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