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The emergence of a second dome in the superconducting phase through pressure-driven manipulation of crystal structures in materials has attracted considerable attention. Transition metal chalcogenides (TMCs) represent a highly promising platform, as the second dome has been observed in several binary compounds. Recently, ternary TMCs such as Ta$_2$PdS$_6$ and Ta$_2$PdSe$_6$ have exhibited pressure-induced superconducting domes. In this study, we perform electrical transport measurements of Ta$_2$PdS$_6$ and Ta$_2$PdSe$_6$ under extremely high pressures exceeding 100 GPa, namely uninvestigated regions in previous reports, to reveal the emergence of the second dome. The superconducting critical temperatures (T$_c$) in both Ta$_2$PdS$_6$ and Ta$_2$PdSe$_6$ initially decrease with increasing pressure. Subsequently, the Tcs tend to enhance drastically above 100 GPa. Notably, the maximum T$_c$ in Ta$_2$PdS$_6$ is 11.2 K at 130.0 GPa, which is a relatively high record among the TMCs. The emergence of the second dome in Ta$_2$PdS$_6$ and Ta$_2$PdSe$_6$ opens further motivation for the investigation under extreme conditions beyond the first dome to find hidden ordered phases.

In this paper, we propose a cost-reduced method for finite-temperature molecular dynamics on a near-term quantum computer, Quantum Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics (QCPMD). One of the most promising applications of near-term quantum computers is quantum chemistry. It has been expected that simulations of molecules via molecular dynamics can be also efficiently performed on near-term quantum computers by applying a promising near-term quantum algorithm of the variational quantum eigensolver (VQE). However, this method may demand considerable computational costs to achieve a sufficient accuracy, and otherwise, statistical noise can significantly affect the results. To resolve these problems, we invent an efficient method for molecular time evolution inspired by Car-Parrinello method. In our method, parameters characterizing the quantum state evolve based on equations of motion instead of being optimized. Furthermore, by considering Langevin dynamics, we can make use of the intrinsic statistical noise. As an application of QCPMD, we propose an efficient method for vibrational frequency analysis of molecules in which we can use the results of the molecular dynamics calculated by QCPMD. Numerical experiments show that our method can precisely simulate the Langevin dynamics at the equilibrium state, and we can successfully predict a given molecule's eigen frequencies. Furthermore, in the numerical simulation, our method achieves a substantial cost reduction compared with molecular dynamics using the VQE. Our method achieves an efficient computation without using widely employed method of the VQE. In this sense, we open up a new possibility of molecular dynamics on near-term quantum computers. We expect our results inspire further invention of efficient near-term quantum algorithms for simulation of molecules., Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures

We have constructed a new laser-Compton-scattering facility, called the LEPS2 beamline, at the 8-GeV electron storage ring, SPring-8. This facility provides a linearly polarized photon beam in a tagged energy range of 1.3--2.4 GeV. Thanks to a small divergence of the low-emittance storage-ring electrons, the tagged photon beam has a size (sigma) suppressed to about 4 mm even after it travels about 130 m to the experimental building that is independent of the storage ring building and contains large detector systems. This beamline is designed to achieve a photon beam intensity higher than that of the first laser-Compton-scattering beamline at SPring-8 by adopting the simultaneous injection of up to four high-power laser beams and increasing a transmittance for the long photon-beam path up to about 77%. The new beamline is under operation for hadron photoproduction experiments.

Increasing users' positive interactions, such as purchases or clicks, is an important objective of recommender systems. Recommenders typically aim to select items that users will interact with. If the recommended items are purchased, an increase in sales is expected. However, the items could have been purchased even without recommendation. Thus, we want to recommend items that results in purchases caused by recommendation. This can be formulated as a ranking problem in terms of the causal effect. Despite its importance, this problem has not been well explored in the related research. It is challenging because the ground truth of causal effect is unobservable, and estimating the causal effect is prone to the bias arising from currently deployed recommenders. This paper proposes an unbiased learning framework for the causal effect of recommendation. Based on the inverse propensity scoring technique, the proposed framework first constructs unbiased estimators for ranking metrics. Then, it conducts empirical risk minimization on the estimators with propensity capping, which reduces variance under finite training samples. Based on the framework, we develop an unbiased learning method for the causal effect extension of a ranking metric. We theoretically analyze the unbiasedness of the proposed method and empirically demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms other biased learning methods in various settings., Comment: accepted at RecSys 2020, updated several experiments

The linear submodular bandit problem was proposed to simultaneously address diversified retrieval and online learning in a recommender system. If there is no uncertainty, this problem is equivalent to a submodular maximization problem under a cardinality constraint. However, in some situations, recommendation lists should satisfy additional constraints such as budget constraints, other than a cardinality constraint. Thus, motivated by diversified retrieval considering budget constraints, we introduce a submodular bandit problem under the intersection of $l$ knapsacks and a $k$-system constraint. Here $k$-system constraints form a very general class of constraints including cardinality constraints and the intersection of $k$ matroid constraints. To solve this problem, we propose a non-greedy algorithm that adaptively focuses on a standard or modified upper-confidence bound. We provide a high-probability upper bound of an approximation regret, where the approximation ratio matches that of a fast offline algorithm. Moreover, we perform experiments under various combinations of constraints using a synthetic and two real-world datasets and demonstrate that our proposed methods outperform the existing baselines., Comment: accepted at UAI 2020, minor mistakes fixed

We study possible non-standard $tuZ$ and $tcZ$ couplings, which induce flavor-changing neutral-current decays of the top quark, in the effective-Lagrangian framework. The corresponding interaction Lagrangian comes from several $SU(3) \times SU(2) \times U(1)$ invariant dimension-6 effective operators, and it includes four independent complex-number coupling constants. Constraints on those non-standard coupling constants in each interaction are derived by using the present experimental limits of the branching fractions for $t \to u Z$ and $t \to c Z$ processes. Expected improvements of the constraints at future facilities are discussed as well. It is also pointed out that some correlations hold among those constrained coupling constants., Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, 2 tables, Contribution to the Proceedings of the XXIX International Symposium on Lepton Photon Interactions at High Energies - LeptonPhoton2019, 5-10 August 2019, Toronto, Canada

Possible non-standard tqZ couplings, where q=c or u, originated from general flavor-changing-neutral-current interactions are studied model-independently using the effective Lagrangian consisting of several SU(3)xSU(2)xU(1) invariant dimension-6 operators. After the electroweak symmetry breaking, these operators are recombined to form four kinds of independent terms whose coefficients are complex in general. The Lagrangian could therefore include up to eight independent coupling parameters. Through searches for experimentally allowed regions of these parameters, it is found that some correlations exist among the signs and sizes of those couplings., Comment: Final version published in Europhysics Letters

Possible non-standard tuZ and tcZ interactions, which induce flavor-changing neutral-current decays of the top quark, are studied in the effective-Lagrangian framework. The corresponding Lagrangian consists of four kinds of non-standard couplings coming from SU(3)xSU(2)xU(1) invariant dimension-6 effective operators. The four coupling constants in each interaction are treated as complex numbers independent of each other, and constraints on them are derived by using the present experimental limits of the branching fractions for t -> u Z and t -> c Z processes. Future improvements of those constraints are also discussed as well as possibilities of measurements of these couplings at the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider., Comment: Main text divided into several sections and some comments plus related references added (No change in results). Final version accepted for Mod.Phys.Lett.A

While the layered 122 iron arsenide superconductors are highly anisotropic, unconventional, and exhibit several forms of electronic orders that coexist or compete with superconductivity in different regions of their phase diagrams, we find in the absence of iron in the structure that the superconducting characteristics of the end member BaPd2As2 are surprisingly conventional. Here we report on complementary measurements of specific heat, magnetic susceptibility, resistivity measurements, Andreev spectroscopy, and synchrotron high pressure x-ray diffraction measurements supplemented with theoretical calculations for BaPd2As2. Its superconducting properties are completely isotropic as demonstrated by the critical fields, which do not depend on the direction of the applied field. Under the application of high pressure, Tc is linearly suppressed, which is the typical behavior of classical phonon-mediated superconductors with some additional effect of a pressure-induced decrease in the electronic density of states and the electron-phonon coupling parameters. Structural changes in the layered BaPd2As2 have been studied by means of angle-dispersive diffraction in a diamond-anvil cell. At 12 GPa and 24.2 GPa we observed pressure induced lattice distortions manifesting as the discontinuity and, hence discontinuity in the Birch-Murnaghan equation of state. The bulk modulus is B0=40(6) GPa below 12 GPa and B0=142(3) GPa below 27.2 GPa.

We analyse the performance of a gas time projection chamber (TPC) as a high-performance gamma-ray telescope and polarimeter in the e$^+$e$^-$ pair creation regime. We use data collected at a gamma-ray beam of known polarisation. The TPC provides two orthogonal projections $(x,z)$ and $(y,z)$ of the tracks induced by each conversion in the gas volume. We use a simple vertex finder in which vertices and pseudo-tracks exiting from them are identified. We study the various contributions to the single-photon angular resolution using Monte Carlo simulations and compare them with the experimental data and find that they are in excellent agreement. The distribution of the azimutal angle of pair conversions shows a bias due to the non-cylindrical-symmetric structure of the detector. This bias would average out for a long duration exposure on a space mission, but for this pencil-beam characterisation we have ensured its accurate simulation by a double systematics control scheme, data taking with the detector rotated at several angles with respect to the beam polarisation direction and systematics control with a non-polarised beam. We measure, for the first time, the polarisation asymmetry of a linearly polarised gamma-ray beam in the low energy pair creation regime. This sub-GeV energy range is critical for cosmic sources as their spectra are power laws which fall quickly as a function of increasing energy. This work could pave the way to extending polarised gamma-ray astronomy beyond the MeV energy regime., Comment: Submitted to Astroparticle Physics

Polymer properties are inherently multi-scale in nature, where delicate local interaction details play a key role in describing their global conformational behavior. In this context, deriving coarse-grained (CG) multi-scale models for polymeric liquids is a non-trivial task. Further complexities arise when dealing with copolymer systems with varying microscopic sequences, especially when they are of an amphiphilic nature. In this work, we derive a segment-based generic CG model for amphiphilic copolymers consisting of repeat units of hydrophobic (methylene) and hydrophilic (ethylene oxide) monomers. The system is a simulation analogue of polyacetal copolymers [Samanta et al., Macromolecules 49, 1858 (2016)]. The CG model is found to be transferable over a wide range of copolymer sequences and also to be consistent with existing experimental data.

General non-standard $tbW$ couplings are studied as model independently as possible based on the effective Lagrangian consisting of the dimension-6 operators, which is an extension of the standard-model Lagrangian. The $tbW$-interaction Lagrangian in this framework includes four kinds of couplings, which could be complex. Constraints on those non-standard $tbW$ couplings are obtained by comparing the experimental data related to the $t\to b W$ process with the corresponding theoretical formulas derived from the effective Lagrangian. The constraints on some sets of the non-standard couplings are shown not to be so strong because those couplings balance out each other as we treat all the non-standard couplings as complex numbers at the same time., Comment: 4 pages, To appear in the proceedings of 38th International Conference on High Energy Physics (ICHEP 2016), Chicago, Aug. 3-10, 2016

We recently studied possible non-standard tbW couplings based on the effective-Lagrangian which consists of four kinds of SU(3) x SU(2) x U(1) invariant dimension-6 effective operators and gave an experimentally allowed region for each non-standard coupling. We here re-perform that analysis much more precisely based on the same experimental data but on a new computational procedure using the Graphics-Processing-Unit (GPU) calculation system. Comparing these two analyses with each other, the previous one is found to have given quite reliable results despite of its limited computation capability. We then apply this new procedure to the latest data and present updated results., Comment: LaTeX_2e, 8 pages, to appear in Phys.Lett.B

Current $\gamma$-ray telescopes suffer from a gap in sensitivity in the energy range between 100keV and 100MeV, and no polarisation measurement has ever been done on cosmic sources above 1MeV. Past and present e$^+$e$^-$ pair telescopes are limited at lower energies by the multiple scattering of electrons in passive tungsten converter plates. This results in low angular resolution, and, consequently, a drop in sensitivity to point sources below 1GeV. The polarisation information, which is carried by the azimuthal angle of the conversion plane, is lost for the same reasons. HARPO (Hermetic ARgon POlarimeter) is an R\&D program to characterise the operation of a gaseous detector (a Time Projection Chamber or TPC) as a high angular-resolution and sensitivity telescope and polarimeter for $\gamma$ rays from cosmic sources. It represents a first step towards a future space instrument in the MeV-GeV range. We built and characterised a 30cm cubic demonstrator [SPIE 91441M], and put it in a polarised $\gamma$-ray beam at the NewSUBARU accelerator in Japan. Data were taken at photon energies from 1.74MeV to 74MeV, and with different polarisation configurations. We describe the experimental setup in beam. We then describe the software we developed to reconstruct the photon conversion events, with special focus on low energies. We also describe the thorough simulation of the detector used to compare results. Finally we will present the performance of the detector as extracted from this analysis and preliminary measurements of the polarisation asymmetry. This beam-test qualification of a gas TPC prototype in a $\gamma$-ray beam could open the way to high-performance $\gamma$-ray astronomy and polarimetry in the MeV-GeV energy range in the near future., Comment: SPIE Astronomical telescopes and instrumentation conference 2016

Current {\gamma}-ray telescopes based on photon conversions to electron-positron pairs, such as Fermi, use tungsten converters. They suffer of limited angular resolution at low energies, and their sensitivity drops below 1 GeV. The low multiple scattering in a gaseous detector gives access to higher angular resolution in the MeV-GeV range, and to the linear polarisation of the photons through the azimuthal angle of the electron-positron pair. HARPO is an R&D program to characterise the operation of a TPC (Time Projection Chamber) as a high angular-resolution and sensitivity telescope and polarimeter for {\gamma} rays from cosmic sources. It represents a first step towards a future space instrument. A 30 cm cubic TPC demonstrator was built, and filled with 2 bar argon-based gas. It was put in a polarised {\gamma}-ray beam at the NewSUBARU accelerator in Japan in November 2014. Data were taken at different photon energies from 1.7 MeV to 74 MeV, and with different polarisation configurations. The electronics setup is described, with an emphasis on the trigger system. The event reconstruction algorithm is quickly described, and preliminary measurements of the polarisation of 11 MeVphotons are shown., Comment: Proceedings VCI2016

The $\phi$-$\Lambda(1520)$ interference effect in the $\gamma p\to K^+K^-p$ reaction has been measured for the first time in the energy range from 1.673 to 2.173 GeV. The relative phases between $\phi$ and $\Lambda(1520)$ production amplitudes were obtained in the kinematic region where the two resonances overlap. The measurement results support strong constructive interference when $K^+K^-$ pairs are observed at forward angles, but destructive interference for proton emission at forward angles. Furthermore, the observed interference effect does not account for the $\sqrt{s}=2.1$ GeV bump structure in forward differential cross sections for $\phi$ photoproduction. This fact suggests possible exotic structures such as a hidden-strangeness pentaquark state, a new Pomeron exchange and rescattering processes via other hyperon states.

Possible non-standard couplings which could contribute to the t -> b W process are studied based on the effective-Lagrangian approach. The corresponding effective Lagrangian consists of four kinds of dimension-6 effective operators, each of which has an independent coupling constant. In this analysis, all those couplings are treated as complex numbers and constraints on them are estimated by using recent experimental data from the LHC. We point out that the resultant constraints on those couplings are still not that strong because contributions from some couplings can work oppositely with each other., Comment: One comment and two related references added. Final version to appear in Phys.Lett.B

A time projection chamber (TPC) can be used to measure the polarization of gamma rays with excellent angular precision and sensitivity in the MeV-GeV energy range through the conversion of photons to e+e- pairs. The Hermetic ARgon POlarimeter (HARPO) prototype was built to demonstrate this concept. It was recently tested in the polarized photon beam at the NewSUBARU facility in Japan. We present this data-taking run, which demonstrated the excellent performance of the HARPO TPC., Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures, presented at the 7th Symposium on large TPCs for low-energy rare event detection, Paris, France, 15-17 December 2014

Possible anomalous (or nonstandard) top-quark interactions with the gluon and those with the W boson induced by SU(3) x SU(2) x U(1) gauge-invariant dimension-6 effective operators are studied in p p -> t tbar X -> l^+ X' (l=e or mu) at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The final charged-lepton (l^+) angular distribution is first computed for nonvanishing nonstandard top-gluon and top-W couplings with a cut on its transverse momentum. The optimal-observable procedure is then applied to this distribution in order to estimate the expected statistical uncertainties in measurements of those couplings that contribute to this process in the leading order., Comment: latex_2e, 14 pages, 4 eps figures

A laser-Compton backscattering beam, which we call a `Laser-Electron Photon' beam, was upgraded at the LEPS beamline of SPring-8. We accomplished the gains in backscattered photon beam intensities by factors of 1.5--1.8 with the injection of two adjacent laser beams or a higher power laser beam into the storage ring. The maximum energy of the photon beam was also extended from 2.4 GeV to 2.9 GeV with deep-ultraviolet lasers. The upgraded beams have been utilized for hadron photoproduction experiments at the LEPS beamline. Based on the developed methods, we plan the simultaneous injection of four high power laser beams at the LEPS2 beamline, which has been newly constructed at SPring-8. As a simulation result, we expect an order of magnitude higher intensities close to 10$^7$ sec$^{-1}$ and 10$^6$ sec$^{-1}$ for tagged photons up to 2.4 GeV and 2.9 GeV, respectively., Comment: 31 pages, 9 figures, Submitted to Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A on 29 May 2013

Constraints on the non-standard top-gluon couplings composed of the chromomagnetic- and chromoelectric-dipole moments of the top quark are updated by combining the latest data of top-pair productions from the Tevatron, 7-TeV LHC, and 8-TeV LHC. We find that adding the recent 8-TeV data to the analysis is effective to get a stronger constraint on the chromoelectric-dipole moment than the one from the Tevatron and 7-TeV LHC alone. We also discuss how those constraints on the non-standard couplings could be further improved when 14-TeV LHC results become available in the near future., Comment: Some discussion on SM-loop effects and two related references added. Final version appeared in Phys. Rev. D

A search for $K^-pp$ bound state (the lightest kaonic nucleus) has been performed using the $\gamma d \rightarrow K^+ \pi^- \rm{X}$ reaction at E$_\gamma$=1.5-2.4 GeV at LEPS/SPring-8. The differential cross section of $K^+ \pi^-$ photo-production off deuterium has been measured for the first time in this energy region, and a bump structure was searched for in the inclusive missing mass spectrum. A statistically significant bump structure was not observed in the region from 2.22 to 2.36 GeV/$c^2$, and the upper limits of the differential cross section for the $K^-pp$ bound state production were determined to be 0.1$-$0.7 $\mu$ b (95$%$ confidence level) for a set of assumed binding energy and width values.

Focusing attention on top-quark pair production and its decay processes at the LHC, non-standard top-quark couplings are studied based on the effective Lagrangian constructed with SU(3)X SU(2)X U(1) invariant dimension-6 operators. The optimal-observable analysis is carried out for the charged-lepton distributions in pp -> t t-bar X -> l^+ X' (l=e or mu) in order to estimate the expected statistical uncertainties in measurements of those non-standard t t-bar g and tbW couplings that contribute to this process in the leading order., Comment: 5 pages, Proceedings of Hadron Collider Physics symposium 2012

Possible non-standard top-quark interactions with the gluon and the W boson induced by SU(3) X SU(2) X U(1) gauge-invariant dimension-6 effective operators are studied for hadron-collider experiments. Current limits on top-gluon couplings are presented by using the latest experimental data of t t-bar productions at the Tevatron and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The optimal-observable procedure is applied to the charged-lepton distributions in p p -> t t-bar X -> l^+ X' (l = e or mu) at the LHC in order to estimate the expected statistical uncertainties in measurements of those non-standard top-gluon and top-W couplings that contribute to this process in the leading order., Comment: 16 pages, 1 figure, Discussion of stabilities in estimating statistical errors and related one reference added. Final version (to appear in Phys. Lett. B)

We study momentum distributions of the final-state charged lepton in ppbar/pp --> ttbar --> l^+ X (l=e or mu) at hadron colliders, i.e., Tevatron and Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in order to explore possible new-physics effects in the top-quark sector. Assuming general model-independent ttbar g + ttbar gg and tbW interactions beyond the standard model, we first derive analytical formulas for the corresponding parton-parton processes. We then compute the lepton angular, energy and transverse-momentum distributions in ppbar/pp collisions to clarify how they are affected by those anomalous couplings., Comment: Journal information added. Title slightly changed in the published version (top interaction --> top-quark interaction). One typo in eqs.(15)-(19) corrected (dE_l c_l --> dE_l dc_l)

We investigate dynamics of deformable self-propelled particles with a repulsive interaction whose magnitude depends on the relative direction of elongation of a pair of particles. A collective motion of the particles appears in two dimensions. However this ordered state becomes unstable when the particle density exceeds a certain critical threshold and the dynamics becomes disorder. We show by a mean field analysis that this novel transition characteristic to deformability occurs due to a saddle-node bifurcation., Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures

In our latest paper "Search for anomalous top-gluon couplings at LHC revisited" in Eur. Phys. J. C65 (2010), 127-135 (arXiv:0910.3049 [hep-ph]), we studied possible effects of nonstandard top-gluon couplings through the chromoelectric and chromomagnetic moments of the top quark using the total cross section of ppbar/pp --> ttbar X at Tevatron/LHC. There we pointed out that LHC data could give a stronger constraint on those two parameters, which would be hard to obtain from Tevatron data alone. We show here the first CMS measurement of this cross section actually makes it possible., Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, LaTeX2e, Final version (to appear in Eur. Phys. C)

The LEPS/SPring-8 experiment made a comprehensive measurement of the spin-density matrix elements for $\gamma p \to \phi p$, $\gamma d \to \phi p n$ and $\gamma d \to \phi d$ at forward production angles. A linearly polarized photon beam at $E_{\gamma}$=1.6-2.4 GeV was used for the production of $\phi$ mesons. The natural-parity Pomeron exchange processes remains dominant nearthreshold. The unnatural-parity processes of pseudoscalar exchange is visible in the production from nucleons but is greatly reduced in the coherent production from deuterons. There is no strong $E_{\gamma}$-dependence, but some dependence on momentum-transfer. A small but finite value of the spin-density matrix elements reflecting helicity-nonconserving amplitudes in the $t$-channel is observed., Comment: 25 pages, 14 figures

We investigate the dynamical coupling between the motion and the deformation of a single self-propelled domain based on two different model systems in two dimensions. One is represented by the set of ordinary differential equations for the center of gravity and two tensor variables characterizing deformations. The other is an active cell model which has an internal mechanism of motility and is represented by the partial differential equation for deformations. Numerical simulations show a rich variety of dynamics, some of which are common to the two model systems. The origin of the similarity and the difference is discussed., Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures

Through top-quark pair productions at LHC, we study possible effects of nonstandard top-gluon couplings yielded by SU(3)xSU(2)xU(1) invariant dimension-6 effective operators. We calculate the total cross section and also some distributions for p p -> t tbar X as functions of two anomalous-coupling parameters, i.e., the chromoelectric and chromomagnetic moments of the top, which are constrained by the total cross section sigma(p pbar -> t tbar X) measured at Tevatron. We find that LHC might give us some chances to observe sizable effects induced by those new couplings., Comment: One comment and related two refs. added. Final version (to appear in Eur.Phys.J. C)

Differential cross sections for eta photoproduction off protons have been measured at E_gamma = 1.6 - 2.4 GeV in the backward direction. A bump structure has been observed above 2.0 GeV in the total energy. No such bump is observed in cross sections for eta', omega and pi0 photoproductions. It is inferred that this unique structure in eta photoproduction is due to a baryon resonance with a large portion of ss-bar strongly coupled to the etaN channel., Comment: 3 figures, Submitted to PRL

We formulate the theory for a self-propelled domain in an excitable reaction-diffusion system in two dimensions where the domain deforms from a circular shape when the propagation velocity is increased. In the singular limit where the width of the domain boundary is infinitesimally thin, we derive a set of equations of motion for the center of gravity and two fundamental deformation modes. The deformed shapes of a steadily propagating domain are obtained. The set of time-evolution equations exhibits a bifurcation from a straight motion to a circular motion by changing the system parameters., Comment: 4 figures

We report measurements of differential cross sections and decay asymmetries of incoherent $\phi$-meson photoproduction from the deuteron at forward angles using linearly polarized photons at \Eg=1.5-2.4 GeV. The nuclear transparency ratio for the deuteron shows a large suppression, and is consistent with the A-dependence of the ratio observed in a previous measurement with nuclear targets. The reduction for the deuteron cannot be adequately explained in term of isospin asymmetry. The present results suggest the need of refining our understanding of the $\phi$-N interaction within a nucleus., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Published in Physics Letters B

Photoproduction of $\Lambda$(1520) with liquid hydrogen and deuterium targets was examined at photon energies below 2.4 GeV in the SPring-8 LEPS experiment. For the first time, the differential cross sections were measured at low energies and with a deuterium target. A large asymmetry of the production cross sections from protons and neutrons was observed at backward K$^{+/0}$ angles. This suggests the importance of the contact term, which coexists with t-channel K exchange under gauge invariance. This interpretation was compatible with the differential cross sections, decay asymmetry, and photon beam asymmetry measured in the production from protons at forward K$^+$ angles., Comment: 5 pages and 4 figures. One reference added

The \gamma d \to K^+K^-pn reaction has been studied to search for the evidence of the \Theta^+ by detecting K^+K^- pairs at forward angles. The Fermi-motion corrected nK^+ invariant mass distribution shows a narrow peak at 1.524 +- 0.002 + 0.003 GeV/c^2. The statistical significance of the peak calculated from a shape analysis is 5.1 \sigma, and the differential cross-section for the \gamma n \to K^- \Theta^+ reaction is estimated to be 12 +- 2 nb/sr in the photon energy range from 2.0 GeV to 2.4 GeV in the LEPS angular range by assuming the isotropic production of the \Theta^+ in the \gamma n center-of-mass system. The obtained results support the existence of the \Theta^+., Comment: 31 pages, 16 figures, and 1 table. Submitted to Phys. Rev. C

A theory of self-propelled particles is developed in two dimensions assuming that the particles can be deformed from a circular shape when the propagating velocity is increased. A coupled set of equations in terms of the velocity and a tensor variable to represent the deformation is introduced to show that there is a bifurcation from a straight motion to a circular motion of a single particle. Dynamics of assembly of the particles is studied numerically where there is a global interaction such that the particles tend to cause an orientational order., Comment: 4pages, 4figures

Differential cross sections and photon beam asymmetries for $\pi^0$ photoproduction have been measured at $E_\gamma$ = 1.5--2.4 GeV and at the $\pi^0$ scattering angles, --1 $<$ cos$\Theta_{c.m.} <$ --0.6. The energy-dependent slope of differential cross sections for $u$-channel $\pi^0$ production has been determined. An enhancement at backward angles is found above $E_\gamma$ = 2.0 GeV. This is inferred to be due to the $u$-channel contribution and/or resonances. Photon beam asymmetries have been obtained for the first time at backward angles. A strong angular dependence has been found at $E_\gamma >$ 2.0 GeV, which may be due to the unknown high-mass resonances., Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, submitted to PLB

We study possible anomalous CP-violating Higgs couplings to mu mu-bar and t t-bar fully model-independent way through top-quark pair productions at muon colliders. Assuming additional non-standard neutral Higgs bosons, whose couplings with top-quark and muon are expressed in the most general covariant form, we carry out analyses of effects which they are expected to produce via CP-violating asymmetries and also the optimal-observable (OO) procedure under longitudinal and transverse muon polarizations. We find the measurement of the asymmetry for longitudinal beam polarization could be useful to catch some signal of CP violation, and an OO analysis might also be useful if we could reduce the number of unknown parameters with a help of other experiments and if the size of the parameters is at least O(1) ~ O(10)., Comment: Final version (to appear in JHEP)

Differential cross sections and decay asymmetries for coherent $\phi$-meson photoproduction from deuterons were measured for the first time at forward angles using linearly polarized photons at $E_{\gamma}$= 1.5-2.4 GeV. This reaction offers a unique way to directly access natural-parity Pomeron dynamics and gluon exchange at low energies. The cross sections at zero degrees increase with increasing photon energy. The decay asymmetries demonstrate a complete dominance of natural-parity exchange processes, showing that isovector unnatural-parity $\pi$-meson exchange is small. Nevertheless the deduced cross sections of $\phi$-mesons from nucleons contributed by isoscalar t-channel exchange processes are not well described by the conventional Pomeron model., Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures. Final published version

We probe optimal beam polarizations for new-physics search in top-quark and Higgs-boson sectors at Photon Linear Colliders (PLC). Expressing possible non-standard effects generated by SU(2)xU(1) gauge-invariant dimension-6 effective operators as anomalous top and Higgs couplings, we estimate expected statistical sensitivities of these couplings in gamma gamma -> t tbar -> lX/bX, using the optimal-observable method., Comment: LaTeX_2e, 10 pages, Talk presented by K. Ohkuma at the 7th International Symposium on Radiative Corrections (RADCOR2005), Shonan Village, Japan, October 2-7, 2005

Search for new-physics through possible anomalous t tbar gamma, tbW and gamma gamma H couplings which are generated by SU(2) X U(1) gauge-invariant dimension-6 effective operators is discussed, using energy and angular distributions of final charged-lepton/ b-quark in gamma gamma -> t tbar -> l X / bX for various beam polarizations. Optimal beam polarizations that minimize uncertainty in determination of those non-standard couplings are found performing an optimal-observable analysis., Comment: 12 pages, no figures; v2: Typos corrected

We perform an optimal-observable analysis of the final charged-lepton/b-quark momentum distributions in gamma+gamma -> t+tbar -> lX/bX for various beam polarizations in order to study possible anomalous t-tbar-gamma, tbW and gamma-gamma-H couplings, which could be generated by SU(2)xU(1) gauge-invariant dimension-6 effective operators. We find optimal beam polarizations that will minimize the uncertainty in determination of those non-standard couplings. We also compare e+ebar and gamma+gamma colliders from the viewpoint of the anomalous-top-quark-coupling determination., Comment: Final version, published in JHEP : more detailed description of the basic framework given with some new references, and three related appendices added

Photoproduction of $\phi$-meson on protons was studied by means of linearly polarized photons at forward angles in the low-energy region from threshold to $E_{\gamma}$= 2.37 GeV. The differential cross sections at $t = -|t|_{min}$ do not increase smoothly as $E_{\gamma}$ increases, but show a local maximum at around 2.0 GeV. The angular distributions demonstrate that $\phi$-mesons are photo-produced predominantly by helicity-conserving processes, and the local maximum is not likely due to unnatural-parity processes., Comment: 6 pages, error on the cross sections were corrected, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Lett

We study possible anomalous top-quark couplings generated by SU(2) x U(1) gauge invariant dimension-6 effective operators, using the final b-quark momentum distribution in gamma gamma -> tt -> bX. Taking into account non-standard tt gamma, tbW and gamma gamma H couplings, we perform an optimal-observable analysis in order to estimate the precision for the determination of all relevant non-standard couplings., Comment: 13 pages, LaTeX2e. Final version (one paper added to the ref.list and one person added to the ACKNOWLEDGMENTS) which is to appear in Phys.Lett.B

Possible anomalous top-quark couplings induced by SU(2) x U(1) gauge-invariant dimension-6 effective operators were studied in the process of t t-bar productions and decays at polarized gamma gamma colliders. Two CP-violating asymmetries, a linear-polarization asymmetry and a circular-polarization asymmetry, were computed including both non-standard [t t-bar gamma] and [gamma gamma H] couplings. An optimal-observable analysis for the process gamma gamma --> t t-bar --> l^{+-} ... was performed in order to estimate the precision for determination of all relevant non-standard couplings, including the anomalous tbW coupling., Comment: 23 pages, Latex2e, Two eps-figures. Final version which is to appear in Nucl.Phys.B

In order to extract information about behavior of polarized gluons in the nucleon, charmed hadron productions, i.e. D* meson and Lambda_c baryon productions, are studied in polarized pp reactions at BNL-RHIC energy. For these processes, the spin correlation asymmetry D_{LL} between the target proton and the produced charmed hadron, and its statistical sensitivity delta D_{LL} are calculated. From analyses on these processes, we found that the pseudo-rapidity distribution of D_{LL} in the limited transverse momentum region is quite effective for distinguishing the model of polarized gluons as well as the model of spin-dependent fragmentation functions., Comment: 1+14 pages, 14 figures, added references and comments, To appear in Int. Journal of Modern Phys. A

Beam polarization asymmetries for the p(gamma,K+)Lambda and p(gamma,K+)sigma0 reactions are measured for the first time for Egamma=1.5-2.4 GeV and 0.6

To probe the behavior of polarized gluons in the proton, we propose the charmed hadron, such as Lambda_c and D^*, production in the forthcoming RHIC experiments. We found that the spin correlation between the target proton and the produced Lambda_c baryon might be a good signal for testing models of the polarized gluon distribution in the proton., Comment: 1+5 pages, 4 figures, Contributed to 16th International Conference on Particles and Nuclei (PANIC 02), Osaka, Japan, 30 Sep - 4 Oct 2002

To extract information about polarized gluons in the proton, production of charmed hadrons, in particular, \Lambda_c^+ baryon in pp collisions was studied. We calculated the transverse momentum distribution and the pseudo-rapidity distribution of the spin correlation asymmetry A_{LL} between the initial proton and the produced \Lambda_c^+. Those statistical sensitivities were also calculated under the condition of RHIC experiment. We found that the pseudo-rapidity distribution of A_{LL} is promising for testing the model of polarized gluons in the proton and also the spin-dependent fragmentation model of a charm quark decaying into \Lambda_c^+ baryon., Comment: 1+6 pages, Latex2e, 4 eps figures, Talk given at SPIN 2002, Brookhaven National Laboratory, September 9-13, 2002, To appear in the Proceedings

Most general tbW couplings were investigated in the process \gamma \gamma -> ttbar -> l^{+-} X for unpolarized photon beams. The double angular and energy distribution of the lepton was calculated and an optimal-observable analysis on it was carried out for the SM ttbar production mechanism. It was also shown that the leptonic angular distribution is insensitive to non-standard tbW vertex. That means that observation of non-standard effects indicates existence of some new physics in the production part., Comment: 3 pages, no figure, Latex, presented at the 5th KEK Topical Conference(KEKTC5), to be publised in the proceedings